Original Title: Six Bygones
This chapter is part of the older version of "Ein Sof Zealotry" and is to be considered non-canon in lieu of the pending rewrite. This along with the rest of the old story remain for the purpose of comparison.

“Remember when you told me those migraines would stop after the first time?”

As the amber unicorn rubbed her temples to make the pain go away, the rest of the girls one by one slowly slid through the gel like portal located within the frame of the gates. Going through said portal was comparable to walking through a wall of warm water, a strange yet soothing experience. Of course it didn’t help Sunset very much as this was only her second time in Elysium and she wasn’t used to the migraines gotten from traveling to and from.

On the other side of the gate, the grand plaza of Elysium oddly didn’t look too different from the mortal realm other than a warm glow emitting from the surrounding light sources. Canvas had seen the plaza once before, but not with the golden rays of the many torches that burned their last embers for the evening. Said rays lit the place up like a plethora of fireflies.

“Oh wow. I really need to draw this image later. It would look really pretty.” Canvas beamed.

“Indeed it would,” a voice said from above. The voice belonged to Scintillant who softly floated down and landed in front of the girls. “But now is not the time for that. You must follow me quickly for we have much to explain.” Scintillant firmly gestured the girls to follow her and made it clear she did not want to waste any time. “Do not diverge from my lead.”

The six mares obeyed and followed after her in a single file line with Twilight being at the lead just behind Scintillant. As they walked Twilight noticed she was leading them to an enormous building, larger than anything she’d ever seen before. Said building was large enough to be a castle and in many ways it was. The group passed many creatures who shared the angelic design, many of whom looked like they weren’t entirely pleased to see them and a ways into the citadel, two bipedal angels started to follow them with weapons drawn.

“Hush Twilight!” Scintillant said in whispered yell. “You must stay silent during this escort, lest you say something you will regret later. I will explain the rules later, but you must speak only when spoken to. Understand?”

Twilight noticed Scintillant was actually quite nervous as she talked, not unlike how Twilight used to act whenever she was to meet Princess Celestia at times. She gave a quick nod and not four minutes passed before they arrived at a large double door with two large minotaur angels holding axes guarding it.

“Αλτ! Γιατί είσαι εδώ?” one of guards asked in a language foreign to the mares.

“Μακάρι για να δείτε τη μητέρα.” Scintillant responded in the same language.

“Η μητέρα δεν θα είναι στην ευχάριστη θέση να σας δούμε και πάλι.” the second guard stated.

The guards glanced at the mares behind her, then at each other. “Μπορείτε να πάτε. Αλλά πρέπει να προειδοποιούνται, η μητέρα είναι πιο δυσάρεστη αυτή τη φορά της ώρας.” the first guard cautioned as both minotaurs opened the doors.

Scintillant nodded and slowly walked inside with the others doing the same. The inside of the room was a large rotunda with the only light source being a small white sun in a mesh cage at the very center of the ceiling which surprisingly lit most of the room. The floor of the room was what seemed like a large circular pool of water, far too deep to comprehend.

“Geez. This room needs its own zip code,” Trixie whispered to Twilight who shushed her quickly.

From the double doors, there was a large circular bank that formed a pathway around the body of water located several meters below. There appeared to be many other doors along the pathway that varied in size yet nowhere near as large as the central doors that led the group into this room. Scintillant approached the edge of the bank and jumped on a glass surface which lit up with a green light as she stepped on it. More platforms of the same design appeared and formed a small set of stairs that led to a larger glass platform, about halfway to the center. Scintillant stood up straight and held her head high.

“Σεβασμιώτατε!” Scintillant shouted. “Μακάρι να μιλήσω ενώπιόν σας!”

As she said those words, a flare of light shined from the deepest parts of the body of water. It started to ripple, softly at first then more violently as a large angelic dragon with a body made up of marble scales and clad with red and gold gauntlets on its claws emerged head first from the surface and spread its large wingspan, which did not share the angelic wing design the girls have seen thus far. The dragon opened its eyes as a metallic vertical halo formed at the back of its head. With a swift jerking motion of its head from side to side, the sound of popping vertebrae resonated throughout the chamber, somewhat grossing out Canvas in the process.

