Coagulation

Chapters

Memories
A Mortal Sin
Arcane Blunders
Making New Friends
Desperation
A New Start
Recovery
The Train and the Closet
The Blizzard
Imprisonment
The End
Epilogue
A Dracony's Blind Faith

Memories

The dry dust felt rough against her hooves.

The gentle taps of a filly’s steps against the dirt road were like the patter of raindrops that would never come. Her movement was constantly watched by unmoving sentinels, beasts clad in golden armour that her mother had always told her to stay away from. Their stares were hidden, but the only thing the filly thought of was how hot they must have been. The sun – Celestia’s sun, she recalled, though her mother despised the mention of that name – was beating down fiercely, turning the already crisp earth even whiter and making it kick up small puffs of dust whenever someone trod upon it.

The filly herself could not have been older than ten. Her mane was a mix of light and dark blue, styled in a ponytail that gently bounced with each step. Her bright blue, slitted eyes stayed focused on the beetle that she was following along the road, for there was not much else to do outside. Her tail gently whipped back and forth, the spade on the end sometimes impacting the ground and kicking up more dust.

The young mare hummed, as well. Her voice was quiet, but easily audible in the mostly silent town. The sun had just risen, it was just about 7 AM. The filly was full of energy though, and wasn’t about to let an early start dampen her mood. The low tune she hummed was without a name, but it didn’t need one. Nor did the filly, but she had one regardless. A light blue hoof ran through her mane, the almost gem-like surface meeting the rest of her pure white coloured body much like a fetlock.

“Gotcha!” The filly smiled gleefully, her hooves clasping around the beetle she had been chasing so stealthily. Unfortunately hooves weren’t meant for catching things, and she found the insect scuttling away as soon as she lessened the pressure slightly. “Mmh, whatever.” She stood back up, shaking herself off. She caught the eye of one of the guards – in many ways, these ponies looked like them. Most had white or grey coats, and some had wings as well. This one was different, with a horn poking out of his head, but there were plenty of those. “Hello!” She waved cheerfully. Her young innocence was like a poison, her mother had always said. Too trusting of anyone, even if they didn’t deserve it.

The guard, who had been standing still in that same spot for an hour, couldn’t help but crack a bit of a smile at the filly’s bubbly greeting. “Hi.” He cleared his throat, realizing how dry it is. He had a fairly standard coat for a guard. White fur, white horn, simple. His mane and tail, however, were a fiery mix of orange and yellow.

To his surprise, the filly didn’t keep hopping along. Instead, she trotted right up to him and grinned widely. Her head only reached the bottom of his chest. “Having a good morning, sir?”

“Wh- um…” The guard wasn’t sure what to say. He simply nodded. “Yeah, I guess. Morning’s just begun.”

“Mmhm!” The mare nodded in agreement. “What’s your name?”

“Oh, uh…” The stallion had very little experience with foals, so he wasn’t used to the rapid changes in topic. “It’s Flare. How about you…?”

“Lazuli!” She held out her hoof to shake.

Flare sighed. What the hell, he thought to himself, and shook the young Dracony’s hoof. “Nice to meet you, Lazuli. Are your parents around?”

“Nnnnnope! They always let me go for walks after breakfast. Burns off steam, my mama says!”

“Well, it’s not a bad idea.” Flare leaned down slowly. “But you really shouldn’t be out here alone. It’s really hot out, and you might get hurt.”

“Hurt? By what?” Lazuli glanced around. There was nothing, up and down the street. Just rows of dusty, rickety houses and a few Dracony smiths out working on gem cutting.

“It’s…” Flare sighed. “It’s not a safe place for a filly to be walking around alone.”

Lazuli tilted her head. “Then why’re you standing out here all alone, mister Flare?”

“Well, I’m here to guard the town.” He stood up straight again. “Can’t let anypony hurt anyone here.”

“Erm…but if you’re guarding, why’s it dangerous for me to walk ‘round?”

“…” Flare blinked. Did I just get outsmarted by a filly? “Well…I uh…”

“Mhm!” Lazuli was already skipping away before he could continue. “Seeya, mister Flare!”

The Dracony filly skipped all the way back home with nary a problem. Her soft gaze didn’t stray from the road, but if it had, she would not have missed much. Every building practically looked the same, Draconies had only minor differences in shape, size and colour, and the only thing that didn’t look dull was the sun itself – but Lazuli had learned a long time ago not to look up at that.

As she pushed the door open and stepped inside, she looked around. The lights were out, but during the day that was common. “Mama?” She called.

“Lazzy!” A motherly voice responded. “I’m just upstairs, sweetie. Just wait in the living room!”

Slowly the young mare trotted into the living room. It was truly nothing to behold – a couch sat in the middle, with some toys strewn on the floor in front of it. Against the wall in front of the couch was a large window that was currently covered, and let only faint rays of sunshine glimmer through. Particles of dust floated in the small rays, and when Lazuli blew at them it made her giggle.

“Laz-razz?” Her mother’s voice called from the stairs.

“Yeah, mom?”

“Lazuli!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Laz…?”

Slowly the world around the filly began to deteriorate. Walls cascaded away from her, folding in like paper. The floor disappeared and left her floating in a vast expanse of unending, inky blackness.

“Laz!”

The echo of the voice in the Dracony’s ears went completely unacknowledged. Lazuli stood behind the castle in Ponyville, staring blankly at what must have been a particularly interesting bush.

“Hey!” The clapping of hooves shocked her out of her stupor, her eyes fluttering. Her head slowly turned from side to side, as if to figure out where she was.

“…wha…”

“Hey, you okay?”

“What’s…what…?”

“Calm down.” Fizzlepop slowly walked towards her, putting a hoof on her back. “Are you okay? You’ve been staring at that bush for like, half an hour.”

“What…bush…wh…”

“…Laz…?” The dark purple unicorn gently rubbed her shoulder. “You okay?”

“How…how did…where did…”

Fizzle noticed the signs of Lazuli’s condition and gently pulled the Dracony into a sitting position. “Hey. Hey. Calm down.” She held her closer, both hooves on Lazuli’s shoulders. “It’s me, Fizzle. You just drifted off for a bit there. You’re in Ponyville, remember?”

“Pony…” She shook her head, holding one hoof up to her temple. “Nngh…ow…”

“Just relax.” Fizzle had a look of concern on her face. “Deep breaths.”

Lazuli’s head gently heaved and relaxed a few times. “What…happened…?” She was shaking slightly, her muscles twitching.

“Hey, hey.” Fizzle gently pulled Lazuli closer. “Just relax. You’re fine. You had a little daydream, it’s fine.”

The Dracony’s breaths stayed level, her chin gently resting on Fizzle’s shoulder. “F-fuck…” She swallowed nervously. “That…that didn’t feel right.”

“It’s okay.” Lazuli felt Fizzle’s hoof gently stroking her back. “You’re back now. What was that about?”

“I…” She paused, then slowly took her head off Fizzle’s shoulder and shook it from side to side. “I…don’t…remember.”

“I find that hard to believe. You know what we talked about…no lies.”

“I…I’m serious.” She rubbed her head with a hoof. She briefly had a grasp on what her trance-like daydream had been about, but it was gone. “I can’t…I don’t…was I saying anything?”

Fizzle shook her head. “Er…not much. I think you said something about ‘Flare’ or something.”

“…Flare…?” Lazuli shook her head. “I…I dunno. Nevermind.”

“What were you doing out here, anyway?”

“I was doing some training. Not like, combat, but just working out.”

“Huh…”

The two of them slowly stood up. “It’s just about lunch time. You wanna go out to eat?”

“Heh, with what money?”

“Wh-…uh, don’t you remember? Applejack said we were welcome at Sweet Apple Acres for lunch today if we wanted. I think Rainbow and Twilight were going to be there, too.”

“…uh…was…was I there when she said that?”

“Oh…right. You were talking to Fluttershy. Nevermind.” Fizzle snickered. “Still, wanna go?”

“Well, I don’t see any reason to say no.”

Slowly Lazuli turned around to head to the front of the castle. Briefly, she saw a glint of blonde hair disappearing around the corner, but she thought nothing of it.

It was nearly sundown on the same day that the two had gone to Sweet Apple Acres. Lazuli sat beneath the trees of the orchard, far enough away from the group that she wasn’t visible. While the original plan had been to have lunch, Applejack ended up needing help with the food, which turned it into an early dinner. Now, sitting on a small hill against a tree, she got to watch the sun as it slowly sank below the horizon.

Her eyes slowly followed the sinking sphere, the light of which she couldn’t directly stare at. She stared as the moon slowly rose in its place.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” A voice came from behind her. It was deep, soft, and carried a slight Southern lilt.

Lazuli didn’t even need to turn around to see who it was. He came to sit next to her anyway. The bright white unicorn smiled down at her. “What do you want?” She asked, brushing her mane out her eye with a hoof.

“My my, why the hostility?” Blind Faith frowned. “I’m just enjoying the evening, same as you, darling.”

“You wouldn’t have picked the same spot as me if you didn’t want something.”

“On the contrary, hon.” He chuckled and leaned back against the tree with her. “This is one of the best hills to watch, from what I’ve seen. But you’re right about one thing…I did pick the same spot as you for a reason.”

“Are you hitting on me?”

“Might be.” He smirked and levitated a blade of grass to his lips, gently nibbling on it. “Is it a problem?”

Lazuli rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Keep trying, it’s not gonna work.” She glanced at Faith, noting his slight frown as he turned his gaze back to the moon.

“Well, still. I have to admit…I much prefer the moon over that blinding sun, you know?”

“I guess.”

“It’s just so much calmer. So much more soothing. And Luna is just the better princess, anyway.”

“…sure?”

“I’m sorry. I must be bothering you something fierce.” He sighed, bringing his hooves up behind his head and shaking it from side to side. “I do get talkative around beautiful mares.”

The Dracony started to stand up. “Yeah, okay. I need to get back to the castle anyway.”

“Well hold on, now.” Faith put a hoof on her back after standing up himself. “We’re both headin’ that way, aren’t we?”

“…mhm…”

“Gah, my apologies.” He shook his head. “I’m a bit of a fool for coming on this strong.” He ran a hoof down his suit jacket, gently patting one of the pockets, though it seemed to be irrelevant to what he was saying. “But, may I ask you something, my darling?”

“Please stop calling me that.” Lazuli turned to face him.

“Ah, sorry about that. Force of habit.” His horn gently lit up, the golden aura pulling an object out of his pocket. It looked like some kind of leather strap. “Now, I want to give you something. Don’t worry, it’s nothing like me trying to court you or whatever, but I’ve heard a lot about you.” He levitated the object towards Lazuli, who slowly held out her hoof and took it. She glanced down at it. “It’s nothin’ too special.” He said flatly. “Just something an old worker of mine used to wear…I thought it might suit you.”

Lazuli looked down at the strap, a solid leather collar. It was wrapped around a golden metal object, and when she gave it a shake, she heard a bell jingle. “Is…this some kind of joke?” She looked up at him, then back down at the collar. “It’s a fucking bell collar, who do you think I am?”

“No offense is intended of course, darling. It’s just…” His horn lit up again. Lazuli felt the collar lift from her hoof…and before she could react, it wrapped tight around her throat. She gasped, her hooves shooting up to grab it, but his magic fastened it snugly around her neck, the bell gently jingling each time she moved. “It looks so adorable on Draconies~”

Lazuli clawed at the collar, then started to lunge forward at Faith. Something stopped her, though. Her body fell to the ground, her muscles twitching slightly and her eyes fluttering. “Wh-what…th-the fuck is this thing…”

“Well, I know you hybrids are awful resistant to magic.” He glowered down at her, his bright green eyes boring into hers. “But I thought to myself, there’s no way you’re totally immune. There has to be some way to make it affect you…and I’m quite lucky Princess Twilight was so willing to share her results with me~”

The Dracony’s muscles were moving on their own, her eyes glazing over with a dull golden sheen above their natural blue. She slowly stood up, her teeth gritted. “Y-you…fucking…s-son of a…”

“Sshhhh.” Faith put a hoof to her lips, and Lazuli found herself inexplicably obeying. “Hush now, darling. You don’t need to do anything except follow me. Got it?~” He began to walk. Lazuli’s mind was screaming, telling her to run and get this thing off, but she found herself following him and matching his pace. She had no control…she couldn’t even speak on her own terms. Her lips held a wide, happy smile, while inside she was in a state of terror.

A Mortal Sin

When the bell tolls,

When the time comes,

When even the vultures cry their last,

None will be there

None will help you

But I’ll remain

At your side, at last.

Grey.

Grey was all that Lazuli was capable of seeing, at the moment.

Her eyes were forcefully trained on a solid concrete wall, which was identical to the walls on either side. The one directly behind her sported a solid metal door, one which she had only seen once on the way in. From there she had been bound and immobilized. A tight-fitting cloth was wrapped around her muzzle. Her wings were tied firmly to her side and her tail had been strapped to her back. Her legs were all chained and held to the ground so tightly that they might as well have been stuck in the concrete itself. Three sets of rope were lashed horizontally across her back, holding her down from stretching at all, while the collar around her neck still jingled at any attempt to move. It now had a leash attached to it, which was tied to her tail, and prevented her from properly moving her head.

She heard the door swing open, the quiet shimmering of golden magic wrapping around the rags on her face. Her jaw cracked as she was allowed to open it, snarling and gritting her teeth together. “Y-you…fucking son of a-“ She was instantly forced to cut herself off, the bell around her neck jingling loudly and making her body jolt. “FUCK!”

“Now now, Dusk…calm down.”

“What…did you just…fucking…call me?” She said through clenched teeth. Her muscles felt like she’d just been shocked with far too much electricity to safely absorb.

Blind Faith wrapped his magic around her bonds, manipulating them slowly to turn her all the way around, facing him. His bright green eyes gently flashed a light golden colour. “I called you by the name everypony knows you as.” He chuckled, stepping forward and giving her head a pat. Try as she might, she couldn’t do much but move her mouth and her eyes.

“F-fuck off…what the hell did you do to me?”

“Just a simple obedience spell. You Draconies are always horribly resistant to doing as you’re told…” He gently put a hoof under her chin, making her snarl and try to jerk away as he stroked it as though he were petting a cat.

The unicorn sighed. “I can see it in your eyes, you definitely won’t make a good candidate for my…” His voice was exasperated, but still deep and heavy. “Initiation…”

“Then fuck off and untie me.”

“We both know that’s not going to happen. That was almost horribly cliché of you, darling.” He laughed and stepped back a bit. Dusk was acutely aware of a loud groaning noise echoing through the small space. “Unfortunately I’m still busy dealing with the last one who decided not to accept my teachings…”

“Teachings?! You didn’t even try, you sick fuck! You just wanted to get under my tail!”

“Oh no, you misunderstand, Dusk…”

“Stop calling me that.”

“No.” He cleared his throat, his horn lighting up with its elegant golden aura and making a small projection appear on the door. “You see, I run a fairly successful law business, I don’t think anypony can deny that. But I’ve always wanted more…I’ve always wanted to be in control.”

Lazuli rolled her eyes. “Uh huh. So you kidnap mares and do whatever, got it.” She snorted. “Can I go now, or do I need to kick you in that fat stomach of yours first?”

“As much as that would aid digestion…” Blind Faith slowly swung himself around, smirking. "I'll need to pass."

The projection slowly changed to show the image of a grand, white and gold cathedral. “This is my vision. An entire belief system. An entire lifestyle, spread across Equestria and championed by yours truly. I’m the voice. The prophet. Sent down by the gods themselves to bring light to these poor, disadvantaged souls…” He made a mock pouty face at Lazuli, who snarled back at him. “But…well…to make a church, you have to break a few eggs. You have to tell a few lies, work a little magic…” He turned his gaze fully to her, his eyes flashing their deep golden again. “Order a few ponies dead…”

Lazuli snorted. “Okay, I get it. So you’ve contracted me before. Whatever. Your point?”

“I’m offering you a chance. Mainly so you don’t end up like poor little Solar..." Faith shook his head slowly. "Poor mare. Had such a future ahead of her, but she just didn't know when to shut up and say yes."

Blind Faith slowly stepped up right in front of Lazuli, then dragged her forward, under his front legs. He pressed her ear forcefully into his chest. “I would hate to let a mare as talented as you go to waste…”

“Fuck off.” She said flatly, and Faith pulled her out from under him.

“I had a feeling that would be your reaction, so I’ll sweeten the deal. You say yes, and I help you get a better life. How amazing would it be, living in the lap of luxury?”

“I tried that once. Wasn’t my thing.”

“Hrm. Well, is there nothing I could do to sweeten the deal?~” He smirked, his eyes firmly locking with hers. Try as she might, Lazuli couldn’t pull her gaze away. “Nothing at all?~”

The Dracony tried to look away, but his bright green eyes were like hypnotic dots of colour in an ocean of white that terrified her if she looked at it. “I…this…isn’t going to work.” She said, her head beginning to sway back and forth.

“Are you sure, my darling? Maybe we should take a walk and think about it, hm? The air down here is surely messing with your head…”

“A…” Lazuli tried to clear her mind, but as the collar around her neck gently glimmered golden, she couldn’t. “I…a…a walk…sounds…” She gulped, her eyes still fixated on him, her mouth hanging slightly open. “Sounds…lovely…mas…”

“Hrm? What’s that? I can’t hear you.”

“It…sounds lovely…” She took a few deep breaths, her body trembling like it was below zero in the dull grey room. “…master…Faith…”

Faith raised an eyebrow, his grin widening even further. He started to chuckle. “My goodness, I’m better at this than I remembered.” He stepped back, and Lazuli started blinking to clear her vision.

“Wha…who…wh…I…where…?”

“Hush, child.” Faith gently stroked Lazuli’s chin, his horn lighting up and beginning to untie her. “You’re safe with me. Your troubles are over…” He sat down, pulling Lazuli into a tight embrace. “How do you feel, darling?”

“I…I don’t…wh-what…what the fuck did…you do to me…?”

“Shhh…” He let go of her. Lazuli’s first reaction was to sock him across the face – but she couldn’t. Her legs wobbled like a foal’s and she flopped flat on the ground, struggling to pull herself upright.

“What…what…what is this?! What did you do?!”

“Please, you’re surprised by it now?” His horn flashed gently, and Lazuli stood straight upright. “Now…who am I?”

Lazuli had so many words rushing through her mind. ‘Shithead’ was the one she was going to use, but instead her lips formed the words “Master Blind Faith…”

“That’s right.” The unicorn started laughing, slowly standing up. He cast a spell on the collar around Lazuli’s neck, turning it fully invisible. “Come now. Let’s take a walk, child. And perhaps you can help me spread the word of my new…” He tilted his head, tapping a hoof against his chin, before grinning again. “Sanctuary.”

Something wasn’t right.

Fizzlepop could feel it, but she couldn’t put her hoof on it. Lazuli wasn’t acting normal, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

“And he’s just amazing. Really, I never thought after my last attempt I’d ever try it with a stallion again but just…gah, you know?” The excited Dracony sat on her bed, droning on about the unicorn. “He’s introduced me to a whole new way of doing things, and by the gods, I love it.”

“Lazuli?”

“Huh? Yeah?”

“…are you…okay?”

“Oh I am more than okay, Fizzle! You should really come and meet him some time. You’ve probably talked to him before but really, he’s like a whole ‘nother stallion when he’s at home!”

Fizzle gulped. “…I…Laz, you’re acting weird.”

“I am?”

“Yeah, you are.”

“How? Am I talking about him too much? Sorry…I just…can’t stop thinking about him, like, all the time!”

“…Yeah, I got that…but…you’ve been like this all day.”

“I-…” The mare paused, tilting her head. “I have…? But…I started thinking of him this way like…at least five days ago.”

Alarms were blaring in Fizzle’s head now. “Laz, you’ve been talking about him all week. Something isn’t right with you.”

“Well, maybe it only feels longer, to me. It definitely feels like I met him a week ago! I’ve gotten to know him so well! Gods above, I never thought I’d be so happy to come to this town!”

The purple unicorn put her hooves on Lazuli’s shoulders, shaking her a bit. “Laz. Something really isn’t right with you. I’m really worried for you.”

“Psssh, don’t be worried! He’s the perfect stallion, he’d never hurt me.”

“Laz-“

“Forgeeeet it, Tempest. It’s fine!”

“…wha…Tempest? Laz, my name’s-“

“Yeah okay, anyway, I have to go see him again! I’ve got so much stuff to do, like help him make the flyers, and go visit ponies door to door…I’ll see you later!” Lazuli hopped off the bed, and trotted out the door before Fizzle could realize what had happened.

“Laz, WAIT-“ But the door shut behind her.

I need to follow her…Fizzle ran up and opened the door, then quietly began to tail the bubbly mare.

Lazuli found herself staring at grey again. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be surprised or scared.

The door swung open again. She heard the gentle plodding of hooves on concrete, again. “And how’s my little messenger filly doing today?”

“Fuck off.” She muttered.

“Oop, looks like someone’s spell wore off…” Faith chuckled, turning Lazuli around to face him again. “So, remember anything?”

“Fuck off.”

“Now now, I don’t see the need for this much-“

“You want me to fucking kill someone, why don’t you just have me do it instead of making me walk around like jerk-off religious nut?!” The Dracony barked. “Kill, kill, fucking kill, that’s all I’m good for, so why don’t you use what you’ve got while you’ve still got it? Or do you have your own cock stuck so far up your ass that you can’t think of anything except getting yourself off watching me obeying you?”

Faith was slightly taken aback, but Lazuli wasn’t finished. “I guess it should’ve been fucking obvious that I couldn’t have a proper life anywhere. Of course some prick like you was gonna show up to mess up my chances. Of course I was going to wind up tied in someone’s basement and making shitty remarks about them while I’m dying inside because it won’t fucking end. Of course, I end up trapped with some stallion who wants to call themselves Sanctuary because they know it’ll make me nervous even though it’s pretty damn obvious he isn’t, because the real Sanctuary wouldn’t be so fucking stupid as to use the best resource he’s got as some kind of marketing tool instead of taking care of his business for him.”

The unicorn snorted, turning Laz’s chin up and glaring into her eyes. “I think that’s enough free time for you.”

“Yeah, go ahead. Turn me back into whatever slave bitch you want me to be, but I think we both know you’re wasting my abilities because you’re scared of ponies finding out.”

“I am most positively not.”

“How can you be so good at lying, and so terrible at it at the same time?”

“Shut your mouth.” Faith’s eyes flashed gold, and Lazuli grimaced. “Be a good mare, and shut your mouth.”

“Go…fuck…yourself…” She groaned, her teeth gritting together as she tried to resist, but his gaze was too strong for a mind in turmoil like her own to resist.

CRASH.

The door was flung open. Faith’s head jerked around, and Lazuli’s vision was swimming with bright colours as she tried to recover. She watched through slightly droopy eyelids as Faith was thrown backwards, his fur fizzling with bright electricity.

Standing in the doorway, Lazuli faintly made out Fizzlepop. Her head swayed, her whole body wanting to collapse as the broken unicorn lunged forward, slamming her hoof into Faith’s chest. The stallion wheezed, his horn lighting up, but Fizzle gave it a painful flick and it fizzled out.

She placed her front hoof down on Faith’s chest again, pushing him down to the ground and pinning him there. “Don’t you dare touch her.” Her voice was low and authoritative, her gaze locked with his, but even when his eyes flashed golden she didn’t budge. Her tone carried an air of almost evil intent. “You’re a sad, shitty attempt at being a stallion.” She leaned in closer, pressing her forehead to his. He grimaced and ground his teeth together as her crackling horn pressed against his. “I lost my friends once. I’m not losing this one because some sorry sack excuse for a stallion thought he could make her pay for whatever shit she dealt him before. Because I’ll deal you a lot worse.”

Faith, who saw no other conceivable option, lit up his horn again. Before Fizzle could prevent him from doing anything, he vanished abruptly in a bright flash of light with no words.

“…coward.” Fizzle snarled, staring at the spot he had been sitting in for a moment before her expression softened and she turned to the mare shivering and bound against the wall. She quickly walked over and started to undo the bonds holding her down…but it seemed they were holding her up, as well. Lazuli collapsed to the ground, her eyes half-lidded and her breath heavy.

