All That Glitters

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

Waking up from a deep, long sleep can often be an exhausting thing, as the young stallion was learning.

The sun was poking in through the ratty curtains, casting a simple yet unwelcome glow on his face. With a tiny grunt, he turned over, shivering slightly in the chillness of his room. The remains of the dream were already beginning to scatter, and reminders of the real world crawled in to take their place. Within seconds he had forgotten what the dream was about, and could only be sure that he had dreamed. The memories of it slipped from his mind, and he grunted again, saddened, though he didn't know why.

But morning had arrived, and that meant it was time to face the day. He gave up on trying to remember his dream, and sat up in bed, yawning as he stretched on the bed. He doubted that even if his yawn was loud and bellowing it'd wake up his sister, but he preferred to make as little noise as possible. He never liked loud things, and often his sister would tease him that the reason was because of his large, yellow ears. He'd counter that her ears were just as big as his, being siblings and all. It was a ridiculous argument that usually wound up in silly laughter, but these days the funny exchanges were harder to find. Life was getting hard.

With one more yawn, he put on his glasses and crawled out of bed, no longer wincing when his bare hooves touched the cold floor. He shuffled over to his small dresser drawer, deciding that today he could forgo a bath—water had to be carefully saved, now that Queen Chrysalis had declared a tax on using the local wells. Everything had a tax nowadays, and many depressingly mused that one day the Queen would issue a tax on complaining about the taxes. If that joke ever became reality, his sister would be in the poorhouse within minutes. Then again—he glanced at their cold, dirty, moth-eaten surroundings—was there a house poorer than this? But thinking on such a glum matter this early wouldn't get anything done, and he tried to shake the sad thoughts from his mind.

He tried thinking about the positives, like how his second favorite cloak didn't have any holes and that there was less dirt on the floor than usual. His older sister worked on the gardens and often she'd come home covered in dirt. He made a mental note to sweep the floor later, although it would only stay clean for a couple of hours. With his outfit for the day chosen, he walked to his sister's room, not bothering to knock. Many years ago, this large house had been filled with happy relatives, until each one married or left to pursue their own happiness. Now it was just the two of them.

His sister was laying on her stomach, snoring obnoxiously and drooling on her pillow. She shivered occasionally under her blanket—there had been only one blanket left after selling most of their possessions, and after a long, heated debate, he convinced her to take it, but not after ranting that if she didn't take it, he'd throw it out. His sister was the one who was known for her fiery temper, but he could be just as determined if he wanted to. Despite their clashing tempers, it was their way of showing how they loved each other, and while he hated arguing, he didn’t feel remorse about the outcome, if it meant his sister would be more comfortable. He sighed heavily, and then began to shake her shoulder.

“Sunset, it's time to get up! We have to go to the market before everything is sold out!”

Sunset Shimmer had probably been awake for some time now, but unlike her brother who could easily roll out of bed, she needed additional assistance. “Don't wanna,” she mumbled into the pillow. “Go away.”

“We have to buy eggs, and milk, and bread! And we have to get that hole in the roof fixed! And you have to go to work, and I have to deliver Sugar Belle’s spell, and...”

“Don't wanna,” she repeated in the same tired tone, having not listened to a word he said.

He rolled his eyes, but knew exactly what to say to get her attention. “Okay, go back to sleep. Flash Sentry had stopped by to visit, but I guess I'll just tell him to leave-”

The moment Flash's name was mentioned, Sunset bolted upright, scrambling so fast to get out of bed that she tripped over her own feet and landed on the floor face first. She dizzily slid the rest of her body onto the floor, and once she regained her senses, cast a small glare at her little brother.

“Flash’s not here, is he?”

“Good morning, Sunset.” He smiled cheekily.

“...Good morning, Sunburst.” One day she wasn't going to fall for that trick, but that day was far into the future.

She rolled onto her back and managed to find her feet, standing up and smoothing down her blonde fur. Her stomach rumbled and the siblings did their best to pretend they hadn't heard it. Breakfast was sometimes a luxury, but if everything went right at the market, they might be able to have it for a few days. Sunset dragged herself to her own drawer, merely choosing to brush her mane quickly, mumbling that she didn't care as to what other ponies’ saw—which was a lie, she cared far too much. “Eggs, milk, and... what was the last one?”

“Bread,” Sunburst reminded her, waiting patiently for her to finish. “I can take care of the eggs, and talk to Sugar Belle about her spell at the same time. Once you get the milk and bread, you can head straight to work,” he felt it necessary to add. “And I do mean straight to work.”

Sunset frowned, she knew full well what her brother meant, but pride controlled her muzzle. “What's that supposed to mean? I always go right to work.” She headed for the hall, hoping that it would end the conversation, but Sunburst tailed her.

“I mean, don't get into any fights, and don't start lying again.” He stayed right at her side, giving her a knowing look while she refused to meet his eyes.

“Name one time I have ever lied,” Sunset replied, trying to dodge at least one complaint.

“You told Rainbow Dash you could lift a wagon with one arm. You told Miss Cake we were descendants of Celestia. You told Mister Rock Tuff we had a secret supply of expensive talking silk-worms hidden in the basement. You told the blacksmith-”

“I SAID NAME ONE TIME!”

Sunburst was unfazed by his sister's roar as they made it to the front door, and Sunset huffed and puffed, trying to calm down before they were in public. “So maybe, on occasion, I exaggerate a bit.”

Arguing semantics would take all day, so Sunburst skipped ahead. “I just don't understand why you do it. You know everyone is going to call you out on it, and then you look worse than before.”

He grabbed a small saddle bag that sat by the door, lightly swinging it by its worn-out strap. They stepped into the gentle, dim sunlight which was now beginning to loom over the small kingdom. Their home was the furthest away from the castle, and often had the most travelers roll by their door. When Sunburst was younger, he was always happy to see a carriage slow down to a stop, as it meant a potential customer had come by who may need a charm or an enchantment before they continued their journey.

Travelers were seen less and less now, as nobody wanted to come visit their land, the once beautiful Crystal Kingdom. Sunset raised her chin and flicked her mane as they walked. “Is it so wrong that I wish we were better than what we are? A down-on-their luck family that's struggling to get by, in a miserable kingdom with a rotten Queen?” She sighed and kicked a pebble out of her way.

“You’re not the only one,” Sunburst replied, glancing around to make sure the captain of the guards wasn't around. She was the only mare who cared when someone bad-mouthed the Queen, and even then it was only because she was rewarded when pointing out 'traitors to the crown'. “But still, I like who we are!”

“But I don't want to be like everyone else.” Sunset Shimmer snorted hard. “I wish we were special in some way! Something that makes us stand out, something that says we're worth being alive, something like... I don't know, just a purpose.” She grumbled, knowing that explaining this was fruitless. “Every day we do the same things, and nothing ever changes.”

They were getting closer to the marketplace, with ponies loudly shouting their wares and the sounds of chickens clucking mixed with mooing cows. Sunburst spotted a familiar, welcoming face in the early crowd. “Well...things don't always have to be that way. I know someone who would like a big change only you can give.”

Sunset had a fair guess as to what Sunburst was referring to, and she glanced to where he was looking. A young stallion was carefully setting out displays of shiny pieces of armor, set up neatly so they catch the glare of the sun. While everyone in the village had meager means, some were less meager than others. It would only be a matter of time before he was in the same boat as everyone else, but for now he could afford to dress a little more nicely then others. He was quite handsome, and he knew it, often using a flirtatious wink or a well place compliment to guarantee a sale. But once money had been exchanged, he made it quite clear that he was happily taken – by Sunset.

Sunset made a long, uncomfortable noise in her throat before speaking. “Not yet. Just...not yet.”

Before Sunburst could launch into a full tirade she cut him off. “Look, I'm not going to marry him until I know you'll be okay!” With Flash Sentry’s extra riches, Sunset could have lived with him instead of the other way around, but that was not a choice she could live with just yet, despite her brother's insistence.

“Oh, for goodness' sake!” Sunburst stomped the ground, his pale cheeks puffing out. “I don't need to go out and get a wife who would constantly nag me! I can do just fine on my own! You can go live with Flash and live happily ever after without me.”

“It's not a happily ever after until I know my brother is happy.” Sunset lightly poked Sunburst on the nose, but it failed to elicit a giggle like when he was younger. “I know you can take care of yourself, it’s just…I just don't want you to be alone.”

Sunburst’s lips pressed together and he didn't say anything right away. The big problem was that Sunburst didn't want to live alone either. While he wasn’t the most outgoing of ponies, he dreaded the thought of being in that big house all by himself, of days without happy conversations and familiar support. Ever since Sunset and Flash had started their courtship over a year ago, an ugly jealousy had grown in his big heart – not just for “losing” his beloved sister, but longing deeply for something similar. Yet he pressed down on these unpleasant emotions and suddenly shoved Sunset on the flank.

“Well, I'm fine to go shopping on my own so keep that in mind!” It took another shove for Sunset to give up talking and head towards Flash, offering a tired wave.

Flash Sentry perked up upon seeing her, and once she was close, kissed her on the cheek. She blushed, smiling as she tucked herself affectionately against his side, asking about his day and his plans. Sunburst watched them for a moment longer, each beat of his heart being pricked by the thorns of jealousy. Sunset deserved to be happy with her beloved, and Sunburst was the only obstacle preventing that. Flash spotted Sunburst out of the corner of his eye, and he began to wave, trying to invite him over.

Flash was kind and a little too honest at times, but he was a good stallion, and perfect for Sunburst’s sister. It wouldn't have surprised Sunburst if Flash would have also welcomed him into his home once the knot was tied, yet Sunburst couldn't see himself accepting the generous offer. Perhaps stubbornness was a family trait. Sunburst wouldn't let himself be a burden on Sunset's shoulders for the rest of her life.

He waved back but he was quick to walk off, suppressing his sadness once again.

What about the rest of his life? Sunburst would be happy to continue casting small enchantments and make potions, as it gave him a great joy to use his talent to help others. The look of a stallion's face as he saw his old trousers ready for farm-work again, the giddy laughter of children after their favorite toy was found, the eager gratitude of old women feeling young again after he cast a quick healing spell...These were worth far more than any coin. Helping others was the best kind of feeling – so knowing that he couldn't help Sunset was in turn the worst feeling.

The easiest solution would be if he got married, and while hardly narcissistic, Sunburst knew he wasn't unattractive. Even with bags under his eyes and his stomach caving in, he still got interested glances from many mares, such as today as he headed for Sugar Belle’s booth. There had been a number of times when, upon casting whatever spell or enchantment he was asked to, he noticed that it hadn’t been entirely necessary thing to do. It'd merely been a way to try to offer a date as a payment. It had been flattering the first time, suspicious the second, and by the fifth time someone had done it he’d up and slam the door in their face. If he was going to date anyone, he wanted them to be honest, not skip out on giving him hard-earned money.

Then there was that last thing that he wouldn't tell anyone – not Sunset, not Flash, not Sugar Belle, he wouldn't even speak it outside of his own mind. It was just...a feeling. A feeling that being with someone wasn't right. It was stronger than distaste or revulsion – it was if someone in the back of his mind wouldn't let him date anyone, screaming at him the moment he even dared to think of it, his entire body rejecting the mere idea. No matter how beautiful or kind they were, this unnamed feeling sat in the back of his mind like a watchful stranger. He knew if he ever told someone, he'd sound crazy, and had to wonder sometimes if he actually was crazy since he couldn't understand this feeling.

It was a sensation, that something was missing. A pause in the great plan of life. He trotted on.

Sugar Belle was cuddling one of her favorite chickens, believing that if her beloved birds saw how well their eggs sold, it would encourage them to lay more. When Sunburst approached, the mare smiled, and bent over to give Sunburst's a motherly kiss on his cheek. “Good morning, Sunburst! It is a deee-light to see you, it truly is.”

Sunburst easily wore his smile like make-up, forgoing all his bad thoughts. “Good morning, Sugar Belle. Do you know you say that every morning?”

“Because it's true every morning!” Sugar Belle grinned, and Sunburst let out a little laugh. “How are you, my dear? Keeping Sunset out of trouble?”

“Trying to, at the very least,” Sunburst quipped, putting his saddle bag on the table. “I just started work on your spell. It should be finished by Friday...but I wanted to ask you about how strong you want the effects to be. You see, if I do it a certain way, it-”

Sugar Belle held up a hoof. “Tut-tut-tut!” and her chicken copied with a cluck-cluck-cluck. “Sunburst, you've been preparing those enchantments for me for ages, I trust you way more than I trust myself! Whatever you do is the right decision, it always has been and it always will be. Why, sometimes I trust you more than my own husband.”

There came that sting again, and Sunburst fought it valiantly. Wasn't there an old saying that when you were unlucky in love, you saw nothing but couples around you? “And how is Big Mac by the way? Is his back any better?”

Sugar Belle clicked her tongue. “He still needs a few more days...the doctor said he can wait on payment, but you know how he can be. He refuses to get himself checked out until he can properly pay for it, but he can't pay for it unless he works, and we don't know when he can work until a doctor can check him out...” She rolled her hoof, showing the ridiculous loop that her husband insisted upon. “Oh, but I can't blame the doctor for his prices. Everyone has to make a living.” It was here that Sugar Belle paused and glanced down at her chicken sadly, as if dreading the moment to come.

“I'm sure things will work out.” Sunburst offered with an air of positivity, pulling coins from his coin purse and counting them over. “If you can wake up and see tomorrow, then you're already better off... eight, nine, and ten... All right! I'll have our usual dozen.”

Sugar Belle sighed so heavily that Sunburst thought she was deflating. “That'll be...twenty bits.”

Sunburst nodded once before actually hearing the amount, and he almost dropped all his coins in shock. “Twenty?!” he repeated so loudly that a few heads around began to swivel. “But...but that's twice as much as usual! I can't afford that!” He doubted most ponies could.

Sugar Belle's shoulders dropped, and she hugged her chicken protectively. “I'm so sorry, Sunburst, but...what with all of Queen Chrysalis new taxes, I have to raise my prices just to keep the farm running! She put a new tax on chicken feed, on our coops, on our seeds...At this rate, I might need to up it to thirty if she keeps adding more charges.”

“But that's...” 'Not fair', Sunburst wanted to say, but what would be the point? He looked down at the coins in his hoof, fighting off a wave of dread. How could things get worse in such a short amount of time? “Things didn't always use to be this way,” he said softly.

“No they weren't, I tell you what,” Sugar Belle agreed, easing her hold on her chicken. “Her father, now that was a righteous pony! He cared for his subjects, he listened, and this whole kingdom used to a beautiful place! And then along comes his daughter...” She glanced around for any sign of the captain, and not seeing a trace of her, ranted louder than before, with a few grumbles of agreement echoing off in the distance. “Here's what I don't get – how does such a good pony raise such a horrid brat? Didn't he teach Chrysalis anything? How could he have let his daughter take the crown before he kicked the bucket? Shoot, I think Sunset would've made a better queen than Chrysalis! It's like one day, everything's sunshine, and then,” she slap her hoof on the table, “nothing but storm clouds for the rest of our lives!”

Sunburst could do nothing but nod along. It really didn't make sense when it was said out loud.

Chrysalis father had been a loving pony, a wise pony, one who actually knew how a decent economy worked. Then there was the lovely queen, although Sunburst hadn't known her, since she had died before Sunburst was even born, due to....

Due to...

Huh. There was that funny feeling again, like a roadblock that wouldn't budge between his lobes.

He lifted his head. “Say, Sugar Belle, how did the Queen die?”

Sugar Belle blinked rapidly, surprised at the change in topic, and then more so when she couldn't give a proper answer. She scratched her head, trying to sort through a fog. “Well, hm. Hmmm. If I remember correctly...some kind of... I think it was...Oh, yes, there was something wrong with her body. She was a weak mare.”

“What was wrong with her?”

“She was just weak. That's all.” Sugar Belle seemed to be in a hurry to dismiss the subject, perhaps embarrassed that she wasn't entirely sure. Sunburst couldn't blame her – being unable to answer a question was often fraught with humiliation.

While the subject still lingered in his mind, Sunburst knew he couldn't spend all day sitting on it, and fished out what coins he could spare. “I can only afford six, in any case.” He began to slip the coins onto the table, and Sugar Belle popped the eggs into his bag.

“Oooh, dearie me,” an old, weary voice suddenly broke through, haggard and ghastly. “Are you taking them all?”

Both ponies turned to look at what appeared to be a very old mare, although this was mostly a guess because the stranger was covered in a dark black hood from head to hoof. The only hints of her appearance was a scraggly white tail that trailed endlessly from the hems of her cloak, and a skinny, gray furred hoof clutching a walking stick that had seen better days. Broken yellow nails clutched the decorated top of the stick that had once held an elaborate jewel but now was a broken mess of splinters. There was a hunch in her neck, and as she breathed, exhaustion was obvious in each snort of her nostrils. She wouldn't lift her head, so it was impossible to see her face.

Neither pony recognized her, which was an oddity in and of itself. The Kingdom wasn't large by any means, and almost everyone knew everyone else. Of course, meeting someone new wasn't impossible, but for reasons they couldn't pinpoint the two ponies automatically knew this was an outsider. Sugar Belle took to this stranger with distrust, not saying anything just yet, but Sunburst's consistent compassion shined.

“Oh no, not at all,” Sunburst replied, smiling kindly, always happy to make a new friend. “Just six!”

“But the price has gone up,” Sugar Belle reminded them both.

“Gone up, has it?” the mare asked, her head lowering even further. “This is a true tragedy... I only had enough for one, but if that's the case, I can't have any at all.” She presented her hoof, showing a singular dirty coin. “Ma'am, can you not spare even one egg for this poor soul? I can't even recall the last time I've eaten,” She lamented with a sad sigh, her hoof dropping.

“If I do, then I become the next poor soul,” Sugar Belle replied, even though there was a guilty tone in her voice. “Look, ma’am, I'm sorry that you have a sob story, but I have to make a choice between feeding my family and feeding strangers...”

“Yes, yes, I understand.” The old mare drew a deep breath, trying to turn back around. “This is a time to eat or be eaten...”

Sunburst looked down at the remaining coins in his purse, the ones he couldn't afford to needlessly give away, and then to the bag full of eggs. His hesitation only lasted two seconds more before he snatched the bag and quickly strode up to the stranger. “Here, you can have mine!”

Sugar Belle groaned Sunburst's name, not deeply surprised, and it was the only warning she could think to give. The old mare lifted her head, and while Sunburst still couldn't make out where her mouth or nose was, he thought he saw a hint of dazzling blue eyes. But when he blinked it was gone, and the old mare was speaking. “All of them? Are you sure?”

“Of course I am.” Sunburst smiled as he spoke, the same smile that endeared the kingdom and made hearts melt. “I already paid, and I don't need them. My sister Sunset will be getting us bread and milk, that'll be enough for us! You need them more than I do anyway. Here, please.”

Sunset would be upset, as would his empty stomach, but his heart would be full knowing that this mare wouldn't starve. He held out the bag, waiting.

Though he couldn't see her eyes, he felt them staring at him, gazing intently. A strange thing happened when she talked again. “You haven't changed at all.” Her voice sounded younger in that sentence, softer too, yet also agonized in ways that were beyond Sunburst's comprehension.

He tilted his head. “I'm sorry, have we met before?” He was quite sure he hadn't, but he'd hardly call his memory perfect.

The old mare's body flinched as if the words had drove a knife right into her chest. She cleared her throat, the age in her voice once more, and she took the basket. “Thank you,” she said, completely ignoring his question. “You are a very generous young man.”

“Too generous, if you ask me,” said Sugar Belle, even though no one had asked her.

“I try,” Sunburst replied, never one to fully accept a compliment. “Do you need any more help? The market can really busy this time of morning, I can show you around!” The idea was a little exciting, as even though the kingdom was dark and depressing, it was still his home and thus still a place he loved dearly. He would have been happy to introduce whoever this was to his sister and all his friends. “And if you ever need a little enchantment or potion, you can always come to me!” He pointed at himself, hoping to put a smile on the mares face even if he couldn't see it.

“No, this is where we will part,” the old mare said, and she reached out to take Sunburst's hoof.

Sugar Belle had half a mind to climb over the table and slap it off, but Sunburst didn't seemed to mind.

Her wrinkled flesh held Sunburst's hoof gently, an unexpected warmth extended from her hoof to his own. On sudden instinct Sunburst held it more firmly, and he looked down at their joined hooves, befuddled. “I will repay your kindness,” she said in that low, soft tone again. “I promise.”

