Doomflower

by Ganondox

Horn

Rainflower set off in the direction of Canterlot. Until now, she only thought she knew what it was like to be alone, but she always had someone, whether it was her adopted father, her friend, or her unicorn mentor, who cared about her and she could turn to. Now she was truly alone. She had been walking the road to Canterlot for days now, subsiding off of grass and dew. In the distance she could see the faint outline of mountains. The map said that Canterlot was located there. Maybe she might meet another pony once she got closer. Even the company of one of her apathetic classmates would be better than this loneliness.

She thought she might have found refuge in her dreams, hoping to find memories of playing with Melon Head, reading Grey Dusk's books, or Gold Hair holding her, but in her dreams she found nothing except torment. Every night she had the same dream. She dreamed of the night, the attempt that Stone Heart made, and most of all, of the murder. She saw wave after wave of blood and she awoke in terror. The memory of what she had done and what had happened would not go away.

One day it rained. As unpleasant as the rain felt, it was a major relief for Rainflower as it provided fresh water. She had been slowly growing delirious from dehydration, and now she could finally save herself with a proper water source. The famished mare found a puddle of water by the side of the road. She bent down and began to gorge herself, her eyes firmly sealed as she focused on the taste. Even though it was somewhat dirty it still tasted like sweet memories. At last she was refreshed and opened her eyes. What she saw nearly made her choke on the last bit of water in her mouth.

In her reflection she noticed that there was now streaks of turquoise mixed in with the magenta on her irises.

***

The mountains grew larger and larger, and before long she met another pony traveling on the same road, only he was traveling in the opposite direction. The stallion was older than her, with a coat the color of the dirt road, and a cleanly cropped mane. On his back was a saddle supporting a few bags, and his cutie mark was similar bag. He appeared to be hardly paying attention to where he was or where he was going as he ambled along. As she hadn't seen another pony in days she decided it would be best to approach him. When he came into focus she let out a yell to get his attention.

"Hello! What brings you down this road!"

The stallion seemed to return to Equestria from the depths of his mind as he lifted his head to find the voice. Once he spotted Rainflower he made out his modest reply.

"Just taking goods out from the city to the countryside. And you?"

He was drawing in closer now. Taking in a deep breathe Rainflower prepared to ask for assistance.

" My name is Rainflower. I'm moving to Canterlot from a village far down the road. I haven't seen another pony in days, so I'm wondering if you can help me. See, my first problem is that I've had hardly anything to eat or drink in days. Second, I'm not sure what exactly I'm going to do once I get to Canterlot."

As she spoke Rainflower noticed that he was staring at her leg. She shifted her weight to hide it from his view. The stallion then averted his gaze from the leg and tried to meet her eyes.

"Well, I'll see what I can do. I have some water, and some dandelion cookies. I guess I could spare some. Want any?"

Rainflower could feel her mouth filling up with saliva as she saw the delicate yellow circles emerge from the other pony's bag. She was so hungry that her nodding was practically involuntary. A slight smile crept across her lips as she gingerly took the cookies from him. It took all quite a bit of restraint to keep her from just eating them all right there, but she needed to save some, so she only snarfed down one of them. Her hooves were shaking when she opened her bag to store the remaining cookies.

"By the way, I'm Glossander."

As Rainflower stashed the cakes into her satchel Glossander's eyes fell upon the figure in the bag.

"That's a nice carving you have there. Where did you get it?"

"Oh, I got it from a friend of mine, his name is Grey Dusk. He told me that this carving would help me in Canterlot."

At the sound of the unicorn's name Glossander's ears perked up.

"Did you say Grey Dusk? I see how that carving could help you. If I could sell it I would be set for a month. After he disappeared and his excellent carvings became more rare they have become quite expensive. Anyhow, I really need to get going, so I wish you luck in Canterlot."

As Glossander trotted away Rainflower let out a farewell with far more confidence then she actually felt. After she watched him disappear over a hill she let out a sigh. Alone once again, she turned around and headed towards Equestria's capital. It was going to be a long climb up the mountain.

***

Magnificent Dawn awoke to the sound of birdsong. She grumbled as she fumbled out of bed and hobbled over to her mirror. Her reflection was a mess, her majestic purple mane splayed across her face and not looking the least bit majestic, her eyes were barely open so she couldn't see her normally brillent vermillion orbs, and her normally ruby face was looking more puce with her dead expression. A scarlet glow illuminated an ornate brush lying next to the mirror as the unicorn nonchalantly levitated it and got to work. It would only take a few minutes to polish the tarnish off of this trophy.

After she finished applying makeup the mare examined herself again. She was perfect now. She had pulled her mane back into a braid, restored life to her eyes, and her face was full of color now. She finished off by throwing a deep violet robe over her back. It was time to go downstairs and open the shop.

