The market place of the Crystal Empire was busy with ponies, as always. However, the number of soldiers that patrolled the stands had increased greatly, outnumbering the merchants by far and making sure to give every pony out trading menacing glares. The red and black colour of their uniforms stood out harshly against the otherwise softly coloured coats of the crystal ponies passing through.
A group of young ponies watched from the shadow of an alley. Given today's standards, Luna would call them fillies and colts, but she could see in their eyes that they had lost most of the carefree and foalish happiness. The shadow of war had fallen on them and their families, forcing them to grow up so fast, well before their years.
They tensed up when a group of soldiers cleared a path for some barrows loaded with food. Luna could see boxes with bread, baskets of vegetables and some barrels on them, making their way towards the palace with a group of five soldiers in front and behind the barrows.
The young ponies exchanged a glance and a nod, then left the alley one by one to get in position. Only two remained hidden, a colt with a brownish coat and a hammer and an anvil for a cutie mark and the earth filly Harmony. Both of them stood on the edge of the alley, their eyes fixed on the barrows and waiting for a signal.
Luna's attention was drawn back to the market place when she heard angry yelling. Somewhere a market stand had been almost broken down, the wares scattering over the ground and crystal ponies shouting as two of the young colts ran deeper into the market. The front group of soldiers went after them, at least they tried, but the crystal ponies blocked their paths, involuntary or not, so the colts vanished out of sight between the next row of stands. At the same time, two fillies approached the other soldiers with panicked expressions and started bombarding them with questions in frightened voices, one of them even crying and wailing at the surprised soldiers.
With both groups of guards distracted, the last three youngsters approached the last of the barrows. The stallion pulling it gave an almost invisible nod and pushed into the one standing before him in such a way that both barrows fells over, the goods flinging through the air and rolling over the ground.
The crowd acted immediately. All of the crystal pony civilians had far less to eat during the latest time, so when they saw the food unguarded, most of the immediately lunged towards it. The other two barrows where thrown over in the commotion as the ponies tried to get as much as they could before the soldiers even knew what was happening. At some point, one of the soldiers barked orders and called for backup, but at this time the three youngsters had already been loaded with some boxes and baskets. The adult ponies of the crowd channelled them behind themselves back to the alley and used their own bodies to block them out of sight of the soldiers who now shouted angrily at the ponies. Weapons were drawn and the peaceful, if hungry and desperate civilians now backed away in fear, trying to hide the food they had stolen.
At this point, Harmony and the colt shot out of the alley with a loud yell and ran towards the goods on the ground. All of the soldiers immediately turned to stare as the two ponies slipped between them as quick as lightning and grabbed what they could. Harmony managed to pick up three baskets with her mouth, while her companion now carried one of the smaller boxes on his back. Their prize obtained, they then ran away. Compared to what the other ponies had gathered, this was a negligible amount of loot, but the soldiers screamed in mindless anger and ran after them, deeper into the market.
Luna could see the look in the soldier's eyes and suddenly understood. She'd seen the exact same look on the battlefields against Sombra's army. The unicorn king preferred obedience in his troops above anything else, therefore he had gone to expose each of his soldiers to various enchantments afflicting their minds. While Sombra could be sure his orders were followed to the spell, his soldiers lost most of their reason and autonomy.
If Luna had to guess, she would say they had orders to escort the barrows and take care of all troublemakers. While any clear mind would focus on securing the leftover goods or getting the crowd under control, the fogged thoughts of the soldiers clung onto the most obvious threat, in this case two young ponies who gave away their positions and intentions with loud calls.
Luna could see the efficiency of such a tactic. The ponies of the crowd would be safe, most of the food was collected and hidden in the crowd and even if there would be an investigation, the soldiers had been distracted in a way that made it impossible for them to identify any of the culprits. There was, however, one fatal flaw: All the attention of the soldiers now rested solely on the two young ponies and if captured, they would suffer their wrath at least, if not punishment by the king himself.
