//------------------------------// // Husband and Wife; Harp has a Dream // Story: Broken Swords and Battle Scars // by moonblossom131 //------------------------------// “So what are you in here for?” Soarin’ coughed. His voice was harsh and rough. “Oh, that doesn’t matter now!” I said. My head was rushing. “But I need to tell you something.” “Oh, yeah? What, are you pregnant?” “Uh, yeah,” I said simply. Soarin’ just stared. “Oh,” he said. “Well, the necessary father stuff. The baby is mine right?” “No, it’s your cell guard’s kid. Yes, of course the baby is yours!” “Okay then. Is it a colt or a filly?” “It’s a filly,” I answered proudly. “How many months?” “Five.” “Okay, so we’re safe from those despicable laws?” Soarin’ sighed happily. “Thank the stars,” I said. “And what about where the foal will be born?” “Not in this rotting hellhole, that’s for sure.” Soarin’ laughed at me. I felt like I was finally where I belonged, here with Soarin’. If only we weren’t locked in a death hole underneath a crumbling larger death hole that spiders didn’t even want to live in. What the hell is the world I was living in? “What went wrong, Dashie?” Soarin’ said. “After all, I used to be one of the most infamous Pegasus ponies in Equestria! Now I’m famous because I realized the disease.” I may not have wanted to think about that disease two days ago, but I think I needed to now. After all, it was my country. I would ALWAYS be loyal to it! “Spitfire wanted me to bring her the Elements,” I said softly, sitting down in front of my husband. “But weren’t they destroyed in that train wreck they tried to cover up?” “No, she wanted the living, breathing Elements.” “Wait, but do you even know where your friends are?” Soarin’ said. “They passed through here a couple of days ago. I’m so sorry Soarin’!” “For what?” “I told Spitfire that I would become invisible if she let you and me go,” I said. I pushed my head into Soarin’s stiff shoulders. “But she said that for our freedom, she didn’t want just my silence. She wanted the Elements! So, I really really wanted to let you go, but I said no!” “You said… no…” Soarin’ said. I could tell he wasn’t tolerating this, nor was he disappointed. He was just thinking. “I said no.” It was silent for a few moments. I walked to the other side of the cell. I didn’t like seeing my husband like this. He was usually the happy-go-lucky, bake-me-a-pie-everyday type of stallion. But now… the war. Freedom. I scoffed at the word. There was no such thing as freedom. Even most of the birds that flew through the sky were used for Celestia’s secret messages! You couldn’t fly without being questioned. You couldn’t walk down the street with twenty bits to go to the market without being questioned! To be called free here, to be called free now, was nothing short of an insult. If I found a filly hiding in the bushes, like Harp did with Raindrop, then I wouldn’t name her something like Freedom, or Justice. To be named something that was non-existent here in this war-torn, hell of a country, that would be the most offensive insult. I lifted my hooves. I stretched out my wings. What was the point to this? I would just sit here and do nothing. Even if I had escaped from the Everfree with Soarin’, I would’ve just gone to the Crystal Empire and sat there and done nothing. I might as well be accepted into Tartarus. After all, being forced to do an eternity of labor was still better than sitting here and doing nothing. I took one look at the sharp metal lock on the cage doors. There was no getting out of here. Soarin’ had accepted that long ago. He had accepted his fate and then just sat here, waiting for his life to die out, without anything to say about it. “It’s true what they say,” I said softly. “That all prisoners rot their life away in prison. I mean, just look at us! All this time, for at least until our middle ages, we’re going to be sitting in this rotting hellhole doing nothing!” “Just learn to deal with it,” Soarin’ sighed. “After all, we could’ve been freed.” “I’m sorry Soarin’!” I yelled. “I love you, but I betrayed my friends too many times. Maybe they were looking for me, but what would happen if I just go and say ‘hey friends, why don’t I just go and turn you in to the most dangerous enemy out there so she can use your elemental powers to take over everything?’ I’m so sure that they would agree to that. I wanted you to be free. I wanted us to be happy again! But with that Celestia ruling over us, we don’t have a chance of escaping, surviving, and living free again! Freedom is an insult here.” “Well… can’t we wait before she just dies?” Soarin’ meekly suggested. “She’s an alicorn,” I said harshly. “She’s lived for a thousand millennium! She can probably live for a few thousand more, and by that time even the elements will be dead!” “Good point, honey,” Soarin’ sighed. “You were always right.” “That’s because I have a brain,” I teased lightly. But the weight of the situation just made everything even more depressing. “Listen, there’s no point to even living this out. Sure, maybe Spectrum will grow up and have kids. Maybe Harp and Sundrops will finally sort it all out! I don’t know. But there’s no point to our lives.” “What are you suggesting suicide?” Soarin’ yelled. Tears formed in my eyes. “Maybe I am,” I whispered. “Oh, Dashie, come on!” Soarin’ said. “We don’t need to do that. Maybe we can find something to fight for, and we can escape!” “What, with the Elements of harmony?” I said. “Yes, I’m so sure that all my friends, who are immensely weak and tired as it is, would just love to use the Elements to break down an old, crumbling castle that will fall apart anyways in about a week! Or- OR- we can just use some rocks! Yes, we’ll use the tiny pebbles on the ground to break the stupid lock to this place! Oh, here’s a bright idea, we can have Harp and Spectrum come save us! But we’ll have to yell to get them down here. I’m SO SURE that the guards and Spitfire would not become suspicious of us yelling ‘Oh, Spectrum, Harp, why don’t you just come down here so we can plan our escape!’ There’s nothing we CAN do, Soarin’! All of the options are ruled out. My pet TURTLE will live longer than us if we wait for the chance of escaping! He’s probably a hundred years older than me as we speak!” “Well, those are all good points.” “NO KIDDING!” I exploded. “Our only hope is my friends hearing about this and letting us out of here as they turn themselves in! Oh, I forgot to mention, they aren’t even my friends anymore! THEY HATE MY GOOD-FOR-NOTHING GUTS SOARIN! And also, I’m sure Spitfire would just let her brother and her sister-in-law out of jail because she has such a kind heart. DO YOU SEE WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! THERE’S NO POINT TO THIS! NO. POINT! And I’m sure little Miss Fluttershy would just LOVE to waltz in here and open that life-taking lock just out of the kindness of her heart. THAT Fluttershy is LONG GONE. She bucking LAUGHED at me when I told her that I was escaping to the Crystal Empire! What do we have to live for?” “What about our daughter?” “Yes, I’m practically jumping for joy and getting out Pinkie’s party cannon at the idea that our daughter will be trained in the bucking Equestrian navy, not even KNOWING that she’s the daughter of a Wonderbolt and an Element! Hell, what are the Elements anymore? Remember Discord? We couldn’t work together because WE WEREN’T FRIENDS ANYMORE. Even when the rest of the Elements were friends, I was all Discorded-out so I didn’t want to help save Equestria! A freakin baby dragon was the element of loyalty! How does that even make sense? Last time I checked, a dragon, at least in Equestrian terms, is the most selfish creature to have even roamed this country! I bet that there are dragons just dying for fresh pony blood! I don’t even know where Spike is! He could be halfway across Griffonia by now! And, oh yes, bribing the Griffons to tear down Luna’s castle sounds like a lovely and fair war! Maybe Luna is bribing the dragons! THERE’S NO LOGIC IN THIS BUCKING MESS!” “Calm down, Dashie!” Soarin’ rolled his eyes. “How many months pregnant are you again?” “Five.” I said with a huffy sigh. “Well I am simply looking forward to six months with this.” “Ugh, whatever,” I said. “So, let’s go over my logical rampaging: First off, escape. Elements, kids, Spitfire, Fluttershy, and rocks are all out of the question. Second, our daughter. We don’t want her following the stupid laws here, nor do we want her breaking them. My