//------------------------------// // Dawn of a new Star // Story: Younger Generation // by Seanzilla115 //------------------------------// Two weeks have passed since the incident on Hearts and Hooves day, and many of the Mares (including the CMC) wanted to forget about it because of the effects of the Love Poison. At the moment, it's been a quiet day, and Twilight was busy finishing renting books out to the ponies of Ponyville for the day. Even though she was a Princess now, she's still the owner of Ponyville's library. "Okay...that should be everything," the violet Alicorn noted as she placed a few books inside a pair of traveling bags and handed them to a frog appeared to mostly be cyan with some specks of a dark blue and some white fluff around the neck, and a silver Unicorn pony with some blue highlights in his orange mane, green-blue eyes, and a white spiral Cutie Mark, "Is there anything else I'm missing, or is that it?" "Hm… let's see…" the frog muttered to himself, looking over the books they had, both of which are on hypnosis. The pony also looked over before looking over to Twilight. "Nope. We got what we needed Twilight. Alright Ricky, let's get going." The frog nodded as they both left the library, the Unicorn holding a receipt showing the return date for the books before he used his magic to place it in his traveling bag. "Hope to see you again," Twilight said to those leaving as she turned to Spike, "Did you finish checking what books are on hold?" "Eeyup. One Earth Pony placed a hold on a book for classic music, a couple Pegasus Ponies placed a hold on a book about weather patterns, and..oh jeez. That one Unicorn, Lyra I think her name was, asked for a book on...hyoo-manes I think, again," Spike listed. "I see… thank Spikes," Twilight replied before she heard a knocking on her front door, "Huh, the library's set to close, why would anypony be coming here at this time? …Unless it's my friends..." "I'll check and see who it is," Spike offered as he walked over to the front door and opened it, "Sorry. But we're abo…" he paused before gawking a bit. He rubbed his eyes once to make sure he wasn't seeing things. In front of him was a filly. An Alicorn Filly to be precise. Her fur and wings were a light violet color while her mane and tail(both of which were currently wet and dirty) were a soft, evening red with a orange highlight in it. Her eyes were a dark-shade of yellow. She also appeared to be lost and tired. "...Twilight…" Spike called out to the violet Alicorn, "You might want to come here and see this." "What is it, Spike?" Twilight asked as she came to the door and gasped upon seeing the young filly and how she looked so similar to herself. "Help…" the filly weakly begged, trembling a tiny bit before her legs gave out, causing her to fall to the ground before Spike caught her. "Whoa! ...She seems exhausted… but where'd she come from, and why's she so tired?" Spike wondered as he struggled to keep her up, seeing this Alicorn filly was a bit bigger than most fillies in Ponyville. "I don't know...but she needs help. Spike, you go help carry her upstairs while I start the bath up for her," Twilight said to the dragon. "R...right," Spike nodded as he struggled to carry the Alicorn filly upstairs, Twilight helping him so he wouldn't drop her by accident. Later, Twilight laid the young filly in her bed so that she could rest up and hopefully restore her energy. "Who is she?" Spike asked, breaking the silence. "I don't know…" Twilight responded before her eyes widened when she noticed something, "Spike...she doesn't have a Cutie Mark." "She doesn't?" Spike gawked before looking at the filly's flanks and indeed noticing it was bare of any mark, "You're right. But...why? If she's an Alicorn, shouldn't she have her Cutie Mark already?" "Good question," Twilight noted before yawning as she looked out the window to see the night sky, "But it's too late to ask the princess for help." "So what're we gonna do now?" Spike asked. "We'll have to wait til the morning to let the princess know about this… but until then, we'll sleep in here to check on this filly's condition." "Right," Spike nodded before yawning, "I'm getting tired anyway." "Right…" Twilight nodded as she slowly got on her bed and gently laid next to the filly so she could keep a closer eye on her, "Good night Spike." "Good night, Twilight," Spike yawned. --- (The next morning) Twilight yawned as she began to wake up, the morning sun shining on her through her window. she slowly turned her head to see if the filly was still asleep...only...the filly was no longer there, causing the violet Alicorn's eyes to widen. "S...Spike! She's gone!" Twilight gasped, waking