“Geez…” The dark purple unicorn gently heaved the Dracony up, helping her stand – but it didn’t seem like standing was an option for her. “Alright…come on…” She grunted, slowly heaving Lazuli onto her back, helping to shuffle her around so she could let her front legs dangle off of either side of her. “Just rest, Laz. You need it…”

Fizzle made sure to walk slowly as she made her way back to the castle. The place Faith had been keeping Lazuli was a mile south of town, so the walk was long, but she didn’t care.

When they arrived back at the castle, Starlight was the only one who saw them. She tried to inquire what had happened, but Fizzle brushed her off with a simple ‘I’ll tell you in the morning’ and brought Lazuli back upstairs.

When she settled the half-awake Dracony in her bed, the mare weakly groaned and cracked a few of her joints in a somewhat painful sounding way. Fizzle winced, gently running a hoof through Laz’s mane. “Just rest…” She muttered. She began to walk back to her bed, then glanced back at her friend, who was writhing slightly and hugging the blankets in a bundle.

“…” Fizzle bit her lip. “I can’t leave you like that…”
The unicorn slowly sat on the edge of the bed, and felt Lazuli’s hooves gently wrap around her leg. She sighed, running a hoof through the Dracony’s mane and shaking her head. “You’re lucky I found you…”

Arcane Blunders

“All I’m saying is, if you had like, three straight shots, could you win?” Lazuli’s voice echoed through the halls of the castle. “I saw you kicking those stoney-maker ball things, you seem pretty accurate.”

“How did you even see those?” Fizzle glanced down at Lazuli. “…wait, I only used those once in Equestria.”

“Mhm. Why?”

“Wh- hold on, you saw that?”

“Yeah, it’s kinda easy when you didn’t have any air patrols watching the roofs…”

Fizzlepop stopped and turned to face Laz. “And you didn’t think to save anyone? The princesses? Nothing?”

“Pfft, you kidding? Those bodyguard things you had with you were huge, I didn’t wanna deal with them. Plus I didn’t reeeeeally care…seems it turned out just fine anyway, right?”

“…are you just, everywhere all the time?”

“Nah. I dunno what happened after you left Equestria, just that you came back with the purple one.”

“You don’t know her name?”

“Uh…Star Twinkle Shimmer Sparkle?”

“…okay.”

Fizzle started walking again. “But really,” she said. “Why didn’t you help anyone? At all?”

“Again. Big bodyguards, princesses and ponies I couldn’t care any less about…”

“Pfft.”

“Where are we going, again?”

“For the twelfth time…” Fizzle groaned. “We’re helping Starlight with a spell she’s been creating.”

“I’ve lived here for almost a month and I think I’ve only talked to her like…twice.”

“She’s pretty nice when you get to know her. But…a bit eccentric. Also tried to enslave ponies in some kind of fake-equality city, or…something.”

“Ohhhh, she- that was her? Huh…”

“Also apparently did something with time travel, but none of us remember it.”

“Well…duh, time travel.”

The two continued to walk through the halls until they reached Starlight’s room. Fizzle gently knocked on the door.

“You ever notice how Starlight and Twilight have the same name, just with different ways of putting it?” Lazuli said suddenly.

“What?”

“Well, you’ve got Twilight, which is like…sort of a time during the night, where the moon’s shining down and all. Then there’s Starlight, which basically means the same thing. Twilight’s last name is Sparkle, and Starlight’s is Glimmer. They’re like…the same thing.”

“…I don’t know.” Fizzle shrugged her shoulders. “Why have you been so talkative lately? And…so weird?”

“I dunno. Full of energy I guess.” She bounced up and down a bit. “Probably ‘cause I haven’t really been able to use any of it. Except that time Rainbow challenged me to a race.”

“Oh right, who won that?”

“Uh…her talent is literally flying fast, what makes you think I had a chance?”

“Just asking.”

When Starlight finally opened the door with her magic to greet them, she momentarily caught what Lazuli was saying. “I’m just saying, if you really wanna get the horn back, you should stick someone else’s there and see if it attaches the…I dunno, magic bits.”

“What are you even- oh! Starlight!” Fizzle looked up and smiled.

“Um…hi.” Starlight couldn’t help but giggle a bit. “Sorry to keep you waiting, I needed to make sure it was stable.

“…it?” Lazuli tilted her head. “What’s stable?”

“Here, come on in.” Starlight gestured for them to follow her as she stepped back into the room.

Starlight’s room looked just about how Lazuli had pictured it. Bookshelves lined the walls, her bed sitting near a window that looked outside and, sectioned off by some other bookshelves, there was an area with a desk covered in papers and a wide open expanse of floor that had various etchings and scorch marks on it.

“So, what is it you needed us for, Starlight?” Fizzlepop spoke as they stepped into the marked-up research space.

“Oh! Hold on juuuuust a second.” Starlight lit up her horn, books beginning to circle around her and a quill starting to write down some notes. “See, I was in the process of finalizing this spell when you knocked. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t lose what I was writing.”

Finally she closed the books and placed them neatly in a pile next to the desk. “Now. This test is a bit more for Dusk- er, sorry, you’re Lazuli now, right?”

“…yeah…? Wait, er, have we met somewhere else and you just didn’t mention it, or are-…”

“Anyway,” Starlight interrupted. “This spell is just something I want to test on you.”

“Yeah okay just cut me off, that’s fi-“

“I need you to stand over there.” Starlight pointed at a corner that was etched with odd white runes.

“Well I don’t want to, now.” Lazuli huffed and crossed one front hoof over the other, turning her head up.

“Laz…” Fizzle rolled her eyes. “Sorry about this, Starlight. She’s been like a child lately.”

“Is she uh…okay?” Starlight asked.

“She’s fine, just getting used to life without…erm…what she used to do.”

“Oh, right.”

“I’m still here you know.” Lazuli grunted.

“Laz, get in the corner.” Fizzle said sternly.

“Ugh.” Lazuli slowly trotted over to the corner and sat down.

Tempest tilted her head towards Starlight.

Starlight stared at the Dracony for a few seconds. “…yeah…um…okay.” She nodded. “But, Lazuli, could you sit still?”

“Huh? I’m already still.”

“Good.” Starlight lit up her horn again. “This shouldn’t hurt, it’ll only take a few seconds.”

“You still haven’t told me what you’re doing.”

“Ready?”

“No, I just said you haven’t-“

“Good!” Starlight fired a beam of greenish-blue energy at Lazuli. The Dracony instinctively brought up her hooves to avoid it, but it didn’t seem to matter. The magic hit her, and her vision went black.

…

She couldn’t hear or see anything. “…hello?” She called out, her voice quite literally the only thing she could hear.

Suddenly her vision and all of her senses exploded with white light, images flashing in front of her eyes like a movie played at several hundred times its original speed. She clutched her hooves to her temples, her scream being lost in the cacophony of light, sound, and overpowering energy.

And then it was over. She was standing in a long line of ponies that practically looked the exact same. All Draconies, all with blank expressions and unblinking eyes. They were all…her.

“Wha…”

She stepped a hoof forward to move out of the line, and almost immediately Dusk came down in front of her. She wasn’t wearing her suit, but she had her tail blade on, and swung it at Lazuli. Before it hit her, the scenery changed again, with more seizure-inducing flashing and racket that Lazuli could barely handle. Now she was standing in the forest. At her camp.

Her eyes went wide. Her ears flopped back against her head and she backed up slightly, only to bump into a wall that clearly wasn’t really there.

Sitting on the log in front of her was her mother. The older mare was smiling with that same tired, almost bleak smile she always had, bags formed under her dull blue eyes. Her mane, which matched Lazuli’s in every way except for the fact that it was beginning to turn grey at the roots, was tied up in a bun. “M…mom…?” She said slowly.

Her mother began to stand up…only to have Dusk, dressed in her suit and tail blade, land behind her. A gasp escaped Lazuli as she watched herself, or rather, the mare she used to be, stab the blade right through her own mother’s throat. The mare that Lazuli had known to already be dead clutched at her neck as blood poured out of it, her eyes rolling up into her head as she slumped forward. Before Lazuli could do anything her past self had flown off into the sky, and the image changed again – even as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Now she was just in darkness again. She stood still, not daring to move. She wiped her eyes clean. “It’s just some weird vision…” She told herself, looking around. Nothing but blackness all around her…but when she centered her eyes directly in front of her again, she found herself staring right at Dusk Rider. Their eyes met, and the two stared for several seconds. Dusk was only about five feet away.

“Just look at you.” Dusk said. Her voice was identical, of course, to Lazuli’s. “Pathetic.”

“Oh I see what this is…” Lazuli smirked. “Yeah, okay. I get it, I’ve abandoned my true roots, right? My whole life and everything I built it up to is being ruined all bec-“

Suddenly Dusk was right in front of her, and Lazuli felt a searing pain in her shoulder. She looked down, watching as the sharpened tail blade sank all the way in up to the base, blood pouring from the wound. “F-fucking shit!” Lazuli cried out, but Dusk wasn’t finished.

“I don’t care what you’re doing now. Just want you to know it’s not the right thing.” She started to twist her tail around, earning a shrill, high-pitched scream from Lazuli as it wrenched open the wound, her leg trembling and struggling to hold her.

Dusk kept her gaze fixated on her own eyes, staring down at Lazuli as she started to buckle, her legs bending as she was forced into a lying down position. “You’ve had worse pain than this.” Dusk yanked the blade out without warning, bringing her hoof back and slamming it into Laz’s face. She wheezed, clutching the gash in her shoulder.

“Y-you…fucking…bitch…” Lazuli growled. “You’re supposed to do that to other ponies.”

“Well you’re not me anymore now, are you?” Dusk asked, again stabbing her tail down. This time it came down right on Lazuli’s back, digging into her shoulder blades and wrenching one of her arms completely out of its socket. Another scream echoed through the unending darkness the two of them sat in.

Dusk snorted and yanked the blade out again. “Looks like I’m running out of time.” She said bluntly. “But remember this, because I’m not finished with you…”

And just like that, the scenery changed again. Lazuli felt the immense pain wash away completely, and her eyes slowly blinked as she found herself back in Starlight’s room. She could feel tears dripping down her cheeks, and her whole body was shaking. Her jaw ached, as well.

Fizzle stepped forward, already sensing that Lazuli was in a bad way. She put an arm around her, slowly starting to pull her into a sitting position. “Hey. Hey. Laz? Listen to me. Can you hear me?”

“Yeah I can fucking hear you. Get your hoof off me.”

Fizzle blinked and stepped back slightly, tilting her head. “Laz?”

“Shut-“ Lazuli took a deep breath. “Just…shut up a minute.” She started taking deep and slow breaths. Starlight, whose horn had only just begun to dim, watched with a mixture of intrigue and concern.

“Laz, are you okay?” Fizzle tried again.

“I’m…no. No, I don’t think I’m okay at all.” She tried to calm her shaking. “I…I need…water.”

Fizzle glanced at Starlight, who quickly levitated a glass over.

Lazuli took the water between her two hooves, gently taking a sip of it.

Then she spun around and hurled it at Starlight. The unicorn hadn’t been expecting it, so the glass hit her directly in the face and shattered, spilling water all over her. “What the FUCK is wrong with you?!” Lazuli yelled. Fizzle tried to step forward but the Dracony’s tail pressed into her chest, holding her back momentarily.

Starlight groaned, rubbing her face. Luckily, the glass hadn’t punctured her, nor had it broken her nose. “What was that for?!”

“I’m asking you a fucking question, half-baked scientist!” Laz was seething with rage, her nostrils flaring with each breath. “Was that supposed to be funny?! Or was it some kind of let’s-look-at-Dusk’s-deepest-fears-against-her-will shit?!”

“What are you talking about? You were only in a trance for about five seconds before you started crying and I ended the spell…”

“What was your spell supposed to do?!”

The unicorn fully straightened up, wiping water off of her face. “It was supposed to open up your thoughts so you could properly control your innate magical abilities…clearly it didn’t work.”

“You think?!” Lazuli sat back down, holding her head with her hooves.

“Hey. Laz. Calm down.” Fizzle sat down beside her, pushing past her tail and draping her front hoof over her shoulder. “It’s fine. She didn’t mean to do…whatever she did. Just calm down.”

“F-fucking…gods…” Lazuli rubbed her temples, gritting her teeth.

“Sshhh.” Fizzlepop gently ran her hoof through the Dracony’s mane to help calm her down. “Think about the field…think about the moon…”

Slowly, Lazuli’s breathing began to slow down, her chest rising and falling much slower.

“Good. Now…let’s go get you something to eat, okay? You need to relax. Untense your muscles, no one’s attacking you.”

Fizzle helped her friend up, and glanced at Starlight. She briefly mouthed the words ‘I’m sorry’ before heading out of the room with Lazuli in tow.

Making New Friends

Thock

Bwmp

Thock

Bwmp

Thock

Bwmp

The sound of a rubber ball hitting the wall and bouncing back to a tail, only to be tossed back into the wall was the only one audible in the bedroom.

“Fifteen…” Lazuli said to herself, bouncing the ball off her tail again.

Bwmp

Thock

“Sixteen…”

Bwmp

Thock

The door swung open, shocking Lazuli out of her stupor. Fizzle trotted into the room, panting lightly with sweat dripping from her fur.

“Geez, where’ve you been?” The Dracony knocked the ball off to the side, letting it idly roll.

“Running!” Fizzle breathed heavily, taking a sip from the water bottle attached to her chest, with a long tube running from it up to her mouth.

“Running…where?”

“Up and down the road between here and Sweet Apple Acres. One round trip is a kilometre, I did ten!”

“…cool.” Lazuli sighed and flopped back on her bed.

“What’s up your tail-end?”

“I dunno.”

“You…wanna talk about it?” Fizzle picked up a towel from her own bed and wiped her face off with it.

“…I…dunno.”

“…” Fizzle shrugged. “Alright, well I guess I should tell you, the friendship crew has been figuring out some kind of exercise for you.”

“…physical, I hope?”

“No, otherwise I wouldn’t have called them the friendship crew. I think it has something to do with making a friend…besides me.”

Lazuli snickered and wiggled back on the bed. “What, so that’s not enough now?”

“Yeah…I guess not.” Fizzlepop pushed open the door to the bathroom. “Anyway, I’ve gotta take a shower now, so I guess you should head to the meeting room.”

“Right. Yeah.”

As Fizzle closed the door behind her, Lazuli sighed and stood up. She cracked her joints, stretching out her muscles and opened the door to the room, trotting out into the hall. Not even five seconds after she stepped out, she bumped right into a blue unicorn.

“Oh. Sorry.” Lazuli began to walk past them, but the mare stopped her.

“Apologies, but…” Lazuli turned around as the unicorn spoke. She had a light blue coat with purple eyes and whitish mane with slight blue tints to it, and Laz could faintly see her cutie mark looked to be a wand with a twinkling blue sheet next to it…or something.

Realizing the unicorn hadn’t finished her sentence and was just blankly staring at her, she cleared her throat. “Yes…?”

“Oh, sorry. I’ve just- wow, I’ve never seen a pony like you before.”

“Er, right, so we haven’t met. I’m Lazuli.”

“Oh! Uh, right. I’m Trixie. Trixie Lulamoon. I’m still working on this…”

“Working on…what?”

“The whole friendship thing. I came on a bit too strong there, right?”

“…maybe a titch, yeah.”

Trixie nervously scuffed a hoof against the tile floor. “I uh…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have bothered you. I’ll be on my way.”

Lazuli watched her turn around and start walking in the direction she had been headed. She shrugged her shoulders, then headed to the meeting room.

As she pushed open the doors, she found that only Twilight, Starlight and Fluttershy were there – along with a weird looking lamp sitting on the table.

“Hi.” Lazuli greeted them all, trotting up to one of the chairs and sitting down beside Fluttershy, who glanced at her and then back at Twilight.

“Good morning!” Twilight said with a smile. “I’m glad you’re here so early, we wanted to talk to you before we have our daily meeting.”

“About uh…friendship stuff?”

“Well to put it lightly, yes.” Twilight nodded. “See, when Starlight first came here as my student, I made it one of her first assignments for her to meet new friends. I was…skeptical of her choice at first, but it worked out pretty well.”

Lazuli was only half listening, and in all honesty she was still slightly angry with Starlight, who spoke next. “So you’re basically getting the same assignment I did. You have to go out and…well…make a new friend!”

“Fizzlepop is a great friend for you, I can tell.” Twilight continued. “But she can’t be your only one.”

“I hate to cut you off, princess…” Lazuli frowned. “But uh…where did the lamp go?”

“Hrm? What lamp?”

“The lamp. The one on the table.”

“There wasn’t a lamp there.”

Lazuli blinked and looked between all three of them. “I…sorry, what? There was a lamp sitting there.”

“…oh…my…” Fluttershy whispered under her breath.

“What?”

The yellow Pegasus just shook her head with a small squeak.

“…okay. Well. Anyway…”

“Are you alright, Lazuli?” Twilight asked.

“I’m fine. So I have to find a new friend, that’s it?”

Twilight and Starlight nodded at the same time. “Yep!”

“Well, that’s not so difficult.” She stood up from her seat. “…also, why’s Fluttershy here? No offense to you.” She said quickly, not wanting to make the already sensitive Pegasus emotional.

“Oh, she just gets here early quite often.” Twilight smiled.

“Ah. Right.” Lazuli sighed and trotted towards the door. “Well, I’ll see you later princess.”

“See you, Lazuli!” Twilight called after her, and the door shut behind her.

As she walked out of the meeting room and into the hall, her ear twitched slightly. She felt her tail hike up a bit, raising the spaded end over her head instinctively, as if poising to strike. She stopped, and stood still where she was. “Okay, who’s there?”

She heard a deep chuckle, one that echoed heavily and felt like it bounced through her skull.

The voice was completely unknown to her, but something about it seemed familiar. “Oh, I’m sorry.” The voice said, quite obviously male. “But I couldn’t help but overhear your little conversation with Princess Twilight…”

A creature popped into existence in front of her. Lazuli really didn’t know what to describe it as. His head was like a donkey, with a sharp tooth sticking out of one side of his mouth. He had two mismatched horns atop his head, a long, snake-like body, and all sorts of parts – none of which fit together.

“Discord?” Lazuli raised an eyebrow. “I’m just assuming.”

“Ah, so my reputation precedes me!” He chuckled again. “It’s wonderful to meet you, I must say. I’ve heard so much about you from Celestia.”

“You talk to her now?”

“We’re friends, yes! Well, perhaps she wouldn’t call it that. But I do, and that’s what matters.”

“I don’t think that’s how it-“

Suddenly Discord’s paw appeared out of her shoulder, his whole body slowly revealing itself leaning on her back. “Now, besides all that.” He spoke as if he hadn’t just appeared out of thin air without even disappearing from the spot he had been in. When Lazuli looked at where he had been standing, nothing was there. “I couldn’t help but overhear that you’re in need of a new friend.”

“…uh huh.”

“Well. I heard that, and I thought to myself, who would make a good friend for a mare who has spent most of her life killing, running and hiding? I don’t think most ponies could…relate.”

“Do you have a point?”

“Well, most of the things I say don’t.” Discord hung upside down in the air, conjuring up a cloud to lie on to at least make it look like his mismatched wings weren’t somehow holding up his weight. “So take this with as much certainty as you would anything else I say.”

“I haven’t really spoken to you before, so…”

Discord snapped his fingers and the scenery changed. Both of them were teleported from the inside of the castle to the outside – but not the Ponyville castle. Lazuli found herself standing on the spire on top of the Canterlot palace. “Wh-what the fuck?!” She squeaked, her hooves barely balancing on the large metal pole.

“Now, you see…” Discord hovered next to her, chin resting on his paws. “This is a view I enjoy every so often. Canterlot is such a perfectly centered place, I must say. You can see all of Equestria from up here…oh, and be careful not to fall. The airspace around the castle is protected by an anti-flight spell at this time of day.”

“G-get me off of here!” Lazuli looked around, but using her tail, she slowly found her balance atop the pole.

“Not until I’ve shown you what you have to see.” Discord snapped his fingers again, and the cloud layer that masked the ground below moved. Sweet Faust, am I just talking to God right now? Lazuli thought to herself.

“Okay, it’s Equestria. So?”

“There are so many things in this world you’ve never known, ‘Lazuli’. You’ve likely been to any given place that I could point you to.” He grasped her shoulders, making her squeal slightly as her balance shifted. “You’ve travelled all of Equestria, but I guarantee you’ve never met anypony out there that you liked, have you?”

Discord snapped his fingers again, and now they were back on the ground, standing in front of the Ponyville castle. “So the point of my little talk here was to remind you that you’ve never liked anypony, and that you’re more afraid of heights than you realized.”

“…what?!”

“What, you thought I was going to give you some kind of deep speech about how there are hundreds of possible friends out there?” Discord chuckled. “Now what kind of being did you take me for?”

Lazuli growled at him and shook her head. “You…what- there wasn’t even a point to that!”

“I know. I told you, I don’t often have one. It’s just fun to see ponies like you realize they’re not as stalwart as they seem. Though you definitely seem like fun…” He ran a clawed finger under Lazuli’s chin, then shrugged and snapped his fingers again, abruptly wearing a horribly unfashionable shirt and sunglasses. “Well, I’m off to catch some sunlight on the coast. You have fun with your little…friendship quest.” One last time he snapped his claws, and vanished in a flash.

Lazuli was left standing there, a mixture of confused and angry. “…okay…then...”

The next morning, Fizzlepop was woken up quite early by the sound of Lazuli moving around. She opened her eyes, looking up to see the Dracony opening the window. Her fur was tied up in a ponytail, but a bit still stuck over her eye. She glanced at the clock – it was 4 AM.

“Where are you going?” Fizzle squinted a bit, the moonlight hitting her in the face and framing Lazuli’s form in a dark silhouette.

“I need to do something.”

“You can’t just leave, the whole reason you’re here is to hide, remember?”

“It’s been two months. The only ponies who know me now are the ones who want to.” She had a grave tone to her voice.

Fizzlepop sat up in bed. “Are you okay?”

“I just need to see something.”

“And it can’t wait until it’s daylight?”

“No, no it can’t.”

“…well…you know I can’t lie if they show up asking where you went, right?”

“You don’t need to.” Lazuli flared her wings out and leaned forward. “You don’t know.”

With that, she leaned all the way forward and flew out. Her tail slapped the window shut, and she flapped her wings softly to keep herself up as she flew off to the northeast.

Fizzle briefly cursed herself for not having wings.

Desperation

Author's Note

Warning: This chapter contains suicidal thoughts and actions.

Desperation

In truth, Lazuli had no idea where she was going.

Well, she did, in a way, know her exact destination. Her destination was nowhere, but it could have been anywhere. Her mind just willed her forward. Her wings flapped absently, more of a reflex than a conscious decision. She could have sworn she dozed off a few times, but the landscape below was ever-changing.

She stayed high above the treeline when the went over the Everfree, and flew for over an hour. Probably multiple, in fact, but she couldn’t properly keep track. She only stopped when the air started to get cold and she found herself staring at the snow-capped peaks of the Crystal mountains. They were too tall for her to fly to the top without passing out, and the air would be too cold if she went any further.

She landed on the ground, feeling the crunch of snow under her hooves. Although Draconies were cold-blooded, the average one wasn’t capable of surviving in such an environment.

For her, it was perfect.

Lazuli sat down in the snow, suppressing a shudder. It felt surprisingly good, especially as she gave her aching wings a rest against her back. Slowly, she closed her eyes. The wind softly blew around her, snowflakes pattering against her face and melting into cool water that dripped from her fur.

This is as good a place as any. She thought to herself, slowing her breathing and letting her muscles relax. With a dull fwump she flopped on her side in the snow, and fell asleep.

…

She opened her eyes to find herself standing in a meadow of grass and lilies, the moon’s luminance shimmering down on the surface of the plants and lighting the field in a way that Lazuli found far more pleasant than the sun’s blinding rays.

