Old Mare Celestia

The landscape was moving quickly in the window, the few sand dunes, the occasional rocks, everything passed by at great speed. Light Flare observed this from her seat, next to her was Shell, who had decided to take a short nap, having enough space to lie down without disturbing her traveling companion. Across the hall were Tweezers and Sting, the former looking at the scenery that the window next to him showed, and the latter humming a little tune as he thought about his stuff.

The interior of the train was illuminated by various lights that were powered by magical crystals, a valuable resource, especially in Emperor Tirek's territory. There were few passengers with them, something normal, because although the darkness was constant and the moon always ruled the skies, few liked to travel at that time, they preferred to rest and sleep at home. Those who did were either ponies who had gotten a leave of absence from their jobs to visit their loved ones, or had traveled in search of some product they needed, or were working far from their hometowns.

At last, Appleloosa's silhouette began to be seen in the distance, getting bigger and bigger as time passed. A trip that would have taken days on hoof from Dodge City had taken only an hour and a half by train. After a few more minutes, the vehicle began to stop, so many passengers began to get up, including Sting and Tweezers, the latter approaching to wake up Shell. Once everypony was ready, and when the train finally stopped, they went out to the town station. This was considerably larger than the one in Dodge City, with many more spaces for trains that had destinations at various important points throughout Emperor Tirek's territory and other destinations in the Changeling Kingdom.

"Come on, our contact's house isn't far," Tweezers informed as he started off, followed by his companions.

Light Flare surveyed the city with vague interest. It had been many, many years since she had passed through Appleloosa, but her stay there would not be something she would easily forget. After about twenty minutes of walking through the silent streets barely lit by a few torches, they arrived at a simple two-story wooden house. Tweezers approached the door and knocked several times, lowering his hoof and waiting patiently until, at last, the door opened slightly and a unicorn stallion with gray fur and a black mane appeared through the small opening, looking at his guest suspiciously before recognizing his face.

"Ah, Destiny, it's you," he said, a smile spreading across his face and opening the door wide, his gaze moving to the rest of the group. "Come in, come in, feel at home."

The four entered the modest dwelling and left their luggage on the floor, and despite its simplicity, it was larger than the house that Light Flare had had, something that was not very difficult to overcome either. There were several sofas and armchairs arranged for the ponies to sit comfortably, to the right was the kitchen, which had a large table to accommodate guests, and a staircase at the far end that led to the second floor, all illuminated by several lamps powered by magic crystals. The mare looked inside with vague interest before focusing on the unicorn, who, like all ponies native to Emperor Tirek's territory, lacked a cutie mark, something caused by the absence of magic in his body. Despite that, the stallion didn't seem affected by that detail, turning to observe the group with a smile.

"How did your mission to the territory of those bugs go?"

Light Flare couldn't help but notice the hateful tone in the word bugs. Her eyes subtly strayed to Shell who looked away from her host, but other than that, she showed no further discomfort.

"Sort of, Gray" Tweezers said with a shrug, unaffected by the unicorn's attitude. "We were unable to rescue our target."

"That's what you get for trusting a bug. I always tell you, all those bugs are treacherous."

"Yeah…" Tweezers said, keeping his true feelings hidden from him. "But at least we found somepony who will join our cause."

Tweezers gaze went to Light Flare, who couldn't help but snort at that, but otherwise remained silent. The eyes of the apparently named Gray focused on the mare he didn't know, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Really? And who is she?"

"Just a friend we met along the way" Tweezers said with a reassuring smile.

Gray looked at him for a few moments, before shrugging.

"Any friend of yours is my friend...as long as they're not one of those bugs" Gray said before approaching Light Flare with a smile and hoof raised to shake her. "Delighted, Gray Apple."

Light Flare's frown deepened at the name.

"An Apple rejecting his friendship with the changelings? I thought your family was the friendliest in the Three Kingdoms."

Gray frowned at that, lowering his hoof slowly. Out of the corner of her eye, Light Flare watched her companions stare at her with wide eyes.

"And we're friendly, with the creatures that deserve it, and those critters don't deserve friendship."

"If I recall correctly, there is a rogue hive that supports the resistance. Don't they deserve friendship?"

"None of those critters deserve friendship, not even the ones who claim to support us. As soon as they can, they will betray us."

"Do you have proof of that?" asked Light Flare with a raised eyebrow.

"Is it necessary? Those bugs are monsters."

"If that's what you really think, you would put your ancestors to shame."

Gray felt his blood boil with pure rage at hearing that. With a barely suppressed growl of fury, he inched closer to Light Flare.

"What the hell do you know about my ancestors?"

Light Flare watched Gray silently, the distant memory of one mare in particular coming to her.

If what you say is true, then you are my friend.

Light Flare blocked out the memory, keeping her gaze on Gray, not responding. After a few moments, the stallion snorted furiously and turned his back on her.

"You have your rooms as usual," he said, his gaze lingering on Shell. "Your room still has that extra bed, I hope you don't mind sharing it, Book Star."

"Don't worry, it's not something that keeps me up at night."

Despite her words, Light Flare noticed the look Book Star gave her, but kept silent. Gray nodded and continued on his way, stopping to look at Tweezers.