She took her time pulling her hoof back, and then she walked away with the saddle bag and her stick, shuffling along with her head down, ignored by all the other villagers.

Once the old mare was far enough away, Sugar Belle huffed. “Sunset’s going to tan your flank for that, Sunburst.” She waited for a retort that didn't come, and when she looked at her friend, found Sunburst's cheek had a tear rolling down. “Sunburst!” She tossed her chicken onto the ground, where it rolled around until it dizzily landed on its rump. Sugar Belle was in front of Sunburst in seconds, grasping his hoof. “Oh, I knew it, I knew she was trouble, where did she hurt you?”

“Huh?” Sunburst blinked at Sugar Belle's over the top of the reaction. He didn't realize anything was odd until he felt a cold sensation on his cheek. How odd. “Oh, Sugar Belle, it's nothing! You worry too much.” Yet he welcomed the worry, as it was a clear sign of friendship, and hoped a hug would settle the problem. Sure, he was disappointed that he couldn't help the old mare any further, but it was no reason to cry. So why had his eyes disobeyed his mind?

Sunburst felt it, and so did Sugar Belle, and a great number of villagers felt it too, that sensation in their minds that something...that someone had...

…And then it was gone. The day was normal. Sunburst went home, hoping his sister had better luck.

Amazingly enough, Sunset's luck was not only better, it was actually spectacular.

After a loving encounter with Flash, she had found someone's dropped coin, finders’ keepers. The baker had made a miscalculation with the loaves, which meant Sunset got an extra one for her troubles. The milk was fresh, and it came with a jovial conversation about their mutual friends, that perhaps things weren't as bad as all that. To top it off, Mister Jones, who Sunset typically tended to argue with, actually needed help with his crops, which not only meant more money in Sunset's pocket but a boost to her ego as well. Not a single lie had been spoken.

Much like Sunburst was talented with magic, Sunset was a mage when it came to plants. She could make even the driest of plants grow, with little to no aid from her own magic. Plants didn't care about your social status or your place in the world. Her official job was working in the royal gardens, but more often than not she wound up doing odd jobs for all the various farmers. She was the one who could make apple trees produce their fruit, make flowers grow form the driest of soils and diagnose any plant related aliment with just a glance. Naturally this came with manual labor, cleaning and digging and clipping, but that also pleased her, since physical work made her feel like a stronger pony.

With her mood high in the clouds, she even began to whistle as she headed towards the looming castle after dropping off the milk and bread at home. What a swell day! Flash gave her a kiss, they'd have eggs, milk and bread to last them a while, ponies were happy, she made more income, there was absolutely nothing that could ruin – oh, she'd just doomed herself, didn't she?

“Enough with the noise, muddy shoes!”

Yep, Sunset should have known better than to think she'd have a good day. Sunset had made it to the royal barn and pushed open the door, but there had come that grating voice right behind her, a shadow towering over and demanding attention. Sunset wanted to launch a tirade, but Sunburst's words hovered around her, and she swallowed it down. “Sonata.”

“That's Captain Sonata Dusk to you!” Sonata was Captain of the Guard, the pony who gave out orders to all guardsmen that protected the castle. During the former King's reign, this protection extended to all the citizens, but Chrysalis had decreed her life was far more valuable and thus needed far more protection. More than anything, Sonata was a middle-pony between the two, and it might have explained her frequent bullying. Sunset was her favorite target. “You gotta learn some respect towards your superiors!”

Sunset visibly shook from the effort not to rise to the challenge. “Yes, ma’am,” she hissed through her teeth, placing her sack down in a corner. “I've got to get to work.”

Sonata frowned. It was no fun picking on someone when they refused to acknowledge it, and if Sonata couldn't make ponies feel they were less than her, she would feel lesser herself. “You better not start anything today, muddy shoes. One wrong word and I could tell the Queen to kick you out!”

Sunset glanced over, pondering if Sonata actually had that power, but she doubted it. “I'm not going to start a thing,” she replied as calmly as she could make it, picking up her gardening tools and walking outside, Sonata on her heels, she headed to a flower patch and started picking the weeds she could find. “I'm just here to work. Same as you.”

“Same as me?” This caused Sonata to laugh. “You're nothing like me! I've got a real job, with real power, and real authority! And what are you? A weed muncher!”

Don't get into any fights. Don't start lying again. Sunburst's voice rang in her ears. If she did either one, they'd get into trouble, and they didn't need trouble, so Sunset pulled harder. “There's nothing wrong with what I do. I like my work.”

“Of course you do, because it suits you!” Sonata sneered, apparently having nothing better to do with her time than antagonize Sunset. This was not hyperbole – as rotten as Chrysalis was, there hadn't been any attempts on her life or mass criminal conspiracies. It was as if once Chrysalis had taken the crown, everyone had effectively given up. Strangely enough this also included Sonata. “A low job for a low pony!”

Sunset sucked the inside of her cheek, but she could only hold back so much. “Can you answer me one question?” she asked without turning around.

“I can answer any question about anything!” Sonata boasted, sticking out her chest.

The gardener looked over her shoulder. “What did I ever do to you?”

Turns out Sonata couldn't answer any question about anything because she was completely thrown off. Her big eyes widened, and she scratched her fuzzy cheek. “Huh?”

“I mean it. What did I do?” Now Sunset did turn around, with a weed still in her mouth, dirt already beginning to cling to her fur. “When I first started working here, you didn't pick on me at all. We didn't talk much, but at least you weren't constantly trying to pull my tail! I could've even called you nice once. So, just tell me... what did I do?”

“What did you do?” Sonata repeated the question, as if accusing Sunset of forgetting – but Sonata didn't have the answer. Sunset wasn't wrong, and her own memories of those first days were as clear as glass. She was in better shape then, commanded respect, and on that day when Sunset was assigned to work at the gardens, she'd been told to show Sunset around, be cordial, and be nice.

The ponies of the castle should all be like one big happy family. Back then she had no reason to want to make Sunset miserable, or anyone miserable, because Sonata hadn't felt miserable. The decision to hire Sunset had come from...

…well, well it must have come from Chrysalis. Of course it did, who else would it have been?

The King had been older by then, and such little choices could be left up to his daughter. Chrysalis must have hired Sunset. Yet – yet when Sonata really tried to visualize the memory, of Sunset on day one, smiling brightly at the pony who hired her – it wasn't Chrysalis, but – but it must have been – a throbbing headache began to build up in Sonata's head. “What does it matter?!” Sonata suddenly yelled, almost knocking Sunset over with the force of her shout. “Get to work and stop bothering me with stupid questions!”

“I was trying to work, you keep interrupting me!” She spit out the weed. So much for not fighting. Sunset would have to apologize to her little brother later.

“I can interrupt you whenever I want, I've got the power!” Sonata stuck a hoof to her chest. “And you? You're nothing! You and your whole family are a bunch of low-life nobodies!”

Now Sonata had struck a nerve. Insulting Sunset was bad enough, but daring to imply anything bad about her family was enough to make Sunset see red. “My family is amazing, you stupid empty tin can!”

Sonata leaned in dangerously close. “They are not! You and your whole bunch are useless good-for nothings! There's nothing amazing about any of you!”

“Yes there is!” Sunset shouted back, although she could not think of anything absolutely amazing off the top of her head. From the corner of her eye, she saw a cart of straw being deliver to the kitchens.

“Sunburst can do really amazing things!”

“Oh yeah?” Sonata scoffed. “What amazing things can he do?”

“He can...he can...” Sunset looked at bales straw being unloaded, and came up with the absolute worst, silliest, outlandish lie she had ever told in her entire life. “He can turn straw into gold!”

Silence fell on the gardens, with even the wind had stopped blowing, as if in awe of how ridiculousness that lie sounded. Sonata stood up straight, her face pulling all sorts of confused expressions. “He can...what?”

The real problem with Sunset's lies weren't that she told them, but that once she'd said them, she refused to back down until evidence proved her false. “He can turn straw into gold,” Sunset repeated, weaving an elaborate tale in her head. “How else do you think we can survive under all these harsh conditions? Night after night, he turns straw in to gold with a flick of his horn. He's got a rare talent, only one in a million has it. You've seen the way he cast spells and makes potions, it's the same deal! That's how amazing he is.” Sunburst was going to have her tail for this if─he found out, and that was a pretty big if. Sunset knew what she was saying was pure nonsense and Sonata, though she wasn’t the brightest pony in the kingdom, she wouldn't actually believe her, thus she wouldn't ask for proof, thus nobody got hurt.

Indeed, Sonata seemed stupefied by the sheer leaps in logic Sunset was making. She opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. “If that is true,” she said without sounding like she thought it was, “then you ought to be richer than the queen right now.”

“Maybe I am,” Sunset said, the gardening shovel feeling like an actual shovel she was digging her grave with.

Sonata inhaled deeply through her nostrils. You really couldn't insult someone who had clearly lost their marbles. Angered, she stormed out of the garden, slamming the door hard behind her. Sunset smirked, and twirled the gardening shovel around in victory. Okay, so she'd broke her word to Sunburst, but what was the harm? She began whistling again, and resumed her work, ignoring the disapproving looks of the flowers.

Every now and then she wondered about her unanswered question – about the Sonata that had once smiled without a trace of malice – but it was covered up in the dirt.

Sonata had additional duties that came with being the Captain, and that meant having her meals with the Queen. It wasn't exactly a rule, but Chrysalis had made it clear that skipping it would mean she could “find another captain with more time on their hooves.” Sonata didn't understand it the first couple of days, but the more time she spent in the castle, the more she understood. The first reason was that castle itself was creepy, and not a place you wanted to stay in alone.

After the King's death, several rooms had been locked up, with Chrysalis forbidding anyone to enter them without giving them a solid reason. It gave the feeling that the castle was haunted by unseen ghosts, empty hallways echoing loudly with each step. There had also been paintings, tapestries, all kinds of decorative and functional works thrown into a fire, also with Chrysalis's sole explanation being “because I said so”. So in addition to the spooky silence, the castle looked unfurnished, half-done, as if entire chunks of life were missing.

The second reason was far more pathetic.

“So,” Chrysalis started, propping her back legs on the table as she munch on a carrot. “Tell me, Captain, what loving praise have my ponies given me today?”

In contrast to Sonata's small frame, Chrysalis was lean and tall, never really fitting into any chairs without obvious discomfort. A unicorn like her father, her mane was dark green, her fur was black and her eyes were a murky green, with long pointy ears that only wanted to hear love and compliments. The table was covered in massive amounts of food that two ponies couldn't possibly finish, Sonata was taking her time as she slowly munched on an apple. Unlike Sunset, lies didn't come to her as easily as they required some level of creativity. “Well, um,” she started. “I might have heard your name out there once or twice.”

“Marvelous!” Chrysalis clapped her hooves together. “No doubt they're telling each other how much they adore their queen! Come on, don't be shy, I want every last word!” She then paused. “What’s that you got there?”

Sonata swallowed. “Gee, Chrysalis, it’s just…huh…a book I picked from the library, that’s all.”

Sunset's words had a ring that wouldn't leave, an image of when Sonata could understand more of the world around her.

Chrysalis stared, and then howled with laughter, standing up to slap Sonata on the back. “You!? Read!? Hey, we can't be what we're not, and you're a big dumb air head! And you always will be! So put that book away! Reading, that's rich...” Sonata looked down at her plate sadly, and reached for a lone lettuce leaf. “Now then, back to the important stuff – me! What did they say about me?”

Therein came the second reason – Chrysalis had no friends, and Sonata was the closest one she could order to be one. She was of the belief that being a ruler meant instant love, no matter what she did.

Sonata decided that she was just delaying the inevitable. “They were complaining about the chicken feed tax.” Sugar Belle hadn't looked clearly enough when she was ranting about Chrysalis's unfairness, unfortunately.

Chrysalis's jovial expression turned sour, and the carrot stick in her hoof snapped. “They dared to complain about me? Those ingrates! If they worked harder, they could be rich! What do they expect me to do, live like them? Like a commoner?” She spat every question out and Sonata knew well enough not to answer. “I'm the Queen! I'm supposed to have the riches! I give them inspiration so they can be more like me! They should grovel at my feet and apologize! Who was it? Who dared?!”

Sonata slurped green pea soup. “Aw, it was just some stupid farm maid and the gardener’s brother.”

“The gardener’s brother?” Chrysalis repeated, aghast that someone working for her would be related to someone so disrespectful – but then the gears in her head turned. “The gardener’s brother?” she said once more, now thoughtful and introspective. “I've seen that stallion come by to give her lunch...” And on other occasions – she thought – she wasn't clear on it, yet she knew she had seen him before. “He’s quite handsome, isn't he?”

“I guess.” Sonata shrugged. She preferred taller stallions, ones with more punch. “But man, you should've heard the gardener talk about him today! She said...” Remembering it now made her guffaw, her mane bouncing with the movement. “She said the pony can turn straw into gold! Can you believe it?” She laughed louder, pounding a hoof on the table.

But Chrysalis didn't laugh, walking to a nearby window and looking down at the filthy, grimy peasants that were lucky to have her as a ruler. They should've been happy to do whatever she wanted. She was the Queen, she inherited love. She inherited many things – including some dirty tricks she had locked away in her mind. This wasn't her father's kingdom, it was Chrysalis, all Chrysalis, and they needed to learn a lesson. Right on time, Sunburst was heading to the gardens to deliver lunch and reluctantly give the bad news about the missing eggs. He was indeed quite handsome.

And something about his good looks made her angry. Made her yearn. Made her want revenge.

Chrysalis smiled. “Stranger things have happened, Sonata.”

And stranger things would continue to happen.

Author's Note

Maybe I should warn you all now, that most of the characters will be out of character, so if you don't feel comfortable with this portrayals I present you, you're more than welcome to drop out if you want, I wont blame you.
To those who stuck around: So, how was it? What do you think of this project so far? I hope that, at least, you enjoyed the ride.

Chapter 2

The sun was starting to set, but it was still far from when anyone could say night had truly fallen. Sunset Shimmer returned home to find her brother working on Sugar Belle’s order, and when he asked how her day had been, she skipped over the part where she told Sonata an outlandish lie. The two began to set up dinner, with Sunset loudly grumbling how much hungrier they'd be the next few days because someone felt a complete stranger deserved to eat more than their big sister. Sunburst apologized but in the end he wasn't entirely sorry, for he was happy that he had helped someone less fortunate than him. Sunset huffed, but all she could do was grumble. Asking Sunburst to change his kind nature was like asking him to change his horn for antlers, both an impossibility. It was a wonderful, and at times aggravating, part of him.

And if it weren't for the lack of eggs, Sunburst would have forgotten the incident altogether. He could recall the rest of the day perfectly, but those few minutes with Sugar Belle were getting dimmer by the hour. He couldn't recall the color of the old mare's cloak, nor the sound of her voice; nor even if she'd said more than two words to him. It was rather frightening the more he thought about it, or at least the more he tried to think about it. He was about to ask Sunset's thoughts on this, when a knock sounded at the front door.

Sunburst turned to the door, surprised. It wasn't entirely too late to have a magic situation that required his expertise, but customers had been so few and far in between that it was still a shock.

“Oh, do you think its Sugar Belle picking up her spell already?”

Sunset lightly gave her brother a shove on the shoulders. “Maybe it's the old lady and she wants our bread, our milk, and your hoof in marriage.” Sunburst gave her an annoyed look, but Sunset grinned, mentally promising this would be the last of the teasing.

Sunburst headed for the door, and Sunset decided to follow in case it really was Sugar Belle – maybe she could finagle more eggs from her. But when Sunburst opened the door, Sugar Belle wasn't on the other side. Instead, there stood Sonata in all of her air headed, metal glory, looking slightly dumbfounded at the siblings.

Sunset squinted. “What, are you door-to-door bullying now?”

“Sunset, please,” Sunburst lightly chastised, before properly bowing. “Good evening, Captain Sonata. It's an honor to have you here. What can I do for you?” He smiled politely and without a hint of ill intent.

Having someone give her real respect made Sonata hesitate before she spoke. “You might wanna ask your big sister about that,” she said before jabbing a hoof behind her. “I'm here to announce the Queen, and to get you started on your task.”

Sunset instantly broke out in a cold sweat while Sunburst blinked rapidly. As Sonata went on to announce Chrysalis, which involved a short speech about her lineage and the power she had, Sunburst slowly looked at Sunset, his incredulous expression turning to one of suspicion, then anger. Sunset refused to meet his eyes. With her blond fur, it was difficult to tell she was palling, but she was. Surely this was about something else. Surely Sonata hadn't believed that stupid story.

Surely life didn't hate her that much.

When Sonata finished, she clapped once. “Okay, I'll be right back, don't move a muscle!” She then shuffled off to the carriage that both siblings could see now, lavishly adorned with jewels and gold, and half a dozen guards surrounding it. As Sonata began to pull something out of the carriage, Sunburst took a deep breath.

“Sunset.”

“Yes, Sunburst?”

“You lied, didn't you?”

“...Yes, Sunburst.”

To add to Sunset's horror and Sunburst's confusion, Sonata was carrying back a large bale of straw, and walking behind her was the grand Queen herself. She was smiling brightly, arching her neck to give off an air of superiority that only served to give the impression that she had a neck injury. The guardsmen began to surround the house, thick armor hiding reluctant faces. Sonata roughly shoved her way into the house, splitting up the duo. “Comin' through!” She only stopped once she was in what she assumed was Sunburst's room, dropping the hay in front of the bed.

Sunburst scrambled to Sunset's side, yanking her by her withers. “What. Did. You. Do?”

“I can explain!” Sunset flailed, but now the Queen was entering the house, and on some odd instinct, she drew Sunburst close and behind her, protecting him. She swallowed hard. “Uh, Your Highness! This is an honor! A very, very weird honor.”

Chrysalis looked down upon her subjects, one hoof stroking her chin in contemplation. Her father had constantly done the same action whenever she was about to give an order, but the previous king had a beard, and Chrysalis didn't, which made this action look less intimidating and more silly.

The gardener she barely recognized, having only a passing notion of what each servant looked like. But the stallion she knew, she absolutely knew him, though she couldn't say why she knew him more than she knew the sister. By all logic, she would have seen him less than she saw Sunset. He was even better looking close up, with big blue eyes and a strong chin and golden fur she wanted to run her hoofs over.

Sunburst stayed close to Sunset, his ears lowered in fear, trying to think positively about the situation. His smile was shaky, but genuine, hoping to reach a peaceful resolution. He was the very image of sweetness – and the sight of him made Chrysalis furious. She didn't know why. She didn't much care.

“So, this is the great wizard of the Crystal Kingdom!” Chrysalis exclaimed loudly, making the siblings jump. “I had no idea we had some pony so amazingly talented in our land! Why, I would think someone with your abilities would be shouting it from the rooftops!”

Sunburst’s smile became stronger—maybe this was just a strange way to ask for an enchantment. “Oh, why, thanks, Your Highness,” he said. “I just do my best, that’s all.”

“And humble to boot!” Chrysalis laughed, but it was a dry sound. “What a sweetheart, which makes me wonder, why would you keep such a secret from your ruler?”

“Secret?” Sunburst looked at Sunset for assistance. Sunset had the look of a pony who wished to be put to death. “I…I don’t understand. Captain Sonata said it had something to do with my sister?”

“He calls me Captain,” Sonata pointed out, now standing behind Chrysalis meekly.

“And I call you dimwit, now zip it!” The Queen snap and Sonata hung her head. “Whatever, Sunset Shimmer, was it? Well, she couldn’t help but boast about her baby brother, a great and powerful wizard, who could turn straw into gold!”

The enormous lie that was spoken threw him off. Again, he looked at his sister for some explanation, and she looked away, muttering apologies under her breath. He inhaled deeply through his nose, stepping in front of his sister.

“Please, let me apologize for my sister.” He began, a hoof to his chest. “She has a bad habit of telling tiny lies to make herself feel better. I’ve told her to knock it off a thousand times-“ Sunset winced, “-but maybe this embarrassment will finally get her to stop.” Sunburst understood the purpose of this visit, it was just public humiliation, nothing more. He then lowered his head and Sunset followed suit. “We apologize for taking time out of your busy schedule for this nonsense.”

“Oh, I see,” Chrysalis said in a far to composed manner. “That’s disappointing, I would hate to send you two to the dungeons.”

The siblings stood up so fast that Sonata could have sworn she heard their necks popping, but she definitely heard them yelling. “WHAT!?”