“You’ve been ignoring me.” She said out loud. There was no response.

She sighed and scuffed a hoof through the dirt. “I went to a lot of trouble for this, you know.”

“You’re insane.” Came a voice from behind her. She turned around to face Princess Luna, who was slowly walking towards her.

“Maybe.” Lazuli responded. “I’ll probably die.”

“Probably?! You’re lying in the snow, Lazuli. You are dying. All this, just to see me?”

“It’s a bit like that.”

Luna took a deep breath and came face-to-face with Lazuli, clearly having changed her size slightly to allow for more comfortable conversation. “Even a mare like you wouldn’t risk something like this if there were not a payoff. So, what is it you want?”

“I want you to stop hiding from me.” She moved slightly closer, now glaring Luna right in the eyes. “I want you to stop hiding anything from me.”

“Well that’s just unreasonable.”

Lazuli’s attitude changed from calm and almost depressed to angry and aggressive. She grabbed Luna by her chest-fur and reared up on her hind legs, dragging her face as close as it could be without telling her. “Listen to me. You’re not telling me something. You’re avoiding me for a reason. I’m having fucking mental breakdowns every other day and you’re not even writing back when I send you letters halfway through the night begging you to do something.”

“Let go of me.”

“It’s a dream, you’re not in any danger. Just like you never are. You don’t want to bother with ponies in the real world, but then you abandon them in their dreams too.”

Luna’s horn flashed blue and suddenly she and Lazuli were standing several feet apart. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what you want.”

“What do I want?! I sent you fifteen letters, princess. And I know you got them, because Celestia sent a letter back the one time I wrote to her.”

“I got no such thing.” Luna snorted.

“Don’t bullshit me!” Lazuli dashed forward with her tail raised, but Luna just knocked her back with a burst of magic. She started growling, her teeth grinding together. “You’re ignoring me! I helped you, I let you pull all the strings in my body but you don’t give a shit!”

Luna shook her head. “You are overreacting. If I always come into your dreams to soothe you like a child, how are you ever going to get past them?”

“I’m reliving my worst memories every day, Luna! You can’t act like you’re ignoring me for my own good, you don’t even write back!”

“I thought you couldn’t write.”

“I spend twenty minutes telling Twilight, or Fizzle, or Spike, or…whoever, telling them exactly what I want to tell you. They know more about me than you!”

“And why shouldn’t they? They’re your friends. I am a princess. And I have thousands of other dreams to watch over every night.”

Lazuli’s mind was in turmoil. She rubbed her temple with a hoof. “I…” She really wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing here – or if she was even in the right. “I gave up everything my life had, and you told me I’d be fine. You told me. You promised I would be okay. And yet, I feel worse than I’ve ever felt. I have half a mind to sit out there in the snow until my heart gives out, because it’d be better than this!”

“Lazuli, do you want the truth?” Luna stepped closer. “I don’t care about you. Not as any kind of personal relationship goes. As far as I am concerned, we are not friends.” She started to walk in circles around her. “Your problems mattered to me when you were under royal care and protection. Now, you are the responsibility of Twilight Sparkle and the rest of your new caretakers.”

“Responsibility?!” Lazuli’s eyes narrowed. “That’s all I am?! I’m a thing? Something to get pawned off to another pony time after time until they’re sick of me and throw me out on the streets again?!”

Luna briefly paused, her eyes darting to the floor. “When you put it that way…” She looked back up and met Lazuli’s enraged gaze. “Yes. From a professional standpoint, you are a tool.”

“I’m a pony, for Faust’s sake!”

“You are a mentally deranged pony.”

“You haven’t helped!”

“There is nothing to be done. I do feel sorry for you, but only on the most basic of levels. I have seen ponies like you hundreds of times before, and the best way to deal with them is…let them fade away.”

Lazuli felt like she had been punched in the chest. Her heart physically ached, although it was only a dream. She slumped down, falling to one knee. She felt Luna’s hoof on her shoulder.

“Do not feel betrayed, Lazuli. This is simply something I can no longer pay my full attention to…or any of my attention, really.” She noted that the Dracony was shivering. “Besides. You have friends now – and while I may have put it a bit harshly before, you are truly a friend in their eyes, I believe. Fizzlepop has taken a liking to you.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Luna pulled her hoof back. “Hrmph. Well I understand. Enjoy your journey back, should you choose to make it.”

“Enjoy your journey to Tartarus when that life of yours finally runs out…”

Lazuli’s vision faded to black.

It came back with a mixture of pain and anger. Her eyes shot open, her body jolting out of its half-frostbitten state and standing straight up. Half of her body felt ready to break if she touched it. One of her wings was blatantly frozen, but a few quick flaps shook off some of the ice.

She didn’t say anything – what could she say? She had gotten the answer she wanted, and it was just about how she expected it. Her wings began to flap, her aching joints creaking as she started to dash forward, her legs pounding through the snow before her body finally lifted off the ground.

She didn’t know what she was doing. Half of her was screaming to go home. To talk to Fizzlepop, to vent, to cry. But she had done that already. Another part of her was saying to abandon it all. Take your suit and run. Go back to her camp – or whatever was left of it – and start again.

But there was a small sliver of her that was in control now. The sliver that willed her body to turn itself straight upwards, wings beating painfully to the point that she felt like she was on fire all over. Her eyes stared at the cloud layer above, her teeth gritting painfully together. The cold was getting worse – to the point that she felt her jaws lock up, her teeth no longer able to separate as the saliva froze. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but they never made it off her face. They just froze in place, hardening to her fur.

The higher she went, the larger that sliver of herself became. Her wings were starting to lock up, her flapping becoming more erratic and wild. They started to crust over with fresh ice, her lungs heaving and inhaling air that was so light she couldn’t even gain lift in it. Her body was in the cloud layer now. The freezing, stinging mist accumulated in the clouds themselves clung to her and stabbed into her flesh like pins, and she felt her wings die…

And suddenly, the part of her that was willing her to do this vanished.

She realized how idiotic this was. She was endangering her own life, possibly even willingly ending it, simply because she was angry at a princess for not talking to her.

No…she thought to herself as her wings stopped flapping and her upward momentum succumbed to gravity’s embrace. It was more than that. It was everything. Her whole life had been a waste. Her existence had only served to cause pain, both on those deserving and undeserving. She hadn’t lived a single day of her life feeling like she was truly free. Even in Ponyville, she was shackled.

Her body plummeted down far faster than it had ascended. Already she dropped through the cloud layer, her eyes opening. She saw the shimmering, reflective surface of her own tears floating in the air above her, and faintly, in its reflection – and soon by turning her head, with her own eyes – the Crystal Empire. Its tall, glorious spire rose above everything else, a little pocket of warmth and happiness nestled in a cold, frigid north.

She smiled softly, her wings folding completely to her sides. She didn’t even know why she had bothered talking to Luna. It just confirmed what she had already known.

She relaxed all of her muscles, although they still ached. Her eyes slowly rolled shut. If there was an afterlife, she knew she wasn’t going to see it. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to.

She could swear she momentarily felt the surface of the snow on her back. Then, a quick, fleeting moment of blinding, agonizing pain.

And then nothing.

A New Start

Lazuli didn’t know where she was.

Yes I do. She corrected herself.

She could tell from the cold against her back. The wind whipping her mane up and down. The snow slowly covering her already pure white body and making it almost completely impossible to see.

She wasn’t alive. Some part of her was telling her that. She didn’t know which part, but she knew it was wrong.

She was in agonizing pain. Her wings were both crumpled beneath her, and every attempt to move any part of her body was met with a burning agony that she had never felt the likes of before. She couldn’t move anything below her wings, and she imagined if she could, it would just hurt even more. Even her attempts to move her jaw brought pain – mainly because her teeth were still frozen together.

The tips of her ears were numb. Her wingtips were as well. Her nose was on the verge of reaching that point too, not that she could move it.

Why did I pick a snowy place…tears attempted to roll down her face, but were stopped by the snow covering half of it, and they froze to add to the buildup. Fuck…sweet fucking Celestia, it burns…

She had no other knowledge except pain. She couldn’t even figure out another word to describe what she was feeling, because no others fit it properly. She wanted to black out, constantly, and tried even closing her eyes and forcing herself to, but she couldn’t. Every time she tried, something moved, and a new wave of agony racked through her like molten lava coursing through every blood vessel in her body.

At some point she stopped paying attention. Her mind tried to drift to other places, but was yanked back, so she just laid there, feeling snow piling on top of her…one flake at a time…

Something grabbed hold of her mane and yanked her body a full 90 degrees, a truly agonizing – for she realized her use of the word before was completely irrelevant compared to this – wave of fresh pain rolling through her. her teeth came free of their frozen imprisonment, her mouth opening wide as a horrified, rippling scream echoed out into the vast, empty expanse of white snow.

She faintly saw a purple glow encase her vision, before she was finally allowed to pass out.

Shining Armour was the first one to enter the room for almost three hours. He had seen her in the operating room – he knew she had been there for over twelve hours or more. He still didn’t want to believe what was lying on the bed, but he had to.

Never in his most painful dreams had he imagined he would see Dusk Rider like this. A broken mare. Lying on a hospital bed, both hind legs wrapped in casts, her body from the shoulders down put in similar immobile material, her head wrapped with a bandage that was already stained red. That was just the major parts. Her wings were both spread out at her sides, but they looked more like badly shredded leaves than the majestic blue fans they had once been. Rips and tears ran through their surface, the bones almost all broken entirely. One of her front legs – her right one – was also wrapped, but not broken. Her tail, which was arguably the most unique part about her, was in a cast up to its tip, and hanging off the bed in its own small sling.

“Sweet Celestia…” He muttered to himself as he shut the door behind him. “Is she…okay?” He asked the doctor, who was standing nearby. The blue unicorn had a dazzling silver mane and tired green eyes.

“She’s stable.” He replied. “But…I’d hesitate to call it ‘okay’. She’s sustained heavy damage to her spine. And…well…everything else.”

“Do you have any idea how this happened? Was she shot down by sentries? Attacked by wolves?”

“From what we can tell, this was…” The doctor cleared his throat. “…self-induced.”

Shining Armour took a moment to process the information. “I…really? You mean…she was…”

“I won’t make any official statements on it, but that is what it looks like.”

“…I see. Well…thank you. Is it possible that you might leave us for just a few minutes…?

“Of course. Just be careful not to move her.” The doctor opened the door with his magic, stepped out, and shut it behind him.

The white unicorn stallion slowly plodded up to the bed, taking a seat next to it. He got a closer look at her face – she looked peaceful. Her eyes were closed, her mouth very slightly open. He could only imagine how must pain she must have been in, though.

“N…nnhg…”

She seemed almost to respond to his entrance, her eyelids lifting only a fraction of an inch. “Who…s…” She coughed a bit, her body attempting to jerk with the movement, but unable to do so. “Where….”

Shining spoke gently and softly. “Dusk. You’re in the Crystal Empire.”

“Crys…nooo…” The Dracony weakly groaned, her voice so soft he had to turn his ear to her just to hear it. “That…’s…where…Shini…is…”

“Dusk…”

“’m not…Dusk…”

Shining blinked and cleared his throat. “Uh, right…Lazuli. You’re in the hospital. You fell while you were flying.”

Lazuli’s face twisted into a grimace. “F…fuck…rrgh…” She tried to shift, but the only thing she could really move was her left hoof, and even that was weak. “W…wa…ter…”

Shining quickly picked up a glass from the table and levitated it to Lazuli’s lips. The Dracony struggled to even sip it, but managed to take a mouthful and swallow. Her face twisted again as her muscles dragged it down.

Slowly the mare’s eyes opened wider, though they didn’t open more than halfway. She was almost immediately squinting in the harsh light of the hospital room, and her eyes took several minutes to adjust. Shining remained silent during that time, until her eyes – she couldn’t move her neck – trained on him.

“…Shining…” She said slowly, her voice still rough and quiet.

“Yeah, that’s me.” He gave her his warmest smile, gently resting his hooves on the edge of the bed. “Can you see?”

“Yeah…I see…” She coughed a bit, gritting her teeth and inhaling sharply at the pain it sent through her. “One…pile of…shit…”

Shining winced, but didn’t directly reply. “Dusk- er- Lazuli. I know you’re mad at me, I know you don’t want to talk to me, that’s fine. But I need you to tell me…you crashed, right? You were flying and you crashed.”

“Leave me…alone…”

“Lazuli, this is important.”

“Just…go away…”

“Please. I need to make sure you didn’t do something that all of us would-“

“It…was…on…purpose.”

The unicorn drew in a deep breath. “You…don’t mean that, right? You’re joking.”

“Fuck…yourself…”

“Lazuli, you’re not serious, are you?”

He got no response. Lazuli just stared at the wall opposite her. Her eyes were barely open.

“Lazuli.” He waited, but she didn’t respond at all. “Lazuli!”

The doctor poked his head back in. “I think it’s best if you leave her be for now, sir…”

“Just…one more minute.” Shining nodded at the doctor, who just sighed and shut the door again. “Lazuli. Dusk. Whatever you want to call yourself right now.” He resisted the urge to grab hold of her hoof. “Please. I want you to realize that you don’t have to feel this way. You have ponies that care about you. Now more than ever.”

Again, there was no response. He simply stood up, sighing and shaking his head. “I’ll be here every day you know.

“…mhm.”

“Every day.”

Lazuli forced as much of a nod as she could manage.

“Every day until the day you’re well enough to run out of here and abandon us. But we’re not going to kick you out.”

“Yeah…” Lazuli forced a smirk. “You…take the high road…on this one.” She growled and clenched her jaw, her whole body shuddering with a wave of fresh fire. “What a good…little…fucking…colt…”

Shining opened the door and stepped out. He glanced over his shoulder at Lazuli, whose face twitched every few seconds as her wounds and various broken bones throbbed.

“Er, prince Shining Armour.” The doctor shut the door slowly, and Shining turned to face him with a bit of a frown.

“Yes?” He cleared his throat.

“Well…” The unicorn lifted his clipboard and flipped through a few notes. “Based on Ms…Cutter’s condition, she will take months to recover. It will be at least a month before she’ll be able to even think about walking, and…even then…”

The doctor watched Shining’s expression remain unchanged, and continued. “Well…she’ll need someone to be there. We’ve already sent word to Ponyville. The Dracony’s caretakers-“

“Friends.” Shining said with a much deeper tone.

“…e-er…right…her friends…are already on their way.”

“And who does this include?”

“Well…Starlight Glimmer, and I believe a erm…Fizzlepop Berrytwist?”

“Not the others?”

“Princess Twilight and her friends said it was best if they didn’t come. I’m not sure why.”

Shining nodded slowly. “Right…anything else?”

“Her condition is uncertain right now. I can’t ask her to walk yet, it would be truly cruel. However…I need to know the extent of the damage. Based on the operation alone I can assume her spinal cord is damaged below the wings, but…if that is the case, her hind legs are paralyzed.”

“…and when can we be sure?”

“Like I said. At least a month.”

“Alright. Well I want to make something very clear first. You are to treat this mare with as much dignity and respect as any other pony, do you understand me? No matter how she reacts to it.”

“Of course, sir.” The doctor bowed his head.

Satisfied, Shining Armour turned away and began to walk down the hall, heading back to the throne room.

Lazuli hadn’t known true boredom until now.

Not an ounce of excitement could come from a hospital room. That wasn’t something she had been told before – just what she decided based on the two days she had spent here already. It was almost humiliating, on top of the horrible boredom. Her mind had nothing to think about anymore, she had run through everything she could.

She had to be spoon-fed by a nurse. That was the humiliating part. She obviously wasn’t rude to her – the unicorn was a sweet and kind mare, she had nothing bad to say about her. But still, she couldn’t handle the idea of having to be fed, completely unable to move any part of herself to allow her to even feed her own body.

When Fizzlepop arrived, it was some reprieve. Starlight seemed to have come more for emotional support than actual talking, since for the entire first visit she only said a few words. Fizzle went through all kinds of emotions within the first few minutes. Relief came first, the unicorn having to stop herself from hugging the immobile Dracony. Next came anger, a brief scolding being delivered to Lazuli, lecturing her about her carelessness – she hadn’t been told the full truth. After that, it was mainly calm. The two talked for a bit…but then that was over. Two hours of talking with her friend, and then another twenty-two of boredom.

The days ticked by like a clock that had no gears. That was what it felt like, anyway. The best she had was eventually being allowed to use both hooves, though she still couldn’t feed herself. It allowed her to read, though.

The first month felt like an eternity. She felt like she had spent thirty years in that bed. The daily visits from Starlight and Fizzle, who both had rented out an apartment to stay in the Crystal Empire while she got better, were her only comfort. This was hundreds of thousands of times worse than what she had experienced in the Canterlot dungeon. It would probably take her months of therapy just to be able to walk – let alone build her muscles back properly.

Of course, that was when she realized the full extent of what had happened to her.

It was her first day of attempting to walk. Of attempting to move anything more than her front legs, really. The doctors had commanded it, and she was more than happy to try. She didn’t have any bandages on her head or front hooves anymore, and the neck brace had been carefully removed. Her whole back end, however, was still tightly braced and held in place. To allow proper movement the doctors had rigged up an elaborate set of metal and plastic braces that still kept her spine from moving too much, since its bones were still fragile, but still allowed her to walk. She looked like a creature that had eaten some kind of metal skeleton and failed to shit it out properly.

Still, it was necessary, she supposed. She was just itching to move. As she was helped off of the bed with a bit of magic, she rested her front hooves on the floor, using the nurse’s magic to support herself. She was faintly aware that she couldn’t feel her tail.

“Alright, now I need you to try and take a step forward, Lazuli.” Her doctor said softly. She breathed heavily, her front leg already shaking as she lifted the right one and brought it forward. “Good. Now…try moving your hind leg.”

Lazuli’s brain sent the signals, but something wasn’t right. While her front legs and everything above the base of her wings were fine, she couldn’t move her hind legs even a bit. Not an inch. She couldn’t even feel if they were touching the ground.

She tried not to panic. “I…I can’t feel…I can’t feel my hind leg, doc.”

“Both?”

“Y-yeah, are…are they even on the ground?”

“They are. Try moving them. At least think about it. I need to see.”

She tried again to move them, but the limbs didn’t even twitch.

“…hm…” The doctor tapped his chin with a pen, and started scribbling down notes.

“Wh-what the fuck’s wrong with my legs…?”

“Calm down, Lazuli. It’s only a small problem. I’m sure we can-“

“I can’t feel my fucking legs and you’re telling me to calm down?! How do I know you didn’t cut them off?!” She started panicking, her breath accelerating to dangerous levels.

“Just look underneath you Lazuli- you need to calm down, you’re breathing far too heavily.”

Lazuli staggered backwards, but her body wasn’t used to holding her weight anymore. It wasn’t even used to moving. The nurse barely managed to catch her before she hurt herself, and she felt a needle jab into her foreleg. “Y-you- you- what happened to me?! You crazy bunch of…bunch…of…I…have…y…” Her eyes rolled back slightly and she fell limp in the nurse’s grip. As she fell into a peaceful slumber, the mare gently rested her body back on the bed, slowly dismantling the braces and replacing them with tight bandages that prevented excessive movement but still allowed a certain amount.

“We may need to…” The nurse began.

“I know.” The doctor sighed, wiping his glasses against his lab coat. “…put her on the schedule. She’ll need an operation for sure…”

“Are you sure she can handle that without us telling her first? She’s clearly…distraught.”

“We’re only going to attempt to repair the nerve endings, Velvet.” The doctor placed the clipboard on the bedside table. “If that fails, we’ll consider the next step.”

The nurse glanced at Lazuli with an expression that held nothing but pity. “The poor thing…”

“Mmhm. Tragic, really.” The doctor said absentmindedly, sliding the clipboard into the slot on the door and opening it. “Come on. We need to make sure the operating room is prepped.”

“Yes, doctor.” The nurse stopped in the doorway, staring back at Lazuli’s sleeping form…before she followed her superior and shut the door behind her.

Two months.

It was an abrupt time change, but Lazuli’s memories were so boggled that she could only remember the events three months after her first attempt to walk.

She had spent probably a total of several days in the operating room but nothing worked. They couldn’t make her regain feeling in her legs, and she refused to let them amputate.

Her mental condition deteriorated with its physical counterpart. While the hospital staff did what they could to keep her active, having her do basic exercises in bed, getting her out of bed and putting her hind legs on a sort of pair of training wheels to at least allow her to move…it didn’t work.

Fizzlepop and Starlight had left two days ago. Both of them had things to do, and they couldn’t stay in the Crystal Empire forever. Lazuli understood, but she hadn’t said anything when they came in to tell her.

She wished she had. Now she found herself sitting on the edge of the bed – or, well, hanging off the edge of the bed, for she couldn’t bring herself to call it sitting when she had no control over where her legs went – and staring at the wall.

The door opened. Lazuli slowly looked up. Her eyes weren’t even blue anymore – they were more of a silvery grey that carried only the faintest hints of bluish light. Her mane was a mess and was rarely styled.

“Hey…” The nurse walked in. Bless her, Lazuli thought to herself. I would’ve given up trying to take care of me by now.

Velvet Rose was a pretty mare, albeit a bit on the heavy side. Her fur was white, perhaps closer to grey, and her mane was a light minty green.

“…hey.” Lazuli sighed.

“How’re you doing today, champ?” She trotted in slowly, carrying a tray with food in front of her.

“I’m…” Lazuli had lost her will to keep herself from crying, too. She was pretty sure she was constantly dehydrated from how many tears she shed. “It’s whatever.” She shook her head and laid back down in the bed. She had to physically lift her hind legs just to swing them over and lie down.

“I heard your friends left.” Velvet said quietly, placing the tray on the larger table that rolled up from the base of the bed, right up to Lazuli’s chest. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. They had things to do…you can’t keep living somewhere just to see your crippled friend.”

“Oh, come now...” Velvet picked up a hairbrush with her magic and started to fix Lazuli’s hair, brushing it so it slightly covered her left eye. “Don’t be like that, you’re gonna make an old unicorn cry.”

Lazuli lifted the fork to her mouth to eat. At least she was trusted with solids now, though she couldn’t exactly place what kinds of vegetables were in here – she wasn’t even looking at it. “I’m sorry.”

“No no, don’t be sorry.” Velvet put the hairbrush down and sat down in the chair beside the bed. “It’s not your fault.”

Lazuli kept eating slowly, the quiet chewing being the only sound in the room for a few minutes. “…Velvet?” They were on a first name basis at this point, but they were like that from the beginning.

“Yeah?”

“…do you think…I’ll ever be able to be…normal?”

“Oh, don’t say things like that…” The nurse leaned in and gently nuzzled Lazuli’s cheek. “You’re going to be fine. Maybe you can’t walk like everypony else, but…you will be fine.”

Lazuli’s next inhale was shaky. She wiped her eye with a hoof. “I’m…I’m such a fucking idiot…”

“Stop talking like that.” Velvet frowned. “You’re one of the bravest patients I’ve ever met. Don’t think I haven’t been told everything…”

The Dracony turned her head to Velvet. “So…you know me, then.”

“Better than a lot of ponies, I’d say.” She smiled warmly, though her eyes proclaimed tiredness. “Oh, by the way. Your friends wrote you a letter.” Her horn lit up in its shimmering blue fashion and levitated over an envelope.

“…oh. Thank you.” Lazuli took it.

“Want some time alone?” Velvet asked.

“I…maybe just a few minutes, yeah.”

Velvet nodded and stood up, slowly opening the door and stepping out, shutting it softly behind her.

Lazuli’s first instinct was to open it with her tail, but she couldn’t do that, so she used her teeth and pulled out the letter.

Lazuli,

Already she was surprised. She didn’t know Fizzle wrote so beautifully.

We know how you’re feeling. Starlight and I are extremely sorry that we couldn’t stay longer. If it were possible, we’d stay until you were well enough to come home with us…but we couldn’t. I’m sorry, we both are.