Spike up with a yelp, before he bonked his head into the ceiling. "Ouch… Who's gone, Twilight?" the dragon mumbled as he rubbed his head. "That filly we found last night. She's gone!" Twilight replied in a semi-panicked tone, causing Spike's eyes to widen. "What?! Where'd she go?!" Spike gawked. "I don't know! H...help me search for her!" Twilight said as she began to look around the room, hoping to find the Alicorn filly. Spike then began to search through all the other corners Twilight missed for the filly as well. He then ran down stairs before poking his head back up. "Uh...Twilight?" the young dragon spoke, catching the Alicorn's attention, "I found her." "Where?" Twilight asked, rushing over to Spike's location. The moment she reached downstairs, her eyes widened to see the Alicorn filly fully awake and reading one of her books, a medium sized pile right next to the filly. "Oh… phew!" "Yeah…" Spike sighed in relief as well, catching the filly's attention as she looked over at the two. "Good morning," the filly greeted before she turned back to her book. "Morning… You know, I never did learn what your name was," Twilight replied, walking up to the young filly. "...Dawn Star...that's all I can remember," the filly replied, closing the book she was reading before using her magic to take another book from the pile next to her. "Is that why you're reading all these books?" Twilight asked. "Dawn Star… that's a nice name," Spike added. "Yes...the only things I can recall is my name...and that I like books...a lot," Dawn Star replied, the Alicorn filly not turning away from the book she was reading. "Man… she reminds me of somepony…" Twilight said to herself. "Gee… you think?" Spike muttered to himself. "Okay...that's book number 14…" Dawn Star muttered to herself as she closed the book she was reading , used her magic to pull another one from the pile, and began to read it. "You read 14 books? How long have you been awake to read all this?" Twilight asked. "An hour ago," Dawn Star replied, causing both Twilight and Spike to gawk. "Wow… I don't think I've ever met anypony who's been able to read that many books that quickly," Twilight gawked. "I have," Spike muttered. "Who?" Twilight and Dawn asked in unison. "Twilight, she's almost just like you," Spike sighed, taking out a mirror from the hammerspace, and putting it in front of the two. The two Alicorns glanced at each-other, and then at the mirror again, blinking a bit. "Wait a minute," Spike began as he pondered something, "You two are very similar… Applebloom's like her sister Applejack, Sweetie Belle's similar to Rarity, Scootaloo has a lot in common with Rainbow Dash, Timid can be easily compared to Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie and Quirky are almost identical in personalities…" "...You're right," Twilight's eyes widened as she began to put two and two together. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Spike asked. "I am…" Twilight nodded as she and Spike looked at Dawn Star. "...What?" the Alicorn filly blinked in confusion. "Come with us," Twilight told Dawn Star as she and Spike led her towards the door. "You're not… kicking me out, are you?" Dawn Star asked. "Of course not. We're just going to have you make some new friends," Twilight answered. "...Friends?" Dawn Star repeated. "Yea. Follow us," Spike insisted as he kinda started pushing Dawn out of the library, but couldn't as the Alicorn Filly made it almost impossible to move her. "But...I'm not done reading my books," Dawn Star grunted as she stood her ground. "Wow… almost like looking in some sort of odd mirror…" Spike muttered. "You can bring some of the books with you, as long as you bring them back, okay?" Twilight responded. "...okay," Dawn Star nodded as she used her magic to pull a few books from the pile she had before opening one up to read it, kinda making Spike plop to the ground before they left. --- Meanwhile, with the CMC… "...Bored," Scootaloo yawned as the CMC were in their Clubhouse, not doing anything. "Yep… so bored," Quirky added. "B-b-b-b-boooooored~" Mischief sang in a bored tone, tossing a ball on the wall and catching it. "There has to be something we could do…" Sweetie Belle pondered. "Like what?" Applebloom asked, boredom evident in her voice. "...Darn. I thought I had something," Sweetie Belle sighed. "...A...Ano...m...minna," Timid spoke, catching the other fillies' attention, "I...I see T...Twilight-san heading this way." "Really?!" the other fillies gasped as they rushed to the window to see Twilight coming with Spike and somepony else. "Who's the filly with her?" Quirky asked. "A unicorn, no…wait...is that filly….?" Applebloom began. "An