"Why do I always find you here when I look for you?
"Who knows?
"It seems to me that you spend whole days here, what attracts you here?
"I have nothing else to do and it's nice here"
“Don't be like that, tell me the real reason or are you ashamed?
"It brings back memories of a long time ago when I was really happy"
"Are you going to tell me a story?
"Not this time"
"Why not? I like your stories"
".........."
"Please, I'm really curious about what memories lying in the grass can bring up for you.
"It brings me back to the days when I met one person who taught me to love nature and we spent a lot of time in it"
"Why did you stop talking?
"That's the whole story"
"That was short, are you sad because she's not here with us?
"You could say that"
"What do you mean?
".........."
"So tell me"
"She is dead"
With pain in every cell of my body I sit on the bed in the candle lit room as I don't know where I am so I look around and notice Twilight lying next to me.
I stretch out my leg to wake her up, but I notice that it is partially bandaged, just like the rest of my body.
The first thing that comes to my mind is how I got here and why my body hurts like I fell off a rocky cliff.
I think about it but there is a fog in my head that covers everything, I poke the Princess but she doesn't wake up even after several attempts.
The moment I get out of bed, I feel a terrible cutting pain in my back that makes me fall to the ground, I feel like I have a hot steel wire laid from my nose to my back.
As soon as the pain subsides, I look at my back, using magic I remove the bandage, which hides a long red pulsating scar that runs along my spine to my neck and left cheek, which I see in
mirror next to the bed.
I quickly take off the rest of the bandages as well, I stand as if scalded, one scar crosses another, some are almost invisible and others are large and swollen, striking in the eyes due to the lack of fur around it.
I'm sitting in front of the mirror with a disbelieving look, I'm trying to remember what happened to me, but the fog in my head won't go away, when I notice that I have a bandage left on my head.
Only now do I notice that the bandage that is wrapped around my ear and on my back legs, just like the one I took off, is tied in a strange, unusual way, no one does it like this.
As I stare in disbelief in a trance at the crisscrossing bandage that creates the pattern of the starry sky, I feel like I'm missing something, that I have some incredible truth in front of me
which will change my whole life and is just waiting for me to say it, but it doesn't work, I'm standing in front of a wall so big that I can't see through it, I just hear whispers from the other side but I don't understand what the voice is saying.
The feeling is beginning to be terribly burdensome and lies on me like a stone heavier and heavier every moment, my throat tightens and I lean my head against the mirror with difficulty breathing.
"What am I missing!" I gasped, feeling a rush of grief.
"WHAT HAPPENED? Why am I here?! Already desperate and frustrated by the ignorance and emotions I feel that I don't understand, I look into the mirror five centimeters from him.
"SO TELL ME!!! I scream at myself in the shattering reflection of the mirror which I hit in anger and collapse to the ground crying for no reason with shards around me.
“What's going on?! Twilight wakes up to screaming and breaking glass, then comes to me.
"Is something wrong?" Twilight asks, and as she sits next to me, I'm curled up like a bundle of misery.
"I..I don't...I don't know" I can't get any more out of myself through crying.
"You have to know what's bothering you" She carefully lies down next to me away from the shards and covers me with her wing.
"I'm sorry I was mean to you, after everything that happened, what's about to happen, I panicked and got carried away with anger" She continues with sincere regret.
"I know it's a lot for you and I'm also sorry for what I said to you, I know you're doing your best" I whisper with the tears easing.
After another moment I calm down and sit still feeling anxious as Twilight hugs me and apologizes again.
I sit across from the Princess who is looking at my scars while I calm down and try to focus on what is hidden in front of me.
While I remain silent Twilight wraps a bandage around each wound and finally lays me on the bed and covers me.
"You should be sleeping" Twilight says as she lays down next to me.
"What happened?
"Sleep, it will be morning soon" She says half asleep.
But I can't sleep, I lie with my eyes buried in the ceiling with the thought of emptiness inside me, I think about what happened to me, where did all these emotions come from? Why can't I remember anything?
What weighs me down so much and is missing at the same time?
The night flew by, the sun came out in a split second and Twilight takes me to breakfast in the dining room where the table is full of food.