But you need to get better. I know how you were when we were there, and I doubt it would get much better without us. You need to do your best to rest up and recover. You can’t come back if you don’t…maybe if you get well enough we can have you moved to the Ponyville hospital, but that’s only if you get well enough.

Understand that, Laz? Please don’t give up. Please. Believe it or not, everyone here is worried for you. Well, I don’t know if Rainbow Dash is…but everyone else I know for a fact. Their daily meetings often involve talking about you.

So please, don’t give up. Do what the doctors tell you and get better. For me, at least.

Your friend,

Fizzlepop.

Lazuli felt a lump forming in her throat again. She took a few deep, shuddering breaths, and gently hugged the letter against her chest. Tears dripped down her cheeks as she laid there, embracing an inanimate object that held no thoughts or feelings…and yet it made her feel so much better.

She stayed like that for a few minutes, hugging the sheet of paper to herself like it was a prized teddy bear. She heard the door open…

But it wasn’t Velvet who came in. Instead, she saw the blank expression of Princess Cadence standing there, shutting the door behind her.

“…hi.” Normally, Lazuli might have said something like ‘what do you want?’ or ‘go away,’ but she couldn’t bring herself to.

Cadence, surprisingly, formed a smile across her lips. “Hi there.”

“…what is it you want?” Lazuli asked, gently folding the letter and placing it on the table. “To tell me I’m an idiot? Tell me I did something stupid and I’m a reckless dumbass?” She smiled back.

“Well…no.” Cadence shook her head. “What you did was foolish, yes, but I’d never call you an idiot for it.”

“That’s why it took you three months to talk to me?”

“Well…I wanted to make sure you were okay before I tried.” She sat down next to the bed.

Lazuli just sighed. “Alright. What do you want, then?”

“I don’t want anything, Lazuli.” Cadence frowned. “Look. Maybe I was a bit harsh with you the last time we met. But you have to understand what it looked like from my perspective…”

“Yeah, I know. Hiring a criminal to kill a noble and basically give her freedom…”

“…yeah.” Cadence paused for a minute. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you…you know…feel unwanted. Now that I know more about Tempest, I’m…actually really glad you got rid of him.”

“Makes two of us.” Lazuli smiled softly, turning her head to face Cadence properly.

The princess of love grimaced a bit as she saw the state of the Dracony. Her fur was a bit messy, but underneath, she could tell Lazuli was not healthy. She was naturally athletic, so this was like torture for her, and her hind legs were bent at somewhat odd angles simply because she couldn’t feel them. “…Lazuli…you’ve done a lot of bad things. I can’t say that isn’t true.” She shook her head. “But this…you nearly died.”

“Yeah. Kind of the point.”

“Lazuli.” Cadence gently put her hoof on the Dracony’s. “What would your parents think, if they were still here?”

Lazuli’s body – or at least the parts of it that could move – tensed up. Her eyes shot up to glare into Cadence’s, but the alicorn gently lit up her horn and the Dracony felt almost unable to be angry. “My…parents…would probably have done…” She cleared her throat. “D-done the same thing, really.”

“No, no they wouldn’t have.” Cadence said with a certainty that had Lazuli almost fuming. “Do you want to know how I know that?”

“Now you’re gonna tell me some bullshit story about how you used to know them, or something.”

The pink princess shook her head. “Not them. But I knew your brother.”

“Go fuck yourself. He’s dead. Don’t even try to use this manipulative crap on me.”

“He wasn’t dead the last time I saw him.”

“And when was that, miss immortal alicorn?”

“Two years ago.”

Again, Lazuli was shocked into silence. Her eyes continued to stare into Cadence’s, but the princess showed no sign of lying at all. “You…you’re…this is just cruel. You came here to torture me. Go away.”

“I’m not lying, Lazuli. I’m telling you that your family wouldn’t have ever supported this. You have a chance at getting a new life. There are going to be problems, and some ponies you think are friends might turn out to be against you, or just not care. But you need to get past that.”

“Y-you’re…you’re just glossing over the fact that you saw my brother two years ago.”

“Well, I did.”

“Black and red mane?”

“Mhm.”

“Red eyes?”

“Yes.”

“…I…but…”

Cadence placed her hoof on Lazuli’s shoulder. “He’s alive. But he took a path that’s way different from yours. For one, he was conscripted into the Guard when he was taken away…”

“The…b-but…how did I never…”

“He became a member of the Honour Guard four years ago. When we came to the Crystal Empire he was one of a few selected guards to protect us while everything was settled.”

“Where…where is…”

“I don’t know where he is. In fact, nopony does.” She shook her head. “He took the same path as you in one way. He left the guard. We haven’t had a clue where he is for almost a year now.”

Lazuli took in the information and let it process, then suddenly grabbed Cadence by her shoulders and dragged her closer. “Why the fuck did you even mention it if you don’t know where he is?! Why would you do that?!”

Cadence allowed the Dracony to yell, then sighed.

“Because it gives you something to live for.”

Lazuli’s grip was tight, but it loosened slightly at the alicorn’s remark. “Y-you…” She let go of Cadence, her hooves shaking. “Y-you’re…not kidding me, right? This…h-he…he’s really alive?”

“As alive as I can call a pony.” Cadence nodded.

“I…I have to find him.”

“Well you can’t do that if you keep trying to end your own life.”

“…I…” Lazuli grabbed both of Cadence’s hooves. “I’m sorry.”

The pink alicorn slowly leaned down, pressing her horn to Lazuli’s forehead. “Shhhh. It’s okay. Just calm down and rest, now. You need to recover before you can go looking for anything…”

“But…my legs…”

“We have doctors working on a solution. You’ll never walk normally again, that much is obvious, but…hopefully we can at least make you properly mobile.”

“…alright.”

“That’s it?”

“I really don’t know what to say…I…I don’t deserve all this.”

“My husband used to have a liking for you.” Cadence smiled warmly. “If that doesn’t make you a good pony in my book, I don’t know what will. It makes you worth it.”

Lazuli exhaled slowly, looking up and meeting Cadence’s eyes. “…thank you. Really. I mean it.”

“It’s alright.” Cadence gently wrapped her arms around the Dracony, giving her a tight but soft squeeze. “I’ll be around. I can’t visit you in your dreams of course…but if you need me, just ask.”

“I…r-really appreciate it.” Lazuli’s eyes watered slightly as she embraced the princess. “And I’m sorry. For…everything.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Cadence slowly pulled away and sighed. “But promise me you’ll do what the doctors say, okay? Even if it’s not comfortable.”

“I’ll do anything to get me off this bed.”

The princess laughed, her gentle giggle sounding like crystal bells in the wind. “Good. I’ll see you soon, Lazuli.” She stood up, her horn glowing and opening the door.

She stepped out, and Lazuli gently laid her head back. When the door closed, she took a heavy breath. I’m not letting myself die here…

Recovery

“The operation is very delicate.” The doctor’s voice was soft and withheld in the small, stark white hospital room. He sat gently upon a stool next to Lazuli’s bed. “I won’t lie to you and say we can work miracles with it, but…” He sighed. “We’ve actually never attempted something like this with something so…major. Reconnecting nerve endings in a wingtip or one tiny part of the skin or something is almost easier than doing it on such a large scale.”

“So…” Lazuli frowned. “You’re saying something could go wrong?”

“Well, the operative word is could. It’s very unlikely that it will make it any worse than it already is. Worst case scenario, you just have an extra few scars and not much to show for it.”

Lazuli tapped her hoof idly against her thigh – which she couldn’t feel. “Well…I’m willing to try anything.”

“There is something I should tell you though.” The doctor cleared his throat. “This is a very, very sensitive operation. And when I say that, I don’t mean it lightly. It is…extremely difficult.” He scratched the back of his head with a hoof. “And as I’ve said, we have never attempted it on this scale. So…I need you to be sure.”

“I’m sure.”

“Your answer was awfully fast.”

“Doc, I’ve been here for months, I just want out. One way or another.”

The unicorn adjusted his glasses with a concerned expression. “Very well then. In that case, you’re scheduled for surgery tomorrow. I suggest you get some rest. And try not to eat too much. I’ll send the insurance papers to the Palace, since you’re…er…not covered.”

“Wh- oh, uh…right.”

The doctor stood next to her for a second, then sighed and trotted out of the room.

Lazuli laid her head back on her pillow, staring half at the ceiling and half at the wall. Seeing nothing else to do, she slowly closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off into sleep.

When she opened her eyes, she knew she wasn’t awake. Mainly because she consciously felt her hind hooves moving under the bedsheets, and was able to swing herself around and stand up. It didn’t feel strange, and she was certain she hadn’t just been out for surgery and forgot about it.

Of course, it was also made obvious by the fact that Dusk Rider was standing in the corner of the room, forehooves crossed and her tail blade scraping along the ground. “You can’t even kill yourself right.”

“It took you long enough to see me.”

“Well it looks like tonight might be our last time together.”

“…and how do you figure that?”

Dusk slowly stepped forward, her blade slashing the curtains of the room open. It was pitch black outside. “You’re either going to get healed during surgery or stay the same way you are. Either way you’re leaving the hospital. And then we both know you’re not going back to Ponyville.”

“Well I’m not going to have an option besides going back if I can’t walk.”

“No, we know each other.” Dusk stopped in front of Lazuli. “You want to find Topaz, right? Well, I don’t.”

“You’re acting like I’m stupid.” Lazuli grimaced. “You want to find him too. You just act tough.”

“You created me.” Dusk stepped forward, backing Laz into the wall. “You used me as a shield. You made me to hide yourself from the mare you didn’t want to be. To protect yourself from feeling anything. So that’s what I am.”

“You’re surprisingly self-aware for a shield.”

Dusk snorted and turned around, her tail whipping past Lazuli’s face and cutting just a few hairs off the tip of her nose. “I could kill you.” She walked to the other side of the room, turning and staring at her counterpart. “If I did, you know what would happen.”

“I wake up crying and you stay in whatever part of my ass you’ve gone to?”

The assassin gritted her teeth. “No.” She flicked her tail gently from side to side. “I get our body back.”

“So do it, then.”

“…” Dusk’s eye twitched. “Just like that?”

“Yeah. You want to take control so badly, go ahead.”

“…you…” Her mirror image shook her head. “It’s not that simple.”

“You just said it was. You kill me and you win.”

Dusk let a small smirk cross her face, the walls of the hospital room slowly folding into the ground. The tiles beneath their hooves turned to dirt, and they found themselves standing in an endless expanse of dark red dirt and dust lit softly by moonlight. Both of their manes fluttered in the gentle wind. “It’s not that easy.” She repeated herself, but her voice was behind her ‘better’ self.

Lazuli’s eyes went wide and she tried to move out of the way, but even with her legs working she didn’t have the speed to outpace what she used to be. Dusk swung her tail down, the sharpened blade hitting Lazuli’s flesh like a hot iron rod. She howled in agony, her scream echoing through the vast swathe of nothingness as Dusk dug her blade right between Laz’s wings, the painful crackling and snapping sounds combined with the real, physical agony making Lazuli feel sick to her stomach.

Her hind legs slumped behind her, blood pouring out of her back. She could no longer feel her hindquarters – again, but now there were no painkillers to save her from the pain of the crippling wound itself.

“There.” Dusk brought her hoof down on Lazuli’s head, pushing her cheek into the dirt. “Now it’s more realistic, isn’t it?”

“G-ggh…rrgh…” Lazuli tried to speak. Her words came out as painful sputters, her teeth grinding together.

“What’s wrong, Laz? Can’t handle a bit of back pain?” Dusk ground her hoof down harder, pushing her counterpart’s face further into the dust. “Here, let me help you.”

Dusk brought her tail down to the ground and scooped up a pile of dust, flicking it through the air towards Lazuli’s wound. The weaker Dracony howled again, her front hooves clawing at the ground and her eyes welling up with fresh tears that dripped down, soaking the dry earth beneath them. “S-…s…sto…p…” She wheezed, her teeth clenched to tightly that her jaw felt ready to snap.

The assassin on top of her just laughed. “This is why it wasn’t as easy as killing you. If I kill you while you’re still defiant,” She lifted her hoof off and began circling the crippled mare. “You’ll just wake up a little unsure of yourself.” Lazuli felt the cold, blood-soaked blade press against her chin. “But if I do it while you’re begging for mercy…”

“Y-you…b-…bitch…” Lazuli managed to sputter.

Dusk raised an eyebrow. “Pfft.” She pulled the blade away. It was hard to tell if she had cut Lazuli’s chin or just smeared blood on it. “Doesn’t matter to me. I can do this all night.”

“I’m…” Lazuli placed her front hooves on the ground, trying to pull herself up, but a horrifying CRACK sent a wave of fresh hellfire through her. “FUCK!” She wailed, her body slumping back down. She wheezed and panted through locked jaws.

“I didn’t hear you.” Dusk brought up one of her hind legs and slammed it down on Lazuli’s wound, a few more sickening pops and crackles coming from her spine. “What was that again?”

Another blood-curdling shriek echoed through the wasteland that the two were standing in, but even if this weren’t a dream, nopony would hear it.

“Yeah, that’s it. I know you’ve got a lot of emotions pent up.” Dusk snickered. “Just let them all out…” She ground her hoof up and down Lazuli’s spine, the weaker mare sobbing and howling in pure, unbridled agony. She scratched at the ground, tearing up dirt as a stream of tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped steadily onto the ground below her.

“God, you scream like a bitch.” Dusk remarked, and took her hoof away.

Lazuli panted and gasped through her teeth, her eyes tightly shut and her hooves shaking as she attempted to clench up all of her muscles to reduce the pain. “Now…” Her assassin counterpart purred, her tail forcing Lazuli to lift her head and look her in the eye. “What do you have to say…?”

“P-please…s…s-s…” Lazuli stammered. “S-stop…”

“Aww…you poor thing…” Dusk frowned in a way that was wholly insincere. “I’d almost feel sorry for you if you weren’t such a pathetic attempt at mimicking me…”

Lazuli sobbed and wheezed, her breaths coming in and out in rapid, pained gasps. She wanted it to be over, but she didn’t want to be over herself. She glanced around frantically for something to help herself, but there was nothing. Just dirt, small pebbles and more dirt.

But out of the corner of her eye, there was something else. She couldn’t turn her head far enough to see it completely, but she recognized the familiar flowing mane that glimmered like the stars above…

She felt nothing but dread. Luna had come to watch her die. That was fine. She gritted her teeth painfully and let more tears drip onto the ground beneath. She hadn’t expected anything more of her, really.

Then a voice came.

“Hey!”

Lazuli recognized it. Dusk looked up and her expression went from cocky grin to blank-faced stare.

Lazuli couldn’t turn around, but she recognized Fizzlepop’s voice. She continued to cry, but now a smile began to form on her face. Trying to crane her head back to look again, she saw Luna was gone – but she could faintly see Fizzle in her peripheral vision, wearing her metal shoes and armour.

“Get away from her.” Fizzlepop – or Lazuli thought, perhaps Tempest was a more apt name for the way she was acting – glared right into Dusk’s eyes.

“Oh. You.” Dusk scoffed and stepped over Lazuli. The slimmer Dracony yelped in pain as her hoof pressed down near the wound, and she quite literally walked over her.

Tempest’s eyes remained narrow and unblinking. “I said get away from her.”

“I’ll oblige.” Dusk hooked her tail underneath Lazuli, and forcefully flicked her upwards. The crippled mare wheezed as her spine cracked again, her limp form flopping uselessly onto her stomach. “So how did you get here? Laz here conjured up some mare in shining armour to save her?”

“No.” Tempest replied sharply, her front hooves splayed out and her horn crackling angrily.

“Hm. Dreamscape mingling? That’s a bold move for Luna. Plus I was fairly sure she didn’t care anymore…”

“She cares enough to let me help.”

Dusk just chuckled as she walked forward, her hooves kicking up small clouds of dust with each step. “You used to be really cool, you know that?” She shook her head. “Seeing you wearing that armour is almost like an insult.”

“I couldn’t give less of a damn what you think.” Tempest crouched low, snarling in an almost cat-like way. “You’re not hurting Laz anymore.”

“Uh-huh. Okay.” Dusk raised her tail over her head. “I dunno about you, but I’m excited to see how badly it breaks your mind to die in someone else’s dream…”

“…you’ll be dying in someone else’s dream too.” Tempest replied.

Dusk’s eye briefly twitched and she decided to cut the small talk. She dashed forward, her dexterous hooves allowing her to run back and forth in a zig-zag pattern. When Tempest’s horn spewed forth its magical electricity, the assassin lifted her tail and reflected some of it with her blade. The rest was absorbed into her body.

“Your fireworks aren’t gonna work.” She said. “I hope that’s not the only party trick you have.”

Tempest didn’t speak, instead electing to focus on Dusk’s movements. When the Dracony came too close, she jumped back or used her electricity to keep her at bay.

“Come on, you’re prolonging the inevitable.” Dusk groaned. “You’re like one of the most annoying types of targets. The ones who don’t know when to quit.” She found an opening in Tempest’s defense and slid forward.

But she didn’t make it close enough to hit.

Tempest lashed her head forward, a magical strand of energy flaring out of her broken horn and hitting Dusk across the face like a whip. The Dracony felt part of her fur singe off of her cheek, leaving a stinging red welt, but the whip continued around her neck and wrapped tight. “What the fuck is this?!” She tried to grab hold of it, but it sent a surge of energy through her hooves that her body simply didn’t want to absorb.

Tempest didn’t speak. Instead she leapt into the air, flipping herself around and jerking her head down. Dusk gagged as the magical whip tightened around her throat, and felt a quick shot of pain surge through her body as she slammed into the ground. The whip disappeared, and she barely managed to roll out of the way when Tempest came down and tried to slam into her.

“…okay, wasn’t expecting that.” Dusk was panting, tugging at the collar of her suit. She narrowly dodged another whip crack, Tempest beginning to spin her body around and swing her head in the direction she anticipated the assassin to go.

Dusk kept leaping and dodging, but she couldn’t get near – and Tempest was clearly analyzing her dodging patterns. Twice she felt the whip graze her suit, the magic sizzling against its fabric surface. “Fuck me…” She muttered to herself, ducking under another swing and cursing again as it singed her hair. “You’re just making it harder for yourself!” She yelled at Tempest, but her momentary stop to speak was a poor decision.

Tempest swung her head forward and the whip wrapped around one of Dusk’s outstretched wings. The assassin’s eyes widened and she barely had time to jump off the ground before the magical strand tightened – and in one burning motion, sliced it clean off.

“GAH!” Dusk’s cry bounced off the ground just as she landed back on it. Tempest didn’t let up in the slightest – the counterpart to Lazuli was forced to continue dodging, trying to keep her movements unpredictable but the pain was hard to see through. Each time the whip cracked it came closer to her, until she felt the searing hot rope-like magic wrap around her front hoof. She tried to use it to her advantage, rearing up on her hind legs and yanking Tempest forward, but it didn’t work at all.

The purple unicorn snarled and reared up herself, throwing her head back. Dusk was pulled through the air, her hooves briefly skidding on the dirt. Tempest ducked low, lifting a hind leg and slamming it right into the armed Dracony’s stomach. She let her hooves hit the floor, then spun herself around, sweeping Dusk’s legs out from under her. She dispelled her magical whip, ducking underneath the assassin and biting down on the bladed tail.

With a kick of her hind legs and a flick of her neck she leapt into the air again, doing a full front flip and letting go of Dusk’s tail. The Dracony went flying, slamming into the ground twice as hard as the previous time – this time she was sprawled on her back, her head spinning and her vision too blurry to allow her to stand up. “F-f…fuck…” She wheezed.

Tempest landed right on Dusk’s chest. Her armoured hoof slammed down on her, the sickening snap of several ribs breaking making Lazuli wince as she watched from the sidelines.

“And one more thing.” Tempest didn’t even look angry – her face simply expressed neutrality. “You’re not going to be bothering Lazuli anymore.”

“F…fuck…you…” Dusk groaned, her head throbbing. “You’re…not in control…”

“And neither are you.” Tempest lunged her head forward and jammed it right against Dusk’s forehead.

The Dracony assassin started writhing and howling in discomfort and pain as uncontrolled magic surged through her. Her hooves pushed at the metal-clad chest of the unicorn, but she couldn’t do anything to stop her. The electricity flowed through her body, locking up her muscles, preventing her from fighting back. Her organs shut down, her brain overloaded, and her heart stopped beating – all while Tempest maintained her cold, unfeeling glare.

When Dusk finally fell limp, Tempest-…no, Fizzle, Lazuli reminded herself - lifted her hoof off of her chest. She pursed her lips before spitting on the body under her, slowly turning herself around to face Lazuli. “You okay?”

“I’m…” Lazuli groaned. “It’s…just a dream…I’ll be…okay…”

“You’ll be waking up soon.”

“…y-yeah…”

“I hope the surgery goes well.”

“I-…” The injured Dracony nodded. “Th-thank you. And…I’ll see you soon, I hope.”

Fizzle cracked a smile, her eyes opening properly again. “Yeah. I’ll see you. We’ll make sure you’ve got a big party waiting, okay?”

Tears were still rolling down Lazuli’s cheeks as Fizzle walked over and put her hoof on her shoulder. “Y-yeah…thank you.” She wiped her eyes with a foreleg. “You…were super badass there, b-by the way.”

“Thanks. I dunno if I could still do that in real life…”

“…maybe we need to spar for real some time.”

“Pfft. Maybe.”

Lazuli’s vision began to fade, and she was glad that the last thing she saw was Fizzlepop’s smiling face.

Lazuli had no regrets as she was wheeled into the operating room. Even as she felt the needle slide into her foreleg, attached to a pump that would keep her unconscious, she didn’t care what would happen. Of course, she preferred that she would live. And she even moreso preferred that she would regain some control of her legs, even if it wasn’t full. She wanted her tail back, the most…

The operation lasted for fifteen hours. It was delicate, and nothing could be allowed to go wrong. Of course, the use of unicorn magic ensured that nothing would, but even a unicorn’s concentration can wane at times.

Incisions were made. Bones were carefully moved and replaced. Nerve endings were tentatively joined together with experimental magic that wasn’t even guaranteed to work. Lazuli’s spine was mostly intact, it was only one vertebrae that was damaged beyond repair, but the surgeon did his damnedest to make it work.

But there was only so much that could be done. After a time, that point was reached. The surgeon had done everything he could, and couldn’t find anything else that was able to be fixed with the abilities he had. They would have to wait and see.

Lazuli’s back was sutured up, and she was wheeled out of the operating room in stable condition. At the very least, she was okay.

When Velvet Rose heard Lazuli groan, she told herself not to get too excited. She gently drew an ‘x’ in the air over her own chest.

“Nngh…” The Dracony’s eyes fluttered open, and she winced. “F-fuck…my back…”

“Hey, Laz.” Velvet leaned on the bed, which was back in its place in her room. “Careful now. The surgeon said you should be fine to move, but nothing too drastic.”

“Ugh…he didn’t shave my back, did he…?”

“Well he kind of had to, darling.”

“Aaaaahhh…” Lazuli whined.

Velvet suppressed a giggle. “Come on now. One small movement at a time. Move your front hooves.”

Lazuli abided, and wiggled her front legs.

“Now your wings.”

She shuffled her wings at her sides.

“Now…” Velvet took a deep breath. “Try moving your hinds.”

At first Lazuli couldn’t feel her legs, but as she kept willing the muscles to move in the right places, she saw the sheets wiggle. “H-holy…”

Velvet visibly brightened, her ears shooting straight up. The doctor, who was standing in the corner, brightened a bit as well. “Sweet Celestia, Laz!” Velvet wrapped her hooves tightly around the Dracony, hugging her.

“Now calm down, Nurse Velvet.” The doctor warned. “She’s still only gotten out of surgery a few hours ago, remember.”

“R-right…sorry…” She relaxed her grip, but still nuzzled Lazuli’s cheek.

Lazuli kept testing her legs, slowly sitting herself up. “…should…should I try to…”

“Go ahead.” The doctor nodded in affirmation. “Just be careful. Don’t move too fast.”

The Dracony breathed in gently, sliding herself off the bed. Velvet helped her lay her front hooves on the tile floor, her hind legs still supported by her tail – which she found was mobile as well.

