Today was exceptionally strange and surprising. At least now I understand why the Beauty Crusaders are so obsessed with the Beauty Mark. My bed was soft, and it called me into a dream. I closed my eyes and found myself back in the forest, at the wonder door. Since then, I even gave it a new look. It used to be a simple door, reminiscent of old British stable doors, but now it’s a blue booth, an old British police booth. I don't know why I chose this, but I liked it. So, what dream will we visit today? I wondered as I entered. The dreams appeared one after another. Twilight is dreaming of a gigantic library filled with princess guides—no, that’s not it. As I see, Dinky is dreaming of some salt-shaker-like creature chasing her again—not this either.

Then I saw an interesting dream. It looked like Diamond Tiara's, but in reality, Silver Spoon was dreaming it. Diamond Tiara was sitting in a comfortable armchair, like a 19th-century industrialist. Silver Spoon was pouring her tea, not as a friend, but as a maid. A chill ran down my spine, both pleasant and unpleasant. Pleasant because, in a strange way, the scene excited me in a manner too mature for this body, but there was also some hatred and anger that this was still possible.

I entered the dream, which was a rather strange feeling, as if I was passing through a Star Wars shield—or at least that’s how I imagined it would feel. I started to change the dream, projecting an outward scene of a happy meadow to avoid Princess Luna's notice, while turning the time to evening when Silver was heading home. She walked the streets of Canterlot, and I hid in an alley ahead of her. When she arrived, I stepped out. I wore a little disguise, looking like an adult pegasus, but without a cutie mark.

"Good evening, miss!" I greeted her, tipping my hat. I had tried to dress elegantly for the dream, but it didn’t quite work out. Silver stopped and looked at me, sizing me up. I put my hat back on and slightly changed my facial expression.

"Good evening! Is my mistress expecting you?" My eyes widened, not at what she said, but how she referred to Tiara. Mistress? This didn’t fit at all since they were friends. Silver seemed to tire of waiting and started to walk on.

"The mistress is everything. I still owe her so much, and it feels so good to repay this…"

What? That sentence caught my ear. So, this is some kind of... Oh no, that’s impossible, she’s barely nine... But maybe it is, and if so, something is very wrong. I quickly stepped through the nearby door, entering the memories.

Let’s see, something happened in the past, but where?... or rather, when? Let’s narrow it down. First, filter out the time before she knew her, then the time when I was present, and finally the time when Tiara wasn’t there... Beep beep. What’s this? Oh no, please not now! I felt myself being shaken, oh Fluttershy. The dream realm darkened, and my eyes opened.

"Good morning! Bender, breakfast is ready! I don't know, he probably had a bad dream, he was twitching and squeezing his eyes shut, his horn sparking like never before while sleeping. This scared me, why doesn’t he wake up from such a nightmare? 'No, not now, please just 5 more minutes! I’m not done yet.' His eyes began to open suddenly, but I could see he was trying hard to keep them shut. 'Bender, Bender! You have to wake up!' I shook him so hard I thought I might shake him off or he might shake me off.

"Nooo, Fluttershy! Why? I still had things to do! You ruined everything!" He jumped off the bed and ran out. Oh no, what have I done? I think this is not a normal reaction. I walked to the window because there was a terrible smell, like sweat but a bit more pungent. A door slammed, and soon I saw Bender running towards the town.

"Bender, you didn't even have break…" "No thanks, I’ll drop by Sugarcube Corner." He stormed out of hearing range. I don't quite understand why this is happening. I tidied up Bender’s bed, and as I was about to leave the room, Twilight suddenly appeared right next to the bed.

"Fluttershy! Tell me Bender isn’t in the town?! Her face was tear-streaked, but I couldn’t tell her emotions—upset, angry, sad, something that was a mix of these. But her question sounded desperate.

"Yes, he just left." At this, she wore the extreme expression she had when the parasprites devoured the whole town and Princess Celestia was visiting that very day.

