Light broke through the horizon, casting its rays over the mountains and the landscape. The chilly air nipped at my nose and ears. At least the sunlight provided some comfort. In front of me, Happy led the way, looking like a pony again, though he had a serious expression on his face. We walked past the entrance of the farm in silence, passing by all the pretty apple and cherry trees that dotted the orchard. I wondered if this was where the servants got the apples.
Happy told me to stay quiet. We had snuck out of Braeburn and Cherry’s house just before sunrise. For what reason, I didn’t know. Happy wanted us out of there as soon as possible. We didn't even get to say goodbye to Braeburn and Cherry Jubilee before we left.
I struggled to stay awake. A yawn escaped my lips every so often, and I fought to keep my eyelids open. I would rather be in bed back at the house than walking outside right now. The comfort of being under the warm covers on a soft bed was tempting, but Happy told me it was important that we got out. That and he threw the covers off me and dragged me out of bed…
We trotted away from the farm until we came to the center of a town. There were more wooden buildings like the farmhouse, all of different colors. It was nice to see colors that weren’t the usual gray, black, and green found back at the hive. The place was reasonably deserted. Even I wouldn’t be outside if it was going to be this chilly at this time. We hid between two buildings, though I didn’t see any reason to, especially since there wasn’t anyone around. It was like back at the hive when Happy and I tried to sneak out, except I was actually outside now.
Happy peeked around the corner before turning to me. “Princess, if we leave now, we might be able to make it back home before your mother notices you were gone.”
I raised a brow. “Home? I don’t want to go home yet.”
His eyes widened. “What do you mean you don’t want to go?!” he shouted.
I rolled my eyes. “It means I don’t want to go home just yet. Happy, we still haven’t seen the thing on the mountain yet.” Now that the sun was higher, I could make out the object that perched on the side of the mountain. It was white, making it stand out from the mountain it was part of, and there was even a waterfall coming out of it. I pointed at it. “See that? That thing.”
He followed my hoof towards the direction I was pointing in. He turned back to me, his head shaking frantically. “Nonono, that’s nothing!”
“Nothing…?” I deadpanned.
He straightened his back and looked me in the eyes. “Nothing.”
I didn’t buy it. I’d known Happy long enough to tell that he was lying. He looked worried and… scared, though I couldn’t really tell for sure. He was probably scared of being outside with me when Mommy told me I couldn’t. If he really was that scared of Mommy, I could just tell her it was all my idea in the first place, sparing him from trouble. But there was no way I was going to miss out exploring the surface. Who knows when I would get another chance like this?
I matched his gaze with my own. “Alright, Happy, I’ll go with you.” His features relaxed at hearing this. “Or… we can go to that cool thing over there and then go back home, where I leave out the part where you took me outside.” And just like that, he tensed up, all his worries returning. I felt sorry for doing this to him, but he left me no choice. I had to do this before I spend my days back in the dark cavern.
I began walking away, stopping only to look back at him. “Coming?”
He opened his mouth to say something but closed it. With a heavy sigh, he followed after me. “Okay, but after you’ve had your fun, we’re going back home.”
I was giddy with excitement now that Happy was on board. I let out squeal as I hopped around, only to have Happy’s hoof cover my mouth. He made a zipping motion across his mouth with a stern glare to go with it. I had nearly forgotten about that and sheepishly smiled. “Sorry,” I whispered.
He put a hoof on his forehead and sighed. “If this is what you want to do, then you better listen to what I say, okay?” I excitedly nodded my head. Happy trotted in a different direction from the mountain I planned on heading towards.
“Huh? Where are you going? It’s this way.”
He kept on walking. “We’re taking the train there.”
I tried to keep up with him. “The train?”
We stopped at a wooden platform that sat next to a pair of metal rails. There was no one around, so it was just us two. “It’s easier to just show you. Just wait.”
I sat down as we waited. Happy kept looking down the tracks as if he was expecting something. I twiddled my hooves and played with a lock of my mane. What is Happy waiting for? Just how long are we going to wait? While waiting, I tried to change the way I looked like the way Happy does again. I shut my eyes, trying to picture myself with pretty wings and a horn like Mommy’s. I cracked my eyes open and felt the top of my forehead. There was nothing there. I looked behind and didn’t find any wings either. Still can’t change yet…
The floorboards shook underneath my hooves. Off in the distance, something puffing smoke was heading towards us. It looked like a metal monster with a really long body that stretched down the rails. It let out a loud whistle and a terrifying screech as it came to a stop, startling me. I jumped at the sound and hid behind Happy, staying as close to him as possible. I made sure that Happy stood between me and the big monster. Happy, however, didn’t look frightened at all.