“…okay…let go.” She said slowly.

Velvet released her grip as gently as possible. Lazuli let her weight hang back on her hind legs.

They wobbled, and she tried to take a step forward. While she could move them, her legs just hadn’t been exercised at all. They collapsed out from under her and her chin nearly hit the floor. “Gah…f-fuck…”

“It’s okay, that’s okay!” Velvet smiled warmly. “This…this is good! You can move them, all you need is some physical therapy. You’ll have to wear some leg braces for a bit, but…”

Lazuli just sighed. It was a sigh of relief mixed with worry. “Yeah…this…this is amazing.” She pushed herself up, her hind legs wobbling again, but she managed to stand. “I…s-sorry I can’t express myself properly, just…” She swished her tail behind her, forcefully bumping it against the bed. “Being able to feel that…gosh…”

“Well, we will have to keep you here for about a week just to ensure there aren’t any complications.” The doctor said. “But after that, you’ll be dispatched, and allowed to return home.”

Lazuli pushed herself back onto the bed, sitting on the edge and gently swinging her hind legs back and forth. It was childish, but it felt amazing. “Sweet Celestia…” She breathed deeply, closing her eyes and flopping backwards on the bed. She hadn’t even realized she referred to Princess Celestia in a way that implied her to be greater. “This is…thank Faust…”

Velvet and the doctor did a few tests to see what kind of therapy would be best for her, and then sent a letter ahead to the Ponyville hospital. She’d be fitted with leg braces in the Crystal Empire, and somepony would come to escort her on the train ride back.

When they left, Lazuli was alone. She leaned back in the bed and exhaled heavily, her eyes closing as she relaxed. “I’m not letting this chance go to waste…” She muttered, and let herself again drift off to sleep.

As the doctor had told her, she was fitted with a pair of braces for her hind legs. They looked weird – deformed, even. Three rings of metal clamped onto her legs the whole way up, secured by hinged metal rods that flexed and bent with each movement she made. The doctor, aware of her past and her tendencies, told her that the braces were not suitable for combat in any way, shape, or form. They could handle galloping, maybe, but that was it.

For the week that she was forced to stay, she also kept exercising her legs. The injury had made it so they would never be able to get any stronger than they were before. In fact, the doctor said it was possible they would be weaker than they used to be, even after therapy. With a few days of movement and exercise, however, they were at least used to enough movement that the braces could properly support her for walking, albeit of the shaky variety.

By the time the weak was up, she was mobile. It wasn’t the most comfortable type of mobility, but it was something. She walked like a dog with a limp, but she could at least handle doing it for a few minutes at a time before her muscles ached. She was on painkillers, but even so, they didn’t get rid of everything.

Her back was still unattractive. Between and around her wings, her fur was only just starting to come back. It looked like a freshly shorn sheep, contrasting with the longer and properly groomed fur all over the rest of her.

But still, she was glad to be leaving.

She had been officially discharged from the hospital an hour ago, but only now was she exiting the building.

It felt amazing, really. She hadn’t been outside in almost three months…or…was it more than that? She couldn’t remember. The Crystal Empire was in the process of preparing for Hearth’s Warming Eve, which was approaching quite quickly. The last time Lazuli had been outside, it was autumn. Well…technically the last time she was outside, she had been freezing to death, but still.

Even to her cold-blooded body the brisk wind felt nice. Little flakes of snow alighted on her nose and she couldn’t help but giggle, looking around for the pony who was supposed to escort her back to Ponyville. As far as she knew, he was an Honour Guard, so it wouldn’t be too hard to find him.

A voice called from behind her, but it wasn’t male. “Lazuli!”

She recognized it, but even so she turned around with a bit of a glare. She saw princess Cadence walking towards her with a wide smile on her face. The Dracony’s chest heaved just a bit at how friendly the mare looked – it was hard not to be happy with the princess of love smiling at you. “Oh, er…” She broke into a small smile herself. “Hey.”

Cadence had a sky-blue scarf wrapped around her neck. “I was just coming to visit, I’m glad I caught you before you left. I wanted to give you something.”

“I…really don’t need a gift, or anything, I’m sure…”

“No, I insist. Shining said you left it at the guard barracks years ago…”

“…W-…” Lazuli frowned and tilted her head. “…What is it…?”

Cadence’s horn lit up in its shimmering blue way and a small object levitated itself out of the bag hanging around her side.

Lazuli blinked a few times. It was a stuffed doll – a phoenix. It was crude, the stitches quite obvious and the cloth somewhat tattered. “I…think he might’ve been mistaken.” She lifted one front hoof and let Cadence lower the doll onto it, flipping it over. On the back, there was some writing crudely stitched into the fabric.

From a loving mother and father, to their one and only daughter.

The princess frowned. “Oh. Are you sure? Well…” She looked up, noting that Lazuli hadn’t taken her eyes off the doll, and wasn’t moving. “Uh…are you okay?”

Lazuli didn’t respond. She held the phoenix there, staring at it, her eyes constantly moving from left to right, then back to left as she read the inscription over and over.

“…Lazuli?” Cadence waved a hoof.

The Dracony didn’t respond. Her mouth was slightly open.

“…Hello? Lazuli?” She waved her hoof again, this time in front of her face.

The mare gasped, realizing she hadn’t breathed in almost a full minute. “Wha- oh, um…” She cleared her throat. “This…uh…” She looked back up at Cadence. “Where did he find this…?”

“In the guard barracks, he says. He’d forgotten about it until today.”

“…I…” She gulped and slowly slipped the doll into the single saddlebag hanging at her side. “Tell him that I said thank you.”

Cadence was about to ask something, but held her tongue and smiled. “I will.” She nodded. “Is your escort not here yet? He should have been here an hour ago…”

“Yeah, I know.” Lazuli frowned. “Should I just go on my own?”

“Not an option.” Cadence shook her head. “You’re not well enough.”

“Oh, come on. It’s a train. A train that I’m not getting off of until Ponyville. Even if something happened, there would be plenty of ponies around to help.”

“You’re still a wanted mare, if any pony recognized you.”

“I’m a dead mare, remember?” Lazuli smiled softly. “It’s been…gosh, a long time since my ‘execution’. The only ones who recognize me now are the ones who want to.”

Cadence bit her lip. “Well…it’s been an hour…and I guess…we do want you to be home before nighttime…” She weighed the options in her head for a minute. “Do you really think you’d be safe?”

“Princess, I might not have my legs working properly, but I can handle myself. Trust me.”

“I just…” Cadence nibbled on her lip, then sighed deeply. “Well…alright. Your train is leaving in half an hour anyway, we can’t wait.”

“Thank you.” Lazuli nodded her head. “And I’ll be fine, okay?”

“I hope so…”

The two of them stood there for a moment, and Lazuli’s eyes properly met Cadence’s.

“I wanted to ask you something.” Cadence said quickly.

“…okay, shoot.”

“Did uh…” She took a deep breath in. “Did you and Shining ever…you know…”

“No.” Lazuli replied almost immediately with a shake of her head. “Never.”

“Are you…sure?”

“I’m positive. As much as he might make it seem like we used to be an item, we were close friends at best. Sure, we might have shared some mutual feelings…” Her eyes drifted towards the palace. “But nothing else.”

Cadence sighed again and groaned. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for that to come out rudely, it just…” She gritted her teeth. “It’s been bothering me, ever since he told me about you two.”

“Well I can assure you, I never got anywhere physical with him. Not past a kiss.”

“You uh…you two kissed?”

“A few times.”

“…and…you don’t feel anything for him anymore, right?”

“A bit of anger, that’s all.” Lazuli nodded. “Definitely not anything friendly.”

The wind blew coldly between them, their manes both fluttering a bit in its gusts.

“I um…you should get going, I guess.” Cadence smiled warmly.

“Yeah. Sorry.” Lazuli turned away and started shuffling towards the train station. Her braced hooves clanked noisily against the road.

“Er, wait.” Cadence said softly.

“Hm?” The Dracony glanced over her shoulder and stopped again.

“I just…something…something doesn’t feel right. I don’t like you leaving on your own.”

Lazuli paused. “…” She thought about it. If something did go wrong, she wouldn’t be able to do anything and she knew it. But at the same time, if she missed this train, she’d probably miss the welcome party that everyone was no doubt planning, and she’d be letting them down.

“I’ll be fine.” Lazuli smiled at the princess. “Trust me. I’ve been in worse bonds than these and gotten out just fine.” She wiggled her hind leg, making it clank and wobble. “Stop worrying. You’ve got a baby to look after, right?”

“…yeah…” Cadence returned the smile, her teeth showing slightly and her expression brightening. “Twilight worries about you, you know.”

But Lazuli didn’t hear the last part. She had already started walking away again, and after a moment, Cadence did the same.

The Train and the Closet

“These magazines are just dull…” Lazuli muttered to herself, flipping through a crinkled old news magazine that she assumed had been on the train for at least a few months. So far, she had been sitting for about an hour – the train ride overall took almost half a day to get from the Crystal Empire to Ponyville, so she still had plenty of time.

She reclined back in her seat and kicked her braced hooves up on the chair in front of her. There really wasn’t much space between them, so she was glad that she was alone. In fact, she only counted three ponies in her train car. She figured most ponies don’t take the train in the morning, plus most don’t commute cross-Equestria every day.

She shut the magazine and stretched out, putting her hooves behind her head. Glancing out the window, she watched the Equestrian countryside slowly chugging past.

“Hm.” She sighed deeply, shutting her eyes to try and rest a bit.

The train rolled on. For another twenty minutes she laid there undisturbed, until an attendant rolled past with a cart. “Miss?” He said slowly.

“Huh?” Lazuli cracked an eye open, her hooves gently sliding off the seat in front of her. “Yeah?”

“Would you like any food or drink?”

“I don’t have any bits to spare, sorry.” She frowned and shrugged her shoulders.

“Oh, it’s complimentary.” The attendant smiled softly, his light green hoof gesturing to the cart, his slim physique wobbling a bit with the train’s movement.

Lazuli eyed the cart. “…really? I don’t remember any mention of that.” She leaned in to look at the contents. Some sandwiches wrapped in plastic, cups of water, bags of assorted chips and other snack foods… “But…I’m not really hungry anyway, thank you.”

“Are you sure?”

“…eh, I’ll take some water.” She sighed and picked up a cup, lifting it to her lips and taking a sip. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” The stallion slowly wheeled his cart away, and Lazuli glanced out into the aisle as he walked down it. When he passed the couple sitting at the back of the car, he didn’t offer them any.

Lazuli’s eyes narrowed a bit. “Weird…” She settled back down in her chair, and tried to relax again.

She heard a male voice murmur from the back of the car. “Is that really her?”

Her ear twitched.

“Hush, don’t stare.” A voice responded, this one female. “A lot of them look alike, of course it isn’t her.”

“I could swear…”

“They got rid of her months ago, you were there, idiot.”

Lazuli’s chest started thumping a few ticks faster. Especially as she heard the shuffling of hooves on the carpeted floor, coming towards her. She cracked an eye open again, watching as the couple from the other side of the train walked over.

One of them was a stallion, the other a mare. The stallion had a dark gray coat with a brownish mane and a grey horn jutting out of his head. The mare sported a bright yellow coat with an orange and yellow mane, and a pair of wings at her sides. “Can I help you?” She asked as the two of them stopped beside her seat.

The mare rolled her eyes. “I apologize.” She sighed. “My husband here is nosy. He swears you’re…er…”

“Dusk Rider?” The stallion finished her sentence, smirking down at Lazuli.

“Nope.” Lazuli picked up the glass of water that she had been-…was she drinking this before? She didn’t really care. It was in her cupholder, so she drank from it.

“You sure? You look just like her.”

“Did she have these?” Lazuli wiggled her hind legs, making them clank and whirr slightly. “Please leave me alone.”

“It’s just…”

The unicorn lowered his head a bit, and his wife looked at him with a confused expression. “My boss told me that Dusk might be on this train…then again, he said she’d have a guard with him.”

Lazuli’s eyes narrowed just a bit and she jerked her head suddenly to look him in the eye. “Yeah? Well good luck with that.”

“Funny thing is, he said you’d be in that seat. Same row and everything.”

“Honey…” The mare put a hoof on his shoulder.

“I’m just asking, do you at least know her?” He ignored his wife.

Lazuli cleared her throat and sat up. “Listen, buddy. I dunno what your boss told you, but I’d suggest you walk away.”

“I dunno…” He shook his head. “You just have such a resemblance.”

“You’ve got a pretty strong resemblance to a pile of Manticore shit but you don’t see me walking up and telling you, huh?”

The stallion snorted and lifted his head again. “Hrmph. Fine.” He started to step back, his horn glowing.

“Jade…” The mare growled. “Don’t.”

“You know it’s her, what the fuck are you waiting for?”

“Don’t.”

“Drop the act, Solar. It’s her. Let’s kill her and tell the boss.”

Lazuli straightened up and stood, clearing her throat. “You’ll find that a lot harder to do than you think…”

The stallion, Jade, ignored her and fired a bolt of bright green magic right at her. The Pegasus mare seemed to have dropped all pretense now, and hopped into the air for a follow-up.

Lazuli’s instinct was to dodge, and that’s what she did. She leapt into the air, but as she put her weight fully on her hind legs to jump, she felt the braces creak. She managed to clear the magical bolt, which blew a hole in the side of the train.

Using her forward momentum Lazuli threw herself at Jade, knocking him to the ground. She pinned him down, narrowly avoiding another blast of magic that shot over her shoulder and struck Solar in the chest. The mare yelped, feathers fluttering into the air as she was thrown into one of the seats, clutching at her chest.

“Son of a-“ Jade growled, only to eat his own words and the front of Lazuli’s hoof. While she was out of practice, she still knew how to make a pony hurt – and a hoof to the jaw never failed. She heard a faint crack as his jaw fractured, but he kept fighting her. He worked his hind legs under her chest and threw her back, her front hoof barely managing to catch one of the seats to keep her from flying out of the hole in the wall.

“Just keep trying, I’ve fought breezies tougher than you!” That was a lie of course, she had never even had the privilege to see a Breezie before. Even so, she felt it was a decent hit.

Jade fired another bolt, but Lazuli blocked it with her wing. She hissed as it scorched the thin flesh – her wings were probably her weakest part, especially right now. They hadn’t healed properly after her fall, and some of the bones didn’t look quite right.

Her head started swimming. The corners of her vision were starting to blur. “Fuck…” She grunted, and lunged forward. Jade sidestepped to dodge her, and she slammed her head into one of the seats across the aisle. She saw stars flashing in front of her, stumbling to her hooves. A hard hit came down on top of her head.

Solar stood over top of her, panting and gritting her teeth. “You owe me…” She growled at Jade.

“Yeah yeah. Let’s just get her down, kay?” Jade fired a bolt right into Lazuli’s stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She started coughing and gasping, struggling to get back to her hooves. Solar grabbed hold of her and threw the Dracony back towards her seat, which she sprawled across halfway.

“You’re…going…to regret this…” Lazuli muttered. She hooked her tail into the hole that had been made in the wall.

Jade snorted, his horn crackling and sparking as he charged up energy within it. “Yeah, whatever. Now be a good little Dracony and sit still…”

Lazuli didn’t see many options for her. The water she had drank was clearly spiked – she wouldn’t feel this woozy otherwise. Already she could feel herself blacking out. “Ggrrrh…you’re…gonna need to find me…first…”

“Powder’s making her weaker than I thought.” Solar giggled into her hoof. “Do it.”

Jade’s horn flashed and a solid beam of energy shot out of it. Lazuli barely managed to raise her wing in time, the beam cascading in all directions as the thin membrane painfully cracked and bent under the force. Using the last amount of strength she could muster, the Dracony locked her tail into the side of the ripped metal and pulled.

“HEY!” Solar yelled, but Lazuli was already gone. The mare disappeared as the train raced on.

“You fucking idiot!” The Pegasus smacked her partner upside the head, making him snarl.

“It’s not my fault! You should’ve held her down!”

“You were the one who blew a fucking hole in the wall!”

“What’re we gonna tell the boss?”

“…shit.” Solar tapped her hooves together nervously. “Uh…damnit…I guess we have to tell him she got away…?”

“Or…we could say she wasn’t here at all.”

“…yeah, I like that one better.”

Meanwhile, Lazuli landed in the dirt on the side of the train tracks, sliding along for a few feet before coming to rest, covered in dust and scratches. Her breaths were heavy, and her eyes already began to close – even as the harsh Equestrian sun beat down on her. She had no idea where she had jumped off, but she just hoped somepony had seen her…

Fizzlepop wasn’t sure what to think.

Only a week or so ago, she had entered Lazuli’s dream with the help of Princess Luna to assist her. Now, she was supposed to be coming home. Her train would be arriving any minute, she knew, but her own curiosity had overpowered her desire to head out immediately.

She pushed open the door to the closet, nudging a few scarves and bits of clothing that had dropped on top of the two boxes stashed away at the back. She grabbed the one in front with her hooves, dragging it out of the closet and popping the lid open.

Sitting there in a neat, folded pile was a pure black combat suit. On top of it was Lazuli’s gleaming, sharpened tail blade, both objects oozing an atmosphere of pain…and a bit of body odour, but that was more from the suit.

Fizzle gently picked up the tail blade. It was in the shape of the spade on the back of Lazuli’s tail, but made to be a bit bigger so the actual blades would stick out on all sides. It was extremely sharp too – she knew enough about Bellephron diamonds to understand that they almost never dulled.

What confused her the most was the piece of paper sitting on top of the suit, below the weapon. Fizzle put the blade down on the floor and picked it up, unfolding its tattered surface and letting her eyes skim through it.

Dear Princess Luna,

Did I ever get the chance to tell you about the Duchess of Bellephron?

She was a lovely mare. Every Dracony loved her. She loved her subjects in turn. Everypony was happy with her rule. It was inconceivable that anypony could hate her, much less raise a hoof against her.

But Tempest – he didn’t care. Trade deals with Bellephron weren’t enough, because he didn’t care about gems. He only cared about power.

Did you know that Bellephron was only taken over officially about 30 years ago? Up until then, it was an autonomous region. Technically part of Equestria, but answering to its own ruler.

You might be wondering why I’m writing you about this. I don’t even really know, myself. Usually in a movie this would be leading into some kind of threat, or some lesson I’m trying to teach you. But it’s not. I just thought you’d like to catch up on some of the history you missed while you were on the moon.

Don’t worry Princess. I won’t bother you again. Your disdain for me is clear, and I don’t really care about it. Your life is unending, mine only lasts about a hundred and fifty years if I push it.

I’m writing you to offer you something. Well…saying that I’m writing you is a bit of a lie. I’m getting Starlight to write it for me.

I know you don’t want to talk to me. And I know that you’re a very busy mare, controlling the moon and patrolling dreams. Unlike your sister, you don’t have the time to read letters. But I wanted to say something.

Whenever you get this letter, I might not be able to respond. Maybe I’ll be dead, or maybe I’ll just be gone. But you know how to find me if it’s the latter.

I have no idea when Fizzlepop will find this. Now that I think about it, this is a stupid way to make a point. She might never find it. But if she does, and if she decides to send it to you, I just wanted to say thank you.

Despite the fact that you’ve made it obvious you don’t give a damn about me, and it seems like you only gave slightly more of a damn about the Draconies to begin with, I still have to thank you.

Without your help I’d either be running around on the streets and killing ponies until I got too old and let myself get caught, or rotting in a jail cell and waiting to die. You’ve given me a new chance at life, however fleeting it might be.

Just so you know, some of my letter might make no sense. Half of it is just me rambling about history and the other half is me making a ‘thank you’ way longer than it should be. But still.

Thanks.

Yours Truly,

Lazuli Cutter.

Fizzlepop frowned and folded the letter again. The way it was worded was as if it were written in the last few months, but clearly it had been there since Lazuli first put her suit in the box. Did the Dracony always think Luna disliked her, or…?

“Fizzlepop!” Spike suddenly burst through the door, panting heavily from running up multiple flights of stairs. “You have to come, quick! Lazuli’s train just arrived, but…she isn’t on it!”

“What?” The purple unicorn turned her head, still holding the letter. “Where is she?”

“She…we don’t know! There’s a hole in the side of one of the cars. Twilight thinks she might have been attacked!”

Fizzle slowly stood up, taking a few deep breaths to keep herself calm – but even so, her horn began to crackle angrily. “I need you to send a letter to the princesses.”

“…I…what?”

“Send this letter.” Fizzle held the paper out to Spike. “And I’ll be down to the station in a few minutes.” She replaced the lid on Lazuli’s box, shoving it back into the closet.

But not before she removed her own container, pulling it open and starting to take out her armour. While it was the same suit she had worn when she invaded Equestria, she had scratched the Storm King’s emblem off.

Spike nervously blew on the letter, turning it into a puff of green smoke that flew out the window. He watched the unicorn starting to put on her gear, and hurried out of the room.

“Why can’t they just leave a mare alone…” Fizzle muttered to herself, putting on each of her four shoes and sighing. It felt weird to wear this armour again after so long, but she had a feeling Lazuli would need Tempest more than she needed Fizzlepop.

The Blizzard

Lazuli didn’t know where she was, and she didn’t know where she was going. All she knew was that it was getting a lot colder, and winter was a lot harsher outside the Empire. She was shivering, shuffling along the side of the train tracks with virtually no idea what she was doing. Once already she had tried to hop onto a train, but she wasn’t strong enough. She could normally have flown on top and climbed in from there, but the wing that she had used to block the unicorn’s magic was out of commission. She could barely feel it, let alone move it properly.

She was walking down what she assumed would have been a lovely trail by the tracks, if it weren’t for the fact that temperatures were getting into the negatives and the trail was covered in a thin layer of ice. She was fine walking along it for the most part, but when she did slip it took an almost embarrassing amount of time to recover.

“F-fuck, it’s cold…” She shivered, speaking through chattering teeth. While she was more resilient to low temperatures than the average Dracony, her body was already starting to get sluggish. Every part of her aside from her rational mind was telling her to just lie down and sleep, and let somepony come to her.

But that wasn’t an option.

She knew she was being followed. It wasn’t exactly hidden. She had seen too many pegasi pass overhead, and had to duck behind bushes when someone walked by on hoof. She occasionally caught quick parts of their conversations – most of them mentioned ‘Dracony’ or her name directly more than once.

Her body wouldn’t last forever. She felt her breaths slowing, her heart already beating just a bit slower in turn as it prepared to go into hibernation. “Just…keep…going…” She told herself, her teeth still chattering and her whole body shaking.

She heard a voice coming from up ahead. Vision was obscured by blowing winds and snow, but she didn’t care who it was. She quickly ducked off to the side, hiding herself beside a snow bank and trying to calm her shaking muscles, while simultaneously willing herself to stay awake.

“Now I’ve told all of y’all to keep an eye out. You you’re tellin’ me you’ve gone up and down the entire track without findin’ a trace?” The voice sounded familiar, in some way. A stallion’s voice.

“W-well…yes, sir. The snow is making visibility a lot harder, and it doesn’t help that her fur is white…”

“So you’re tellin’ me she might have been out there and y’all just didn’t see her?!”

“…y-yes…sir.”

As the ponies came into view, Lazuli couldn’t help but growl. She was just glad that the wind masked it.

It was Blind Faith. His snow white coat was almost invisible until he came closer, but his blonde mane, red winter jacket and piercing green eyes were plain to see. “Well you do realize I can’t just let her go, right?” He snorted. “After this, the princesses’ll be doubling down on protecting her.”

“But…why exactly do you need her so much?”

“Because, cloud-for-brains.” The pony he was talking to was a pegasus, one with black fur and a white mane and tail. “If ponies know she’s alive, then they’ll start to lose faith in the princesses. It means that she either escaped her execution…or it was faked. The latter would send a ripple of outrage through Equestria, even for ponies who don’t know or care who she is.”

The Pegasus cleared his throat. “Er…right. Got it. So…find her, or you can’t uh…blackmail the princesses?”