“Σπινθηριστικό. Πώς τολμάς να μας χάρη με την παρουσία σας και πάλι!” the dragon roared in obvious irritation. It spoke with a loud, authoritative voice and in a volume that would put the Royal Canterlot Voice to shame.

Scintillant bowed, prompting the others to do the same. “Συγχωρήστε μένα Η μητέρα. Ξέρω ότι είναι τέλη του, αλλά έχω κάτι σημαντικό που πρέπει να συζητήσουμε μαζί σου. Αλλά αν δεν σας πειράζει, θα προτιμούσα να το πράξουν σε μια πιο πρόσφατη διάλεκτο.”

The dragon glared at Scintillant and then at the girls behind her, causing Twilight to swallow heavily. After rolling its eyes, the dragon placed them level to Scintillant.

“Very well, you may rise for us. Now tell us what this is about, Scintillant.”

Scintillant picked her head up, but still made sure her body language was submissive to the majestic beast in front of her. “Your Eminence, these mares have shown to possess great potential that would become a great asset. I implore you to consider what I have to offer.”

The dragon raised its head again in a motion which told Scintillant to resume her standing position. “Those mares over there? They are mortal beings! What gave you the right to bring them into this sacred realm?”

“It is as I said. They have potential. They have proven to be able to wield the Elements, Mother.”

“Please Mother, I would never have done it if I didn’t think it was important. I promise you won’t be disappointed if you, just give them and me a chance.”

The dragon narrowed her eyes to a glare as she examined the unannounced visitors for a few moments. Then she sighed as she glanced back at Scintillant again. “You have some explaining to do, Scintillant. Very well, we shall hear you once again, but not in their presence. While we discuss, they are to be escorted outside the citadel and watched over for the night.”

As they were being escorted away from the citadel, the path being lined by glowing golden orbs equal distance from one another, Twilight busied herself with studying their little procession since the surroundings were too dark to spot anything from the Elysian landscape. Two angelic warriors carrying a lantern and a spear each led them swiftly in the opposite direction of the Gate, stoic, almost statuesque expression on their faces. Two similar looking figures followed behind the girls.

As for her friends, Twilight noted that their reactions to the situation varied. If their behavior was of any indication, only Ditzy shared Twilight’s worries about what would come, face scrunched in a solemn frown. Lighting and Sunset weren’t letting any signs of their internal life on, marching in strict military way, while Canvas got obviously bored with little to observe and was amusing herself with not stepping on cobblestones of any other color than white, which led to her prancing from time to time as the pattern lacked any plan.

Trixie probably shared Canvas’ boredom, but not her talent to find entertainment, since she showed an indomitable urge to talk. She sneaked next to Twilight and stretched to her ear. “Psst, Twilight, where do you think they are taking us?”

Twilight turned to her friend incredulously. “Why do you think I have any more information than you?” she asked in a whisper as well as to not give their guards any reason to act aggressively. They surely wouldn’t have any scruples doing so. “Probably to some kind of housing, hopefully not a dungeon. Till the morning we should be safe. That dragon basically promised that.”

“About that dragon,” Trixie immediately jumped at the topic, “was it just her, or are all dragons that morose? I mean, you never said anything about Spike acting like a-”

“Shush!” Twilight reacted almost in panic. “Didn’t you see how nervous Scintillant was from meeting her? Making remarks about her in that manner probably isn’t wise.”

Trixie bit her lip when she realized her potential blunder. “True. I hope they didn’t hear us.” She gestured to their guards. “Do you think they are like royal guards with that unmoving look?”

“Maybe with that, but that’s all resemblance I would expect. These look like they actually can fight and follow orders. But I wouldn’t test either theory really or we may not see the morning after all.”

Sensing Twilight’s grave mood Trixie moved further back in the group and watched Canvas’ antics. That managed to entertain her enough to not get infected with Twilight’s pessimism, although that could have been caused by how short their walk from this point was. In less than five minutes the guards stopped on a small square with an alabaster fountain in the centre. They turned to the group and gestured with their spears to a building on the opposite side of the square.