third point. I think dragons shouldn’t be involved with ponies, and Luna and Celestia are dirty, cheating, son-of-a-guns.” “I am loving your language, Dashie,” Soarin’ said. “When the filly is born though, dial it WAY down a bit please.” “Should our filly even be born?” I exploded. “Because, like I said, I am LOVING the fact that she will be trained in the bucking EQUESTRIAN NAVY!” “Wait, what were the methods of escape again?” Soarin’ said over my rambling. “What? Okay,” I said, confused. “We ruled out Elements, our kids, Spitfire, Fluttershy, and rocks.” “Rocks… rocks…” Soarin’ said thoughtfully. “Rocks… ROCKS!” “What are we going to make little dollies for our daughter with them or something stupid like that?” “No, just give me that big rock by the water dish!” Soarin’ yelled with excitement. I rolled my eyes. “I am also loving the fact that we’re being treated like bloody dogs!” I grumbled as I walked over. I was still mumbling even with the rock in my mouth. “Great, now I have an Across-the-pond Accent!” “Goodgoodgood!” Soarin’ said. He took the rock in his mouth. “I don’t see the point of this,” I said with tired, narrow eyes. I reminded myself of Horace, the unicorn with Spitfire in the metal room I incinerated. Soarin’ ignored me. He jerked his head, with the rock still in his mouth, and slammed the rock against his hoof-cuffs. I watched, my mouth wide open, as the left hoof cuff broke in two. Soarin’ then slammed the rock against the last hoof cuff, slamming again and again and again. It was so loud; I was surprised that the guards weren’t getting suspicious. Come to think of it, why didn’t they have any guards in the catacombs? Probably all sent out to war, I thought. But finally, Soarin’ broke the right hoof cuff. He stared at me with wild, happy eyes! “Well that’s better than a rock dolly,” I said. Soarin’ stood up on his legs. They wobbled a bit, but soon he was prancing around in circles like a school filly with fancy new ribbons! I just watched as he ran towards me and kissed me on the lips. “What was that for?” I said, blushing a little. I was happy that it was dark in the rotting death hole underneath the larger rotting death hole. “Just for being Dashie! Your rambling saved me!” Soarin’ said happily. He was still prancing around. Normally, I would have made him stop if we were in public, or even at home, but I didn’t really care because we were in the rotting death hole underneath the rotting death hole. “So being annoying saved you?” I said. I wondered about that. “Never heard that one before now… anyways, let’s see if that rock can be stronger with two ponies slamming it against hard metal.” “‘Rocks’ is now officially un-crossed off our list of things that would fail epically when trying to escape.” Just as I was about to say something, hoof steps came down the old stone staircase leading down here. Soarin’ and I both froze and couldn’t move as the pony came closer. Way to go. I knew that the slamming-the-rock-against-the-chain thing would attract the attention of SOME pony! I scolded Soarin’ inside my head. Though it was partially my fault. The pony coming to check on us came into the view of the firelight. He had a shaggy orange and yellow mane and a pure white coat with black battle scars. “Oh, Sundrops,” I sighed. “I thought we were really in danger!” “Just be thankful that it was your daughter’s best friend and not a real threat,” Sundrops sighed. He took out a key from the armor he was still wearing. “Hey Soarin’.” “So?” Soarin’ said, raising his eyebrows three times. “So… what?” Sundrops said. “What’s new with the situation,” Soarin’ said teasingly. “Really, do we have to talk about this in front of her?” Sundrops pointed his eyes at me. “Whatever you have to say to my husband, you can say in front of me,” I said, pushing closer to Soarin’. “Well, you see, I like this girl and I really want to ask her out, so I’ve been getting advice from Soarin’ here and-” I burst out laughing. Sundrops blushed. I tried to cover my mouth, but I was laughing too hard. Soarin’ backed away from me. “What’s so funny about a stallion liking a mare?” he asked me. “No, no, it’s not that,” I said. I was still laughing hard. I turned to Sundrops. “You’re really taking advice from