That was a really big tree.
And shiny too.
At least that had been her ‘first’ thought on the castle sitting just outside Ponyville. Well, not her first… but Little Wing couldn’t remember the actual first.
Though, maybe that would soon change…
Little Wing was flying above Ponyville alongside Rainbow Dash, both on their way to Princess Twilight Sparkle’s castle to see the mare in question. It had only been a couple of days after she was discharged from the Cloudsdale General Hospital that her elder sister had approached her with an… idea.
And those couple days before had not exactly been a walk in the park. Living in an unfamiliar home with a mare who loves her but may as well have been a perfect stranger… Little Wing could see that pain every time she looked at Misty Gust, and their eyes could never quite meet. Little Wing herself was feeling guilty that she couldn’t return what Misty felt for her, but those feelings simply didn’t exist…
At least not on the surface, but perhaps buried with everything else.
And that was exactly what Rainbow Dash had wanted to talk to her about. If nothing else, Little Wing had learnt that her elder sister was a very determined individual, and not one to give up easily. Little Wing liked to think that she would do the same, but she couldn’t really be sure about anything regarding herself or… anypony for that matter.
Photographs of a childhood she could not recall. Friends and family, she knew nothing of. Even one stallion trying to jog her memory by telling her about the time she punched him in the face.
Silver Breeze seemed nice enough, those stories he told of their school days seemed like pure fantasy to her.
But they were real, and Little Wing wanted to remember them more than anything. To know more than how to simply fly and do tricks, but to also remember the joy she received doing them. To remember the times she had spent, and the experiences that made her into the Little Wing they knew. To feel what Misty felt for her, and to finally see the cute grey mare smile.
So when Rainbow Dash mentioned the Princess’ super dangerous mind spell, what else was she going to say but ‘yes’?
And so off to Ponyville they went. Princess Twilight had been kind enough to situate the family in some of the guest rooms in the castle, and two more days had passed while she made final studies and preparations for the spell. She was nothing if not prepared.
But the time had come, Little Wing and Rainbow Dash returning from their flight around Ponyville the moment the summons were given.
Rainbow Dash had been bunking with Little Wing since they arrived, all of them deciding somepony should be keeping an eye on the mare until the spell was to take place. Her mother and father had shared a room, Scootaloo receiving her own. As for Misty Gust… she had a room to herself, it hadn’t felt right for them to share given Little Wing’s ‘condition’.
“You okay, Wing?” Rainbow Dash asked as they made their final descent towards the castle’s entrance. “You seem kinda distant there…”
Little Wing didn’t meet her gaze. “Sorry, I was just thinking about Misty.”
“Oh yeah? What about?”
“I just… feel bad,” Little Wing admitted, downcast. “I don’t think she’s happy.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t answer immediately, knowing the topic was a rather sore one. “She’s just worried, Little Wing. We all are.”
“Well, it’s different for us,” Little Wing stated. “I know you’re my sister. But Misty, well… she’s my wife! But how can she be…? We’re family, but she’s… She’s been so nice to me since I woke up, but I haven’t seen her smile once.”
“Hey, that’s not your fault.”
“But it is! All because I can’t feel what I should feel!” Little Wing shouted as they came to a landing at the castle’s entrance, the guards outside not moving an inch. “I feel awful for her, but I’m not able to be the mare she married.”
“Really?” Rainbow said doubtfully. “You’re freaking out a lot over a mare you don’t love.”
“Well, I… don’t know!”
“Hey, cut that out,” Rainbow gently scolded as she draped a wing over her trembling sister. “You’re still you, squirt. And I’m willing to bet my place in the Wonderbolts that you still feel the same way for her, even if it’s confused because of the whole stupid memory thing. But Twi’s gonna fix that, no sweat!”
“I hope so…”
“You haven’t seen her when she’s all egghead and stuff,” Rainbow replied with a smirk. “So… you going to be okay?”