“Exactly.” Blind Faith breathed in deeply, letting out a gentle sigh. “I was too caught up in my own desire to humiliate her before that I lost track of the big picture. But this time…I’m going to make it work.”

“Er, how come your slang southern words kinda disappear when you talk longer?”

“Go and find her.” He ignored the question. “And don’t think of coming back to me empty-hooved. Got it?” He wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck. “Gods, it’ll be much harder finding her in this blizzard, I must admit…but I’m confident you and the rest of my loyal servants can do it, right?”

The Pegasus swallowed. “…y-yes sir. Of course sir.” He flapped his wings and took off into the sky, vanishing from view.

“…why did I even come out here?” Faith muttered to himself, his eyes gently surveying the landscape before him. “Hrmh…it’s pretty, I suppose. I do love the weather those pegasi create…even when it’s quite chilly.”

His eyes moved from side to side, before focusing in on the bush that Lazuli was hiding behind. He squinted briefly, his eyes flashing a dull golden colour.

“…hrm.” His horn lit up with the same gold aura and he vanished in a flash, leaving Lazuli alone.

The Dracony stood up. Her muscles felt like stone. “F-fuck me…” She muttered, and started to gallop. It was a lopsided, painful gallop that stressed the creaking joints of her ice-coated braces, but she needed to move. Not just to keep warm, but to get out of here as fast as possible. If this was a blizzard, she wouldn’t last long. At the very least, she needed to find a warm place to stay.

She could swear she heard a bell chiming somewhere behind her, but turning her head, she realized it was in her mind.

There was something calming about a blizzard, Tempest thought.

She wasn’t sure what it was. The blistering winds, the snow smacking against one’s face, the constant slipping or threat thereof – it seemed like nothing could be enjoyable about it. Yet somehow she found herself enjoying her trek out into the elements. She supposed it had something to do with nature taking control, showing pony kind that even they and their Pegasus teams couldn’t reign in the unbridled fury of a winter storm.

But she couldn’t dwell on her enjoyment of the weather. Lazuli was out there somewhere, and for all she knew, she was freezing to death.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Fizzlepop?” Twilight’s voice was uncertain, a scarf wrapped tightly around her neck and blowing in the wind.

“I’ve had my fair share of experience in the cold, Twilight.” Tempest frowned, her own scarf – a magenta one that matched her mane – billowing around her much like the Princess’s. “You need to tend to the town. Ponies weren’t prepared for a blizzard this soon. But Lazuli’s out there somewhere, and I’m not letting her die out there while we all sit warm and cozy.”

“Be safe out there, at least.” Twilight clearly wasn’t happy with Tempest’s decision, but she also couldn’t stop her.

“Of course.”

Tempest turned away, and Twilight headed away from the train station to help make sure ponies were secure. Tempest’s horn crackled gently, her chest twinging slightly.

Please be okay…she thought to herself, and quickly started down the train tracks.

Cold, cold, colder. That was all that Lazuli could describe her experience as, thus far. Oh hey, this snow’s a little warmer. She tapped her hoof against it, then kept walking. At this point, she could barely see. She was fairly sure she heard pegasi flying overhead, but she hadn’t the energy to do anything anymore. Her brain was muddled, and her vision blurred. Fuck…she thought, her teeth chattering at a rate that she swore would make them shatter. Sweet Faust, I can’t even feel anything…

Even though her whole body was shaking, she felt almost warm. Her body had lost sensation in all but her core, and even that was freezing over.

But finally, her hours (or what felt like it) of walking was rewarded with shelter. It was nothing special, and to a pony with the option, they’d never stay there during a blizzard. A cabin, that looked just about ready to fall over already, but it was the best Lazuli would find for a while. She diverted off the trail, pushing open the door. She could tell it was abandoned.

It didn’t provide a lot of cover, but it would be enough. The windows were intact, the walls were…mostly standing, and the roof only had a few holes. The door actually closed and stayed that way, so that was good.

Nothing was there, though. Just a dirt floor and some ice covering one end of the room. She huddled herself up, far away from any of the windows, and curled up in a tight ball. She wrapped her one good wing around herself, her tail curling around her neck as a sort of makeshift scarf. Please don’t let me die out here…she thought, clenching her eyes shut and exhaling softly.

Tempest was beginning to think this was a horrible idea.

She had no real problem walking in such cold. The Storm King’s lands were like this a lot of the time, so she really didn’t feel too uncomfortable. Even so, she knew this was a search that was nearly impossible to do alone – she had hundreds of kilometres to cover, and that was if Lazuli was even along the train tracks. For all she knew the Dracony might have been back at the Crystal Empire sipping tea.

“Lazuli!” She called, but her voice was lost in the wind. It was almost not even worth spending the energy to yell, for it only carried a few feet before being swept up in the blizzard.

“Hey! You!” A voice called back, but it was distinctly male.

Out of the white wall of snow came a unicorn stallion. He was blue, with a light green mane, and bundled up in a coat and scarf. “Who are you?” Tempest asked, glaring at him with a level of suspicion that probably wasn’t justified.

“Is this really the time for names?!” He squinted to look at Tempest. “Listen, have you seen my friend around here? She’s hard to see. White coat, blue mane, got a sort of weird tail and bat wings?”

“…” Tempest’s stare turned into a scowl, her horn starting to crackle again. “Her name?”

“Er, Lazuli. Why?”

Tempest ran forward and tackled the stallion to the ground, her metal-clad hooves landing on his chest. Her horn fizzled and sparked, teeth clenched tightly together and her bright eyes staring right into his. “Who told you to look for her?!”

“H-hey! Get off me, what in Tartarus is your problem?!” He struggled, only to yowl in pain as a sharp jolt of electricity rippled through him. Her hoof pressed against his throat, the cold metal feeling not too different from a knife.

“Talk. Now. Or the next shock’ll be enough to paralyze you and leave you out here to freeze.”

“O-okay, okay!” The stallion held up his hooves. “N-none of that! Fine! I-it was my boss. Sanctuary. He needs her for something.”

Tempest roared, both of her front hooves rearing back and slamming down on the unicorn’s chest. He wheezed and coughed as the wind was knocked out of him, a few ribs shattering under her strike. “L-let me go! F-fucking Celestia, let me go!”

The mare stood back up, delivering a harsh kick to the stallion’s side and throwing him into the bushes nearby. She took off into a gallop.

“LAZULI!” She howled into the wind, and the blizzard howled right back at her.

When the Dracony woke up again, she wasn’t cold. She wasn’t even in the cabin. In fact, she wasn’t awake.

This dream thing is getting old…she said to herself, but stood up anyway. The braces on her hooves were still there, and she still ached. Though, at least she was standing in a warm room, complete with cozy hardwood floors and a crackling fire.

And sitting in front of the fire was Luna.

“So she sent my letter?” Lazuli was the first to speak, for once.

“Indeed.” Luna turned to face the Dracony, a sad look on her face. “You seem to have interpreted a dream poorly, Lazuli.”

“Ah, I wrote that letter months ago.” She waved a hoof. “Back when I first arrived in Ponyville, actually.”

“Wha- but, surely it was about the horrible dream you had with us?”

“Not really. I got the feeling you didn’t like me from the beginning.”

Luna slowly stood up, trotting towards Lazuli. “Whatever gave you that idea? I suppose it could explain why your dream was so bleak, but…”

“…wait, that wasn’t you?”

“Of course not. We- er…I do care about you. Your dream was a manifestation of your own mind…and now I can see why.”

“So…I made that all up in my head then, huh?”

“It would appear so.” Luna gestured for Lazuli to sit, and they both did.

Lazuli stared at the fire, then looked to the side. “So…you do like me?”

“Well, in a purely platonic way at most, yes.”

“…oh.”

“What gave you the idea that I did not?”

“I dunno. You kinda…stopped being so friendly after I did what you wanted me to.”

“Lazuli, you spoke to me after a day in which I had not slept. Working all night on dreams and staying awake all day to ensure that nothing went wrong after your mission was tiring. I cannot appear all friendly and loving at all times…”

The Dracony slowly looked down at the floor. She almost felt…petty. “So…gods…I formed all of that in my head, and nearly…” She couldn’t suppress a bit of a giggle. “And nearly killed myself over it.”

“Oh, Lazuli…” Luna shook her head. “I do apologize for never replying to your letters. Simply put, I let them get away from me…and that isn’t excusable. But you must understand that I am a very busy mare.”

“Yeah, I uh…” She rubbed the back of her head and sighed. “I guess I’m a bit stupid. Thinking I was the center of attention and all. Thinking you should give me some kind of special treatment when you already pulled so many strings…”

“I do apologize, regardless.” Luna set her hoof on Lazuli’s. “Of course I care about you. And I intend to be more attentive. I will try to visit your dreams as often as I can, how does that sound?”

Lazuli snickered. “Alright, now you’re talking to me like a foal. I get it, okay? You don’t have to make a point of visiting my dreams.”

“I will anyway.” Luna smiled, but it was quickly overtaken by a look of concern. “That is…if you manage to get back to Ponyville safely. We would send guards out looking for you, but…none of them can fly in this blizzard anymore. I hope this means that your assailants can also no longer find you.”

“Yeah…” Lazuli suddenly jerked her head up. “Blind Faith. Sanctuary. Wait. He…he said something. He said that- he said he wanted to capture me to blackmail you and Celestia.”

Luna frowned. “I had suspected somepony would attempt such a thing. A wanted criminal known to be executed, showing up alive…this would definitely undermine much of the royalty’s credibility.”

“Luna…I’m uh…” Her demeanor had changed entirely. “I’m really scared.”

“What?” Luna blinked and put an arm around Lazuli. “Scared? You? Why?”

“Draconies…we aren’t meant for the cold. I dunno if I’ll even be able to move when I wake up.”

“My sister tells me that Twilight Sparkle sent a letter. She says that Tempest Shadow – or I suppose Fizzlepop Berrytwist, as you know her – is out there looking for you.”

“Wh…Fizzle? Really?”

Luna nodded slowly. “You mustn’t let this…Sanctuary’s workers find you. But you also must ensure that Fizzlepop finds you, or it might be too late…”

“I…but how do I do that?”

“I do not know. Fizzlepop will be unlikely to sleep, so I cannot contact her through her dreams…and without a proper working horn, sending letters via magic will not work either. I’m afraid you will just have to hope she finds you in time…”

Lazuli nodded. “Right. I’ll…I dunno, maybe I’ll go out and wait, or-“ she paused as Luna suddenly disappeared. It wasn’t with a flash, a change of scenery or any kind of theatrics. She simply popped out of existence.

And then she woke up.

Her eyes flew open and she attempted to sit up, but felt a weight pressing on her chest. Her blurry vision couldn’t decipher exactly what it was, but it was obviously a pony.

“She’s here, I found her!” Yelled a gruff female voice. A unicorn leaned down towards her with an evil smirk and a golden glint in her eye. “Nap time’s over, Dracony.”

“That doesn’t even work, Grimm. We’re knocking her out anyway.” Replied a voice from nearby.

“Pfft. Whatever.”

Lazuli tried to move, but the cold had sapped any strength she had left. She watched the unicorn’s horn glow a dull orange, and then everything went black. Again.

Imprisonment

Lazuli opened her eyes and watched as a spinning blade sailed towards her. She easily leapt up, not a single hair being grazed by its sharp edge as it harmlessly clanged against the wall behind her.

“Not bad, Laz.” Came Shining Armour’s voice, the unicorn levitating a clipboard in front of him and checking off a few spots. “Three seconds off your last time.”

“I still don’t understand how you can have different records when the blades are being fired at the same time.”

“It’s all about how long it takes each blade to hit the wall.”

“That’s stupid.”

“Pfft.” Shining snickered and bumped the Dracony with his hip.

Lazuli bumped him back, shaking her head. “Can we stop now? We’ve been at it for like…two hours.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t want you to be tired, would we?”

“Erm…was…that supposed to imply something, or…?”

Shining whistled casually. “Nothing.”

“You are a terrible liar.”

Shining nibbled his lip and smirked at her. “Weeeelll…it’s not that much of a surprise, but…” He turned around and began to walk away. “Here, follow me.”

“Kay…this better not be some kind of elaborate joke.”

The two ponies of similar colour schemes slowly trotted through the long, empty halls of the barracks. “Where is everyone, anyway?”

“Around~” Shining said slowly, glancing over his shoulder at Laz.

“You’re planning something, and I don’t like it.”

“Well you should!”

“I don’t, though.”

“That’s just because you haven’t seen it.”

“…I mean…yeah?”

Eventually they reached the end of the hall, and Shining pushed open the door. It was pitch black inside. “Yeah, this is sketchy…” Lazuli glanced at him.

“Go on. I promise it’s safe.”

“…I swear if I get water dumped on me…”

Lazuli slowly walked forward, her eyes scanning the area. While she normally did have a limited sort of night-vision, it took a few seconds to adjust…

Not that it needed to. The lights flew on, and suddenly she was met with a few dozen smiling faces, guards both out of armour and in uniform popping up from behind various furniture as confetti showered down. Even before they opened their mouths she knew what they would say.

“SURPRISE!”

The Dracony’s face turned bright red, especially as she noticed the banner hanging over the table in the center of the room. It read, in bright blue lettering, Happy Birthday, Lazuli!

This was nothing uncommon. Usually when a guard had their birthday they would throw a party. But even so…Lazuli found herself tearing up a little. “D-Damnit, you guys…” She smiled warmly, and Shining put a leg around her.

“Hey, it’s okay! Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have made it a surprise…but still, everyone’s here! Even Topaz.”

“Wh- uh…did you say Topaz?”

Shining frowned and looked down at her. “Yeah, of course. Why would he miss your birthday? He’s your brother.”

“…T-…” She started scanning the room. “T-Top…Topaz…?”

“He’s right there.” Shining pointed at an empty space in the middle of the line of guards smiling at her.

“What…wh-what…kind of…”

Then the world collapsed again. Walls fell down on top of her, the floor caved out from under her and she was falling into a world of inky, flowing darkness that engulfed her entire being and smothered her into unconsciousness.

Lazuli’s eyes shot open, a gasp filling her lungs with blissfully warm air. Her first instinct was to stand, but she found that wasn’t an option. Her back was pressed against a wall, her front legs splayed out on either side of her and tied in place. Her hind legs were in a similar position, spread slightly apart and strapped to the wall. Her tail was between them, folded over one of her hind legs and strapped in the same way. She could wiggle her wings, but with her body up against the wall like this, she couldn’t do much with them.

She could move her head, so she quickly glanced around the room she was in. It was surprisingly comfortable looking. Walls that were some sort of wood…mahogany, she believed, and furnishings that looked old but still glamourous.

And then, at the other end of the room, a desk.

A desk with a blonde unicorn sitting in it, resting his head on his hooves and letting his bright green eyes glare at her.

Lazuli frowned, letting her gaze meet his. “Well hi there.” She watched his eyes flash golden as he brought his hooves down, as if trying to read her expression.

“You’re awake.” He replied.

“Yep.” She cleared her throat. It didn’t feel dry…so why was her voice so quiet?

“Nervous?”

“N-…” She paused and cleared her throat again. “N…no.”

“Well I might say the stammering is an instant yes.” The unicorn carried himself a lot lighter than before, and his southern accent was more pronounced. Blind Faith stood up, stretching himself out. He was wearing his beige suit again, adjusting his glasses with his magic.

Lazuli pulled against her bonds, but they were made of what looked to be tough leather, and she had barely any strength anyway. Though, she could feel she had more than before…

“So what do you want?” Lazuli tried to get rid of the shakiness in her voice. Normally, she knew she had the situation under control. But now she wasn’t so sure. No one knew where she was. No one had any idea she was here, even she didn’t know what this place was.

“I just need y’all here for a while...” He waved a hoof dismissively. “I’m still gettin’ my letters to the princesses all set.”

Faith – or as Lazuli liked to think of him as now, Sanctuary – stepped forward until he was right in front of the mare, whose head was at his level. “Ya know, I really do find it funny how you thought I was pretendin’ to be who I said I was. It made the whole thing so much easier…”

Lazuli grimaced a bit as he came closer, the slight tilt that her head gave betraying her nerves. “You know the princesses won’t give in to blackmail. Even if the public knows, they’ll just say I was craftier than they thought and I escaped.”

“I doubt it, but keep yourself hopin’.” Sanctuary chuckled and ran a hoof down her cheek. “It’s a good thought to keep your spirits up. Not that I give a draft horse’s ass how high they are.”

He tapped his chin. “In fact…”

His horn lit up, and Lazuli felt one of her wings enveloped in his magical grip, slowly unfurled from behind her. “W-wait, how are you-“

“Y’all Draconies might be resistant to magic, but the space around you ain’t. All I have to do is use my magic to make a barrier around one of your parts, and…”

CRRRRNCH.

At first, Lazuli didn’t realize what the sound was – and then the pain hit her. Like a wave it rippled through her body, her wing folding over ten times more than it was supposed to. The bones, which had only recently completed the healing process, were reduced to splintered shards as Sanctuary crushed it in his magic, his glasses glinting slightly in his own magical aura and his pure white teeth glistening with his annoyingly cocky grin.

Lazuli winced, but tried not to show how much it hurt. Still, her sharp hiss was more than audible, and Sanctuary’s grin at its emission made her sick to her stomach. “Y-you…fucking asshole…” She wheezed, a yelp escaping her when his magic crunched tighter, reducing her wing to a crumpled ball before releasing and letting it hang limply at her side.

Sanctuary rolled his eyes. “That’s just a bit of fun, come on now.” He chuckled. “I’m sure ya’ve had worse, so turn that scowl rightside up and keep yourself sad, okay? Looks extra convincing that way. Imagine how ponies’ll react when I’m the one who caught ya…”

“F-fuck off…” Lazuli muttered, but her cursing simply earned her another magically-induced squeeze, this time around the spade of her tail. She howled out loud as it was bent 90 degrees sideways, the bone snapping clean in half and earning a screech of agony that made Sanctuary briefly cover his ears.

“Whoo-ie. Sensitive spot, hm? I’ll need to keep that in mind…” He slowly trotted past her, snickering to himself and throwing open the door. As he walked out, he shut it behind her, leaving Lazuli on the wall with tears dripping down her cheeks.

The blizzard was nearing its end. Tempest could feel it. The winds were less harsh, and the snow had lessened to the point she could actually see where she was going. Every step had her hooves trudging through a foot-deep layer of the cold white substance she was so familiar with, her eyes scanning everything in her field of vision at all times. She became bolder as the wind lessened, her occasional recitations of Lazuli’s name echoing through the forest.

She had been walking for at least a day now, and she couldn’t see Ponyville at all. She knew she was on top of a small mountain now, but even when she looked back all she saw was winding forests and train tracks. It occurred to her that, if she were to find Lazuli, she might not even be able to get her back…

No, that’s not an option. Tempest thought to herself. She was going to get her back.

Even if she didn’t have a horn that let her contact anyone if she needed help…

She kept walking.

And walking.

Her walking was occasionally broken up by a brisk trot.

Sometimes a call for Lazuli. But there was never a reply.

Ever since she encountered the last stallion in the blizzard, she hadn’t seen anypony at all. She was worried. If they were looking for her too, they wouldn’t have just stopped. She only hoped they hadn’t found her…if they had, she’d never get to where they were, unless they had also been caught in the storm and found a temporary place to stay.

Stop thinking negative. She told herself. You’ll find her. Friendship and all that.

Lazuli was, admittedly, the only mare that Tempest could legitimately call a good friend. The others in Ponyville were nice, and she liked them all, but she could never talk to him the same way she talked to Lazuli. The Dracony knew exactly what to say, and the two of them often spent hours every night just talking about whatever came to mind. In ever sense of the word, Lazuli was Tempest’s friend, and she wasn’t about to let her down.

“Don’t worry, my little reptile.” Sanctuary smirked, staring into the exhausted Dracony’s eyes. Again, Lazuli’s eyes had gone slightly grey, bags forming underneath them and it appeared she couldn’t muster the strength to be angry anymore. “This little place’s only a temporary...accommodation. We’ll be heading for the East soon. I have my real base of operations there.”

“…mhm…” Lazuli nodded tiredly, her muscles not even trying to hold her up anymore. Her body sagged forward a bit, her bonds holding her to the wall.

Sanctuary frowned and put a hoof under her chin, lifting her head up. “Well this is just dull of ya, Lazuli. ‘S been two days, and you’re already like this? Don’t tell me ya’ve given up…”

“Fuck off…”

“You have, haven’t you?” Sanctuary took off his glasses. “What a shame. I was hoping you’d at least have a bit of fight left in you when I took care of this…”

Lazuli was curious to see what he meant, though she had no way of showing it. She managed to keep her head lifted as he opened the door with magic.

Two stallions strode in with someone between them. Both of the ‘guards’ were grey with silver manes. One was a Pegasus, the other a unicorn.

As they turned to face Sanctuary, Lazuli saw who was between them. Something about him looked familiar…his mane was greying at the base, but it was very clearly a mix of orange and light yellow. At one point, they had likely been as fiery as his orange eyes. His fur was white, contrasting his other colours.

Sanctuary smirked and waved for the two stallions to move back. The unicorn stood there in front of the much more pristine and clean Sanctuary, glaring at him with a mixture of anger and pain.

“What’s your name, my fine horned friend?” Sanctuary asked. He stood beside the stallion, putting a hoof around him. The stallion’s front and hind legs were tied, and his horn was covered with a wrap that blocked magic.

“…” The unicorn seemed reluctant to speak, but when he did, Lazuli recognized his voice faster than his name. “…Flare.” He said slowly.

Sanctuary smiled. “What a positively fitting name! Now, Lazuli, this unicorn right here was the one that’d been set to escort you to Ponyville. What a dashing stallion he is, hm?”

“…F-Flare…?” Lazuli said slowly. Her mind struggled to form the connections it needed to, but she could already imagine that young stallion she had met on that hot summer’s day in her home town…

“…wait…” Flare’s eyes lit up and he shuffled forward a bit. “L-Lazuli…?”

“You remember me?” Lazuli’s fatigue seemed to be forgotten, her eyes lighting up in a similar way.

“How couldn’t I? You were the only lively foal in that town…”

Sanctuary raised an eyebrow, then slowly let his lips curl into a smirk. “So you two know each other? Well that’s just peaches!” He clapped his hooves. “This is just a happy little reunion, ain’t it?”

“Let him go.” Lazuli tried to adopt her intimidating voice, but it wasn’t nearly as effective as it normally would be. “He hasn’t done anything.”

“But surely…” Sanctuary’s horn lit up, dragging a sharpened knife off of his desk and pressing it up against Flare’s throat. The older stallion visibly tensed. “You would want a colt like him dead, eh? He was one of the ponies who forced your kind to endure such horrible treatment!”

The Dracony’s head shot up fully. “No!” She said in a voice that betrayed her attachment. “Don’t, he didn’t do anything! He was the only one who didn’t!”

“Well I simply can’t allow such a morally corrupted stallion to live, can I?” Sanctuary frowned and looked Flare in the eyes. “I do hope ya understand. This is just a bit of…business.”

Sanctuary raised one of his hooves and brought it down on Flare’s head. The stallion – who in Lazuli’s eyes was ten times the stallion Sanctuary was – howled as it collided with the base of his horn, a loud SNAP accompanied by several powerful crackles and pulses of magical energy that scorched the ground before the horn, and the wrappings around it, fell to the floor. Flare was soon to follow, wailing and trying desperately to lift his hooves high enough to clutch at the stump of his horn, still crackling bright yellow.

Lazuli was starting to shake now. Her hooves yanked and tugged at her bonds. “N-no! Stop it!” Her voice went from serious to pleading, tears starting to well up in her eyes. “He hasn’t done anything! H-he- he doesn’t deserve this! He’s not a part of this!”

“It’s up to me who’s part of this, Laz.” Sanctuary’s magic gripped Flare’s mane and yanked his head up, exposing his neck. At the same time, Lazuli’s head was locked in place, forced to watch as the stronger unicorn pinned the writhing, sobbing older stallion to the ground and levitated the knife closer.