Meanwhile at the city limits a bewildered Rainflower trotted slowly as her eyes darted around. It was strange enough climbing up the mountain and getting past the guards, but once she stepped past the outer walls she was in something else entirely. She had never seen so many ponies before, or so many buildings. Multicolored, curvy shops stood fused together on each side of the street. And there were so many unicorns. It amazed her that all of the ponies were wearing clothes, something that aside from Gold Hair's coat and Grey Dusk's robes she had only heard about in books. The stone beneath her hooves felt so different than the dirt she was used to, harder, less even. It certainly sounded louder as she heard a *clop clop clop* come from every step anypony took. It was so alien.

She turned to a white stallion in a funny black suit she saw walking past her.

"Excuse me sir, can you help me?"

However, the other pony just passed by her without even casting a glance in her general direction. She tried asking help from several other ponies, but they all responded, or rather didn't respond, the same way. Even though she was now in a sea of ponies she had never felt more alone. After wondering the streets for what felt like hours she couldn't take it anymore and just collapsed into an alley, out of the way of the other ponies, and sobbed.

***

Dawn was having a poor day. The only thing she had sold was some sort of wooden doll to a half-crazy old mare. As she sat with her head on one hoof, staring idly at a spider spinning a cobweb in the corner, a sudden sound disturbed her. She came to her hooves and ventured outside the shop through the side door, searching for the source of the noise. Once she was outside she could tell it came from somepony crying. At last she she found the source, a mare with her face on her hooves. She placed her own hoof on the mare's shoulder and tried to comfort her.

"I've found you, there's no need to cry. Now tell me what's wrong."

The mare turned to face the speaker. Dawn's face fell when she saw the other pony's forehead.

"What's wrong? I'm a monster! I did something I can't undo, and now I've lost my home, my family, and my friends. I came to Canterlot to look for a new start, but everypony just ignored me. "

The earth pony practically screamed as she spoke. Dawn faked a smile and tried to find a way to take advantage of the situation.

"Well, I'm sorry that happened to you. If you are looking for a home, I believe I can provide for you, at least for while. However, I can't afford to just keep you around for nothing, so I'm going to need you to assist me. Housing isn't cheap here in Canterlot. Come, follow me."

The other mare stopped crying and followed Dawn into her shop. Once they were inside Dawn got behind the clerk's counter. Rainflower put the sack she had with her onto the counter and reached into it. Dawn found earth ponies' inability to simply pull something out with magic to be rather pitiful. Rainflower pulled a small brown object out of the bag and held it in front of the unicorn.

"Well, a unicorn named Grey Dusk gave this to me when I left Cowdoor. He said it would help me, and from another pony I learned it might be of much value. Could I pay rent with it? By the way, my name is Rainflower."

The unicorn used her magic to lift it out of the other pony's hooves and she examined it, turning it over and over, looking into every nook and cranny, feeling every grain. It was undeniably something made by Grey Dusk. It would be worth a fair amount, but Dawn wasn't just going to let the earth pony just pay once and then just stay with her, and she decided she might as well let the poor earth pony keep her trinket.

"Well Rainflower, I'm afraid I can't take this from you, so it looks like you are going to have to work for me. Trust me, with the way the market is in Canterlot right now that's probably your best option. Oh, and my name is Magnificent Dawn. It was rude of me for not telling you earlier."

***

Dawn showed Rainflower around her place while she described what she wanted her to do. It seemed that Dawn mainly just wanted her to keep the place tidy, sweep, organize the items for the shop, cook their food, and the like. On the bottom level was the shop, which had the front room, a back room for storage, a kitchen, a restroom, and of course the staircase up. Below there was a basement with more storage room. On the upper level was Dawn's home. She had her own room with it's own bathroom, and a study. There was a smaller servant's quarters up there as well.

"Now, this would be the room you would live in. Your bed is right there. Unfortunately you have to use the bathroom downstairs."

They were standing in the hallway, peering into the quarters. After she was done presenting the room she lead Rainflower back into the master bed room and went to her desk. On it was a stack of papers with a quill and ink pot.

"Now, any questions?"

Rainflower thought over it. She needed a place to live, but this isn't quite what she wanted. After all, her talent was potions, not sweeping.

"Well, I was wondering if this is really the best thing for me to do. I mean, cooking and cleaning isn't really my strong suite. I'm more of a potion maker if I say so myself, so I was wondering if instead I could make you potions that you could sell?"

The unicorn let out a friendly laugh, then replied.

