With a burst of white light, Light Flare appeared in the living room of her small cabin, breathing heavily. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down, to regain control of herself. Her mane, which had begun to move slowly, froze, but no matter how hard she tried, it did not return to a dull tone, and her eyes suffered the same fate. Despite the fact that she managed to eliminate the yellow color, the bright fuchsia remained, proof that her spirit and her fury, were present again, running through her veins with the same force as centuries ago.

Her eyes focused on her hoof, the hoof she had worn to end Rough's life, still stained with blood. With a sigh, she ignited her horn and enveloped it in a magical aura that was no longer dull yellow, but now golden, reflecting that her long dormant power was now awaker. The blood began to evaporate little by little, disappearing from her fur, and as it did, the mare thought of what she had done as she let her instincts take control of her. Everything built in Sproutville was destroyed. She had partially lied to Scroll, it was true that the Hive would not waste their troops looking for her, as long as she left the village, because if she stayed there, the changelings would come for her.

And she had also lied about knowing if he committed any injustice, she did not have a spell capable of doing that, but she knew very well the kind of pony the mayor was, unlike his son, he would obey her, as long as he believed there would be serious consequences. But to maintain that illusion, she had to leave before the changelings came for her. When the blood completely disappeared, she walked over to her kitchen table, taking her bag of bits out of her saddlebags, which she also took out of her body, and set it down on the wood before she walked over to her bedroom. Flashing her horn, she pushed aside her bed, revealing a trapdoor she hadn't opened in a long time. Opening it, inside she found a set of travel bags, much larger than the ones she had, but not quite an exploration kit. She was supposed to use it in about 5 or 7 years, but recent events forced her to go ahead.

Setting the saddlebags aside, she pulled out another object wrapped in a gold blanket, its color faded with time. Carefully, she unwrapped it, revealing an ancient book that told the history of Equestria. Making sure the warding spells were still active, she wrapped it back up, closing the trapdoor and walking away with the two items. Putting on the traveling saddlebags, she stows the bit bag, the book, and the smaller saddlebags, after a spell to make them even smaller, on the left side, then moving over to her kitchen cupboards. Taking out the moon tea bag, next to the teapot and cups, she put it away on the right side.

Once everything was ready, she went outside to the warehouse, where she began to place the rest of her harvest in her cart, anchoring herself to it before starting to leave the farm where she had lived for the last few years. As she advanced, she lit her horn, dousing all the torches until all was dark, her magic the only thing that lit her path. Light Flare began to walk along the dirt road that would lead to the town, trying to think of a place to be her next destination, a secluded place, where she would not raise suspicions, and if possible, a place where injustices were not an everyday problem, she doubted she could control herself now that her emotions were surfacing again.

Reaching the top of a hill, from which she could see Sproutville, she stopped, thinking. Who was she trying to fool? Currently in Equestria there was not a single place that did not have corruption and injustice, wherever she went, she would see all of that, it was only a matter of time before she would commit an act similar to what she had done again. Her brow furrowed slightly, if it wasn't for those damn changelings none of this would be happening, she wouldn't have to leave her farm, she could continue to ignore the suffering around her without the risk of her emotions getting out of control... and she wouldn't have the image of that ethereal mare in her dreams, further reminding her of her failure, past and present.

Those three had taken all that away from her, all in search of help that would not come... right? Light Flare sighed to herself, despite the hatred she had for them, she knew she had no choice but to follow them, what else was she going to do? She wasn't willing to reveal herself once more to the world, nor to become a savior, that was something that had been left in the past, but at least she could help them a little, a tip here, fight with an enemy there, just enough to satisfy her emotions a little. Still not convinced, she continued on her way to Sproutville, she still had something to do.

On her way she met some ponies, most of them running away, while others watched her from afar, either with fear or with admiration and gratitude. Light Flare walked by without paying them any attention, arriving at the market after a few minutes, quickly spotting Fair Trade at his stall. He was speaking quietly and nervously with Jewelry, who had apparently come out of her shop, and she was the first to see the unicorn, gesturing to her friend, who turned his head and looked at her with concern, approaching at a fast pace. His eyes lingered on her mane and her eyes for a few seconds, confused by their more vivid color, before refocusing on Light Flare.

"May I know what you have done?" he said in an alarmed whisper, his eyes sliding over the market.

"Eliminate a plague" Light Flare growled, her anger surging for a few seconds before fading again.

As Fair Trade looked at the mare in shock, Light Flare began to disengage from her carriage.

"A plague?" Fair said incredulously. "He was a pony, by all the gods!"

"To be fair, he kind of deserved it," Jewelry chimed in, but she trailed off at the look on Fair's face.

"We are nopony to decide that" his gaze went to Light Flare, who was heading to the back of her carriage. "That only belongs to the gods, not to us."