“H-Happy, what is that?” I asked, peeking around him at the metal creature that hissed steam.
He chuckled, not worried at all about the scary thing that could possibly eat us. In fact, there were tired-looking ponies coming out from the holes in its body. “That’s a train. Follow me, Nymph. You don’t want to get lost in the crowd.”
“We’re getting in that thing?!” I shouted, earning a few ponies’ attention.
He clamped a hoof on my mouth again and laughed nervously. “It’s her first time riding the train,” he said. Everyone went back to doing whatever they were doing. He brought his hoof away from my mouth and craned his neck to whisper in my ear. “Nymph, please don’t attract attention.”
“But Happy, you want me to get inside that?” I asked, pointing towards the monstrosity.
“You’ll be fine. Look, it’s not even alive. It’s just ponies controlling it from inside.”
I glanced at the thing, and Happy was right. I saw a pony leaning outside a window at the front, but that didn’t calm my nerves at all. How do ponies control something as big as this?
Happy placed a hoof on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.” He gave me his toothy grin. I couldn’t help but giggle at his expression.
We walked towards the train with me still sticking closely to Happy’s side. Happy stepped inside with no problem. I took a deep breath and steeled my nerves before cautiously placing a hoof on the train. When nothing happened, I walked the rest of the way inside. It wasn’t that bad, or so I thought. The door closed shut behind me, causing me to yelp. As if that wasn’t scary enough, a voice started talking from nowhere.
“All aboard for Ponyville!”
A loud whistle sounded out before the train lurched forward. I clung to Happy for dear life. What’s going on? Whose voice was that?
Happy held onto me and stroked my mane. “It’s okay. We’re just moving.” His soothing touch was enough to calm me down. I wasn’t scared. Grown-up princesses don’t get scared, especially in front of their subjects. I was just surprised. That was all. “Now let’s find some seats,” he said.
We walked into a room with rows of seats and windows lining both sides. There were only two other ponies in the room, though there was something about them that caught my attention. I nudged Happy’s side. “Happy, look! One of them has a horn! Oh, and the other has wings!” I pointed to the ponies.
The gray pony with blonde mane had feathered wings, not the kind changelings had, and for some reason, her eyes weren’t straight. She wore a saddlebag, and looking further down, I saw she had bubbles for her cutie mark. What do bubbles mean? The other had pale purple fur, and her smooth horn, unlike Mommy’s, poked out of her blonde mane. She also had a pink bow tied to her mane. A cutie mark that looked like yellow sparkles covered her flank. Her head was leaning against the gray one with her eyes closed.
Happy brought my hoof down. “Remember what I told you?”
“Oh, right.” It was hard not to be excited to see ponies with horns and wings, almost like a changeling except they only had one or the other.
We sat down across from them. My attention immediately went to the window where the scenery rushed past us. I pressed my face against it as I watched all the trees, rocks, and mountains pass by. All fear I had for the train ride was abandoned. I poked Happy to get his attention. “Look how fast we’re going, Happy!”
I heard a light tittering nearby. “First time riding the train?” I turned around and found the cross-eyed mare (I think that’s what Happy told me female ponies were called) smiling at me. I nodded silently. “Hi, my name’s Derpy. My little Dinky used to be like that when she was little.” She nuzzled the sleeping pony. The mare, Dinky, flicked her ears at hearing her name but didn’t wake up.
“I am Prin—“ I began to say, but was cut off by a nudge in my side from Happy.
“Nymph. This is Nymph, and I’m her brother, Happy,” he said. He shot me look telling me to keep quiet. Oh right, no attention towards me.
“So, where are you two headed?” she asked.
“We’re on our way to Canterlot.”
“Oh, Canterlot? I heard it’s a really nice place and that it looks even more amazing during the Grand Galloping Gala.” She kept going on and on about some place I didn’t know. “… and then there’s the castle where the princesses live.”
“Wait, did you say ‘princesses’?” I asked. I didn’t know there were other princesses.
She nodded. “Yes, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna live in this really big castle in Canterlot.”