“You see, the thing is,” Chrysalis began, drawing a hoof over Sonata’s withers and yanking her into the conversation. “Your sister told this interesting fact to Captain nuts-for-brains here.”

“Aw, c’mon,” she groaned, and now even Sunset felt sorry for her. It certainly explained a thing or two.

“Now, Sonata Dusk here is my direct line to the Kingdom,” Chrysalis continued, ignoring the Captains wounded expression. “You could say she is my stand in! And if you lie to her is the same as lying to me! And lying to your Queen is considered treason, and treason is punishable by incarceration. You got that?”

Sunburst opened his mouth, but all that came out was a stunned, “But…But…” The sight of his body trembling with fear gave Chrysalis a great sense of pleasure.

“Now just hold up one second!” Sunset Shimmer snapped, teeth grinding and planting herself directly in front of Chrysalis. “I tell one stupid story that anyone with half a brain cell can tell isn’t true, and you want to throw us behind bars? That crown must be on too tight!”

Maybe, just maybe, if he angered her enough, her brother could be spared, Sunburst didn’t deserved to be punished by her own foolishness, not if Sunset had anything to say about it.

Chrysalis waved her hoof. “Now, now, no need to get your tail in a twist! No pony has to go to the dungeon…if your lie is the truth. Why do you think I brought all this straw?”

“I brought it,” Sonata mumbled.

Sunburst turned around to look at the square straw that sat in his room. “You…want me to turn that…into gold?” His voice grew meeker with each word. A part of him wanted to be mad with Sunset, but he was far to overwhelmed with terror. There was no way his sister could have foreseen this madness. “But that’s…how can I…?”

“Hey, you’re the wizard, you figure it out.” Chrysalis shoved Sonata away, satisfied. “You’ve got till sunrise. If I come back and don’t see gold, it’s the dungeons for the both of you.” Then her eyes turn dark, her face lustful, and tongue licking her lips in a predatory manner as her narrow eyes rested on Sunburst trembling figure. “But maybe you and I could figure out a…much more satisfying arrangement.”

Sunset exploded, racing forward with her horn ablaze. “YOU LAY ONE HOOF ON MY BROTHER AND I-“

But for all of Chrysalis put-downs, Sonata was still a loyal soldier, and she push Sunset towards the nearest wall, hoof on her throat and pinning the unicorn in place, causing Sunset to gag. Sunburst yelled, and Sunset tried to kick Sonata off her. Sonata closed her eyes, the sight of Sunset in such pain brought her no pleasure, and she dropped Sunset onto the floor. She landed with a hard thud, gasping and coughing, and Sunburst flew to her side, biting back tears.

Chrysalis shrugged, as if there was nothing she could do. “Guess that’s your choice, I’ve got to go, Queen stuff to do and all that, you wouldn’t get it. Hope your night is golden!” With a little laugh at her own joke she headed out, but she stopped at the doorway. “Oh, almost forgot. In case you were thinking to make a run for it or asking for help, my soldiers have been ordered to make sure no one enters or leaves this house until I arrived. Goodnight!” With a wink, she walked out, and Sonata slowly followed, the door closing quietly behind her.

Sunset managed to stand, her throat sore, but the sight of her brother in distress hurt far worse. It brought tears to her eyes, and she drew him into a tight hug. “Oh, Sunburst!” she moaned, resting her head on top of his. “I’m so sorry…I didn’t mean for any of this to happen! I just…just wanted Sonata to shut up, to make us sound amazing…”

Sunburst started to hyperventilate into Sunset’s chest, more frightened and devastated than he had ever felt in his life. “W-What are we going to do?” he asked between breaths, and even though she couldn’t answer he asked it again, desperation making his words louder. “What are we going to do?”

“I…I’ll think of something.” But despite her words, there was nothing she could do, and they both knew it. Were those really the only options? Live in the dungeons for the rest of their lives, or let her baby brother become the new plaything of a petty tyrant? She wished she could apologize to Flash for letting himself get caught up with such a worthless mare, to her parents for failing to take care of her brother, and to herself, for letting herself make up such lies.

The two of them stayed like that for what seemed like eons, crying and wallowing in pity. Night had fallen when they finally stood up, quietly deciding they could at least eat their last meal together, even if it was in silence. Sunset returned to her room, wondering if she could bring any possessions with her, and then laid in bed, crying and falling into a restless sleep.

Sunburst retreated to his room and sat in front of the simple block of straw, his head hanging low. His mind went to all of the spells and enchantments he could think of that could complete the task, but all of them required a great amount of power, something he hadn’t been born with, only a unicorn like Star Swirl the Bearded could pull something like that—and even then it would only be a highly detailed illusion, not actual gold.

Now that he was alone he let his tears fall freely. Was he allowed to say goodbye to his friends? Would he ever cast a spell again? Could he swallow his pride and stay by the Queen’s side—but the thought made him want to gag and lose all of his dinner. It was more than just revulsion towards the monarch, it was the same mental scream that wouldn’t allow him to even consider courting another mare. What was wrong with him? What was wrong with this kingdom? Why had everything turned so awful? Surely it couldn’t stay this way forever. Would happiness and peace ever come back?

Just then, he heard a faint sound from his window—a pebble hitting glass.

Then it happened again.

When it came a third time, Sunburst realized it wasn’t the wind or his imagination. He wiped the remaining tears from his eyes and began to stand up, curious. Was it the guards? Maybe they had taken pity of them and letting them escape! He ran to the window, and opened it.

There, in the darkness, stood the old mare from the market, with the same cloak—oh! Now he remembered, it had been black—and the same staff and the same weary look about her. Two of the guards were laying on the ground, snoring loudly. Sunburst wasn’t sure what to make of the scene, and could only think of one thing to say.

“Umm…Hello?”

“Hello,” said the old mare, sounding far more energetic than the last time they met. “I was stopping by to see how you were doing and I bumped into these guys, so I convinced them to take a nap.” There was clear amusement in her voice, as if she had said a joke.

“Oh, well.” The absurdity of the situation made Sunburst pause, though his genuine kindness shined on. “If you need something eat, we still have plenty, but right now…is really not a good time.”

“I figured,” the old mare said. “Don’t worry, I’m here to repay your kindness.”

“Don’t worry about that please,” Sunburst pulled back from the window. “You should get going before the guards see you!” He turned and pointed at the straw. “The Queen is making us do an…impossible…task?” Sunburst sentence trailed off when he saw the old mare standing in his room, examining the straw with interest. He blinked, took off his glasses to clean them, put them back on and blinked again. No, she was definitely there, somehow.

“Hmm, I’m guessing this isn’t some midnight snack?” The old mare poked the straw with her staff.

“Huh…I…no, the Queen…” Sunburst was still looking back and forth between the window and his room, failing to understand how such a feeble old mare could sneak into his room so quickly. It was like magic, of the highest level imaginable, which was ridiculous, why would such a powerful pony bother to help him? “My sister told a silly lie, that I could turn straw into gold. Now the Queen says either I actually do it, or she would throw us into the dungeons for treason. Or…” He couldn’t bear to finish the sentence.

“Her pettiness never ceases to amaze me.” The old mare straightened up as best as she could. “As I said, I’m here to repay your kindness.”

Sunburst lifted his head, skeptical but hopeful. “How?”

The old mare lifted her staff, and she slammed it down with a strength he didn’t knew the old mare could possess. The second the staff touched the floor, golden light flooded the room, swirling colors wrapped around the old mare, melting the cloak, the hump, the gray fur on her hoofs, revealing a much younger mare. She was perhaps no older than Sunset, with a dark purple mane with a green mint streak running through it and sparkling blue eyes, and a smile that was sweet and alluring. As the light began to fade, Sunburst—who was so surprised he lost his footing and sat heavily on his bed—could see that she was wearing rich fabrics of purple and green, with the royal insignia stitched to her skirt, which rolled past her hoofs and trailed behind her. Even the staff had changed, now it was made out of steel and emeralds, with a large green one sitting on top.

The light show ended, and the world fell silent once more, with neither pony uttering a word. The old mare—the young mare—was grinning, enjoying the shock on the stallion’s face. “I apologize, had to do a quick costume change first,” she chirped, with her new voice matching her new face, sweet and girlish with a hint of graciousness. “My power is a lot stronger when I’m not in disguise. But I can’t stay this way for long either.”

Sunburst said nothing. What could he say? Where to even begin? He slapped his hoofs to his cheeks to see if he was dreaming, and he wasn’t. Shakily, he began to stand, his heart racing. The longer he stared, the more the conflict in his mind boiled up like a pressure cooker. Half of him wanted to run from the room, or for her to leave, because she didn’t belong here, she couldn’t possibly be real, something about her defied the rules of reality—the other half, however, wanted to run towards her, embraced her, and never let go, to gaze into her sparkling blue eyes and hear her voice recite every word in the written language. These opposites waring inside him made him dizzy, and he would have fallen over had she not have caught him.

“Careful!” Said the mare as she caught him, using her magic to help him regain his balance. “I know, it’s a lot to take in and you’re not feeling very good right now. But I won’t be long, I promise.” Her touch was warm, soft, familiar.

Sunburst felt his cheeks heating up, having never been in such close contact with a mare that wasn’t related. She was beautiful, kind and witty. If such a mare had always lived in his village, he could see himself going after her in a heartbeat. For once, his mind didn’t have that screaming shut down reaction to such a thought. Instead happier thoughts began to fill his mind, and he could see himself resting his chin on the top of her head, and—and for goodness sake, he just met the mare today! His embarrassment turned his cheeks into a lovely shade of red, and the mare giggled at his endearing face.

“I, huh, what…” Sunburst stammered, even though his legs were steady enough to support him, he couldn’t bring himself to step away from her. “W-who are you?”

The magic of the moment was shattered, the mare’s sweet smile fell and she turned away. Sunburst panicked, thinking he might had insulted her somehow, but how? He was so sure he hadn’t met her before.

The mare stepped away from him, she faced the straw. “Hmm, let’s see, for now…I’m a good witch, wandering the land.”

“A witch!” he exclaimed, still amazed even though he had seen the transformation with his own eyes. “I didn’t even know such powerful magic was possible! Have you met Star Swirl the Bearded perhaps? Where did you study? In Canterlot or are you self-thought? Oh! Wait don’t tell me! Is Star Swirl your teacher!?” He pranced in place in his excitement, since he had never had someone he could talk to about magic. “Please Miss Witch, you have to help us! The kingdom could use some pony like you, think of all the good you could do!”

The pony rolled her shoulders as if shrugging off his questions. “Magic isn’t the solution to everything, in fact, it can make things worse.” She pawed at a few strands of straw on the floor. “You should never rely wholly on one thing…or on one pony, sometimes the only pony who is capable of changing anything is yourself.” She glanced at him.

Sunburst thought it sounded wise, but he had no idea what she was talking about. “Then…you can’t help me?”

“Oh, I never said that,” the mare pointed out. “But keep in mind this is payment. A turn for a turn, a kindness for a kindness. If you ever find yourself in trouble again, it won’t be for free.”

Sunburst hesitated but nodded slowly. “I guess that’s fair.” It seemed quite simple really. You reap what you sow, as his mother used to say. Although he sincerely hope that something like this would never happen again. Sunset had learned her lesson, and she would never put their lives on the line for the sake of her ego again. But then he remember what his kindness had been. “You’re really doing this for a bag of eggs?”

“A kindness for a kindness,” repeated the mare, smiling.

Then she twirled her staff like a baton and pointed at the straw, she took a deep breath and the emerald began to glow. She twirled it one more time and the straw began to levitated from the floor, she slammed her staff down and the straw started to spin like a miniature tornado of teal. Sunburst yelped, the wind dragging him slightly towards it until he found purchase on the wooden floor, the mare never took her eyes from the straw. It spin faster and faster, the teal turning from sepia to amber to gold, and Sunburst had to close his eyes because the brilliance was too much to take, he didn’t look up again until the wind had died down.

The bale was gone and in its place were stacks of gold bars neatly pile up in four rows. Four across, four in each row, four—he stopped counting, rushing over to touch and make sure it was real, even though he hadn’t seen and actual gold bar in his life. It was one of those things every pony talked about having but never actually did, like a diamond the size of your head. The bar was quite heavy and cold to the touch, and he needed both his hoofs to pick one up.

“I-I can’t believe…this is actual gold! You really turned the straw into gold!”

“Sure did,” said the mare, as if all she did was sweep the floor.

“This is incredible!” Sunburst dropped the bar and turned to face her, in awe of being in the company of such a powerful pony. “You’re incredible, I can’t believe—you must be the most talented pony in all of Equestria!”

“Nah, not really,” she said dismissively, but she could hide the proud smile on her face. Perhaps a little more please about who was praising her instead of the praising itself. “There tons of more powerful ponies out there.”

But Sunburst didn’t hear the last part, or he simply didn’t care, instead he lunged at the mare, taking her in his arms like he had wanted to since the start, hugging her for all he was worth. “Thank you! Thank you, thank you!”

The mare didn’t realize how appreciative Sunburst could be, she was taken by surprise by his strength, and would have stumbled hadn’t Sunburst been holding her so tightly. “Oh, ah, I’m just glad I could repay you Sunburst!” She said, blushing and feeling like the mystical persona she had built up until now crumbling to dust. “It’s fine, I was just doing my job, that’s-“

“Thaaaank youuu!” He’d even began to cry, feeling overjoyed that their lives had been saved, and even though the witch insisted she was only repaying his kindness, he felt like he owed her the world and he would gladly give it to her if he could. He didn’t even noticed that she had said his name when he never given it to her. “Thank you, Miss Good Witch! A thousand times thank you!”

“Uh.” Now the mare had lost the ability for coherent speech, and now her cheeks were the ones that resembled apples. “Uhhh…” She was helpless putty in his arms, especially when he was nuzzling her cheek with his own as he continued to shower her with praises and gratitude, then the feeling in her legs left her, when he placed a sweet kiss on her cheek.

The mare had two choices at this point—throw all her careful planning out the window and doom the kingdom in order to get another kiss, or find the reminder of her strength and leave like she had originally planned. It was a difficult choice, but in the end she choose the latter and wiggled out of Sunburst arms, who reluctantly let her go.

“Okay,” she cleared her throat and patted her cheeks in an effort to get rid of her blush. “Aw man, I had a speech planned to say before I left, but I completely forgot it, it was super inspiring and everything!” She shook her head and breathed in deeply. “I have to leave, before Chrysalis comes back.”

“Do you have to go?” Sunburst asked, and tried to step closer. But the mare took his hoof, and he felt that odd warmth again, and again his immediate reaction was to hold on tighter event though he couldn’t justify the action. She looked at him.

“I have to,” she said softly. “But if you ever need me again…I’ll come back. But remember, you have to do me a kindness first, before I can repay it.” She then drew him in with a hug—and she was gone before he could return it.

He gasped, and looked around the room to see if she would appear again, but he was well and truly alone. His eyes rested on the gold bars, hardly believing they were there, that anything that had happened tonight had happened at all. His heart ached and his eyes stung with unshed tears. The house felt emptier than somehow, like it was missing an important member.

His eyes moved slowly, seeing that all the straw was gone, even some of the dirt that Sunset would drag in—Sunset! Sunset! Sunset! Sunburst had to tell her! He ran from his room, suddenly realizing how odd it was that Sunset hadn’t been woken up by all the commotion. Had it been part of the magic? Were the guards asleep due to the magic? Who cared!? He threw open his sister’s door and began to jump on her bed, something he hadn’t done since he was a little colt.

“SunsetSunsetSunset!” He yelled frantically, his words smashing together and becoming an incomprehensible babble. “YouhavetoseethegoldandmagicandblueeyesandSUNSEEEEEET!”

It was certainly the least gentle way Sunset had ever been woken up, and she was so stunned that she laid in bed, eyes wide while Sunburst continued to jump on her mattress. “What…?”

“You—my room and—j-just come to my room!” Sunburst insisted, dragging his sister along. Sunset tried to ask what he was talking about, but she followed bewilder as Sunburst rushed them to his room. All of her questions were answered when she saw the stack of gold, and her mouth dropped opened. That was when Sunburst closed the window, knowing that more shouting was to follow.

Sunset tentatively reached for a bar of gold, lifting it up and inspected it like Sunburst had done. She tapped her hoof against it, even bit it, mostly she assumed that was what one did to check for authenticity. Once she had confirmed it was the real deal, she looked at her brother. “Sunburst…did you really…?”

“It wasn’t me!” He said quickly and pointed out the window, ready to tell his unbelievable tale. “It was—it was the good witch!” Now that he said it, he realized she didn’t give him her name. “It was the old mare from the market, except she wasn’t old at all, she was in disguise! And she came to my room and turn the hay in to gold, just like that!”

Sunset, ever protective of her baby brother, was quick to jump on the last bit of information. “Wait, she came to your room? You let a stranger in your bedroom?”

“That’s not the point!” Sunburst wisely decided not to mention the hugs and the kisses.

“I think it’s a really important point! Don’t let strangers into your room!”

“Hey I didn’t even let her in, she just…appeared in here.”

“THAT’S EVEN WORSE!” Sunset was about to hunt down the perverted mare who dared to slid into her brother’s room but Sunburst stopped her by silencing her with his magic.

“Sunset,” he said calmly. “We have the gold, we’re going to give it to the Queen, and then you’re never going to tell another lie like that again. Got it?”

Sunset couldn’t reply with her muzzle magically shut, but she nodded. Sunburst released her, and then began to tell his story, this time with more details—or what details he could remember. Even though it had just happen, he was struggling to recall the jewels in her staff, the color of her dress. Sunset wanted to deny it, wanted to say that such a thing was impossible, but the gold bars were there, as solid as any truth that she couldn’t ignore. If there was a good witch, where had she been all this time? Why only show up now? Why help two unimportant siblings down on their luck?

Sunburst continued to praise the stranger, eternally grateful that fate had brought her to them, but Sunset’s face remained dark. She doubted that destiny would be so kind to them. Something bigger was going on, and she was worried what it meant for their futures. She looked at her reflection on the gold bar. If a pony like that could make gold so easily, why use that power so recklessly? Why not become rich and powerful yourself or why not become Queen yourself?

Why not become Queen yourself?

A sharp pain stabbed Sunset behind her eyes, and she staggered, needing to lean against the wall for support. Sunburst called out, holding her arm, asking what was wrong and what could he do. Sunset held her face, unable to comprehend, but knowing that one sentence was important.

“Why not…become Queen yourself?” she whispered.

“Sunset?” Sunburst asked, touching her cheek.

“Did I…Did I ever, say that…to someone?” Sunset felt like she had, once, long ago, but where? Who? Why? Yet it lingered on her tongue, powerful words that had change fate once upon a time.

Sunburst tilted his head. “Why would you say such a thing? Chrysalis is an only child, who else could become Queen but her? Besides, it’s not like anyone here knows how to run a kingdom.” He said helplessly.

“Right, of course, your right.” Sunset stood up straight. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” And soon she forgot she ever said that. But the moment frighten her more than she was willing to admit, it showed her that lots of things were beyond her control, even her own memories and her ability to trust herself. She wasn’t like her brother, who had so much faith in the world and everyone in it. She was afraid for him, afraid of what the morning would bring, and she put a protective hoof over his withers, keeping him close. He didn’t complain, leaning on her and watching the gold.

Neither of them got any more sleep that night. They stayed in his room, staring at what shouldn’t be, and thinking of more impossible things.

The sun rose, casting a golden glow upon the kingdom.

Chapter 3

Early the next morning, Queen Chrysalis skipped breakfast and made a solitary trip towards her father's bedroom.

Technically it was her bedroom now, but lying in the bed where a pony had died didn't sit well with her. Once her father had died, she had the room locked, seeing no purpose to it anymore. But there was a secret within the room, and Chrysalis glanced around the long, stretching hallway to make sure she was alone. Even though she made the choice to strip the castle of certain paintings and other extra oddities, the emptiness bothered her like bugs on her skin. Surely one day it wouldn't be like this. She'd marry a handsome stallion and have a dozen children, each one who would adore their mother like the kingdom adored her—like they were supposed to adore her.

Yet she was in no rush to share her money and her power with any potential king. Perhaps she could make some sort of law where her husband would have no power at all. She was the Queen, she could do whatever she pleased. That's what her father had always said—that royalty had no limits.

Chrysalis slipped a key out of her skirts and twisted it underneath the doorknob, a single click letting her know it was open. She placed a hoof on the door, but didn't go inside right away.