Little Wing sniffed, but then gave a slow nod.
“It’s going to be fine, you’ll see,” Rainbow promised before leading the way into the castle. “Besides, the quicker you’re back to normal the quicker we can stop the sappy stuff.”
Despite it all, Little Wing couldn’t help but laugh. “You haven’t stopped being sappy in the whole few days I’ve known you.”
“Trust me, I’m way cooler normally,” Rainbow replied in fake insult. “And you’ll remember it!”
The two mares walked up the central staircase and made their way through a head-spinning number of corridors. And she had a peculiar sense of déjà vu when they walked into that broom closet by accident.
But they finally found their way into the royal wing of the castle, and Rainbow Dash led Little Wing directly towards Princess Twilight’s room. She was honestly expecting the infirmary, a library decked out in lap equipment or anywhere else but a bedroom. But when they entered they found everypony already waiting, Princess Twilight Sparkle muzzle deep in some ancient looking scroll.
Misty was there, looking at Little Wing as they entered with that same saddened expression, albeit now with a small twinkle of hope in the corner of her eyes. Scootaloo was by her side, seemingly having been talking to Misty Gust. And finally, there were her parents, along with an extra little figure perched upon Windy Whistles’ back.
Sky Dancer gave an adorable little gasp as her mother and aunt entered, flapping her tiny wings in excitement as she stood up on her hind legs while placing her front hooves down on her grandmother’s head.
“Hababa!” the foal giggled happily at the two mares. “Bwah!”
All eyes turned towards the babbling foal, who continued to say that very specific word over and over as she held out her little hooves towards her mother.
Rainbow Dash blinked, and then shook her head in amusement as she took her daughter into her grasp, to the filly’s immense joy. “Of course you learnt that one, of course you did.”
Little Wing didn’t get it.
Princess Twilight held her own small smile at the little pony’s adorable display, Sky Dancer now scampering up between her mother’s wings for a nap. But when her eyes turned to Little Wing, her expression become far more serious.
“Little Wing, this is your last chance to back out. You’ve been told the risks, this could make things worse…”
Little Wing gulped, but she wasn’t about to back down. “Princess, I need to remember. I can’t be like this.”
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, you do know that, right?” Misty Gust asked as she stepped towards her wife. “I don’t want to see you hurt again. We can make it work as it is…”
Little Wing gave her a small, sad smile. “But then you’d never smile…”
Misty Gust stared at Little Wing for a good few moments, before choking back a sob as she wrapped her hooves around the other pegasus in a tight embrace. Little Wing hesitated a moment, but that dissolved as she felt the tears running down the fur on her neck. She wrapped both her hooves and her wings around the mare, resting her head atop her own as she felt the smallest ping of recognition towards the action.
But no matter how much they may have willed they could not stay that way, for the spell had to be cast sometime.
“Are you ready?” Twilight asked as they parted, getting a nod in response. “Alright then. Lay on the bed, get comfortable. I have no idea how long this may take.”
“And we can stay, right?” Bow Hothoof asked. “We wouldn’t be in the way?”
“Of course you can. You should all be here for her… in case of the worst.”
Little Wing hopped up onto the bed, laying gently down on her front as she examined all those faces around her. Her family stood either side of the bed, while the Princess stood at the end, her giant horn lighting up with lavender coloured mana.
“We’ll be right here, sweetie,” Windy assured her youngest daughter. “We’re not going anywhere, just as I promised you we wouldn’t.”
And Little Wing was glad she remembered it, even if she couldn’t. But as she placed her head down onto the mattress, and felt the light of the alicorn’s magic wash over her, she was sure that everything would be just fine…
Twilight sucked in a deep breath as her eyes shot open, the Princess of Friendship jumping up to her hooves and quickly examining the space around her. And what she saw took her breath away.