"No! No! No!" She must have said this a hundred times, panicking as if the world was ending.

"Twilight, what’s wrong?" Her expression turned even stranger than before, her new wings flaring and flapping excitedly.

"What’s wrong? What’s wrong? WHAT’S WRONG? Is that even a question? Today, the dignitaries of Equestria are coming to meet the new princess, and Bender, well, he has a unique manner towards nobility, as we all know. I don’t want him in sight, plus many pegasi view his flying invention as an insult to the art of flying. I’m not sure how the nobles feel about it, but they certainly don’t support it."

"Oh no! That’s terrible!" The way she explained it didn’t sound good at all. Bender only wanted to produce it like prosthetic hooves or glasses, as an aid for pegasi who can’t fly. A loud crash and a sudden hole in the wall could only mean one thing.

"Rainbow Dash?! How did you get here?" Twilight's voice was as sharp as a knife, so finely honed it could slice through an ancient book.

"Sorry, guys, just looking for Bender. I want to race against the falcon! That way I can prove that half-ton of junk metal will never be as good as a real flyer." Twilight stepped forward with a questioning hoof gesture.

"You’re not doing this to prove something to the Wonderbolts, are you? Again!?" Her pupils narrowed, and she recoiled strongly.

"No, of course not, pfft."

As I headed towards Ponyville, a growing sense of negativity settled over me. Not that there was anything visibly wrong, just that typical feeling of... like when... it’s hard to describe, like going into a new class for the first time and feeling out of place. I couldn’t pinpoint why, but a bitter taste began to build up inside me, or maybe that's not a good way to describe it… I just realized I missed my usual mint leaf before leaving, and that’s probably why I have this taste in my mouth. Am I trivializing a serious feeling just because of my autism? Wow, I definitely need some kind of special education teacher here like I had at home, because this is going to be anything but good.

Welcome to Ponyville, Equestria’s number one agricultural town. This sign is new, seems like Princess Twilight attracts these privileges. It’s reassuring, like putting your head in a bear trap. Today the bourgeois aren’t supposed to arrive yet.

"Bender!" A familiar voice, familiar feelings. As my eyes focused, I saw Scootaloo speeding towards me, already spreading my right wing, and I started running away from her. She slowly matched my pace, and I hopped onto her. "Good morning! You know your boss is already on pins and needles?"

"Tiara? Of course, she is, that’s just like her. By the way, if we’re talking about her, did you know she has a personal slave?" Scootaloo turned to me and suddenly braked to a stop. "Ouch!" I cried as I flew forward and suddenly hit her back. This position wasn’t awkward or anything, but a smell hit me. I didn’t give it much thought and climbed down to the ground.

"Who is it, and how do you know?" Her face was incredibly excited, which wasn’t surprising; you don’t learn such things about your arch-nemesis every day. I looked around and bent down to make sure no one would hear.

"The only pony she can call her friend." Her eyes widened, and I realized where we were—yes, my attention always spans many things, and important details slip away. Sugarcube Corner. This will be good, I thought, quickly running inside, and what I saw surprised me a bit. A group of ponies were looking at me like... well, like that. I will never understand this. "Pinkie! Is there any of my special pastry left?" A few days ago, I showed her how to make isler and linzer cookies, although I wasn’t good at it myself. Pinkie knew how to make them once I made a batch.

"Of course, there is, but not for you." That wasn’t surprising, there’s probably a party today, and she’s saving them. Usually, she bakes extra for such times, but I didn’t dwell on it, probably holding an extra big party for Twilight today.

"Then may I have a strawberry milkshake with banana?" I know, my taste is weird, but after all, I used to eat beaten eggs fried and canned fish at home, so this isn’t that bad.

"No, sorry, the strawberries are out…" "Miss! Please remove this harmful pony from here." I looked to the side and saw a young pegasus with glasses and some snobby clothes. I believe she’s Lady Pencil, the CEO of Equestria’s largest quill manufacturer. It doesn’t reflect well on the place to have such radicals around.