The sleeping mare stirred from her sleep and sat up, rubbing her eyes. “Huh? Are we there yet?” She took notice of me and Happy. “Oh, hello. Who are you?”
Derpy introduced me and Happy for us. “Dinky, meet Nymph and Happy.”
She gave a friendly wave, which I kindly returned. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Lush, green fields replaced the dry desert, grabbing my attention. My face was glued in front of the window again. Off in the distance, there were a lot of trees bunched together. A forest—it was called, just like in my picture books. Fields of grass shook as the wind blew, like a sea of green, rippling and wavering. Above, the sky was blue again, stretching on endlessly and watching the world below. I wondered what it was like up there. If I had wings, I’d fly up and find out for myself. Mommy is really missing this being cooped up at the hive.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
I turned around to see Dinky sitting behind me with a smile on her face. When did she get behind me? I grinned at her and nodded.
Suddenly, darkness filled the room. I couldn’t even see my hoof in front of my face. What’s going on? Why can’t I see anything? Even though I hadn’t been out on the surface long, I was pretty sure things didn’t get that dark that quickly. Of course, I clung to the closest thing I could find. It wasn’t long until light filled the room once again, and looking out the window, I found out we just went through a mountain! How was that even possible? Apparently, in that brief time in the dark, I clung to Dinky’s side, thinking it was Happy. She stifled a giggle behind a hoof, as a blush burned on my face. Off to the side, Happy and Derpy were smiling at the sight. I broke away from her, doing my best to compose myself.
“Everyone, please have your tickets ready,” said a pony in a blue uniform, a stallion I think he was called according to Happy. He stopped in front of Derpy. “Tickets, please.”
She craned her neck down into her saddlebag, her head completely hidden in the bag. Her head came back out with nothing. She checked the other side, shuffling the items in her bag, while the stallion tapped his hoof patiently. She looked back up, a frown on her face. “I-I’m not sure where I put it. It was just here!”
Happy nudged my shoulder and slipped something under my hoof. I glanced down and found a piece of paper under my hoof, and looking back at him, I saw he had one too, hiding it from view of the ponies in the room. Is this a train ticket? Where did Happy get this? Then, it all made sense. Derpy and Dinky's missing tickets and the sudden appearance of our own—Happy stole these! I couldn't believe Happy would do such a thing!
I couldn’t take their tickets when they had been so nice to us. I knew what I had to do. I whispered to Happy. "Psst, Happy. Give me your ticket." He raised a brow and slightly shook his head. "Just do it or I'll turn ourselves in for stealing!" I whispered to him.
With an annoyed look, he passed the ticket to me without attracting the others' attention. Derpy was still searching for her ticket, going as far as to check under the seats, with Dinky helping her out. I coughed lightly. "Are these your tickets?"
Derpy's head popped up from the seat she was looking under. Her eyes widened at seeing the tickets in my hooves. "Oh, yes! Thank you!" The stallion in uniform took them and punched a hole in each ticket stub.
"Well, now that that's settled. Tickets, please?" he asked me.
I awkwardly shifted in my seat. "Um, we don't exactly have tickets..."
"You can buy tickets now for twenty bits."
What's a bit? Whether or not I knew what a “bit” was, I still didn't have any on me. "We... don't have any bits either..."
"Two kids with no tickets and no bits?" he asked. "As soon as we reach the next stop, you two are coming with me to see the police."
I paled at the idea of seeing the police. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good by the nervousness on Happy's face, giving me enough reason to feel uneasy at the moment. All I wanted to do was see what it was like outside and show Mommy that I was big enough to go out on my own. I stared down at my hooves, trying to keep the tears from flowing. Happy held onto me, providing little comfort to the situation.
"Wait, what if we paid for their tickets?" asked Dinky. I raised my head to look at her. She would do this for me and Happy? "Mom, can't we help them out?"
Derpy nodded and smiled, one eye looking at us and the other looking up at the ceiling. "I don't see why not. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have found our tickets."
I beamed at Derpy and Dinky. "Oh, thank you! Thank you!"
The cross-eyed mare pulled out a sack that jingled when it shook and poured out a bunch of shiny, gold coins into her hoof. "This should cover it." The stallion took the coins, deposited them into a pouch, and brought out two tickets for me and Happy before hole-punching them.