She stood in a void filled with ethereal lines streaking off for as far as the eye could see, little pulses travelling down the inner workings of Little Wing’s mind. But the otherwise beautiful expanse was filled with a dense fog, obscuring many of the lines the further away they were. Only those immediately around her were without the fog, clear and functioning as they should be.
“So far so good…” the Princess muttered, following one of the pulses as it travelled close to her head.
In the outside world, she would be seen standing with her horn alight, eyes closed and standing perfectly still. Little Wing, meanwhile, would appear to be in a peaceful sleep. And indeed, when Twilight looked up she saw one particularly bright spot within her mind, undoubtedly Little Wing’s current dream.
She ignored that, it was more Luna’s domain anyway.
There were other bright spots too, the skills and general knowledge that Little Wing had retained. They spread out in one direction, bright and wonderful in all their glory. But where all her personal experiences laid was all but shrouded in the darkness.
Twilight began to cautiously walk towards the fog, leaving Little Wing to her hopefully pleasant dream. But when the alicorn reached the edge of the fog she lifted up a hoof and slowly stretched it out forwards, only for the fog to act as a solid wall to her touch. Tracing a hoof around the perimeter revealed that it was the same for all the fog, and the clear expanse she stood in was the only traversable area.
And she couldn’t just brute force her way through any old piece of the fog, the potential trauma she would cause to Little Wing made it inconceivable. From her own studies and limited knowledge she knew it would be her best bet to find the closest lost memory, something that wouldn’t be too far out of reach and would be the easiest to access.
And she found it. Following one of the lines visually, Twilight saw it led to a dim spark that branched out to further ethereal lines deeper in. Twilight could spy other such sparks, all memories, within the fog. This one, however, was but a few centimetres behind the shroud, the latest memory to be blocked off by the incident.
Of course, the incident itself.
The memory was located beneath where Twilight stood, so she unfurled her wings and took flight as the invisible floor beneath her dissolved. Twilight flew gently down towards the dim light, stopping before the fog as she considered it well. Her horn lit up as she carefully reached out with her magic as a surgeon would a scalpel, one wrong move being able to cause a dire consequence.
Her magic reached out and started to push away the fog, just enough so to allow Twilight to move forward ever so slightly.
And then the fog hardened again, beginning to push back as Twilight detected a magical signature belonging to neither herself nor Little Wing!
Twilight gave a grunt as the unfamiliar magic pushed at her, and she steeled herself to fight back against the torrent. Something really didn’t want her going in and was doing its designated purpose in keeping her out. The force she was using simply wasn’t enough, and Twilight almost aborted the spell right then and there.
And yet her task had suddenly taken on a new urgency. Unknown magic? This was no simple case of trauma-induced amnesia!
“Who are you?” Twilight growled as she began to increase the magic flow, keeping her eyes peeled for any damage she might be causing to Little Wing and if she’d need to eject herself.
But no damage was visible, and the increased pressure caused the outside magic to squirm back enough for the mote of light to emerge from the fog.
And then the fog, and the expanse itself, melted away.
Flashes reached out all around her, and as she watched a world began to build around her. The night was dark, but the heavily populated area was bright and full of activity. Ponies laughed and cheered as they attended the many stalls around them, enjoying the festivities to its maximum.
“If it means getting to watch Wing squirm, I’m in,” the image of Rainbow Dash said casually as she began to lead the group towards one of the games.
“I don’t squirm!” Little Wing protested.
“You kinda do,” Scootaloo agreed. “I think Misty just has that effect on you.”
Twilight watched with a sad smile as the family went about their night in joyous fashion, unaware of the tragic about to befall them. The moment of the attack, and Little Wing’s loss. Death and resurrection, and yet with memories buried beneath an unnatural fog.
But this was progress, and when Little Wing awakened she would at least remember the entirety of the night leading up to her amnesia. Unless whatever malevolent force plagued her mind pushed it back again…
“What are you doing here?”
Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly span around to see a male griffon staring at her cautiously. And when Twilight looked off to the side she could see an identical griffon reach for his weapon, followed by the sound of a meaty impact and a scream.
