I was at that terrible party again.

Since our first Gala, Pinkie worked towards making it more fun and pleasurable for everyone. This party was the culmination of those efforts. Better music, more delicious food, not-so-snobby ponies! Even polka and MMMM were included, although I have no idea how she convinced Cakes to make it.

It almost feels like I'm there, but at the same time not there, it's like reading a book.

Ahh. Here she goes. Me of the past, awkwardly entering the palace late because I/she was late preparing my/her speech. The new dress was shining on her brighter than the stars and moon together; the dress that she spent eternity on because she knew that this Gala would be special.

The dress was destroyed. I suspected that it was because only my flesh was turned into stone, while the dress was only surrounded by it. Time can destroy anything, even the most exquisite fabrics.

Heh. There are Sunburst with Cheerilee arguing about the best teaching methods, while Flurry snores on his back.

And there's an orange pony with apples on her flank arguing with a blue pony with a rainbow mane. I know their argument was really silly because the rainbow pony left as soon as I came.

My best guess was that she left the little fillies room. Although her face cringed a little weirdly.

All the friends I forgot I had. The flaws that made us. All adventures and all that stuff that we experienced together was the product of our friendship.

Those two, a green pony with turtles and a griffon leaving to, I imagined, find a room.

*giggles*

And that weird coldness that was following me. Like some kind of snake.

I could feel the picture screaming at me with it’s wrongness, with everything weird, like pineapples instead of lavender in pots below the roof, but I never noticed it because of…

Twilight. Her beautiful contagious smile and blushed cheeks. The way she looks at me makes my heart skip a beat even now. The dress I made for her all those years ago for our first Gala looked brand new on her. But she isn’t herself. The moment she saw me, she began walking away with some kind of excuse.

The climax of the party was supposed to be me publically asking her out…

Instead,

No. Don’t make me watch it again!

The party never reached its ending.

*Gasp*

I jumped out of a rather rough bed and almost immediately face-planted the floor. My nostrils began burning.

“For the chaos of Discord, why is there so much dust?!” Dry throat turned my attempt of screaming into a husky whisper and throat pain.

Why does it feel like a hangover… Hope I wasn’t wrong about those two and they didn’t drug me…

I jumped up, trying to land on my hooves, but they slid into different directions, forcing me back on the floor where I finally caught the smell.

Oh, that smell, it was awful, the rot wasn’t even the worst part of it! It smelt like a year-long uncleared toilet.

“What are you doing?” The room filled with soft, warm, calming light and I saw Gold in a door frame. It still was too dark to see his face, but I believe it was filled with confusion.

I wasn’t thinking about it then, but my mind, as everyone else’s isn’t that simple. While you might be actively thinking about something, your subconsciousness works in the background doing tonnes of little things. One of those things, collecting puzzles into pictures. Gold was one of those pieces.

It’s like when you try to create a dress. You might not know why you hate a specific combination of fabrics and colours, but your mind still forces you to change it.

Seeing him made me feel a little calmed and stressed. All that happened was real, but what else was real. I really hoped that Twilight that I saw while I was in space also was real. It was just too hard to believe that it was a hallucination, especially that kiss.

*click!*

The room lit up, revealing all the horrors that it contained. Trash, ‘biowaste,’ even pink toys I didn’t want to think about filled it. And many things I didn’t even want to know about. I, as the main exhibit, was in the centre. The bed I was laying on before — a table.

“Where am I?!” I cried with a genuine fear of illnesses or being betrayed by him. Although could I even be betrayed? I didn’t know his intentions, or even if they were friends to me. I could only judge them based on that one or two-hour-long escape, in which they seemed really friendly; but what they were showing me could’ve been a deception, I’m the one to know the benefits of lying…

He looked at the door, and said with a serious voice, “Room C137. I hid you here to… well… to be sure you and your body are safe while I was away. I would give you my room, but I already lent it to someone.”

What had I got myself into? The phrase ‘keep your body safe’ only brings a few really awful thoughts to my mind.

“Stallions here can do such things to ladies?!” I raised my voice almost to the point of screeching. I maybe even slightly deafened myself.

He rolled his eyes, “Not just Stallions. Any creature with a rotten heart would do so gladly. Hence why I hid you here. And no, the possibility of doing anything bad to you didn’t even cross my mind,” he looked in a random direction, rubbing his head, ”I said that to build up some trust between us, a book about friendship suggested it.”

This new world seemed worse with each second. I even lowered my expectation to the minimum, yet it still somehow was managing to impress me. At least there were a few good things. I looked at the stallion with soft judging eyes.

“Don’t tell me you’re trying to learn friendship by book. I mean, it already led you to hide me in this god-awful place where I could’ve gotten raped by anyone!” It brought him dangerously close to her, to not the best side of her. Reminds me of that time how we had a slumber party in the library.