“This is where you will spend the night,” they said as one pony and the glowing orbs from their lanterns floated toward the building, illuminating it. Four marble columns supported a pediment decorated with floral pattern. Brass double doors swung open between the central columns Five steps led to the building itself, putting it slightly above the surrounding terrain. “You will be retrieved in the morning to meet Mother Dogma’s decision. Don’t try to leave the house, it will be guarded and we will show no mercy to disobeying the order. All you need is prepared inside. Go.” They spoke with a strange accent as if they weren’t accustomed to using Equestrian or maybe speaking per se.

The group didn’t lose a second, not wanting to aggravate their guards more than necessary, and walked into the house in an orderly double file. The door slammed shut behind them and a metallic cling echoed as something was placed on it from the outside.

“Don’t leave the house. To be sure you obey, we will bar the door,” Trixie remarked, returning to her quippy mood from before, feeling safe with the angels out of sight.

“I would do the same,” Sunset answered matter of factly. “Well, no. I would throw us into some dungeon underground. They are being pretty nice considering we’re not welcomed. You should learn from them.”

“I had that bed prepared for you as instructed. Blame Twilight for not specifying the expected quality,” Trixie answered with a smirk.

“Okay, okay, you can blame me for not stating bedding standards. But please keep it for a better moment, not when we are held prison with uncertain fate,” Twilight interrupted their starting debate while scrutinizing the hall. There were doors on all four walls, yet the one opposite the entrance was actually open, showing a small patio with a pool taking half of it and a big blazier in the other. Marble columns lined it on all sides. The room they were in was sparsely furnished with just a table in the centre and pillows around it.

“What better moment do you have in mind, Twilight? It’s not like we can do anything until Mother Dogma calls for us,” Ditzy said, studying the frescos on the walls, depicting a feast of many different angelic beings, obviously belonging to different races, some of which unknown to any of the group.

“It looks like they prepared us some dinner too,” Lightning Dust pointed out, surveying the fruits and baked goods on the table. “I’m kinda famished from flying all the way to Canterlot, so if you don’t mind…” Not waiting for an answer she dug in. Trixie and Sunset, not having had time for a proper dinner that evening, joined her, while the rest of the group went to explore the rest of the house.

“There are rooms set up for one pony each,” Twilight called from the right wing of the building. “Just find one for yourself once you are done. I’m going to turn in, ok? Goodnight all.”

“Goodnight,” the others called in response, in case of Lighting and Trixie in a slightly muffled manner as they didn’t bother to swallow first. Soon they too walked off the atrium and into the rooms, finding a bed with pleasantly soft pillows and warm quilts, but no other furniture yet again. Thanks to the late hour, however, they didn’t mind too much.

Twilight was lying in her new bed, snuggled comfortably in the quilt, eyes closed. To an onlooker she would seem very calm and peaceful. Internally though, she was anything but. It had been two hours since she went to bed, yet the sleep was avoiding her. All the excitement of the day, the uncertainty of future and unfamiliar place all combined to form an unbeatable sleep blocker for her.

She abruptly sat up and threw the quilt to the side. “That’s it. No reason to try further.” She got up and walked to the door of her room, looking out into the hallway. “First pony to go to bed and first pony to get up again. That’s not like me at all,” she mused as she walked to the right, away from the atrium. She passed two more doors to her left before the hallway ended with another. Behind them, Twilight found a library. “Familiar surroundings at last,” she rejoiced and immediately started for one of the bookshelves. Not being too picky at the moment, she grabbed the first book she saw and plopped down on one of the sofas.

Her joy soon faded as she found out she couldn’t concentrate on reading at all. “This is not at all like me either!” she growled in agitation, but put the book back on the shelf regardless. “Maybe if I eat something, I’ll get calmer.” Determined to test the hypothesis, she made her way back to the atrium where the small feast waited. She was about to sit down, when a voice startled her.

Twilight took a sharp breath, but soon recognised the voice and looked up from the table to the portal toward the patio. There, in front of the brazier, lay Canvas, pillows placed on the ground forming a comfortable bedding for her and a quilt wrapped over her back. She was looking over her shoulder at Twilight, small smile on her lips.

“Canvas? What are you doing here at this hour? Whatever the hour is, it’s not like I have seen a clock around. Getting a snack too?” Twilight asked as she trotted toward her friend with a plate full of fruits, though apples were distinctly lacking.