Twilight raised an eyebrow, looking away from the fading image of Little Wing’s temporary murderer to his duplicate. “Who, or rather what, are you?”
“You’re an intruder,” the griffon warned. “You should leave.”
“Intruder?” Twilight questioned before her eyes lit up in understanding. “Oh, I’ve read about this! You’re just part of Little Wing’s subconscious, right? Part of some kind of mental defence mechanism?”
“You have no place in here,” the griffon warned again. “This is your final warning, or you shall be purged.”
“Little Wing, you know I’m trying to help you,” Twilight said to the faux griffon. “I need to continue.”
“I’m not-”
“Everything here is Little Wing,” Twilight rebutted quickly. “Everything. Even if her conscious mind is unaware, everything that happens in here is a part of her.”
“Not everything here is us,” the griffon refuted, looking over his shoulder almost nervously. “There is some power at play. But we can’t… recall…”
“The magic, I felt it,” Twilight confirmed. “Can you lead me out of here? If I can uncover all of your memories, I might also be able to find the source.”
The griffon seemed to consider the alicorn for a moment, before turning around without a word and walking away. Twilight moved to follow, and the griffon led her past the stalls and through the crowd until they rounded a corner. From there the memory seemed to get a little… blurry. These were sights, sounds, smells and whatever else Little Wing had consciously and subconsciously picked up on in the distance, but very quickly the memory faded away to nothingness where Little Wing had not born witness to any of the events there.
“Keep pushing back the fog that binds Little Wings until you meet the next block from the other outsider,” the griffon instructed. “Then do as you have done here.”
“Thanks,” Twilight muttered, staring off into the void beyond. “You know, this is really strange. I’m talking to a part of a pony’s subconscious, which I guess is like talking to them themselves but only a part of them and they’re not even actively aware its happening. Does that make any sense?”
The griffon stared at her blankly.
“…Right. Good talk, Little Wing.”
She would talk at Spike about it later.
She stepped forwards, and onwards she went.
And on returning to the fog, the magic presence wasn’t immediately as prevalent as it had been before. Following the flow of memories further and further back Twilight got to work undoing all of the fog she came across. Memory after memory was restored in order of descent with the utmost care. And for good reason, demonstrated when Twilight finally made a mistake.
The Princess took a wrong turn, trying to access a memory before clearing up the one that came immediately after it. Twilight hadn’t realised her mistake until the entire void began to rumble, and in alarm Twilight immediately cut the pressure she was pushing on the fog and stood completely still. The ethereal lines leading between those memories had begun to flicker, before the mote of the bypassed memory exploded.
It had been like a bomb in a glass house, the shards of the memory cascading towards other motes of light. Fortunately, Twilight had been quick enough to grab the shards with her magic before they then disintegrated, the ethereal lines rearranging themselves to connect the gap that had been left behind.
But the exploded mote, that memory, was gone forever. Where the memories in the fog were merely suppressed, memories too could be destroyed. If Twilight hadn’t stopped the shards it could have caused a cascade that would have destroyed a large swath of Little Wing’s mind. Destroying enough could leave her brain damaged, or at the most extreme end up leaving her a blank slate.
And if Twilight herself was to get hit by one of those shards? Well, she never said it was dangerous only to Little Wing.
“It was only one, save the rest,” Twilight muttered regretfully to herself. “Come on, Twilight. You can do this, one of your subjects needs you. I won’t let you down, Rainbow Dash.”
And so she continued, redoubling on her caution. Memory by memory she went, more and more unravelling. Enough for Little Wing to recall many things, including her love for Misty. Their wedding day had long flashed by, that had given the Princess a smile.
And then she felt it once more, the pressure pushing back against her. But Twilight was not about to be stopped, and so she pushed back. It was a snail’s pace, so not to hurt Little Wing further. But back it went until she met with the obscured mote.
