Times of Woeby Penelope Anne InkChaptersChapter One: AmbitionChapter Two: DreamsChapter Four: Lost LoveChapter Five: StressChapter Six: The UnknownChapter Seven: What We MustChapter Three: Work and LifeChapter One: AmbitionCelestia stared down from the battlement. All was as it always had been. The busy streets below her, filled with ponyfolk from all over, coming to share their labors in the pursuit of a better life for all. She sighed. It was trying circumstances indeed for her. She had just received word that her sister was coming back from the Parasprite Crusade. It left her scared and worried but near breathless to hear of her sister’s return. They hadn’t spoken to each other since that day… “Cele! I can take care of myself!” “No, you can’t!” Scrolls were flung across the room. It seemed like the day would last forever with just them fighting. One sister telling the other that she shouldn’t go. The other saying that it was all she had to look forward to. Their great father had gifted them with the kingdom upon his death. Timeotheus was a beloved leader, but he lived in an age where monsters roamed around and ponies were scattered to the winds. Celestia and Luna were told to rule equally, but Celestia was the oldest and the one that showed the most promise. Their tutor loved them both equally for both their faults and their abilities, but the ponyfolk could only see the greatness of the one. Driving the younger pony to despair, they knew not what they were doing. “All you wanted to do…” Celestia began to say to herself. *** There was a bustle in the street. A crash of carts that resounded through the marketplace. One pony was absentmindedly reviewing a scroll she was levitating in front of her, while a caged bear was being wheeled out into the road. “Ach, whatchit why donya?!!” an angry fellow muttered. He levitated his cage back in place on his wagon. But the damage had already been done in a domino effect down the street. This was one of the main thoroughfares across great Cantermost City. Hundreds of ponies would travel across it before noon even tolled out on the great clock at the castle. The scholarly unicorn looked around her scroll in a bit of confusion. She looked at the angry stallion and then turned toward the other dazed and irritable ponies. She apologized, magically righted everyone’s carts, and quickly teleported away. It wasn’t her usual route home. But today she had gone to visit the monastery and collect new scrolls. The monastery was by the sea. Even though the ponyfolk living there professed that they gave up all worldly possessions, it seemed like they controlled the harbor and the commerce going on around it. But this unicorn didn’t want to deal with it today. She had a busy week ahead of her. She needed to go to the monastery to gain access to the newest scrolls from exotic lands. New historical, biological, and cultural knowledge that the monastery ponyfolk would carefully catalog and record in their scrolls. Maybe, it was to see her brother, too… But her Master wouldn’t be pleased about it. She looked toward the great clock at the castle. It was nearing two in the afternoon. She couldn’t teleport all the way home, but she was only three streets away. She dashed with all her strength in that direction. *** “Twilight!!” a very white and very posh unicorn called out. “Yes, Master Rarity.” “Did you get me the scrolls I needed on the latest fashion trends in Prance?” “Yes, ma’am!” Twilight shuffled around in her bag and pulled out the scroll. “I can’t believe I was this close to being late on the game on this one. The ambassadors could have had my head!” “Yes, ma’am.” “Oh, and Twilight,” Rarity called out as that unicorn shuffled her bag back around, “did you happen to see a certain somepony?” Twilight looked forward with a straight face. The other seamsponies in the shop around them could feel the tension in the air and slightly hesitated with the suspense. One almost dropped her spools. “No...ma’am.” “Good, darling. Now you’re dismissed.” With a hmph, the Master pony trotted off to inspect her workers. Twilight gave a noiseless sigh of relief and trotted up to her room. She lived in the attic of her Master’s shop. It was a small room at the top of the servant’s staircase. She hadn’t been living here long, so it still didn’t feel very homey, as cozy as it was. It would have been entirely dark and lonely, except for a tiny window above her bed and a small fireplace in the far corner. She had her wooden table against the other wall. It had a lightstand and a few parchments on it. Twilight missed the days when she had been apprenticing under the blacksmith. Although she wasn’t able to handle the hard labor, sometimes it was easier to cope with a kind master than the one she was under now. Still, she moved to this one because the stallion blacksmith had to leave town, and her current Master was the only other pony who had royal connections and was looking for an apprentice. “Just a little bit longer…” As she plopped onto her bed and looked at the light shining in from her window, she thought about her dream. It would be great. She’d be an apprentice or secretary to the great Her Majesty Queen Celestia or Her Highness Cadance, though she preferred to work under Queen Celestia. Queen Cadance was the ruler of an allied nation, so Twilight figured she may have to meet up with and handle the servant ponies under her, too. But Twilight’s dream was to work in the castle. Her older brother had once worked in the castle with her and her mother. Their father had died sometime before, but Twilight could still remember working with her mother making apple pies in the royal kitchens. But soon after her brother joined the great Parasprite Crusade, her mother died of grief, though, now that Twilight had been studying more on known diseases, it could have been consumption. Twilight had a younger brother, but… There was a knock on her door. “One more thing, darling, I need you to go to the market and pick up the velvet material at the craft stalls.” “Yes, ma’am.” Chapter Two: DreamsApplejack ran. She ran and ran and ran. Her hooves fell hard and jagged onto the rocky paths but she kept going. There was something freeing about being able to run. Her hooves had grown rougher and stronger over the years her family had lived in the area. No matter what the circumstance below her hooves, she could run against it. “Applejack!” She heard a familiar voice cry out. It made her stop in her tracks with a long skid toward the side. Whirling around, she looked at her younger sister. “Granny says she needs you!” It seemed like the young filly would scream her lungs out hollering. The whole countryside could have heard her, but thankfully, Applejack’s running paths were well away from the orchards and all the day laborers. The sight that greeted her when she got back to the main barn was enough to make her wish she never stopped, that she could just keep running. Granny had been trying to shear the sheep. They had gotten through maybe three or five sheep, but each one was covered in rough patches and baaing forlornly toward the newcomer. The current one Granny was attempting to shear had looked at her predecessors and fled the confines of the pen. Baaing hysterically for its mother, it kept running in circles and knocking over everything. Applejack pulled out a rope from beneath her hat. In two seconds she had the sheep tackled and began to soothingly whisper to it that it would be alright. The sheep calmed down. “I don’t know what in the world that little sheep was thinking. If we don’t get the wool finished up in time this winter we could lose the farm.” “You don’t know that Granny!” Applejack looked toward where her sister was seated. Apple Bloom looked slightly concerned, but turned away and began studying the dirt floor. As Applejack and Granny began arguing over control of shearing, Apple Bloom made her way to the loft. It had been a long day in the city for her. Her older sister had always told her to make an honest living, and gave her a good amount of chores to do around the farm. They would sell apple cider and wool and harvest all the apples and pears year round. Even though it was a more modern time, pegasus ponies were still in control of the weather. And with that, any earth pony with a large plot of land could harvest any type of fruit whose seed is available in the market. In earlier times, there was a limit to that, but now the harbor is a bustling port. Run by the monastery ponyfolk, it had never seen more success and activity. Seeds of all sorts had come through. Plants to heal, feed, kill, clothe, and shelter could be grown from those seeds. Apple Bloom was always learning about new kinds of plants every day. Yes, her older sister had always told her to make an honest living, but sometimes she’d go into the city and wonder what it’d be like to be a street urchin. There were a few that she’d see huddling around on the street corners. Some were known pick pockets, but since nopony in the city or the jail wanted to deal with them, they’d be in and out constantly. There was only one great jail that no one could escape from. It was somewhere on the far edge of the castle. The ordinary jail for thieves was run down and shabby. The small colts and fillies could come in and out through the sewer systems. Apple Bloom noticed one in particular a few weeks ago. Orange coat and purple hair, she limped around with a cast on her tiny wings. Apple Bloom was almost worried about her. But yesterday she saw the same pony in another street, this time with the cast on the left instead of the usual right. And then today the cast was on the right side again on the usual street. Still, Apple Bloom thought sometimes about asking Applejack about taking this pony in. They had room for more laborers at the orchard, and they could pay well. Well, if they could get the sheep sheared. Apple Bloom looked back down the rickety stairs that led to her loft. Granny had gone back toward the main house, but Applejack was still there. She seemed almost in a trance, working on the sheep. They were all calm now. The ones that were roughly sheared were now neatly taken care of, and the others followed suit. Apple Bloom could almost hear the soft lullaby her sister was muttering to them. It was the same lullaby their parents used to sing to them. The harvest Will come in Softly. And always Remember You’re lovely. There’s endless delight From day and from night No need to worry And no need for fright. Just whisper Whisper All comes right. *** “AND ALWAYS REMEMBER…” “That’s enough Pinkie Pie!!” The pink bundle of pony cut off midsentence as the blackhaired secretary looked at her. The big bouncy ball beneath her popped and all her bells jangled as she descended back toward the floor. “I