"Excuse me, are you referring to me?" She raised her eyebrows and shouted even louder, "Of course, I'm referring to you, who else… Oh, this idea is brilliant!"

"Fly, fly, beautiful Hungarian pilot! The Hungarian plane reaches the stars! The Lord can be proud that his Hungarian plane has no match! The mechanical bird flies up to the starry sky! The Lord can rejoice that his Hungarian plane has no match!" I don’t know why, but it felt good to sing this as I walked out of Sugarcube Corner. It felt so good to finally sing in Hungarian.As I stepped out, I bumped into a young unicorn. When I finally saw who I had collided with, I was thrilled, and my horn sparked more than ever. If I bump into a unicorn, it's easy to tell because the sparks reflect back and shock me a little.

"Hi, Bender!" "Sweetie Belle! What are you doing here? I thought that... Oh, how silly of me, you were supposed to get home today. I haven’t done that thing with her since I thought it up a few weeks ago, but she's still improved a lot regardless. Last week, she went to the premiere of the Horsebrain movie in Hoof Angeles, which she returned from today. The movie is basically about little horses (not ponies, but regular horses) controlling things in your head. It’s a humorous idea, but it seemed a bit too childish to me. How was the film?"

"It was worth seeing, although I’m sorry you didn’t come. The thing is, it wasn’t just the movie—Sweetie Belle’s sister was frantically trying to protect her from everything. If I had gone, I probably would have touched her once and been erased from existence (again)." "Sure, it would have been nice, but you know how much work I have. If you accidentally come up with something groundbreaking, you have to focus on it." "Of course, I know what a responsibility that is. When you’re the sister of Equestria’s best fashion pony!? You know I didn’t mean it as an excuse, just saying. Today, however, I've been haunted by this smell. I don't know what it is, but it’s really pleasant—no, not pleasant, but exciting?! I don’t know what it is, but I’ll figure it out."

"Hey! Little filly, run away before he attacks you!" A young stallion in similar snobbish clothes to the mare inside yelled. He was a unicorn. His cutie mark was... I don't know, a crumpled napkin? Some strange symbol. His mane was light, almost gray-blue, and his skin was dark blue. Who is this? I wondered.

"Can’t you hear what I’m saying? That foal is dangerous, get away from him!" He shouted again. "Excuse me, but…" "Commoners like you don’t speak to a stallion of high rank like me, Prince Blueblood." There are three things I particularly hate, and he combined all three. I hate being looked down upon because someone was born into power, I hate when someone speaks about themselves in the third person, and I hate being cut off mid-sentence. Now you’ll get what you deserve.

"Oh, forgive me, your bourgeois highness. I didn’t know you were such a self-appointed dictator. Forgive me for daring to open my mouth. You conceited idiot! Abusing your undeserved power! Trampling and tormenting ponies for a few pieces of gold! Forgive me for daring to exist next to you, you loafer!"

You should have seen his face; I can’t even describe the expression. He was simultaneously angry, surprised, offended... and so much more. But the triumph didn’t last long because he wasn’t so shocked that he couldn’t speak. "Guards!" Immediately, three palace guards appeared. I once mistakenly went to Canterlot and saw such guards. "Take these two insolent mongrels away." Running was rational, but I knew I wouldn’t get far.

"Bender, what have you gotten us into?" Sweetie Belle asked, a bit worried next to me. "I’m scared." "Don’t worry, nothing will happen. Get behind me, I’ll protect you!" I winked and stood in front of her.

"Twilight! What if we don’t get there fast enough?" Flying with tear-streaked eyes wasn’t easy, but somehow I managed because of Bender. "Don’t worry, Fluttershy! I’ll go ahead and find him. Where did you say he went?" "Sugarcube Corner," I whispered. Before I could react, Rainbow Dash had vanished, leaving only a rainbow streak behind. Oh, Twilight, why are they doing this? I liked the idea; what happened to everyone else?