“Don’t worry! Not everyone is so bad here. It’s like they say ‘Don’t paint everyone black because of a rotten few!’ Ahm… rotten third… half?” By the end, his voice slightly quieted down. Perhaps he slightly lowered his pink glasses, or maybe he didn’t want me to begin questioning him.

Seeing my unimpressed look, he sighed. “Don’t think you won. I’ll continue hoping for a better future, and the future is in this place!” He turned around and left through the door, waving me to follow.

I got up and fell again almost immediately. Pain surged through my body once again; I had already begun to get used to it. The holes were gone, but it felt like my other hoof wasn’t alright.

He quickly ran to me and looked around. “Ooh… Ahm… gimme a sec,” he plunged his head into a pair of nearby saddlebags. Seconds after, he pulled out a small syringe filled with green liquid and stuck it into me without asking.

Rude.

The pain was gone but the hoof felt wrong, like pale numbness. The smell and the feeling of dryness in my nose also disappeared. “Painkiller?” His nod made me roll my eyes, but in my mind, I thanked him for doing it. I was slightly afraid of needles and if I had my choice, I would probably turn it down.

“Here, take these. I put your bracelet there, a few more painkillers and a flash device for the bracelet; it should contain some information I found about the past few decades,” he handed me the bags. “Oh! And also I found a gem in the suit you used. It’s in there. You can do whatever you want with it.”

I levitated those bags to me. His face lit up with curiosity. “What are those divine powers of yours?” His eyes were brighter than foal’s on a Heartwarming eve.

I raised my eyebrow. “Magic? Any unicorn can do it!” Only now did I notice his horn, it was more pale compared to the rest of his body.

Perhaps something changed in the past… Luckily now I have some information about it. It also brings up the question of how long I was stuck in the stone and how fashion changed.

His hood flew back and he looked up, tensing up a bit. “It’s not working for me. I can’t… I don’t think any of us can? Not like there’s much of us anyway…” His eyes widened up a bit and he looked at me. “Listen, you don’t know anything about this world, you’re a divine unicorn with god-like powers, you’re white and you love art, right?”

I nodded slightly. Not all of this was true. Those powers and my powers for sure aren’t god-like, Twilight’s maybe. And I wasn’t sure how artsy I was. I know I made that dress I saw in my dream/past. But there was no reason for me to say no.

“Come after me!” He jumped out of the room and rocketed down the empty corridor.

At my request, he kindly slowed down, and we slowly walked. Grey walls and rare doors sometimes added some colour to the corridor, but all in all, it was empty.

To simply put it, our walk was long and boring.

“So… where are we?” I tried to dilute the mundane walking. I live in this world now and I guess I need to start learning about it.

He was silent for a few steps. We stopped near the end of a corridor. A door, similar to others, polluted the surroundings with a cacophony of muted noises. “M’lady, let me introduce you to,” he pushed the door open, “Syndicate’s main base. Stick close to me and everything will be fine!”

A whole world opened in front of me. Thousands of creatures were walking inside of it. Griffons and pegasi were flying above us, looking down with upturned noses. The ground under them was polluted with other creatures for some of which I didn’t even know a name.

The cacophony didn’t end on creatures. Flashing lights were all around the place, some advertised shops and different stuff, and some were just depicting the art of different kinds.

Floors towered up to the sky and down to the hells of Equus, which was probably far away from whatever planet we were on. I couldn’t even count how many floors I saw from down there. It made me feel small, like a little sewing needle on a giant dress.

Something poked me in the back. “Let’s go.”

“Syndicate?”

He shrugged. “That’s what I and some others call its place. Creatures united here with a sole reason to be free and well… they’re free. No slavery or blackwork. But it comes with a price. Laws aren’t exactly strict and… bad things happen… And it is also really hard to keep this place running when you’re constantly getting attacked by different governments and impudents thinking it’s easy to rob this place.” He stopped for a second and looked into the ceiling. “Honestly, I think it only strengthens this place. We are all together against everyone else.”

"And everyone else is?" I asked with genuine confusion and concern for whatever I was tangling myself into. On the other alternative I can just escape and find my own way?

“Help, somebody!” A sudden scream came from a dark corridor. Three figures were quickly moving there and it was obvious that something wasn’t right.

Gold quickly stepped behind me and began pushing me forward. “Don’t pay attention and go quickly. We can’t help her right now,” he said like almost nothing was going on. By his tone, I could guess that It was happening a lot here.

Leave her there? And he says that he believes in this place! I can’t keep with him, I need to find my own way after.

I stopped, forcing Gold to fall, and turned around. Changing my pace into trot, I quickly reached the source of screams — a corridor was something like a dead-end alley and the figures were right at the end of it. Two of them were moving rapidly and the other one was still, almost motionless.