thought the Queen would want a lullaby…” “You’re no good at lullabies, Pinkie, and that’s not what we hired you for. Go back to the main hall and back to your room until the Queen needs you again.” The pink pony nodded, her jangly bells rippling on her felt hat. Her room was a small closet coming off the throne room. On some days, Celestia would have her brought out to entertain foreign dignitaries. On others, she would play with her best friend Luna. It was really Princess Luna, but Pinkie was always allowed to just call her Luna when they were together. Pinkie and Luna had grown up together. When Pinkie was a little filly, the old king bought her off the slave market and tried to find some job for her to do. She was good at baking sweets, but she preferred being the life of the party. And so, she went full time into being the jester. Although, when the kitchens needed extra help, she would be right there alongside them. She didn’t want Luna to go. Ever since Luna left, the castle seemed so much more darker and menacing. Which Pinkie thought was funny because Luna was the one who could be dark. Luna was always coming up with these bloody battles and epic tales when they were together. Once, Pinkie and Luna went out into the forest together at night. It was the bit of forest enclosed within the castle grounds. Old Timeotheus was still around at the time. The two were supposed to be in bed early for the Fall Weather Celebration the next day, but they weren’t having it. Somewhere in there, Pinkie remembered falling into a creek, and Luna saving her, and for some reason they adopted a possum. And everything was the best. It hurt Pinkie when Luna said she was going on the Parasprite Crusade without her. She felt like maybe her friend didn’t think of her as much of a friend as Pinkie thought. But all the same, she encouraged her and helped her pack and saw her off from the castle gates. One lone pony was there among all the throng heading off into the unknown lands of Everfree Country, filled with barbarian ponies and mystic creatures. Chapter Four: Lost LoveWhen Old Timeotheus was still in power, there were many reforms and programs set in place to make Cantermost City the most powerful of the Equestrian Nations. He encouraged trade and exploration, building the harbor up to be as busy as it could become. He enhanced defenses by completing most of the wall. The southeasternmost portion was the last to be worked on, and unfortunately Old Timeotheus died before it could be completed. Queen Celestia and Princess Luna had been trained in all the manners and formalities of royalty and continued working toward keeping up relations between theirs and other nations, but they were still ill prepared for the loss. They were still young teenagers when it happened, and suddenly found themselves in charge of a rapidly changing and growing city. Their cousin up north, Cadance, was married to the ruler of the Crystal Empire. It wasn’t the marriage she had wanted. She always had her eyes on a particular stallion back home when she lived back in Cantermost. However, she was duty bound to create the alliance and end potential future conflict. The resulting heir to the throne of the Crystal Empire, Gem Heart, was a spoiled child. Spoiled by his father who wanted nothing but to go out hunting rather than stay at home with his family. And when he was home, he let his son have whatever he wanted... Rarity looked up from her desk. It was early in the morning and she had once again fallen asleep thinking about work. Soon, she would have to have dresses for the delegates to the Crystal Empire fully finished. She couldn’t afford having an apprentice dilly dallying through the streets during the work week, especially since they already had the weekends mandatorily off. But it was finally the weekend. Rarity looked behind her to make sure she wasn’t being followed. With a brief glance behind her and around the street corner, she shut the door and locked up before gliding away in her hooded cape. She didn’t believe in keeping the shop open all week. She needed weekends like this. Weekends where she could tell all the seamsponies to leave for their own homes for a day or two. Very few shop ponies were doing it, but she wanted to do it. It was the only time she had. Her hooves lightly touched the cobblestone pathways as she headed toward the edge of the city. Normally she would want to be noticed, to have all the peasants around her practically kneel before her. Cantermost was an important city, but her three feet of it was the most important. Cantermost was an old city. Since the beginning of ponykind with Queen Aureola, there had always been some sort of rough civilization in the area. A few of the neighborhoods near the castle had been the original homes and shops, which eventually gave what they could to have the castle built. This was a building of defiance against the unknown. The rest of the city was built to the east, toward the harbor, leaving the castle as a gate between the city and Everfree Country. It served as a helpful fortress for many years, defending against so many unknowns. Rarity knew the city and all of its back alleys well. She passed by a few random strangers on her way. A mint green pony and a white colored pony were looking through the flowers at the flower shop while three shop ponies tried to convince them which arrangements were best. She looked away. Somewhere, off in the distance, a lightning bolt flashed through the sky. As Rarity hurried along, she created a magic protective shield toward her bare hooves since the road had begun turning rocky and sharp nearing her destination. An original graveyard lay next to an old church near the crumbling unfinished southwestern wall. The smell of fallen leaves and earthy material was everywhere and Rarity breathed it all in. Her eyes closed and her face in an intense line. She sighed. It was the very first church in Cantermost. Other churches sprang up elsewhere in the city over the years, leaving this one abandoned. Rarity hadn’t attended any in the city, so she couldn’t be sure if it was because of a change in religion, but it seemed more like the migration of ponies in general caused it. There weren’t any neighboring ponies for miles from here. Certain pony families with ancestral ties to this area were still allowed to use the graveyard for their own. Rarity walked by the scattered gravestones. There was no plan at all to where they were placed and what sort of headstones they were. You would be afraid to even move a single rock for fear that it was the marker to an unknown peasant grave. Not that grave markers were really much more than that, but usually the better kept and more well known would have it clearly indicated. “Sapphire Shores, born 14 BT and died 14 AT,” Rarity read out loud, “of influenza.” This was one of Rarity’s favorites. The grave stone had dolphins and peacock feathers carved on the sides. To her, it seemed like this pony had a life of luxury and the spotlight. Several graves seemed similar to it, but she thought some were too flashy and showy. But the one she came here to look for was a small one, with small colored glass beads on the side. It would have been too expensive and risky to put actual gems on the sides, so the family had to stick with this. Small amethyst looking beads were placed among rose colored ones in waving and curving patterns. Rarity carefully read off the words carved on the stone. It took her a second to take a breath, but her voice was still a little shaky. “Sweetie Belle, born 12 AT, died 15 AT.” Her tears slipped out of her eyes and shone like gems. Most fillies didn’t make it past childhood, but it still didn’t mean their lives were meaningless. Rarity always felt like her sister was destined for better than this. She would visit the grave every other weekend or so but it still stung after all these years. It still stung after their parents left for Cantermost and dragged Rarity away from the fresh gravesite. Still stung after Rarity opened her first shop and knew one pony wouldn’t be there to congratulate her. Still stung after a certain pony her sister’s age betrayed her trust. And still stung after all these years apart. Chapter Five: StressQuickly. Quickly. She had to think quick. It was the only way to survive. One hoof in front of the other. One wing flap and another wing flap. Was it defiance? To Queen and country? Yes. But she couldn’t stay. She couldn’t handle it. She had gone into the Crusade thinking that they would both make it. That he would come back home to their friends and neighbors and all would be well. They would receive some praise, and share all the adventures they had been on and everyone would be drinking apple cider merrily at the hearth for Hearth’s Warming. He was always there to support her. Quickly. “I must.” She collapsed. Her rainbow hair fluttering down against her cheeks as she sat next to the stream’s edge. What was she doing? Abandoning her troop. Abandoning her Princess and the rest of her comrades. Would he have done the same if she had died instead of him? Tank was her schoolmate since foalhood. Surely, surely a stallion such as he would have made it. Rainbow Dash didn’t admire just anypony. She used to tease Tank for being slow and bulky and a little too protective of her, but he had proven to be the loyalest pony she knew. Nothing like her. She couldn’t. She kept flying. Back toward Cantermost. Back toward home. But what if they wouldn’t accept her? The Parasprite Crusade was a foolish quest. She and Tank had joined thinking that it would help them find their fortune when they didn’t feel as if they could do it on their own. It was tough for an individual or pair of ponies to journey across the water or to make it over the nearby mountains on their own. There were many wild tribes living in Everfree Country to the east. So when they heard about the recruiting for the Parasprite Crusade, Rainbow Dash and Tank felt like it was the perfect opportunity. Hundreds of ponies had gathered by the castle gates to make the journey. Even Luna herself had joined in the cause, and Rainbow Dash took it as a sign that everything would be alright. There were rumors circling from the outside world that hordes of parasprites were making their way across the known lands, devouring everything just for the sake of destruction. Normally, these hordes would be in very small groups and wouldn’t cause much damage. However, recently bands of roving Twittermites, normally an enemy to the Parasprites, had decided to become their allies. The destructive toll was great. And any land that the ponies could reclaim from these attackers would belong to ponykind before any of the local tribes could move in. Luna seemed ready for battle, but she didn’t seem to