“No, I had a decent dinner back at school.” Canvas got up for a moment to retrieve one of her pillow for Twilight to lay down on. “I just couldn’t get to sleep. This place is strange for me and I don’t feel comfortable. From what Scintillant was telling us, I expected the angels to be welcoming us. And I thought they would all be kind and beautiful. They are actually quite scary. So when I saw this, I knew this would be my anchor. When I was small and felt afraid or worried, I would always go down to the living room and lay in front of the fireplace. This is similar.” She glanced back at the brazier. “The fire is the same everywhere and brings the feeling of home to me.”

Twilight placed the pillow right next to Canvas and laid on it, staying inches shy from pressing against the younger mare’s side. She put the plate in front of them so both of them could take from it as they pleased. “Do you miss Equestria already? This must be a painful change, but we will return there soon. It wasn’t the final goodbye.”

“I know. And there isn’t much for me to return to anyway. All of my real friends are in this house, after all,” Canvas said with a fond, if slightly sad, smile. “The world doesn’t have much to remember me by either, now that the gate is destroyed.”

“I’m sorry. But you understand that we couldn’t have left it there, right?” Earning a nod, Twilight sighed and picked a strawberry from the plate. “It was really an exquisite work. When this is over you will surely become a famous painter.”

“Thanks Twilight. That’s really kind of you.” Canvas followed Twilight’s example and took a strawberry too. “I’ll get over it eventually. The vernissage of my first exhibition was simply the only day the exhibition was there for public.” They lay there for some time in silence, listening to the crickets outside the house. Then Canvas decided to break the silence again. “You have lost more than just a painting in the recent time though. I read about the argument in the newspaper. How are you holding up?”

Twilight wasn’t too happy about the topic, but she knew it would come up sooner or later. This time was as good as any other to talk about it. “It’s not that bad. I was losing them all for some time slowly. The argument and then the visit of my former friends finished the job. It hurts, but I will manage. I have you and the girls here, so everything will be fine.” She put on a brave smile, but the effort proved unsuccessful as Canvas lost hers.

“Was she always like that?” she asked and seeing Twilight’s questioning look she continued, “I mean being mean to you and keeping things to herself.”

“No,” Twilight said quietly after a moment hesitation. “We used to be very close and I think she didn’t even notice it changing. She was almost like a mother to me.”

Twilight walked through the corridors of Canterlot Castle to the new lodging she was given as Celestia’s official protegé. After few years of studying under the princess and staying in the castle till late night hours, the princess and Twilight’s parents decided it to be best for Twilight to go live in the castle. Nopony would have to fret about where she was or if something bad happened to her on her way home and she would have unhindered access to the royal library whenever she needed it. She could still visit her home during weekends after all.

Despite her initial elation from the news, Twilight was starting to question whether this was a blessing or a curse, this day at school tipping the scales in favor of curse. She didn’t let her mood show as she walked though. It was nopony’s business and she would deal with it on her own. She was brave, strong and intelligent young mare who could handle her problems easily. Or so she wanted to present herself.

Once the door closed behind her, she dropped the pretense. She put her saddlebags next to her writing desk and not bothering to unpack them she went to her bed, bringing Smartypants close to her with her magic as she curled on it.

“Why are they so mean to me, Smarty? I didn’t do anything to them, so why can’t they just leave me alone?” She stayed in that position, pondering how cruel the world was and how unjustly her classmates behaved to her, until a knock came from the door.

“Come in,” she called automatically, not moving otherwise. The door opened and hoofsteps sounded on the carpeted floor of her room. She didn’t turn to see the visitor.

“Good afternoon, Twilight. I see you are already in bed. Are you feeling unwell?” Princess Celestia asked in her kind and warm way that always soothed Twilight. The young mare sat up abruptly, panicking about offending her mentor with improper greeting. When she saw Celestia’s smile though, she calmed down.

“Hello there, princess. No, I’m ok, just a little tired. We had a lot of assignments in the last few days.”

At the mention of school Celestia’s smile dropped a bit. “Well, that’s one of the reasons I came to visit you.” She lit her horn and a small note appeared from the thin air. “One of your teachers sent me a note that you didn’t turn in your magical clockwork homework.” Twilight looked at her hooves dejectedly, being reprimanded, even in a kind way, felt really bad, especially with the injustice behind it. Celestia wasn’t finished though. “I asked him for few more days for you to finish it and he agreed. Was it too difficult for you or did you have too little time with other assignments? Do you want some help with it?” she offered, her smile returning full force.