And found herself in a cast expanse high in the sky, the clouds majestically rolling out below her. And there, high above the land below, were the two sisters she expected, one of them but a small filly.
“You know, there were old legends of an endless city of pegasi up here, unmatched in its power,” Rainbow Dash told Little Wing. “Some pegasi, at least back in the three tribes era, thought it was the afterlife; they believed that our great heroes would greet them all on their passing. Well, I don’t see Commander Hurricane up here, so I don’t think they were quite on the mark with that.”
“Why haven’t we built up here?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “No idea.”
Twilight recalled this event, at least from what Rainbow Dash had once told her. From what she remembered, Little Wing had been suffering at the hooves of the school bully. Rainbow Dash had used the opportunity to bond with her sister more, and boost her spirits.
And perhaps, in the proves Rainbow had inspired a future Wonderbolt.
“I know, I am pretty awesome,” a second Rainbow Dash remarked as she lounged next to Twilight. “Little Wing thinks so, anyway. I think she’s the squirt’s hero or something.”
“Your hero, you mean,” Twilight said with a mirthful grin.
“Eh, details,” Rainbow Dash dismissed. “But you’re doing good work, it’s a lot less clouded around here now. Could have done with less of Dad’s teasing, but oh well.”
“I can’t be too picky,” Twilight responded. “Having good dreams?”
“Actually, we’re dreaming about pegasus cloud empires right now,” Rainbow stated, waving a hoof at the clouds around them. “As we recall more, well… it’s nice to know.”
“You’re welcome. Though, Little Wing, have you recalled any more about this influence?”
Rainbow Dash groaned. “Ugh, no. It’s really weird, it’s like there’s a memory way back up that’s not connected to the rest of them.”
“Another memory? Where?”
“Just after Little Wing got killed,” Rainbow explained. “I know it’s odd, but I feel like there should be something after that, but before we woke up again…”
“After your death?” Twilight said questioningly, a frown forming on her face. “Interesting…”
“Yeah, well… only one way to find out.”
Twilight nodded, and as before she followed the image of Rainbow Dash until she found her way out of the memory. She continued on as she had been, unclear as to how much time had actually passed in the outside world. Inside a person’s mind, time was rather… skewed.
But there was no time to lament on it, as she came across a memory with the same magical influence blocking further access. Like the other times, she pushed back against it, and the fog peeled away as the memory came into view.
It was Cloudsdale, detached houses dotting the landscape all around the Princess. Two mares were deep in chatter, and two fillies seemed to be slowly gaining the courage to creep away from their respective mothers and towards one another. Both observed the other for a few tense moments, before the memory of Little Wing remembered she still had half a cookie in her hooves.
Twilight watched curiously as Little Wing gave the young Misty a welcoming smile, presenting the cookie to the other filly.
The grey filly seemed confused by the gift, though eventually deposited the cookie into her mouth, her eyes lighting up as she gleefully consumed the gifted treat.
Seeing that she enjoyed it, Little Wing gave a welcoming babble to the other foal. Misty seemed to understand, nodding back with a little babble of her own. Both fillies were all smiles as they had a small conversation of their own in baby speak, even though neither truly understood the other, before both of them channelled their giant influx of magic and took to the air in a friendly game of tag.
“I’ll never forget this day,” an adult Misty Gust wistfully stated as she trotted up next to the Princess and sat down on her haunches. “Little Wing didn’t really know its significance back then, so new to everything as she was. Misty Gust too.”
“And now you’re married,” Twilight concluded with a chuckled. “Such innocent beginnings, a simple friendship blossomed into something more. Huh, from my territory to Cadance’s.”
“For so long we hadn’t even considered it,” Misty Gust continued. “Little Wing, I mean. We feel such an idiot for not noticing for so long.”
“Well, Rainbow Dash is your sister.”
“I’ll be sure to tell her that,” Misty joked.