Soarin’?” “Uh, yeah, why?” Sundrops said anxiously. “The first time he asked me out, we were flying mid air,” I started. “Oh pony feathers,” Soarin’ muttered. “And-and,” I had to stop for a minute, I was laughing so hard! “So he asked me if we could go out to lunch at one of the cafes in Ponyville, but right as he said that, he flew into the bell tower! And there was this loud clanging noise, and it was just so hilarious I just had to say yes!” Soarin’s cheeks were burning red. Sundrops just stared at Soarin’. “Dude, really?” Sundrops said. “Unfortunately, that is true,” Soarin’ said awkwardly. He nudged me with his wing. “And my wife here just can’t go a day without reminding me about it.” “Oh, my stars, it would’ve been more hilarious if you had been there to see it!” I was still laughing. “OH- oh! You should hear about the time he proposed!” I said. I was laughing so hard I was crying and I needed to calm down a little first. Meanwhile, Soarin’ smacked his hoof into his face and shook his head. “Okayokayokay, so we had been dating for like a year, right? And so and so we were just eating lunch in a café, right? Right? Okay, so then he pulls me out onto the streets and the weather is all cloudy, and so right as he’s about to say ‘will you marry me’, he pulls out the black ring box and then BOOM! It’s raining! The little rose he was going to give me was all soggy and everything, and the little note he wrote got all wet, and it was so funny, but he just knelt down on the ground and said ‘Will you marry me, Rainbow?’ And it was just so romantic despite the rain and everything, and it was just so magical, and I was kind of unsure since we’d only been dating for like a year, right, but then” –I started to get a little emotional- “Soarin’ said ‘You’re the love of my life! I’ve dated many mares before, but when I’m with you I just feel like I’m in the stars!’ and so I started crying and I had to say ‘YES!’ because it was just so romantic-” –I was bawling at this point- “and I just couldn’t say no to him because I felt the same way. Oh, my stars, I’m so sorry!” I started crying into Soarin’s shoulder. He didn’t look amused. Sundrops was just staring at me. “She’s five months pregnant,” Soarin’ explained. “Oooooooooohhhhhhhhhh,” Sundrops said. “Okay, back to the real problem though.” I sniffled and regained my composure. “Oh, dear, I’m so sorry about this, because I am just loving the hormones here. Okay, so carry on.” “So, I want to ask out this mare but I don’t know how,” Sundrops explained. “Oh, and I don’t think there are any bell towers around so I should be fine.” Soarin’ blushed again and I smirked. Soarin’ cleared his throat. “So, you need to get to know the mare first.” “Done.” “Okay, so now you just need to find the perfect time! When you think everything is perfect, everything is in place, then BAM! ‘Mare, would you like to go to dinner some time?’” “But, how do you know that the moment will be right?” Sundrops asked. Soarin’ just shrugged. “You just know.” “Okay, now who’s the mare?” I said teasingly. “Wait, I have one more question!” Sundrops said, blushing. “I don’t know if the mare even likes me. What if she says no?” “I’m sure she’ll like you,” Soarin’ said reassuringly. “And if she says no, it’s not the end of the world! There are plenty of fish in the sea.” “Soar-rin!” I nagged. I pushed him hard with my wings. I turned to Sundrops. “Listen, sweetie, there’s always going to be another mare that you will like, and someday you’ll find one who likes you back! Maybe you even know her now,” I hinted. “Well, okay,” Sundrops smiled. “And if you really must know, I actually know two mares. One I kind of like, and the other one I really do like but I think she thinks that we’re just friends.” “Oh, okay,” I said. I had figured out who he was talking about just as the conversation began, but now with the second mare, I wasn’t so sure. I hoped he wouldn’t turn into one of those stallions, like Prince Blueblood. Once his two marefriends found out, he was in for a boatload of trouble. Princess Celestia even disinherited him from the Royal fortune and disowned him as part of the royal family! Last time I saw him, he was selling rotten strawberries on the street in Trottingham. “I really like the one