Twilight looked up, her pride rising in her like a tidal wave. Nothing was too difficult for her! “No!” she exclaimed and recoiled a moment later from the hidden meaning she didn’t intend for. “I mean, yes, I would love to work on it with your help. But I got it in time. I just… lost it… somewhere.”

“Oh?” Celestia inquired, lighting her horn again. “Well, then there is an easy help. This is a spell you can use to locate lost things. It works better if you use candles and draw a diagram with a special chalk, but you can perform it without quite efficiently too.” She closed her eyes in concentration, missing Twilight’s look of horror. She opened them a second later though, the spell finished, and waited for the results. They came quickly.

Twilight’s school saddlebags lit gold and opened, the fairly crippled clockwork floating out. Celestia expected much, but not this. Not a direct lie from Twilight. “Hmm. So it wasn’t lost after all. But why is it in such poor state, Twilight?”

“I… dropped it when I was walking to school,” Twilight said quietly, not meeting Celestia’s gaze. The princess sighed and sat down on the bed next to Twilight.

“Twilight. Look at me please. You managed to lie the first time, but for the second time it won’t work. Please tell me what really happened.”

Twilight couldn’t stay composed any longer and slumped down on the bed breaking into sobbing. “I-I went to school and I met some of my classmates and they wanted to see my homework so I showed it to them, but then Cherry Blitz grabbed it and started hitting it with a stone and I tried to stop him, but Green Oak and Glassy Bloom held me in place and laughed. They called me teacher’s pet and said that the homework wasn’t done by me anyway so it was fair that I wouldn’t get to turn it in. Then they ran away laughing and calling back at me that I better stayed behind the castle walls. I was scared and didn’t know what to do, so I lied. I’m sorry, Princess…” Twilight trailed off and descended into more sobbing.

“There there, Twilight. It will be alright,” Celestia assured as she pulled Twilight into a gentle hug. “We will get this sorted in no time and we can repair your homework too, ok?”

“Thank you, Princess,” Twilight said, basking in the pleasant hug, feeling safer than in a very long time. “But why did they do it? I didn’t wrong them in any way.”

“Some ponies simply find pleasure in hurting others. Some can’t stand it when others are more talented or skilled than them. And yet another group hates anything different. These three probably belonged to all three groups at the same time,” Celestia explained in a sad voice. “But you don’t have to worry about it anymore. They won’t do it again. Now, why don’t we get some snack and get that clockwork done? Then we can practice that seeking spell. How does it sound?”

“They really never did it again. They didn’t show up at school the next day and from what I know they were transferred to a different school entirely. Not one of the prestigious schools either. I didn’t mind that really, it made my life much easier. Now that I think about it though, the class was never told why they were transferred. Or what happened to them to begin with. Celestia just made them vanish without too much fuss.” Twilight frowned as another realization came to her. “That was also around the same time other students started avoiding me. They were probably too scared. Again, I didn’t mind at that time, but I turned into a recluse loving only books as a result. Well, there is a dark side to everything.”

“The good side overweights the bad one here, I think. At least she fought to protect you. I’m a bit jealous of you having basically two mothers. Wish I had at least one proper family member.”

Both Canvas and Twilight turned to where Trixie’s voice came from and spotted the rest of the girls standing under the arcade around the patio. Sunset was holding a pile of pillows and blankets in her magic.

“Hi there,” Twilight called to them. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Oh for a while. Nice story by the way. Celestia obviously cared about you a lot, not like about me. Can we join you? It’s lonely in those rooms,” Sunset said and not waiting for an answer she made her way to the duo, setting the pillows around.

“Yeah, sure. The more the merrier,” Canvas answered anyway. “Could you bring some more fruit and some drinks though? I’m actually getting a bit hungry here.”

“Here you go.” Trixie levitated the requested items in an amount sufficient for all of them and then plopped down on the pillow right next to Twilight. “By the way, Twilight, remind me to never play hide and seek with you.”

