Chapters Queen Diamantina magically opened the door leading to the room of her eldest daughter. Nisha was sitting down in front of a mirror being levitated by the unicorn working on her mane in front of her dresser. Nisha’s usually straight white mane was now in a bun with two small bits of hair curled and loose from said bun. The unicorn levitated Nisha’s sliver tiara with a black gem in the centre front of it onto said princess’s forehead before beginning to curl her tail. Looking into the mirror, Nisha saw her mother walk in with another mare wearing saddlebags, making her frown. The mare working on her tail stopped to bow respectfully to the queen. She took a step back so Diamantina could put a hoof on her daughter’s shoulder.
“I thought I told you to take off the necklace before the mane stylist came in,” She whispered in Nisha’s ear.
Nisha looked down at the black rock with a sliver gleam she was wearing around her neck on a midnight blue and white string, “You told me to take off the royal neck piece so I decided to wear my ‘rock on a string’.”
Diamantina rolled her eyes as she untied the necklace she despised but knew was special to Nisha, to remove it from her daughter’s neck, “At least this rock on string is easier to take off than your necklace.”
She levitated it in her pink aura down next to a silver neck piece with a black jewel on it on the side table next to Nisha’s queen sized bed. The mare that followed the queen into the room started to take Nisha’s measurements with a tape measure from one of her saddlebags.
The queen turned to the mare, “What colour would look best on my daughter? I’d like her to look beautiful at her coronation.”
The mare opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the princess, “Nothing. I’m not becoming queen!”
Diamantina put her hoof back onto Nisha’s shoulder in an attempt to calm her down, “Sweetheart, we’ve talked about this.”
“You call telling me I have to become queen over & over again a conversation?!” Nisha jumped up out of her seat to face her mother. “Just because I’m your eldest daughter doesn’t mean I have to be the next queen!”
The two mares that were with them had stopped in their tracks. They’ve seen the queen argue with her daughter multiple times because of the fractured relationship between the two mares but it always amazing to watch to alicorns fight, even if it was only verbally, especially if one the fighting alicorns always acted calm like Queen Diamantina.
“Sit back down sweetheart,” Diamantina forgot about the other mares around her and began to lose her composer. “You’re not ready yet.”
“I’M NOT READY FOR ANY OF THIS!” Nisha was now yelling. “ONCE I BECOME QUEEN MY CHANCES OF FINDING LOVE DECRESE MEANING EVEN IF I DO FIND A STALLION WHO LOES ME, HE’LL BE TO AFRIAD OF ME TO TELL ME!!”
“That’s enough!” The queen lost it. “Sit down and let Threads & Silver Gem prepare you for your coronation!”
Nisha’s pure white aura surrounded her black horn, “No because I’M NOT GOING TO BECOME QUEEN!”
The queen was about to yell something back at her daughter but was cut off by a bright flash coming from Nisha’s horn as the princess teleported away.
While all this was happening, a Midnight blue pegasus was sitting on a cloud near the palace walls sketching a picture of the sparrow next to her notepad. She had almost finished her drawing when a bright white flash below her scared the bird away. Curious about the flash that frighted her muse away, she looked at where the flash occurred. The flash appeared to have been a teleportation spell performed by a black coated alicorn mare with a half curled white tail, mane in a bun and almost white irises with pale grey pupils. What’s Nisha doing out her- the pegasus’ thoughts were cut off by Nisha flying as fast as she could away from the palace. Without a second thought, the pegasus followed suit and was soon joined by many of the royal guards pegasus members. Nisha began to send off numerous spells in an attempt to lose the guards and her friend unsuccessfully when the midnight blue pegasus spotted a white coated, black maned, emerald eyed alicorn foal chasing her back coated sister on hoof with her purple eyes. Seeing this too, Nisha created a note from thin air and gave it to her friend as the mare flew down to her sister.
“NISHA! NISHA WAIT! DON’T GO PLEASE?!” The white alicorn called out to her sister as the blue pegasus landed in front of her, forcing her to stop running.
The pegasus wrapped her white tipped wings around the royal foal, “Shh, its ok Wish, the guards will bring her back.”
“Well what if they don’t- what’s on that piece of paper?”
The pegasus unfolded the piece of paper and began to read it aloud:
Dear Moonlight & Wish,
I have written, or more or less conjured up, this note to let you to know that I am running away because I wish to not become queen, especially if it’s because of my father’s death. I don’t know where I’ll run to, but I know I’ll miss you both. I love you both, so please look after each other. I hope we cross paths again.