Luna spread her wings and rose into the air and followed the two young ponies. They made it to the centre of the marketplace, then spread into different directions. Luna decided to follow Crystal Note, as did most of the soldiers since the filly would cause great commotion on her way. A pang of worry passed through Luna before she saw what was happening. The young earth filly, even loaded with baskets, was by far more nimble than any of the soldiers. Furthermore she seemed to know every nook and cranny of the market, whenever any of the soldiers got close she'd evade with a sharp turn or a quick dash. When she reached the edge of the marketplace, she broke through the loose line of soldiers with a powerful jump. As soon as she was out of the market and had space, her hooves fell into a dazing canter. The soldiers ran after her, but they stood no chance to the earth filly's superior speed and stamina. As soon as she had enough of an advance, she vanished into a sideway and was gone.
Luna watched the soldiers slow down and stare after the filly, before they turned around and trotted towards the market once more, her expressions as blank as before the ambush. Luna dived into the labyrinth of alleys and found Crystal Note again. The filly avoided the big streets with patrols of soldiers and slipped from alley to alley into the residential district Luna already knew. Instead of heading home, Crystal Note made her way to a larger house. She knocked on the door and was quickly ushered in by a crystal mare.
Luna shifted inside the building and saw about twenty crystal ponies gathered in a large room. The filly was lead in and collapsed on the floor, panting from her long run as well as the danger she just narrowly avoided. The baskets were picked up by the ponies and their content quickly shared between them. From the looks of it, most of the ponies were older, probably too old to work at the mines, although there were a few ponies with bandages as well. It seemed to be a shelter for the sick ponies, a hospital and a hideout at the same time.
Another door opened and two of the colts from before walked in with more food. They sat down next to Crystal Note and the mare from before brought them cups of water which they greedily drank. From a stairway in the back, a few younger colts and fillies climbed down and soon everypony had a small share of food and the room was mostly silent.
The three young ponies were soon joined by the mare from the door
"Did everything go well?"
One of the colts nodded but he like the others remained in a rather sombre mood
"Well enough I guess. A few ponies got bruises during the panic and the soldiers almost attacked, if Harmony wouldn't have been there in time."
The filly shook her head
"I just stuck to the plan, that's all. Did Anvil get out as well?"
The colt nodded once more, followed by a sigh of relief. It was short lived though when her attention turned back to the old mare
"How is Daisy Blossom doing?"
The mare's eyes closed down and a frown appeared on all their faces.
They sat in silence for a moment longer, then Crystal Note got back on her hooves and approached the stairs. She only stopped to get some fruit and bread from one of the boxes before she climbed upstairs. Luna followed as she went towards a door and knocked softly. She didn't wait for an invitation but instead carefully pushed the door open and stepped inside.
In the room, Luna could see a mare sitting on the edge of a bed. Her coat was a dark brown, almost black in the dim light of the room and her mane hung down in messy strands. Luna could see she'd probably not slept nor eaten in a while. As soon as she stepped closer, she could also see why.
On the bed and covered in blankets lay a filly of maybe nine years. She was shivering despite the blankets and stirred in an uneasy slumber. Her face lit up for a few moments when her mother dapped her face with a cloth and Luna could see she would be a very beautiful filly if not for the fever and sickness that took hold of her. Crystal Note carefully approached the mare who gave her a weak smile when she noticed the earth filly.
Crystal Note handed her some of the food she brought but the mare just set it aside, completely focused on her foal. Crystal Note sighed and pushed a small bread towards her again
"You need to eat something. It's not helping her if you use up all your strength."
Luna noticed the strained tone of Crystal Note's voice, indicating that they had this talk before with the same result. The mare just kept her eyes on her daughter
"She's so weak, Harmony. She might not last much longer."
"No, she just needs something to eat and..."
"She woke up last night and she barely even recognized me. If she wakes up again, it might be the last time."
"Stop saying that!"
Crystal Note called out angry and desperate, so loud that the filly began to stir again. Luna could see the pain in the mother's eyes and the sorrow in her heart, but she could also see that hope was lost. Over the decades and centuries of her life, Luna had witnessed the death of ponies many times and she could feel its presence hovering around the unconscious filly. The earth filly was too young to notice, too young to realize that the mother had already accepted the inevitable and that it had broken her heart irreparably. No words would reach her, no gesture would console her, but as long as she was still able she'd do everything to put her foal at ease.