Alicorn?!" Sweetie Belle gasped. "...Ooh! An Alicorn?!" Quirky gasped. "W...wow," Timid noted in her shy, quiet tone of voice. "Ah'm lookin' right at her, but I don't believe," Applebloom gawked. "Neither can I…" Scootaloo added before pondering, "Why do you suppose Twilight is bringing her here?" "No idea," Quirky shrugged. "She's like Twilight's counter..." Sweetie Belle started. "Part…" the original three CMC gasped. "What?!" Quirky asked. "What's with the gasp?" "Obviously they're think if they recruit that Alicorn filly, you're little group will be like a miniature version of Twilight and her friends," Mischief replied, the 'dragon' still bouncing the ball on the wall and catching it. "Makes sense," some of the CMC said. "But do y...you th-th-think she'll j...join?" Timid asked. "Maybe. But it wouldn't hurt to try," Scootaloo replied before grinning, "If she did. It'll be so cool! I mean, we'll have a Alicorn in the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" "YAY!" Quirky cheered. "Y...yay," Timid cheered quietly. "Let's go say hi," Sweetie Belle suggested as the CMC rushed down to open the door to the clubhouse to see Spike, Twilight, and the new filly. "Good. Here they come," Twilight noted, the violet Alicorn noticing the CMC approach her as she turned towards Dawn Star, who was still reading, "Dawn Star...we have company." "...I'm sorry, what?" the Alicorn filly blinked as she looked up from her book on Pegasi. "We have company, look," Twilight repeated pointing to the CMC approaching. "...I see," Dawn Star noted as she turned back to her book, only for a slightly irritated Twilight to take it, "Hey! I wasn't finished with that!" "It's not a good idea to read all the time, and this is coming from somepony who loves to read," Twilight informed, causing Dawn Star to merely sigh as the CMC approached them "Hi girls." "Hi Twilight/H-Hello Hime-sama," Scootaloo and Timid Swallow greeted, the fillies bowing to her until Quirky looked up and saw Dawn Star. "Who's this filly, Princess Twilight?" Quirky asked. "Everypony, I'd like to introduce to you to Dawn Star. Dawn Star, say h...oh come on!" Twilight groaned when she saw Dawn Star read another book. "What?" Dawn Star asked before Twilight took the books away from her, "HEY!" "I'm trying to introduce you to (hopefully) your new friends, and you're being a bit rude," Twilight scolded the Alicorn filly. "Ano... she's shy?" Timid asked. "Not really… she's a bit too into books it seems… and strangely enough… I know how that feels," Twilight sighed. "I see...and you…?" Scootaloo began before Quirky zoomed past her and got close to Dawn Star. "Hi there! My name's Quirky! Nice to meet you Dawn Star! Ooh I can't wait to see what kind of fun we'll have together! Like maybe we'll make cupcakes, or visit a festival, or go swimming, or...or…!" "Okay Quirky, we get the picture," Scootaloo responded as she approached Dawn Star while Applebloom and Sweetie Belle moved the over-excited Quirky away a bit, "Sorry about her. She's a bit energetic at times." "Energetic? She seemed to be, if I got the term right, on a permanent sugar rush," Dawn Star pointed out. "Right… anyway, My name's Scootaloo. and you've already met Quirky," the orange pegasus filly giggled a bit. "A...ano...I...I'm…" Timid mumbled shyly. "...I'm sorry. I couldn't hear that," Dawn Star said to the shy filly. "Ano...I'm ...mid," Timid said a bit louder. "Still didn't catch that," Dawn Star stated again. "..." Timid gave of a squeaky, shy whimper as she hid behind Scootaloo. "Wow… Deja vu," Twilight noted. "Yeah…" Spike added as they watched the fillies interact with each other. "Ah'm Applebloom," applebloom introduced herself next before motioning to Sweetie Belle, "And this is Sweetie Belle." "Hi!" the Unicorn filly smiled. "Your other friend was still too quiet for me to hear," Dawn Star noticed. "Well...her name's Timid Swallow and...well...she's really shy," Scootaloo pointed out. "I see," Dawn Star noted. as she turned towards Twilight, "Are we done here? I'd like to get back to my books." "Oh boy…" Spike sighed. "We need a plan," Twilight whispered to him before an idea popped into her head, "And I think I got one," she then turned to Dawn Star, "Tell me Dawn Star, from all the books you've read, I'm sure you've heard of Princess Celestia and Luna, right?" "Y...yes! I know all about them! Like how they ruled Equestria together and created Harmony across the land, having the power to raise the sun and moon every day, defeated the evil spirit of Chaos, Discord and the dark king Sombra, and…" Dawn Star explained in a sort-a fangirlish way before Twilight raised her hoof, quieting the Alicorn filly. "You know your