Suddenly she was a little filly, listening in to whatever her father was muttering about on the inside, until her weight made the door push open. The King looked up from his desk, blinking at the disturbance, before smiling wide and opening his arms. The little filly rushed in to take the hug—except her father's arms were too wide, as if he was ready to hold more than one pony -

A hard headache stabbed Chrysalis's brain, and she rubbed her temples in a futile effort to dismiss it. These headaches were becoming more intense and came with more frequency lately, and if she cared one iota about her ponies, she might have learned she wasn't the only one suffering from seemingly random headaches.

She shook her head, dismissing the sentimentality of the moment. She wasn't here to reminisce. As if to show that she wouldn't be held back by her father's love, Chrysalis kicked the door open instead of merely pushing it. Dust and cobwebs had made their home here, causing Chrysalis to sneeze, but the room still had the radiant decadence of a once proud king. As Chrysalis looked inside, she wondered how much of her father and mother's possessions she could sell. She didn't remember her mother very well. She had died when she was far too young, of...due to something or other, it didn’t matter.

What did matter was one evening when Chrysalis was ten perhaps, yes that seemed about right, and the King pulled Chrysalis into his room about an important matter. The daughter would be Queen one day, and so needed to know a family secret, one only to be used in the direst of emergencies. The King had then pulled back the red rug, as the Chrysalis of the present did now, revealing a small hidden door in the floorboards. This too had a lock, the same one on the door to the room, and Chrysalis knelt down to unlock it. The tiny door creaked on its hinges, and there within the floor lay the biggest secret of the Crystal Kingdom.

To anyone who hadn't been a part of that father-daughter secret meeting, they would have assumed it was merely an old white book with the gold lettering of a language that had died long ago. It weighed as much as a brick, with hundreds of yellow, tattered pages. Chrysalis grunted as she pulled it up and placed it on the bed, trying to remember her lessons from ages past. There were some she couldn't recall anymore, but she knew the most important ones—the spells that would change a pony.

Spells, magic, enchantment, she knew they existed and that only powerful ponies could will it, but the King told her it wasn’t necessarily like that. Long ago, the first King of Crystal had befriended a kindly Alicorn, and offered this mystical spell book as a sign of their friendship. But the King knew that such power would lead even the purest pony into dark temptations, and so made his children swear they would only use the spells if the kingdom was in great peril. Many generations had passed, and there had never been a peril great enough to justify using any of the spells here.

So what was Chrysalis's big emergency?

“No love spells?” she growled to the air, angrily flipping through the pages. “You're telling me I can cure famine, disease, even change the weather, but I can't make ponies like me? Then what's the point?!” She slammed the book closed, grinding her teeth. Her father had told her that a royal would always be adored, would always be loved, so what was with these ungrateful villagers? You were supposed to love ponies who were better than you! Her father had praised Chrysalis non-stop ever since she was born, so obviously Chrysalis was worthy -

No, her father hadn't praised Chrysalis non-stop ever since she was born. That had only started after her mother died of... Well what did it matter? Why would he only start treating Chrysalis as if she was perfection after she died? The headache was coming back in full swing, and Chrysalis sighed heavily. What a waste of time. She'd have to find some other way to make the villagers love her—while still taking their money and lording her power over them. She'd think much well once she got out of this dusty room and away from this dusty book.

Chrysalis rubbed her nose, but then stopped. The book hadn't made her sneeze, and it hadn't been dusty. Slowly, she lowered her eyes back to the book's cover. It was clear no one had touched it in a while, but there hadn't been enough time for dust to build. Which meant someone had been here, which meant someone might have used it. But that was impossible, only Chrysalis knew it was there! Her heart began to race and she flipped through the book again, trying to find signs that someone else had been there. Even though they couldn't have been.

Yet one page had a flapped corner, the sign of continuous wear. Chrysalis read the page, and then balked. Someone had tried to use this spell? It didn't look very difficult—the words were easy to say, it'd take less than a week to gather the necessary ingredients, and the way to reverse it was one action. Yet the spell itself had no redeeming qualities about it, and Chrysalis couldn't fathom ever needing it. Nor could she imagine someone else in the kingdom even wanting this kind of spell. Maybe someone had tried and failed—served them right for meddling in her affairs.

Chrysalis closed the book, exhaling in relief. Nothing had come close to helping her, but it also appeared nothing had affected her rule. Still, if someone had gotten in before, they could get in again, if Chrysalis's guardsmen were so utterly useless.

Chrysalis held the book with her magic, and didn't bother to hide the trap door. She left the room, locking the door behind her and headed down the hallway. It was almost time to visit the stupid gardener and her equally stupid brother, and see if he preferred bars over embraces. But before she made the trip, she had one last chore to do.

On her way, she passed the only other locked room in the castle, but kept right on walking. Out of all the creepiness in the castle, that one room weirded her out the most. Even though she had gotten rid of everything inside it, the room had an eerie presence. Maybe one day she should seal it away with bricks. A duty for another day.

The fireplace was still burning within the dining room, and Chrysalis stood in front of it now, watching the dancing flames. It was going strong, and was about to have more kindling. Chrysalis held up the book, thinking about whoever could have used that spell. Whoever that fool was, it was their own fault for not taking it with them, because they were about to lose the way to reverse the spell. If it wasn't useful to Chrysalis, then it didn't deserve to exist at all. She wouldn't have handed it down to her children either, because surely there was no one better deserving of the tome than Chrysalis herself. It was her power, her choice, and if it wouldn't serve her the exact way she wanted it to, then nobody would have it. It was the same way she ruled the village—anything useful belonged to her, and anything not useful deserved to be destroyed. Chrysalis's word was the only word that mattered. Then she felt her father's hoofs on her shoulders, pulling her into a loving hug, telling his daughter how wonderful she was, how happy he was to have Chrysalis in his life, and how everyone would love her the same way her father did.

And for reasons Chrysalis could no longer remember, this made her furious. Her blood boiled, the book trembled in her magical grip, and her body shook with rage, and she began to yell. “If you really loved me, you wouldn't have...wouldn't have...” But she didn't know.

The headache came back with vengeance, and Chrysalis snarled, throwing the book into the flames.

She leaned on the wall, catching her breath. What had she been about to say? Her father loved her, of course he did, everyone did, Chrysalis was the Queen and everyone loved the Queen. If they didn't, they would pay. By imprisonment or pain or blood, they would pay.

“Uhhh... is everything alright, Your Highness?”

Chrysalis looked up to see Sonata blinking in the doorway, having come to collect the Queen for her visit to the gardener’s house. Her hoofs nervously twitch on the floor.

Chrysalis hesitated. “How much did you hear?”

“None of it.” Which was an obvious lie, and she'd also seen Chrysalis throw something or other in the fire, but they were both content with this fib. “Should we get going?”

“Yes...yes, let's be on our way.” Chrysalis pushed herself off the wall, collecting herself. “I need a pick-me-up.” And she quickly thought of one. “Say, Sonata, did I ever tell you that you're like a star?”

Sonata should have known better than to have fallen for it, but she was flattered. “Aw, gee, am I really?”

“Yeah – your head is a huge and so filled with gas that everyone can't help but stare at!” Chrysalis guffawed at what she said, thinking it was terribly witty, slapping Sonata on the back as she walked out. “Oh, do away with the glum face, it's just a joke!”

Sonata sadly but loyally followed. “How's it a joke if you're the only one who laughs?”

“Because my laughter is the only one that matters! C'mon, everyone knows you're really sharp...as sharp as a butter knife!” She laughed uproariously again, putting all the troubling matters out of her mind. The pages burned away, leaving no way for anyone to know what had ever been written there.

Except, perhaps, the one who wrote them.

When Chrysalis had first started burning and destroying choice items from her home, ponies had come to the castle and begged her to do otherwise. If there was a spare bed, why not give it to someone who needed it? Even broken furniture had its purpose for good kindling. But as far as Chrysalis was concerned, they didn't deserve her trash, for even her trash was above her ponies.

Yet much like how Chrysalis left before making sure the book was wholly burnt, she never stuck around to completely ensure all the tossed-away items were, in fact, tossed-away. Some of the more kindhearted soldiers managed to sneak away with what remained, and if they found no need for it themselves they sold it discreetly.

Bic Mac’s back was frail, but his pride was great and his love for his wife was greater.

He wouldn't see a doctor about his aches if it meant more food on the table for her, and he was sure he could bear any pain if it meant her happiness. Of course he never told her these things, hiding it under stubbornness and useless male dignity. Telling mares your true feelings wasn't manly, so he'd been taught. Until his back made it impossible, he had worked as a guardsman at the castle. The brotherhood of armor was still very strong, and instead of bargaining for payment, they were happy to give away what they could fetch from the Queen's tantrums.

Big Mac found it amusing that within the kingdom, many loved one another like this, but no one loved the Queen who demanded it the most.

On this bright and early morning, the guardsmen offered a box filled with books that Chrysalis wanted burned days ago. The binding was fine quality, but the subjects were something Chrysalis never had any interested in. It would have been easy to say it belonged Chrysalis when she was filly studying under her father—but they knew that Chrysalis would never destroy anything that belonged to her. So where had these books come from? Who did they belong to? Well it wasn't Big Mac’s business, that’s for sure. He decided he could sell them to Sunburst, the talented wizard. Surely someone in his line of work could find good use for these books. He didn't tell Sugar Belle, he never told her about these pitiful gifts—she'd call it stealing, the stubborn mare. How he loved her so.

While his wife tended to the chickens, Big Mac left the farmhouse and headed towards the siblings house. He liked the siblings, just about everyone did, and he wished them well. But his back was already giving him trouble, and he had to stop every now and then to reel in the agony. Yet he would continue onward, only stopping for a solid five minutes when he found the crooked tree that was near the siblings' house. It was a funny landmark, this tree, the only tree to be found in miles as all the others had been cut down. It was bent at an odd angle, as if something had smashed into it. Yet whenever Sunset or Sunburst were asked about it, they merely shrugged. Yes, they did remember a time when the tree was normal, but they couldn't tell you when or why it was like that now.

Big Mac tried not to think about it, it was going to give him a headache – he'd been getting a lot of those lately, and so had Sugar Belle, and so had many in the village. Truthfully this frightened Big Mac, because sometimes the headaches would get so bad, Sugar Belle couldn't get out of bed, and he had heard similar tales within the kingdom, of bodies collapsing and fits of torment making it unthinkable to work. If this kept up, would anyone in the village be able to do anything? Why had it started? Would it ever stop? Could you die from a headache?

His pessimism was thankfully and surprisingly interrupted when he heard the beating of soldiers hooves on the worn-out path to the house. Big Mac slid behind the tree to hide, curious why the royal carriage was making its way over. He spotted familiar faces around the house – some of them hastily waking up from a deep, confusing slumber – and frowned as he saw the arrogant Queen step out with her lackey. Big Mac couldn't hear everything, but the Queen was boasting about what happens to liars, and when Sonata tried to join in, she was insulted, and then they got around to opening the door and going inside. There was silence for a good, solid minute. Two of the guardsmen, worried about the lack of noise, poked their heads in. Then, there was a great and mighty shout from both the Queen and the Captain.

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!”

It was enough to knock the two guards over, and nearly knocked over Big Mac as well. The Queen suddenly ran out, slammed the door, hysterically talking to herself. “I didn't see that, I couldn't have seen that!” And then she walked right back in, and then she shouted the gigantic exclamation of surprise even louder again.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"

There was lots of shouting, now so much that Big Mac couldn't tell who was saying what, until the Queen kicked open the door. “All of you, get in there, carry it! And I counted, I know how much is there, nobody better lose a single bar!” Then the Queen walked out, carrying an armful of gold bars.

Big Mac blinked, and then rubbed his eyes. Yes, those were actual solid gold bars in the Queen's arms, in Sonata's arms, in the guardsmen's arms, all of them shoving the bars into the carriage. Once it was all in there, Sunburst and Sunset walked out, wearing victorious grins. The Queen whirled around to glare at them, opened her mouth, said nothing, closed her mouth, opened it again, sputtered, but then still said nothing. Sunset lightly applauded her brother, who vowed comically. Sunset seemed to be mouthing, “What can I say except 'you're welcome'!”, ready to go into a song and dance number if Sunburst hadn't reeled her in. They were enjoying their win, whatever it was, and finally Chrysalis couldn't take it anymore, storming off to the carriage. The gold bars had taken up the seats, so neither Chrysalis nor Sonata could sit inside. Chrysalis kicked Sonata and used her as a ladder to climb on top of the carriage, demanding to go home. Sonata had no choice but to follow on foot.

The siblings waved them off, and once the royal and all her entourage were gone, Sunset and Sunburst laughed wildly, hugging each other, relieved it was all over again. Big Mac leaned on the tree with his arm to his forehead. What had he witnessed? Was the Queen robbing Sunburst and Sunset? No, there was no way Sunset and Sunburst had that much money—had that kind of money—surely they wouldn't be living in such poor conditions if they did! Was it some secret supply they had stashed away for a rainy day? No matter how they came up with it, why did they look so delighted to get rid of it? What in the name of everything sensible was going on here?!

He supposed he could just go up and ask them, but Big Mac wasn't sure if he could handle the answers. He abandoned the books, wanting to go back home as soon as possible and pretend he hadn't seen a thing. Of course that'd be impossible, his lips would be flapping the moment he saw his wife. Knowing her, she'd tell everyone she saw and make sure everyone who she hadn't seen learned it too.

As he stumbled back home, he didn't see a young mare silently pick up the forgotten books. Not that it would have made much difference. If Big Mac had seen her, he would have forgotten her in minutes.

With their imprisonment avoided and their lives restored, Sunset and Sunburst decided not to go out that day. Sunset didn't want to accidentally make things worse by saying anything sillier to the Captain, and Sunburst wanted to try and write down everything he could remember about the mysterious witch. He figured this way he'd have a better time keeping his memories intact, but when he finished and read it over, the details he had kept couldn't be envisioned. He had written down that the witch had a star theme cutie mark, but try as he might he couldn't recall it.

Sunburst groaned, his head dropping with a thud on the dinner table, unable to come up with any further descriptions. Every time he tried, a headache would begin to build up. Sunset ruffled her hoof between Sunburst's ears. “Come on, Sunburst, you're going to drive yourself nuts! So what if you can't remember one or two things? The important thing is that she got us out of trouble without wanting anything else.”

“It's not just one or two things!” Sunburst cried out. “How can anyone forget someone they met hours ago? And I held her so close-” Sunset narrowed her eyes, “I mean, um, we just happened to be standing right in front of each other...but I can't remember a single detail about her! That's not right!”

Overprotective older sibling instinct aside, Sunset knew Sunburst had a point. She stepped back, scratching her head. “All right, I admit, that's pretty weird. And it's not like you at all. I've never seen you forget a single detail when it comes to your customer's orders. Right down to the effects and the ingredients, you always get everything exactly as they asked...maybe we ought to take you to the doctor.”

Sunburst slid out of his chair. “Do you think he can find a way to cure whatever this is? And besides, even just a check-up is going to cost money!”

“If I had to spend every last coin I had to ensure you were fit as a fiddle, don't you doubt for a minute that I'd do it.” Sunset lightly poked his nose, making his little brother smile a smidgen. “Come on, we'll see if he can figure it out.”

Sunburst hugged Sunset tightly. “Thank you...I don't know if I say it often enough, but I should. No one could ask for a better big sister.”

“So you forgive me for lying that you could turn straw into gold?”

“Don’t push it Sunset.”

Sunset playfully shoved her brother off. After counting and collecting their coins, they decided they would have to forgo bread for their next market trip in order to pay for the doctor. They headed out, both of them thinking as positively as they could, and headed into the village. Sunburst pondered if perhaps they could stop by Sugar Belle's farm—surely she remembered the old mare and maybe she could fill in some details Sunburst was missing.

Once they were well into the village, they quickly noticed that everyone was staring hard at the siblings. Some with wonder and awe, others with jealousy and suspicion. Sunset nervously fidgeted on her hoofs. “Either we got ridiculously more attractive since yesterday, or something's up.”

Sunburst had a better idea about the looks, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Do you think they found out about the gold?”

“No way.” Sunset dismiss him with a wave of her hoof. “There's absolutely no way anyone knows a single thing about what happened.”

In a new world record of proving Sunset wrong, Flash Sentry had suddenly ran out in the path in front of them, grabbing both of them by their hoofs and shaking them hard. “Sunset! Sunburst! Is it true you have a secret stash of gold bars in your house? Why didn't you ever tell me? I thought we were almost family!”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute!” Sunburst protested, trying to stop the shaking. “We don't have a secret stash of anything! We don't have any secrets at all!”

“Yeah, we're not good at keeping them,” Sunset quipped. “Listen sweetie, you know I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got to get Sunburst to the doctor. He's-”

“Since when can you afford to see the doctor!” one villager shouted, with others angrily agreeing.

“So you do have a secret gold horde!”

“We can't afford it!” Sunburst looked around worriedly, seeing more furious ponies stepping out of their houses and stalls. “We have to give up our bread to do it!”

“But Big Mac saw the Queen walking out of your house with tons of gold bars!” Flash said, trying not to share the same anger. More than anything he wanted to believe the mare he thought of as his future wife and the stallion he thought of as his future brother. “Where did it all come from?”

Sunset drew back, nervously pulling her brother in closer as the crowd got bigger. “You wouldn't believe us if we told you.”

“Try us!” another villager barked.

So Sunburst tried them, taking a deep breath and focusing as hard as he could on what he remembered, and trying to ignore the pounding headache that the attempt created. “Last night, a witch came to my house and turned a block of straw into gold, because I gave her all of our eggs!”

“...You're right, we don't believe you!” The voices of the villagers became more heated, more temperamental, throwing hot accusations filled with bitterness.

“Must be nice, being rich while all of us are suffering under the Queen’s taxes!”
“How much gold are you selfish siblings hiding? How dare you hide it from us!?”
“You don't deserve to have it all! Get out of our kingdom!”

Flash tried to speak up, tried to say that surely Sunset and Sunburst had their reasons, but his one voice of support was drowned out in all the hate and fury. The circle grew tighter and closer, and Sunset held her brother close, snarling at anyone who dared to take a step closer. Sunburst was terrified, begging for someone to believe him. “But it's true! We would never stop helping the village! A witch really did turn straw into gold!”

“DO YOU THINK WE'RE STUPID?!”

“GIVE US ALL YOUR GOLD!”

“TAKE EVERYTHING THEY HAVE!”

The screams went on, and in seconds, the mad audience was about to descend upon the pair and rip them to shreds—

When a single egg was suddenly splattered across the closest villager's face. A dead silence struck the crowd, as wasting such a precious commodity was unheard of. As everyone turned to face where it came from, there stood Sugar Belle, with her prized hen under one arm. Big Mac was behind her, his head ducked in shame. Sugar Belle glared daggers at the crowd, and her hen copied the same fierce expression. “You should all be ashamed of yourselves!” she barked, and despite her height she loomed over the quiet ponies. “You were about to put your hoofs on two of the nicest, hardest-working ponies we've got in this entire kingdom, all over one silly story?”

“You told everyone the silly story,” Flash pointed out.

“Well of course I did, that's what town gossips are supposed to do.” It would have been a fine time for everyone to collectively roll their eyes, but thankfully she went on with her fire. “But I didn't tell it so you'd all go after Sunset and Sunburst! How many times have they helped us out with our problems? Sunset takes as many jobs as her little body can handle and never complains! Sunburst doesn't just fix things with enchantments, he also fixes our hearts! I saw him give away all the eggs he bought to a complete stranger! How many of you would do what they do?”

The once righteous cries of bitterness now turned into hushed mumbles, as many villagers lowered their heads and shuffled their feet. Sunset let go of her brother and rushed to hug Sugar Belle, who was more than happy to return it. “Oh, thank you, Sugar Belle!”

Sugar Belle laid a motherly kiss on the top of her head. “Sunburst, if you say a witch turned a whole bale of straw into gold, than by golly, that's exactly what happened!” She then paused. “...Out of curiosity, why did she do that?”

Sunset reluctantly cleared her throat. “Uh, that'd be on me. I... lied to Captain Sonata and told her Sunburst could turn straw into gold.”

Flash balked. “She didn't actually believe you, did she?”

“Of course not, no one in their right mind would! But the Queen saw it as some kind of insult, so she said if Sunburst didn't go through with it, we'd have our butts in jail! Or Sunburst could be her...” She trailed off, not wanting to say it, and no one wanted to hear her say it.

