Blue

"Have you gone completely mad?!"

The voice of a stallion rang through the air. It was a deep, commanding voice, one that was used to getting what he wanted. Yet, now it trembled with rage, from the possibility of ignored for the first time—and by an important pony to him, no less.

"Mad? I think you don't understand, old geezer. I wish to have nothing to do with your silly ambitions, and worthless plans. I will live my own life!"

Her voice rang out clear and proud, completely surprising the stallion; he did not expect defiance, but silent acceptance.

He stood up from behind the desk he was sitting, and moved closer to her. He finally stopped in front of the great window, basking in the bright moonlight. His features became clearer; even though the ember in the hearth was still livid, it gave little light. She felt herself check out her father, searching for signs of weakness, that she would penetrate with her arguments.

Oh, no. Not this shit again.

Finally, she spoke up.

"Look, Dad, I really want to—"

"You really want to what?" interrupted her father. "Drag down our family name to the mud? Dishonor our clan?"

Dishonor our clan? C'mon old colt, this 'clan' you spoke of consisted of us and a cousin who was living in an orphanage...

Wait, wait, wait.

She tried to speak, but the blue stallion silenced her with a cold glance.

"I will not stand by idly, and watch my daughter, the only heir to our legacy, join a bunch of clowns!"

I distinctly remember that it was not this what I was thinking back then. Am I dreaming or what? Maybe... recreating my memory in a dream? Watching it unfold from a different perspective?

...

Well, that's dumb. I could have done with some rest, rather than this stupid memory.

She felt anger rise in her body, and her past self burst out fiercely.

"How dare you call them clowns?! They are respected performers who have been famous for their daring stunts and tricks! Every audience loves them!"

The stallion seemed unfazed.

"Yes, that is what I was talking about. Clowns. Satisfying the simplest desires of the masses: showing them something they aren't capable of. You have a far brighter future ahead of you, my daughter."

Bright indeed. A bright prison cell to rot in.

The stallion turned toward the landscape barely recognizable through the thick stained glass; it's purpose was less a spot to see outside than the decorations it contained. The canvas depicted the moment a black, horse-like creature defeated in a bright glow by an all-too-familiar white alicorn.

Why, hello there, Princess. Fancy meeting you here, in my past. Care for a cup of tea?

"You are destined to become her right-hoof mare, my child. We have patiently waited for her return for a long time, and when she finally does, we will welcome her as the rightful ruler of Equestria, and our mistress since our clan was founded!"

Oh yeah, how did that work out for you, pops? I know you ran into some... unforeseen consequences.

The stallion suddenly turned and looked into her eyes.

"Yes! It is true! We were burdened to wait for her, but we bore with it proudly! And now, we shall rise again in power by aiding her to reclaim her crown! We were burdened with this glorious purpose!"

The mare sat silently on the sofa, resting her head between her hooves.

You know, I always wondered, but wasn't that sofa made of leather? I mean, seriosly, when was the last time we fought in wars where we skinned our enemies?

She suddenly rose her head defiantly, returning the old stallion's glare.

"I have had enough of your self-righteous stuff!"

You tell him, girl! Also, never go to Canterlot. Ever.

... You don't listen, do you? Yeah, it would have been too easy if I could change my past.

"Rightful claim? True heir to the throne? Play your games as much as you like, Dad, I won't partake in it! You base all of your ploys on one supposed monster returning to the country! What is that, if not true stupidity?"

The stallions face distorted with anger.

"Stupidity? I will not stand this talk as long as you live under my roof!"

Oooh, this is my favourite part.

"Then I hereby renounce my name! I have no connection either to you, or this clan anymore!"

The stallion gasped.

"D-dear, don't be so hasty, we can..."

"No, Father, this is the end. I will not use your name again as long as you live. Maybe, when I meet a true friend, I will tell them who I am, and they will console me, instead of being terrified of my name, something that you'd wish for!"

The stallion gathered for a last jab.

"Friends? You mean like the ones who accused you?"

Uh-oh, here comes dumb.

She felt a sharp pain in her chest, faintly recalling the events that shook her view on the world, but then she collected herself.

"You are right."

The stallion brightened up.

"See, Dear? We can work this out—"

"You are right," she continued, "I do not need 'friends' like those fools. I can take on this world alone, without the company of worthless ponies. I will leave this house, and never come back. And I will become the greatest performer ever!"