The Dracony strapped to the wall was crying now. She felt like she was watching the final memory of her foalhood disappear. “S-stop! STOP IT!” She begged, struggling to pull herself loose, but she knew she couldn’t do anything even if she broke free. “P-please, stop! Let him go!”

Sanctuary ignored her entirely. Lazuli was forced to watch, her eyes not even able to close as the blade dragged itself across Flare’s skin. The unicorn tried to scream, the sound bubbling up in his throat but failing to make its exit. Instead blood bubbled out of the cut that Sanctuary made, Flare struggling and trying to grasp at his neck to stop the bleeding.

“NO!” Lazuli cried out, and she watched Sanctuary’s smirk just widen at her exclamation.

“Ssshhhhh…” Sanctuary murmured softly, putting a hoof on the other stallion’s lips.

Lazuli was sobbing full-force now, tears running down her face like miniature rivers. The water splashed down on the floor below, her chest heaving and her teeth grinding together as she attempted to regain enough composure to speak. “Y-you…you…”

“Me?~” Sanctuary chuckled and stood up. The two stallions who had brought Flare in waited until his movements ceased before starting to gather up his body. The unicorn returned his blood-soaked knife to its place on his desk.

“Y-you…b-…b-bastard…” Lazuli wanted to scream, but she couldn’t find her voice. She was so exhausted, both physically and emotionally, that a scream wasn’t possible.

Sanctuary ran a hoof through Lazuli’s mane. “Aww…did the Dracony have a friend in that stallion, still?” His voice was cold and heartless, no longer carrying the same eloquence and charm it did before. “Well too bad. ‘Cause soon, everypony’s going to know that you’re still alive…and they ain’t gonna want it to stay that way.” He pushed her head back with his hoof, slamming it against the wall. Stars swam in front of her vision, slowly following Sanctuary’s flanks as he stepped out of the room again.

She slumped forward, tears still dribbling down her chin. Her eyes gently slid shut, and her body mercifully allowed her to drift off.

The End

Lazuli’s night was dreamless. She didn’t even relapse into her swirling cloud of darkness that she used to dream about – she just didn’t have any dreams. When she woke up, it felt like she had blinked, but things had visibly changed. The light shining in through the curtains was clearly daylight, though admittedly she wasn’t sure if it had been daylight before.

Her eyes might as well have been as grey as the hairs that had been creeping in on Flare’s mane. They held no energy at all, nor did the rest of her. She just hung there, trembling as she brought the memories of the previous night into the forefront of her mind.

Her jaw clenched…or at least it would have, if she could find any strength in her muscles anymore. She hadn’t been fed this entire time, only given a few sips of water, and right now she wasn’t sure if she could eat even if it were offered.

The door to the office was flung open and the lights turned on. “Gooooood morning!” Sanctuary called in a sing-song fashion, smiling brightly and drawing the curtains behind his desk open. The sky was clear, aside from a few clouds. “And good news! The blizzard is over, so that means we’re leaving.”

Lazuli didn’t say a word. She wasn’t sure she could. She just stared at him, unblinking.

“Oh come on now, are you still sad about that old guard? He was gonna die soon, anyway. How old was he…fifty-six? Practically on death’s doorstep!” Sanctuary laughed, but of course his captive didn’t join in.

“…hmph. Alright, fine.” He gripped the Dracony’s bindings with his magic, and let her fall to the ground. Normally-…no, she didn’t need to think about what she normally would have done, because there was no normality for her anymore. She just laid there in a heap, her broken wing painfully bent against her back.

Sanctuary stared down at her with his eyebrow raised. “Really? You can’t walk? Or is this just some kind of ruse that I’m not falling for?” He stared, waiting for a response.

None came besides a weak, pained grunt.

“How far the mighty have fallen…” Sanctuary chuckled and used his magic to drag Lazuli up by her tail, which at some point had been straightened and bandaged. She had no way of knowing if it was still broken, or if he had used his magic to fix it. “Well, let’s go then.” He got her to stand up, but she just toppled forward again.

His eyes fixated on her once again. “Are you serious? This is immature, Lazuli.”

The Dracony offered no reply, so the unicorn simply rolled his eyes and wrapped his magic completely around her. “Fine, then.” He began to carry her out of the room.

Now that the blizzard was over, searches had begun. Not just for Lazuli, of course – every time there was a blizzard, patrols were sent out to search for any ponies who had gotten lost or stuck outside, but there was a special squad of Honour Guards dispatched to look for the Dracony.

At this point, it was less of a personal interest and more of an effort to keep the integrity of the Equestrian monarchy in place. If Lazuli was not found, her existence would be revealed to all of Equestria – and while none would care if they simply saw her face, given that it had been almost half a year since she ‘died’ and most ponies had forgotten about her, the details of her crimes and her past execution would no doubt be included.

Tempest was not with the squad, though. She was out on her own. She hadn’t eaten in a few days now, and she hadn’t slept once. Her muscles were aching, but she wasn’t going to let herself rest until she found Lazuli or she keeled over from exhaustion…whichever came first.

As she trotted along the train tracks, her ears suddenly perked up. Her head shot to attention and she stood completely still, listening.

“Drop it, featherbrains!”

The voice was very faint. She could just barely hear it. Looking in the direction it came from, she saw an old building jutting above the treeline, sitting on a tall hill, about 200 metres into the woods.

“…that’s too conspicuous…” She thought to herself, but continued to listen.

“It’s not my fuckin’ fault she can’t walk!”

“Don’t you DARE talk to me like that.”

Tempest ground her hooves into the snow and began to gallop. At some point her scarf flew off her neck, but she wasn’t going to take the time to grab it again. Her horn crackled angrily as she bounded down the barely noticeable trail, hopping over frozen logs and patches of ice as she galloped in the direction of the voices.

As she got closer, one of the voices yelled something incoherent and the unmistakable sound of magic being discharged rebounded through the forest. With it came a pained cry, one that Tempest swore she knew.

“You dropped her.” Sanctuary growled, his eyes locking with the tall beige Pegasus in front of him.

“I didn’t mean nothin’ by it! She don’t walk straight!”

“You don’t THINK straight!” Sanctuary quipped, pushing the Pegasus back. “Just leave it. I said leave it.”

“Whatever you says, boss…” The Pegasus snorted and flew off to help prepare other supplies for transport.

Sanctuary adjusted his glasses and looked down at Lazuli, who was lying on the ground and wheezing.

“And you.” He snarled down at her, his horn lighting up with an angry golden flare. “Get up.” He zapped her with a bolt of energy to the chest, which made her cry out in pain.

“Shut your mouth and get up!” He wrapped his magical grip around her and began to drag her to her hooves. The Dracony tried her best to obey, but she stumbled and fell forward again.

Sanctuary took a deep breath, closing his eyes as his horn fizzled and cracked. “It has taken us thirty minutes just to get you out of the building. If you don’t pick your disgusting hybrid ass off the ground right now, I’m going to-“

“HEY!”

The unicorn’s head jerked up at the sound of a female voice cutting through the clearing. It probably wasn’t a great idea for him to look in that direction, given that he was immediately hit in the face by a round stone kicked by a very angry mare.

Sanctuary staggered backwards as the rock shattered his glasses and dazed him. He shook his head and fired a beam in the direction it had come from, but Tempest lunged forward and slid underneath it. She wrapped both hind legs around his neck, twisting her whole body around and slamming him into the ground. “Get…the fuck…away from her.” She panted, jumping to her hooves as the stallion lay groaning in the snow.

Lazuli couldn’t muster the energy to react. Her eyes managed to flick upwards and look at Tempest, who looked extremely tired but not nearly as much as her. “F…Fizzle…” She coughed, planting both front hooves on the ground and trying to stand up. Given a bit of time to, she managed to steady herself on all fours, but her hind legs were wobbling.

“Sweet Celestia, what did they do to you…?” Fizzle stepped forward, her metal-clad hooves tapping gently against the clean patches of dirt.

“Need…to…get out…” Lazuli muttered, her eyes fluttering and her body wobbling from side to side, stumbling a few times. “Get…Sanctuary…”

Tempest glanced at the unicorn on the ground, who was trying to stand himself up. “Him? He’s Sanctuary?”

“Don’t…” Lazuli flopped sideways and fell down, a painful cracking noise coming from her wing. Tempest winced and started to help her up.

“Hey, I know it’s hard but I need you to stand up…fuck, is there any food around-“

Tempest’s question was interrupted by a blast of golden magic striking her in the back. She squeaked and flew forward, slamming into a tree but shaking it off as quickly as she could. She spun around to face Sanctuary, barely managing to dodge out of the way as another beam hit the tree behind her.

Sanctuary stood there, panting and letting his broken glasses drop off of his face. “You…how did you find us?!”

“You were talking too loud.” Tempest said blankly, her eyes fixating on his. “Now do yourself a favour and give up before I break bones you didn’t even know you had.”

Sanctuary brushed his mane out of his face and snorted. He glanced up at Tempest’s horn, a slight chuckle escaping him. “Try me. A unicorn with a horn will always win.”

Tempest took his challenge and ran forward, weaving from side to side to avoid any shots he fired at her. His blasts nearly grazed her armour, but none hit. She threw herself at him, her armoured hoof colliding with the side of his face and knocking him flat on his rump.

“I said give up.”

“And I said try me.” Sanctuary grinned and jerked his head to the side, his horn flashing gold again.

Tempest had no time to react, for she had no idea there was anything to react to. The blasts she had just dodged spun themselves around in mid-air and twisted around her. Two of them hit her temples, one struck her in the chest and a final one worked under her stomach to knock the wind out of her and flip her over. Sanctuary locked a ring of energy around her front hoof, swinging her to the side and bashing her head up against another tree.

Tempest fell to the ground, her vision swimming and her head throbbing. Her armour had sustained the damage just fine, but her head had taken three heavy blows that made her feel ready to throw up. “Nngh…” She staggered to her hooves, leaning on the tree for support, but she wouldn’t be able to dodge again.

Lazuli watched all of this happen with wide eyes. She lay there on her side, mouth hanging open and her hooves weakly twitching. Her tail wiggled slightly, like a dying dog who was trying to greet its master. “F-…Fizzle…” She whimpered.

“Fizzle…” Sanctuary repeated, snickering a bit to himself. “That’s right, you got yourself a more fitting name.” He fired another bolt at Tempest, who was knocked back against the tree. She fell with her back facing it, coughing and struggling to stand again. “Though, I really do think Tempest suits you a lot better.” His magical grip took hold of her tail, tossing her across the clearing and letting her skid across the ground to land on her side, panting and still attempting to stand.

Sanctuary advanced towards her. “Your skills are reputable, I’ll say that much. I was actually a bit nervous when you showed up…but it looks like without those little stone balls of yours, you can’t do that much, can you? At least Lazuli here is resistant to this.” He fired another weaker bolt, this one striking Tempest in the chest and knocking her over when she tried to stand up.

“I’m very sorry to say this…” Sanctuary chuckled, his horn crackling and sparking with golden energy. “But it seems your journey was for nothing. I’ll dispose of you and take Lazuli to my home, and you will have died for nothing.” He lowered his head, horn pointed at Tempest.

“I apologize if this hurts. I’m not used to doing things myself.” Sanctuary released the magic he had built up in a thin but powerful beam, aimed straight at the battered unicorn.

Lazuli wasn’t exactly sure what her plan was, but she knew she couldn’t sit there and do nothing. When Sanctuary’s horn began to glow she forced herself to stand, every muscle in her body screaming at her and begging her not to. She staggered forward, unnoticed by the stallion completely unaware of her approach, or if he was aware, he didn’t care about a crippled mare trying to ruin the fun.

As she watched Sanctuary’s head lower, she did the only thing she could. Her tail weakly slid forward along the ground, managing to build up enough energy to flick heavily towards Sanctuary. A rock, kicked up by her tail’s movement, sailed through the air and smacked against the side of the unicorn’s head. It did very little, but it was enough to distract him. He abruptly turned his head and fired the beam at Lazuli.

The Dracony had no way to counter it. She let the blast of golden magic slam into her, sliding her across the dirt and and leaving her buried waist-deep in cold, admittedly soothing snow.

As he turned his head back to face Tempest, he realized she was far closer than she had been. In fact, her vision was obscured by a metallic surface for a millisecond before it slammed into his face, sending him sprawling on his back. Her horn crackled in its multicoloured fashion for a few seconds before she threw her head forward, electricity sparkling from the broken stump and jolting through Sanctuary’s body. The unicorn howled, but his horn quickly flashed and formed a barrier around his body, blocking her energy.

Sanctuary snorted. “A lucky shot. Took a surprise attack to give you an advantage.”

Tempest stayed silent and slowly advanced towards him. Sanctuary shrugged, his horn firing off a few more bolts.

Tempest’s steps were calm and slow, and when one of the bolts was about to hit her, a bright sparkle of electricity arced through the air and collided with it. “I might not be able to control my magic like you can…” Tempest grimaced, one of the bolts hitting her in the chest. “But I’m not about to let some fat, pompous unicorn like you make off with my friend.”

Lazuli weakly lifted her head out of the snow. Her vision was swimming, her muscles felt like they were on fire. “Fizz…” She wheezed, only to drop her head back down in the cool surface.

Tempest glanced at the Dracony in the snow, electrifying another bolt of magic. The closer she got, the more Sanctuary backed up. “I’m not letting you get off easy. Jail’s too good for you. A pony like you can just convince the guards to give you better accommodations or whatever.” She snorted angrily. “Lazuli killed the stallion who ruined her friends and family’s lives. Now I’m going to kill the one who’s trying to ruin mine.”

Sanctuary reared back to fire again, but Tempest wasn’t going to let him. She ran forward as fast as her sore limbs could carry her, ducking her head down and bringing it back up under his chin. Her broken horn pushed up against his jaw and sent waves of shimmering magical energy through the unicorn, who yowled in pain and tried to stagger back. Tempest put one of her front hooves on his chest, throwing him backwards.

Before he could stand up, she slammed one hoof down on his stomach. He tried to light up his horn to teleport or do something to defend himself, but Tempest brought another hoof down on his horn and began to painfully bend it backwards.

“You know something, ‘Sanctuary’?” Tempest smirked softly. “I care about as much about the Canterlot royalty as a bug does. But…” She glanced over at Lazuli, lying limply in the snow. “You messed with the only mare I’ve been able to comfortably call a friend.”

Sanctuary winced and writhed underneath her as his horn bent. The feeling wasn’t too dissimilar from having a bone pressed on…and as he felt a powerful ccrrrrck running through it, he started to panic. Golden energy seeped out of the cracks. “W-wait, stop!” He squeaked, his voice sounding almost feminine.

Tempest slowly increased the pressure. More cracks formed along the base of Sanctuary’s horn, the stallion now frantically kicking and squirming underneath her. An explosion of shimmering energy rippled out as she finally broke it loose, the dull popping noise only accompanied by a wail that echoed through the trees.

Tempest waited until he stopped screaming before fully severing the horn from his head, leaving the stump crackling and fizzling erratically. “You said a unicorn with a horn always wins. Well now neither of us has one.” She said bluntly. “So…”

The purple mare leaned her head down until her eyes were right in front of his, their cold gaze shooting daggers into his sockets. “Good luck now.” She pressed the broken stump of her own horn to his freshly snapped forehead, and another howl echoed through the forest.

To Lazuli, was over.

Not just her involvement with Sanctuary. “It” meant everything to do with her old life. As far as she was concerned, Sanctuary had been the last tie to her past self, and she had no intention of returning to it.

The patrols sent out by the princesses had eventually spotted them all lying in front of the abandoned asylum out in the middle of nowhere. Tempest was the only one awake. Lazuli was passed out next to her, and Sanctuary was…not dead, surprisingly. The unicorn had been shocked, beaten and broken within an inch of his life, but not killed. Tempest knew that was too good for him.

When the patrols reported to the princesses, they had a carriage sent for them. It took an hour to arrive, but when it did, Tempest and Lazuli were carefully loaded into it and Sanctuary was not-so-carefully taken away as well.

That was how Lazuli found herself back in Canterlot, standing in the throne room before the two princesses…again.

Her wing was stuck against her side, cast in plaster to help it heal. Her tail had somehow been healed as well, though if it was on account of Sanctuary or some kind of oddly fast Dracony healing factor wasn’t clear. Her fatigue was easily reduced by a proper sleep in a warm bed and a decent meal, something she hadn’t had in about four days. Her hind legs were back in their braces, but these ones were designed to handle a lot more stress.

Luna was the first one to speak when the throne room door shut. “…so…”

Celestia glanced at her sister, but decided to pick up for her. “We presume you will be happy to know that Blind Faith admitted to his guilt. He won’t be getting out of prison any time soon.”

“That means never, right?” Lazuli had a bandage wrapped around her head, not only on her forehead but covering her left eye. Her voice was abnormally quiet. “And…what about all of the hits he ordered from me? And-…” She choked up slightly, but swallowed to fix it. “And Flare’s death?”

“…yes.” Celestia nodded. “Though…as much as we do apologize for everything you’ve been through…this could have been avoided if you did not choose to leave the Crystal Empire on your own.”

Lazuli sat down. The princesses didn’t mind, knowing that standing was probably not comfortable for long periods of time. “I know.”

“…but?”

“But nothing. I was stupid.” She sighed and shook her head. “It’s my fault this happened. It…” She cleared her throat. “It’s my fault…”

“Not your fault exactly.” Luna chimed in. “It was just a poor decision.”

“A poor decision that nearly ruined the entire Equestrian government.”

“Weelll…”

“Ugh…” Lazuli leaned back, drawing in a breath. “If it wasn’t for Fizzlepop…I would’ve been solely responsible for you two losing power.”

Celestia frowned and glanced at Luna, who closed her eyes for a moment. “Lazuli, you’ve been through enough to last a mare a lifetime.” She opened her eyes again. “You’ve nearly died on multiple occasions in the last few months. You’ve done enough, and you’ve experienced enough.”

“So…?”

“So we want you to make the decision on what you do next. As far as you’ve told us, Sanctuary was your last real…enemy, in Equestria. The public has all but forgotten you as Dusk Rider. You may be able to start anew…for real.”

Lazuli’s expression hardly changed. “I wanted to ask you about something.”

The princesses exchanged worried looks.

“It’s about my brother.”

Luna grimaced a bit. “Right. I had expected this.”

“Where is he?”

Celestia winced in a similar way. “Well…it is a rather long story, Lazuli.” She looked to Luna for support, but she just shrugged.

“I just want to know where he is.”

“…well…after he was discharged from the guard…we actually have no idea.”

“Ah…”

“I do apologize, Lazuli. We were keeping a close eye on him when he was a guard, but…well…he disappeared.”

Lazuli abruptly stood up. “I know what I’m going to do then.”

“And that would be…?” Celestia inquired.

“I’m going back to Ponyville. At least until I’m back to some kind of normal shape…and then I’m going to find him.” She paused and looked at the ground. “Or…try to.”

Luna looked to her sister. The two of them stared for a few seconds, then looked back to Lazuli.

“Very well.” Celestia nodded solemnly. “If that is what you wish. I’m glad you’ve decided to return to Ponyville first, though. Your friends are worried about you.”

The Dracony nodded. “When can I leave?”

“As soon as we get an official statement from you on what happened. Then you’ll be a free mare, truly.”

“…no strings?”

“None.” Luna interjected. “Not a single one.”

“This sounds suspicious.”

“Well, even if we ask for your help…” Luna smiled softly. “You have the option to say no.”

Lazuli smirked back at the princess, then did her best impression of a bow that she could in her current condition. “Thank you.”

Both princesses giggled a bit. “Well, you should get some more rest. You’re still tired, I can tell.”

“Mmhm.” Lazuli nodded and started to walk out of the room, her hind legs clacking and clanking noisily with each movement.

“Oh, and Lazuli?” Luna called.

“Yeah?” The Dracony stopped at the door and glanced back.

“…” Luna sighed. “Try to have pleasant dreams for me to visit, yes?”

Lazuli held her gaze on Luna for a few seconds, then nodded with as much of a smile as she could manage. “I don’t think it’ll be too hard after this.”

She walked out of the throne room, and the doors magically shut behind her.

Epilogue

Lazuli slowly stepped into her bedroom, a heavy sigh rolling past her lips. Her hooves gently clanked against the ground with every step she took – the braces on them were hardly even necessary anymore, but she wore them just for stability.

“Long day?” Fizzlepop’s voice greeted her, and a smile crossed the Dracony’s tired face.

“You could say that, yeah.” Lazuli nodded, stretching her body out and sighing. While not too much had changed about her, the difference was more than visible.

Her body was back to being toned and slim, but it also looked to be a bit stiffer than usual. She wore a pair of glasses on the bridge of her nose that were only really needed for reading, and her mane was tied up in a tight bun.

“What’s wrong, Laz?” Fizzle walked up to her. The unicorn had changed, too. Her mane remained in its fiery mohawk shape, but her face was just a bit…rounder, one could describe it as.

“Oh, nothing.” Lazuli sighed and sat down on her bed, slowly unhooking her braces and letting them sit there on the floor as she stretched her legs out. “Just…another day behind the desk, I guess.”

“Well at least you’re not out bucking apples with me.” Fizzlepop giggled, lying back down on her bed and crossing one front hoof over the other. “Makes my muscles sore.”

“I guess so.” The Dracony nodded, smiling at her friend. “Hey, how’s Applejack anyway? I haven’t seen her in a few days.”

“She’s great! Just been busy, is all. Harvest season and whatnot. Farm needs her full attention and all.”

Lazuli nodded and ran a hoof through her mane, which still had a bit of its bangs hanging out in front. After stretching her hind legs a bit, she shakily stood up and sighed. Her walk was mostly normal, just a bit shaky. Her wings, the poor majestic things, had been broken so many times that they just couldn’t set right anymore. They mostly remained at her sides, and certainly weren’t functional for fighting.

“And what’re you doing, hmm?” Fizzle tilted her head gently.

The Dracony paused, slowly opening the closet with her tail. “I just…want to look at something.”

Fizzlepop shrugged and rolled onto her side, letting her sore muscles rest while Lazuli dug a dusty box out of the closet. Her tail slowly pulled the lid open, and she took out a slip of paper that was sitting on top of a mass of black fabric.

Dear Lazuli,

You have done Equestria a service. Your past crimes have perhaps been heinous, but what you have done and been through is more than enough in the way of punishment. You need not worry about repercussions.

We understand if you still hold some level of resentment towards us. We would be foolish to believe that you have none. But even so, we would like to make one thing official.

Your life may begin anew, Lazuli. We hope you enjoy it, and spend it well. Your past crimes mean nothing. As far as we are concerned, you are simply another Dracony living in Equestria.

Oh, and don’t worry about Sanctuary. None of our guards will fall for his tricks. You can rest assured that he and his little ‘church’ will be dealt with.

Yours Truly,

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

Lazuli hadn’t realized how long she had been staring at the paper until she felt Fizzle tap her on the shoulder. “Hey. Equestria to Laz.”

“Huh? Oh.” She cleared her throat and sat up, folding the letter.

“You’re still reading that?” Fizzle frowned. “You know you’re supposed to let go of the past, not keep reminding yourself of it, right?”

“I know, it’s just…” She placed the letter back in the box, and slowly shut the lid. “It makes me really happy to read it.”

Fizzlepop sighed and rested her head on Lazuli’s shoulder, snorting. “You know you shouldn’t keep reading it.”

“Last time, I promise.” Lazuli slid the box into the closet and pushed the door shut. “Kay?”

“Hrmph, you’re lying, I can tell.”

“Hush.”

“Your cheeks get red when you lie.”

“Your horn crackles when you do it.”

Fizzle snickered and gave Lazuli’s cheek a gentle nuzzle. “Come on. You need some rest. Being the mayor’s secretary must be hard work, right?”

“Not as hard as apple farming, I bet.”

“Pfft.” Fizzle started dragging Lazuli backwards. “You knooooow you need your rest.”

“I’m not that old, Fizzle. Give me some slack.”

“You just turned thirty-six, I now have the duty of keeping you healthy.” Fizzle said in a silly voice that was obviously in jest.