“All that nonsense, over one little fib?” Big Mac stepped forward, one hoof on his back. “What happens if one of us says something that's not entirely true? The Queen's gone mad!”

“The Queen is who we should be mad at in the first place!” Sugar Belle agreed, with her hen giving a cluck of agreement. “It's not Sunburst and Sunset's fault the taxes are so high! It's not their fault we're all so poor! It's because of the Queen! I tell you, things weren't this bad when her father was alive and ruling!”

Sunset pumped one hoof into the air. “You're right! We shouldn't have to choose between going to the doctor or getting enough to eat!” The villagers that had mere moments ago been against her now agreed with her, stomping their feet and shouting praise.

“What the girl says is true! The Queen is turning us against one another!”
“The Queen keeps all the money, she never uses it to improve the kingdom!”
“If she could imprison them so easily, why not us? It can't go on like this!”

“It won't go on like this!” Sunset felt a surge of power rushing through her body, pounding a hoof to her chest. “She tried to hurt my brother, and I say it's high time she paid the price! I say it's time we kick out the Queen! Who's with me?!”

“I sure am!” Flash cheered, loving this new, courageous side of his beloved. “Kick out the Queen!”

“You can count on Big Mac and me!” Sugar Belle decided for her husband, but he didn't seem opposed to it. “Kick out the Queen!”

This came with a thunderous, pleased cry, chanting the new mantra over and over again.

“KICK OUT THE QUEEN! KICK OUT THE QUEEN! KICK OUT THE QUEEN!”

This continued on for some time with everyone in the kingdom enthusiastic for this revolution—everyone except Sunburst, who had been silent for some time, thinking about one detail everyone had skipped over. He waited patiently until everyone was taking a breath in-between QUEEN and KICK.

“Excuse me,” he quickly piped up with his interruption, “While I do agree that things need to be changed, there's just one problem. If we did kick out Chrysalis...who would take her place? Does anyone here know how run a kingdom?”

Ponies froze with their hoofs in the air, mouths open, as the truth hit them like a ton of bricks. Being in charge of a kingdom meant being in charge of thousands of people, of an economy, politics, of subjects that some people spent their whole lives avoiding. As their hands began to lower and they all looked at each other, they slowly understood that they couldn't reasonably pick their neighbor to be their new ruler. How does one pick a new ruler? If someone who had no idea what they were doing was put in charge, was it possible that would make things worse?

Sunset was especially pale as she began to scoot over to her brother. “You know, on second thought, maybe we ought to get back to...everything we were doing, before the Queen finds out we were seconds away from throwing her out.” She pushed him by the flank, with Sunburst quietly apologizing for the logic bomb as they resumed their walk to the doctor.

The crowd began to disperse, guilt and depression slowing down their actions. They weren't sure what felt worse, that they had almost torn apart two good ponies who were just trying to survive, or that they were living in a poor wasteland with no savior in sight. They had already forgotten about the witch Sunburst had mentioned, and when Big Mac asked Sugar Belle about the incident with the eggs, Sugar Belle was struck with a terrible headache.

The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with Sunburst, save for a possible case of malnutrition and severe headaches, which was the same all across the village. Sunburst still thanked him kindly for doing the best job he could, and the siblings went home – although this time they took the longer route, not wanting to accidentally incite a riot or a revolution again. Sunset was worried that the doctor couldn't find a cure for memory loss, but Sunburst as per usual tried to find the silver lining in all clouds. “Don't be sad, Sunset, look! We've got ponies at the house! It might mean guests, or customers!”

Sunset looked up. “...Sunburst, are those the guardsmen again?”

“... Maybe?”

“... What are the odds that the Queen heard about me encouraging people to kick her out?”

“Maybe...she... misheard kick for kiss?”

The duo walked to their front door, spotting the same carriage where it had been parked that morning. Sunset and Sunburst's exchanged one more worried look and opened the door.

Inside stood the Queen, who smiled tightly as she saw them enter. “Welcome home!”

Inside sat the Captain, taking a seat on the last bale of straw, panting. “Why was I the only one to carry all of these?”

Inside their house, from floor to ceiling, stacked in every room, taking up almost every single inch of space, was nothing but straw, straw, straw.

Sunburst finally lost his positivity. “She didn’t hear kiss.”

Chapter 4

Sunset slowly put her hoof on the door, intending to close it, but she had half a mind to pick up her brother and see how far she could run away with him before the guards would capture them. As she mentally calculated the distance a success would require, Sunburst spoke shakily, trying to politely bow. “Your Highness, it is an... honor... to see you again so soon.”

“Of course it is!” Chrysalis sat down on one of the short stacks of hay, flipping her mane haughtily. “You didn't think I'd abandon my favorite pair of siblings, did you? Especially not because of one or two little slips of the tongue.”

Sunset glanced at Sonata, who merely nodded and waved once to show that, yes, Sonata had not only heard what happened but as obligated by duty, had told the queen. As much as the mare wanted to be mad at her, she knew if Chrysalis found out another way, Sonata would have suffered for it. With a huff, she stepped in front of her brother, ready to shield him. “Look, what happened in the village was my doing! Sunburst was the one who put a stop to it! Stop going after him just because I'm the one who keeps screwing up!”

Sunburst tried to stop her, but Chrysalis let out a little laugh. “I'm willing to let bygones be bygones! I don't know where you get this impression that I'm a cold-hearted tyrant. Why, I'm just like daddy, and everyone loved daddy. Now there was a good member of the family...I gotta admit, I feel sorry for your brother, being burdened with such a loud-mouthed sister.” Her eyes burned into Sunburst's, daring him to object, daring him to shout, daring for him to give her a reason to punish him. “Why, if I was in your shoes, I'd ditch her the first chance I got and forget I ever had a sister in the first place.” She smiled, clapping her hoofs together, waiting for the outburst.

And oh, he did want to object, he did want to shout, but he wasn't as naïve as Chrysalis expected. He sucked in a big gulp of air, keeping his back straight. “But you're not me, Your Highness, and I'm not you. So you can see things I can't, and in the exact same way, I see things you can't. It's all a matter of perspective. And I don't think someone as important as yourself could spare the time to see how wonderfully kind my sister is.” Out of the corner of his eye he could see Sunset trying to smile, but given the daunting task once again before them it couldn't stay.

“What with you being so busy in the castle, you'd never see how she cares not only for all the plants in the kingdom, but all the people as well, because she never turns down a cry for help. If someone needs her, she will always be there. And I truly hope someday that, if fortune should ever disfavor you, and you also need her help, she will be there to lend it.”

Chrysalis's smirk melted into a scowl, her hoofs digging in to the straw under her. What a clever little busybody. Nothing he said could really be marked as offensive, although it made her want to gag. Sibling love—what a load of crap! In the end, all you ever truly should care about was yourself, and Chrysalis found an itching need to prove it. But that wasn't what she came here for, so she steeled herself. “I'm sure that day won't be for a long, long, long while. So let's focus on the day that's here!” She patted the straw underneath her. “I know neither of you are as stupid as you look, so you must know why I brought all this over. This should be no trouble at all for such a powerful wizard!”

Sunset stomped her hoofs, glaring hotly. “How could you have used up all the gold we already gave you? It hasn't even been an entire day! You only got it this morning! You should be set for life!”

Chrysalis clicked her tongue. “You never do see the big picture, do you, Sunny-butt? Why settle for a measly couple of gold bars, when I can have a whole house full of gold! I can be set for sixteen lifetimes! With this much gold, I could cover every single thing in the castle with gold!” The idea was enough to make her drool. “Gold bedrooms, gold libraries, gold silverware, gold toilets!”

As Sunburst fought off that disturbing mental image, he spoke up again, struggling to once more find a positive outlook on a dark situation. “And if you had that much gold, you wouldn't need to tax the ponies so harshly anymore! Things could start going back to the way they used to, and no one would have to choose between their food and their health again!”

The Queen stared at Sunburst as if he'd started talking about a completely random topic. “What does that have to do with anything? Why on earth would I stop taxing my ponies?”

He balked. “Because...because you wouldn't need the money anymore?”

“I need whatever I tell you I need!” Chrysalis began to stand up, towering tall above the siblings. “Everything in this kingdom belongs to me, and if I want it, then I will get it! If I want everyone's money, then I'll get everyone's money! If I want you to turn all of this straw into gold, then that's what's going to happen! If I want you to adore me, then you're all going to adore me, way more than you ever adored my father!”

“You are nothing like your father, and everyone is suffering for it!” Sunset stopped after she said it, but then decided, what the heck, she was already doomed anyway. What was a few more inches going to matter in her grave? Sunburst was shouting her name, but Sunset kept going. “You can take our money, you can take away our lives, but I swear to you right here right now, no one is ever going to adore you! And if you had a single working brain cell in that head of yours, you'd realize why!”

In an instant she had a fistful of Chrysalis's dress and yanked her down until they were eye-level, causing Sunburst to gasp, backing up until his tail hit the door, and Sonata to reach out yet do nothing.

“I don't love Sunburst because he's related to me. Blood and titles don't automatically mean ponies have to love and respect you! It's actions that make you earn both! He's a good, kind, sweet pony that cares about everyone around him, and he always gives me a second chance after I screw up! And that's why I love him! But you... you're just a spoiled brat, throwing a temper tantrum whenever things don't go your way! You're not a queen, you're a baby with a crown!”

For the first time in Sunset's life, she saw Chrysalis lose the cocky, evil look in her eyes—it was replaced with fear. Sonata had yet to protect her, the guards were outside, and Sunset was in control here. Sunset's heart raced as she realized she had an opportunity—except, she didn't know what the opportunity was for. If she well and truly socked the Queen, which she badly wanted to do, what would follow next? Sunburst's logic was still true, there was no one to take Chrysalis's place.

Yet how could she let pass this rare chance by? Maybe one good punch would make the lesson sink in harder. Sunset readied her left hoof.

“And maybe your 'daddy' wasn't so fantastic either, if he could raise such an awful princess! The last good thing he ever did was realize his mistake and give the throne to-”

Then came the headache, slamming so hard into Sunset's brain that she cried out in pain, unable to remember the last thing she'd been about to say. Even stranger, she wasn't the only one instantly afflicted. Sunburst, Chrysalis, and Sonata all felt a similar dagger thrust into their minds, powerful enough to send them to their knees and drench them in sweat. Sunset was forced to release Chrysalis, the nerves in her forehead pulsating with torment, robbing her of the strength in her hoofs. Chrysalis stumbled to the floor, and Sonata had to lean on a stack of hay to catch her breath.

Sunburst managed to recover first, or at least swim through the pain enough to try and hold his sister up. “Sunset!” She couldn't reply.

Chrysalis shakily stood up, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hoof. She didn't know if that was divine intervention or her luck turning around, but she wasn't going to waste a second longer trying to figure it out. “It's...it's the same deal as before! Either this is all gold when I return, or your lives will continue in the dungeon...” A harsh snarl towards Sunburst. “Or in my arms!”

“W-wait a minute!” Of all the ponies, it was Sonata who was now speaking up, trying to reach a hoof towards the Queen. “Didn't you just see what happened?! What was that? What's going on?”

“Who cares?! We're going!” Chrysalis kicked over a bale of straw. Sunburst managed to pull his sister away from the door.

“But that wasn't a coincidence!” Sonata pleaded, trying to follow Chrysalis without tripping over any straw. “I've been getting headaches a lot lately, but if everyone's getting them, that can't be anything good! W-what if it's some kind of disease? What if we're all sick? We should go get a doctor!”

“I'm sick of your blabbing!” Chrysalis grabbed Sonata by her blue mane, squeezing tightly. “If I say we're going, we're going! Unless you'd like to stay and share their fate!” She pulled Sonata in close, snarling so rabidly that spare spittle was being sprinkled on Sonata's face. “So there's your choice, you idiot! Stay, or go?”

Sonata was surprised to find herself hesitating. Staying with Chrysalis meant she could keep her job and – what else was there? No respect or dignity, that was for sure, and now no health? Would life in the dungeon be that much worse? Her eyes fled to Sunburst and Sunset. Sunset was still recovering, a hoof to her head, but Sunburst was watching Sonata with pity. That hurt worst of all—surely he knew about Sonata's bullying towards Sunset, but he felt sorry for her? She felt a desperate, useless need to restore some pride.

“I-I'm going...You wouldn't catch me dead with these...losers.” She couldn't even come up with a decent insult anymore.

Chrysalis let go of Sonata's mane and patted her in the head. “The first smart decision you've ever made.” She opened the door, casting one final look upon the duo.

Sunburst eyes slowly slid over to Chrysalis. Much to her frustration, those gorgeous eyes didn't have any terror to them like they did before. This was defiance. “I don't think you even know what love is,” he spoke softly, jarring her out of her thoughts.

Chrysalis froze, her jaw set. Words wouldn't come to her, and she finally stormed off, slamming the door into Sonata's face. Sonata bounced back, rubbing her sore nose before opening the door a second time. All she could offer was a glum, “Does anybody?” before joining her mistress.

No, Sunburst wasn't afraid. Worried, yes, but fear wasn't going to take over tonight. Though his memories of the mysterious witch were vanishing by the hour, he knew she vowed to return should he ever need her help again. The worry was over his sister – she still wasn't recovering from the headache, even though everyone else had gotten over it. He shook her shoulder. “Sunset?”

“S-something's... wrong...” Sunset choked out before falling forward, her hoofs almost missing the floor. The headache hadn't left, and now it was taking over her body, her eyelids twitching and her chest heaving.

“Sunset!” Sunburst cried again, trying to hold his sister up. “The doctor, we've got to get the doctor!”

“Guards... won't...” Sunset managed to breathe out, but even with her small words, Sunburst knew what she meant – the guardsmen wouldn't let the two out of the house, just as the night before. She tried to say something else, but her head lobbed forward, and Sunburst felt tears in his eyes. Maybe if he begged hard enough, the witch would cure her – oh, now he felt fear, now it came as Sonata's words returned to him. Yes, this wasn't natural, there was something dreadfully wrong with their bodies and they didn't know what to do.

But fear wasn't going to get anything done. Sunburst drew deep, long breaths, using all the strength in his malnourished body to help Sunset to her room and lay on her bed – with all the straw clogging up the house, this task was made twice as difficult, and by the time Sunset was laying down, Sunburst was completely worn out. He covered her with her thin blanket and laid his second favorite cloak over for good measure. He tried to cast a simple healing spell, but every time he tried, her body would convulsed and she would cried out in pain. Sunburst could no longer fight his desperation, seeing his sister suffer and being unable to help.

He managed to pull himself away from her bedroom, and stood near the front door, where there was at least enough room to pace and fret. “Please...” he spoke to the open air. “Please come back! We need your help! I'll do anything, just, please, don't let me lose my sister!” He yelled at the top of his lungs, pleading for the hero to appear. “Why are things turning out this way?! Isn't there anything I can do?! Isn't there...” His voice broke, and the tears rolled down his face and were impossible to stop now. “Isn't there anything I can do...?”

Sunburst would have sobbed deep into the night, had not a warm hoof touched his cheek, a delicate touch wiping away his tears. Startled, he looked up, and there stood the good witch, her blue eyes sad and heartbroken. He didn't know how she got here and didn't care. He threw himself into her arms, crying into her shoulder, and she held him in a gentle embrace. It hurt to see her, and at the same time it was the sweetest relief.

“M-My sister...” He gasped for air. “You...you have to help her!”

“I'm sorry,” she spoke with great unwillingness, “But...I can't. There's nothing I can do for her.”

Sunburst pulled back, his face covered in shock. “What?! But...please, you have to!” He grabbed her by her shoulders and tried to shake her. “Use your magic! You said I have to pay you a kindness, right? Well I'll pay you a thousand kindnesses! Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it!”

The witch cupped his cheeks. “I also said that magic isn't the solution to everything...” She then frowned, looking away for a moment. “At least, I think that's what I said. It's getting harder to...” She shook her head, getting back to the scene. “There are some things I can't do, but there is something you can do.” She drew back enough to look at all the straw in the house, nodding once affirmatively. “And I can help you here like I did last time. I can turn this all into gold...for a kindness.”

“...For a kindness,” Sunburst mumbled, rubbing his face in an effort to wipe away his tears. “W-what can I give you? We still have some bread and milk...”

The witch hesitated for one moment, but not because she was forgetting something or she was reluctant to do what was necessary. Sunburst's sister was suffering immensely, he'd just been told there was nothing that could be done, and yet he was still willing to offer up perhaps the only food he had left. He was barely keeping it together, with wet eyes and a shaking body –but indeed, he was keeping it together. He was a wondrous being, to be sure, and in that instant the witch had to wonder if she was ever worthy of him at all – if anyone was. She shook her head, and then held up a hoof. “No, that's all right. I will spin this straw into gold, if you do me a kindness...and listen to my story.”

Sunburst blinked, blinked again, blinked harder and thinking he had heard wrong. “Listen? That's all? But that's so easy!”

The witch smiled wryly. “You'd be surprised. Some ponies need their whole lives to learn how to listen. But that's all I'm asking...hear my story out from start to finish, and I will return the favor with your fate.”

“I...” Sunburst wasn't sure how well he could pay attention when his sister was in so much pain, but on the other hoof, if the witch was going to help them out in such a big way, listening to a simple story was truly the least he could do. He nodded slowly, moving to sit on a stack of straw. “I'll listen. I'll listen to every single word.”

“I know you will.” The witch smiled. “Ponies with ears as big as ours, it's one of our best talents.” Despite Sunburst's misfortune, the wisecrack made his lips twitch for a quick smile, as she knew it would. “All right, for this story, we're going to need a bit more than our imagination. And another thing... this story doesn't have an ending, not just yet. I guess you could say it's a work in progress.” She twirled the staff in her hoof, and it glowed with a soft teal haze – little pricks of discarded straw on the floor began to stand up to attention. “It will have some happy parts, and some sad parts, but whether it's a happy story or a sad story...guess that'll depending on the ending, whenever that comes.”

Another twirl of her staff, and the witch suddenly slammed it into the floor. The straw began to fly around, meeting and twisting around each other, combining until they were small puppets without strings. Yet the shadows they cast on the wall didn't match their shapes, and Sunburst felt his eyelids go heavy. He wasn't sleepy, not exactly, he was suddenly able to see things beyond the shadows, and the witch's voice lost its gracious tone, becoming somber and cool, and then he was lost in the stars...

“Once upon a time...”

Once upon a time, there was a happy, beautiful kingdom.

It was prosperous and peaceful, with the villagers and the royalty working together so that everyone knew contentment. The King ruled wisely, and he was loved for his sensible actions, his understanding of the common pony, and he loved them in return. He also loved his sweet Queen, who was like a mother to everyone she met, bestowing care and concern upon every soul she touched. Theirs could have been a rule that would have made for decades of joy.

But when the Queen gave birth to her first child, she was told that while her heart was great, her body was weak. If she ever had another foal, she would not live to see it grow. For a few years, they had nothing to fear. They raised their first daughter with care and discipline, knowing someday she would take the throne, because their ponies would need a fair leader. However, the Queen soon found herself carrying another foal. Despite pleas from her husband, the Queen decided that she would give her own life in order for the foal to live. Thus the second daughter was born, and the Queen passed away, leaving the kingdom in great mourning.

Now that the King was alone, he feared that the fillies would blame themselves for the death of their mother. So, he decided that his daughters would be raised with love, but nothing else. He would no longer discipline them or allow anyone else to tell them they were wrong. He let them do as they pleased and wouldn't allow them to suffer any consequences. While the poor King meant well, a life without punishment or mistakes is not a good one. The girls grew up spoiled and wicked, seeing the world as a game. They treated the servants of the castle like toys, able to bully and hurt whoever they wanted, while every greedy desire was fulfilled. This continued for many years, even as the fillies became mares, wasting their fortunes and abusing everyone beneath them.

They believed that because they were royalty, they deserved the best. They were never told that royal blood, power and gold wasn't necessary for someone to love you. The King told them every day that because they were princesses, they were adored by all, even though it wasn't true.

Things would have continued on this dreadful path if not for one mistake. The younger princess had a talent for magic and often enjoyed practicing it, never once taking precautions when partaking in such a dangerous art but she didn’t care who got hurt, as long as it wasn’t her. One day as she was practicing a teleportation spell on edge of the village, a brand new sight caught her eyes. She had seen the most handsome stallion in the entire village – he was outside his house, reading a book under the shade of a tree. The princess was so enthralled that she miscalculated her spell, and she crashed into the tree.