“No you won’t, you’re an aspect of Little Wing’s subconscious. You won’t retain memories of any of this,” Twilight responded a little smugly.
“Cheater,” Misty deadpanned back with a raspberry blown at the alicorn, royal status be damned. But then Misty’s expression turned… troubled. “But we’ve recalled something.”
“Recalled something? Little Wing, what is it?”
“We remember being… aware.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I mean that Little Wing was mentally more developed than Misty Gust was at this age,” the image replied. “Oh, we were still very inexperienced. The world was our oyster, experiencing it for the first time. But that fact alone seems… almost tragic. There’s something else here, a reason a mind as young as ours back then was able to retain so many memories so clearly.”
A creeping feeling was spreading over Twilight the more she heard. “This is not what I expected to find. What secret are you hiding, Little Wing?”
“We don’t know,” Misty Gust answered, seeming to shrink down to the ground a little. “But we are scared to find out.”
Twilight looked at the happy memory one last time, before moving to follow Misty Gust as she headed towards the exit.
“Only one instance of the outside magic remains. The truth is within reach…” Misty said, fading away as Twilight stepped through the portal.
And onwards she went. Little over a week of memories remained… or that’s how it should have been. Now Twilight got closer, she saw something that only added to the feeling of alarm she was feeling.
A whole other set of memories below the first week in the household of Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles. Years of memories, if she were to guess at first glance. Twilight passed by Little Wing’s introduction to Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, her adoption by her parents and finally the moment she had been discovered in that cardboard box. That memory was the final clear memory in the path, something any normal filly should have been too young to remember. But it was clear, along with a disturbing about of her childhood.
And then the final block came in place, right where the next set of memories began.
Did she want to do this? Perhaps it was time to back out, she had succeeded in her task. Her memories were returned, everything she should have known just before the attack had returned to her, barring the once memory she destroyed. Maybe it was best to leave well enough alone…
And she broke the seal like she broke all the others.
Human.
The people before her were human.
It was a living room, the TV playing a cartoon show Twilight was not familiar with from her time at Canterlot High while visiting Sunset Shimmer. An adult was sitting off to the side, completely ignoring the sickly-looking child on the sofa. Sweat poured down her head as her breathing was slow and laboured, and yet the mother seemed interested only in the phone at her ear.
And then the girl’s breathing became shallow, before ceasing altogether…
“We remember,” a timid voice said from beside the Princess, and when she turned she saw the girl looking as sickly as ever, but on her feet and staring the alicorn dead in the eyes. “Emma. Our name is Emma.”
“Emma…?” Twilight whispered, not believing what she was seeing. “What is this? What joke…?”
“No joke,” Emma replied. “We died. We remember now. All our thirteen years as a human have flooded back, and what memories we took while in death. We have died twice. And we have returned twice.”
Twilight didn’t know what to think, her mind doing summersaults as she tried to comprehend what she was hearing. Little Wing… was human. A dead human.
“How is this possible?”
“She took us from death, the first time because she could,” Emma replied, glancing away before staring off into empty space. “The second, a deal was struck. And Little Wing’s penance was enacted.”
“Who?” Twilight asked. “Who could do this? Who would have that power? Discord?”
“…No,” a new voice came from Emma, and as she turned her body transformed faster than Twilight’s eyes could register.
And there stood an alicorn, dark and regal. Eyes cold and foreboding.
“Penumbra.”
And then everything blurred out of focus, the connection severed.
Little Wing gave a sharp gasp as she jolted awake, rapidly sitting up and examining her surroundings. All eyes were on her, her family all hopeful… while the alicorn’s held suspicion.
“…Did it work?” Misty Gust asked.
“Yeah, uh, what happened in there?” Rainbow Dash added in, directing her comment at Twilight. “You had us worried for a moment, Little Wing started shaking really badly.”
“A minor incident, she should be fine,” Twilight explained as she stood at full height, looking at Little Wing with an intently studious gaze.
