The Pony Lost In The Dark

by Feather_Quill

Goodbyes

Upon entering Equestria (The mane six and Everfree) Everfree was chained up and disallowed to run away, despite her lack of resistance. Nightfall had overcome Equestria and Luna plunged from her balcony before the clan of seven.
“Princess Twilight” the regal pony began with a look of a thousand questions on her face, yet she chose to begin the questioning with: “What’s going on?”
“I request presentation before Celestia” Twilight spoke with an anxious look and hesitant voice “Now!” she snapped, stomping her mild-purple hooves on the cobbled path.
Luna and several guards rushed away and Twilight stood in the opening hallway of the Canterlot palace, six ponies stood beside her, as she awaited the pale pony emerged from the entrance.
“I... We... Found her, uhh, Princess.” She kneeled before the princess as the others had already done.
Celestia approached the small pony and lifted up her previously lowered head.
“I’m ready to return, Princess.” The pony moved her head away from the grip of Celestia’s hoof.
“You mean... You volunteer?” The pony replied, ceasing her, leaning over and standing upright, flicking the left side of her flowing mane from her eye.
Everfree turned to look at the mane six, specifically, Fluttershy. Fluttershy was stroking her left hoof nervously on her right arm, and her hair covered her whole eye and the one that was showing was teary and narrowed towards the outside. Everfree turned back and removed her frown, standing upright with her nose upright with pride. “For my friend friends, I would do anything, as long as they’re safe.”
Princess Celestia smiled her ‘I’m-about-to-say-something-wise-and-you-will-be-in-awe’ smiled “You are the most loyal, kind, generous and honest fillies I have met. I can see you’ve been influenced by these other mares, if only you’d smile and crack a giggle time to time.” She held out her hooves to gesture to the colourful mares that had so quickly befriended one another all those years ago.
Everfree refused to smile and instead stomped her left hoof on the ground to replace standing up any taller from pride because she was just not tall enough “When can we leave?”
Celestia shook her head with her eyes closed, and a slight smirk “No my child, we won’t just hand you over like a bucket of apples, we have to negotiate.”
“No! She won’t listen and I wo-“Everfree was interrupted by a golden shoe sat on a white hoof over her mouth.
“We have to at least try to negotiate, because everypony is worth fighting for.”
It was cheesy, of course but Everfree looked back at Fluttershy, who smiled hopefully. She turned back to Celestia and nodded acceptingly.

In the back of the regal Cantelotian cart beside Fluttershy, Everfree sat, silently. Over the valleys of colour and majesty and then over the darkest, and most haunting roots known to Ponykind.
“It’s beautiful.” The silence was shattered by Everfree’s sweet and quiet voice, throwing Fluttershy back into reality. “Your whole kingdom, it’s so... Flawless.”
Fluttershy half-heartedly shrugged and continued to stare out of the window.
Everfree through persistence shuffled closer and spoke again “This might even be out last ever conversation, but you aren’t really much of a talker...”
Flutters half turned around in response, but turned back to the window and let out a weak “hmm.”
This may be Everfree’s final attempt. “In my home kingdom, everything near enough is blackened.” She sighed and placed her hoof on the shimmering window “I'm gonna miss all the colour here.”
The yellowy pony’s crystal blue eyes overflowed with bitter tears “Dammit Everfree!” The pony snapped “I don’t want you to go, do you think this is what I want? I'm gonna miss you, okay? Is that what you want me to say?”
Everfree plunged forward and threw her arms around Fluttershy, her tears rolling down her back “I... I’ll miss you too.”
“Don’t let them take you!” Fluttershy yelled, releasing her grip of Everfree as they slowly pulled away from their heart-warming hug “Please, I don’t want to go back, I’ll miss you, don’t let them take you, please.”
The coach halted and Everfree’s door swung open, the answer had already come, without a single word spoken.
She sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes as she stepped out of the cart and revealed the cliff, thousands of feet from the ground. Before was a black building, the walls had a dripping effect, although it was made of tarmac that had melted in the ever present humidity and heat.
Twenty, maybe thirty blackened guards similar to Everfree, wearing jet black helmets and armour.
A larger, black mare with long legs and a red flowing mane that fluttered like a flame, her fur was flurried with orange and yellow veins that shimmered in the little light, even seemed to radiate light. Her wings were bat like and long, yet clear and red. She also had a long, red, unicorn horn and two relatively long, but shorter than the dominant horn, besides each ear.
Twilight, Celestia, and Everfree all approached the pony, witnessed by the remaining 5, that kept their distance. The black and red mare walked forward, closely followed by two of the guards.
“Queen Cindersmoke” Celestia bowed her head, and stretched out her hoof gracefully.
The queen stood high and looked down upon the Princess “Why have you bothered to deliver her? This filly is worthless.”
“Then why go to all these measures to retrieve her?” Celestia snapped, with a fury that you would not expect from such a wise pony, one that the mane 6 had only witnessed during her defeat of Discord.
“She broke law once, now she dares to not only escape her punishment, but the entire kingdom?” The pony’s voice hissed as she talked, like a snake, and snarled in between words.
Celestia turned to Everfree who retreated with one glance “broke the law?” her signature regal voice enhanced, she blinked and her eyelashes flickered.
Everfree opened her mouth and her voice rippled across the sinister situation, sweetly and lightly. Her voice was a butterfly, fluttering and carrying from the blackened ashes, delicately across a misty nightmare graveyard “I was born an orphan, as my mother died giving me life and my father had long been dead out at war. I lived in an orphanage and was so very poor. My only chance to survive was thievery, one, I saw the biggest, most beautiful Ponyville apple, and took it. They chased me down the road and... Caught me... Sentenced to 20 years of hard labour at just 14 at the-“Everfree paused, and heard a soft, gentle sobbing coming from Fluttershy.
“You’ve got 10 years left, foal, 10 years to serve, or your friends will be put at risk.” The Queen smiled menacing “You have no authority here Princess, she belongs to me!”
Princess Celestia put her hoof on Everfree’s back and pushed her towards the Queen. Everfree walked away “I’m sorry” Celestia whispered.
Celestia indicated all the other ponies to leave. In the blink of an eye, the carriage was being carried away.