have the leadership capabilities when it came to the random strikes of the enemy and the large and unruly group with her. It also wasn’t her forces to begin with. Nopony really knew who started the Parasprite Crusades. It just seemed like a few ponies always knew a few ponies that knew a few ponies that were in it and so on. A few groups had already gone out on the Crusades before Luna and Rainbow Dash even knew of its existence. Still, as soon as Luna joined there was a huge increase in goers. It was quite the publicity stunt for the cause. Luna came up in front of everypony and shone in all her brilliant attire and just zest for all things exciting. It moved everypony. Even on the battlefields, Luna always radiated energy and brilliance. But none of that mattered to Rainbow as she watched the parasprites devour not only the countryside, but… Rainbow had to shudder to herself as she began flying through the trees again. Nopony expected the parasprites to start eating ponies. She had to keep lying low. She didn’t want to be caught by her fellow crusaders as a deserter, and she didn’t want to be caught by the parasprites as a midnight meal. She was deft at avoiding the branches and the bramble, but… She missed Tank. They lived most of their lives in Cantermost, but when they were really little they lived in a nearby village. When they got older, they moved to the city to find work. It was Tank that made the perfect farmer, helping out with his nine brothers and sisters in their neighboring place. Rainbow was no good at farm work. She could defend a farm, but it didn’t last long. Tank gave up everything to go watch over Rainbow in the city. Luna’s group had been fighting along in Everfree County for months. Most of that was time spent fighting or lugging around the huge group. Rainbow Dash would need to survive by herself for a week or two and with her fast flying she should make it. But she made the mistake of falling asleep. She could feel her wings flapping slower and slower. Her eyes glazed over and she fell toward the welcoming world below. A world of nightmares. She fell into a darkness, feeling small insect wings brush up against her as they flapped and buzzed. She felt a few bites that made her give out small yelps as she continued falling. She thought she could see specks of light in the distance, growing closer and closer as she began what felt like falling up. But all she saw when she got to the other end was destruction and famine. Twittermites everywhere, destroying the landscape and leaving nothing but broken trees, ponies, and ruin. Rainbow Dash woke up, still lying on the ground in Everfree. She shook the treasonous thoughts of Luna out of her head but ended up settling in for the night. Her right wing had begun feeling sore and her exhaustion continued to gnaw at her. Luna was a beloved princess, but ponies say she was cursed as a filly. Her playmate and herself were known to go off on adventures and cause trouble. It was something Old Timeotheus and her uncle Starswirl tried to hide from the public, but rumors spread. One day, the story goes, they had been outside of the walls of Cantermost when they got lost in the woods of Everfree. It was supposed to be a warm summer night, but then everything grew cold and dark. Luna did have some powers over darkness, but it wasn’t enough to keep the two warm and fed and on their way home. As they continued getting lost, they found an old hermit’s habitation. They ventured near it, hoping that the hermit was devout or that they would have some decency toward travelers or power. But no. The blue unicorn peered out of their doorway and cast a wretched spell upon the intruders before creating a powerful gust of wind to blow them back home. Nopony knows what the effects were on the companion pony, but someponies, out of earshot of the royals, say that Luna was cursed to give those around her terrible nightmares, long after they have left her side. Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure if she believed it. Those in the camp didn’t mention much else other than the nightmares of the battlefield itself, but she knew that she herself had experienced many a nightmare out in Everfree. This wasn’t the first, and it wouldn’t be the last. Chapter Six: The UnknownAfter two weeks, Rainbow Dash found herself out in the open in the light of the day. At last, she was out of Everfree and back in the countryside outside of Cantermost. Her particular farm was a few more miles away to the north, but she didn’t even think about going back there. She couldn’t think about going back into the city either. Either way she would be alone. Nopony really knew her in the city, so it would be like starting all over again. She didn’t want to have to explain things to her family, or to Tank’s. She walked along a dirt path. It was so good to feel well worn path under her hooves again. It meant that the ground was packed and firm, yes, but it was better than not knowing where her hooves were stepping, whether it be on wild animals or corpses. She liked the assurance that everything was normal, though, her hooves began to feel pain as they hit up against some rocky areas. She found herself coming up to a barn. It was a no nonsense sort of place. She could clearly see the land around it was organized and labored in. A few ponies were scattered around the field working. Rainbow Dash looked back at herself. She wasn’t the strongest. But maybe she could go back to farm life with what she knew and rebuild, eventually finding it in herself to just go back home and still never explaining what she had done to get here. Her sore hooves trotted as healthily as they could look to the front door of a nearby cottage. It seemed like just the place for the owners to be living in. With a moment of hesitation, she knocked. An old fussy green pony opened the door. “What do you want?” Rainbow felt the rudeness emanating from the pony, but she sort of expected that she’d be greeted that way. She wasn’t looking her best and she was a complete stranger. “I know winter is coming up soon and I was hoping that maybe you all had room for one more workpony?” The green pony looked her up and down. “You don’t look like much...” “I can help! I know what it is like to work on a farm and I’ve done it before. I lived up north a bit from here.” “Well then you can go back there; we have no room or need for new workponies.” And with that she shut the door. Rainbow walked off, but instead of leaving entirely, she peered around the barn. It seemed like it was well stocked with supplies. Sheep wool scraps had been everywhere but they were cleaned up to nearly nothing. The quick thought came to her mind that maybe she could steal something or find a way to hide on the land, but she wasn’t that desperate. There wasn’t much she could do begging in the city. She mentally upbraided herself for leaving Luna. She could have just died on the battlefield and then she wouldn’t have to worry about her starving belly or where she would spend the winter. If she could just keep traveling a little further, she’d make it to Cantermost and see if the home and work she and Tank had been trying to make were still there. *** Fluttershy found herself on the bare ground next to an empty wooden cage. She didn’t remember how she got there. Her head had seemed clear when she woke, but her vision and thoughts seemed to dim as she continued looking around her surroundings. It looked like a prison underground, with just a small light near the roof from a hole to the sky. Her wings swept against the dirt as she tried lifting herself onto her hooves. It seemed sluggish and painful. Then she remembered. She had been walking with her friends in one of the small gardens in Cantermost when she had fallen down a well. Looking up, she couldn’t see where the well could have connected to here. There wasn’t even any water nearby. Everything was dusty and dry. Every breath she took was filled with the offensive emptiness and she almost wanted to stop breathing. Am I even alive? She never even gave much thought to the afterlife. She didn’t know what to expect of it and what it would have expected of her, but she knew she fell from a decent height before she lost consciousness. Somewhere, there should have been an echo, but everywhere was still silence. Everywhere on her body was unmarked and undamaged except for the soreness and weakness. But would I have still felt sore if I had died? She continued slowly walking toward one end of the cavern until she started seeing a light from the outside just at her height. Then she began her best to run. Just as she was nearing the mouth, she yelped and hung back. The light was so bright and there was no way of knowing what was waiting for her at the other side. She had to tiptoe, she had to try to blend in with the surroundings and hide, even though she was a bright yellow pegasus. Maybe she would be able to fly away once she got out, and just fly away from whatever danger was out there. She looked back at the cave. There was nothing for her there. She still didn’t know why she was in there or what the cage was for. Maybe some wild monster was kept locked there and maybe it ran away, too. Maybe it was waiting outside or behind a corner in the cave. Maybe the cage was for her, but then why was she freed with nopony around? She shut her eyes before the light could blind her. Her hooves began aching to feel the warmth of the perceived sun outdoors. She could feel her wings begin small flaps, preparing to fly in case of danger. She let her hooves walk even softer onto the ground. She took a step into the light. And she sneezed. Author's Note After Publishing Edits: I went back and changed the bear in chapter 3 to a Manticore and I changed the direction of Everfree in chapter 5 to the east. It was always to the east, but for some odd reason I wrote west. That's just so anyone reading won't think they lost their minds and imagined it was different; it was. ^-^' Chapter Seven: What We MustCelestia always woke up before the dawn. It was her duty to take care of the sun. It was a responsibility that both her uncle and her tutor taught her to control. Timeotheus was always too busy with other projects of state to deal with it. Now that he was gone, they were her and her uncle’s responsibility. There were only a few things Celestia knew for certain anymore, and she knew this much: There was a sun in the sky. It wasn’t so much that she had to raise it, though that’s what her subjects thought. Her job really was to switch it on. The sun would travel across the sky at its own pace, but it did not give off much heat and light. This was only improved since Queen Aureola, that’s why ancient ponies were always so much hairier and bulkier than modern ones. Celestia was only a