facts… well, what if I told you you can learn more than you can from books by learning how to make friends?" "...Really? How?" Dawn Star asked, having calmed down. "Simple. If you stay here and become friends with Scootaloo and her friends known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Twilight answered. "...that what now?" Dawn Star blinked. "They're this group who's goal is to get their Cutie Marks as a team," Twilight explained. "Really?" "Plus, you can discover the greatest kind of magic if you do," Twilight added. "The greatest kind of magic?" Dawn Star questioned. "Yes...but you'll have to figure what it is yourself," Twilight stated. Dawn Star nodded, and then gave a light bow before Twilight, the violet Alicorn giving a small nod as she and Spike began to leave the area. "You think it'll really work?" Spike whispered to Twilight. "I really used to wonder what friendship could be, until they all shared it's magic with me," Twilight replied with a small smile. "...I'll just take that as a yes," Spike sighed as the two left. "This could be great," Sweetie Belle smiled. Dawn Star then walked over to the group, and smiled a bit while thinking, 'So… I'll find the greatest kind of magic if I hang out with them… wonder what it is?' "Welcome to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Dawn Star!" Scootaloo smiled. "Th...thanks. So...what's first on our agenda?" Dawn Star asked. "Well we usually try and figure out what we can do to help somepony and hopefully earn our Cutie Marks," Sweetie Belle explained before sighing, "But we don't know what to do today…" "I see…" Dawn sighed before her stomach began to growl, "..." "There could be something else we can do…" Scootaloo pondered. "Maybe something to help satisfy your hunger," Quirky giggled, hearing Dawn's stomach growl. "Uh...y...yeah. I...really didn't eat breakfast this morning since I was busy reading books," Dawn Star sheepishly replied, "Is there anyplace in town for us to get something to eat?" "What about Sugarcube Corner?" Quirky suggested, "They should still have some muffins available." "Muffins? Are they any good?" Dawn asked, curious. "Eeyup. This one Pegasus comes in everyday to get some before she heads out to work," Quirky nodded before pondering, "I think her name was...Ditzy or Derpy Hooves." "Derpy Hooves," Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom replied in unison. "Yeah. That's the one!" Quirky stated as she smiled a bit, making that' Squee' noise again. "Anyway, let's go, maybe we can introduce you to the owners and Pinkie Pie," Sweetie Belle suggested as the six walked to Sugarcube Corner. "...Okay," Dawn Star nodded before she felt something crawl around in her bag," Huh? Who's…?" The fillies looked over as Dawn opened her bag and saw… "Mischief?!" the rest of the CMC gasped. "HI~" the miniature dragon waved as he jumped out of Dawn's bag and grew back to normal size, "You ladies weren't trying to leave without me...were you?" "W...wh...what the? W...who are you?!" Dawn Star asked, the Alicorn filly surprised by Mischief's sudden appearance. "A little mascot of ours, Mischief here is a baby dragon friend who showed up with Timid here," Apple Bloom explained. "I...I see. B...but how did he get in my bag?! And why was he so small?!" Dawn Star demanded. "Oh. That's easy...I'm the son of Discord," Mischief replied nonchalantly as he made a chocolate milkshake appear out of thin-air and began to...drink the glass? "...Yea… he's kinda confusing at times," Scootaloo sighed. "..." "..Dawn Star? Are you okay?" Applebloom asked the currently shaking filly. "I...If he's really DIscord's son...THEN WHY HAVEN'T THE PRINCESS' DONE ANYTHING ABOUT THIS?!" Dawn Star screamed in a panicked tone. "SHE DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM FOR THE MOST PART!" Scootaloo responded before calming down, "And besides, he's in our care for now." "Yeah...unless Timid uses…" Mischief paused before shuddering as he shrunk back down to small size and entered Timid's backpack, "'The Stare' on me." "...'The Stare'?" Dawn Star repeated, the Alicorn filly having calmed down. "It's a skill Timid and another pony, Fluttershy, can use to get animals to do what they want, and it's very good for convincing Mischief to behave," Scootaloo explained. "I see…" Dawn Star noted before her stomach growled again, "...Um...can we head over to this Sugarcube Corner place now? I'm still hungry." "Right," the others nodded as the CMC trotted to Sugarcube Corner, with the exception of Quirky who was hopping all the way. --- "Thank you, come again!" Pinkie waved to the two ponies leaving Sugarcube Corner. "Hiya Pinkie~!" Quirky's voice called out as the CMC arrived at Sugarcube Corner. "Oh! Hiya Quirky~!" Pinkie waved to the Dark-Green filly before she noticed Dawn Star, "...who's this?" "Oh, this is Dawn Star, a new Alicorn Pony Twilight found last night," Quirky answered, making Pinkie gasp as she dashed out of the room. "...What's with…?" Dawn Star began before the room was filled with streamers and balloons. "SURPRISE~!" Pinkie declared as she rushed in, holding a banner saying 'Welcome to Ponyville: Dawn Star!'