//------------------------------//
// Through her eyes 
// Story: Majesty: Queen of the Castle 
// by Paradise Oasis 
//------------------------------//

For the first time in generations... she was not alone. 

It was very rare for anybody to come out this far... most of the ponies didn't care for these wild lands. Oh, there were occasionally bold explorers would come out this far, but none actually stayed very long, after discovering there was nothing of value out here. But these four mares... they were not like the others. They had come here, looking for something. Could they be... looking for her?

It had been so long... so long since she had talked to anybody. It had not been since the days of the sun pony and the moon pony that others had  sought her out, but could never find her. Oh, an equine does manage to find her every century or two, but for the most part she was left here to her solitude. It's not surprising really; with all of the interesting and strange things in this world, why would anyone care about such an insignificant creature as her? 

"Hurry up, this way, girls!" The bug-winged pony calls out to her friends, as she watched the equine lead them along. "I'm sure the tracks lead this way!" 

"THE CUTIESAURUS!" The blue Pegasus squeaked out excitedly, flapping around like a mad pony. "I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE GOING TO MEET CUTIESAURUS!"

"Would y'all calm down, Wind Whistler?" the earth pony muttered, looking up at her friend in annoyance. "If that cutisaur-thingy is nearby, you're sure to scare it away." 

The Pegasus is excited to meet her... now why would that be? She was nothing special, a relic of a time long gone. She had seen mighty leaders and great empires rise and fall around her, she had watched the tribes of her time slowly change and grow into the mighty nations of the world. But she had never paid much attention to these events, as the years came to blur together for her. Why on earth should she care about such things? 

She watched the four mares make their way deeper into the forest, led by the white unicorn with a flower cutie mark. Who was this mare?  she seemed to have an air of authority about her, that greatly impressed the watcher.   The others all respected her, and followed her commands. Was this unicorn a royal?

"Everyone, try to stay together." The unicorn told her friends, looking back over her shoulder. "Applejack, please stop eating our stores before we even find the cutiesaurus!" 

"Aw, quit picking on me, Majesty!" The pony called applejack whined. "I can't help it I'm always famished!" 

The complaining one... Applejack... she had seen her kind before. Hard edge on the outside, soft and warm-hearted under the surface.  She remembered having a friend like this one, the one who complained all the time, but was the first to make sure everybody else was okay. Just like she remembered having another friend like the bug-winged pony.  

"Why is this cuite- thingy hiding out here in the woods?" The fairy-like equine asked. "I mean, there isn't a good hooifcure salon or beauty salon around for miles!" 

"I really don't think an ancient dinosaur is going to care about something like that, Holly." Majesty replied to her fluttery friend. "She 's a survivor from the prehistoric world. The cutiesaurus probably doesn't have any appreciation for the necessities of modern life, and only cares about food and shelter." 

That's... that's not true at all! She had loved to visit beauty spas and salons in the time of the ancients. In those times, she would visit the towns whenever she got lonely. The ancient ponies welcomed her, assuming she was just some kind of weird dragon. She was always welcomed in with open hooves, and treated like royalty. She loved so much that ponies embodied her lessons of friendship so well; no other race had so thoroughly taken the concept to heart. And had enjoyed many, many pony friends throughout the ages; perhaps she should go out and try to greet these new arrivals?

"Man, this forest is soooo big!" Wind Whistler exclaimed, looking around in awe. "It's no wonder Gertie was able to stay hidden for all these years."

"We can't give up, Windy. We owe to to the cutiesaurs to find her." Majesty replied, using her magic to move a low-hanging branch aside. "She brought ponydom the gift of friendship so long ago, and it's high time ponykind paid her back for that noble deed."

That was it? They were looking for her... to thank her? For the gift for friendship? No, this had to be a trap. The ponies had tried tricks like this before, trying to lure her out into the open, so they could eliminate her. The few who guessed at her existence among the ancients had decided her existence was a threat to pony society, as ponies believed they had first discovered friendship. The Starswirl wizard and the sun and moon ponies had sent out bounty hunters to eliminate her, so nobody would ever learn the truth about the origins of friendship. But she and stayed hidden, and none had ever managed to find the 'mythical' Cutiesaurs.

"Oh, Gertieeeeee! Hey, Gertie!" Wind Whistler called out, flying over the treetops. "You out there? Come out come out wherever you are!" 

The ponies drew closer to the shrubbery she was hidden in; this was the time she should be running. but... wasn't the whole point of her message of making friends? Didn't that mean she had to give these ponies the benefit of the doubt? Even if the ancients had treated her poorly, she had to give this 'Majesty' and her friends the benefit of the doubt. With a sigh, she stuck her head out of the brush, and turned her long neck to face the ponies. 

"Um, hello?" The cutiesaurus asked, smiling at the four shocked ponies who stood in front of her. "Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you, but... were you girls looking for me?"