filly when they found out what she could do. The royal family has always been unicorns and alicorns, and, whether for the family’s sake or as safety for the subjects, there was a standard time and process to test each newborn’s capabilities. The actual process is not revealed to anypony but a select group, but this group was able to figure out right away what Celestia’s powers were. She was naturally going to be the ruler when Timeotheus died. Luna’s powers worked during the night. She could control the moon’s appearance and the darkness itself. She could see what other ponies were terrified of. Celestia could only see what other ponies wanted and did. She would take over projects after her father; her sister could not. Luna was a few years younger than Celestia. By the time Luna was born, the royal court, the foreign nations, the ponies of the city, and the ponies of the alleys all knew Celestia would become the future heir. Luna was not and not ever going to be. Once the sun was brightened, Celestia could look down and see her courtyard from her window. Everything sparkled in the morning dew. That’s what I live for. She couldn’t imagine a world of darkness. Celestia looked toward the furthest edges of the courtyard where the sun was not shining as bright and there was a shadow. But as soon as she noticed it, it was as if the sun grew brighter in that area and the darkness was gone. Just like Luna. Celestia finished her morning preparations and went to the throne room where she was greeted by several more servants and an ever peculiar pink one. She had grown used to Pinkie over the years, but never really grew close because of Luna. Ever since Luna left, Pinkie had been spending more and more time in the throne room than outdoors where she longed to be. Many of the other servants had practically become furniture or an annoyance. Pinkie was neither. Pinkie liked to put herself out there and be filled with energy, but usually she had a reason for it. She was bought to be entertainment because she was naturally good at that and because such a bright pink pony in this dim world was already entertainment enough. But Celestia felt like maybe Pinkie was deeper than her bouncy plush mane could ever fathom. She couldn’t admit it to anyone, but she was also jealous of how much closer Pinkie was to Luna than Celestia herself was. Celestia could see Pinkie going about in her usual way. “Yooouuurrr Majesty,” Pinkie said with an overcomical bow. Her bells jangling merrily but still with a little reserve. Celestia nodded slightly and went back to her thoughts and the issues her attendants brought to her. Pinkie was supposed to be there to cheer her up. For a while, she thought it would help. But as she watched the pink pony juggle around a few vases on the other side of the room, she felt reminded again that she was the one having to stay here in this stone cage alone. It was like the sun’s light had been faded. But there was no way she was going to quit. She continued about her day, sitting in the throne room dealing with whatever issues came her way until it was time for her to brighten the light of the moon before bedtime. Day in and day out. Luna didn’t care. She wouldn’t care. She barely had time to think about it as she got onto the battlefield. She was a natural leader, not as much as her sister, but she inspired awe and love from her subjects. She also wasn’t a natural when it came to leading a pack of ponies into battle. While she herself could fight, she could see other ponies getting ambushed and being obstacles for each other and falling around her. But in spite of her lack of battle tactics, everypony still thought of her as the leader of the group. She was a princess after all. When she was born, her coat had been the dark purple of the oncoming night. She liked the sound of that. She would be the oncoming night. There were very few things Luna was terrified of. She showed no fear or stress over each and every failure. But as she continued on in her quest, she knew that they were doing terribly and she knew everypony would become disheartened. And she missed Pinkie Pie. At first, she made the decision to go on a whim. She had thought about it for a while, she was always interested in the tales of the battles and the forest that contained them. But she wanted to be close to her family, friend, and tutor. She wanted to be there more than she wanted to go. But somehow, she increasingly felt that there would be more for her out there than where she was. Her sister was the one taking over all the kingdom’s royal duties, the one dealing with diplomacy and the ponyfolk. Luna thought about it as she finished another day of travel and setting up camp. Her eyes shut for only a second before she opened them again with a sigh. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Pinkie’s sad face looking back at her when she left with the band of crusaders. Luna once again looked around her tent. When night fell, she knew she would stand guard. No matter how terrified she felt and how hopeless it seemed, it was all she could do. Chapter Three: Work and LifeTwilight Sparkle found herself wandering through the city yet again for supplies for her Master. From morning until the afternoon, she would have to be Rarity’s errand pony. The two unicorns had already realized Twilight’s inability to be a seamstress when Twilight first came into the shop. Twilight was too focused on organizing the shop and then messing it up to reorganize it again to actually get any work done. And when she did work on sewing, it was to make the outfits too plain. “The ponies in Prance and the ponies in Barcelponia are not going to wear these filthy rags!” Rarity said once. It stung, to see an afternoon’s worth of work get scrapped and torn to shreds, but Twilight was grateful that Rarity still kept her. Twilight had seen many a seamspony get fired and left for dead on the streets after a few slip ups like that. It was cruel and brutal work on all of them. Twilight also knew that Rarity had to suffer the pain of remembering what Twilight’s younger brother had done to her, every day. She was too busy rummaging through her pouch to notice that a circus wagon was being wheeled across the street. The wagon had several exotic creatures that came from the new worlds. Any able bodied pony that didn’t think of going on the foolish Parasprite Crusade was either working at some important task in the city for the Queen and the furtherance of the kingdom, or was going off on wild adventures of their own. Manticores weren’t too common since The Timberwolf Uprising of Her Majesty Aureola’s Day, so Twilight was shocked when she heard a caged one roar in her direction. She snapped up a small and sturdy magic shield in the direction of the threat before looking up toward it. She could see a very overweight manticore, sitting in the middle of a cage wagon, being wheeled about by four stallions. Each stallion was sturdy and the team could have easily moved the wagon quicker through the street if they hadn’t been stalled by the traffic. She didn’t think much of it as she made her way toward the harbor. The harbor toward the east was where the main bustle and the strangest visitors would be. Trade had opened up with various tribes, but a good portion of it was still from pony explorers making their fortune. Since the land to the west was overgrown with the Everfree Country, the harbor, even with the unpredictable storms and the unknown expanse, was still a more favorable option. The monastery had been there for years. It used to be the furthest point away from civilization, but now it was in the center of it. Ponies from the poorest and richest levels of society would join in the monastery. It was strict living in there, but ponies that wanted to could still work their way around the system. It was also mainly for male ponies. Ponies that decided to live there would be subjected to rigorous prayers, gardening, studies in philosophy, science, and history. A good section of the inhabitants were busy copying ancient texts. That’s what Spike was doing. He was born years after Twilight was, but she loved him very much. Other ponies didn’t like the look of him though. His face was funny at birth, he had a deformed hoof, and he was abnormally small and weak. His ears were shorter than they should have been. Twilight loved him. Her older brother had always supported and cared for her, and she wanted to return that same feeling to her younger brother. Spike always seemed very intelligent and helpful as a toddler. When he began to grow into his teenage years, he helped a lot after the family was kicked out of the castle. He resigned himself to the somewhat isolation of the monastery to continue scholarly pursuits, but he would always look forward to Twilight’s visits when she had the chance. She would trot up to the main entrance and knock on the large metal door. The main leader, Lumen Omen, would open the door for her or send out a lesser assistant to do it. And then she would trot to a small hut in the middle of the field within the enclosed walls. There was a room in one of the main buildings for those who were copying manuscripts, but Spike was given special assignments and allowed to have his own space. He spent the first year or two working within the monastery developing his skills as a translator and an artist, but he was already an excellent reader before that. And he loved to share what he was working on with his older sister. She could remember when she first started visiting him and how frustrated he would be as he was honing his skills. But one day she went to visit and he practically bowled her over to show her the page he had created with a tiny little sketch in the corner and magnificent golden letters all over in a brilliant cursive. She trotted into his little hut today. “Spike!” The young stallion turned around where he was sitting and leapt toward the door to give his sister a hug. “Twilight! Why’d you come back again so soon?” “You told me you were about to finish up this one manuscript and I wanted to be there when it happened.” “Oh, yeah,” Spike looked a bit apologetic and walked back to his desk and lifted up the manuscript sheets with his good hoof and handed it over to Twilight. “I finished it up this morning.” She eagerly sat on a small bench next to the door and began flipping through the pages with her magic. Every page was so unique. The letters were crafted to look almost alive, and the images that were woven into the first letter of every page and into the design of the surrounding margin made her smile. She always believed in her brother. She gave the manuscript itself a quick hug before hugging him once more. They stayed back for a while and chatted, before she headed back to her own quarters.