. "..." Dawn Star blinked in confusion. "She's a party pony," Scootaloo explained to the confused Alicorn filly. "Ahh…" Dawn Star nodded before Pinkie got close to her face. "You must be really excited about living on Ponyville, aren't you?!" the party pony asked excitedly before she heard Dawn's stomach growl, "...you're hungry, aren't you?" "Yea, I'm hungry, but as for living in Ponyville… I don't know what to say about it," Dawn Star admitted before Pinkie zoomed out of the room and came back in, pushing a cart full of muffins. "What do you want to eat? We got Blueberry muffins, banana nut muffins, chocolate chip muffins, lemon poppy seed muffins, strawberry muffins, lemon supri...whooops! heh heh...that one's off limits," Pinkie chuckled sheepishly as she moved the muffins away from the tray. "Why's that?" Dawn Star asked. "You don't want to know," Pinkie, Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle replied, shivering a bit when they recalled what happened the last time Sugarcube Corner ran out of Lemon Surprise Muffins. "...Okay…" "Well, just give her any of the other muffins then, it looks like she can't decide right now," Quirky suggested to Pinkie. "Okey Dokey Lokey!" Pinkie nodded as she placed a plate with one Blueberry muffin and one banana nut muffin on a table before moving Dawn Star onto said table, "Enjoy!" A bit curious, Dawn sniffed the muffins before picking one up with her magic. "...Are they good?" Dawn Star asked the party pony out of curiosity. "Are they good?" Pinkie scoffed as if Dawn was kidding. "Are they good?" Quirky added in the same tone. "...Are they?" Dawn Star asked again. "Yea, try it!" Pinkie smiled. Dawn Star sniffed the muffin again and examined it a bit, making sure there wasn't nothing wrong with it. She then slowly took a bite of the blueberry muffin she was holding. After chewing a little bit, a large smile seemed to spread across her face. "Well?" Pinkie asked. "...Delicious!" Dawn Star cheered as she took another bite of the muffin, happily chewing. "YAY!" Pinkie and Quirky cheered. "I knew you'd enjoy it!" Quirky smiled. "Thank you," Dawn smiled, unknowingly doing so with her mouth still full of muffin before she swallowed it, "Is there any more?" "Yeah. Let me go check the back and see if there are any fresh ones!" Pinkie replied as she headed towards the kitchen to check. "Okay," Dawn nodded as she took another bite of her muffin. "Glad you're enjoying yourself, Dawn Star," Sweetie Belle smiled. "Yeah. Maybe after you're done, we can…" Applebloom began before somepony bumped into her, "Oops. Sorry. Ah didn't mean t…" she paused when she noticed the filly that bumped into her were none other than…*groans* Diamond Tiara, "Oh… it's you. Where's Silver Spoon?" "...I don't know who you're talking about, Blank Flank," Diamond Tiara snorted. "You two usually hang out with each other, don't you?" Sweetie Belle noted, referring to Silver Spoon. "Yeah well...after that incident at what was supposed to be my party, we decided to not talk to each other for a while," Diamond Tiara frowned, recalling what happened to her and her 'friend' at said party. "I see...why're you here, anyway?" Scootaloo asked with a frown. "Nothing you Blank Flanks would care abou-" Diamond Tiara started before she noticed Dawn Star and the fact that she had a lack of a Cutie Mark. "Well, what do we have here? An Alicorn Blank Flank? That's rare." "...Excuse me?" Dawn Star blinked, the Alicorn filly pausing from eating her muffin to look at Diamond Tiara. "Look at your flank. You don't have a Cutie Mark, and you're supposed to be an Alicorn. And aren't Alicorns supposed to be born with their Cutie Marks?" Tiara pointed out. "...May I ask who you are to judge me?" Dawn Star inquired, making Diamond Tiara gasp in how Dawn Star countered that. "Alicorns are all princess', even if we do not have castles. It's never a matter of Cutie Marks," she added as her presence suddenly had a majestic feel and frightening aura as well, "So Miss...Diamond Tiara was it? How dare you, how dare you insult your princess?!" "Uh...Uh…" Diamond Tiara gulped the spoiled filly shaking a bit in fear. "Show me some respect!" Dawn Star practically roared at Tiara, making