mare who thinks we’re just friends, but I also kind of like the other mare, but I think that with that mare we should be just friends.” “I’d go with the mare that you really like,” I said. “But what’s her name!” “You already know her,” Sundrops said, staring at the ground and shuffling his feet. “Her name is Spectra Harp.” * * * Spectra Harp moved through the crowd of new recruits. She always hated the training part of the year. The new recruits were so immature. She was just trying to get an apple from the vending machine. She especially hated all the stallions. For just getting an apple, the mess hall had turned into a desperate race to the finish line: the vending machine. A whistle from her left. Another one from her right. Harp just rolled her eyes and tried to bear it. She hated all these stallions. Hate, hate, HATE! She usually kept her eyes on the ground, as to avoid eye contact, but it appeared that tables were now in the middle of the isle. Harp accidentally bumped into a light brown stallion with a messed up black mane and two silver swords for a cutie mark. He turned around, his face full of anger, but he stopped when he saw her face. “Hello beautiful,” he said, raising his eyebrows so unskillfully it looked like they were twitching. “Care to sit down with Buffy?” “Buffy sounds like a filly name,” Harp rolled her eyes and tried to push through. “You know, I like ‘em feisty,” Buffy laughed stupidly. “And now that you know my name, what’s yours?” Harp still tried to push through the barrier of Buffy. “Do you know who my mother is?” “No, but I’d like to meet her someday,” Buffy did the twitchy-eyebrow thing again. “After we, uh, get to know each other a little, eh?” “Buck off!” Harp shouted. She managed to get past him. She rolled her eyes and hurried through the crowd. She could still hear the horrific whistles of the “attractive” Buffy behind her. “Hey, sweetcheeks,” another male voice sounded. “Oh for the love of wing feathers,” Harp muttered under her breath. She turned around to see a golden stallion with a blue and gray mane. “What?” “Would you like to go out sometime at one of those fancy Hoofington cafés?” the stallion tried to be attractive. “Were you born without a brain or something?” Harp said, her voice like fire. “Because Hoofington was torched just a few days ago.” “Ooh, you know we like them feisty,” he laughed. He was another eyebrow-twitcher. “And I like them keeping their distance,” Harp said. The arrogant stallion just wouldn’t leave though. Harp actually liked Buffy better than this guy. “Listen, babe, I think that maybe a stroll through the ashes would be romantic.” “Sorry, but I’m taken,” Harp smiled tightly. She started to turn away. “So am I, babe,” the stallion smiled. It was dreadfully unattractive. “But who’s counting?” “Ever heard of a toothbrush, bucking Blueblood?” Harp said as she ran off. Annoying “oh!” sounds came from other stallions around the golden one. Harp sighed with relief as she FINALLY reached the vending machine. She took out a few bits from her saddle-pack and pushed them into the machine. She didn’t look as she pressed a random button on the side. It was all the same thing: apples. “Hey, Harp!” another male voice came from behind her. She sighed a huffy breath. “I thought I told you arrogant stallions to buck off!” she said, turning around to see someone. “Well, hello to you too!” “Oh, sorry Sundrops!” Harp blushed. “I didn’t know it was you, it’s just that all the annoying stallions…” “I completely understand,” Sundrops scoffed. “Newbies.” Harp smiled. “Oh, hey, want me to buy you an apple?” “Sure,” Sundrops laughed. The two headed back to the private room in the west wing. It was like a mess hall for apprentices only. Although Sundrops wasn’t allowed in here, most of the seniors didn’t mind because he was such a good part of the navy. “I am so glad that we have this place all to ourselves,” Sundrops said before taking a bite of the apple. “No kidding!” Harp laughed. “Ugh those new recruits can be such a pain.” “Oh, yeah,” Sundrops said through a mouthful. “Hey, I was just talking with your mom and Soarin’ down in the dungeons.” “Oh yeah, how was that?” “I learned a lot,” Sundrops said. “Particularly that Soarin’ is amazingly