Love from, Nisha
P.S. Don’t tell my other sisters & mares-in-waiting about this note. I don’t want them to become jealous.
Wish dried her tears, “She loves me?”
Moonlight nuzzled her, “Of course she does, you’re her sister.”
Moonlight then carried the young princess back to the palace as she thought up as many different ways to break it to Queen Diamantina as she could possibly think of, thankful that New Hoofland only lost one princess that day.
Nisha was now outside her kingdom and in a forest. She knew it was dangerous as it could contain creatures such as coctrices and manticores but she decided to hide in one of the bushes anyway. Choosing a dark leaved bush that contained pure white flowers, so her mane & coat would hopefully blend in, she closed her eyes. Nisha sat hidden in the bush until she could no longer hear the clank of the guards’ metallic armour. She flew just above the tree tops and ducked back down when she realised she was still close to her kingdom as she could faintly see her palace in the distance. Nisha realised she was probably in the Broken Forest, a forest in one of the neighbouring kingdoms that was well known for being dangerous. Knowing she’ll be recognised, Nisha flew out of the forest in the opposite direction to her kingdom, flying faster than she knew she could go.
She had flown over country after country when she came upon a wide river. As it was almost night time she magically created a warm blanket to sleep in with what was let of her magic from when she was creating random spells earlier. Nisha wrapped herself up in the blanket as watched the sunset with a smile. For the first time in her life she felt free. Free from her responsibilities, free from her bossy mother and best of all she was free from being the most recognisable member of the royal family. Her smile turned into a frown when she remembered her freedom was at the price of the worry of her friends, her family and her subjects. She knew her mother loved her she just didn’t act on it like her father did before his death. Nisha started to cry, remembering her father’s death like it was yesterday. Her tears stained her eyes and her new blanket and for once the night felt too long rather than too short.
Sunlight hit Nisha’s eyelids, forcing her to wake up earlier than she wanted. She looked up at the sky and saw that the dawn had just risen making her roll her eyes Remembered she would usually watch the sun rise as the new day began, but she must have been too tired to wake up in time today. She lapped up some water from the river and looked ahead making her eyes pop out of her skull. OK I knew I flew far but how did I make it to Equestria within a day?! Her thoughts were all jumbled up now as she tried to make sense of it. She shook her head, grabbed her blanket and started to fly across the river towards the world renowned country, the country whose rulers were literally in charge of the sun & moon. Once she reached the other side she was forced to walk rather than fly, after all wouldn’t your wings hurt if you flew far away from where you started at high speeds, which was lucky as it would prevent her from being tempted to fly. She placed her blanket on her back in order to hide her wings so she could keep a low profile as alicorns were usually royalty and she wanted to hide the fact that she was a princess, especially as alicorns were so much more powerful in this kingdom and her power levels, though high in her kingdom, were only slightly higher than the average Equestrian unicorn. Nisha continued to trot until she reached a town called Fillyadelphia, but by then it was night time and she was so tired that she could barely move. She collapsed at the town’s entrance and was she was sleeping so heavily she didn’t notice that she had been moved overnight.
Chapter 2: New Faces with Secrets to Share
Nisha woke on a soft bed in an unfamiliar place. The walls were painted a baby blue colour and the shirting boards, flooring & furniture were made out of some sort of medium brown wood. She looked at her wings to see that they were, thankfully, still wrapped up in her now ruddy red blanket. I guess all that dust & dirt from my trip has faded my blanket’s colour . She climbed out of the bed, tightened the knot in her blanket and left the room. The hallway was simple with no decorations other than a window at one end. She also noticed it connected to four rooms including the bedroom she had found herself in. She walked down the stairway to find herself in a living/dining room with a dividing wall to a kitchen. Like the hallway, the living/dining room had a wooden floor and painted white walls. The couch and matching armchair were made of white cloth and a wooden frame. The dining table & side table looked like they came in a matching set, both made of the same wood as everything else in the room including the dining chairs which had white cushions on them. Well whoever brought me here cares about their house . With that thought Nisha moved to the kitchen where to ponies where cooking breakfast. I’m guessing these are the house owners and the ponies that brought me here. They appeared to be soda, soft drink ponies. One of them turned around to face her showing her that she was a blue eyed unicorn.
“Hey sis, look who just got up!” the blue eyed unicorn nudged the other pony. “I’m Diet Cola what’s your name.”