The mare glanced at Fair briefly before using her magic to unload the cargo from her cart.

"Are you listening to me?"

"This is what's left of my harvest" Light Flare said as dhe unloaded the last barrel, ignoring Fair. "Sell it, keep it or throw it away, I don't care what you do, I don't need it anymore."

"You leave?" Jewelry asked in disbelief.

Once again, Light Flare advanced without seeming to listen to her, returning to the front of her wagon. Just before buttoning up, she paused, thinking for a few seconds before looking at Jewelry.

"You told me that your husband had complained that his carriage broke down often, right?"

Jewelry blinked in confusion before slowly nodding.

"Yeah... honestly, I didn't think you even heard that..."

Light Flare didn't reply, instead backing away from the carriage, glancing briefly at the mare.

"Tell him he can have mine."

Jewelry widened her eyes before looking at the cart, her eyes returning to Light Flare. She was very confused at the time.

"Why are you doing this?" Fair asked, snapping the question out of Jewelry's mouth.

"I have to get out of Sproutville before the changelings come" Light Flare said with a shrug. "The cart and the harvest would get in my way."

"That's not what I meant" Fair growled, pointing with his hoof at the crop left behind by Light Flare. "That's what I mean. Why are you giving me your harvest? Why are you giving Jewelry your carriage?"

Light Flare was silent for a few seconds before shrugging.

“Because you are the only ponies who have agreed to help me and you have accepted me as I am, I guess you are…” Light Flare fell silent, her gaze darting straight ahead, her eyes lost in memories of a previous life. "I guess you are my friends..."

Jewelry looked at Fair for a few moments, studying Light Flare. In all the years they had known her, she had never called them that, never even called them acquaintances, but still, they couldn't disagree.

"I may never approve of what you've done today" Fair began with a frown, sighing a few seconds later. "But I'd be lying if I said what you've done won't bring a little peace to this town... as long as his father doesn't retaliate..."

"He won't, I made sure of it."

Fair looked up immediately, eyeing Light Flare suspiciously.

"Won't you...?" Jewelry began with hesitation.

"He's still alive, if that worries you."

Fair let out a sigh of relief that he didn't know he was holding, glancing back at the unicorn, who was starting to move.

"I don't know where you're going, but I wish you luck."

"And if you run into my husband out there, ask him for help if you need it" added Jewelry with a smile. "I'm sure he'd be happy to do it."

Light Flare walked a few steps before stopping thoughtfully, watching the two ponies.

"Thanks for everything."

"As you said, we are friends and friends take care of each other" Jewelry said with a slight smile.

Light Flare felt a stab of pain in her heart upon hearing those words, awakening forgotten memories trying to come back to the surface. Pushing all of that deeper into her mind, she nodded one last time at the two ponies she had come to think of as friends, and walked away, following the streets that would take her out of the town that had sheltered her for just over 20 years. The ponies watched her go, making no attempt to stop her, even the few guards who worked for the mayor who saw her, and though they gritted their teeth in fury, did nothing, word had spread of what she had done in no time. She at last reached the outskirts, and the mare walked down the dirt road that, long ago, she had taken to get there, and now she was using it to get away from it.

Light Flare walked for a while, having to shine her horn to see where she was going, and after almost half an hour, she came to a fork. In front of her, the path continued indefinitely, entering a frozen desert, thanks to the constant night, and to her right, was the so-called Dead Forest, an immense forest that, unlike others that were cared for, was, as its name indicated it, dead. Its trees lacked any kind of leaves, and its branches were skeletal, few animals lived there. After some more thought, the mare approached the edge of the trees.

Once within inches of entering, Light Flare thought of the three changelings. Their leader, Tweezers, had told her they would wait for her there, but he didn't tell her where exactly. With a small growl, she turned off her horn, leaving her in complete darkness, barely illuminated by the moonlight, and she closed her eyes, concentrating on the inside of her, summoning a power she hardly used. never.

"Forgive me…sister…" she whispered before opening her eyes, which had changed.

Although her irises were still fuchsia, her pupils were now slanted, just like a cat's, but in a short time, they began to dilate, enlarging until they almost covered the entire sclera. Light Flare watched as the world lightened, the darkness receded, and, with a slight adjustment to her eyes, she began to detect traces of magic. Just as she expected, the trees were dark, empty of life, but in the air, further into the forest, there were three traces of green magic. After a few moments, the mare began to move forward and into the Dead Forest.

Everything was silent in the Dead Forest, not even the crickets were heard, the only ones that populated the forest were three changelings. They were resting in what in the past would have been a clearing full of flowers, but now nothing was growing. Their provisions were duly stored in their respective travel bags, which had been hidden with powerful concealment spells cast by the mage of the group. There was no fire or light source, their eyes were adapted to see in the dark, and since they had no need to keep warm thanks to their unique biology, which allowed them to stay hidden. Shell kept her eyes on the starry sky, though she occasionally glanced at her captain, Tweezers, who was staring intently at a map.