“Stop that!” I screamed, igniting my horn up. Rage filled the emptiness in my stomach I forgot existed, and my hooves felt hard like stone. The silhouettes slowed down and I could see their eyes reflecting dim light from my horn.

One of them made a really loud stomp towards me. “What did you just say?!” he said with a voice devoid of any elegance and modulation, it was just awful and gravelly. A perfect voice for some alley-bully. Time to be a hero again…

“I said…” My horn lit up a bit more and I coughed a few times. “STOP THAT!” burst out of my mouth with enormous rage and loudness. A bottle near them exploded into a million pieces and wetted them with whatever was inside. A simple voice amplification spell.

The one who was behind winced, while the other proceeded forward. “That’s all? Some cheap tricks? Joe, take her!” He began trotting towards me.

A hoof from behind pulled me out of his way and Gold slid right past me. He stepped between us. “Don’t you dare touch her!” He reminded me of a stereotypical hero from some book that always stays in front of a mare in distress; sadly that illusion was quickly destroyed by him getting hit in the face by a bully's hind-hooves.

“Now that your protector is out, you’ll pay.” He began menacingly walking towards me. Gold was out cold a few steps from me. Tartarus!

I began stepping back, looking for an answer to this riddle and I could believe I just found it. A can of trash standing a few metres behind him. Focusing my magic while slowly backing away, I tried to levitate it as quietly as I possibly could.

He fell to the ground as the can crushed him. “I guess you’ll have to take money from me next time.” A cheesy one-liner as all stereotypical heroes do.

“Whatever you did. You shouldn’t have. Those ‘bullies’ as you called them… They are law enforcers,” he said. His face cringed as he realised how it sounds. “Foreseeing your question. Yes. I know it’s awful. But I ask you to consider the following, do you think I would stay here if there was someplace better?”

I had nothing to protest. I wasn’t a politician pony, neither did I see what’s with this world. All I could do then was just to follow Gold hoping for a purpose or an opportunity to fall on my head from out of nowhere. Leaving him would probably bring death to me.

“Eh. You were good yourself. If you didn’t kick the second one he would’ve got me. You have some strong hooves, just like my friend used to have.” I remembered an orange pony with apples.

He sighed. “It’s ok if you don’t want to stay here. If everything works out as I hope it will, this place as well as the rest of all civilizations will rise and unite under the rule of one true leader from the past. So let’s hope I was right and that this leader is you.”

What?!

He opened a door and quickly pushed me in without letting me ask even a single question.

Dim lighting enveloped us and my fur seemed yellow-coloured. But what was worse was the room itself. It was almost empty — a single mud-coloured table and a chair of the same colour. Two doors and a clock. Orange tiled floor. And a single pony sitting in the chair. He wore a black business suit with a red tie.

“Ah, Gold, finally decided to show up, I see? Would you be so kind as to surprise me with a success or disappoint with another failure?” he said with the most emotionless voice I ever heard. Afterwards, he took a sip out of a black mug. “And please be so kind as to acquaint me with your…” he took a pause, looking over at me, “simple friend.”

My urge to show the disgust I had was stopped by Gold stepping forward. “Sire. The mission didn’t go as planned, but! I have a strong reason to believe that this,” he pointed a hoof at me, “Might be her. The old ruler of Equestria — Princess Sweetie Belle.” He did a little bow and stepped to the side, signalling me to go forward.

Princess Sweetie Belle? Me? A princess? No, that can’t be true, Twilight was the princess, and I know I’m not her! And what kind of a name is Sweetie Belle?

“Step forward then, Princess. We’ll see if you’re another fake to follow this idiot,” he said with slight disgust and disappointment. But I was too stunned to do anything. My mind was racing trying to find anything that could contradict it, but there was none. For all, I knew I could’ve been that Princess. I could’ve been Sweetie Belle.

Gold stepped closer to me and began pushing me forward again. “As we all know, after the fall of the old world, the true Princesses took over the throne and the new age began, but in the end, no one knows what happened to them. And for all I know, she might be the one, she matches the description perfectly! The way she speaks, her colours and her manners, I even saw her doing art and her voice is amazing! Sweetie Belle was a brilliant singer!”

But if that is true, what does it mean to… It can’t be true. It just can’t. I know I wasn’t the princess, I was in love with the princess and nothing more. I was her friend. On the other side of the dress, he said true Princesses.

“Enough. Gold, it isn’t the first time, I know that story… But tell me, do you really believe that this dirty simpleton could really be her Majesty?”

Gold dashed forward. “Yes, I do!”

Simpleton?

“And are you really sure that it isn’t a mistake like with others you brought to me?”