"Bender recently outlined a version compatible with unicorns and earth ponies, and the pegasi began to fear for their hegemonic role," Twilight explained in her usual knowledgeable tone. "I see, but if that’s true, we should… Hurry…"

Upon reaching Ponyville, the first thing we saw was Rainbow Dash fighting two guards. "What’s going on here?" Twilight asked. A unicorn turned towards us, sending shivers down everyone's spine. We had clashed with Blueblood a few times before. The world’s most wicked stallion, worse even than Professor Umbridge in that series... What was its name again? Ah, not important now.

"Princess Twilight! How kind of you to grace us with your presence," he sneered. Twilight narrowed her eyes and spread her wings. Blueblood's blood must have frozen in his veins, but he was too cunning to show it. "Would you be so kind as to explain your friend's unacceptable behavior? Look at what she’s doing!" "Rainbow Dash never does anything without reason. What is happening here?" Groans came from behind him, and suddenly Bender appeared, bound and chained, with a bridle in his mouth. "Na ee me on om mi! E a iióta le a ar min et chu at i me nem eik eki a silusum." It was hard to understand, but it was clear this wasn’t legal. "Blueblood, release them immediately!" At that moment, Sweetie Belle, similarly bound, sprang forward. "Them!" Twilight was momentarily confused but quickly realized what had happened. "Blueblood, release them immediately. What are you thinking? This is how violent criminals are bound, not foals." Her voice— I can’t even describe it. She shouted without shouting, yet it was so loud as if she was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"My ear! Wilight, eed e!" Bender likely said, "My ear," but I only knew because I was thinking the same thing. "Princess! I’m just trying to protect the realm…" Blueblood was visibly nervous. Everyone’s hair stood on end from the sound, but he still tried. "Extreme ideologies can’t spread here." "I will only say this once. Release them!" The volume made everyone flinch and cover their ears. Now we know what it’s like when she truly shouts.

"Please, Princess! Just give assurance for the realm’s safety from them!" Everyone was stunned. No matter how brilliant Bender was, he was still a foal, going to school, and not a threat to the realm. Sweetie Belle even less so. The request was simply ridiculous.

"Fine. Bender will be beside me as a bodyguard at next week’s royal meeting after my coronation and will prove he’s not a threat. Sweetie Belle will remain under house arrest until further notice." Blueblood was furious but ultimately gave up the fight, knowing he couldn’t oppose Twilight now.

We removed the bridles from their mouths and the ropes from their legs. "Ah, thanks, Twilight! I can’t believe some nobles are such fools. Poor Sweetie Belle was in shock. Then he shut up for a moment, thought it over, and then... "Wait, can I really go with you to the Crystal Empire?" He was about to jump out of his skin, but I didn’t understand why.

Rarity arrived at that moment. "Where’s my sister?" There was incredible panic in her eyes. Not surprising, since her sister had just been freed from a binding even violent criminals don’t always get. "Rarity!" That family scene, as she ran to hug her, was touching, but even more so when she spoke. "I’m so glad you’re here, I was so scared." Those tears—they were indescribable, a mix of joy and panic.

Bender, however, approached. "Rarity, I’m truly sorry I didn’t protect her..." He fell silent, then looked at Sweetie Belle. "As I didn’t protect you today, I won’t cause trouble in the future. It was good to know I had such a friend by my side, even if the acquaintance was short." He turned his back and walked away. Everyone stared at him, Sweetie Belle’s jaw dropped. "Bender, wait!" Twilight called after him.

Author's Note

Hi everyone! This chapter is just a conflict catalyst, which is why it's so short. Oh, and I might have delved a bit too much into Japanese culture, but the part with Sweetie Belle will become important later on at the end. Also, I want your input!

"Sorry, I wrote this quite poorly, so who should be the romantic motivator for the main character? Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, or someone else?" Looking forward to your answers.