Chapter One: AmbitionCelestia stared down from the battlement. All was as it always had been. The busy streets below her, filled with ponyfolk from all over, coming to share their labors in the pursuit of a better life for all. She sighed. It was trying circumstances indeed for her. She had just received word that her sister was coming back from the Parasprite Crusade. It left her scared and worried but near breathless to hear of her sister’s return. They hadn’t spoken to each other since that day… “Cele! I can take care of myself!” “No, you can’t!” Scrolls were flung across the room. It seemed like the day would last forever with just them fighting. One sister telling the other that she shouldn’t go. The other saying that it was all she had to look forward to. Their great father had gifted them with the kingdom upon his death. Timeotheus was a beloved leader, but he lived in an age where monsters roamed around and ponies were scattered to the winds. Celestia and Luna were told to rule equally, but Celestia was the oldest and the one that showed the most promise. Their tutor loved them both equally for both their faults and their abilities, but the ponyfolk could only see the greatness of the one. Driving the younger pony to despair, they knew not what they were doing. “All you wanted to do…” Celestia began to say to herself. *** There was a bustle in the street. A crash of carts that resounded through the marketplace. One pony was absentmindedly reviewing a scroll she was levitating in front of her, while a caged bear was being wheeled out into the road. “Ach, whatchit why donya?!!” an angry fellow muttered. He levitated his cage back in place on his wagon. But the damage had already been done in a domino effect down the street. This was one of the main thoroughfares across great Cantermost City. Hundreds of ponies would travel across it before noon even tolled out on the great clock at the castle. The scholarly unicorn looked around her scroll in a bit of confusion. She looked at the angry stallion and then turned toward the other dazed and irritable ponies. She apologized, magically righted everyone’s carts, and quickly teleported away. It wasn’t her usual route home. But today she had gone to visit the monastery and collect new scrolls. The monastery was by the sea. Even though the ponyfolk living there professed that they gave up all worldly possessions, it seemed like they controlled the harbor and the commerce going on around it. But this unicorn didn’t want to deal with it today. She had a busy week ahead of her. She needed to go to the monastery to gain access to the newest scrolls from exotic lands. New historical, biological, and cultural knowledge that the monastery ponyfolk would carefully catalog and record in their scrolls. Maybe, it was to see her brother, too… But her Master wouldn’t be pleased about it. She looked toward the great clock at the castle. It was nearing two in the afternoon. She couldn’t teleport all the way home, but she was only three streets away. She dashed with all her strength in that direction. *** “Twilight!!” a very white and very posh unicorn called out. “Yes, Master Rarity.” “Did you get me the scrolls I needed on the latest fashion trends in Prance?” “Yes, ma’am!” Twilight shuffled around in her bag and pulled out the scroll. “I can’t believe I was this close to being late on the game on this one. The ambassadors could have had my head!” “Yes, ma’am.” “Oh, and Twilight,” Rarity called out as that unicorn shuffled her bag back around, “did you happen to see a certain somepony?” Twilight looked forward with a straight face. The other seamsponies in the shop around them could feel the tension in the air and slightly hesitated with the suspense. One almost dropped her spools. “No...ma’am.” “Good, darling. Now you’re dismissed.” With a hmph, the Master pony trotted off to inspect her workers. Twilight gave a noiseless sigh of relief and trotted up to her room. She lived in the attic of her Master’s shop. It was a small room at the top of the servant’s staircase. She hadn’t been living here long, so it still didn’t feel very homey, as cozy as it was. It would have been entirely dark and lonely, except for a tiny window above her bed and a small fireplace in the far corner. She had her wooden table against the other wall. It had a lightstand and a few parchments on it. Twilight missed the days when she had been apprenticing under the blacksmith. Although she wasn’t able to handle the hard labor, sometimes it was easier to cope with a kind master than the one she was under now. Still, she moved to this one because the stallion blacksmith had to leave town, and her current Master was the only other pony who had royal connections and was looking for an apprentice. “Just a little bit longer…” As she plopped onto her bed and looked at the light shining in from her window, she thought about her dream. It would be great. She’d be an apprentice or secretary to the great Her Majesty Queen Celestia or Her Highness Cadance, though she preferred to work under Queen Celestia. Queen Cadance was the ruler of an allied nation, so Twilight figured she may have to meet up with and handle the servant ponies under her, too. But Twilight’s dream was to work in the castle. Her older brother had once worked in the castle with her and her mother. Their father had died sometime before, but Twilight could still remember working with her mother making apple pies in the royal kitchens. But soon after her brother joined the great Parasprite Crusade, her mother died of grief, though, now that Twilight had been studying more on known diseases, it could have been consumption. Twilight had a younger brother, but… There was a knock on her door. “One more thing, darling, I need you to go to the market and pick up the velvet material at the craft stalls.” “Yes, ma’am.”
Chapter Two: DreamsApplejack ran. She ran and ran and ran. Her hooves fell hard and jagged onto the rocky paths but she kept going. There was something freeing about being able to run. Her hooves had grown rougher and stronger over the years her family had lived in the area. No matter what the circumstance below her hooves, she could run against it. “Applejack!” She heard a familiar voice cry out. It made her stop in her tracks with a long skid toward the side. Whirling around, she looked at her younger sister. “Granny says she needs you!” It seemed like the young filly would scream her lungs out hollering. The whole countryside could have heard her, but thankfully, Applejack’s running paths were well away from the orchards and all the day laborers. The sight that greeted her when she got back to the main barn was enough to make her wish she never stopped, that she could just keep running. Granny had been trying to shear the sheep. They had gotten through maybe three or five sheep, but each one was covered in rough patches and baaing forlornly toward the newcomer. The current one Granny was attempting to shear had looked at her predecessors and fled the confines of the pen. Baaing hysterically for its mother, it kept running in circles and knocking over everything. Applejack pulled out a rope from beneath her hat. In two seconds she had the sheep tackled and began to soothingly whisper to it that it would be alright. The sheep calmed down. “I don’t know what in the world that little sheep was thinking. If we don’t get the wool finished up in time this winter we could lose the farm.” “You don’t know that Granny!” Applejack looked toward where her sister was seated. Apple Bloom looked slightly concerned, but turned away and began studying the dirt floor. As Applejack and Granny began arguing over control of shearing, Apple Bloom made her way to the loft. It had been a long day in the city for her. Her older sister had always told her to make an honest living, and gave her a good amount of chores to do around the farm. They would sell apple cider and wool and harvest all the apples and pears year round. Even though it was a more modern time, pegasus ponies were still in control of the weather. And with that, any earth pony with a large plot of land could harvest any type of fruit whose seed is available in the market. In earlier times, there was a limit to that, but now the harbor is a bustling port. Run by the monastery ponyfolk, it had never seen more success and activity. Seeds of all sorts had come through. Plants to heal, feed, kill, clothe, and shelter could be grown from those seeds. Apple Bloom was always learning about new kinds of plants every day. Yes, her older sister had always told her to make an honest living, but sometimes she’d go into the city and wonder what it’d be like to be a street urchin. There were a few that she’d see huddling around on the street corners. Some were known pick pockets, but since nopony in the city or the jail wanted to deal with them, they’d be in and out constantly. There was only one great jail that no one could escape from. It was somewhere on the far edge of the castle. The ordinary jail for thieves was run down and shabby. The small colts and fillies could come in and out through the sewer systems. Apple Bloom noticed one in particular a few weeks ago. Orange coat and purple hair, she limped around with a cast on her tiny wings. Apple Bloom was almost worried about her. But yesterday she saw the same pony in another street, this time with the cast on the left instead of the usual right. And then today the cast was on the right side again on the usual street. Still, Apple Bloom thought sometimes about asking Applejack about taking this pony in. They had room for more laborers at the orchard, and they could pay well. Well, if they could get the sheep sheared. Apple Bloom looked back down the rickety stairs that led to her loft. Granny had gone back toward the main house, but Applejack was still there. She seemed almost in a trance, working on the sheep. They were all calm now. The ones that were roughly sheared were now neatly taken care of, and the others followed suit. Apple Bloom could almost hear the soft lullaby her sister was muttering to them. It was the same lullaby their parents used to sing to them. The harvest Will come in Softly. And always Remember You’re lovely. There’s endless delight From day and from night No need to worry And no need for fright. Just whisper Whisper All comes right. *** “AND ALWAYS REMEMBER…” “That’s enough Pinkie Pie!!” The pink bundle of pony cut off midsentence as the blackhaired secretary looked at her. The big bouncy ball beneath her popped and all her bells jangled as she descended back toward the floor. “I thought the Queen would want a lullaby…” “You’re no good at lullabies, Pinkie, and that’s not what we hired you for. Go back to the main hall and back to your room until the Queen needs you again.” The pink pony nodded, her jangly bells rippling on her felt hat. Her room was a small closet coming off the throne room. On some days, Celestia would have her brought out to entertain foreign dignitaries. On others, she would play with her best friend Luna. It was really Princess Luna, but Pinkie was always allowed to just call her Luna when they were together. Pinkie and Luna had grown up together. When Pinkie was a little filly, the old king bought her off the slave market and tried to find some job for her to do. She was good at baking sweets, but she preferred being the life of the party. And so, she went full time into being the jester. Although, when the kitchens needed extra help, she would be right there alongside them. She didn’t want Luna to go. Ever since Luna left, the castle seemed so much more darker and menacing. Which Pinkie thought was funny because Luna was the one who could be dark. Luna was always coming up with these bloody battles and epic tales when they were together. Once, Pinkie and Luna went out into the forest together at night. It was the bit of forest enclosed within the castle grounds. Old Timeotheus was still around at the time. The two were supposed to be in bed early for the Fall Weather Celebration the next day, but they weren’t having it. Somewhere in there, Pinkie remembered falling into a creek, and Luna saving her, and for some reason they adopted a possum. And everything was the best. It hurt Pinkie when Luna said she was going on the Parasprite Crusade without her. She felt like maybe her friend didn’t think of her as much of a friend as Pinkie thought. But all the same, she encouraged her and helped her pack and saw her off from the castle gates. One lone pony was there among all the throng heading off into the unknown lands of Everfree Country, filled with barbarian ponies and mystic creatures.