"Choose your friends wisely... or you could have an upset."

Without waiting for an answer, the owner of the house went up the stairs, leaving them alone. Once they heard the door to his room close, the three disguised changelings looked at Light Flare with angry eyes.

"May I know why you did that?" Shell hissed. "He's the only contact we have in Appleloosa, we can't risk losing him."

"Is that why you put up with his insults and slander?" Light Flare asked, looking around the three of them.

"We can't force him to change his mind," Tweezers said with a frown.

Light Flare watched him for a few moments before starting to walk, deciding to keep quiet, and brushed past him to head up the stairs, ignoring the stares from the three changelings. The moment she placed a hoof on the first step, Tweezers stepped forward.

"Please try not to tease him anymore."

Light Flare didn't even bother to look at him as she headed up the stairs, leaving the three changelings alone.

"You know she's not going to listen to you, right?"

"And what do you want me to do, Sting?" Tweezers said with a tired sigh, turning to look at the two of them. "She is not under my orders."

"And what do we do?" Shell replied with a frown."Hope she listens to you and our only contact in Appleloosa doesn't kick us out of here?"

"Yes."

The word hung in the air for a few more moments, letting the changelings take it in. After a few minutes, the three began to walk, heading to their rooms.

Light Flare walked through a field of flowers, illuminated by the light of the moon and the stars, absolute silence, at least almost absolute. A sinister whisper began to be heard, causing the mare to turn towards the fountain, but without finding anything. Despite that, the mare chose to ignore it and continued to advance, slowly, little by little, the landscape around her changed until it became a dark forest that barely let in the moonlight, forcing her to use her horn to light the way.

The trees surrounded her, creating shapes in the shadows, and the whisper grew louder, trying to get her attention, but Light Flare continued to ignore it, and after what seemed like hours of wandering in total darkness, she came to a clear, illuminated by the moon, allowing her to turn off her horn. The mare allowed herself to sit in the middle of the clearing, observing the heavenly body and the stars that accompanied it. After several minutes, the silence in the clearing was broken by the same sinister voice, taking on more force and making her words understandable.

"So much power... hidden and wasted" said the voice from the shadows, a voice that Light Flare knew.

"You are not real."

"I am very real... and you know it" said the voice.

Light Flare turned her head, seeing something in the shadows of the trees, slanted eyes with irises that glowed gold and pupils as black as the darkness around them.

"Look at you... once loved and respected... praised as a goddess... and now they barely remember your name."

"I'm not a goddess, and I don't want to be treated like one."

The voice fell silent. Light Flare turned to the moon, wanting to avoid her gaze.

"I admit it... your will is stronger... our sister was easier to corrupt."

"Don't you dare mention her," Light Flare growled, looking over her shoulder at her, her eyes turned as golden as the eyes that watched her.

"Do I not have the right?" the voice asked. "We are both the same being..."

"You're lying, you're just a nightmare that will vanish when I wake up" replied the mare, seeing the moon again.

"Do you really want to fool yourself?"

Silence was the only answer. Her eyes remained on Light Flare, studying her.

"You've killed a pony... willingly... that's a step forward."

Fire erupted on the ground, briefly illuminating the figure of an impossibly tall unicorn mare with a sharp horn. Tongues of fire began to spread towards Light Flare, who turned her head to look at her.

"Your shield has cracked... Light Flare... I will soon be able to pass through and take control."

Light Flare turned and faced the approaching fire, looking into those eyes full of hate and evil.

"Don't worry... I will avenge our sister... and free the ponies from their suffering."

Fire began to surround Light Flare, cutting off any means of escape.

"And from the ashes of the Three Kingdoms... will rise a new Empire... one in which I will be properly worshiped."

The fire began to get closer to her, soon it would reach her hooves.

"Don't worry... Celestia... your ponies will be safe with me..." The figure of the unicorn began to emerge from the shadows, revealing a pair of majestic wings. "You just have to surrender... and give me control... surrender to my power..."

Light Flare stared at the dark being in front of her with a slight frown, but no real interest. The moment the fire touched her hooves, she ignited her horn and generated a golden energy field that spread around her, extinguishing the flames, and upon reaching the mysterious mare, the reduced to mere ashes. The last she heard from her was a scream of agony and fury, and soon the clearing was silent. The unicorn looked at the place where that dark spirit had been, turning to look at the moon, listening to a faint whisper that would soon disappear.

"You can't seal me forever... Light Flare."

Light Flare woke up abruptly, staring at the ceiling, still remembering the dream she just had. It was rare for her to dream of her, but due to recent events, she knew it was only a matter of time before she saw her in her dreams. With a sigh, she turned her head to see Shell lying on the other bed in the room and sleeping peacefully. She closed her eyes slightly and concentrated, and after a few moments, she got up without needing to put on her robe, since she had slept with it.

Grabbing her saddlebag and, careful not to wake her roommate, she went out into the hall and carefully closed the door, down the stairs to the first floor and from there to the kitchen, where she lit the magic lamps. She took the kettle and, after filling it at the sink, which had running water, she placed it on the stove, activating the magic crystal to generate a small flame and begin to boil the water. She took out the tea bag and checked that she still had enough for a breakfast of five.