the other CMC members gulp as well. "Wow... we finally have someone cool in our group," Mischief commented from his spot in Timid's backpack. "Yeah...and she can be really scary," Quirky gulped, the dark-green filly having heard what Mischief said. "No kidding," Scootaloo agreed as the other fillies nodded while Diamond Tiara was scared stiff. "So unless you want thee to turn thou into a lesser being, leave!" Dawn Star yelled, her voice slightly distorted in that last part. "..." Diamond tiara gulped as she ran out of there, screaming just as the aura surrounding Dawn Star disappeared. "...What just happened?" the Alicorn filly blinked before she noticed the semi-scared/gawking CMC, "Um...are you girls okay?" "...Y...Yea… it's just…" Scootaloo started, not sure what to say. "You just scared that big meanie, DIamond Tiara off!" Quirky yelled before covering her mouth. "...I did?" Dawn Star blinked in confusion. "Well…" the rest of the CMC started before they were suddenly quiet. "Well what?" "You...don't remember it happening...do you?" Applebloom asked. "No. The only thing I remember before blacking out was when that filly called you all Blank Flanks, whatever that is," Dawn Star replied. "It's not a good thing, either…" Sweetie Belle sighed. "Yeah...uh, Dawn Star? Can you excuse us for a moment?" Scootaloo asked the Alicorn filly before motioning the rest of the CMC to move outside. "Um...sure. I'm still eating breakfast anyway," Dawn Star nodded as she resumed eating her muffins. And so, the rest of the CMC made it outside where Dawn Star couldn't hear them. "...What's up, Scootaloo?" Applebloom asked. "...I think we should tell Twilight about what just happened to Dawn Star back there," Scootaloo whispered, just to make sure Dawn Star wouldn't hear her. "Should we? What would she say?" Sweetie Belle responded. "I don't know...and I'm kinda worried. What if that other side of Dawn Star we saw eventually turned into something like Nightmare Moon?" "Well if she keeps scaring that meanie Diamond Tiara into the next few chapters, I say let her!" Quirky smiled. "This is serious, Quirky...from what we can tell, Dawn Star doesn't remember anything," Scootaloo stated. "Remember what exactly?" a voice asked, scaring the CMC as they quickly turned to see Dawn Star standing behind them, "...Plotting against me? When I sent that naive flank running? I thought you'd be grateful. Well...art thou?" "Uh…" "ART THOU?!" Dawn Star yelled, her voice distorted before her eyes widened when she saw how scared Timid and the others look, "...W...What did I just…?" "...W...We dunno," Scootaloo responded as Timid was whimpering in fear. "...T...Timid. I...I don't know what I did, but I apologize for…" Dawn Star began as she walked over to try and calm Timid own, only for the shy filly to back away, "..." she then looked and backed away from them all before her horn shined and she vanished. "Dawn Star, wait!" Scootaloo tried to call out to the Alicorn filly. "...Well...you blew it b…" Mischief began. "Not now, Mischief!" the CMC, including surprisingly Timid, snapped at the dragon, not wanting to deal with him at the moment. "Okay okay! Sheesh, you don't have to bite my head off," Mischief mumbled. "...So… what do we do now?" Quirky asked in worry. "...We go to Princess Twilight," Sweetie Belle sighed, "Hopefully she'll know what to do." --- "...They hate me," Dawn Star whimpered as she sat in a dark clearing within the Everfree Forest, tears dripping from her eyes, "I didn't mean to scare them...I don't even remember doing it…" "Just like before. They don't appreciate you," a voice spoke, startling the Alicorn filly. "W...who said that?!" Dawn Star gasped as she looked around for the source of the voice. "Look in the puddle right next to you," It instructed as Dawn Star did so and saw what looked like Nightmare Moon. "N...no way. Y...You're Nightmare Moon," Dawn Star gasped, recalling the book she read on the evil Mare of the Moon, "But...I thought you were…" "You misunderstand….I'm not Nightmare Moon. I'm not even a nightmare, I'm….you. The real you, the you that was before our...accident," 'Nightmare Moon' replied. "A...accident?" Dawn Star repeated. "I'm not surprised you don't remember. See, we had a kingdom. But it's been taken and as a result, we lost something important." "W...what? What did we lose exactly?" Dawn Star couldn't help but ask. "I'll share that with you another time. In the meantime, return to Sister Twilight. We did not end up in her care by accident," 'Nightmare Moon' stated, causing Dawn Star's eyes to widen. "S...sister?" Dawn Star repeated as 'Nightmare Moon's image faded from the puddle, "W...wait! Don't go! I want to