Chapter Four: Lost LoveWhen Old Timeotheus was still in power, there were many reforms and programs set in place to make Cantermost City the most powerful of the Equestrian Nations. He encouraged trade and exploration, building the harbor up to be as busy as it could become. He enhanced defenses by completing most of the wall. The southeasternmost portion was the last to be worked on, and unfortunately Old Timeotheus died before it could be completed. Queen Celestia and Princess Luna had been trained in all the manners and formalities of royalty and continued working toward keeping up relations between theirs and other nations, but they were still ill prepared for the loss. They were still young teenagers when it happened, and suddenly found themselves in charge of a rapidly changing and growing city. Their cousin up north, Cadance, was married to the ruler of the Crystal Empire. It wasn’t the marriage she had wanted. She always had her eyes on a particular stallion back home when she lived back in Cantermost. However, she was duty bound to create the alliance and end potential future conflict. The resulting heir to the throne of the Crystal Empire, Gem Heart, was a spoiled child. Spoiled by his father who wanted nothing but to go out hunting rather than stay at home with his family. And when he was home, he let his son have whatever he wanted... Rarity looked up from her desk. It was early in the morning and she had once again fallen asleep thinking about work. Soon, she would have to have dresses for the delegates to the Crystal Empire fully finished. She couldn’t afford having an apprentice dilly dallying through the streets during the work week, especially since they already had the weekends mandatorily off. But it was finally the weekend. Rarity looked behind her to make sure she wasn’t being followed. With a brief glance behind her and around the street corner, she shut the door and locked up before gliding away in her hooded cape. She didn’t believe in keeping the shop open all week. She needed weekends like this. Weekends where she could tell all the seamsponies to leave for their own homes for a day or two. Very few shop ponies were doing it, but she wanted to do it. It was the only time she had. Her hooves lightly touched the cobblestone pathways as she headed toward the edge of the city. Normally she would want to be noticed, to have all the peasants around her practically kneel before her. Cantermost was an important city, but her three feet of it was the most important. Cantermost was an old city. Since the beginning of ponykind with Queen Aureola, there had always been some sort of rough civilization in the area. A few of the neighborhoods near the castle had been the original homes and shops, which eventually gave what they could to have the castle built. This was a building of defiance against the unknown. The rest of the city was built to the east, toward the harbor, leaving the castle as a gate between the city and Everfree Country. It served as a helpful fortress for many years, defending against so many unknowns. Rarity knew the city and all of its back alleys well. She passed by a few random strangers on her way. A mint green pony and a white colored pony were looking through the flowers at the flower shop while three shop ponies tried to convince them which arrangements were best. She looked away. Somewhere, off in the distance, a lightning bolt flashed through the sky. As Rarity hurried along, she created a magic protective shield toward her bare hooves since the road had begun turning rocky and sharp nearing her destination. An original graveyard lay next to an old church near the crumbling unfinished southwestern wall. The smell of fallen leaves and earthy material was everywhere and Rarity breathed it all in. Her eyes closed and her face in an intense line. She sighed. It was the very first church in Cantermost. Other churches sprang up elsewhere in the city over the years, leaving this one abandoned. Rarity hadn’t attended any in the city, so she couldn’t be sure if it was because of a change in religion, but it seemed more like the migration of ponies in general caused it. There weren’t any neighboring ponies for miles from here. Certain pony families with ancestral ties to this area were still allowed to use the graveyard for their own. Rarity walked by the scattered gravestones. There was no plan at all to where they were placed and what sort of headstones they were. You would be afraid to even move a single rock for fear that it was the marker to an unknown peasant grave. Not that grave markers were really much more than that, but usually the better kept and more well known would have it clearly indicated. “Sapphire Shores, born 14 BT and died 14 AT,” Rarity read out loud, “of influenza.” This was one of Rarity’s favorites. The grave stone had dolphins and peacock feathers carved on the sides. To her, it seemed like this pony had a life of luxury and the spotlight. Several graves seemed similar to it, but she thought some were too flashy and showy. But the one she came here to look for was a small one, with small colored glass beads on the side. It would have been too expensive and risky to put actual gems on the sides, so the family had to stick with this. Small amethyst looking beads were placed among rose colored ones in waving and curving patterns. Rarity carefully read off the words carved on the stone. It took her a second to take a breath, but her voice was still a little shaky. “Sweetie Belle, born 12 AT, died 15 AT.” Her tears slipped out of her eyes and shone like gems. Most fillies didn’t make it past childhood, but it still didn’t mean their lives were meaningless. Rarity always felt like her sister was destined for better than this. She would visit the grave every other weekend or so but it still stung after all these years. It still stung after their parents left for Cantermost and dragged Rarity away from the fresh gravesite. Still stung after Rarity opened her first shop and knew one pony wouldn’t be there to congratulate her. Still stung after a certain pony her sister’s age betrayed her trust. And still stung after all these years apart.