I sit down with the Princess on the pillow next to me, she puts a sandwich on a plate in front of me and offers herself one too.
"You should eat, your body needs strength" Twilight says between bites when she notices that I haven't even touched the food.
"Why am I here?
"For you to eat" She pushes the plate closer to me.
"But, I don't understand"
"Don't say you forgot what food is for?" The Princess giggles.
“You know exactly what I meant! I growl at Twilight.
"Come on, there's no need to get upset, it's too early for that, if you want to know something, just ask" She tries to calm me down.
"Why am I here? I first look at the Princess who has a full mouth.
“Because it's breakfast? Smile at me.
"That's enough! I slam my hooves into the table and stand up, but the movements were too fast for my weak body.
"Don't touch me! I yell at Twilight as she tries to help me up after falling to the ground.
"I just want to help you" She says sadly.
"Really? then why are you acting stupid and not answering my questions? what happened? Why was I sleeping in your bedroom? Why do I have scars all over my body? I'm hurling words at Twilight like an avalanche.
"Let's eat first, there's no need to deal with something unimportant in the morning" She smiles and acts as if every question I have is just a trifle.
I angrily bite into my sandwich while Twilight smiles at me and chews on a piece of cake.
As soon as we finish I want to start asking questions, but I don't have a chance, I didn't even have time to open my mouth and a guard came to take me away while Twilight waves me goodbye with a big smile
to the infirmary to be looked at by the nurse, who with a gentle nod indicates that my injuries have healed nicely.
She writes something down on the boards and starts taking off my bandages, which are classically wrapped next to each other and not like before.
"Did you treat me?
"What do you mean?
“When I got these injuries, you treated me and bandaged my wounds? I ask grumpily, she is also acting stupid to avoid the question.
"I, yes, I treated you" She answers nervously.
"How long ago?
"I don't know exactly, it's about a day or two"
"Not this" I stop the nurse when she wants to unwrap the bandage from my ear and head.
"How did I get these injuries? I continue to ask, just as I'm sure she won't take away the one thing that connects me to the emptiness inside me.
"I, I don't know, no one told me anything, I was just supposed to treat you"
"You know what could have caused this injury? I point to the long scar that ends on my face.
"Sorry, I have other patients, I can't remember, if you have questions, find me after office hours" says the nurse hastily and leaves the room.
"That was very strange, what is going on here? The first moment I saw how the bandages were tied on my body, I knew that it was not done by anyone around and certainly not by her, but why does she claim that she treated me? I am thinking out loud while what I walk through the corridor of the castle.
I haven't been able to find out anything new all day, nurse didn't show up at the castle and for some reason I'm not allowed to leave it on the Princess's orders, every guard I ask looks like he's a wanted criminal and I'm a policeman, unfortunately there's no one else in the castle.
I haven't seen Twilight all day, either she has a really busy schedule today, or she's deliberately avoiding me, but she won't last long, I'm waiting for her in the evening, she has to sleep after all.
I sit in front of the replaced mirror that was broken by me and look at the scars on my body.
They look like some animal has scratched me, but I don't know any that would be able to do that, after a while my eyes go to my face where I have two small scars over my nose and one long one that starts at my left cheek, goes under my mane.
No matter how I look, I don't believe it's real, what could hurt me like that?
Thoughts of injury raced through my mind before I looked up at the mirror and an ear bandage entered the patterned field, the crossing bandage hypnotizing me, filling my head with anxiety and
confusion.
I put my hoof to my ear and with my eyes closed I let myself be swept away by the chaos that has no end, a bunch of questions come to the surface along with the increasing deviousness as if in my head
a bubble full of information that I can't grasp and it keeps getting closer and closer to me, but the closer it gets, the more anxiety I feel, as if I subconsciously suspect that what's inside is something terrible,
but i need to know what it is.
I open my eyes and again stare with a fixed expression at the ear partially covered by the hoof and at that moment I feel it, something comes to the surface, some repressed memory that I can't recall and
I only see outlines, the outline of a memory that for some reason is very important to me and I feel it slowly being drawn, like the first letter of a name that you can't remember.
“Starlight, you should..