clumsy.” “Oh, yeah, no really?” Harp laughed. Sundrops stared at her with a… look in his eyes. “What?” “Listen, Harp,” Sundrops said. “Would you maybe like to go out sometime?” “Oh, sure,” Harp said. She maintained her calmness, but on the inside she was exploding. “Where to?” “Maybe in Hoofington?” Sundrops said. “Oh wait! Never mind. Spitfire was just there.” “Unfortunately,” Harp rolled her eyes. “Hey, maybe we can go to dinner someplace nice in Canterlot?” “Sounds awesome!” Sundrops said. He was just barely containing his excitement. “Does next Thursday sound good?” “Sure, why not?” Harp shrugged. Just as she said that, a little knock came on the door. “Oh, excuse me.” Harp opened the door to a rainbow-colored mare. She looked tired and was breathing heavily. Her eyes were full of desperation. “Mom?” Harp said. She turned to Sundrops, her eyes wide with concern. “I thought you were in jail.” “I was,” Rainbow said. “But you need to come back.” “Back where?” “Where you were really born.” “And where would that be?” Rainbow just smiled and turned around. Harp looked past her to see shining crystals in the background. “But-why would I need to-” Harp felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Sundrops there and suddenly he kissed her! “Wait, is any of this real?” Harp said, breathless. Suddenly, her vision was replaced with the darkness of her covers. She lifted them off of her face. Her mane was frizzy and her whole body felt tired. She sat up in her bed. “Sissy what does buck mean?” a young voice made Harp jump. She turned around to see Raindrop in the bed next to Harp’s. “And what is the Crystal Empire? And why did you say ‘what was that for’? And what’s next Thursday? And why is your mommy in prison?” “Oh, Raindrop, calm down!” Harp said. “Oh, and a) don’t repeat that. B) It’s a pretty place with a pretty palace. C) Something in the dream. D) She’s not my real mommy. But she’s in prison because she’s loyal.” “Why is she loyal?” Raindrop asked with wide eyes. Her light purple coat shimmered in the dim light as Harp lit up a lamp. Her mane was pink and dark purple. She realized that Harp was going to tell her a story, one of her favorite things that Harp did for her little sister! “Yay yay story time!” Harp giggled. “Do you want me to sing the song?” “Oh yeah!” Raindrop’s filly body bounced on top of the bed! She was grinning nearly a Pinkie Pie smile, which Rainbow had to explain to Harp many times over. “Daisies and tulips All bloom to hear A story from Harp So gather near! Story time’s fun Story time’s glad! Raindrop loves it! There some fun to be had! Story time! YAY!” “YAY!” Raindrop shouted! Harp loved writing that song. It was her second talent, rather than her band-aid-and-thermometer cutie mark talent of being a doctor. “What’s the story this time?” “The Elements of Harmony!” Harp said. She set the lantern on the ground between the two beds. Raindrop held her head in her hooves, her eyes literally full of stars. “Once, long ago, an evil creature ruled Equestria. His name was Discord. But two sister alicorns realized his evilness, and soon turned him to stone. The two regal sisters ruled with equality. The elder rose the sun every day, and the younger rose the moon every night. There was only one other incident of evil recorded. The evil King Sombra had to be defeated as he had taken over the Crystal Empire. He was soon defeated by the two sisters again. But with him, the Crystal empire disappeared! And so Equestria was peaceful for a thousand years. But as time went by, the younger sister grew jealous. The ponies played in her sister’s days, but they ignored and slept through her very pretty nights. As time went by, the younger sister grew more and more reclusive, until she became an evil mare of darkness known as Nightmare Moon!” “No!” Raindrop shouted, jumping up! “Yes!” Harp said. She continued the story Rainbow had told her many times over. “So, Nightmare Moon threatened to shroud Equestria in eternal nighttime! Princess Celestia could only use the Elements of Harmony against her sister. Nightmare Moon was soon banished to the moon. But it was said that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars would aide in her escape! Twilight Sparkle, personal protégé