Nisha looked down making her mane cover her face and eyes. Nopony had asked what her name was since she met Moonlight, and Moonlight only asked because she hid her horn and eyes so not to be identified straight way. The question felt unusual but in a good way, after all if they knew who she was they won’t try to take her back to New Hoofland as they wouldn’t have even heard of the country. Out of the corner of her eye Nisha saw that the other pony had turned around, showing her green eyes and unicorn horn, clearly waiting for an answer just like her sister was.
Nisha took in a deep breath and hoped they haven’t heard of her, “I’m Nisha, I assume you two are the reason I woke up in a bed instead of on the pathway?”
The green eyed unicorn laughed, “Yep, and I’m Soda Pop by the way.”
The three of them laughed and Diet Cola began to untie Nisha’s blanket, showing that her aura was blue &, like all pure blooded soft drink ponies, bubbly, “Do you want me to wash this for you?”
In shock Nisha grabbed, tied up her blanket and tried to speak calmly despite feeling panicked, “No thanks, I’ll wash it myself later.”
Diet Cola flushed as she realised that she made her guest uncomfortable, “Ok, sorry about that.”
Seeing that Diet Cola was just as embarrassed about the blanket, Nisha told her, “It’s ok. I’d just rather do it myself.” She thought for a moment, “I can show you guys my cutie mark if you want. Off memory it’s a white shotting star.”
Nisha used her magic to move the blanket just high enough to show her cutie mark making Soda Pop gasp, “When I saw your eyes I thought you were blind.”
She covered her mouth with her hooves and both Diet Cola and Nisha looked at her. Diet Cola’s was a look of anger and Nisha’s was one of confusion. OK, now I know how Moonflower feels when ponies act like she’s deaf, Nisha thought.
“You’re actually the first pony I know who thought I was blind,” Nisha trotted over towards the worried mare, letting the blanket fall back over her flank. “But then again, most ponies in this country that have my eye type probably are blind.”
The two soft drink ponies looked at Nisha in shock, why hadn’t Soda Pop’s comment make her mad? Soda Pop decided it was because of their hospitality but Diet Cola thought there was more to it than kindness although she shock it off quickly.
“Sorry about my sister, she tends to act first and think latter so you’re not the only pony she accidently offended,” Diet Cola replied.
Nisha smiled, “She didn’t offend me Diet Cola, besides you two brought me into your home if anything I’m overstaying my welcome.”
“Nonsense, we found you passed out at the edge of town,” Diet Cola waved a hoof dismissingly. “You were clearly tried.”
“How come when Diet Cola asked you if you wanted to wash your blanket you seemed more offended than when I said that I thought you were blind?” Soda Pop instantly covered her mouth again.
She must do that whenever she speaks without thinking Nisha sighed, “I wasn’t offended by your sister’s offer either, I just *sigh* sorry, I don’t think I don’t feel ready to tell you yet.”
Nisha left the room with her head down so not to be questioned anymore. She walked towards the couch and sat down in front of it for personal reasons. A hoof fell onto her shoulder. Nisha looked up at the blue eyed mare.
“We can keep your secret,” Her voice was soft and gentle. “I Pinkie Promise.”
“What's a Pinkie Promise?”
“It’s a promise that can never be broken. Its named after the element of laughter.”
Nisha tightened her blanket’s knot as a sigh escaped her lips yet again, “I’m sorry but I’d rather tell you & your sister at the same time if at all.”
A comforting smile spread across the unicorn’s lips, “I completely understand.”
That brought a smile to Nisha’s face as the two of them hugged. Soda Pop walked in, levitating breakfast in her bubbly green aura. Diet Cola got up and took a few steps forward, but was stopped by Nisha’s hoof on her shoulder. She turned around to see a soft smile look on Nisha’s face.
“Thank you, and your sister for looking after me.”
Diet Cola blushed and bubbled a little bit more, “Your welcome... We’re twins by the way.”
They sat down at the dinner table and got to know each other. By the end of the meal Nisha had learnt learned that, Diet Cola & Soda Pop were orphan’s; they had been born & raised in Fillydelphia; they were both single; they had different personalities to each other; they were adopted by an earth pony & a unicorn; their adoptive parents were both female; they were turned into a can of coke & a bottle of diet coke on Discord’s return; and that Diet Cola was a bit of a bookworm. What Soda Pop & Diet Cola discovered about Nisha was that, one of her best friends was a pegasus called Moonlight Snowflake; Wish was her youngest and closest sister; She came from a country called New Hoofland; and that she was slightly more powerful than the average Equestrian unicorn. They both gasped in shock.