The princess was badly injured, and in her panic cast a spell that destroyed a nearby field.

When the princess woke up, she was inside a house, being tended to by the very same stallion who had accidentally caught her attention. His sister had fixed the field and managed to salvaged most of the crops. The sister wrapped up her wounds, and the brother cast healing spells to soothe her pain. All the while they asked if she was all right, what they could do for her, and told her that all would be well. The princess assumed all this care was because she was royalty, and so demanded they tell her what price they expected to be paid for their services. But the siblings didn't understand what she was saying. That was when she realized they didn't know she was a princess at all.

Sunburst remembered details that the witch had long since forgotten, like his surprise at how frail and thin the mare in his bed was. It was as if she'd never done a single difficult thing in her life and had no muscles at all. She stared at him, incredulous at what had been said, her cold eyes changing as she struggled to understand. As she tried to form some kind of sentence, Sunburst placed a cool, wet rag on her forehead.

“If we're not careful, you could get sick from those wounds,” he had said. “So hopefully that will keep away any fever...but if it doesn't, the doctor in the village is wonderfully talented. I'm sure he'd cure you in no time,” he said pleasantly, happy to speak praise of anyone at the drop of a hat. “And the best part is, Sugar Belle gave me a little extra payment for her last potion, so paying the doctor will be no trouble at all!”

At that, the mare gripped the bed sheets and tried to sit up, despite Sunburst's protests. “Now wait a minute.” Her voice was dry and harsh. “Accepting no payment for aiding me is one thing... but you don't actually expect me to believe you'd shell out good coin for a complete stranger! No one would do that to someone they didn't love or know! Are you nuts?!”

Sunburst blinked rapidly, unable to understand what the fuss was all about. Sunset calmly reached out and pushed down on the mare’s head, sending her back into bed. “If you keep fussing like that, you'll make your wounds worse.”

The mare grumbled, embarrassed that she couldn't even push back. “I am not fussing.”

“Listen, I've raised my fair share of cousins, nieces, nephews, and little brother’s, I know what fussing is.” Sunset huffed, ready to tie down the brat if need be. “Sheesh, you act like you don't want us helping you. Would you rather we kick you out?”

“Sunset,” Sunburst said her name only once, but just that once got her to ease up. He then faced the mare again, all kindness once more. “We're not going to kick you out. In fact, I don't think you should even leave this bed for a few days. Don't you worry about paying or anything at all.” He then stood up, brushing his robe down. “We should get you a good meal, and put some energy back into you! Then maybe we could talk about that teleportation spell.” He then pranced a little in place, excited at the prospect of magic. “That was some high level magic you cast there, I’ve only ever read about it in books, this is going to be so much fun! You really have to tell me who thought you!”

Sunset place a hoof in her chest. “And I'll work on fixing that plot of land you blasted, you actually did us a favor there, we were planning on replacing the soil there anyway.” Her eyes shone and her voice became just as giddy as her sibling's. “You saved us a lot of time! Now we can finish planting the sunflowers, and hopefully they will bloom in time for the summer festival!”

The mare stared at them, incredulous. The happiness she was seeing there was completely unfamiliar to her– she knew then and there she'd never come close to feeling anything like that. All of her toys, all of her books, all of her gold, nothing had ever made her smile like they were smiling. She felt herself sinking deeper into the bed. She was a princess, she was royalty, and yet now she felt he was in the presence of two vastly superior beings.

Sunburst lightly touched her forehead again. “Now then, is there anything else we can do for you?”

The mare said nothing at first, watching him, trying to understand him, not knowing her eyes were losing their icy glare.

“No,” she finally said, and for the first time in her life said, “Thank you.”

They had no idea who she was, but they had reached out their arms and welcomed her into their home, treating her injuries and helping her in every way they could. The princess was stunned that anyone would be so kind to a complete stranger. To them, rich and poor didn't matter when it came to helping another. Most amazing of all, they wore bright, happy smiles as they worked. They were pleased to be helping another pony. It was a joy that the princess didn't know could exist. It made all the so-called happiness she thought she knew in the castle seem hollow and empty.

Soon the princess could leave the house, but she found she was reluctant to leave a home of pure love and reenter one so fake and shallow. The princess decided that she didn't want a love she hadn't earned, and wanted to understand how the siblings saw the world. So she decided she would return to the village and not tell anyone who she was, pretending to be a mere traveler. Her surprises continued as the villagers were also kind and welcoming towards her, despite thinking she was a commoner. A farm woman offered her eggs for free since she was a new face, and her husband volunteered to give her a tour of the village. A nobleman selling armor laughed at her jokes. The blacksmith wanted her to have a seat and share stories. No matter where she went, she found that no one cared for titles or riches, for they had the fortune to know one another.

The princess continued to visit the siblings, and her world opened up. No longer was she merely a princess, but she found new aspects to herself that they brought out. She was a joker, clever, full of energy and creativity. She discovered that it wasn't that they completely loved strangers – their love came from love of pony kind itself, of knowing the possibilities with new friends. She learned about hope, compassion, and hard work – and as she saw how hard her friends worked, she better understood how the kingdom was ruled, more than any tutor could teach her. The kingdom was great and prosperous, but it could be better. Perhaps adding a new road there, increasing a price there, getting rid of laws or loopholes... but there was one problem with her attempt to make changes. She wasn't the heir to the throne.

The elder sister was still spoiled and wicked, and had no desire to change her ways. She didn't understand why her younger sister chose to mingle with commoners, and mocked her sibling for her foolish hobbies. The younger princess tried again and again to bring the older princess out of the castle to see the wonderful ways of the kingdom, but the older princess refused. She enjoyed her narcissism and greediness far too much to let anyone inside her heart. The older princess assumed that the younger princess must be toying with the villagers, it was the only thing that made sense to her. It was clear that when she became queen, her selfish ways would bring great harm to everyone.

She only cared about herself, and believed love was bestowed upon her whether she'd done anything to earn it or not.

The younger princess was despondent, but she still continued to visit the village, even revealing her true self to them all. They happily accepted her and treated her no different, having come to truly adore her the same way she adored them. The ones who cared for her most were the siblings, and no one was surprised to find she felt the same – especially when it came to the younger brother. His heart knew no limits, giving those who had lost their second chance a third and fourth one. Whenever he cast an enchantment or made a potion, he did so with care and dedication, knowing that such a talent had to be use with great care. Sometimes the princess would watch him work, and all of his motions were precise and calculated, and it seemed he knew all the steps by heart and yet he never rush or falter. All the while he'd hum a merry tune, and perhaps give the princess a shy smile.

Eventually he got tired of her merely watching and invited her to sit with him, so he could teach her how to make a proper remedy. Her mixtures exploded in her face many times, and he'd held her until the pain went away. The first time the princess successfully brewed a potion, she felt actual accomplishment for the first time in her life. It was only then that she felt she was capable of doing things, of making change, of actually working for someone else. She understood why the little brother took such great pride in his work – and she wanted to feel the same pride. A true ruler was not a ruler at all, but an equal worker with the people of her land. The little brother believed he could do anything she put her mind to, and it was no wonder that he stole her heart. His sister could see it plain as day, and would often wait a little longer to return home so the shy lovers could spend more time alone together.

Little by little, the younger princess tried to make what changes she could. The mare who could make any plant grow became the gardener, an injured guardsman could rest knowing his family would be taken care of, and an arrogant Captain found herself soothed when treated with dignity. But this happy time was not meant to last. The King was growing ill, and it was apparent that soon he would leave the world and his bratty daughter would ruin the throne. The younger princess was ready to give up all hope of change, but the gardener didn't see anything ending so soon. If the older princess wasn't going to change, then someone else would need to rule the kingdom. So the gardener asked: “Why couldn’t the younger princess take the throne?”

Sunburst saw this too, although the girls hadn't known he was there at the time. Sunset and her friend were in the marketplace, with Sunset dragging the mare to every single stall in an effort to buy her something. Sunset was overjoyed by her new job at the castle, and insisted she show her thanks with a gift, but the mare wasn't having any of it, although the continued efforts were making her laugh. She even laughed when Sunset pulled her into a tight hug and spin her around.

“C'mon you little brat, let me get you a new dress! Or a new book! At least let me buy you a meal, you hard head!”

“I told you,” the mare said between breathless laughter, “I don't want anything! I'm just glad it all worked out!”

At the time, Sunburst was picking up his new set of glasses, and he spotted the two mares playfully running around. He had planned to strut over and see if the mare noticed how much effort he had put into his appearance this morning, but Flash had suddenly yanked Sunburst out of sight, grinning as he put a hoof to his lips. To Flash, spying could be just as much fun as flirting. Sunburst didn't quite agree, but neither did he actually fight Flash off, as they popped their heads around the corner of Flash's house to hear what the mares would say, preferably about them.

But the subject didn't wander over to stallions, as Sunburst let go of her friend. “You sound more like a villager than a royal! You ever get in trouble for speaking like that?”

“Nah, dad doesn't mind...” The mare shrugged. “Chrysalis makes fun, but she makes fun of everything I do. She thinks this is all some big joke and she's having the biggest laugh, but she doesn't even want to understand why I'm here.” The unicorn slowed down her walk, her earlier happiness vanishing. “I'm... I'm really worried, Sunset. The other day I heard her proposing some ideas for when she takes the throne... All of it was taxes. Taxes on chicken feed, taxes on wagon wheels, taxes on horseshoes...she's going to rob every one of every last coin they have, and she thinks she deserves it.”

Sunset frowned, initially quiet given the seriousness of the conversation. “...Have you given any thought to what I said? I meant it. You should be the next queen.”

The stallions gasped and covered each other mouths with their hoofs—Sunburst got to Flash's first—quickly to muffle the sound. Sunset glanced over, quizzical at what she thought she heard, but the princess sighed loudly enough to bring her back. “I don't know...that's a lot of responsibility, and I...I don't think I could ever be as good as my dad.”

Sunset gently placed a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder. “No one's asking you to be as good as your old man. Amazingly enough, he's not perfect, and neither are you...no matter what certain stallions may be thinking.” She shot a glance at the not-very-well-hidden guys. She didn't need to see Sunburst to know he was blushing deeply and Flash was suppressing mad chuckles. “We just want you to be you, and that's more than good enough to help us all out. At least ask around and see what everyone else thinks.”

The mare slowly smiled, lifting her head to face Sunset. She reached up and hugged Sunset. “Thanks...you know, you're one of the best friends I've ever had.”

“Does that really count if you didn't have any friends until you met me and Sunburst?”

The unicorn smirked. “If I do become Queen, the first thing I'll do is outlaw all wise-cracks.”

Sunset grin and begin dragging the mare by the withers. “I'll stop the gags if you let me reward you, my sister-in-law.”

Now it was the stallion's turn to blush and fluster while Sunset cackled joyfully, and the two stallions collapse into a fit of laughter, having no doubt that the mare would be queen and their lives would be grand and glorious.

The younger princess was shocked at the idea, and at first didn't accept it. But as she went from friend to friend, villager to villager, she discovered they too encouraged the idea and would be proud to see her wear the crown. Encouraged by all those who believed in her, the princess approached her dying father and kneeled, made the argument to become the next queen. As the King listened to all the experiences his youngest daughter had gone through, and how much his girl had changed, he realized how wrong he had been to raise his children without a firm hoof. Despite his failings, the younger princess had become a fine mare, and would be a fine ruler. The younger princess was henceforth declared to be the heir to the throne.

The eldest daughter was enraged by this choice. She saw her younger sister as a thief, and her father as a liar who didn't truly love her at all. She refused to let her power be taken, and would use any means to keep what she saw as rightfully hers. The older sister decided to use the family's secret to secure her throne. Long ago when the girls were still young, the King had told them of a magic book hidden in his room. It had been given to the earliest of kings by a friendly alicorn, who assured them that if they continued to rule in kindness, then the magic would never fade.

That was the number one rule of magic – in order to do a kindness, a kindness must be given in turn. Generations of kings and queens vowed to only use the book in the direst of emergencies, and now the eldest princess felt this was an emergency. As her father slept, she crept into the room and stole the book, selecting a certain spell that would keep things the way she wanted them – and more.

The night before the last of the spell was complete, the younger princess visited her favorite family once more, telling them that she would take the throne. They were happy for her, and knew she would rule well. She promised tomorrow she would see them again, and then she looked at the young wizard, told him that she would have a very important question to ask him when that day came. She told him how much she loved him, that her very day and night began and ended with thoughts of him, and that he had helped her become a better pony. He responded that he loved her too, and that his life was richer than gold because he knew her. Whatever question she had for him, he knew he would reply with truest sincerity and deepest love.

This memory was clearest of all, for it had the most details he could grasp. The chilly air under the moonlight gave Sunburst the idea to take off his cape and wrap it around the mare’s shoulders. They could have just as easily gone inside the house, but Sunset was there, and this was not a moment that needed teasing. Even though the moment was peaceful and tranquil, with their foreheads pressed together and not a word exchanged between them, their hearts were racing. The unicorn would be Queen, not tomorrow and not the day after, but it would be soon. For better or worse, things would change, and they were both excited and afraid of what that would entail.

Sunburst looked into her beautiful blue eyes, amazed that once they held so much cold and cruelty. He knew he was part of the reason for that change, and there was a hint of pride in his heart. “You're going to be a wonderful queen,” he spoke softly.

“I'm going do my best,” the mare replied, and Sunburst had come to enjoy the gentle tone of her voice. It seemed as if the real pony had been hidden for years and being in the village had drawn her out. “And I still might not be sure what my best is...but I'm going to try. This whole kingdom is full of great, amazing ponies...” She reached out to cup his cheek. “And I want to keep them all happy.” Even if she valued some pony’s happiness over others. She was a flawed being – but so was everyone else, like her great father. “And I want you, and Sunset, and everyone else to keep my head on straight. I won't be running this place alone. We're all going to work together.”

Sunburst touched the hoof on his cheek, wanting to keep her there even though he knew she had to leave soon. “What did you want to ask me? Why does it have to wait?”

The princess smiled – a real, genuine, full of happiness smile. “Sorry, Sunburst, but I’m not going to tell until the time is right!”

“What's wrong with the time right now?” Sunburst hugged her closer, his short beard tickling the mare’s skin. “Tell me, tell me, tell me!”

“No way, no how, not now!” The unicorn laughs and made a run for it, the stallion ran after her, laughing just as hard, chasing each other around the smashed tree. He managed to outrun her and then caught her in his arms, spinning her around as they dizzily called each other names in truest adoration. He tried to demand her to tell him, so she silenced him with a kiss, and it was warm, and it was soft, and each kiss they had was better than their last. But no matter how many kisses were exchanged, no matter how many declarations of love were passed between them in sweet whispers, she wouldn't ask him what she wanted to ask him until, as she insisted, the time was right.

Finally, the mare had to leave, and as she reluctantly began to enter her carriage, she felt her cape being tugged. She turned around, an amused expression on her face. “For the last time-”

“I know,” Sunburst interrupted, letting go of her. “All I wanted to ask was...whatever this question is...is it going to help the kingdom?”

The mare watched him for a moment, and Sunburst felt as if the weight of the world was on his withers. The mare reached down and kiss him on the cheek, and his heart skipped a beat. “I think it will help the kingdom in a million and one ways... but even if it didn't, I still think it's pretty darn important. Might be the most important question I ever asked.” Then, playfully adding as she drew him in close to kiss his forehead. “Aside from, 'are you nuts'?”

Sunburst pushed her lightly into the carriage, sticking out his tongue, once she was gone and the hoofbeats couldn't be heard, he sighed and shivered slightly now that his cape was missing—but he smiled anyway. This night was a special one, he just knew it. He touched his hoof to his lips, wondering if he'd ever stop smiling. He had an idea to what her question would be, but for now he'd wait. He could be patient, if she was going to ask what he believed she would ask.

In the night as everyone slept, the older princess finished the last action of the spell – a spell to make everyone forget that the younger princess had ever existed. Yet the older princess didn't realize the spell would even affect herself. In the morning, no one remembered who the younger princess was. She was thrown out of the castle as an intruder, no matter how hard she pleaded and begged for her family to remember her. She ran into the village, but no one knew her name, and it was as if they didn't want to know. Not only had every memory of her been taken, but even the actions she'd done were being forgotten. In one last desperate act, she ran to the house of the wizard and the gardener. The gardener had no idea who she was, and was about to find her brother to ask if he knew who the stranger was.

The younger princess couldn't stand the thought of her beloved asking who she was, and so she fled from the kingdom with a broken heart. Like a coward, she hid away from the world, crying over what she had lost and couldn't regain. Her gentle father died without remembering his youngest daughter.

Every day, the princess too began to lose memories about herself, even her own name, and feared one day she would vanish completely. Yet not everyone had completely forgotten her, for as powerful as the spell was, it was no match for the original immortal alicorn who had created it – her mind would last much longer than a mere mortal's, although she too would eventually forget.

The kindly alicorn had sensed someone using her spells for an ill purpose, and had found the younger princess. She took the girl in, teaching her spells to delight and help those around her, but also warned the princess that the kingdom was suffering because of the older princess's actions.

The older princess had ignored the one rule of magic – to do a kindness and have a kindness be done in turn. Because she had done neither, the spell was incomplete and wreaking havoc with everyone's minds. Their memories were fighting back, trying to be remembered, and the inconsistency all around them would cause them great pain and panic. Soon, everyone in the kingdom would be stricken with agony before ultimately leading to their deaths. The spell had finally started to affect the alicorn as well, forgetting the princess's name and what she'd taught the girl. The alicorn did know how to reverse the spell, but unfortunately it was through an action neither of them could do.

The younger princess couldn't allow her ponies to suffer, and with what little she remembered of her spells and her life, she bid the alicorn farewell. The alicorn gave the princess her magical staff, which would boost her powers and delay the headaches, but only for a short amount of time. With the spells, the staff, and her ambition, the princess needed to find the one pony who could perform the action and reverse the spell, and she knew who it would be.

It was the one pony she loved, the one she wanted, the one she needed, and even if it would torment her to have him ask who she was, she knew she had to see him again. Her bond with him was the strongest, and he would be the one to last the longest, and he could find the...

It was there that the witch stopped her tale, closing her eyes and rubbing her temple. Sunburst gasped, as if he'd forgotten how to breathe and he remembered where he was.

No, he didn't know her name, but his chest pounded with heartbreak and devotion—how could he have forgotten her? How could he have lost the times when he cupped her face and kissed her hair, whispering words of tenderness that he was embarrassed others would hear? The smell of her in the capes he would lend her—he could see it all, feel it all, clear as day—her bruised face laying on his bed, those cold eyes melting into genuine affection, her games with the children of the village, her merry dancing during the summer festival and—oh—oh no, no, no, just as he was seeing them, they were leaving! He'd presumed his favorite cape lost when he couldn't recall who he’d given it to—he was going to forget them again—he was going to forget her again!

Sunburst jumped off the hay and ran to the witch, taking her in his arms, as if by holding her he could never let anything about her go again.

“What can I do?” he begged her, shaking her hard. “I don't want to forget you again! How can I reverse the spell?” The headache came, and he fought it off, though it wasn't easy.

The witch dropped to her haunches, bracing herself against him gently. “The only way to reverse the spell...is for someone who loves me to say my name.”

The wizard plunged into what few memories he had left, but to his horror found that not even the times of kisses and playful dates had a name to them.

“I...I can't remember!” He breathed rapidly, his body trembling with grief. “I'm trying, but I can't! And...I'm losing it all again! It's all leaving me!” His vision blurred, and he knew he loved her, but he couldn't say why. “You're why...You're the reason why I can't be with anyone else! I don't want to be with anyone else! I'll never be truly happy again unless I'm with you!” He bent over, hoarse with sobs, knowing that if he closed his eyes he'd forget the color of her eyes. “There's... nothing I can do...”

“Yes, there is.” The witch's soft voice became strong, and she held his face, the way he thought he remembered she used to. “I've lost so many memories...but my memories about you are the strongest! I know that there's an item in the castle that still has my name on it! It's hidden in my room, and the one thing Chrysalis didn't toss away, because I never told her about it. I know it has my name on it, and if you say it, then everyone will remember everything! The headaches will stop, and Sunset won't be in pain anymore!”

Sunburst swallowed hard. “Item? What item?”

The witch's face momentarily fell. “I... I don't remember what it is. All I can remember is that I hid it, it has my name, and it's connected to you somehow! If I get in the castle myself, Chrysalis will throw me out before I can find it. There has to be some way for you and Sunset to get in the castle. She's the gardener, maybe you can use that somehow!”