The smile wouldn't leave my face as I held the ticket in my hoof. The stallion left to go to the next car, leaving just the four of us in the room. I wrapped my hooves around Dinky and gave a squeeze. "Thank you so much!"
Dinky laughed as she tried to pry me off. "We heard you the first time. What are friends for?"
I gazed up at her. "Friends?"
She ruffled my mane. "Yeah, friends."
I never really had any friends other than Happy. The other changelings were usually busy serving me and Mommy. I was really happy to have Derpy and Dinky as friends.
"Now arriving in Ponyville," said the voice I still couldn't seem to find.
There was another screech coming from outside, though this time I didn't cling to Happy. I lurched forward in my seat as the train came to a stop. A whistle pierced the air. Happy and I left the train as soon as the door opened up.
He hastily pushed me towards the exit of the platform. "Thanks for helping us out," he said, "but we really need to get going."
"Bye Nymph! Bye Happy!" They waved goodbye to us.
I waved back at them. "Bye, hope to see you again," I said, smiling. Another push from Happy got me walking, and as we left the train station, a pang of sadness hit me at the thought of leaving those two. Even though I hadn't known them for long, I was going to miss them.
Who knows, maybe we’ll meet again? If Mommy ever lets me leave the hive that is…
~~~~~~~
Chrysalis and her small swarm of changelings soared over the dry desert, the sun beating on them relentlessly. Their search for the foal turned from seconds to minutes, minutes to hours. Yet, there was no sign of her in this barren place. A desert was no place for a pony, much less a foal, which was all the more the reason to find her as soon as possible.
Nymph is a smart foal, she thought, biting her lower lip as she scanned her surroundings. She’s going to be okay, especially with that other changeling with her. But when I get my hooves on him, he and I are going to have a long talk.
Though she kept telling herself Nymph was fine, dreadful thoughts crept into her mind. This miserable place wasn’t called the “Badlands” for nothing. Changelings weren’t the only things living in the Badlands. There were more dangerous creatures out there, most of whom would probably be delighted to see a foal, not as a guest but as their next meal. She shook her head of these thoughts. Focus on finding Nymph first. Worrying will get me nowhere.
In the distance, a small town could be seen. Hoping it wasn’t a mirage, she headed in that direction, her changeling guards following. As she neared the town, she could make out the colorful inhabitants that were unmistakably ponies. Her heart sunk at the sight of them. If Nymph had seen them already, then it could ruin her plans. That and if she claimed she was a changeling out in public, then there was no telling what these ponies would do to her.
“Disguises on now,” Chrysalis ordered. The guards obeyed, each taking on the form of a random pegasus, making up different colors in the spectrum. In a burst of green fire, Chrysalis changed her appearance. She was now a black pegasus mare, still keeping her mane, tail, and eyes the same color. Her horn and crown were missing, and all the holes and fangs vanished in the transformation. Her tattered, insect-like wings were replaced by a pair of feathery wings. For the finishing touch, a thorny, red rose adorned her flank—her cutie mark. She now looked like any other normal pony.
Chrysalis dived behind a large rock with her guards following suit. Though it was still a long walk from where they were, it was unlikely for a pony to be way out there. She peeked around the boulder, checking to see if there was any pony around. When there weren’t any, she turned to her guards, all uniformly lined up in front of her and waiting for their next order. She trotted down the line and inspected each disguised changeling, making sure everything looked as it should be so that they wouldn’t stand out among the crowd. Having their cover blown and inciting mass panic was the last thing they wanted to do.
“I want you five to be earth ponies and you two to be unicorns. You there, change your cutie mark to something involving a fruit. You, the brown one, style your mane into something different and turn that pear into an hourglass.” She went down the line one more time, eyes scrutinizing at every detail.
“Yes, this is much better. Now I want all of you to begin your search of this town, but do not arrive all at once. Instead, I want you to walk into the settlement one at a time every half hour or so. I will go first. Do not attract attention to yourself or reveal our intention here! We cannot be discovered at all! Is that understood?”
She received a simultaneous nod from the group of changelings in front of her. “Good. If you find any sign of Princess Nymph, notify me as soon as possible.”
With that, the changeling queen took off towards the small town, a serious expression on her face. Her mane and tail billowed in the wind as she flew, taking longer flaps with her new wings. Her eyes were focused on the incoming town.
Please be safe, Nymph. Mother Chrysalis is coming to rescue you.