"That would be nice, but I really need someone to help me take care of the place, and I only have room for one pony to stay with me, so if you want to stay with me I'm afraid you are going to have to cook and clean. I'm not going to stop you from making potions, if you provide me with them it would provide a nice supplement to your income. In fact with the way the economy is right now I'm afraid if you just cook and clean I wouldn't be able to pay you with much more than room and board, so I highly advise making some potions as well."

Rainflower opened her mouth and tried to protest, but it died inside her throat. Right now she really couldn't complain. As long as she could resume potion making and have a home she figured life would be good enough.

"No more questions? Good. Now, I just need you to sign this contract so we can formally settle this. First sign here."

She gestured to a line on the first page of the stack of papers. Rainflower picked up the quill and signed as she was directed.

"Now sign here and here."

Rainflower did as she was told. She was too happy that she was finally with another pony and had a home to take the time to read them over.

"That's it. Now, let's get to work."

Rainflower was already quite tired from her trek to Canterlot, but she couldn't bring disappointment with her first day. She swept and cooked a dandelion stew, which took out the last of her energy after she gulped it down. After an exhausting day Rainflower simply collapsed onto her new bed. Within seconds she was asleep.

***

Tonight her dream was different. It was not a jumbled nightmare of her memories, rather it was something new. She found herself in a dark open space. The ground beneath her was made of cobblestone, and it felt as real as if she were awake. However, it was a lot more comfortable than the cobblestone in Canterlot, if only it wasn't so cold. She wandered around the monotonous space, a feeling of crushing despair even greater than the one she felt after she was exiled filled her as she walked. As she felt she was about to be overcome by the loss of all hope she caught a glimpse of a figure in the distance.

As she drew in closer she saw that it was statue of an earth pony. Soon she was close enough to inspect it. The statue had mismatched eyes and a beard, reminding her of Grey Dusk. She traced the pony with her eyes down from the neck to the forelegs to his back, and the rest of the pony looked normal, but then she got to the hind legs and a chill ran down her spine. One leg was normal, the other was that of a dragon.

She woke up as a voice in her head said "Come to me, my child."

***

A few weeks had passed, and it was another day were Rainflower was sweeping the shop. So far her time spent with Magnificent Dawn had been okay, but compared to what she had just come from it was heaven sent. She got up in the morning, made breakfast for them, and then Dawn sent her off on whatever set of errands she had for her on that day. She could usually get them all done in the morning before lunch, so she usually had most of the afternoon off except for the tasks that had to be done later like making dinner. This left her plenty of time to make potions, but it also gave her time to look around the city and explore. She was even beginning to make friends, or at least acquaintances, on her outings. Today she was planning on meeting up with a unicorn named Lily Leaf after lunch.

When the bell rang, alerting her that another customer came in, she took a half glance at the door, not expecting anything unusual. However, she noticed something different about the latest costumer to enter the shop. It was something small, but it made all the difference. He had no horn, he was an earth pony. Rainflower stopped sweeping and watched the small white stallion hobble over to the counter. Rainflower now noticed that he had a bandage over one of his back legs, which he held awkwardly.

"Hello miss. I injured myself while playing hoofball, so I'm looking for some ointment to find some relief. My boss gave me a recommendation, so I'm not just looking for any ointment. Here, he wrote it down a slip of paper for me, let me show it to ya."

Neither earth pony noticed the disgusted look Dawn made while the stallion pulled out a sheet of a paper from a pocket in the vest he was wearing.

"Nightfire Salve? Really, I wouldn't recommend that. It might work for your boss, but I don't think it would be good for a pony of your stature, it might overwhelm you. Instead I recommend Merlion Tears. "

With that Rainflower let her broom and her jaw drop. Was her boss out of her mind? Sure, Merlion Tears would kill the pain and keep the wound from getting infected, but it would also keep the wound from healing. This was not the proper use for them at all. Meanwhile, Dawn got up and retrived a vial of it herself, making Rainflower even more suspicious. Usually she would just send Rainflower to fetch whatever needed to be sold when she was available.

"Here you go. Just apply three drops to the injury every morning and evening. This should last you one week, see me again if you need anymore."

Rainflower watched in horror as bits were exchanged for medicine and the pony left after giving a simple goodbye. Once he was gone she approached her boss.

"Why did you just do that?"

Magnificent Dawn spun around to face her accuser.

"Why did I do what? I was just doing business as usual."

She displayed an expression of confusion. Rainflower couldn't tell if it was authentic or not, so she gave her the benefit of the doubt.

"You advised him to take Merlion Tears instead of the Nightfire Salve. Why did you do that? Now it's going to take forever for his wound to heal."

Dawn turned her head away Rainflower.

"Oh, dear, I seem to have overlooked that, how could I have made such a careless mistake? I was just thinking about the pain relieving effects as that was what he was looking for. Nightfire stings so much and I didn't think he would take it, so I prescribed him the Merlion Tears as they are practically painless. Well, it's too late to fix things now, but I can switch his prescription once he comes back in a week."

Rainflower still thought there was something wrong about this explanation, but she let it drop as she figured it was best not to argue with her employer and landlord. She sighed and went back to sweeping. Maybe she would forget all about the incident once she was with Lily Leaf.

***

That night Rainflower found her herself on the ethereal cobblestones for the second time. It had been a couple of months since her last encounter. She still had nightmares of the death of Stone Heart, but they had grown less frequent after her first dream of the statue. This time it was different because she could hear music. She followed the sounds until she saw the it was coming from the statue. It was now in a new pose, in fact it was moving, strumming a harp while it sung, though the music being played was not that of a harp. She stopped to take a moment to ponder the spectacle, then went in to get a closer look. As she approached it the music grew louder, until at last she could make out the lyrics.

Come to me, my little child
And know we're born to be wild
They say you're all but broken
Through everything unspoken

Oh Ray I can set you free
My fleur, just come unto me
And now even what was lost
Will be fixed for a cost

Secrets of forgotten past
Will be revealed at long last
Shed the blood in this cold game
Just ask me my humble name

The song had her mesmerized, and she found herself drawn to the statue just as the song concluded. Soon enough she found herself face to face with the statue, and it stared back into her eyes as it finished it's song. In the silence they continued to stare at each other until at last Rainflower spoke.

"There is something about you. You remind me of someone I once knew, but I know you are nothing like him. I know this is more than just a dream, so let me ask you one question. Who are you?"

The statue grinned. He seemed to snap and the harp disappeared just like that.

"Now that's a very good question, so I congratulate you for coming up with it. I am known by many names, but you may call me Everfree, for I am the spirit of the Everfree Forest, my last haven. Long ago, I was the rightful king of this land. Then they who despised had me sealed away. I was unjustly bound for a couple centuries, but then someone like you saw the light and set me free, freeing Equestria from the usurper's descendants' iron fist. All was well until once again I was challenged, and that challenger now sits on the throne of Canterlot today. However, they couldn't truly destroy us. Bits and pieces of me still remain. They are waiting. Waiting for you."

As Everfree spoke he stood up and began to circle Rainflower. She tried to follow him, but he seemed to disappear. Then he seemed to reappear just as he said the last line, right in her face. She felt overwhelmed and backed away.

"Waiting for me?"

Everfree let out a laugh.

"Yes, waiting for you. You are the one who has uncovered what was lost, what was shunned, and embraced it. After a thousand years the bounds that held me have loosened and slipped away, and now all that I need is for someone to open the gate and let me out. When that time comes I need you to be ready."

Rainflower was confused by this. Why would this ancient monarch want anything from her? She always was a nobody who couldn't do anything. She let out a sigh and asked a question.

"Well then, what do you want me to do?"

"Oh, just keep alert for now. Pay attention to things. I will return later. For now, auf wiedersehen."

With that the dream faded away.

***

After the incident things more or less began to return to normal, but over time Rainflower began to grow more suspicious as she noticed various small things that seemed to show that Magnificent Dawn had someting against earth ponies, and her work load steadily grew larger and larger. However, Rainflower knew that the increased workload was probably a side effect of her getting progressively more disagreeable.

Several months later came the day were she finally snapped. Magnificent Dawn had told her to resort the potions according to a new system. While looking through them she took notice of their labels, and noticed that each one was labled with it's source. However, while she noticed that there were potions that corresponded with those that she had personally supplied, none of them were labled as being hers or even with a generic brand. Once she noticed this she stormed out of the storage and found Dawn in her study. She was reading a book, but stopped when she heard her servant stomping into the room. Rainflower started screaming at her before she even looked up.

"I'm not going to be doing anymore of this meaningless work! That's all it is, meaningless work to keep me busy. The old sorting system for the potions worked just fine. You don't even appreciate my real talent! I saw the potion room, you aren't even selling the potions I've made!"

Magnificent Dawn stood up and approached Rainflower. She appeared to be trembling like she was just barely in control of herself.

"You signed a contract and as of such you must continue to carry out the work I need from you until it expires. You, speaking about meaningless work, and yet you still insist on making those potions! As a matter of fact I do sell them in my shop, I just label them under another brand I made up. You should be glad that I even do that and let you continue, if they knew an earth pony made those no one would buy them. Earth ponies can't possibly comprehend the true beauty of magic. You're lucky I took pity on you and took you in. I thought I could make you as good as a unicorn if you stayed with me. You better not prove me wrong!"

Rainflower stood with her jaw once again dropped in horrific awe. She was right the whole time. The unicorn hated her and her entire race. After the shock was gone she felt a new rage burning within her. She steadily approached her master while shouting whatever came to her mind, not noticing that Magnificent Dawn was now levitating a paper weight.

"You just said it! You hate me! You hate all earth ponies! Why, because we lack a horn? I saw what you did! You think an earth pony's life is so worthless that you would let them die as long as you can suck money out of them. That's what you are doing now, aren't you, sucking me dry? Well I'll show you! I'll-"

Magnificent Dawn let the paper weight fly and it collided with Rainflower's mouth. The earth pony tumbled backwards, blood flowing from her mouth. Rainflower slunk into her room, not hearing the hasty apologies coming from her master. She fell onto her bed and let tears mix with her blood.

***

Despite her thoughts on her master Rainflower continued to serve her as she did in fact need a source of income and she didn't want to face the legal consequences for breaching the contract. At first Dawn was unusually nice to Rainflower after the incident as if trying to make up for what she did, but soon enough she gave up on that act and worked Rainflower harder than ever. As her time was taken up by her work she had less and less time to be with her friends. It came to a point where she had to choose between potions or friends, and the potions provided her with needed money, so she went with the former.

More than a year had past since she started working for Magnificent Dawn, and now the Grand Galloping Gala was coming up. Magnificent Dawn had managed to acquire a ticket for it this year, and as of such responsibility for preparing her for it was given to Rainflower. She recalled day after day where Dawn would send her to pick a dress for her, she would show it to Dawn, then she would have to take that dress back and select another dress. It was really quite exhausting, but if Dawn actually bothered coming to the store it could be finished in a single sitting.

Rainflower also knew from her friends that there was another party coming up. A wealthy earth pony by the name of Sparkle Dance was throwing his own party a week prior to the Gala in protest of it. This was catered towards the lower class. It was open admission, but it's existence was meant to be kept fairly secretive, and anyway most of the upper class ponies would want nothing to do with something with so many lower class ponies attending as guests. Rainflower knew that some of her friends would be there, and she was trying to find a way to attend.

At last the day of the party came, and Rainflower was sent to return yet another dress. This made it all too easy to actually go to her party instead of working. She simply threw on the current dress, which was some sort of frilly white thing, and headed over to the party site. It was being held in a warehouse in the city that was owned by Sparkle Dance. The front entrance was locked, so she headed around to the back. Standing by the back doors were a pair of fairly large stallions making idle conversation. One was a unicorn and the other was a pegasus. They saw her, nodded, and opened the doors for her.

As the doors were opened a wave of sound issued out of them. Rainflower stepped in and witnessed a spectacle. The place was absolutely packed with all sorts of ponies in all sorts of dress, and a soft smoke filled the air. She could hear the sound of hundreds of ponies conversing as well as that of a strange, harsh, fast music in the background. She could see a table laid out with punch and refreshments to one side, but she wanted to see what was in the center as that's where the music appeared to coming from. After pushing her way through crowd she found a group of four ponies in the center. Two held strange string instruments like guitars, but the bodies were solid and brightly colored. Another was sitting at a large drumset blasting out a simple, fast beat, while the third was screaming something incomprehensible into a mike. All four of them had their manes cut short. Just then Rainflower heard a pony shouting her name. Rainflower turned and saw a cream unicorn with a green mane that arched over her face. She recognized this as Lily Leaf.

"Hey, Ray, is that you? I haven't seen you in forever, come on over here!"

Rainflower approached her friend. Once she came close her friend grabbed her into a friendly embrace.

"I'm so glad you could come, we were thinking you would never show up. Where have you been lately?"

"Oh, I've just been working late. I really should make some more time to see you guys, I'm sorry for not seeing you sooner."

Lily Leaf smiled.

"Oh, that's alright, we understand. At least you could make time for tonight. If you ever need any help just tell us and we will be right there."

"Oh, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

Rainflower knew that was a lie, but she didn't want her friends to worry or have to get caught up in this. At last Lily Leaf let go of her and they turned to face the band again.

"I know their music is a bit strange, but they are rather fitting for this gathering as their music stands in contrast to the music of the upper class, and if you listen closely you can tell they speak for the working pony."

They made conversation through the night, but eventually it became clear that Rainflower was not all right. After coming back with a glass of punch Lily Leaf pulled her to the side where it was quieter.

"Rainflower, what's wrong? You can tell me, I'm your friend."

Rainflower sighed.

"Well, I..I...it's my boss. We used to get along fine, but after I figured out what she thinks of earth ponies our relationship just went downhill. She has been working me far harder then we agreed to ever since then, partly as punishment for defying her, and partly out of some misguided belief that if I go out her sight I'd become corrupted by earth pony culture. I can't take it much longer."

Lily Leaf dropped her punch, but she didn't seem to care about it. She only cared for Rainflower right now

"That's horrible. Ray, let me help you! You shouldn't nor can you deal with this on your own. If you get some support we can take this to a higher authority and sort this out. Celestia doesn't approve of such abuse."

"No, I'm fine. Really, I can handle this myself. It's not going to last forever, it's gonna get better. I didn't tell you because I don't want you to have to worry."

Lily sighed, not looking convinced.

"Well, if you say so. But I'm still not going to give up on you. If you're unable to visit me than I'll visit you. Come on, let's get something more to drink."

***

After the party ended Rainflower headed off to find the dress shop. She hastily exchanged the dress for another one and returned home. There she found Magnificent Dawn waiting for her, and she did not look pleased.

"What took you so long? And that dress is awful, have you been paying any attention to what I've been telling you? If you were at that earth pony party I'll have your hide tanned!"

Rainflower started sweating as tried to come up with an excuse.

"Oh, I would never consider going to that thing, I heard that it's just savage. No, I was just trying to get you a dress, but they were all out of good dresses because other ponies were also getting dresses for the gala and the new shipment doesn't arrive until tomorrow. I tried hitting up a few other shops, but they were similarly out of stock. At last I noticed how late it was getting so I just settled for this and came back. I'll find something better tomorrow."

Dawn didn't look too convinced, but she seemed to accept it.

"Well, since the shipment arrives tomorrow you better get something good by the day after."

***

Tonight was going to be the night. Rainflower had finished all her work, and she was going to confront Magnificent Dawn once her master returned home from the gala. For too long the unicorn had been taking advantage of her, and now she was going to set this deal straight or just leave. Right now she was waiting for her in her room.

At last Magnificent Dawn came home. She trudged through the doorway and slammed the door, visibly upset. Rainflower took no notice of this and begin her assault.

"Magnificent Dawn, I have served you faithfully for over a year now and I have yet to see the pay I deserve. If you do not either cut my work load or raise my pay significantly, I'm leaving tonight!"

The unicorn took one look at Rainflower and screamed back at her with three times as much fury.

"Oh come on, I do not have time for this! My first Grand Galloping Gala was ruined by a group of hornless freaks from Ponyville, and now you are asking for a freaking raise! I do not have to give you a raise, if you look at the contract you will see I have not violated it and you are still bound to me. If you even think about escaping from your duty I'll take you to court!"

The unicorn then went over to her study and came back with an all too familiar stack of papers. She laid them down on her dresser and had Rainflower read it. Rainflower could do little except sit down and stare at the parchment. Dawn was right, she had her trapped. However, as she thought through it she decided she didn't care about it. She was leaving no matter what. She got up and headed out of the room. Once she was in the doorway she shouted back at her master.

"In Celestia's name damn the contract! It's just a piece of paper, and it does not excuse all the abuse you have given me. I'm going to runaway now and you can't stop me! If you do some how bring me to court I'm just going to expose you for the hateful, cruel, racist fiend you are, so goodbye!"

Rainflower raced down the stair case and towards the door, but the door glowed scarlet before her and slammed shut. The doorknob came off with a pop and hit her in the chest, knocking her wind out.

"Oh no you aren't! As an earth pony you lack magic, and thus you need knobs to open doors! We unicorns can just slide the bolts using magic! Now, tell me, can you do this?"

With that Rainflower felt herself being lifted off ground.

"No you can't! Because you're an earth pony. You earth ponies are all the same! Us unicorns take pity on you, we give you everything, and you just keep sucking like a parasite. When we finally ask for one little thing in return you leave us in the dust, taking the one pony in the word that we hold dearest with you. I was a fool, but I'll be a fool no longer. What ever you do I'm not going to just let you go!"

While she spoke she slammed Rainflower into the wall every few syllables. At last she stopped and just left the battered earth pony in the center of the floor. She headed back into her room and slammed the door, barely holding back her own tears. Rainflower felt too badly bruised to move, so she just lay there on the floor until her consciousness faded away.

***

Once again Rainflower found herself in the haunting dreamscape. Here she felt more whole than she had in her entire life. Ahead she could see Everfree beaconing for her. With a skip in her step she headed over to the statue.

"Everfree! Since the second time you came I haven't had any more nightmares, now my only nightmare is my life. Are you here to comfort me again?"

Everfree smiled and drew in closer to Rainflower.

"Well, I can't say that I'm here to comfort you, but I am here to set you free. In order to do that, I need to be made whole."

He then pointed behind Rainflower. She turned and saw a cloud of mist coming together. In the mist an apparition of Everfree formed. It reflected him except for one feature. It had horns. One was an antler, the other was a spiraling antelope horn.

"My child, I need my horns in order to be whole. You aided me through blood once, and you can do it again. Rainflower, you know what you must do. "

At first this statement confused her, but as she came to the startling realization she felt her stomach sink and an expression of pure horror came across her face. At last she found the courage to utter out the words, but it was hardly louder than a whisper.

"Y-you want me, want me to k-kill Magnificent Dawn and t-take her horn? I-I can't."

Everfree came up to her and wrapped one of his arms behind the back of her neck.

"Think about. Soon you will be free from this enslavement. Soon you will no longer be a second class citizen, but a unicorn. Think about all the things she has done, she deserves it. She never loved you, she has been using you the entire time. She hates earth ponies, imagine what it would be like if your roles were reversed. The power to deliver justice lies in your own two hooves. It's not that hard, it's just like coring an apple, if there were apple here I'd be coring one right now! It's not like you haven't killed somepony before. As I like to say if you've done it once you can do it again."

As he spoke he gestured towards the mist. Reflected inside were scenes depicting Magnificent Dawn and all the times she had abused Rainflower or somepony else. She saw the stallion being scammed, her potions being mislabeled, Dawn harassing a mare on the street, and her being beaten just the night before. Rainflower continued looking at the mist even after the apparitions disappeared. Maybe she could do this. Maybe she should do this. Maybe she would do this. But still... At that moment she broke from the statue's embrace and turned to face him.

"But I don't even know how to do it. Stone Heart was an earth pony like me, I had a leg once, I've never had a horn before!"

"Child, unicorns and earth ponies really aren't so different after all. I promise you this. In her study there is a book titled "Grey House's Anatomy". In it there is a section on the magulatory system of unicorns as well as other ponies. In that chapter you find all the information you need to take what she has. I tell you, all you really need is already inside you."

With that Everfree turned away from her and faded into the darkness.

***

Rainflower awoke to find herself incredibly sore, but she could still walk. After the incident Rainflower and Magnificent Dawn acted odd around each other, neither really wanting to interact with the other. At last Dawn left the shop, taking care to close the door behind her so Rainflower couldn't escape. Rainflower used this time to explore Dawn's study.

Rainflower scanned over all the books on her bookcase, searching for Grey House's anatomy. She noticed one book was unlabeled, so she pulled it out and opened it up in case it was the book she was looking for. It flipped right open to page displaying a torn photo depicting Magnificent Dawn and a unicorn foal. The picture was vertically torn in half. This obviously wasn't Grey House's anatomy, so she put it back and resumed searching until at last she found the correct book.

Rainflower pulled it off the shelf and placed it on the ground in front of her. She was going to find out exactly how unicorn magic works. She carefully flipped through the pages, noting chapters on digestion, lymph nodes, and respiration. At last she found the chapter on the magulatory system and proceeded to skim through the introduction.

Since the preclassical era unicorn's have wondered where their magic comes from...all ponies possess a magulatory system...The core of the system is an organ located just behind the heart called the magnus corpus...A pony's magic is generated within the magnus corpus where it then flows outwards and is channeled through keratin...

Earth ponies possess a weak form of telekinesis in their hooves that enables them to pick up objects....Pegasi can use magic to deform the feathers on their wings....The natural magic found in all ponies is what causes the hair on the flank to be stained at a certain point in puberty that is particularly strong in emotion, creating the cutie mark.

The outer shell of a unicorn's horn is made up of keratin....inside is a bony core. Unicorn horns differ from the horns of many other animals in that they have an unusually thick keratin shell and a larger bundle of nerves in their interior. This reflects the horns role in the magulatory system...At the base of the horn lies the cornular nerve. Despite the lack of horns this nerve is present in earth ponies and pegasi as well....

The blank expression that was present on Rainflower's face while she studied faded into smile. Everfree was right after all. She could do the deed. It would take a few days to prepare, but she could do it.

***

Magnificent Dawn awoke to the sound of birdsong. She opened her eyes, expecting to see the sunrise, but to her surprise no light came in. As her eyes came into focus she noticed that there was no window in front of her, instead there was rack of unknown objects. At this moment she realized she was no longer in her bedroom and attempted to get up, only to find she couldn't even move her forelegs. When she looked down she noticed that her legs were restrained by some sort of bonds which she tried to magically loose. To her horror not even a light came.

As last she came to realize that what she thought was birdsong was not birdsong at all, but whistling. She turned to face the source of the whistling. It appeared to be coming from a pony with her back to her in the shadows. At last the whistling stopped, the silhouette appeared to bow it's head, raise it again, and then turned around. As it drew closer she could make out that it was holding a knife in it's mouth, and when it drew closer still she could make out the details on it's face.

If Dawn wasn't gagged she would have screamed at the sight of Rainflower, but she could do nothing except wait in fearful silence as she anticipated her slave's revenge and her certain demise.

***

Rainflower had drugged Magnificent Dawn's dinner with a special concoction she had designed herself to first bring it's victim into a deep sleep and then later interfere with her capability to perform magic. She special talent wasn't potion making for no reason. After her mistress fell asleep she dragged her into the basement and tied her up. After she was secured she got to work and made the final preparations. She had made a new batch of her special salve to prepare for the horn grafting. She was so overjoyed that she was going to finally be free again that she found herself whistling as she sharpened her knife. Soon she found the knife to be sharp enough so she stopped whistling and picked it up in her mouth.

She headed over to Dawn with blade in mouth. She was now over her head. She look down at her so she could get to work with removing the horn from the base, but then she saw that she was now awake. Her eyes were open wide and staring into her own, full of fear. Rainflower felt the knife grow heavier in her mouth. She couldn't do this, Magnifecent Dawn had supported her through all her time in Canterlot. She might have not thought too kindly of earth ponies, but she gave Rainflower a chance. She was still a pony.

A voice then came into Rainflower's head which was not her own. It was Everfree's.

"Child, you have been pushed around for your entire life. Are you going to continue to just let her push you around? When you got a leg you got a new degree of freedom, and this horn will give you yet another!"

At this Rainflower was torn and her head spinned as she thought through this moral dilemma. Yes, she had been pushed around her entire life and Magnificent Dawn had pushed her around a great deal, but was this Everfree really any better? What had he actually ever done for her except sing a silly little song? Also, while the leg had brought her an unimaginable level of increased mobility, was it really worth the cost? She had to kill Stone Heart to get it. For that she had to live with her own guilty conscience, and she was exiled from her village. Now she was going to be murdering Magnificent Dawn in cold blood. There was no way she would ever be the same after this, and she certainly couldn't stay in Canterlot after this was found out. Was getting a horn really worth all of that?

And yet somehow she still wanted to do this. Killing Stone Heart really wasn't that bad. The nightmares all went away with Everfree's help. Magnificent Dawn couldn't chase away her nightmares. She wasn't even a pony, she was a monster who tried to beat her to death, but failed. She couldn't really turn back now, now that Dawn had seen her with knife in mouth she really couldn't just let her master go free. Stone Heart was going to murder her or worse, and so she had to kill him, and the leg was just an added bonus. A very nice added bonus at that. She had nearly forgotten what the days with only three legs were like, but she could not. Things were so much better now that she had a leg. She could run with the other ponies now, and soon she was going to be able do magic with the unicorns. Soon her voice and Everfree's voice became one and the same.

She braced her self and turned back to do the deed, but then once again she gazed into Magnificent Dawn's eyes. They were full of tears now. She couldn't do this, and she felt tears coming from her own eyes. Then she reminded herself that there was no turning back now, and it was either her or Magnificent Dawn. She closed her eyes, and plunged her knife into Dawn's forehead with enough force to split stone. As the knife went in Rainflower and Dawn screamed in unison and then there was silence. When Rainflower opened her eyes she saw the knife was embedded into Dawn's forehead and her eyes were now closed. Now she could get to work.

***

Soon Rainflower had the horn detached along with the necessary nerves, ganglions, and other tissues. She then got to work with trepanning herself with a simple drill in order to expose her own cornular nerve. Right now she felt too emotionally dead to feel the pain. After she was finished making the wound she applied the salve and attached the horn. Somehow she found she could make it glow lavender, and soon she could get various small objects around her to dance erratically. It would take some practice, but it was better than nothing.

She went upstairs and gathered her personal belongings. After what she did she was going to have to get as far away from Canterlot as possible. After she gathered everything she went back downstairs and with much effort managed to magically jiggle the bolt in the door loose and open the door. She then ran away as quickly as possible, not looking back at her home for the last year, or forward to where she was going. All she knew was that she needed to get out of here, and fast.

***

It didn't take long for the news of Magnificent Dawn's death to reach Lily Leaf. At the news she just sat in silence. Apparently it was worse than she thought. If only Rainflower could have held out a few more days she could have rescued her. No, she should have acted sooner. Now she had no better idea of where Rainflower currently resided than the Canterlot Police did. Maybe she could still find her friend, hopefully before the police got to her, because they wouldn't show her any mercy after what she did. The princess might, but the police wouldn't.

Author's Note:

This chapter was written on November 4th, this song was released on December 1st and it fits the punk song in the story so well.

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