No, that wouldn't work, and Sunburst knew it. He also knew there was another way into the castle, and for a moment wondered why the witch hadn't mentioned it – unless she'd already forgotten, or just as plausible, the idea would disgust her so deeply she'd forbid it. It disgusted him too, but it was the only way he'd be allowed within the castle, and to find the item that would save the kingdom. He wouldn't tell the witch, not when she was already suffering so much. All his life she wanted to be use to ponies, to help them, and this would be the hardest way yet. Sunset had said she would spend every coin she had to keep Sunburst healthy – it was time for him to step up and return that devotion.

“There is something I can do,” he finally said. “Something, only I can do.” For the sake of his sister, for everyone in the kingdom, and to save the mare in front of him, he'd sacrifice everything. His was a love for all so great and pure it could be devastating.

The witch smiled, perhaps with a tear or two of her own. “I believe in you, Sunburst.” That one word, that one name, was the one that had never been forgotten for a single second. If all else failed and she was doomed, it would be the last memory to leave her, she knew it. She pressed their foreheads together – she greatly longed for a kiss, but knew if she dared, she would be unable to leave him, even though her mere presence was hurting his mind. She could see him wincing in pain, and understood her time was up.

She rose to her feet, picking up a strand of straw as she did so. “Because you have done me a kindness and listened to my story, I will do you a kindness and turn all of this straw into gold.” There was no need for fancy flourish or trying to impress him when time was on the line. Once more she pointed at the straw with her staff, once more all the straw flew around in a dizzying tornado, and once more when the blinding colors came to a stop, gold bars covered the floor to the ceiling.

Sunburst closed his eyes, his hoofs pressed firmly on the floor. He was afraid, deeply so, and he knew that even if he had all his memories intact, he was never as frightened as he was now. The things he was about to do, the fate of everyone in his feeble withers, it was a burden he wasn't ready for. But he'd carry it all, and he wouldn't complain, he wouldn't object. He never knew he was capable of such strength.

Had the witch brought it out of him, during those tranquil days of studying magic and sharing stories? The spell was over, and Sunburst dared to look up, but this time the witch hadn't even given him a farewell before leaving. Perhaps it had been too much for her to see him this way, and he couldn't blame her. His head hurt, and so did his heart.

Sunburst couldn't go anywhere now, the gold made it impossible for him to walk to any of the rooms, even blocking him off from Sunset. He could only go to the door, and used this space to quietly call for the guards.

“Inform the Queen,” he said with a somber voice, “that the gold is ready.”

Without waiting for a reply, he closed the door. He sat down, his head hanging low, unable and unwilling to sleep. Every time he seemed ready to nod off, he bit down on his tongue, making himself jolt back up. He wouldn't allow himself to sleep, to let his mind lose more memories, not if he could help it. The night passed like eternity, and every so often he wept over what he had lost and what he could lose.

After what felt like centuries of agony, he could hear the sound of hoofbeats outside. He slowly stood up, brushing down his cape and cleaned up his face as best he could. The door opened, with Sonata coming inside first. Even though she was there the first morning that this had happened, she was still shocked to see all the gold piled up like tall buildings.

“Hooolyyyy cow.” Sonata drew out the word as her eyes took their time surveying the room. “I don't think this much gold exists in the whole wide world.” She looked at Sunburst, and while there wasn't exactly kindness in her face, he thought he saw a mixture of awe and respect. “How do you do it? I mean really, how do you do it?”

Sunburst blinked and for a brief second saw her before the spell had been cast – she had still been mostly the same, but her arrogance had been controlled, a warm smile and a cheerful laugh and strong a strong voice that command awe and respect – but then it was gone, and she was a sad soul that left hurt feelings turn her in to a bully. “I just do my best, Captain,” he finally said with a faint smile. “Just like you do. It's all anyone should ever want from you, and I know you do it.”

Sonata was surprised, and she scratched her cheek, unsure how to handle such a compliment. Perhaps she would've thanked him, if the Queen hadn't shoved her aside. “Hey, if you want to be the first pony road-block, do it somewhere else, dimwit!” And just as Sunburst had a quick flash to Sonata's former self, a horrid memory came with Chrysalis as well.

It was quick, and he couldn't remember all that had been said – but he was very sure she had approached him with leery eyes and eager hoofs, trying to entice him, trying to take him, trying to assure him that she'd be a much better match for him than her sister, and that was all it had really been, trying to somehow prove she was better than her sister by taking what she loved most – and he had pushed her away, hard, right in to a pond.

“What is this?” Chrysalis asked, startling Sunburst back to the present – his hoof had been outstretched, close to reenacting what he recalled.

“I... wanted… to shake your hoof!” Sunburst said quickly, his body shaking. “And thank you for coming to my humble little house again!”

“Ah, of course!” Chrysalis took his hoof, winking and making Sunburst's skin crawl. “See, now there's some real respect. Maybe a good night of work showed you what's what.” She then looked around to see the gold, heels clicking with glee. “And look at all that work! I could fill my entire room with all this gold! Sonata, don't just stand there, start carrying something other than your empty head!” She jumped with joy, and walked over to the closest section of gold, beginning to count.

Sunburst braced himself, biting his lip, before he spoke. “Your Highness... is this going to happen again?”

Chrysalis frowned at being interrupted. “So, what if it does? There's plenty of straw left in this kingdom, and plenty of room in my castle for gold! You should be grateful that I've chosen you to do this honor! Others would beg for an opportunity to even be near me!”

As Sonata glanced around, wondering what happened to Sunset Shimmer, Sunburst continued speaking timidly. “And if I don't spin the next batch of straw into gold again, I'll be thrown into the dungeon... or become your husband.”

“That's right!” Chrysalis snorted, tossing her mane and continuing to count. “So, unless you'd rather be behind bars or behind the castle walls, you're going to do exactly as I say.”

“...What if I'd rather do that?”

Both mares stopped what they were doing, and although Sunset couldn't hear this conversation, she felt a sudden urge to sit up in bed.

Sunburst looked right into the eyes of the mare killing the kingdom, and no longer hesitated, speaking as boldly and directly as he could.

“Your Highness, Queen Chrysalis...would you do me the honor of marrying me?”

Author's Note

Long chapter, but don't worry, one more chapter and we can call this a wrap! Thanks for reading so far in to this story.

Chapter 5

Sunset didn't so much sleep and wake up as she actually passed out and eventually resurfaced to the living world.

The pain had never stopped, and instead grew worse with every waking minute. It had now become such horrendous agony that it reached her entire body─her stomach threatened to empty everything she'd ever eaten, tears never stopped flowing out of her eyes, and there were times she questioned her very sanity. The only way she knew any time had passed at all was when the sun had begun to prod her through the window. If it was day, then that must mean the Queen was going to return, and while Sunburst believed wholly in the witch, Sunset couldn't be sure everything was okay until she saw it for herself.

Though her body objected to moving, Sunset clawed off the bed and flopped onto the floor. She managed to find her feet, and though she needed to stop and breathe every couple of minutes, she dragged herself out of her room. This was already a good sign, because she couldn't see any of the straw. She needed to lean against the wall in order to steady herself, but when she tried to open her mouth and call for Sunburst, she had to fight her stomach's urge to heave. She leaned on the wall, counting her breaths, the silence around her calming her down.

… Until she realized that silence meant something had gone horribly wrong.

Sunset's eyes popped open. She knew her little brother well, he wouldn't have left the house while Sunset was convulsing in tremors. The fact that he wasn't scrambling to ask her how she felt was alarming. “Su...Sunburst?” She fought to say his name, and looked around the bare house. There was no straw, no gold, and no brother. “Sunburst?” she asked again, this time making her way toward his bedroom.

He wasn't there either. He was gone.

Maybe Sunburst went to get the doctor. Maybe he went to get some bread and milk. Maybe – but no matter what excuse Sunset desperately tried to conjure, each and every time her heart objected. Sunburst wouldn't have left her in this state, not unless something much more awful had come up. Had Chrysalis's greed gotten so great she decided to take him along with the gold? It wasn't impossible. Sunset fell to her hunches, breathing hard. Her brother was in danger, and she was here, and what could be done?

A part of her, the part of her suffering the most, said nothing could be done and she should just give up and let the pain take control. It would have been the easiest option. Giving up meant maybe her sickness would lessen, and she wouldn't have to think about anyone again. Right now, more than anything, Sunset wanted to be that selfish. She wanted to abandon him and let go.

But love – true, deep, familial love that is made and not born – wouldn't allow her. Sunburst had always done everything for others, even at the cost of his own happiness and health. If he had gone willingly and not seized by Chrysalis's slimy grasp, then he must have done it for Sunset, or for someone else in the kingdom. He'd be made to suffer just because he had a good heart, and if Sunset simply let that slide, she'd never forgive herself. She loved his little brother, and not just because he was her little brother. Sunburst was good, and kind, and did all in his power to make the world a better place.

“I'm coming,” she breathed out, pushing herself up. “I'm coming, Sunburst.” What could she do against Sonata and her forces, especially when trembling like a leaf with daggers in her brain? Maybe nothing. Yet Sunset was on her feet, willing to crawl if that's what it took to see Sunburst again. He wasn't going to face this alone.

Even the most kind-hearted of pony would have doubted she would've made it very far on her own. So, it was her unusual fortune – or the play of someone's watchful eye – that one of Sunburst’s spell books was open and lying on the floor, specifically on a page of healing magic with the potion next to it. Another time, Sunset would have been deeply confused about this coincidence. But there was no time to think of her good luck or if anyone was aiding her in her most dire hour. She quickly read the spell and after a few failed attempts managed to cast it, she drank the potion and her headache became something more manageable, then the unicorn began to gallop towards the village.

“Hang on, Sunburst! I'm coming!”

But she wouldn't be alone.

“Caterers, singers, dancers, jugglers, how about a puppet show? Who doesn't love a good puppet show? Am I forgetting anything?”

Chrysalis had been shocked from Sunburst's abrupt proposal, but was quick to whisk him away to her castle to make it happen. She had finally won against – who? No, she won, period, that's what counted. She was going to get the golden goose for a husband, and this required the most lavishly expensive wedding in all of history. If it was going to be Chrysalis's wedding, then it had to be the best. As she strolled through the castle with Sonata and Sunburst, she was going through a list of essentials. She wanted the ceremony to be as soon as possible – why not tonight, a moonlit romantic wedding?

Sonata jabbed a hoof behind her. “I think you're forgetting the groom, Your Highness.”

Chrysalis stopped in place and turned around. Sunburst had fallen behind, slowly going from wall to wall, room to room, trying to find the item that would save the kingdom. His only clue was that it had the witch's name on it, so he was flipping through the curtains, scooting under furniture, even checking the seams on the uniforms of the guards he passed, much to their befuddlement. Of course, he didn't find it, although he worried that even if he had he wouldn't know it was her name to begin with. But he'd search every inch of this castle if that's what it took – and let Chrysalis search every inch of him too, if that's what it took.

Chrysalis laughed obnoxiously, a hoof on her forehead. “Isn't that cute? The castle is too overwhelming for him! The poor guy probably never seen anything fancier than a barn. Hey, maybe we should let him see your place, he might think your pigsty is a palace!” She howled at her own joke, and Sonata chewed on her bottom lip. “Come along, baby! There will be plenty to see after the wedding!”

Sunburst made a mumbling sound of agreement, slowly coming up to resume their walk. He let out a deep sigh, trying to think of how to worm an answer out of a Queen who didn't even know the question. “Your Highness, now that we're engaged, I'll be allowed to go anywhere in the castle, won't I?”

“Of course!” Chrysalis pressed herself against Sunburst's shoulder and he had to swallow down the disgust her touch gave him. “As a good husband and a good King, you'll be checking on the servants to make sure they're doing the cooking and cleaning perfectly! I can't have my husband actually work, then ponies might expect something out of me.” She pushed him forward and they all walked together, with Sunburst eyeing every room they passed. “Although you'll be making the rest of the preparations, like the fireworks and magic shows, you’re the best wizard of the kingdom, right? So, anyone else would be beneath me and I'm not having anything shoddy at my wedding! Except little Sonata here.”

Sonata groaned. “I didn't even do anything!”

It was then Sunburst saw that while all the other rooms were open, like a public display of showing off, they were passing one room that was closed. He dove for the knob, twisting it, but the click of a lock prevented him from getting any further. His heart beat quickened, and he whipped around.

“What's in this room?”

Chrysalis stopped to look, and her eyes widened. The throbbing started in her mind, and she rubbed her temple. Sonata grimaced – that was the room everyone avoided, the creepiest one of all for unfathomable reasons.

“That room?” Chrysalis repeated, straightening herself out. “It's nothing important, just forget it. We still have a lot to cover – like pet names!”

If that wasn't the biggest clue Chrysalis could give, Sunburst would eat his cape! “I want to see this room!” He demanded, working the knob in his hoof over and over as if that would somehow pop it open. “If I'm going to be the King, then I should be allowed to go anywhere, and I want to go in this room!” It had to be here, the item with the witch's name! Inside that room was everyone's salvation! There was nothing stopping him now!

Chrysalis suddenly slammed her hoof on the door right above Sunburst's head. It dawned on him only then how much trouble his plan could cost him. “You may be King,” Chrysalis replied darkly, her patience being tested, “But I am the Queen. And the Queen makes the rules, so if I say you don't go somewhere, you stay put! If you're going to be this much trouble, maybe we're both better off with you wearing chains instead of a crown!” Even Chrysalis didn't know why this single room was filling her with such anger, but it wasn't going to be opened, it would never be opened.

“I... I didn't mean...” Sunburst began to back away from the door, his heart pounding in fear. Had he ruined everything by being too eager? Were things over before they could begin? His eyes lowered to Chrysalis's neck and his ears perked when he heard a tiny clink—keys! Keys! Keys!!!—If the door was locked, then by that logic a key was necessary.

“I... I'm just so excited to be your husband!” He exclaimed with all the merriment he could muster, suddenly turning around to throw his arms around Chrysalis in a tight embrace. He glanced down─yes, right at her neck and hanging from a golden chain was a circle of steel keys. There were many hanging there, but surely one of them had to be it! It would be madness to try and yank them now, but at least he could start properly planning. For now, it was time to up his game, dashing smiles and all. He was a looker and he knew it. “Please forgive me, my little butterfly.”

Chrysalis was thrown for a good three seconds before her ego took over. “Aw, of course I do! Any guy would be so overcome with joy, it's totally understandable they'd be a little crazy! And good try on the pet name, but that doesn't sound nearly adorable enough for me. Luckily we have plenty of time to get it right.” She grabbed him by the hoof, and they linked arms, walking forth once more, tugging him closer around every corner. Everything was going perfectly! Who could ask for anything more? Why, she could! She wanted everything! She wanted more money, more attention, more love, more of everything without doing a single thing to deserve it.

Only Sonata was suspicious about this turn of events, and she looked at the mystery door once more before a headache implored her to move on. This time she didn't walk side-by-side, and instead lagged behind, watching Sunburst and he, in turn, noticed her eyes. She said nothing, but her expression was clear – was this something he really wanted to do?

Sunburst smiled at her. Yes, this was something he wanted to do, and this was something he had to do. Yet Sonata remained uncomfortable. Somewhere within the deepest part of her heart, a piece of her that had been forgotten was getting stronger and bolder. It wasn't enough to make her speak out, no, but it was there, and it could grow.

It would grow, if things continued this way.

By the time Sunset made it to the village, those that weren't suffering from immense headaches were scrambling and gossiping as fast as they could. They suddenly had a wedding to prepare for, despite needing to work and earn coin for their living, because each villager knew that if they didn't arrive Chrysalis would make them pay far worse than their lost wages. She slowed down, the effects of the spell waning and she knew that she couldn’t continue at the same speed as before. Only three villagers had enough time to spare to notice the dizzy mare.

“Sunset!” Flash Sentry went to her side first, trying to stop her as she walked. “What in the world are you doing?”

Sunset grunted, pushing him away. “Gotta...Gotta save Sunburst...gotta...” she mumbled, needing to close her eyes as now the sunlight was an enemy to her head.

“Can you really save him if he done asked the queen herself for all this?” Big Mac questioned, one hoof on his back, and the other on his head. He too was having a throbbing mental ache, but he was being too stubborn to lay down. “That's what the guardsmen said, he went and proposed to her!”

Sunset balked, but didn't have the strength to object or do a classic temper tantrum. Sugar Belle sighed deeply, and the chicken under her arm clucked just as hard. “Oh, I don't like this, no I don't, not one bit! Our Sunburst would never want to get married to that royal ruin. Are you two so low on coin that he had no other choice?”

“Gotta save Sunburst,” Sunset said again, and she walked on, though she only took two steps at a time.

“Sunset Shimmer, be reasonable!” Flash shouted as he followed the mare. “I know this is awful, but if you interrupt the wedding like this, the Queen will throw you into the dungeon! You'll never see the light of day again!”

“Gotta save Sunburst,” Sunset continued to repeat, refusing to look at anyone.

“She's a darn, stubborn fool, is what she is!” Big Mac huffed, wincing as any gesturing made his back all the worse. “Sunburst said it himself, ain't nothin' we can do. If you knocked Chrysalis down, there'd be no one to take her place! I ain't no King, no one here is!”

But there is, the last of Sunset's burning mind insisted. There is, there is, there is, there is - “I GOTTA SAVE SUNBURST!” she suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs, stopping everyone within earshot. “I don't care, I don't care, I DON'T CARE!” Maybe she was yelling at her friends, maybe she was yelling at her own body that insisted on lying down and giving up, or maybe she was yelling at the spell itself. “He is MY BROTHER! I don't care if I don't stand a chance, I don't care if nobody can rule if Chrysalis can't, AND I DON'T CARE ABOUT THESE STUPID HEADACHES!” She dug her hoofs into her scalp, yanking out several hairs – Flash gasped, and Sugar Belle covered her chicken's eyes. “NOTHING IS GETTING IN MY WAY! What is the POINT of giving up? If you're all so gosh-darned miserable, why don't you guys just jump off a cliff?! Leave the village?! Why do you stay here and just let Chrysalis do whatever she wants? Why are we all still here? What are we waiting for?!”

Now there was a serious question to consider, one so simple and yet so stunning that a few villagers dropped what they were holding in awe. Why did they stay? At some point, pride and heritage couldn't have been worth all this sadness. Yet not a single person had taken the step and walked away from it all. They couldn't have honestly thought things were going to improve. So why was everyone still here? Were they actually waiting for something?

No, a gentle whisper echoed in everyone's mind. We're waiting for someone.

Then the headaches came, striking each individual in their own personal torment. Ponies cried, some went into sobs, holding their heads and begging for help. Sugar Belle collapsed into Big Mac's arms and he held her as best he could, in spite of his back. Flash reeled, grabbing onto a post from the market stalls, and he stared up at Sunset in sudden understanding. Something dreadful had happened. Something dreadful would continue to happen.

Sunset gazed upon the castle in the distance, and in her mind's eye she could see an enemy trying to prevent her from going any further. A force greater than mortal understanding was keeping them trapped, keeping her in pain, and it scared Sunset down to her bones. She could punch people, she could yell at guardsmen and captains, but this was inherently superior to her in every way and she didn't know how to fight it. It was telling her to forget everything, and if she dared to continue on this path, her pain would get worse, and she would forget everything – her lover, her friends, her brother, her life. Could she really survive without those memories?

“I'm going to save Sunburst,” she snarled at the unknown entity. “Whatever Chrysalis is doing, whatever she's throwing at us, I am not stopping! I know I'm forgetting things... but I'll make new memories! I'll never lose the love I have for my brother! The love I have for everyone! Nothing can make me lose what's most important! I'm going, and that's final!” To heck with magic and spells and gold and straw, there was no power on earth greater than the will of one who truly loved another.

But her glorious speech at nothing ended when she felt Flash's hoof tugging her again. She glared at him. “I said I'm not stopping!”

“Oh, shut up, I'm not stopping you.” Flash tugged again, this time so he could steady himself as he got to his feet. “If you have to go into the dungeon for a million years, then I'm going with you. It's better than being alone out here.” He placed his hoof over her shoulders in a hug.

Sugar Belle lifted her head, it being the only thing she was strong enough to lift. “Sure, you go on ahead, make us look like the bad guys! Big Mac, take me with them! I wanna go to the dungeon too, if it means I can be with my friends! Can't be much worse out here!”