Dirty?

The anger boiled in me like never before. Years trapped in stone made me soft and more sensitive. I maybe was some kind of a ‘friendly’ pony, but I wasn’t about to allow some dirty rag to call me simple.

“Excuse you! How dare you call me ‘a a dirty simpleton’? Do you even know who I am?” He shook his head. “Me neither, but it doesn’t give you a right to call me dirty or simple. It doesn’t give you a right to cross me out of a ‘princess list’! Who do you think you are, darling?!”

The pony behind the desk brought his hoof to his face. “Interesting,” he mumbled and stepped away from his table.

“Gold, as you could’ve heard, one specific name had resurfaced recently. One of your ex-princess candidates — Scoot.” Gold’s eyes lit up. “She has a deal for Syndicate — a chance for an old artefact worth more than all Starlit’s gold, but she wants specifically you to aid her in this. In return, she promised us that the money and whatever you find there will be ours. She didn’t specify anything else.”

“No,” he said with a face full of rage.

The pony in front raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me? Didn’t you forget who’s in charge? And didn’t you forget who owes me?”

Gold lowered his head.

“That’s better. Leave now and take your girlfriend. And don’t you even dare to fail this one.”

After we left the room, Gold wasn’t himself. All the joy and optimism I saw in him before, disappeared, leaving no trace. He kept looking into the ground all the way back.

I tried to lift his spirit up, but he just kept ignoring me and answering with grunts.

Nothing happened until we reached the lowest floor, the floor where I woke up. There were much fewer creatures than before, and I saw a rather horrible picture. A row of ponies sitting on the ground, asking for money.

At the beginning of the row was a little filly. Her grey fur was covered by dirt and her brown mane was roughly cut, making it look ugly. Her body was dotted with abrasion.

I came closer to her and gave her that gem from my bags. It may have almost killed me but it's worth something.

In the end, I don’t know much. Maybe I should consider his point of view. For one thing, I know for sure, this place needs someone. Those poor ponies, awful designs, perhaps someone needs to fix it.

“Can you finally stop?!” I cried. We finally were in the hangar. A pretty familiar ship stood in the corner, with bits of smoke coming from it periodically. I guess a few dents can’t harm that girl. But some colours would do wonders!

He stopped right next to the ship. “Ugh. Fine. Maybe meeting an old friend will help us. Sorry for not telling you about the princess stuff earlier. I feared that you might just run away. If it’s worth something, I really believe that you might be a princess.” I maybe wasn’t Applejack, but I could feel the sincerity in his voice.

Probably long contacts with her taught me a few things… Applejack. She also must be alive!

Pinkie. Twilight. Applejack. Flutter-something. Rainbow. And I. I couldn’t forget about us, could I? Those names came with such ease when I wasn’t thinking about them, but why couldn’t I remember before?! And what’s more importantly, where could they be now?!

I levitated that hideous bracelet out of my bags and put it on. “How do I use it?”

A few boring lessons and guides later, I got enough abilities to use a notebook. I documented everything I managed to remember plus some clues including my dream.

“Ok… Listen, we need to find five more statues. And not to be a party-pooper, but I’m not a Princess. Name Sweetie Belle does ring a bell, but it doesn’t resonate with my soul. And I bet you that if we find other statues everything will become more clear,” I tried to explain to him. He was half focused on me, the other half focused on piloting the ship.

From here it seems so easy to control it. A joystick and a few dozen buttons.

He pushed another button and left his chair. “Huh, other statues are also alive? I guess it wasn’t a double coincidence then.” He looked at my bracelet, where I tried to illustrate my friend as to how I remembered them (Although I think I drew Fluttershy a bit chubbier than in reality). “I might know someone who can help us, but it’s for later. Now, we need to complete this contract or all four of us, including J who is doing something else right now, might not live another day.”

Huh. He isn’t with us? But I thought…

“Wait, who’s fourth?” An immediate question came to my mind. By his smirk and the stuff he said before, I tried to guess, “Is it someone who unfroze before me?”

He looked slightly impressed. “Not just someone. One of the best pilots this world has seen. She calls herself Scoots, while I call her Scootaloo, like one of the lost princesses of the past. Perhaps seeing her might shine some light on you.” All that time he was keeping his cards a secret. Scootaloo, whose name did ring another bell, his knowledge of the past and his intentions towards me. It pushed me onto a thought of What else could be hiding?

For the rest of our flight, I spent by drawing images of space in the notebook and reading the information that Gold left to me. History wasn’t my favourite subject, but when it’s combined with clothes of the past it becomes something unbelievably interesting.

It led me to read a book named ‘Costarious army now and then'.

Author's Note

Well. It is what it is. I wish I could make it better, but I wrote it while being not in the best mood.