Chapter Five: StressQuickly. Quickly. She had to think quick. It was the only way to survive. One hoof in front of the other. One wing flap and another wing flap. Was it defiance? To Queen and country? Yes. But she couldn’t stay. She couldn’t handle it. She had gone into the Crusade thinking that they would both make it. That he would come back home to their friends and neighbors and all would be well. They would receive some praise, and share all the adventures they had been on and everyone would be drinking apple cider merrily at the hearth for Hearth’s Warming. He was always there to support her. Quickly. “I must.” She collapsed. Her rainbow hair fluttering down against her cheeks as she sat next to the stream’s edge. What was she doing? Abandoning her troop. Abandoning her Princess and the rest of her comrades. Would he have done the same if she had died instead of him? Tank was her schoolmate since foalhood. Surely, surely a stallion such as he would have made it. Rainbow Dash didn’t admire just anypony. She used to tease Tank for being slow and bulky and a little too protective of her, but he had proven to be the loyalest pony she knew. Nothing like her. She couldn’t. She kept flying. Back toward Cantermost. Back toward home. But what if they wouldn’t accept her? The Parasprite Crusade was a foolish quest. She and Tank had joined thinking that it would help them find their fortune when they didn’t feel as if they could do it on their own. It was tough for an individual or pair of ponies to journey across the water or to make it over the nearby mountains on their own. There were many wild tribes living in Everfree Country to the east. So when they heard about the recruiting for the Parasprite Crusade, Rainbow Dash and Tank felt like it was the perfect opportunity. Hundreds of ponies had gathered by the castle gates to make the journey. Even Luna herself had joined in the cause, and Rainbow Dash took it as a sign that everything would be alright. There were rumors circling from the outside world that hordes of parasprites were making their way across the known lands, devouring everything just for the sake of destruction. Normally, these hordes would be in very small groups and wouldn’t cause much damage. However, recently bands of roving Twittermites, normally an enemy to the Parasprites, had decided to become their allies. The destructive toll was great. And any land that the ponies could reclaim from these attackers would belong to ponykind before any of the local tribes could move in. Luna seemed ready for battle, but she didn’t seem to have the leadership capabilities when it came to the random strikes of the enemy and the large and unruly group with her. It also wasn’t her forces to begin with. Nopony really knew who started the Parasprite Crusades. It just seemed like a few ponies always knew a few ponies that knew a few ponies that were in it and so on. A few groups had already gone out on the Crusades before Luna and Rainbow Dash even knew of its existence. Still, as soon as Luna joined there was a huge increase in goers. It was quite the publicity stunt for the cause. Luna came up in front of everypony and shone in all her brilliant attire and just zest for all things exciting. It moved everypony. Even on the battlefields, Luna always radiated energy and brilliance. But none of that mattered to Rainbow as she watched the parasprites devour not only the countryside, but… Rainbow had to shudder to herself as she began flying through the trees again. Nopony expected the parasprites to start eating ponies. She had to keep lying low. She didn’t want to be caught by her fellow crusaders as a deserter, and she didn’t want to be caught by the parasprites as a midnight meal. She was deft at avoiding the branches and the bramble, but… She missed Tank. They lived most of their lives in Cantermost, but when they were really little they lived in a nearby village. When they got older, they moved to the city to find work. It was Tank that made the perfect farmer, helping out with his nine brothers and sisters in their neighboring place. Rainbow was no good at farm work. She could defend a farm, but it didn’t last long. Tank gave up everything to go watch over Rainbow in the city. Luna’s group had been fighting along in Everfree County for months. Most of that was time spent fighting or lugging around the huge group. Rainbow Dash would need to survive by herself for a week or two and with her fast flying she should make it. But she made the mistake of falling asleep. She could feel her wings flapping slower and slower. Her eyes glazed over and she fell toward the welcoming world below. A world of nightmares. She fell into a darkness, feeling small insect wings brush up against her as they flapped and buzzed. She felt a few bites that made her give out small yelps as she continued falling. She thought she could see specks of light in the distance, growing closer and closer as she began what felt like falling up. But all she saw when she got to the other end was destruction and famine. Twittermites everywhere, destroying the landscape and leaving nothing but broken trees, ponies, and ruin. Rainbow Dash woke up, still lying on the ground in Everfree. She shook the treasonous thoughts of Luna out of her head but ended up settling in for the night. Her right wing had begun feeling sore and her exhaustion continued to gnaw at her. Luna was a beloved princess, but ponies say she was cursed as a filly. Her playmate and herself were known to go off on adventures and cause trouble. It was something Old Timeotheus and her uncle Starswirl tried to hide from the public, but rumors spread. One day, the story goes, they had been outside of the walls of Cantermost when they got lost in the woods of Everfree. It was supposed to be a warm summer night, but then everything grew cold and dark. Luna did have some powers over darkness, but it wasn’t enough to keep the two warm and fed and on their way home. As they continued getting lost, they found an old hermit’s habitation. They ventured near it, hoping that the hermit was devout or that they would have some decency toward travelers or power. But no. The blue unicorn peered out of their doorway and cast a wretched spell upon the intruders before creating a powerful gust of wind to blow them back home. Nopony knows what the effects were on the companion pony, but someponies, out of earshot of the royals, say that Luna was cursed to give those around her terrible nightmares, long after they have left her side. Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure if she believed it. Those in the camp didn’t mention much else other than the nightmares of the battlefield itself, but she knew that she herself had experienced many a nightmare out in Everfree. This wasn’t the first, and it wouldn’t be the last.
Chapter Six: The UnknownAfter two weeks, Rainbow Dash found herself out in the open in the light of the day. At last, she was out of Everfree and back in the countryside outside of Cantermost. Her particular farm was a few more miles away to the north, but she didn’t even think about going back there. She couldn’t think about going back into the city either. Either way she would be alone. Nopony really knew her in the city, so it would be like starting all over again. She didn’t want to have to explain things to her family, or to Tank’s. She walked along a dirt path. It was so good to feel well worn path under her hooves again. It meant that the ground was packed and firm, yes, but it was better than not knowing where her hooves were stepping, whether it be on wild animals or corpses. She liked the assurance that everything was normal, though, her hooves began to feel pain as they hit up against some rocky areas. She found herself coming up to a barn. It was a no nonsense sort of place. She could clearly see the land around it was organized and labored in. A few ponies were scattered around the field working. Rainbow Dash looked back at herself. She wasn’t the strongest. But maybe she could go back to farm life with what she knew and rebuild, eventually finding it in herself to just go back home and still never explaining what she had done to get here. Her sore hooves trotted as healthily as they could look to the front door of a nearby cottage. It seemed like just the place for the owners to be living in. With a moment of hesitation, she knocked. An old fussy green pony opened the door. “What do you want?” Rainbow felt the rudeness emanating from the pony, but she sort of expected that she’d be greeted that way. She wasn’t looking her best and she was a complete stranger. “I know winter is coming up soon and I was hoping that maybe you all had room for one more workpony?” The green pony looked her up and down. “You don’t look like much...” “I can help! I know what it is like to work on a farm and I’ve done it before. I lived up north a bit from here.” “Well then you can go back there; we have no room or need for new workponies.” And with that she shut the door. Rainbow walked off, but instead of leaving entirely, she peered around the barn. It seemed like it was well stocked with supplies. Sheep wool scraps had been everywhere but they were cleaned up to nearly nothing. The quick thought came to her mind that maybe she could steal something or find a way to hide on the land, but she wasn’t that desperate. There wasn’t much she could do begging in the city. She mentally upbraided herself for leaving Luna. She could have just died on the battlefield and then she wouldn’t have to worry about her starving belly or where she would spend the winter. If she could just keep traveling a little further, she’d make it to Cantermost and see if the home and work she and Tank had been trying to make were still there. *** Fluttershy found herself on the bare ground next to an empty wooden cage. She didn’t remember how she got there. Her head had seemed clear when she woke, but her vision and thoughts seemed to dim as she continued looking around her surroundings. It looked like a prison underground, with just a small light near the roof from a hole to the sky. Her wings swept against the dirt as she tried lifting herself onto her hooves. It seemed sluggish and painful. Then she remembered. She had been walking with her friends in one of the small gardens in Cantermost when she had fallen down a well. Looking up, she couldn’t see where the well could have connected to here. There wasn’t even any water nearby. Everything was dusty and dry. Every breath she took was filled with the offensive emptiness and she almost wanted to stop breathing. Am I even alive? She never even gave much thought to the afterlife. She didn’t know what to expect of it and what it would have expected of her, but she knew she fell from a decent height before she lost consciousness. Somewhere, there should have been an echo, but everywhere was still silence. Everywhere on her body was unmarked and undamaged except for the soreness and weakness. But would I have still felt sore if I had died? She continued slowly walking toward one end of the cavern until she started seeing a light from the outside just at her height. Then she began her best to run. Just as she was nearing the mouth, she yelped and hung back. The light was so bright and there was no way of knowing what was waiting for her at the other side. She had to tiptoe, she had to try to blend in with the surroundings and hide, even though she was a bright yellow pegasus. Maybe she would be able to fly away once she got out, and just fly away from whatever danger was out there. She looked back at the cave. There was nothing for her there. She still didn’t know why she was in there or what the cage was for. Maybe some wild monster was kept locked there and maybe it ran away, too. Maybe it was waiting outside or behind a corner in the cave. Maybe the cage was for her, but then why was she freed with nopony around? She shut her eyes before the light could blind her. Her hooves began aching to feel the warmth of the perceived sun outdoors. She could feel her wings begin small flaps, preparing to fly in case of danger. She let her hooves walk even softer onto the ground. She took a step into the light. And she sneezed. Author's Note After Publishing Edits: I went back and changed the bear in chapter 3 to a Manticore and I changed the direction of Everfree in chapter 5 to the east. It was always to the east, but for some odd reason I wrote west. That's just so anyone reading won't think they lost their minds and imagined it was different; it was. ^-^'