learn more about my memory!" "Earn that right," was all she heard before the presence completely vanished. "...Earn that right…" Dawn Star repeated to herself, 'Wh...what did she mean by that exactly? Furthermore...just who am I reall...' "Dawn Star! Where are you?!" the Alicorn filly's ears perked up when she heard the familiar voices of the CMC and Twilight. "Oh no. It's them," she whimpered as she ran into the bushes to hide just as Twilight and the CMC came into the clearing. "I can't believe this," Twilight frowned as she looked at the CMC, "Why did you have to act so scared of her?" "It wasn't our fault she acted so scary all of a sudden," Quirky defended. "Did she ever once intentionally direct this scary persona at you all or to try and assist you?" Twilight asked. "...Well...she did kinda defended us when Diamond tiara was calling us Blank Flanks again. But...when she changed into that other persona...she scared us," Sweetie Belle stated. 'I knew it...they are scared of...' Dawn Star began sadly with a thought. "And that's why we're worried about her," Applebloom added, making the Alicorn filly's eyes widened in shock from her hiding space. 'They're….worried about me?' Dawn Star thought. "Of course we are, silly!" a voice giggled behind her, causing Dawn Star to turn her had to see Quirky staring right at her, "Hi." "KYA!" Dawn Star yelped as she jumped out of the bushes, "Where'd you come from?!" "Hmm… hard to say you mean my homeland? My house in Ponyville, or which member of Team Toku Sonic thought me up?" Quirky asked, causing the Alicorn filly to look at her strangely. "Wait..what? No! I mean how did you appear behind me!" Dawn Star slightly demanded. "Oh. I saw your horn slightly stick out of the bush you were hiding in, so I hopped in and wanted to surprise you," Quirky replied as she gave a small smile, making that' squee' noise again. Dawn Star sweatdropped at that before... "Quirky found Dawn Star!" Mischief shouted as he took on the shape of a siren, startling Dawn Star just as Twilight and the other fillies turned to see the Alicorn filly. "Dawn Star! What do you think you're doing out here?" Twilight asked as she gave Dawn Star a frown. "...I...I was hiding," Dawn Star replied sadly, causing Twilight to raise an eyebrow "Why?" Twilight asked. "I...I'm sure Applebloom and her friends told you what happened back at Sugarcube Corner, right?" Dawn Star asked. "Yes." Twilight nodded. "Well...it's just...before I came here...I..never had any friends...much less anypony to take care of me...You see, sometimes I black out...and when I recover...everypony looks at me in fear...and I don't even remember doing anything," Dawn Star replied with a sad sigh, "No matter where I went, it was the same thing...the only time I've ever truly felt happy was when I read books the library usually throws out…" "...So that's why you wouldn't look away from the books until I forced them off you," Twilight realized. "Yes...I didn't want to make any friends because...well...you already know why…" Dawn Star sighed as she got up, "I'll get whatever things I have at your place Twilight. After that, I'm leaving Ponyville." "...No." Twilight told her quickly as she moved in front of the filly. "Yes. I..don't want to end up scaring, or worse, hurt anypony," Dawn Star said sadly, looking down with her mane covering her teary eyes. "You do know only a princess can decide if another one should be banished from their castle, and my home is my castle and thus...you're confined to your quarters," "But...I don't have one…" Dawn Star sighed. "...You do now," Twilight stated, causing Dawn Star to look up at her with wide, yet still teary eyes, "Now come along...and we can discuss the rest of your punishment later. But for now..." she paused as she gave a small smile to Dawn Star, "Let's go and get your room set up." "...O...Okay," Dawn Star nodded before she turned to the CMC, "I...I'm sorry I scared you back there...and I understand you don't want to be friends with me anymore." "...What're you talkin' about? Of course we want to be friends with you," Applebloom smiled. "...R...Really?" Dawn Star asked, earning nods from the CMC, "But I...I scared you all so ba…" "We know you did, but you did a good thing with how you scared Diamond Tiara off," Scootaloo pointed out. "Yeah! You scared that meanie really good!" Quirky added with a small smile. "Yeah. Plus, it's really cool to be friends with an Alicorn!" Sweetie Belle added. "A...ano...I...I know...you didn't mean...to scare me D...Dawn-chan...s...so I forgive you," Timid added with a small smile of her own. "So...I...I really am...your friend?" Dawn Star asked, small tears forming in her eyes. "Of