“Ok- Wait, are you implying that I would cheat? Beware, Trixie Lulamoon, or I will hide you and never seek,” Twilight warned and earned few chuckles from the others and a nudge from Trixie. “But what did you mean by that wanting to have at least one proper family member?”

“I have never talked about this before and that was a slip really. But since we are all friends here, oh well.” She made herself more comfortable on the pillow, which meant pressing against Twilight’s side. The other mare didn’t make any move to cease the contact, so a small smile appeared on Trixie’s face despite the saddening topic she was to cover.

“I too come from Canterlot. You probably know how the ponies there are, Twilight. They seek only wealth and don’t care about others much. Fame and good name are everything to them and they would sacrifice or use anything to climb higher. Or anypony for that matter.”

Trixie woke up in the morning and as usual prepared her school saddlebag. She went to the kitchen to grab something small to eat before she would leave. The house was quiet as her parents were probably still asleep after some garden party or other event they attended the previous evening. Trixie long since stopped keeping track about their activities. They wouldn’t take her with them anyway, though she heard from her classmates they often bragged with the education she was getting.

She put her saddlebag on her back and went to the door. As she was about to step over the threshold, she was stopped by a magical aura around her hooves.

Trixie turned her head and through the open door she saw a silver coated unicorn mare with purple mane sitting on a loveseat in the living room. “To school, mom. I need to hurry, I got up a bit later than usual. Could you set me free again?” she said in a calm and sweet voice as to not aggravate her mother. A vain effort.

“To school you say? And to what school, if I may ask?” The mare got up and slowly trotted to her daughter. “To the one we pay so much money for? To the one we got you to thanks to a lot of diplomatic acrobacy from our side? To the one we got this note from yesterday, saying that you dropped out a week ago?” She shouted the last sentence and slapped Trixie with her hoof.

“Just when were you planning to tell us, huh? Do you know how bad we would look if somepony pointed it out to us and we didn’t even have a clue? The shame, The faux pas! And what were you even thinking? Do you know how hard it was to get you there?”

“No buts! I will go to your school now and fix this mishap. You go to your room and stay there until I return. Then we will discuss your punishment.”

The magic hold vanished and Trixie used her regained freedom of movement to stomp her hooves forcefully. “But I don’t want to go there! It’s a stupid school and I don’t want to become a bureaucrat! I want to do magic! Why are you forcing me into this?” That only served to fuel her mother’s temper.

“You will do what we say because you are our daughter! That school has prestige and bureaucrats are well liked in our circles. We won’t debate this. Now march to your room, missy!” With that she left the house, locking the door behind her. Trixie trudged back up the stairs. She knew her ruse of going to school every morning despite her dropping out would fail one day, she just hoped it would take longer. And that the outcome would be more favorable.

“What did I expect? That they will consider my wishes? As if they ever did. It’s always ‘our friends this’ or ‘on the banquet they said that’! They never ask how the school is going or how I am feeling or if I need something. No. Everything’s about them!”

She took in her spartan room. One desk, one closet, one bed. There were no toys or pictures, no books apart from the textbooks for the school. “This is not a home. It’s a prison with forced labor,” she muttered to herself. “Now she will enroll me there again and even punish me more, as if that alone wasn’t a punishment.”

She stared out of the window, gazing to the castle longingly. “There. They learn magic and fun stuff, not like me. Who wants to sit in an office all day? Definitely not me. And definitely not to make my parents look better. They are the worst.” She slammed her hoof into the desk and threw her head back. “It’s just not fair! Can’t anypony see that I hate this? Can’t anypony help me?” she exclaimed. No answer came though.

She jumped up and pulled a suitcase from under her bed. “That’s it! When nopony helps me, I will help myself! I will show them how I want to live my life. They will be sorry to ever stay in the way of Trixie!” She threw most of her belongings to the suitcase, which alone showed how little she possessed, and made her way downstairs. Soon she recognized a problem.

“Oh darn, she locked. Well I will have to use a window then. But the ground floor ones have bars on them… Second floor it is then!” She was about to return to her room to perform a complicated escape, when she noticed one particular cabinet. “I will need some funds to begin with. Well mom and dad, consider this a delayed pocketmoney!” She picked a hefty purse from the cabinet and went back upstairs.