"WHAT SHOULD I DO?!! I turn my head sharply as if I have no spine, towards the door, snapped out of my trance and so ready to lose a memory that was so close.
"You should be asleep by now" Twilight replies.
“Really? Do I look like a filly to you?
"Someone has to watch out for you"
"Okay, so you can tell me straight away..where are you going?" I ask as Twilight turns and walks towards the door.
"I remembered that I forgot to arrange something"
“YOU ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!! I scream.
"But I have to"
"No, you've been avoiding me all day, nobody wants to talk to me and I want to know why" I say to the Princess who is standing with her back to me by the door.
"I'll tell you everything when I have a moment" She answers me and opens the door with magic, while I close it immediately.
“You always said I was your best friend, so why do you act like you hate me?
"You're talking out of the way" She says to the door without looking at me.
"So tell me what happened to me, why am I sleeping in your bed? Why am I cut all over my body? What happened so badly that you are hiding it from me? What should I do to make you talk to me?" I say with sadness in my voice.
"All I want is for you to get well and I won't fill your head with anything you don't need to know" Twilight turns to me.
"And I want to see that your apology is sincere, that you trust me and listen to what I tell you, tell me what happened" I say as I walk over to Twilight.
We stare into each other's eyes without moving, I make it clear that nothing will change my opinion and she will not leave without answers to my questions.
Sighing helplessly, Twilight sits up, runs her hoof over her face, and speaks after a moment of silence.
"Okay, as you wish, the reason why you sleep in my bedroom is because I wanted to keep you under surveillance, I was worried about your health and so I took care of you myself. No one knows exactly how you got those injuries, according to the nurse you must have done it yourself from sleep, they say the guard pulled you out of the cell screaming and in tears, they couldn't
wake you up and you were tossing and turning like crazy, you must have had a terrible nightmare"
"But, what? Disappointed by the information I received, I stare at her in disbelief.
"I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you'd think you were crazy"
"That can't be all" I say while my insides are oppressed by an unsatisfied emptiness.
"That's it, I have to go now" Twilight gets up and leaves the room with a brief glance at me as I sit motionless with a disbelieving expression on the ground, obscured by the closing door behind her.
"That can't be all, no, no! What am I missing? Why do I feel so anxious when I try to think about it?" I say to my voice, clutching my chest, feeling like a rock is on it.
"She didn't tell me something, but why would she? Everything she said sounded so sincere, SO WHY DOESN'T IT MAKE SENSE TO ME?!"
"Why is everything so weird? Why does everyone I look at turn away from me? What happened?
Twilight must have been hiding something from me, but what? and why?"
When my eyes suddenly light up and with a smile that sees a crack in the story, I lie down in bed thinking that I should go to sleep, i will have a lot of work tomorrow. I think with a lunatic's giggle.
"Why do you always have a secret from me? Don't you trust me?
"It's not about trust, I've learned over the years of my life that those who talk too much harm themselves"
"Is that supposed to be a saying?
"Yes, one of the many that I stick to and more than once have saved my life or gotten me out of an unpleasant situation.
"Am I an uncomfortable situation for you?
"Ha ha, I keep saying you have a good sense of humor"
"Don't get off topic and tell me, why don't you tell me how old you are? After all, it's not important information for your survival"
"It's somehow very important to you, what do you plan to do with that information?
"I think you're unnecessarily paranoid, it's no wonder that no one wants to talk to you, lest one day your secrets rob you of your last friend"
"Alright you blackmailer, come closer and I'll whisper it to you. I don't really know how old I am"
"WHAT?! how could you not know?
"Aw. you don't have to scream in my ear..I understand it's weird, but the truth is that I lost track a long time ago"
"So what time did you stop counting?
"....."
"Don't laugh and answer me"
The first ray of sunlight steps into the bedroom and lands on the pillow Twilight is lying on, while I quietly sneak out of the bedroom and walk across the purple floor.
It doesn't surprise me that there are guards at the main door, this castle is guarded day and night and the guards here are only the best of the best, it will definitely not be easy to get through, but that
won't stop me
I go into the library and put a bucket in front of me, pour ink into the bottom, into which I put torn papers from...no one needs to know, mix it well and add more paper until I create a paste that holds its shape.