“Well you’re thirty-two, I could say the same for you!” Lazuli gave the unicorn’s nose a bop with her tail. “And don’t keep talking about my age, you butt.”

The purple mare rolled her eyes. “But for real, you need some rest. We’re going to the party in a few hours, remember?”

“Ah…right. Forgot about that.” Lazuli flopped back on her bed, stretching out. “What’s it for, again?”

“Eh, just another Pinkie party. I’m not complaining.”

“I still can’t believe she’s still doing them. You’d think a mare would get bored of doing the same thing every day, you know?”

“She likes it, so does everyone else. How can we say anything?”

Lazuli settled back in her bed, head pressed against her pillow. “Hey…jokes aside, can I ask you something Fizzle?”

“Sure.”

“Do you ever just…I dunno…remember that one blizzard?”

“Laz…”

“No, just…please.”

“Of course I remember it. But that was a year ago, Lazuli. You’re not supposed to-…”

“I know, I know. But…”

The Dracony rolled onto her side to face Fizzle. “That blizzard, or…I guess the day after it…that was when I realized that you were a real friend to me.”

“…I know. Me too.”

“And…” Lazuli sighed. “Gods, I know I shouldn’t be talking about it, but…I just…really appreciate you being around, Fizzle. And…I appreciate you staying around.”

“I’d never up and leave, Laz.”

“I know. And I lov-…appreciate you for it.”

“…what was that first bit?”

Lazuli’s eyes darted to the floor. “I…it just slipped out. Sorry.”

“Laz, we’ve been friends for two years. You can say anything to me and it won’t make me mad.”

“Well…what else can I say? Love. That’s what I was going to say. Love.”

“So…is that in a friendly way? Because I love you too, Laz.”

“…I don’t know if it was just a friendly way, but…probably.”

Fizzle slowly stood up, trotting over to Lazuli’s bed and letting her nose nuzzle against the Dracony’s cheek. “Listen, Lazuli. I’ve known you for almost two years now, and I’ve loved you in a friendly way that whole time. And maybe it is a bit more than that – I dunno either. But how about we just let it go where it goes, okay? Nothing hidden between us? I’d hate to have this become a problem after so long.”

“…yeah. I think that works just fine.”

Fizzlepop planted a gentle kiss on Lazuli’s cheek. “Now get some real rest, okay? We’ve got a party to go to, and I’ll make you have fun.”

“Noooooooo…” Lazuli whined and dramatically put a hoof on her forehead. “Fun huuuurts.”

“Oh, hush.” Fizzlepop nudged her face again, then trotted back to her bed. “Or I’ll throw a ball of yarn all the way there to make you go.”

“Wwaaaaahhh.” Lazuli flailed her hooves in the air, then let herself flop limply. “I’m kidding. I’ll have fun, don’t worry.”

“Good.” Fizzle rolled onto her side and snuggled into the covers.

Lazuli allowed herself to lie there in silence for a few seconds, before bundling up the covers next to her and hugging them tight. A year or two ago, she would have been crying as she did this – but now, a delicate smile traced across her lips, and her expression was purely relaxed.

A Dracony's Blind Faith

Lazuli,

I think we both know what this is about. It’s recently come to my attention that your profession has gone from highly respected hitmare to…whatever those ponies down in Ponyville plan to have you do. This came as a shock to me, personally, but I want you to know there aren’t any hard feelings.

However, I’m sure you understand that in my end of the criminal world I can’t exactly have a past contact working so closely with those who work directly against me. I wholeheartedly respect your reformation, and I’m sure the crushing weight of all of the lives you’ve ended will be fixed with a few quick tea parties and friendship playdates. Unfortunately it seems the assassin I used to carry out all of my hits is now the next one on my list – but I don’t have a replacement.

Well played, Dusk.

Yours cordially,

Sanctuary.

The letter had sat on Lazuli’s bedside table for nearly a week before she finally decided to read it. She had assumed it was just another contract that had taken a while to get to her, at first…but it had her real name on it. Upon reading its contents, she wasn’t sure what to think. Her first assumption was well obviously I wasn’t going to be allowed to have a normal life. However, she read further into it and realized that this ‘Sanctuary’ was right. Dusk had been the most well-known hitmare in Equestria, or at least she liked to think so. If she was gone, this unknown pony probably had no one else to turn to that would actually be able to take her out. She was fairly confident this letter was nothing more than a glorified severance message with the intent of making her nervous.

Her time in Ponyville had only been brief, thus far. Six days and about fifteen hours, she had to imagine – the party on the first day had taken a lot out of her. She always made herself eschew sweets and other confectionaries, but Pinkie Pie simply wouldn’t have left her alone if she hadn’t eaten some. Fizzlepop was a decent enough roommate. She was surprisingly understanding when Dusk- no, Lazuli…she told herself…when Lazuli sometimes was shocked awake by her dreams or she thrashed around and made noise in her sleep, mainly because she had done the same for quite a while before she got used to normal life.

She still hadn’t made that date with Twilight yet, and she figured now would be better than later. From what she had been told by Starlight and Fizzle, Twilight was a studious mare and quite stern when it came to research. Lazuli presumed all she would really need to do was sit still and let the purple alicorn poke and prod her where she needed to, and ask her questions. Hopefully, she thought, she’ll do the questions and skip the prodding.

Lazuli nudged open the doors to the meeting room…or was it a throne room? She still wasn’t sure what to call it, but it was set up like a meeting room.

A rather deep voice was audible as soon as she stepped in. It had a southern drawl to it, yet the owner spoke eloquently and calmly.

“Now I of course don’t mean to impose, your royal highness.” The voice said, clearly adding words that weren’t necessary just to increase the impact of his speech. “But I simply must stay in this lovely little town of yours a short while longer. It’s so cozy and calm, I can’t get enough! And my goodness, all of the ponies here are just so kind.”

Lazuli stepped fully into the room. Twilight was sitting at her seat at the table, while another pony sat beside her, in the seat marked with Applejack’s cutie mark. The Dracony blinked at the sight of him – he was a nicely dressed unicorn with white fur and a blonde mane and tail. He wore some small glasses on his nose that accentuated the bright green of his eyes, and a dirty-white suit jacket that helped to add flair to his immaculate coat.

“Well, it’s certainly no issue, Mr. Faith.” The princess smiled warmly. “You’re quite a nice stallion yourself, Ponyville is happy to have you! There’s no reason we’d say no to you staying as long as you’d like.”

Lazuli cleared her throat firmly. “Is this a bad time?”

“Hm?” Twilight glanced at the door, then gasped. “Oh! Lazuli! Perfect timing. I wanted you to meet somepony!” She stood up, and the unicorn beside her did as well. “This is Blind Faith. He’s a travelling erm…what was it you did, again?”

“A lawyer, darling. Not that it would be very necessary in such a perfectly calm town as yours.” He put a hoof to his chest.

“Right, a travelling lawyer. He doesn’t have a solid place to stay at the moment, which is why I’m permitting him to stay in the castle for a while!”

“…er…nice to meet you, then.” Lazuli stepped forward and held out her hoof. As Faith stepped forward, the Dracony felt her body shiver a bit. He had an air of charisma around him that was hard to shake off. “My name’s Lazuli. Lazuli Cutter.”

The unicorn shook her hoof happily, his pearly white teeth slightly visible past his lips as he smiled. “A pleasure to meet you! I’ve been reading in the news about Bellephron. I never thought I’d get the chance to meet a Dracony, but it’s truly an honour. You must have a lot to tell.”

“Er…pardon?”

“Well, princess Twilight was just telling me about you.” He smirked in a way that made Lazuli simultaneously uneasy and extremely calm. “I’ve always been interested in Draconies. My sincere apologies if that was an odd thing to say.”

Lazuli was going to comment, but something about him made it hard to do so. His eyes made hers practically entranced. “Oh, it’s no problem,” She said slowly. “A little odd, but I can understand if you’re curious.” She happily smiled back at him. “It’s great to meet you, too.”

“Say, Lazuli.” Twilight spoke up. “You wouldn’t happen to be open for that interview now, would you?”

“Oh, right. That was what I was here about actually.” She glanced at Faith. “Er, do you mind, sir?”

“Oh, not at all. My apologies.” The unicorn politely bowed to them both. “I’ll see myself out. I’ve been told I simply must try the sweets at Sugarcube Corner – I’ll be back later!”

As Blind Faith began to leave the room, Lazuli couldn’t help but notice how plump he was. His belly sagged slightly with extra pudge, and his flanks bounced with each step he took. Well fed for a traveller, she thought.

“Sorry about that.” Twilight smiled and sat herself down again. Lazuli took a seat where Faith had been sitting.

“So…who is he? You said he’s a travelling uh…lawyer, so what does he plan to do here?”

“Oh, he’s just passing through and staying for a few days. He hasn’t got that much money, so I figured it wouldn’t be any harm to let him stay here.”

“…a lawyer doesn’t have money?”

“Well, I don’t think he gets a lot of work out here in the countryside.” Twilight shrugged. “Now, shall we begin?” She asked, her tone going from serious to giddy.

“Oh, right. Sure. Just an interview, right?”

“Well, that and a few other things…”

“…oh…”

Equestria was starting to enter the autumn months. It wasn’t cold yet, but it was chillier than usual, and when Lazuili went outside she needed to wear a scarf. Most ponies didn’t – but Lazuli was cold blooded.

As of late, she had been styling her mane differently. She now wore it in a ponytail – the only ponytail she could have, funnily enough – and kept it out of her face. It felt better, she had decided, but didn’t look a lot like she used to.

Lazuli had just left the castle. As she made her way down the street, she was acutely aware that she had no real idea where she was going. She had just started walking for the sake of walking with no real destination, but she supposed it was good that way. She liked the feeling of the cool breeze running through her fur, even if it was making her a bit sluggish.

“Oh! Lazuli!” A familiar male voice called from off to the side. The Dracony lifted her head and turned, glancing at the source. Blind Faith was sitting on a bench near Sugarcube Corner, smiling widely.

“Oh.” Lazuli slowly trotted over to him. “Hey there. Didn’t expect to see you around.”

The unicorn smiled and patted the seat next to him. Lazuli shrugged and hopped up on it, sitting down beside him. “Well it isn’t hard to run into ponies in a small town like this, hm?” he chuckled, the sound deep and heavy. “But really, I do apologize for interrupting your walk. I was just dying to talk to you more.”

“You uh…really apologize a lot when it isn’t quite necessary.” Lazuli commented.

“Ah, yeah. It’s a bad habit of mine.” He put a hoof to his chest and bowed his head. “The gods would be happy, but a lot of ponies aren’t.”

Lazuli cocked an eyebrow. “Gods? Plural?”

“Well of course. You only believe in one?” He leaned on the bench, turning his upper body to face her.

“Well I don’t…really believe in any, but don’t ponies worship the Princesses?”

“Ah yeah, most ponies do.” He nodded. “But I found my calling in a much higher power. One that the princesses wouldn’t exist without.”

“I see…” Lazuli nodded. At this point with most ponies she would have passed him off as a lunatic, but something about the way he carried himself kept her listening. “So. What’s your game?” She asked suddenly.

The unicorn looked slightly taken aback. “Game? Who said anything about a game? Who talked?” He put an arm around Lazuli, pulling her close with a hearty chortle. “I kid, of course.” He patted her head. “But no, there’s no game here, darling. Just a down home country lawyer finding life in the exploration of religious teachings.”

Lazuli giggled softly, finding herself resting her head against his shoulder. “Come on, you’ve got to have some kind of trick up your sleeve. Nopony’s as smooth as this without a reason.”

“And I bet a mare like you knows that quite well, hmm?~”

“…what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, I could tell the moment I saw you. You’ve been through a lot, right? You’ve got a lot of experience packed into that cute exterior.”

“…cute?”

“Apologies if that word’s not appealing. I meant…er…what’s the term…”

He tapped his chin with a hoof. “Gorgeous. That’s the one.”

“G-…” Lazuli’s face turned slightly red beneath the surface of her white fur. “Um, I’m flattered and all, but…”

“Oh, my sincerest apologies, darling. You’re taken?”

“Well…no…” She idly trailed her hoof along the wood of the bench. “Not exactly. Just um…I haven’t had great experiences with stallions.”

Faith gasped in a manner that didn’t even seem exaggerated. “Oh, my darling I am so sorry.” He gently took her hoof between his, lifting it to his lips and kissing it tenderly. “I get carried away sometimes. Please, forgive me.”

Lazuli’s face turned slightly redder, but her fur hid it fairly well. “I-I really am flattered, though.”

“Well I don’t mean to impose myself. I suppose I’ll make my way back to the castle, it’s getting’ dark.” His accent seemed to come out more at some times than others, but Lazuli didn’t really mind.

“Er, I was going to head back there too…” She said slowly.

“Well, no harm in walking back together now, is there?” He stood up, slowly stretching himself out.

Lazuli smiled at him. He was taller than her when standing, but only by a few inches. “I don’t see why not.”

“Shall we, then?” He started walking, and Lazuli happily trotted along beside him.

He smells good, she thought to herself, idly.

“Okay, so…you’re telling me you know a dragon.”

“Well I don’t know him. I mean…like…I used to. I stopped talking to him like…uh…five, maybe six years ago?”

Fizzle’s eyebrow raised with quite a bit of skepticism. “And how big is this dragon?”

“He’s like, I dunno, he’s probably gotten bigger maybe. He used to be not that much bigger than me.”

“I doubt that.”

“Well you can doubt it all you want, but it’s true.”

Fizzlepop and Lazuli were sitting in their bedroom. Lazuli was on the floor stretching, while Fizzle was on her bed, one leg kicked over the other. “Still really weird. What did you even do?”

“I dunno. Talked a lot. Just about stuff.” Lazuli grunted as she laid flat on her belly, lifting her rear into the air and stretching herself like a cat. “I hardly remember a lot about him. Just that he was a jerk.”

“How so?”

“Well you know dragons, super boisterous and all that. It didn’t help he had some uh…” She cleared her throat. “Digestive issues.”

Fizzle cringed a bit. “I can only imagine what that’s like from a dragon.”

“You’ve never shared a tent with one.” Lazuli giggled. “Oh, by the way, did you meet that new unicorn?” She slowly lifted one hind leg up, stretching it out behind her. She got into a rhythm of kicking one leg out, bringing it back in, and kicking out the other.

“Blind Faith?” Fizzle turned her head to look down at the Dracony.

“Yeah, him.”

“I met him, he seemed…pretty nice actually. Why?”

“I dunno. Something kinda…like…” She kept stretching, but looked distant for a second. “Just, something doesn’t feel right about him.”

“Well everything looks right about him, you know?”

“Oh, don’t be gross.” Lazuli snickered and straightened up.

Fizzle sighed. “Do we really have to go?”

“So now you’re the one who doesn’t want to take orders?”

“Call it an act of defiance.” The unicorn snorted. “I’m reforming from my old self.”

“Come on, it’s just a meeting. I doubt it’ll be anything big.”

“But I want to do something active.”

“I’ve been stretching for fifteen minutes, you’ve just been lying there.”

Fizzle rolled onto her stomach, leaning off the side of the bed. “Could we try sparring after?”

“…I…what?” Lazuli looked at her in confusion. “That’s…really random.”

“Well I haven’t gotten to fight anything in a while. My muscles are itching.”

“Well…honestly I’m not really…” The Dracony paused and rubbed her chin with her tail. “…in the mood to kick your ass that badly.”

Fizzle sat up with a wide smirk. “Is that a challenge?”

“You’re the one who brought it up, I’d call it an acceptance.”

Finally, Fizzlepop got off the bed and stood next to Lazuli, bumping her playfully with her hip. “Then let’s hope this meeting’s quick. I want to see what you can do without sneaking around and poking ponies in the ass when they don’t see it coming.”

“Is there even a training yard around here?”

“We’ll just do it behind the castle.”

Lazuli shrugged. While she had been sure about not fighting anymore, a bit of sparring to keep in shape wouldn’t be a problem, she was sure…

The ‘meeting’ they needed to attend turned out to be a simple talk between the six friends, Starlight, and Lazuli and Fizzle to a certain extent. Neither of them were particularly interested – it was something about friendship and a problem they need to solve, but nothing that the two mares concerned themselves with much. Occasionally when they were called upon they just nodded and agreed as if they were school fillies pretending to pay attention, which was half true. Lazuli was at least attentive, whereas Fizzle had adopted her bored and disinterested expression.

“So Lazuli,” Rarity said suddenly. The Dracony’s head turned to look at the unicorn.

“Yeah?”

“Fabulous name by the way, darling. Lapis Lazuli is truly an exquisite gem. Absolutely fabulous.” She smiled. “But tell me, you seem a bit distant. Have you been listening?”

Leave it to the unicorn to call you out on it…Lazuli thought, looking around as all eyes turned to her. “Well, honestly, I just don’t really know why I’m here.”

Twilight spoke up quickly. “Right! Well, I thought the best way to help you along towards learning about friendship is by having you attend these meetings! We don’t have them that often, and it’s not like you need to come with us on friendship missions or wherever else we need to go, but it can be a great help, I think.”

“Plus,” Rainbow Dash spoke up, fluttering in the air above her chair to look at Lazuli. “You’re super distant. I’ve barely talked to you since the first day party, and you don’t really talk to anypony else either.”

“I dunno, not much to talk about.”

“Um…she’s…she’s only been here a week…” Fluttershy tried to speak up, but was overtaken by Applejack.

“It’s nothin’ against ya, sugarcube. We’re just tryin’ to make sure y’all feel like yer’ welcome around here.”

Lazuli raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t really like I felt-“

Pinkie Pie didn’t permit the end of her sentence to arrive before she interjected, suddenly appearing in front of Lazuli’s face. “Don’t worry, if my first party didn’t work and make you feel comfortable, I’ll just throw another one! Oh, but now it won’t be a surprise since I told you, but still, wouldn’t that be fun? We could invite eeeeeverypony! Rarity, Applejack, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Lotus, Aloe, Lyra…”

As the pink party pony droned on, Lazuli felt herself zoning out. Sweet Faust, I have to do this on a regular basis? She groaned internally.

“Aaaaand if you really want, I could even invite your family!”

Lazuli was shocked back into focus, her pupils dilating as she turned her head up to stare right at Pinkie. “I…what?”

“Oh! Sorry, was that a bad thing? I get carried away a lot, my friends always say I just have a really active mind, but when I really think about it it’s more like they just don’t have the same imagination, you know? And when my imagination gets away from me I just kinda start rambling and nopony really listens but they kinda act like they are so I wasn’t really sure if you were listening but since you noticed that last part I guess you were! So do you want me to invite ‘em?”

Lazuli glanced at the floor, then up at Pinkie, then at Fizzle. The room was surprisingly quiet, the mares that were still at the table staring at Lazuli with a bit of concern.

“Uh…y’all okay?” Applejack asked tentatively.

The Dracony blinked a few times, her eyes fixated on a small bit of dirt sitting on the polished crystal floor. “The um…” She cleared her throat. “The floor’s…a little dirty here…”

“What…?” Twilight tilted her head.

“The floor. It’s got…uh…” She wiped it with her hoof. “Nothing. Um…meeting over, or can we get back to…friendship stuff?”

“My word darling,” Rarity spoke up. “Are you alright? You’re shaking.”

Lazuli hadn’t even realized it, but her muscles were tense. “I’m fine. Just...” She cleared her throat again.

“…” She stood up and started walking towards the door.

“Where are you going, Lazuli?” Twilight called after her.

“I need some air.” She replied, the door swinging shut behind her as she left the room.

Pinkie Pie glanced at the door, then looked back at her friends. “…was it something I said?”

THWACK.

The rhythmic beating of some hard object against wood was constant, echoing through the outer fringe of Ponyville.

Lazuli’s tail just kept whacking against the tree, the poor Oak having no way to defend itself as a tail with about 200 pounds of force behind it kept slamming into its aging bark. Leaves slowly fell to the grass with each hit, and Lazuli’s clenched teeth and narrow eyes portrayed about the same level of care that her tail’s movements did.

It wasn’t too long before Fizzlepop arrived. She walked quietly, but loud enough to make herself heard. “Hey.”

“…hey.” Lazuli replied slowly, then whacked the tree again.

“Doesn’t that hurt?”

“Hurts the tree more.” THWACK.

“What’d the tree do to you?”

“It looked too smug. Had all its leaves on still.”

“Dusk.”

“That’s not my name.”

“It’s what you’re acting like right now.”

“Fuck off.”

The silence that hung between them was only broken every few seconds by the pounding of Lazuli’s tail.

“She didn’t know what she was saying. That’s just how Pinkie is.”

“I don’t think it really matter who said it, Tempest.”

“Okay, fine. Your name’s Lazuli, got it.”

“No, no no no it isn’t.” Lazuli turned herself around, her tail slamming against the tree so hard it splintered the wood that had been stripped bare already. “That name’s a lie.”

“Don’t be like that.”

“Be like what? I’m pretending to be somepony I’m not. I haven’t been Lazuli for twenty years.”

“That’s always been your name. You were lying when you went by Dusk.”

Lazuli rolled her eyes. “Sometimes ponies change. I was Dusk longer than I was ever Lazuli.”

“I was Tempest longer than I was Fizzlepop. What’s brought this on? So Pinkie slipped up. She mentioned your family. You can’t just get like this every time someone mentions them.”

“I can if I want to.”

“No, you really can’t.” Fizzle stepped forward. “Laz, your past is gone. Forget about it. Never forget their memory, but forget about Dusk. Forget about being so angry about them.”

“You don’t even know what happened to them.”

“I feel like I might have a pretty good idea.” She heaved a sigh, trying to find a way to speak delicately.

“Look.” Fizzle leaned down a bit. “I get it. You suffered a lot. Probably way more than I did. You have ten times the motivation I do for being the way you were. But that’s not a good thing. You got revenge on the one who did it. You killed him. He’s gone. His legacy is tarnished. Your species is safe. Your life is better.” She smiled. “You don’t have to keep looking back on their memory like it was for nothing. Hell,” She let herself laugh slightly. “Think about it this way. Without their sacrifice, you would have ended up the same way. You’d never have become the mare you are, and you never would have ended Diadem’s regime.”

Lazuli winced, her eye twitching a bit. “I…” She bit her lip, her body starting to shake again. “I didn’t…get to…”

“Shhh.” Fizzle gently sat down and pulled Lazuli with her, hugging the Dracony close to her chest. “It’s okay.”

“I…I never…I never got to…s-say goodbye to them…” She sobbed into the unicorn’s chest.

“I know, I know.” Fizzle ran a hoof down Lazuli’s mane and back, stroking along her neck softly. “But you can’t let that ruin you. Come on.”

Lazuli sniffed and buried her face in Fizzle’s fur. She could feel tears wetting it.

“Damnit…you’re gonna make me cry too, Laz. But…let it out.” She kept gently stroking her head. “It’s fine.”

“I…c-couldn’t save them…”

“There was no way you could, Laz. No one expected it from you. You were a filly.”

“I…I…”

The two sat in relative silence for a few minutes. Lazuli’s face remained buried in Fizzle’s chest, tears dripping down her face and the surface of the unicorn’s fur. Fizzlepop just continued gently rubbing her back, holding her until the tears seemed to stop.

Lazuli slowly pulled away.

“You okay now?” Fizzle asked.

Lazuli wiped her eyes with a hoof, a small smile reaching her lips. She held back a laugh. “Gods…” She sniffled. “I must look like a wreck…”

“You could use a shower I think.” Fizzle smiled back at her.

“H-heh…” Lazuli took a few deep, shuddering breaths. “Let’s…let’s get back to the castle.” She started to walk, and Fizzle followed suit.

“Hey. Laz.” Fizzle said, falling into pace beside the Dracony.

“…yeah?”

“If you ever need somepony to talk to…”

Lazuli sniffled again, using her tail to wipe a few more tears away. “I know. Thanks, Fizz.”

The unicorn suppressed a snicker. “Fizz? Is that my new nickname?”

“Well you pulled ‘Laz’ out, so I’ve gotta match it…”

Fizzle gave Lazuli’s hip a gentle bump. “Fair enough.”