"You can speak your mind, Shell" said the changeling without taking his eyes off the map.

"I keep saying we should leave, as soon as possible."

"I told you, the hive won't miss three drones."

"What if they find out you infiltrated in his cell?" Sting intervened, although he seemed to be dozing, he was attentive to his surroundings. "Then we would be in trouble."

"They won't, I made sure of it. Besides, we have to take our chances, we won't be able to leave until she's here."

Shell growled to herself when Tweezers mentioned that mare.

"That mare almost broke your jaw, I don't know why you want her with us."

Tweezers looked up from the map and stared at Shell.

"Because she is The Princess of the Sun. Since we failed in our mission, she is our best chance."

"And what makes you think she's going to help us?" Shell questioned with a frown. "1000 years Tweezers, 1000 years doing nothing, why trust her?"

"He told us that she would help us, that was in her being, she can't help it."

Shell snorted in annoyance, rolling her eyes.

"If I remember correctly, the legends say that even when he was an ally of Equestria, he was a prankster and a liar. Do you really think he told you the truth?"

Tweezers was silent for a few moments, heaving a sigh to himself.

"I don't know…" he admitted at last, dropping his confident attitude. "Honestly, I'm guided more by hope than anything else."

Shell stared at Tweezers for a few more moments before sighing and looking away, letting the discussion end. Time passed slowly, with their captain planning their next move and his subordinates waiting patiently. In a moment, the changeling mare, who had closed her eyes and was beginning to doze off, suddenly perked up, alert, her horn slightly alight in a hue similar to the color of her chitin.

"Something happens?" Tweezers asked getting on alert.

"Something has crossed the magic field" Shell replied as she stood up.

Sting did the same, preparing for combat. Tweezers instead stared at the dead trees, trying to see something with his enhanced vision. After a few minutes, he saw a silhouette approaching, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Calm down, it's her" he said calmly.

His companions looked at each other doubtfully before relaxing their postures, though not without reservations. From among the trees, and out into the clearing, they saw Light Flare, and to the surprise of the three changelings, she was different from how they had seen her the last time. Not only did her mane and her eyes seem more alive, although the latter were extremely dilated, but a much more powerful magical aura emanated from her body.

Shell focused on the mare with a frown, trying to analyze her, and as she did, she noticed that the mare had hundreds of feelings on the surface, all of them trying to impose themselves on the others. Anger, indignation, hatred… but the most powerful, the strongest of all was, to her surprise, sadness, a sadness so deep that the changeling mare felt like a bottomless pit. Light Flare's head whipped around in her direction, a spark of anger in her eyes, and suddenly Shell couldn't feel a thing. Confused, the mare focused on the unicorn, who kept her gaze on her.

"I'd appreciate it if my feelings were kept private, thank you" she said with a small groan.

Shell took a few moments to nod, still shocked. She boasted that she could detect any emotion-concealing spell, that was one of the reasons she tracked down that mare in the first place, but now…now she couldn't feel anything coming from her. Tweezers stepped forward, facing Light Flare with a smile and beginning a small bow.

"Thank you for agreeing to help us, your highness..."

"NO."

Tweezers blinked in confusion before looking up, seeing Light Flare staring at him.

"DO NOT call me your highness, or princess, and do not bow to me either."

Tweezers nodded slowly as he stood up.

"Alright...uh...Celes..."

Light Flare growled even more, her hoof hitting the ground hard.

"Least of all call me THAT. That name is dead, my name is Light Flare, NOTHING ELSE."

Tweezers was silent for a few moments before nodding.

"Very well...Light Flare."

"And for the record, if I'm here it's because thanks to you I can't stay in Sproutville. I'm not going to save Equestria, but I can give you some advice."

Tweezers held Light Flare's gaze for a few more moments before nodding.

"As you wish... We'll be leaving in about two more hours."

Shell and Sting looked at each other, unsure what to do before returning to their resting positions, but not relaxing at all. Light Flare held Tweezers's gaze until the changeling could take no more, looking away and returning to the map. The mare glanced over the small group of three before settling down at the far end, her eyes drifting to the stars. She hadn't even been with them an hour and she was already regretting it.

Author's Note

Hey, here I am, I'm not dead . Ok, this chapter took me a little longer than expected, but it's finally here. I don't know very well when the next one will come, since maybe I'll start interspersing chapters of this one with another fic (yes, I go from story to story like a bee from flower to flower ), on August 8 I'm going on vacation , I'm not sure if it's a week or two, so expect a long period of downtime. Goodbye and I hope you liked this chapter.