As soon as I manage to form two solid black balls, I put them aside and throw the ball of sap I collected in the lab into the bucket.
Using magic, I heat the bucket before the sap has time to dissolve, divide the balls into four smaller ones, wrap the smallest one in a bandage and soak it in the liquid sap, put it aside and do the same with the other ball,
in the meantime, the first ball had time to dry, so I wrap it with black paste and again with a bandage, which I soak in the sap until I have only two balls, which I also wrap and soak in the rest of the sap.
As soon as I'm done with both, I clean the bucket in the closet and go back to the main entrance, while I'm standing around the corner, I try to create a flame, but I can't.
I would never have believed that I would feel how big the difference is between heating something and lighting it on fire. I think when I'm concentrating on lighting the ball with a stabbing pain in the horn.
A thin flame leaves my horn and touches the ball, which immediately ignites thanks to the sap, I use it to light the second one and throw it as far as possible into the corridor, while I throw the other one into another corridor a little further and hide behind the door that is just around the corner from the main entrance.
It should only take a moment but it felt like forever, I finally smelled the smoke, as soon as the pitch burned on the balls, the ink paste started to burn creating a thick smoke that rolled
down the hall and thanks to Twilight's orders that all windows must be locked, the smoke has nowhere else to escape.
"FIRE!! I hear the guards yelling as they walk past the door I'm hiding behind.
After about ten guards have passed, I slowly sneak out of my hiding place and run to the door where no one is, I excitedly run to it, but I am immediately shocked because it is locked.
"Who would lock the door they guard? I grunt angrily.
With the last hope, I rush to the lock and try to magically unlock it, but I can't, I hear the clatter of hooves approaching and with growing panic I lean against the door, which suddenly they open.
I lie on my stomach for a moment in shock until it dawns on me how stupid I am, because a long time ago one side of the double-leaf door got stuck so that it wouldn't open and I tried to move it.
"Search every room, we have a possible trespasser" I hear the guards as I carefully close the door and run away from the purple castle.
"Okay, it's time to find out some information" I say to myself enthusiastically with a pleasant feeling of being touched by the rays of the still rising sun.
There are not many people on the streets, I only see a few ponies who are opening shops and some are repairing their shops, with a shocked expression I realized the state of my surroundings only now.
A lot of damaged houses, collapsed roofs, collapsed walls and some houses completely fallen down, destroyed paved roads and in the middle of it all a thorn sticks out of the ground, how to
I get closer to it, I find that it is not a thorn, but some kind of iron plate and it is round at the top.
“What is it? I want to touch it but I'm stopped.
"Don't touch it, it's very sharp" A familiar voice says to me.
"Rainbow, I'm so glad to see you" I spin and hug her.
"Me too, but we don't have to overdo it" She pulls away from me.
"How long have you been here?
"I should ask you the same thing" Rainbow Dash says coldly.
"What do you mean? I look at her confused with a hint of fear knowing what's coming.
“Shouldn't you be in bed?
"What's wrong with you all? When did I become a filly? I'm a full grown mare and I can do whatever I want!" I reply irritably.
"Just calm down, there's no need to get upset" As soon as she says that, I feel a twitch in my eye.
"Come here, they must have forgotten to remove the bandage from your head" I step back as she approaches me.
"Why are you even here? Did you fly in from the front line just to pick on me and make fun of me?! The weakness I feel is fueled by the rage building up inside me.
"I'm hungry, let's go eat" Rainbow says and turns away from the center and away from the signs of the fighting.
"I, yes, I would like to" I walk by her side with a resigned expression.
We are sitting in the bakery where there is no one, while Rainbow brings a tray full of muffins I look at her, she has changed a lot in the time she has been leading her own army on the front line, no
only in appearance but also in nature.
If the cheerful and optimistic beauty Rainbow Dash is now rather blunt and rough with a short mane and lots of scars on a toned muscular body and a hard expression on her face.
“So, how's it going at the front? I ask after a long silence as Rainbow stuffs herself with muffins.
"Nothing new, we still manage to fend off every attack that comes, nothing really has changed since that dark day" Rainbow speaks with her mouth full until food falls out of her mouth.