“I just hope I can levitate myself down. If I want to live from magic, I should.” She grabbed the handle of her suitcase with her mouth and concentrated, lifting herself off the ground. She floated through the window and started descending, but when she was about six feet from the ground her magic slipped and she fell. She recovered swiftly though, striking a victorious pose. “Tada! Nothing can stop the Great and Powerful Trixie! She defeated this prison. Now the world!”

“And that’s about it. That’s how the Great and Powerful Trixie came to be. With the money I took from them I bought my trailer and the performance costume and started traveling. All went fairly well until I came to Ponyville, but you know about what happened next.” She chuckled a little at herself and continued. “Funny thing, I really thought I was good at magic at that time. My, I was silly considering what you can do, Twilight.”

“It wasn’t silly at all, from the stories you told during the performance. And you are improving greatly too. I’m awed that you are so good with so little formal training,” Twilight countered the self-deprecation of her friend. The others too expressed their appreciation of the former showmare. She, however, started laughing.

“You-you believed those stories? Wow, I must be a better liar than I imagined! They are all fake, Twilight. I came up with them to get ponies’ attention. They wouldn’t watch my performance if they didn’t think I was something special beforehand.”

“You still do great, despite those storytelling abilities,” Twilight said a bit disgruntled from being laughed at. Then her attention returned to what she just heard though. “I can’t imagine having such tough foalhood. My parents have always been very supportive of me and allowed me to do whatever I saw as important for my future. And leaving home like that…”

“As I said, Twilight, there is a dark side and a bright side to everything. Sure, it was rough, but I made a choice and I haven’t regretted it once. I gained freedom and I finally ruled my own life, you know? But it would have still been nice if they cared about me more. I know that there was probably more to them than I though back then, but would it kill them to show me some love and appreciation from time to time? Only stupid high expectations for Trixie. Nothing comes from those.”

“I beg to differ, Trixie,” Lightning Dust interjected. “Working all the time can be exhausting sure, but high expectations help form a pony. I don’t agree with your parents though. They definitely didn’t care for anypony but themselves.”

“What about you, Dusty?” Canvas inquired as she took a bite into a slice of watermelon, making a small mess on her face. “I’ve heard you talk about your family a lot. You speak highly of them.”

“Dusty huh?” the pegasus said with a chuckle, both from the cuteness of the nickname and the mess on the younger mare’s face. “Well, I’ve always looked up to everypony in my family, specifically my father. I do agree with Trixie to some degree on the high expectations part. If it were always for selfish or stupid reasons like her parents, I wouldn’t argue. But my parents held high standards because of our family history. See, I come from a long line of military pegasi, my father is a general and my uncle is a lieutenant, and our high standards are for more genuine reasons. I didn’t always like every single rule they set, but they always showed support. I cherished their discipline because I knew they cared.”

Lightning Dust took a pear from the fruit bowl and took a bite from it. “And then there was my mother. I don’t know what it is about her, but even as a stay at home mom, she was like a drill sergeant in her own right whenever it came to disciplining me or my cousins. Still love her though. Very pretty and I can see why my father loves her. I really miss them.”

“So, where does the disowning fall into place here?” Twilight inquired. “I mean, I know why it happened, but what was it all about?”

“It was for my own good and the good of my father. Like I said before, my father Blitzschlag is a general so he has to be strict in what he does to uphold a good example for his men and his nation. He can’t cut me any slack just because I’m his daughter. I mean the Wonderbolts are part of the military. And besides, I needed to realize how serious my blunder was. Though I’m not proud of it,” she smirked as she paused, “some good came out of it. I have some best friends, five of which are sitting in this room. I’ve really grown quite fond of you guys, especially since coming here to Elysium.”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy your company,” Twilight smirked back.

“Heh, I could think of worse ponies to be friends with,” Trixie snarked. “Could you imagine being friends with somepony like Prince Blueblood? Boy would THAT be something.”

“Ugh, yeah him,” Lightning said disgusted. “I’ve heard many things about him, not one of which is good. I’ve heard a couple stories from my uncle that makes me not want to meet him in person. It’s a good thing we don’t have to see him again, eh Canvas?”

“Uh, yeah…” Canvas said as all energy suddenly drained from her voice. The others took notice as the usually cheerful pony took a small bite of her watermelon while glancing down to avoid eye contact.