Whether by the loud words or the call of her mother's heart, the filly slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze found her mother and she smiled, weak and strained but happy and filled with love, just like her mother smiled back at her. Luna shivered when she saw the otherworldly shine in the filly's eyes. She knew there was only little time left.
The filly summoned the last of her strength to push away the blankets and reached out for her mother who leaned down and embraced her like only a mother could. The filly pressed her thin body into the warmth of the mare's heart and her head rested against chest.
In a voice barely above a sigh, a single word made it passed her lips
"Mommy..."
The mare sobbed and held her even closer, running her hoof through her mane and whispering soft words to her daughter. The filly basked in the maternal love for a minute before she became aware of the other presence in the room. Her eyes peeked open again and she gave another smile to the earth pony.
Crystal Note now saw the glow in her eyes as well and Luna realized the filly remembered from the mare who had become her own mother, even if just for a little while.
She forced the bravest smile she could muster on her face and whispered in a voice that nearly fell apart from grief
"Hey Daisy-Do..."
The filly smiled at those words and croaked out words of her own
"Hey Crissy..."
The three of them laughed a little at the exchange of silly nicknames, but Daisy's laughter ended in a small coughing fit. Her mother held her close until it passed, but Crystal Note just broke apart. Tears started running down her cheeks as she picked up the fruit she brought up, holding it out for the filly
"You need to eat something! So you'll get well again! Please!"
Daisy shook her head before she slumped back against her mother
"Not hungry..."
"But you have to eat! We'll get you more medicine, anything! Please don't give up!"
The filly closed her eyes again and her mother pressed her to her heart with her hooves. She looked at Crystal Note, into her eyes and pleaded to the earth pony. She knew, her daughter knew as well, and Crystal Note broke down sobbing.
Daisy opened her eyes again and mumbled
"Hey Crissy? 'Member that song we always sung..?"
Crystal Note couldn't hide her tears, but she put on her brave smile once more for the filly
"Sure do. Wanna sing it again?"
"Uh-huh..."
Crystal Note looked at the mother who cradled her foal to her heart and nodded. The earth filly closed her eyes and forced her tears back down before she started to sing softly, although she couldn't banish the sadness out of her voice
You keep on walking on the other side
Other side, other side.
You keep on walking on the other side
Other side, other side
Wherever you go,
Whatever you do,
shouldn't you know, I'm bound to follow
Whatever you say,
Whatever you do,
I give you clue, I'm gonna follow...
Wherever you go,
I'm going for you
You know that I'm truly born to follow
Like fire and wood
Like paper and glue
only a few are born to follow...
The filly smiled and nuzzled into her mother's warmth and the both of them joined Crystal Note when she reached the chorus of the song
And the stars will show,
Where the waters flow
Where the gardens grow
That's where I'll meet you.
And the sun will glow,
Melting all the snow,
Knowing all I know
That's when I'm with you.
Crystal Note stopped when she noticed the filly's voice dropping out. Daisy Blossom was nuzzled against her mother, her eyes closed and peaceful smile on her face. She was still breathing but just barely so. Her mother cradled her and clung tightly on her, whispering the same words over and over.
Crystal Note closed her eyes tightly but she couldn't hold back the tears running down her muzzle. She started to sing the song once again, but didn't get far. Her own sobbing stopped her before she even reached the chorus again. She kept her eyes closed until she heard somepony else crying.
When she looked up, she saw Daisy's mother collapsed on the bed, burying the small filly under her shivering body. Crystal Note didn't need to see, she could hear from the mare's wailing that it was too late.
Luna watched the earth filly take a hesitant step towards the bed, but then she turned around and ran out of the room. Luna followed as she stumbled down the stairs, ignoring the voices calling her name and rushing past her friends towards the door. Once outside, she fell into a furious canter the other crystal ponies couldn't keep up with. Luna followed with the help of her wings, but it didn't seem Crystal Note had a clear destination in mind. At some point, they reached a backside alley and the filly simply collapsed on the ground. Unable to move further, Crystal Note finally succumbed to her grief and curled up wailing.