"That's fine..and why are you here anyway?
"I've been called as reinforcements for a special mission, but I'm not going to participate in it"
“YOU, you don't want to be on a special mission? what happened? I grab a muffin from the overflowing tray and listen intently as I chew.
"It doesn't matter, now I'm just waiting for them to send me back" Without interest, she stuffs the whole muffin into her mouth.
"But I'm interested, you love special missions" I sit closer to her.
"That's true, but I'm not going to take orders from someone I don't trust" She chews with a frown.
"Weren't you chosen as commander? You're the best commander we have."
"NO! Twilight chose some stranger, because of which I've been staying here for two weeks in the castle and waiting if I'm needed" She says in a raised voice and again starts stuffing herself with muffins that visibly calm her down.
“That doesn't sound like Twilight, ever…wait, you've been here for two weeks?
"I..I overdid it, I haven't been here that long" She stutters and loses her hard expression for the first time.
“How long have you been at the castle?! I'll give her a hard look.
"I arrived yesterday, it just feels much longer" She laughs nervously with her mouth still full and scratches her neck.
"Oh, that's a shame, I slept the whole day, I missed you too and I would be very happy if you visited me next time and woke me up" I put all my acting talent into that lie and with an expression of immeasurable sadness with lowered ears and huge eyes I look at her.
"Don't be sad, of course I haven't forgotten you" Smile at me.
"I came to see you, I sat next to the bed and told what I experienced, I wouldn't leave you behind, you've become really soft" she smiles and stuffs her mouth with muffins.
"I'm glad" With a smile on the outside but full of anger inside.
"Well, come on, I'll take you to the castle" She throws the last muffin into herself and gets up.
"Wait, I was hoping you would tell me something about what happened outside in the square" I sit and wait for another fictional story.
"Nothing extra, just a failed enemy attack" She motions for me to get up and follow her.
"What's that iron thing stuck in the ground?
"I don't know"
"You don't know or you don't want to say?
"I don't know"
“What did Twilight say?
"Starlight come on, I won't wait for you all day" She turns and prepares to leave.
"Then just tell me and I'll go" I say to Rainbow while her back is to me and I slowly sneak away to the back entrance.
"Twilight said it is a weapon, I don't know more, come on"
“Starlight?!! I hear a call behind me as I run out of the building.
"Something's not quite right here, I have to figure it out before it's too late" I say to myself as I run.
I hide behind the shack as soon as I hear Rainbow Dash calling me and flying around, I would really like to teleport away now, but it's still too much for me.
After a while the call starts to fade away, I quickly run out from behind the building and run but not very fast due to constant pain into the forest through which I run to the apple farm.
As soon as I run to the barn, I start looking for Apple Jack, but the farm is empty, there is no one, I don't wait for someone to come back and I run into the forest, luckily it was just in time when I saw a shadow behind me as someone flies across the sky.
It was worth hiding behind a tree in case he wanted to land, because at that moment a pony with a short rainbow mane landed with a thud, looking for me.
"Starlight, I know you're here, stop fooling around, you'll just make everyone worry" She walks past and looks around.
With quick deep breaths I feel myself starting to panic, I try to calm down but I can't help but think about what is happening.
Why are there so few ponies everywhere?
No one in the castle, in the village and here on the farm too, where is everyone?
that our enemies would finally overwhelm us?
But why wouldn't they take us straight away?
And why are those here acting so strange?
Thoughts are running through my head so fast that I have to catch her until I fall to the ground, I don't understand anything that is happening here, my eyes are slowly getting dark due to the lack of blood in my head when I hear a voice a little distorted due to the ringing in my ears .
"I found you, it's time to go home" says the voice and drags me out of the forest like a bag of garbage.
Everything seems so distant to me, as if I was sitting behind the eyes of another pony and just watching what was happening outside without being able to feel anything and everything I could see and hear sounded garbled.
I feel the pressure in my leg when it hits the root and a few drops start to flow from the abrasion, when I suddenly realize that I'm not moving anymore, I'm lying motionless while the sounds of fighting are heard around me, which suddenly change into footsteps and another voice that despite the bad perception , I know very well.
"Can't I leave you alone for even a moment?