“If you’ve got more power than the average unicorn then what’s your special talent?” Soda Pop was more surprized than shocked. "I assumed you were a stargazer"
“It’s making shooting stars appear, but I can only make them visible from a certain distance away and I stopped after Luna’s return,” Nisha explained. “After Luna’s return I stopped making them appear as they distracted ponies from the pure beauty of Luna’s night. No offence to Celestia but Luna’s night is so much more beautiful than Celestia’s.”
“Well duh,” Soda Pop still couldn’t see the confusion on her sister’s face. “Luna’s special talent is bringing forth the night. If Luna raised the sun, the day won’t be as beautiful and Celestia’s day, so why not Celestia’s night?”
Diet Cola leaned across the table, “I thought that shotting stars require a large amount of magic.”
Nisha blushed as she rubbed the back of her neck, “Where I come from my power levels are considered to be high as the magical capabilities of New Hooflanders aren't as high as Equestrians.”
They both leaned back into their sits and Diet Cola spoke to her sister, “So, do you want me to do the dishes this time?”
Chapter 3: Leaving the Pain Behind
Back in New Hoofland Moonflower, Lavender Snowstorm and all of Nisha’s other mares-in-waiting were sitting together crying. Moonlight Snowflake was also there, bawling her eyes out. She dried her tears when she heard a knock on the door. Moonlight trotted over and opened the door to see an icy blue coated frail old pegasus pony who embraced her.
The old mare whispered in Moonlight’s ear, “Time to go home my little snowflake.”
Moonlight looked at her mother, “Ok mum, I just need to visit Wish first.”
She smiled at her daughter, “I’ll meet you outside then.”
Moonlight watched her mum walk away for a moment before flying in the opposite direction. When she reached the young princess’ room she could hear her crying. Moonlight slowly opened the door to see a filly the same age as Wish hugging her as an adult unicorn mare packed up her toys. The young filly hugging Wish had a dark grey coat and black mane with a streak of rainbows in it and rainbow markings wrapped around her front leg. Judging from her rainbow eyes & the additional rainbows on her horn, the filly was Spectra, Wish’s mare-in-waiting who was a spectrum pony. Moonlight knew the unicorn mare sorting toy behind them was Wish’s daytime foalsitter, Winter Heart. Her mane was a long curly violet mass that she wore in a ponytail and her coat was pale blue. She was a few years younger than Moonlight but they were still reasonably close friends. Wish ran towards Moonlight as soon as she saw her, giving her a hug while continuing to cry for they were the two ponies closest to the lost princess in New Hoofland.
“You two alright there?” Winter’s special talent was cheering ponies up so she was always trying to brighten the days of everypony in the palace and hated to see ponies who were sad.
She tried to pat the crying filly’s back but Wish flung her hoof away.
“No!” Wish sobbed. “You didn’t even know Nisha!”
Tears flooded from her eyes so Moonlight began to stroke her back, “Its ok Wish. Nisha will come back soon.”
“What if she doesn’t? Or if she’s hurt?!”
“She’s a full grown mare and the future queen of New Hoofland, she can take care of herself. In fact I remember her once saying she knew a healing spell.”
“You miss her too, don’t you Moony?” Wish’s tears stopped as she looked up into the mare’s eyes with eyes that were bigger than they usually were.
There was a catch in Moonlight’s throat as she held back her tears for the sake of the foal, “Everypony misses her Wish, but you’re the only pony who could possibly miss her more than me, and that’s only because you’re her sister.”
Wish hugged her in empathy and Moonlight hugged her back. They sat there for a while before somepony knocked on the door.
“That must be the substitute foalsitter,” Winter Heart went to answer the door.
Wish broke free of the hug, “Why isn’t Moonlight looking after me like she normally is?”
Winter Heart froze, “As both Moonlight and Nisha helped look after you at night time, it might bring up some painful memories. For both of you.”
“Oh, right,” Wish walked back towards her friend. “At least Spectra & I are having a sleep over.”
“Yeah!” Spectra jumped up and hugged her friend who quickly began to cheer up instantly reflecting her friend’s excitement.
Moonlight & Winter Heart giggled and began to walk out to the garden. Along the way they chatted about things from life without Nisha to what the weather will be tomorrow, Moonlight tearing up every now and then. They chatted until they found Moonlight’s mother, Frostbite, sitting on a bench along the pathway in the royal gardens. Moonlight wiped her tears and took to the air followed by her mother
“See ya later Moonlight,” Winter chanted to her now flying friend.
Moonlight looked back at Winter Heart smiling, “See ya, Winter.”
They both grinned and went their separate ways.