of Celestia herself, saw the signs of her return. She travelled to Ponyville and soon found five other friends. They watched as the Princess got kidnapped by Nightmare Moon! They had to travel into the Everfree to harness the Elements of Harmony and use them to defeat Nightmare Moon once again! Each challenge by the evil mare was overcome. They soon found the Elements and harnessed them, turning them into necklaces using the magic of friendship!” “That sounds cheesy,” Raindrop said. “I wouldn’t be so sure on that,” Harp laughed. “Anyways, Nightmare Moon turned back into the loved Princess Luna! And the two ruled again. However, a year later, Discord was reformed! The friendship of the Elements was torn apart, and it was Twilight’s friendship lessons that led them to harness their elements once again to defeat the evil Emperor of Chaos! And then, another year later, Twilight’s brother was getting married to Princess Cadence! Yet only Twilight could see that she was not Cadence! After being banished under Canterlot Castle, Twilight found the real Cadence and together they exploited Queen Chrysalis of the changelings! They were banished from Equestria using the magic of Shining Armor and Cadence’s love, with the help of the Elements! And soon afterwards, Sombra returned to the Crystal empire after it reappeared! Once again, it was up to the Elements to save Equestria from darkness. But it ended up being Cadence and Spike the Dragon who saved the Crystal Heart, the only thing powerful enough to save the Crystal ponies! Equestria was peaceful for many years, despite a few other incidents. But then, disease struck. Celestia went insane and became more of a dictator! War was unleashed on Equestria as sister fought sister using their immense armies. This war is still going on now! The elements were to be transferred by train to Celestia herself, but the train was wrecked by Luna’s forces. The elements, at least the Necklaces, were either destroyed in the crash or stolen afterwards. They lived on in Twilight and her friends. But the friendship was torn apart as two of the elements became destroyed overtime by the war. Maybe the Elements can save us now. But the friendship will have to mend long before that can happen.” All was silent for a few minutes. Raindrop just stared with awe-stricken eyes at Harp. The little filly was quivering and Harp was a little scared of the reaction she was going to get. And suddenly the filly burst with excitement, bouncing up and down with a goofy smile plastered on her face! “Whoa, oh my gosh, Harp!” Raindrop said as she bounced up and down. “I think you just figured out how to save Equestria!” “I think you’re right!” Harp said with slow comprehension. A smile spread across her face. “Oh my gosh, you are right! Stay here, because I need to go talk to my mother!” Harp raced through the dark labyrinth of the crumbling castle. Torches were lit every so often. She raced through the hallways, everything becoming a blur, going so fast that she felt the need to fly. Crash! Into another pony. Harp’s eyes rolled around in her head from dizziness, but she shook her head and helped the stallion up. “Harp?” he said. “Sundrops!” Harp gasped. “Funny how we keep crashing into each other.” “Listen, Harp, I had this dream, the weirdest dream ever!” Sundrops started. “Can this wait until tomorrow?” Harp said, looking past the stallion and into the dark hallways. “Um, sure I guess,” Sundrops said. “Why?” “Equestria needs saving!” Harp smiled brilliantly and she pushed through Sundrops and into the hallway, leaving the stallion confused and concerned. “Kay, tell me how that goes,” he yelled after her in a worried voice. Harp sped past torches, flying through the hallways (literally), and she went out into the courtyard. Soon, she found the tower that became the entrance to the dungeons. She raced down the steps and to the very last cell. “Mom! Soarin’!” Harp said urgently. “WAKE UP!” “What?” Rainbow’s voice came from the dark corner. The mare stood up and walked to the entrance of the cage. Her eyes were filled with fatigue, but Harp couldn’t wait. “Harp? What are you doing here?” “I know how to save Equestria!” Harp said in a serious tone, her eyes wide. “I know how to save all of us!”