She shot a last glance at her stunned father, running down the stairs, picking up a small pack she had prepared earlier, into the starry night.

Greatest performer, eh? No more of that, I'm afraid. Maybe the last day will be written off as a single good deed in your life, amongst the horrible ones that you've done... Now, it's time for—

.....try to....

What?

.....do it....

What in the—

WAKE UP!

"Come on, this has got to work!" a familiar voice mumbled with desperation. She opened her eyes. The moonlight shone upon her, comforting her with it's beautiful silvery glow. Other than that... a murky glow. Her sight was foggy, and she felt the metallic taste of blood on her tongue. Trying to get up, she realised it would be easier to try and tip Princess Celestia over.

"Where am I?" she heard her own voice.

"Great, she came to." A deep, shiveringly beautiful, but also strangely familiar voice could be heard. "Can you think?"

"No, currently I am making donuts in my head." she replied sarcastically. Funny, thinking was no problem, yet, she couldn't even raise her own head. "Is this some kind of hell?"

"No, but you gave us quite a fright. You would've died was it not for Rainbow and Shining here."

The comment gave her a sudden influx of energy, and she perked up, ignoring the pain of her body. She was not dead! She was not dead, but instead still laid upon the green grass of the clearing. Her side glowed with an unfamiliar, purplish magic.

"What... what did you do?" Trixie asked, her sight and thoughts finally clearing up.

"Don't be relieved too early, Trixie, we only postponed the inevitable if we don't find expert help soon."

"What. Did. You. Do." she demanded. Shining Armor sighed. His horn was glowing faintly. Perhaps maintaining a spell...?

"I've put up a shield around your injuries. Actually, it was all Rainbow's idea. She said: 'Hey can't you keep her blood away from the outside world?' So I made some small... well, barriers, technically, that act as your actual veins... but we need somepony to patch you up. I can't keep this up forever, and none of us knows any healing spells or medicine."

Trixie said nothing, trying to intake both their kindness, and the situation before them. What, indeed, could they do now?

"But, uh, guys," Vinyl interjected, "where could we take her? I mean, we're wanted criminals, not to mention even Princess Luna couldn't escape this colorist insanity."

"What the hay are you talking about?" Trixie asked, annoyed. Vinyl produced a newspaper. The front page was practically a screaming statement of things going from the worst to even worse.

NIGHT MARE MOON BANISHED AGAIN!

Trixie looked at the article with a blank expression.

"What."

"I... uh... salvaged this from that unlucky guard fella' back in the Opera. I just read it a moment ago, when, uh..." she stammered, clearly embarassed. "When I... um thought that if you're not dead I could check out the comics section for a well-needed laugh, but when I actually opened it this caught my eye."

"Whoa girl, slower there!" Trixie cooed. "You're speaking like you're getting paid to say it as soon as possible."

"Sorry, it's just... just... well, terrible!" the DJ burst out with a desperate look. "I mean, this says that Princess Celestia banished Princess Luna to the moon again! And not for any other reason, but that she is blue. We're doomed!" She pointed at the moon. "And as you can see, this is not a fluke, the pattern is there again."

"Bullcrap." Trixie interjected. Vinyl blinked.

"Whuh?"

"Before you start panicking for all it's worth, I assure you, there is nopony on the moon. I can feel it."

"How?" Shining demanded.

"I don't know." She pointed at her flank. "You see my cutie mark, or are you just checking out my ass?" she added ironically. "The truth is... somehow I always had a bit of a connection with the moon. When Luna returned from her banishment, or when she actually raised it herself after a thousand years... I felt it, but did not know at the time. Later, I learned about both, and I remember the tingling feeling from them. So when I say there is no princess on the moon, there is no princess on the moon." She sighed. "Pity that I just feel things about that rock up there; if I'd know where she is, we might have pleaded her to listen to us."

"No." a voice came, it's owner silent until now. "I-I think I know where the princess is."

All of them turned, and stared at Rainbow in surprise. "How so?" spoke Shining Armor finally.

"I know it's weird, but listen to me! Remember my nightmare? In it, you all died! I was left alone, somehow, and I felt that I screwed something up. Later, I saw what I thought to be the spectre of the princess, but if what you say is true, she is the real deal! She is in the Everfree right now, somewhere near the old palace ruins!"

"Rainbow," Shining began softly, careful not to upset her, "the past few days were hectic, and we are all tired. So we will calm down now, take a deep breath. I don't want another death burdening my conscience, so we'll take Trixie to a doctor, and—"

"I believe you." Trixie interrupted him. "Lead the way, Rainbow." She tried to stand up, and for a moment, it seemed she managed to do so; she collapsed a second later, however. The pegasus made up her mind.

"Vinyl, take my saddlebags." she said, dropping them to the ground. "I'll carry Trixie."

"What?! No! I can do just fine!" the azure mare protested.

"You can't even stand, Shining's concentrating on his shield, and no offense, but Vinyl is not strong enough to pick you up and carry you. There is no other choce!" Rainbow pointed out.

Trixie weighed what she just heard.

"So... you're saying that I'm fat?" Despite herself, she made no objections when the white mare helped her on Rainbow's back.

"Are you mad?" the stallion yelled annoyed. "We should take her to a doctor, not drag her around in a hostile envirovement!"

"Chill out, o protector of great cities." Trixie cooed. "Where would you take me? No doctor in his right mind would try to help a wanted criminal. And for the record: I'd rather die than play round two with Strong Walls."

Shining shook his head, but said nothing.

"To the Everfree!" Trixie shouted, and Rainbow bolted off, the two white unicorns following her.

________________________________________________________________________________

Rainbow was satisfied. Even though they entered from a different direction, she found the correct path that she treaded what seemed like a millenia ago. Add the fact that no crazed immortal deities were chasing them right now, and it summed up to a relatively short trip. To their great luck, no beasts were drawn to them by the scent of Trixie's blood.

Hours later, they stood at the entrance of the ruins, completely exhausted. The showmare seemed to have nodded of on the pegasus' back; her eyes closed, her breathing heavy. Rainbow shot a nervous glance at her, but when she saw her side move as she breathed, she eased up a little. When she took a step inside, she suddenly became unsure. What if her dream was really a fluke? What if there is a doctor who would help them, and she's just not thinking hard enough? What if every moment they spend here brings Trixie closer to death? Glancing at the others, she noticed them shifting around nervously. That's it, if they're so unsure, too then they should get the—

"Get yourselves together!" Trixie barked, now wide awake. "It's a spell, not your own thoughts!"

Her words seemed to have broken their trance; suddenly, the feeling of panic was gone, and they encountered no resistance when they entered the old throne room. The moonlight lit most of it, since the ceiling was nonexistent at this point in time. Rubble covered most of the once great audience hall, the only remaining identifiable object in the room an old stone throne in the middle. No princesses in sight.

"Now what?" Vinyl asked. Trixie flashed her a knowing, smug grin.

"Seeing as there aren't as many possibilities here, we will now see exactly how cheesy our princess is. Check the throne, I'd wager my horn there is a switch on it somewhere."

Vinyl started poking and prodding around, until she came upon a suspicious ornament. Pushing it, she recoiled as the throne slided away with a horrible rumble, revealing a spiralling staircase, leading to the heart of the ground.

"How did you know?" Shining asked Trixie. The mare rolled her eyes.

"Please, it's such a cliché." She glanced at the darkness at their hooves. "Well, the die is cast."

As if to a cue, smoke emerged from the gap, taking on horrible, unspeakable shapes. A bloodthirsty, echoing roar could be heard.

" WHO DARES ENTER THE – Shining Armor?!"

The smoke quickly dispersed, revealing a surprised Princess Luna in it's place.

"How in the wide, wide world of Equestria could you be here? You have been taken to prison!" She noticed the other three. "Rainbow Dash?! Have thee all broken out of prison?"

"No, we merely relocated the prison to this very location," Trixie said, with the slightest of twitches. The moon princess turned her attention to her, clearly annoyed.

"Who are you, you ungrateful whelp?"

"Name's Trixie, Princess. I might have a slight problem you could remedy for me."

"First you insult us, then you beg for our aid? You have some nerve, my little pony." The princess looked amused.

"Nonono." Trixie said. "An insult would be like this: Twilight Sparkle is ugly."

"She's not!" Shining Armor protested. Trixie waved her hoof.

"It was a figure of speech. Besides," she said with a playful grin., "commenting on your sister's beauty brings up some interesting questions."

"Princess, she's seriously injured." Rainbow interrupted, before they would continue. "Can you heal her?"

The alicorn stepped closer, her expression changing from confused to concerned. Casting a glance at the wounded unicorn, she shivered a little.

"It was a long time ago that I've seen such injuries as this. It makes one wonder just how spiteful your comments are when you have full command of your faculties." She sighed a little. "You are in luck, my little ponies. Sad as it is, I have wide knowledge of cuts, bruises and mangled bodies. Follow me, to bring her to a room where I might examine her further."

The ponies followed her down the staircase. Each and every step caused Trixie to bump onto the pegasus' back, causing her to wince in pain.

"Watch it! Are you enjoying this?" the unicorn asked in suspicion.

"They say that during the reign of King Sombra, stairs were a valid form of torture." Luna interjected in a chatting tone. It seemed to shut the showmare up.

Going deeper and deeper, it didn't become any darker, surprisingly. The walls were lit by crystals, protruding from it on a somewhat regular basis. Finally arriving at the bottom, an unbelieveable sight unfolded in front of Rainbow's eyes. A large room has been carved into the rock under the old castle. The place was designed to resemble the throne room in Canterlot Castle, although it gave off a different feeling. It looked rather like a living room with a throne, rather than a formal throne room with additional furnishing. The ceiling faded into darkness up high, except for a large, circular hole, allowing moonlight to shine even this deep down. Rainbow suspected enormous amounts of magic holding it in place. Looking around, she spotted a table with many chairs, able to accompany at least fifteen ponies. Even further there were other furnishings, which she couldn't see clearly fom her viewpoint.

"What... is this place?" she asked, positively dumbfounded.

"I wished to... create a place where my loyal Night Guard could gather, other than the one in Canterlot. It seemed fitting to put it here, where it would be undisturbed..." The moon princess sighed. "However, I never had the chance to actually show it to them... I just never had the time. So the only ones who know about this place are the ones who built it, and me."

Despite everything, the air was warm, recalling the last summer. Princess Luna waited for all of them to arrive, then crossed the room with energetic steps. A corridor sprung from the other side of the large throne room; she led the way through it to a smaller room, that had shades of dark red and brown; it only featured a single bed and a bedside table, however. The Princess seemed embarassed.

"This... is a kind of an inner joke for the Night Guard. I remembered seeing their mess hall decorated like a stable, so I asked the architect to model this recuperation room after... um..." She blushed furiously. "after a..." The amount of red in her cheeks threatened to overpower the blue present, making her look like the Princess of Volcanoes, rather. "... a den of hot love..." she finished meekly. Vinyl could be heard snorting from the back. Luna gathered herself.

"Anyway, please follow me, Rainbow Dash."

She opened a side door, and revealed a smaller, uncomparably more simple room containing a bed, a medicine case stacked with various phials, pills and potions; and finally, a table in the middle, carved from stone, reaching up about Rainbow's chest. Luna motioned towards it. The pegasus nodded, and slipped Trixie onto the table from her back, wincing a little when her body touched her aching wings. Her pained expression did not go unnoticed by the Princess; she gently ran her hoof over them.

"When we have time, I'd like to examine you, too. For now, please leave me with her. There is nothing any of you could do to help me, and I can see all of you are dead tired. Feel free to use any of the faculties here. Also, please tell Captain Sparkle to end his spell. It is not needed now."

Rainbow nodded, and left them, closing the door behind her, only to find herself face-to-face with two worried white unicorns.

"Well, she's in good hooves now. The Princess said that you can stop your magic now, Shining."

"The stallion relaxed a bit. His expression slowly changed from alert to fatigued. They made their way back to the main hall, where Vinyl shot more and more meaningful glances towards the back of the room. Rainbow followed her eyes, and saw two blue couches, with an awfully cheerful pink sun pattern. The pegasus raised the eyebrow.

"One day, I'm going to find out who in their right mind made this." Her comment made her remember her friend Rarity, and she nearly shed a tear. The only thing that stopped her, was the bittersweet thought that she would be proud of her for having better fashion sense than whoever that designed this particular piece of furniture was. Her thoughts were interrupted by Vinyl's loud yawn. The unicorn already curled up on one of the couches, raising her head a bit.

"I guess there is nothing to do right now, but wait. Sooo... Good night."