Big Mac groaned, but he walked with his wife in his arms. “But that means I'll have go to the dungeon too, I don't wanna be without you! Hope they got nice beds in there.”

“STOP SAYING YOU WANNA GO IN THE DUNGEON!” Sunset snapped at those she cared for, wondering if the memory loss was including the loss of any intelligent thought. “For goodness sake, you're getting too depressing!” No wonder no one wanted to rule, getting people to collectively work together was a lot harder than speeches and cheering. “Let's just save Sunburst, and we'll take it from there!” She started walking with Flash’s aid, and as the slightly-brave ragtag group of misfits trudged on, one by one they were joined by another villager, and another, and another.

It wasn't a loud cry of energized revolutionaries, given how they needed to stop and go, stop and go, stop and go for their constant pains, but even a slow turtle can be a dangerous force if its jaws are strong enough. With every step the spell warped their brains further, bringing a fresh stinging pain, and soon even memories unrelated to the witch began to drift away. Names were lost, time was an illusion, and soon Sunset even forgot the voice of her beloved sibling. Yet none of this truly stopped them, for no matter how powerful the spell was, it could only erase memories, not feeling.

It wasn't hatred towards the Queen that spurred them on toward the castle, nor hope for change. It was love, love for someone in the castle, love for someone they had lost, love for one another, love for those who had earned this miracle of feelings.

Not a single one them knew that the pony who loved them all in turn was right beside them, hoping that it wasn't too late.

Those who hadn't been in the village for the odd gathering were already at the castle getting things ready for the wedding. Flowers, streamers, those little carrot sticks that are somehow at every classy party, everything was being rushed as fast as possible. Chrysalis decided to hold it in the throne room, and Sunburst was sitting in the King's seat, silently casting sparkles and other flashy spells. If this was a different situation, he would've told Chrysalis that preparing a breath-taking light show within hours was next to impossible, even with his skills. But for now, he didn't need to plan that far ahead, and he found himself casting harmless spells over and over again just so he could keep himself busy.

Chrysalis was directing orders to a very irritated priest, an old stallion who mentally appeared to asking several deities what he'd done to deserve this. “Why should I be making the vows?” Chrysalis was demanding, flipping through her checklist. “You should be vowing to me, and making the entire village vow to love me forever!”

“Your Majesty, have you ever been to a wedding before?”

“No, why should that matter?”

Sonata was off in a corner, eating the little carrots that are somehow at every classy party, glad that someone else was the subject of Chrysalis's abuse for the moment. Sunburst cast a series of useless sparkles, his eyes on the keys hanging off Chrysalis necklace. She never appeared to take it off, and so it appeared the only way he was going to get them was if she took off her necklace, and to be there when that happened meant...

Sunburst didn't need the spell in order for that thought to make him nauseous. Of course, he wanted to find a way to get the keys without going that far, but his options were limited and getting fewer by the hour. He would sacrifice everything in order to see the village freed and the witch in her rightful place. His sparkles disappeared and he didn’t bother to make more. But would he ever be the same, after the wedding night? He wanted to believe he would be, that he'd still be good and kind and embrace the world with open arms, but there was a dark reality that came with the wedding ring. Even if the spell was broken, he would never forget what Chrysalis would do to him, and what he'd have allowed her to do. His breath became shaky with panic. He wished the witch was there, or Sunset, or Sugar Belle or Flash or someone, he was starting to panic, and he was so very scared—

That was when Sonata shoved one of those little carrots that are somehow at every classy party into his face. She wasn't looking at him, perhaps embarrassed to be showing sympathy. “I don't want this one, smells kinda rank, you might as well have it.”

Sunburst blinked twice before smiling and taking one. “Thank you.” As he looked at Sonata, he saw that flash of memory again, of the mare he used to be – no, the mare she could still be. No matter what Chrysalis had done, she couldn't erase pony's potential.

“Yeah, well, I probably shouldn't be eating them anyway.” Sonata kept diffusing his decent deed. “Me being so dumb and all.”

Sunburst looked at her with curiosity. “What makes you think your stupid?”

Sonata stopped, and stared at Sunburst incredulously. “What are you, blind? I'm must be dumbest pony in the whole kingdom!”

“I don't think your intelligence makes you a bad pony,” he replied, keeping on his smile of pure kindness. “Smart, dumb, I think you're very good at what you do. Maybe you’re not book smart, but you’re not as oblivious as you think you are. Do you really think you aren’t smart enough?”

The Captain slowly moved her eyes toward Chrysalis, who was now making rules about how everyone should toast her, and only her, after the ceremony. Sunburst touched Sonata's shoulder gently. “Not her, you. Do you think you’re as oblivious as you think you are? Because I remember someone...” The headache throbbed and he fought it, squeezing Sonata's shoulder. “I remember someone who believed in you, who knew you could do great things. And you believed what she said.”

Sonata wanted to pull herself away but she didn't. “Why are you trying to be so nice to me? You know what I do your sister, there's no way you don't know!”

“I know you pick on her so you feel better about yourself.” Sunburst looked Sonata in her eyes and she couldn't move. “But is bullying Sunset ever going to make you like yourself? Is it ever going to stop Chrysalis from saying all those mean things? If you had just one pony who liked you, the real you...would it make up for everything?”

“How am I supposed to think with everyone yammering?!” Chrysalis then yelled, startling the stallion and the mare, but she wasn't talking about them. She flew to an open window, poking her head out. “KEEP IT DOWN!” She then paused as she realized what she was looking at. “Huh. Everyone must be really eager to come to my wedding, they're all here early!”

Confused, Sonata jogged up to Chrysalis's side and looked outside. It seemed as if the entire village was at the castle doors, pounding the walls and demanding to be let in, moaning in pain and slumping their bodies against one another. Sonata was perhaps a little slower than the next pony, but even she could see what this was. “Your Highness, they're not here to attend the party, they're here to crash it!”

“Don't be stupid...well, it's you, of course you're going to be stupid.” Chrysalis clicked her tongue. “They wouldn't dare try to ruin my big day! They all love me! And if they don't love me, you know exactly what to do. Or do I have to spell it out for you, dimwit?”

Had Sunburst not spoken to Sonata minutes before, the shard in her heart would've stayed the same size. But he had, so it grew, and Sonata frowned, her teeth grinding. “...Take that back.”

Chrysalis ignored her, waving down at the peasants. “You all better have decent gifts! I'm not accepting anything less than the best!”

“I'm talking to you,” Sonata thundered, drawing himself up as straight as she could. “And I told you to take that back.”

“That reminds me, where's your gift?” Chrysalis pointed at Sonata, ignoring the clear danger right in front of her. “Or you don’t know what it is? Ha! Where do I come up with-”

“YOU INSULT ME ONE MORE TIME AND I'LL RIP OUT YOUR MOLARS!” Sonata grabbed Chrysalis by the collar of her robes and yanked her in close. “I'm sick of it! Day in, day out, it's dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb! WELL GUESS WHAT I’M NOT DUMB?!”

Chrysalis dropped her check-list, and Sunburst took the opportunity, waving the old stallion into the next room for safety. “Hey, easy, easy!” Chrysalis held up her hoofs. “They're just jokes! Why are you taking them so seriously?”

“BECAUSE YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO FINDS THEM FUNNY!” Sonata roared, spittle flying all over Chrysalis's face. “I don't like hating myself! I don't like being used as punching bag! I don't like how you treat me! And if working for you means I don't like myself, then I QUIT!”

“You can't quit, YOU'RE FIRED!” Chrysalis yelled right back, slamming her forehead into Sonata's – and with that shove, she didn't feel her groom snatching something away. “Anyone in this kingdom would be more than happy to take your place! I hope you enjoy prison food, because that's what you're going to have for the rest of your life! GUARDS!”

But the guards didn't come right away to take Sonata. They were too busy with the invasion – as exhausted and agonized as the villagers were, there was enough of their numbers to force the door open and pour inside. The weight of the spell came with them, striking each guardsman with a headache and crippling everyone inside the castle. Sonata fell to her haunches, and Chrysalis staggered to a wall, breathing haphazardly. She wiped spit from her mouth, reaching to her neck. “Fine! I'll lock you up myself! It'll be your wedding gift to me!” But when she reached to grab her keys, they weren't there.

Chrysalis looked up, and saw Sunburst fleeing into the next room, and horror struck her like a punch to the face. “NO! You get back here, you little brat!” She shoved Sonata aside and chased after the wizard, ignoring all the servants and guards who were collapsing from the weight of the spell. All around them, the kingdom was dying, yet nothing would stop the mad-mare and the stallion.

Sunburst managed to find the room first, and it took three keys to find the right one that clicked it open. He could hear Chrysalis screaming down in the hallway, describing what she would do to him in great detail, and once inside he slammed the door knowing he had only seconds to spare. The miracle was in here, and all he had to do was find it, and surely—he turned around—surely it would be—

The room was empty.

No paintings, no furniture, no books, nothing that would contain a hint to the witch's name. Chrysalis had thrown everything away, keeping her hold on the kingdom secure without knowing it. Sunburst slowly sank down, hopeless tears dripping down his pale cheeks. All he had done, all he was sacrificing, it was for nothing. He would lose himself, his family, his friends, his cherished love, despite trying his best. He would forget everything, and the witch would be lost forever. Even now, the last of what he remembered was fleeing.

Sunset's happy announcement of her new job at the castle.

Flash giving teasing tips on how to win a mare over.

Big Mac and Sugar Belle inviting everyone over for a celebratory dinner.

The witch, when she was a princess, telling Sunburst and only Sunburst about that mysterious book in her father's floor...

… In her father's floor. In her father's floor. In her father's—

Like father, like daughter.

Sunburst looked down at the floor, where he'd fallen on his back legs—his front hoofs prodded on the floorboard directly beneath him, and there was a hollow sound—like something was hidden—

Chrysalis slammed open the door. “You're going to pay for this! Being my husband was too good for you!”

Sunburst grabbed the edges of the secret door—the witch had never thought to lock it, Chrysalis had not thought to look for a secret she didn't know existed—Chrysalis reached out to grab him— and there inside was a single golden ring—she was pulling him by the tail and he grabbed the ring, able to see an inscription on the inside, and he read it out as loudly as he could

“To Sunburst, my husband, my one and only, with all my love – Starlight Glimmer!”

And in that last, desperate instant, everyone remembered.

“Big Mac, I don't want you to worry about a thing,” Starlight said as she helped Big Mac lay down in bed. “For all your service towards the kingdom, the kingdom will now pay its service to you.” She smiled, and put a hoof to her chest, turning towards Sugar Belle. “Health shouldn't be a question of rich or poor... I will see to that.” She hugged her, and Starlight laughed, hugging her back.

“Are you kidding?” Starlight mused, lightly nudging Flash with her elbow. “Sunset's head over heels for you, you should absolutely ask her out! And I, uh, know a thing or two about being head over heels for someone.” This she said rather quickly, blush on her cheeks. “She’s not going to care about the differences between your families. Just ask her, I know she'll say yes, if she doesn't shout it from the rooftops first!”

“You're great at what you do, and that's why you're here!” Starlight shook Sonata's hoof, waving around enthusiastically at the safe kingdom around them. “And we should tell you that much more often! I don't ever want you looking down at yourself again, okay?” She lightly punched Sonata's arm, knowing she'd barely feel it. “If you ask me, it’s never too late to better yourself!”

“I guess I am kinda jealous of what you and Sunburst have,” Starlight admitted in-between chews, knowing that when she was around Sunset Shimmer, she was allowed to ignore table manners. “I don't think Chrysalis and I will ever have that. You're a great sister. Makes me wish you were my sister.” Then, with a little chuckle, she wiped her muzzle with her arm. “Maybe you should be everyone's sister! The official kingdom big sister! Ha, ha, ha!”

“I'm not going to let you ruin everyone's life because of your selfishness, Chrysalis!” Starlight jabbed her hoof into Chrysalis's chest, refusing to back down. “The kingdom deserves better! So you can either support us, or you can move aside! Either way, this kingdom is not going to have you for a ruler! And if you ever come near Sunburst again, I swear everyone in the village will be after your head!”

“I love you,” Starlight held Sunburst's hoof together in her own, sitting on his work table, the sunlight bathing them both in his quaint house. “I love you so much, I...I don't know what to do, or what to say, or even how to think! And if you'll let me, I want to be with you forever! I want to make a million wonderful memories with you! I love you, I love you, I love you!”

When Sunburst opened his eyes, a golden flurry of straw swept the room, and he and Chrysalis watched in stupefied wonder as a shadow walked out of the dying hurricane. There stood the witch—there stood Princess Starlight Glimmer, the proper heir to the throne, in all her regal wonder. She was probably going to say something clever and dramatic, maybe involving puns, and once again Sunburst threw off her script, jumping into her arms and kissing her with the weight of a thousand missed opportunities. This time Starlight didn't fight off the urge to return his affection, and she held him tightly and meet his lips with everything she'd held back.

Chrysalis, who remembered who this was and knew exactly how much trouble she was in, hoped she could escape before the lovers remembered a third party was in the room. But when she backed up, her body hit several roadblocks. She ever so slowly turned around to see Sonata Dusk, Sunset Shimmer, Flash Sentry, Big Mac, Sugar Belle, and several highly miffed villagers. Their headaches were gone, so now they could be as angry as they pleased. And boy were they angry.

“Uh,” was all Chrysalis could get out, waving her thin hoof meekly. “So...I guess saying 'forgive and forget' would be in bad taste?”

Chrysalis possibly would have been tarred and feathered that very second if Starlight hadn't finally chosen to pry her mouth away from Sunburst's and clear her throat. “Hi, everybody!”

All eyes flew to the better princess, and there came a joyous cry of “STARLIGHT!” Chrysalis was then trampled by eager villagers running in to hug and embrace their friend and true leader, tears of joy streaming down their faces. Many began recalling their memories out loud, dancing in glee as the best of times were properly returned. Sunburst kept pulling Starlight back to him, flooding her with kisses, none of which Starlight objected to. Again, Chrysalis tried to make an escape, and again, she was prevented, this time by the combined forced of Sonata and Sunset, who gave each other wistful smiles as they propped up the tyrant toddler.

Starlight frowned as she faced her nefarious elder sister, who in turn gulped. “Oookay. So, I didn't exactly handle things well. But!” She sighed sadly, putting an arm on her forehead. “You don't understand! All I ever wanted was to be loved! Is that so wrong?”

“Yes. Yes, it is.” Starlight flipped her magical staff and poked it into Chrysalis's chest. “You can't flick your horn and make everybody love you! Love is earned! You never did anything to earn pony's love, and you made the entire kingdom suffer for it! But no matter what you did, you could never make these amazing ponies give up! Give me one!” A hard poke. “Single!” And another. “Solitary! Reason! I shouldn't lock you up for every day you hurt them!”

To be fair, Chrysalis did try to think it over, her eyes darting about before resting on Sunburst, who was standing protectively by Starlight's side, glaring at his almost-wife. “Because...we're family! You wouldn't really throw your big sister away in the dungeon, would you? Come on!” She broke free of Sonata and Sunset's grasp, getting on her hunches and begging. “Just tell me what I can do to stay free! Come on, there's got to be something!”

Starlight paused for a moment, glancing at Sunburst, and then held her chin. “Hmmm... I guess there's one thing you could do. And if you did it, I'd let you stay out of the dungeon.”

Chrysalis tried not to grin. What a sucker, she'd be free and back in control in no time! “You just name it!”

Starlight leaned in, smiling. “All you have to do... is turn all that gold back into straw.”

“...What.”

“Well, all that gold would completely throw off our economy!” Starlight quipped, waving in the guards to hoist Chrysalis up. “But we sure could use that straw to keep everybody fed. So, when you can turn it all back, that's when I'll let you out. Where's the book, so you can learn how to do it?” But judging by Starlight's winning grin, she knew precisely what had already happened to the enchanted tome.

Chrysalis's jaw dropped, and once she was dragged out of the room, she let out a long, agonizing moan of true and utter defeat. She kicked her feet and wailed like a child, unable to blame anyone but herself for getting in to this disaster.

With the eyesore gone, the villagers resumed celebrating, and Sunset slapped Starlight and Sunburst on the back. “It's good to have you back, Starlight! This place just wasn't the same without you – we weren't the same without you! And you saved my brother just in time!”

“I didn't save anyone,” Starlight calmly objected, a hoof on her heart. “Sunburst saved himself! You all did! This kingdom would be nothing without the great ponies in it... and I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long.” She was about to ask Sunburst's forgiveness for her initial cowardice, but when she saw her wedding ring now on his horn, she could see he'd already forgiven her.

She wasn't the only one who saw it. Sugar Belle let out a giant “OOOH!” Before she and her chicken clapped. “If that's what I think it is, then Chrysalis did one thing right! She helped set up a wedding, and now we can have one right here and right now! Let's toast the new couple, and-”

“Are you nuts?” Sunset interrupted, back to her usual temper. “Starlight just returned! She's got a million and one things to fix before she can get married! This isn't some fairy tale where there's a wedding and happily ever after, we've got real work to do!”

Starlight couldn't help but laugh, glad to see that the same wisdom Sunset used to bestow upon Starlight hadn't changed at all. “She's right! I think, for now, we're just engaged... if Sunburst doesn't mind, that is.”

Sunburst looked up at his ring. For the first time in ages, his head was free of pain and doubt. All of his memories had returned, and he treasured all of them. But as much as he wanted to officially become Starlight's husband, there were still plenty of new memories to make – restoring the kingdom, easing the taxes, and the castle could use a good clean up. Starlight was here now, and she wasn't going anywhere.

He rolled his shoulders. “My fiancée knows very well that it wouldn't be a happy wedding if I knew all of you were still stuck in such sorry conditions.” He smirked to see Starlight turn that familiar shade of red. “It's time we made more memories, ones we will never ever forget! It's time we welcomed Starlight back home!” He stood by Starlight's left side, and Sunset stood on her right. Without waiting for Starlight to catch up, they ran ahead, their merry laughter echoing in the hall. Sonata offered to help Big Mac as they exited the castle, and even though night was settling and the moon was rising, no one could even dream of sleeping.

Everyone in the village continued to say Starlight's name over and over, afraid that if it went unspoken for a moment it would be forgotten again. It would take time for Chrysalis's damage to be entirely healed, but with a familiar voice cheering them on, the villagers knew it could be done. There would be a wedding—there would be many weddings—but there was no rush to see a bride or a bouquet now that time was theirs again, now that their lives were safe.

Some wrote down this cautionary tale so it would be remembered, others performed it in plays and puppetry. But Starlight decided to remember it in her own way, and when her day of great happiness arrived, she had commissioned an elaborate golden cloak with hints of straw within the fringes as a gift to her husband. Like any good cloth, it was used time and time again—resewn into swaddling blankets for children, cut into patches for repairing her sister-in-law clothes, and tucked into pillows for a kiss of good luck. It passed into legend that because of this, soon every villager had a piece of this golden cloth for their own. In years to come, this would cause the Crystal Kingdom to be known also as the golden kingdom, with its shining King and loving Queen.

Memories are odd things. No matter how desperately you wish to hold onto them, you will forget in time. The details will fade, the colors will lose their illumination, but the feeling they gave will still be there. The taste of a kiss can drift, but the love that beats whenever one looks upon that special person will stay forever. It was because of this that eventually Starlight forgot the kindly alicorn who had helped her out decades ago.

But the alicorn didn't forget – truth be told, she never forgot Starlight's name in the first place. She was far too powerful to let her own spell overcome her. It'd been a little white lie in order to make the girl return home and set things right. In the end, she decided that perhaps the Crystal Kingdom no longer needed magic, and it was time to find another kingdom that could use some kindness... if they gave kindness in return.

To be fair, she'd never told Starlight her real name either. She never cared for it too much, so, he had settled on a simple nickname, and allowed her real name to be forgotten in the sands of time. With the book of spells in her saddle bag– the alicorn chuckled to herself, amused that anyone thought mere fire could destroy her work – she whistled an old song and headed to the next kingdom.

“Tonight, tonight, my plans I make, tomorrow, tomorrow, a friend I'll take, true love always wins the game, for Twilight Sparkle is my name.”

Author's Note

It's finished! Even though it has had a poor reception compared to my other stories, I feel accomplished with this one. This was fun to write and left me wanting to write more stories like this (poor reception none withstanding) I have a few other obscure fairy tales adaptations floating around in my brain, I hope to get around them someday.

And for those who stuck around till the end, you have my thanks. :heart: