Under Her Rule

by InkHeartBrony

The Beginning of the End

---

Thanks to all the wonderful people who helped out with this story!

Dusk-Spark, QueenChrysalisForever, TheMysticBrony

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Boom boom boom

Is that the sound of my heart? Or is that the pounding on the door? No, it's both.

Boom boom boom

No no, it's fine! You're almost there! Just one more number...

Click!

Suddenly a loud crash was heard throughout the house, as the front door was broken through by swords and spears. Making a large hole in the wall for 5 pegasus and earth pony guards to walk through. They stood in the doorway of the dark house. All the lights had been turned off as to seem like nopony was home. But still they stood, their faces cold as stone and unchanging, except for the broadest who stood tall, his face contorted in rage as he yelled.

"Come out! We know you're here!"

They were searching for my son, Clipeum. I looked at him, gesturing for him silently to come over. He ran up, and I held him in my wing, as I lowered us down the hatch. Trying to stay calm and quiet as possible, I made my face look happy. Happy to be with my son, but inside I was full of fear. I could not show it, it would make him afraid too. I knew he was already afraid, but I wanted him to know his mother was here to protect him.

That we still had hope and we had to be brave.

I could hear the guards yelling, but I couldn't understand them over the crashes of them throwing furniture around in their search. As long as I had my son, everything would be alright. I was slowly closing the metal hatch, and I heard the click of the door locking in place. Their yelling was now muffled, throwing apart drawers and anything they saw.

I held onto the ladder with my hooves, and Clip held onto me tightly.

"Okay, do the spell now."

I whispered in the dark.

There was a dim white glow of light as Clipeum ignited his horn. He struggled to maintain it, but then the light got brighter, and I could now see much better. I could see rust on the ladder and on the close circular walls. The place stretched down far, and every time I came down here it felt as if I was being swallowed by the darkness beneath.

I smiled at my son, proud of him. Yet, I could see tears in his eyes, full of worry and stress. Although he was young, he was smart enough to know that he was targeted. He was always in hiding, because he was seen as a threat.

They were not supposed to know he existed, but somehow they found out, and we were on the run from them. Yet we had always been running from them, now it felt much more real. But the true fear was yet to come. But still, I couldn't show how afraid I was. It would only make things worse.

Together, we climbed down the ladder slowly, hearing only the clink clink of me putting my hoof on the next rung of the ladder. Climbing farther and farther down, as the cavernous hole seemed like it would never end.

We eventually made it to the bottom, and were in the dark tiny space Clip called home. I put all four hooves on the concrete floor and set Clip down, and he ran over to the wall on the other side of the room, standing up on his hind legs and clicking the light on with his hoof. A single bulb in the center of the room flickered on, hanging from the ceiling by a string and illuminating the room with a dim yellow glow that definitely was not as bright as his magic. I looked at the shelf where there were rows and rows of canned food, next to it a drawer with plastic utensils, plates and bowls. Next to the light switch was his bookshelf, and a few toys.

His favorite was the little toy unicorn. It made him feel less lonely.

They didn't make unicorn toys anymore.

I sat on his bed, with a dark blue blanket with a pattern of colorful parasprites. I remember when I had chosen the blanket. I had tried to make his room as colorful as possible. He lived in an old bomb shelter underneath the house, and as it wasn't the best place to call "home", it was the best option for him. I couldn't let him be taken away and brainwashed. I couldn't let him fall under the same spell everypony else had. I couldn't let him worship her, treat her like a goddess. I couldn't let him become another slave, just because of who he was. Just because of how he was born.

I watched him without saying a word as he opened a book from the shelf. It was one of the first stories I read to him. The book was illegal, actually, many of the children books in here were made illegal several years ago.

But like him, I kept those books somewhere where they couldn't find them, and loved them even if they weren't supposed to be here.

The one he chose was "The Tale of the Two Sisters.", which he brought over to me. Sitting next to me and opening it. He looked up at me with those big gray eyes, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Can you read it mama?"

Definitely wasn't the best time to read a book and calmly sip tea. But we needed something to keep our minds off the guards above, something to distract us.

Besides, it wouldn't take that long to read this, and of course they wouldn't be able to open the door above, so we would just wait it out. Just- keep calm, my son wanted to hear a story, a story he would hear.

I nodded, and he held the book out in front of me with his magic. It always comforted him when he was scared, and he liked it when I told him more about the two sisters, how different they were from our current ruler. He wished he could've known them. I wished I could see them again.

I cleared my throat and began to read.

"Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land."

I started.

"To do this, the eldest used her alicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn. The younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all of different types of ponies."

He suddenly stopped me.

"You mean they loved every kind of pony?"

"Yes, even the griffons and dragons. The alicorns cared for every pony."

"Even the unicorns?"

I paused.

"Yes. Even the unicorns. Now let me continue."

He lay his head on my shoulder, and I continued to read.

"But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful, the ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth. But shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger alicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young ones heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness! Nightmare Moon!"

Crash!

A crash echoed through the room as I heard the hatch being forced open. I dropped the book on the bed, and grabbed Clip.

"Emergency pocket! Now!"

We pushed aside the bed as fast as we could, and crawled through the hole in the wall. It was just big enough to fit the both of us. He pulled the bed back into its place, and we lay very still, waiting silently.

He breathed heavy, and I tried to hush him, whispering "it's alright. It's okay, mama's here."
I held him under my wing, holding him close and watching as three unicorns came down the ladder wearing silver armor, swords at their sides. One guard had a large saddlebag with a symbol on it. A spear which I assumed was his cutiemark.

I silently cursed myself for not making the door secure enough. It had gotten old, and could, with some difficulty, be opened without knowing the password.

"What is this?"

The first guard to get down asked, his voice deep and intimidating.

"Obviously a hiding spot."

Another guard said as he got to the bottom of the ladder. Placing his hooves on the ground.

"Search the place."

The last guard nodded and immediately stated pulling books off the shelves, glancing at the covers and tossing them to the floor.

They began throwing drawers open, tossing things on the ground without care.

I put my hoof over Clip's mouth to keep him from crying or screaming when they began to take a closer look at the books.

"These books..."

One said.

"They are about the alicorns!"

Another spoke up.

"Disgusting."

He took the books and we heard the ripping and tearing as he destroyed the books. We saw little pieces of paper, crumpled and torn, fall to the floor in front of us. He then put the remains in the bag.

"We'll burn them when we return. Report it. This mare needs to be put in prison."

"Along with having a witch child."

That word. Witch. It was a slang term for unicorns. I hated it more than any other word.

The others snickered, and they began to climb up the ladder. I carefully watched them leave, and waited until I heard the sound of the hatch closing. It didn't come. Instead we heard more loud yelling upstairs.

"We're finished here! Report back and tell others to go on a search for this mare and the unicorn!"

There was loud stomping of hooves as they left our house, then silence. I waited, holding back Clip for a minute to make sure they weren't coming back. Several minutes passed of silence, and we crawled out from the small hole in the wall.

Clip's eyes filled with tears as we took in the place. It was once nice, pretty and neat. Now it was bare. Most of the books were gone and the drawers were all opened, all contents spilled to the floor. With the help of Clipeum's magic, we lifted the bookshelf back into its place.
I looked down at the floor and saw something that had fallen from the top shelf.

A photograph of a very familiar stallion. A unicorn with gray eyes like Clip's, a light blue coat and dark blue messy mane. Around his neck hung a necklace. A small white feather on a black string.

The old photograph was cracked and broken. His face had been torn from the photo by the guards, but I knew that he was smiling.

This stallion. It had been so long... Years actually, since I had seen his smile, since I had seen him, since I had seen that sparkle in his eyes that told me he loved me. The same sparkle in Clipeum's eyes.

How did the guards find us? How did they know about my son?

Looking at the photograph... Made me figure it out. But I didn't want to believe it.

---

"Speak up! Or we'll throw you in prison!"

"I refuse."

"You cannot refuse! You are betraying her name! You cannot resist any longer!"

"Uugh! Now hitting me won't get you very far!"

"We'll just kill you if you don't fess up. We know she's hiding something!"

"Killing me will not get your answer. Beating me will not get your answer."

"Fine. But the truth potion will."

"AAAAAAH! STOP! STOP!"

"Now... Speak the truth."

"Huh... huh... huh... UGH!"

"SPEAK!"

"My... wife, had a child... I never got to meet the child... But, they are a unicorn..."

"How long have you been hiding this? Hiding this will get you executed! You do not disobey her!"

"I DO NOT PUT HER HIGHER THAN MY WIFE AND CHILD!"

"Send him to her. He needs to be... Put under control."

"NO! PUT ME DOWN! I BEG OF YOU! PLEASE!"

"Disgusting witch."

---

Broken glass fell to the floor. My now bloodshot red eyes stinging as tears dropped. Staining and ruining the already torn photograph. I knew what they had done to him. What they had done to every unicorn.

It was the only explanation for how they found us. It was the only way I could imagine it.

Clip sat next to me, looking sad but not quite understanding who the pony was in the photo. I glanced at the floor, and saw ripped pieces of paper from the books. Everything was unreadable except for a few that stuck out.

Equestria. Harmony. Friendship. All ponies.

I walked slowly over to the ladder and began to climb up. Clip followed me close behind.

I stood, the sheets and blanket on my bed had been thrown over. I walked slowly through the open door and I couldn't even speak. I could only stare, my eyes wandering the room along with my hooves. Slowly, carefully. Careful not to step on the piles of ash, and avoid the small flames still brightly burning. Crumbling holes had pierced through the walls, and furniture. Covered in burn marks, pictures once on the walls were on the floor, glass shattered. I picked up Clip, and put my wings over him as he lay on my back. I couldn't let him get a single shard on his little hooves. Instead I felt the pain for him when I stepped on it, hissing at the sudden shock.

"Mama?"

"Don't worry about me."

I gulped, and kept forward. I spotted what I was looking for in the hallway, and moved closer to the door. No, if they had done anything to this room... I opened the door and that's when I really began to sob.

All of my husbands work, all of his carefully and beautifully made jewelry was gone.

They had taken it, because they knew that he had made it. I knew they were going to destroy them just like the rest of his things. But a glint of light caught my eye. From the one window in the room, light came through, I could see dust floating in the air, and the light pointed me to the one piece of jewelry they left. His necklace. The necklace he had always worn, it was so special to him. It meant a lot to me too. A single feather on a thin black string. One light lavender bead separating the two. A feather from my own wing, the same color as the bead. He always wanted to carry a piece of me next to is heart.

I sniffed, Clip looked at the necklace with curiosity.

"This was your fathers... It's one of my feathers. He always wanted to take a piece of me with him every where he went. So that we were never apart."

I picked up the necklace, and put it over Clip's head. It hung down around his neck, and he picked it up with his hoof looking it over.

"Now you can always have me next to your heart Clip."

We looked at each other, and smiled.

I cleared my throat, looking down. "I think, Clip, we need a good home to stay in... We can't live here anymore."

He looked at me sadly. "But... My room?"

"We have to leave." I sighed, putting a hoof on his shoulder. "We can't stay here. They know where we live now."

"C-can we stay with Octavia?"

I nodded. Just what I was thinking.

I led him outside of the place that was once our home, and Clip walked beside me down the streets of Ponyville.

As always, the sky was gray and red. The clouds were dark and you could see the red glow of the dome peaking through the clouds. Giving everything a slight red tint. We were on the edge of the dome, and where it all began.

Ponyville.

The streets were empty, cold and dark, no sound but the slightest of wind blowing and the crackling of thunder high above.

Clipeum almost never went outside. It was rare that he left the house or his room. He only left to see Octavia with me. It was rare that I went outside either, most ponies would agree that outside was not the best place to be. Dark and damp, it was the world that you now lived in, no matter where you went in Equestria, there was no escape.

Sunshine and Moonlight were just words of the past.

We walked past a statue of a familiar mare. Familiar, despite being hidden underneath a cloak. Her tail, nor her mane were visible. You could only see a muzzle sticking out from underneath the shadow, and those bright red, evil eyes.

She stood in a heroic pose, as if she was ready for battle. Upright on her hind legs with one hoof raised in the air. Her head was facing behind her though, as if she was looking back at something that we couldn't see.

There were multiple of these statues all around Equestria. Some of the younger fillies thought the eyes were cameras that watched you. If they were I wouldn't be surprised, but I knew better. They were just ugly hunks of rock. Clip stared at the statue as we walked past it, and he stopped for a moment.

"Come on Clip." I demanded.

He looked down, and walked along again. He didn't have to say it, but I knew he was sorry for stalling.

We walked past the neighboring houses. They had once been painted with bright pinks, yellows, and whites. Sometimes flowers decorating their lawns and window sills.

But what had once been bright and colorful, was now reduced to a crumbling building that looked almost abandoned. The paint had faded and made no sign of returning much like the ponies that had once lived there. The flowers had withered and died long ago, dry and shriveled up without the care of their gardeners.

We made it to our destination, the door with two music notes on the front. A purple treble clef, and a black beam note under it.

I remember years ago when this house was much louder. I glanced at the Golden Oak Library next door, which was now reduced to ash. It had once been the home of Twilight Sparkle, the leader of the elements of harmony. She had gone missing after her return. I sighed, and placed a hoof on the door. Knocking. After a minute or two, the door slowly opened just a crack, and a scared pair of purple eyes stared at me.

I looked around me, checking again to see if any pony was watching, before pushing the door open all the way to dash in. The gray earth pony stepped back to let Clip and I in, then slammed the door shut. She sighed, and ran up to hug me.

"I saw the guards outside. What happened?"

Oh, I love that Canterlot accent. It calms me down to hear her voice, even if she was scared and had worry in her eyes.

"They searched our house."

My ears fell back, and I kicked at the floor with my hoof.

"They took so much! We hid, but... It was terrifying Octavia! I don't know if I can-"

I looked away, tears filling my eyes.

The musician hugged me, and I hugged her back.

"It's alright. You're safe here with me. You two can stay in... In the guest room."

I nodded, and once again looked at the photograph of her Dj mare friend on the side table as she walked into the hallway. I sat on the couch, and held Clipeum in my lap, stroking his mane.

"It's alright now. We're safe now."

"Mama? Can I read her books again?"

"You can go ask her. She's down the hall setting up the guest room."

He trotted down the hall to find her, and minutes later he returned with a book from the bookshelf in the guest room. I wasn't the only one with illegal books. I read the cover, it was a spell book. He liked reading her old spell books. I had never had any in the first place, my husband was never big on learning any fancy spells. He was only a crafter. He always said he just needed levitation and an eye for detail.

Excitedly, Clipeum started looking at all the picture demonstrations of the spells. He showed me the book, and pointed at one picture, where a unicorn was pulling a rabbit out of a hat. It was for teleportation. The rabbit was just in another room and he teleported it in.

"Oh, pulling a rabbit out of a hat seems strange, doesn't it?'

He nodded.

"Well, when I was younger, some unicorns would put on fun shows where they would do all sorts of magic tricks. They were called magicians."

Suddenly a memory popped in my head of a particular magician. But I tried to wave it off.

Don't think about it. Ignore it.

"Uh... Here, why don't we read a different page?" I began to flip pages, and he got distracted by one page that I barely glanced at. I saw a picture of wings and some words above it, but let him continue reading.

I looked over at the dark fireplace, which hadn't been used in a long time. Next to it was a stand with a cello sitting on it. On the floor was a gray empty cello case, and a music stand with a closed music book on it. Multiple colorful bookmarks stuck out. Possibly favorite songs, and on the cover was a picture of a white pegasus playing the cello on stage. Looking quite mesmerizing and beautiful while doing so.

I sat next to Clipeum, lost in thought while he read his book.

They must have done something to Silver Ring! But... Why now? Had he really hidden our secret for that long? What if they tortured him for information?! What are they making him do?

Worry began to build up within me, but I could not show my fear with Clipeum around.

Don't get yourself worked up... It's not like you're ever going to get things back to normal... He's never going to return home. Just keep safe what you have. Don't think about what's already gone.

But a small voice in the back of my head told me otherwise. Told me that I could get Silver back. But it had been years. It seemed impossible, and sitting around worrying wasn't going to help anything.

Octavia seemed to have appeared next to me, and said, "The room is ready, sorry, just had to clean up a few things."

"It's okay."

Clip and I walked into the room, and he sat on the bed, his eyes appeared to be glued to that book. I wondered what was so entrancing about it. Octavia walked next to me.

"I'll make you two some tea."

"No no! Octavia it's fine. You've done enough! I could make some tea-"

"You've gone through so much today. Me cleaning up a bit is not enough."

She walked out to make tea for us. I didn't protest.

I looked around the room. Next to us, the side table had a small lamp and a keychain. It had two keys on it, probably house keys. in front of me was a walk in closet, which was slightly opened and showed that little clothing was in there. Above the bed was a poster. It had bright color and was a bit painful to look at, but I could tell it was some band. It had three pegasi, two holding up electric guitars and the middle pegasus had a microphone and looked like he was screaming into it. Above them in bright golden letters it said, Electric City! which is what I assumed the band was called.

I looked to the right, and next to the side table was a desk. On the corner was a black and blue speaker, and black earbuds. But in the center on the back of the desk, was a photograph. A photograph of 6 ponies. 5 mares and a stallion. All smiling. The two in the middle I recognized as Octavia and Vinyl, who had her hoof around Octavia. Along with Vinyl, there was another unicorn in the photo. A mint green mare. I didn't recognize any of the other ponies they were with. I decided to ask her about them.

Soon she entered the room with a platter in her mouth, three steaming teacups that smiled delicious sitting on it. Octavia always made the best tea. She set it on the desk, and waved us over.

Clip set down his book, and we walked over.

He smiled. "Octavia, that smells really good!" He looked up at her, and she returned the smile.

"Thank you Clipeum."

The teacup floated over to him as it was engulfed in a white glow. He took a sip and said, "mmmm!" I took a sip of my own tea, and it was pretty good. I could just tell by the taste that it was chamomile. One of my favorites.

"So, Octavia."

She looked at me curiously.

"I noticed this photograph. Who are they?"

I pointed a hoof at the photo, and she picked it up. Clip, looked at the photograph with us as we sat on the side of the bed.

"After me and Vinyl became roommates, she introduced me to her friends. This is Bon Bon, her mare friend Lyra Heartstrings, Doctor Hooves and Derpy. Well, her name is Ditzy Doo, but we called her Derpy because of the eyes. Funny, she made the nickname for herself."

"It seems like Derpy and Doctor were the only ones without dates." I chuckled.

"Oh," Octavia laughed. "They were just bound to get together! You could tell. I wonder... I wonder how they're all doing right now..."

Her ears fell back and she looked down sadly. "Doc didn't stay around long. Said he had to go away for a business trip, I remember him walking off with another mare I didn't know too well. Rose was her name. I never saw either of them again... I-I know Lyra was taken to an asylum. Bon Bon moved to Manehattan to be closer to her and visit her more often."

"Asylum... She wasn't... uh, sent to her?"

Octavia shook her head. "No. She constantly claimed to see strange creatures. She would mention the creatures every once in a while. Made jokes and such, we never truly understood what she was talking about. When... this all started, they took her to an insane asylum."

Clip stared at Octavia, not saying a word. Taking in information and processing it. Lyra Heartstrings was crazy.

"Something about her did always seem off, the way she acted. A lot of the time she held things with her hoof instead of her magic. Strange girl. But we really did love her. All of us had our quirks."

She set the photograph back on the desk, and by this point, we had all finished our tea.

"I'll just clean up." She glanced out the window above the desk, and remembered that it was impossible to tell what time of day it was.

Old memories brought back old habits.

She looked at the pink clock to the right of the window.

"It's getting late. You should get your rest."

I nodded, and watched as she left the room, shutting the door. I moved Clip's book to the desk, and tucked him in. "Goodnight, Clip. I'm going to be right back okay?"

"Okay." He said quietly. I kissed him on the forehead right under his horn, and walked out of the room. Silently closing the door, smiling at him as I did.

I turned to trot down the worn hallway before entering the kitchen.

---

"Octavia! I don't know what to do!"

I paced around the open room as she cleaned the dishes in the kitchen sink.

"Th-they know where we live! They said they're going to search for us! They're on a witch hunt!"

"You know that witch hunt isn't a good thing to say anymore. It means a lot more now than it did back then."

"Is this really the time Octavia?! My son is a unicorn! A witch! This is the perfect time!"

"It's insulting. You know this. I know that you hate the word."

"Look. Guards. Her guards are looking for us! They want to put us in prison, or make us slaves! He's just a colt Octavia!"

Tears began to well into my eyes as I spoke. My true fear coming out. I had spent all day hiding it from Clip. I could not hide it any longer!

Octavia stopped her cleaning, and walked over to me. I stopped my anxious pacing and she embraced me in a hug.

"I don't know how much they know about us. I don't know how much information they got out of him! But I am in a situation here I don't know how to escape!"

"If you don't know. Leave."

"What?"

"Leave my house. They might know we're friends. Ponyville isn't a big place. They'll probably search every house if they have to!"

"You just don't want to get caught."

"What? No! Midnight, I-"

"You don't want to go to prison for having illegal books! Or associating with unicorns! You don't want to be a criminal! You just want to play your cello... That's all you care about... You just want what you want because you're selfish!"

Tears and anger shown in my eyes as I put my muzzle against hers.

She blinked, startled and shocked.

"Midnight. I just- I don't want to lose another friend."

I stepped back. Looking at her. Confusion and rage showing in my lavender eyes.

"I've lost everything..." Suddenly she began to raise her voice. "I lost Vinyl! I lost my friends! At least you still have some family! You have Clipeum! I have no pony!" She yelled, tears pouring down her face like a waterfall.

"I have nopony but you and Clip... And if you got taken... I- I don't know what I would do with myself."

She turned her head, looking away from me. Her gaze leaving my eyes and drifting to the floor.

"I know you're stressed out... But you can't stay here, Midnight. We'll all get taken. I just have to know you're safe."

I gulped. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was... In denial... Of everything. Clip and I... We will leave in the morning."

I turned around, but then she grabbed ahold of my long tail.

"I have to show you something first."

She led me to the dinner table, where an Equestria Daily newspaper lay. On the front was a black and white photo of a unicorn mare tied to a chair. Her face looked beaten and bruised, and she had a black eyepatch covering her right eye. Her large curly mane which could've once been beautiful was messy and tangled. she wore a torn black cloak over her body with light lining, and where it tied together on her neck, were 3 small diamonds holding it together. Her expression towards the camera was full of rage but at the same time calmness. Her head was lowered and she glared with a malicious intent that gave me shivers.

I began to read the article.

Unicorn rebel, and Element of Harmony caught

Last night the unicorn Rarity (Shown in picture above) was caught last night sneaking into a unicorn weaving facility. She attempted to steal them from the facility. But was caught by a heroic guard who called for backup. One guard had his neck sliced open, followed by multiple deep cuts and injuries across his body. Three were left injured, also covered with deep cuts and slices from the enemy's weapon. But they managed to restrain the threat and she was imprisoned on charges of murder, theft, and hate crimes towards pegasi and earth ponies.

Later she confessed to being part of a group. A rebellion against our queen, and the citizens of Equestria.

Knowing that their is a secret group of dangerous unicorns somewhere in Manehattan, the guards will be on duty more to protect everypony.

Unicorns are a threat. They are a threat to our society, our families and our loved ones. Spread the word.

That very last line made me sick. I stopped reading the newspaper a long time ago when I saw that at the bottom every time it said those words. "Unicorns are a threat. They are a threat to our society, our families and our loved ones. Spread the word."

But this one shocked me. There was a rebellion full of unicorns, somewhere in Manehattan, that's been in hiding for who knows how long? An Element of Harmony was a part of it... do you think... no no... Twilight Sparkle was sent away 10 years ago. She couldn't be. But still... this rebellion. Even if it sounded dangerous... It sounded like the only good place to be. They sounded like the only sane ponies in this doomed place we called Equestria.

I didn't have a home. I had nowhere to go. Clip and I... We couldn't stay in hiding forever. Just the two of us. But there was a group who could help us, and I think... I feel like that's where we should be.

Don't be afraid to take risks. You can't be afraid anymore.

I looked at Octavia, and she could read my expression well. She nodded.

"Do we agree? That is where you should be, Midnight. With them."

"B-but... I'm a pegasus... I can't just-"

She grabbed my face suddenly, and whispered.

"They're the Elements of Harmony! They understand! Go find them. In the morning, go to Manehattan. Find them!"

I nodded, and went back to my room. Opening the door slightly, to see Clip happily, quietly, snoring in the dark room.

I climbed in next to him, smiling as I shut my eyes and fell asleep.

---

I gave her one last hug. One last hug, before trotting into the train to Manehattan. She sniffled and cried a bit, as she watched Clip and I go. The door shutting behind us, and we felt the train begin to move. I pulled Clip into an empty compartment. Closing the door, and closing the curtains.

Like the houses, the train had once been painted bright and colorful, but as the paint began to fade, it was repainted an ugly gold color. The doors were painted black and the gray curtains and seats had small holes and rips in them. The train had gotten so old that it creaked constantly and made a loud painful whistle that screamed in your ears.

I sighed. "You can take it off now Clip."

He uncovered his face, removing the dark gray cloak hood that covered his horn. His face. His identity.

It was a strange experience for him. He had never been outside of Ponyville before. He had never been on a train before. He seemed startled as the train began to move a little faster. He sat down on the seat next to me, holding onto my leg tightly in fear.

"It's okay. We're going somewhere better. We're going to the big bright city of Manehattan!"

In fact, I was wrong. It had certainly been years since I had visited Manehattan. It was no longer as bright as I remembered. Just like everywhere else in Equestria. The sky was dark and gray, with a hint of red from the glowing magical dome above. I realized we had no where to stay.

No where to sleep. What was I thinking? I was in so much of a hurry... I didn't even bring much bits!

I turned around to see the train already moving, leaving the station. I turned back around, looking in the large crowd of ponies. I reached my hoof down to my saddlebag. But it wasn't there. My eyes widened. No, no! I grabbed Clip, throwing him on my back and running towards the train, ponies gave me looks as I bumped into them, yelling at me. Clip held onto my back tightly, and I suddenly stopped. I could not reach the train. Clip whispered in my ear, reminding me.

"Wings."

I blinked in realization. I could fly, and I had spent so long cooped up inside, that I had forgotten I had them.

"Been a long time since I did this!"

I bent down, and shot off the ground, spreading my wings in flight.

But I was rusty, and struggled to stay in the air. He clutched onto me tighter, and I kicked my hooves and flapped my wings hard. Just trying to stay afloat. But I tried my best to move forward, but at this point, the train was long gone. I tried my best landing, but Clip hopped off of me before I touched the ground. I fell onto my side, scraping my leg which left a red mark.

I stood up, groaning at the slight pain. Ponies around us looked and snickered.

I felt my face heating up with embarrassment, frustration, and anger. I shook my head, and picked up Clipeum. Setting him on my back, where he wrapped his hooves around my neck.

We had to get out of here, we had to find a good place to stay. We had to go... Somewhere, even if I didn't know where that was. I kicked a hoof at the ground, and started forward.

Running through the streets and occasionally bumping into ponies walking past. Who yelled angrily at us. I spotted an alleyway, hidden from every pony. Nopony could see us there! I pulled him into it with me. Going farther back, and stopped.

I panted from the running, and basically collapsed onto the concrete dirty ground. Clipeum crawled off and sat down next to me.

I shut my eyes, feeling the utter hopelessness rising into me once again. To my surprise, Clipeum put his hooves around me and hugged me tight.

I opened my eyes to look down at his, and he smiled at me.

"It's okay mama." he said comfortingly. "Son is here."

Tears formed in my eyes. It was just like what I always said to him. "It's okay, mama's here."

He held onto me. Comforting me. He was strong enough to not cry, but I couldn't do this. How long could we really survive without getting caught?

I felt a drop of water on my muzzle, looking up and noticing that it was beginning to rain. I covered Clipeum with my wing, so he would be dry, and I would take the pain for him.

But when I looked up, I noticed something, behind us, on the wall was a crimson red, but I couldn't quite see what it was.

I turned my head to see it clearer, and grit my teeth angrily.

It was the symbol.

A black silhouette of a mare's face, one that should be a unicorn, but had long ago become an alicorn. The only alicorn left.

The one who wiped away the others from existence.

The symbol that was painted all over Equestria.

The symbol of the pony I hated most. The one who had done this to me. The one who had destroyed my life.

Her. The Ruler. The Queen of Equestria.

The Great and Powerful, Trixie Lulamoon.

Comments

[InkHeartBrony]

So I hope everyone is just as excited for this hell of a ride as I am!

I've been working on this story for a while, so I want to say this:

I'm not sure when I'll upload the next chapters, that may be a while. I want everyone to be excited for this, but I hope you're patient. This story is still in the works so I want it to be perfect before I post the following chapters.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! I've been working on this for months with the help of my wonderful editors! Thank you for giving it a read if you did!

[StrawberryAvenida]

This story had me hooked from the first sentence. I love what you've done, and I can't wait for the next chapters!

[ThatOneGriffin]

Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip Clip.

[InkHeartBrony]

8344036
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it :twilight smile:

[InkHeartBrony]

8344052

[QueenChrysalisForever]

Wooo so cool to see you finally upload the first chapter! Looks like ponies are liking it too.

[InkHeartBrony]

8344175
Yep!