course!" Scootaloo nodded. Dawn Star didn't know how to react...her eyes started to tear up really quick as she tried her best to hold back a sob. But...she couldn't hold it any longer as she hugged all five fillies, tears flowing from her eyes as she cried. Inside her body, her heart was beating really fast, showing that Dawn Star was happy...happy to find her first, actual friends. --- (the next day) The five current members of the CMC were anxiously waiting for Dawn Star to arrive. "Oooh! I'm soooo excited!" Quirky smiled. "I know! I can't wait for Dawn Star to get here!" Sweetie Belle added with an excited squeal. "Not only will we have six members, but we even have an Alicorn as a friend!" Scootaloo added in excitement as well. "H...hai. Y-yay!" Timid added with a quiet cheer. "Speaking of whom, I can see her coming right now!" Applebloom responded, looking out the window. "And cue them gathering at the window in three...two...one…" Mischief counted down as the other four fillies gathered at the window to see Dawn Star approaching them. "Hi girls. Sorry I'm late, I guess I let my reading get the better of me last night and I ended up sleeping in," Dawn Star apologized. "It's okay Dawn Star. Now hurry and come up. We can't start your initiation without you!" Applebloom smile as she and the other Fillies pulled their heads back in. "Okay!" Dawn Star nodded as she used her wings to fly up to the doorway and used her magic to open the door and fly inside, "So this is where you meet, huh? Interesting." "Thanks. So...are you ready?" Scootaloo asked the Alicorn filly. "Yes, I'm ready," she nodded. "Cool. So Dawn Star, do you agree and swear to dedicate yourself to the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Scootaloo asked. "I do," Dawn Star nodded. "And do you swear to be one of us until the time arrives when you achieve your own Cutie Mark?" "I do." "Alright then...we, Scootaloo…" "Applebloom…" "Sweetie Belle…" "T….Timid Swallow…" "And Quirky…" "Welcome, Dawn Star, to...the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" the five fillies declared in unison, Timid being a bit louder than her normal tone. "...Thank you so much," Dawn Star thanked, glad to be a part of the group. "It's no problem, Dawn Star. We're not only excited that you're a part of our group…" Scootaloo began with a smile. "But we're glad you're our friend as well," Applebloom added. Dawn Star just smiled at that as the five fillies there gave her a big hug. "Oi vey," Mischief whispered to himself before stating to the audience in a Brooklyn accent, "Any more of 'dis goily stuff and I might jest puke." The six fillies looked at Mischief in confusion, not sure how to react to what he just did. "Ooookay…?" Applebloom responded, breaking the silence. "...So… what do we do now?" Dawn Star asked, hoping to change the subject after the awkward silence. "Well...I did notice somepony needing help with some gardening this morning…" Quirky suggested, "Maybe if we help her out, we'll get our Cutie Marks!" "That sounds pretty promising," Applebloom noted. "Yeah!" Sweetie Belle added. "Shall we go for it, then?" Dawn Star asked. "Sure. but first…" Scootaloo began before whispering something into Dawn Star's ear. "...Do we have to?" the Alicorn Filly asked the orange, pegasus filly in a bit of confusion. "As Applebloom's big brother would say, eeyup," Scootaloo nodded. "...Okay," Dawn Star replied with a small smile. "Ugh...cue them shouting in three...two...one…" Mischief counted down as he put in a pair of ear plugs to mute it out. "Cutie Mark Crusaders: Gardening Helpers!" the six fillies declared as they rushed out of the clubhouse. "Finally," Mischief sighed with relief before rapidly setting up a hammock in the room before laying in it, wearing a tropical shirt and holding a glass of fruit punch, "Ahh...finally. A day to myself..and the best part...no pranks from Quirky...and no…" he began until he saw two ropes drop down in front of him, a sign saying 'pull the right one, and you win a prize. He attempts to reach out for the left one before he gained a small grin, "Oh...no. I'm not falling for that old trick. It's always the left one that gets ya...so this time...I'll go for the right!" he then pulled the right rope, causing a barrage of coconut cream pies to hit him, one with a note reading 'Gotcha Mischief' with a small image of Quirky on the bottom left corner, "...Darn you Quirky!" he then looked at the readers, "Well...good bye or whatever…" and then he began to walk away just as the screen goes blank, mumbling about revenge on a certain dark green filly before the sound of a pie hitting his face filled the air, Oh come on! Seriously?!"