Chapter Seven: What We MustCelestia always woke up before the dawn. It was her duty to take care of the sun. It was a responsibility that both her uncle and her tutor taught her to control. Timeotheus was always too busy with other projects of state to deal with it. Now that he was gone, they were her and her uncle’s responsibility. There were only a few things Celestia knew for certain anymore, and she knew this much: There was a sun in the sky. It wasn’t so much that she had to raise it, though that’s what her subjects thought. Her job really was to switch it on. The sun would travel across the sky at its own pace, but it did not give off much heat and light. This was only improved since Queen Aureola, that’s why ancient ponies were always so much hairier and bulkier than modern ones. Celestia was only a filly when they found out what she could do. The royal family has always been unicorns and alicorns, and, whether for the family’s sake or as safety for the subjects, there was a standard time and process to test each newborn’s capabilities. The actual process is not revealed to anypony but a select group, but this group was able to figure out right away what Celestia’s powers were. She was naturally going to be the ruler when Timeotheus died. Luna’s powers worked during the night. She could control the moon’s appearance and the darkness itself. She could see what other ponies were terrified of. Celestia could only see what other ponies wanted and did. She would take over projects after her father; her sister could not. Luna was a few years younger than Celestia. By the time Luna was born, the royal court, the foreign nations, the ponies of the city, and the ponies of the alleys all knew Celestia would become the future heir. Luna was not and not ever going to be. Once the sun was brightened, Celestia could look down and see her courtyard from her window. Everything sparkled in the morning dew. That’s what I live for. She couldn’t imagine a world of darkness. Celestia looked toward the furthest edges of the courtyard where the sun was not shining as bright and there was a shadow. But as soon as she noticed it, it was as if the sun grew brighter in that area and the darkness was gone. Just like Luna. Celestia finished her morning preparations and went to the throne room where she was greeted by several more servants and an ever peculiar pink one. She had grown used to Pinkie over the years, but never really grew close because of Luna. Ever since Luna left, Pinkie had been spending more and more time in the throne room than outdoors where she longed to be. Many of the other servants had practically become furniture or an annoyance. Pinkie was neither. Pinkie liked to put herself out there and be filled with energy, but usually she had a reason for it. She was bought to be entertainment because she was naturally good at that and because such a bright pink pony in this dim world was already entertainment enough. But Celestia felt like maybe Pinkie was deeper than her bouncy plush mane could ever fathom. She couldn’t admit it to anyone, but she was also jealous of how much closer Pinkie was to Luna than Celestia herself was. Celestia could see Pinkie going about in her usual way. “Yooouuurrr Majesty,” Pinkie said with an overcomical bow. Her bells jangling merrily but still with a little reserve. Celestia nodded slightly and went back to her thoughts and the issues her attendants brought to her. Pinkie was supposed to be there to cheer her up. For a while, she thought it would help. But as she watched the pink pony juggle around a few vases on the other side of the room, she felt reminded again that she was the one having to stay here in this stone cage alone. It was like the sun’s light had been faded. But there was no way she was going to quit. She continued about her day, sitting in the throne room dealing with whatever issues came her way until it was time for her to brighten the light of the moon before bedtime. Day in and day out. Luna didn’t care. She wouldn’t care. She barely had time to think about it as she got onto the battlefield. She was a natural leader, not as much as her sister, but she inspired awe and love from her subjects. She also wasn’t a natural when it came to leading a pack of ponies into battle. While she herself could fight, she could see other ponies getting ambushed and being obstacles for each other and falling around her. But in spite of her lack of battle tactics, everypony still thought of her as the leader of the group. She was a princess after all. When she was born, her coat had been the dark purple of the oncoming night. She liked the sound of that. She would be the oncoming night. There were very few things Luna was terrified of. She showed no fear or stress over each and every failure. But as she continued on in her quest, she knew that they were doing terribly and she knew everypony would become disheartened. And she missed Pinkie Pie. At first, she made the decision to go on a whim. She had thought about it for a while, she was always interested in the tales of the battles and the forest that contained them. But she wanted to be close to her family, friend, and tutor. She wanted to be there more than she wanted to go. But somehow, she increasingly felt that there would be more for her out there than where she was. Her sister was the one taking over all the kingdom’s royal duties, the one dealing with diplomacy and the ponyfolk. Luna thought about it as she finished another day of travel and setting up camp. Her eyes shut for only a second before she opened them again with a sigh. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Pinkie’s sad face looking back at her when she left with the band of crusaders. Luna once again looked around her tent. When night fell, she knew she would stand guard. No matter how terrified she felt and how hopeless it seemed, it was all she could do.
Chapter Three: Work and LifeTwilight Sparkle found herself wandering through the city yet again for supplies for her Master. From morning until the afternoon, she would have to be Rarity’s errand pony. The two unicorns had already realized Twilight’s inability to be a seamstress when Twilight first came into the shop. Twilight was too focused on organizing the shop and then messing it up to reorganize it again to actually get any work done. And when she did work on sewing, it was to make the outfits too plain. “The ponies in Prance and the ponies in Barcelponia are not going to wear these filthy rags!” Rarity said once. It stung, to see an afternoon’s worth of work get scrapped and torn to shreds, but Twilight was grateful that Rarity still kept her. Twilight had seen many a seamspony get fired and left for dead on the streets after a few slip ups like that. It was cruel and brutal work on all of them. Twilight also knew that Rarity had to suffer the pain of remembering what Twilight’s younger brother had done to her, every day. She was too busy rummaging through her pouch to notice that a circus wagon was being wheeled across the street. The wagon had several exotic creatures that came from the new worlds. Any able bodied pony that didn’t think of going on the foolish Parasprite Crusade was either working at some important task in the city for the Queen and the furtherance of the kingdom, or was going off on wild adventures of their own. Manticores weren’t too common since The Timberwolf Uprising of Her Majesty Aureola’s Day, so Twilight was shocked when she heard a caged one roar in her direction. She snapped up a small and sturdy magic shield in the direction of the threat before looking up toward it. She could see a very overweight manticore, sitting in the middle of a cage wagon, being wheeled about by four stallions. Each stallion was sturdy and the team could have easily moved the wagon quicker through the street if they hadn’t been stalled by the traffic. She didn’t think much of it as she made her way toward the harbor. The harbor toward the east was where the main bustle and the strangest visitors would be. Trade had opened up with various tribes, but a good portion of it was still from pony explorers making their fortune. Since the land to the west was overgrown with the Everfree Country, the harbor, even with the unpredictable storms and the unknown expanse, was still a more favorable option. The monastery had been there for years. It used to be the furthest point away from civilization, but now it was in the center of it. Ponies from the poorest and richest levels of society would join in the monastery. It was strict living in there, but ponies that wanted to could still work their way around the system. It was also mainly for male ponies. Ponies that decided to live there would be subjected to rigorous prayers, gardening, studies in philosophy, science, and history. A good section of the inhabitants were busy copying ancient texts. That’s what Spike was doing. He was born years after Twilight was, but she loved him very much. Other ponies didn’t like the look of him though. His face was funny at birth, he had a deformed hoof, and he was abnormally small and weak. His ears were shorter than they should have been. Twilight loved him. Her older brother had always supported and cared for her, and she wanted to return that same feeling to her younger brother. Spike always seemed very intelligent and helpful as a toddler. When he began to grow into his teenage years, he helped a lot after the family was kicked out of the castle. He resigned himself to the somewhat isolation of the monastery to continue scholarly pursuits, but he would always look forward to Twilight’s visits when she had the chance. She would trot up to the main entrance and knock on the large metal door. The main leader, Lumen Omen, would open the door for her or send out a lesser assistant to do it. And then she would trot to a small hut in the middle of the field within the enclosed walls. There was a room in one of the main buildings for those who were copying manuscripts, but Spike was given special assignments and allowed to have his own space. He spent the first year or two working within the monastery developing his skills as a translator and an artist, but he was already an excellent reader before that. And he loved to share what he was working on with his older sister. She could remember when she first started visiting him and how frustrated he would be as he was honing his skills. But one day she went to visit and he practically bowled her over to show her the page he had created with a tiny little sketch in the corner and magnificent golden letters all over in a brilliant cursive. She trotted into his little hut today. “Spike!” The young stallion turned around where he was sitting and leapt toward the door to give his sister a hug. “Twilight! Why’d you come back again so soon?” “You told me you were about to finish up this one manuscript and I wanted to be there when it happened.” “Oh, yeah,” Spike looked a bit apologetic and walked back to his desk and lifted up the manuscript sheets with his good hoof and handed it over to Twilight. “I finished it up this morning.” She eagerly sat on a small bench next to the door and began flipping through the pages with her magic. Every page was so unique. The letters were crafted to look almost alive, and the images that were woven into the first letter of every page and into the design of the surrounding margin made her smile. She always believed in her brother. She gave the manuscript itself a quick hug before hugging him once more. They stayed back for a while and chatted, before she headed back to her own quarters.