And as her memories in her head began to click together, Little Wing realised something. Something she couldn’t have known without her memories, but now she had them back…
She never should have let the Princess inside her head, for now she knew the truth.
“Wing?” Rainbow Dash called out. “You were working at that for seven hours. Did it work?”
Little Wing diverted her eyes from the alicorn, her breath shaking as she came to realise the oncoming consequences.
But for the moment…
“Yes, Rainbow,” Little Wing confirmed. “I remember everything.”
“You do?” Misty murmured. “Everything…?”
And then Little Wing kissed her.
“Oh yeah, she remembers!” Scootaloo laughed as she gave a whoop of victory. “Way to go, Princess!”
Little Wing and Misty fell into an embrace, though the latter began to feel some concern as she noticed the former was shaking. And while Bow, Windy, Scootaloo and Rainbow all crowded Little Wing to welcome her back, Twilight Sparkle just looked on from the background.
She looked at the display, and she couldn’t hold onto her frown. The reunion, Little Wing and Misty Gust in particular, it was genuine... But she couldn’t deny what she had seen, nor could it be ignored.
“Little Wing,” Twilight addressed loudly, cutting off all celebration as all eyes turned towards the alicorn princess.
“Is something wrong, your highness?” Bow Hothoof asked.
“Yeah, Twilight. You’re acting a little weird,” Rainbow Dash concurred. “…Did something else happen inside the squirt’s head?”
“Oh, she’s not hurt is she!?” Windy fretted, grabbing onto Little Wing like her life depended on it.
“No! I’m fine, Mum!” Little Wing assured. “I’m sorry I scared you, and I’m sorry I can’t be all happy with you but…”
“But what?” Misty asked, her worry growing every second. “You remember! That’s wonderful! Right…?”
“Yeah, it is,” Little Wing assured her wife. “Not knowing you… It was the worst, Misty. It was… Celestia, I can’t even describe it.”
“Hey,” Misty said soothingly. “You’re alright now. If you remember, then what could be wrong?”
Little Wing didn’t answer, shamefully diverting her eyes away from Misty Gust. And nothing could hide the tears beginning to streak down her face.
“…Little Wing?”
“Misty, I’m so sorry…”
“Twilight, what the hay is going on?” Rainbow began to get a little agitated as she walked up to her friend and fellow Bearer of Harmony. “What. Happened!?”
“…I need to speak to the other princesses,” Twilight announced. “I need to explain the situation to them… before we hear what Little Wing has to say.”
“Has to say?” Bow said questioningly. “What does that mean? Princess…?”
“I shall leave that to Little Wing to tell you,” Twilight said. “If she wishes, but I would advise her that this secret cannot be kept any longer. Excuse me.”
And then Twilight swiftly departed the room, leaving the family to all glance between one another in confusion.
“Wing, what’s going on?” Scootaloo asked towards the mare in question. “Tell us what?”
“I’m so sorry…” she just repeated.
“Honey, you know you can talk to us. Right?” Bow stated as he sat down next to his adoptive daughter. “Anything at all.”
“And we mean it,” Windy concurred. “If something’s bothering you, I want to know.”
“Yeah, so do I,” Rainbow Dash said seriously. “Whatever it is has got Twilight all freaked out. Wing, please just tell us.”
“They’re right,” Misty concluded. “Please, love. We just want to help. Let us do that, and then we can finally go home. Please?”
Little Wing could not stop her shaking, her breath unsteady as she slowly brought her eyes up and scanned the other pegasi one by one. She finally rested on Misty, looking towards her pleadingly.
“And it won’t change us?”
“Why would anything change us?”
Little Wing swallowed. “This might… But OK. OK, I need to…”
Anypony could tell just how terrified she was, and the sight left deep pits in all of their stomachs. But they all sat attentively, waiting patiently for Little Wing to begin her tale.
And so she did.
“My name is Emma.”