"May I know what you're do?"

Light Flare looked over her shoulder at the pony who had spoken to her, Gray, who was frowning slightly.

"Some tea," she said, looking back at the pot. "Is prohibited?"

"No, but they usually ask my permission before using my kitchen."

"In that case, you can have a cup if you like."

"No thanks, I don't like tea, they always make it disgusting."

"Perhaps you haven't met somecreature who knows how to make good tea yet."

"You mean somepony."

"No, I said it right" Light Flare stared at Gray. "All thinking creatures are capable of making good tea."

Gray frowned some more at that, but sat down at the table.

"We'll see."

Light Flare watched him a little longer before concentrating on the teapot. When it started to boil, she poured two cups, taken from her saddlebags, placing two tea bags, and sat down at the table, handing a cup to Gray, who caught it between his hooves, unlike the mare, who used her magic. Still a little wary, the earth pony took a sip of the drink, and instantly his face relaxed a bit.

"Well, tea is acceptable, but I still don't like it at all, I'm more of a coffee pony."

Light Flare shrugged at that, taking a sip from her cup.

"You can leave it then, somepony else will drink it."

"I don't like to leave things half done, besides, it's the first tea that doesn't make me gag" Gray replied, taking his own sip of it, staring at Light Flare. "And... I'm still waiting for an apology."

Light Flare looked up and regarded the stallion with a raised eyebrow, showing no signs of wanting to speak. After a few minutes, Gray growled to himself before pointing accusingly at the mare.

"You know, because of how you talked to me yesterday."

"I don't see anything worthy of an apology" replied Light Flare.

"I disagree." Gray put the teacup aside and leaned across the table, staring at Light Flare. "I remind you that you insinuated that my ancestors would be ashamed of me. I think that is worthy of an apology."

Light Flare was silent, not deigning to answer, she wasn't even paying attention to him. Gray frowned even more, eyeing the mare suspiciously.

"I have given you shelter, even though you insulted me, and when I ask you to apologize, you refuse to speak to me."

"I can't make an apology for something that's true."

Gray gave a small groan, watching as Light Flare sipped her tea, deliberately ignoring him. Before he could reply, he heard the sound of hooves behind him, and turning, he saw the one he knew as Destiny, approaching with a worried face.

"Something happened?"

Gray watched him for a while, focusing on Light Flare for a few seconds before getting up, his gaze lingering on his teacup before turning to Tweezers.

"I have to go to work, and when I get back, I want her out of my house" he said with a frown.

"Why?" Tweezers asked, already suspecting the answer.

"Because that mare has insulted me in my own house, because I don't trust her and because I have a feeling that she could be one of those bugs."

"She is not..."

"I have an instinct for these things," Gray interrupted in a confident tone. "Besides, why else would she defend those insects?"

Tweezers fell silent, sparing his opinions. Gray watched him a little longer before heading to the door.

"You and your group are still welcome, but I don't want to see that mare again in my life" Gray paused at the door, thinking for a few moments before turning to look at Tweezers. "You be honest with me, is she a changeling?"

"No."

"Would you tell me if she was?"

Tweezers was silent for almost a full minute before nodding.

"Yes... you're my friend, aren't you?"

"Sure" Gray said with a shrug. "Give my regards to the others and have a good trip."

"Take care, Gray."

The stallion nodded and left the house, leaving the two of them alone. After a few seconds, Tweezers turned to look at Light Flare, who had placed her mug on the table and was staring at him.

"You say that he is your friend, and yet you lie to him."

"If I didn't, he wouldn't even talk to me," Tweezers replied with a shrug.

He walked over to the table and sat down across from the mare, staring at her. Light Flare raised an eyebrow in his direction, lifting the cup back into her magic.

"Are you mad at me?"

"A little, but it's not like I can do anything, right? You're not going to obey me if you don't want to."

"No."

Tweezers nodded, his gaze resting on the cup left by Gray, taking hold of it in his magic.

"Did you make him some tea?"

"Yeah, too bad he left it."

"Guess he didn't want to drink tea made by a would-be changeling," Tweezers muttered as he sipped from the cup, humming approvingly.

"Why are you his friend then?"

Tweezers looked up and saw Light Flare, who was staring at him. After a few moments of hesitation, he shrugged.

"Although it may not seem like it, behind all this hatred of my race, there is a good pony who would give his life for his friends."

"And what will happen the day he finds out what you are?"

"I can only think of two possibilities, either he disowns us and hates us, or he will finally discover that his ideas were wrong" Tweezers looked at his cup for a few moments before focusing on Light Flare. "But why do you care now? You didn't care about us for a millennium."

"I never said I didn't care" replied Light Flare. "I said I was ignoring you."

"What changed then?"

Light Flare was silent for a few moments, looking away from Tweezers and looking at her cup.

"I do not know..."

The two fell silent after that, each lost in thought. The image of a mare with dark fur, a starry mane and white eyes appeared in Light Flare's mind, staring at her.

You have forgotten who you are...