Twilight recalled back to a breakfast she had with Canvas. All was well until a certain name was brought up and then the young earth pony suddenly became fearful. Now it was happening again and Twilight felt she couldn’t avoid the question any longer.

“Canvas? Look at me,” Twilight softly said as she put her hoof under Canvas’ chin, lifting her eyes to meet hers. “What did Blueblood do to you? I ask because I, and everypony else here, care about you. If something is wrong, you can tell us.”

Canvas slowly glanced at the other girls who had a mixture of concern and curiosity written on their faces as they awaited a response. With a sigh, she finished the last of her watermelon and prepared her tale.

“I’ve talked about this a bit with Twilight, but I kind of sympathize with Dusty and her situation. I grew up with a loving father myself. I couldn’t ask for a better father either. He adopted me when I was just a small foal, not even old enough to talk. I never really had a mom though. The closest I really had was my nanny who took care of me whenever my father was working in his court job. When I was older, I discovered my talent in art and I got my cutie mark when I painted a portrait of daddy for the first time. He was so proud of me and got me enrolled in Rosewood.”

“That high end private school? The one that only the richest families can afford?” Trixie said surprised. “Your dad must’ve been loaded to get you there.”

“Uh, sort of. From what I was told, it was my own talent that made me go as far as I did. He only paid tuition. I was excited at first because I thought it meant an opportunity to meet new friends and get recognized for my talent. But… I ended up feeling like an outsider because of my other talent. You know, the one that allowed us to come here. I learned about it around the same time I got my cutie mark. Rosewood is a very competitive and, for lack of a better word, cutthroat kind of school. Most of the ponies there played dirty.”

Canvas had just finished her latest class assignment and passed it to her teacher for grading. The moment she saw what her student drew, she was amazed.

“I can’t tell you how many times you’ve impressed me since you enrolled, Acrylic Canvas.”

“I’ve been thinking you should enter the upcoming art contest. You would certainly turn quite a few heads with your work. I’d imagine everypony would want to see your talent.”

The teacher opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a flyer which she handed to Canvas. “If you’re interested, all the information you need is in here. I look forward to seeing you there.”

When class ended, Canvas trotted through the school with an extra bounce in her step. To say she was happy would be an understatement. She’d been recommended to enter a major competition in her school, recognized because of her artwork. Ooh, daddy is going to be so happy! I can hardly wait to see his face! the young mare thought as she picked up her pace with excitement. The art prodigy was on cloud nine with such thoughts that she didn’t notice a few of her classmates glaring at her as they passed by. Her excitement faltered when she passed by one group of mares who were talking among themselves. She didn’t hear everything because she knew it was none of her business to eavesdrop, but what she did hear somewhat punched her mentally.

“She always gets the attention,” the red unicorn mare whispered. “She thinks she can waltz right in here and take away my spotlight. Who does she think she is?”

“Her dad is really high on the social ladder though, higher than any of us,” the orange pegasus responded.

“He’s nothing and so is she! I’ve been the queen of the competition for a long time and to think I could be upstaged by some freshman! What makes her so special anyway?”

“Well,” a gray unicorn began, “have you seen her artwork? I wouldn’t be surprised if she took first place. An earth pony no less!”

“You’re not exactly helping with your attitude. Trust me, your voice still has plenty of thunder.”

She couldn’t be certain who they were talking about, but judging from what she gathered, they must have been referring to her. Ever since Canvas enrolled, the red unicorn, who was commonly called Ruby though Canvas didn’t know her full name, held an animosity towards her magenta classmate. Many of the students were highly privileged and self-important, none more so than Ruby as her family had connections that stretched across Canterlot. Canvas’ father, Star Chamber, was one exception as he was a chief of justice in the Canterlot Court and firmly resented the high and mighty attitude that plagued his beloved city and worked to uproot those who abused the system.

Canvas’ ears drooped as she snuck past the group of girls that she assumed were talking about her. Once she got home however, her spirits perked up again as she saw her nanny in the kitchen.

“It went pretty well, Nana Nursery Rhyme. Is daddy home? I want to tell him something.”

“I’m afraid he’s working late tonight and won’t be home until the evening. But you can tell me. I’m making some vanilla puffs, your favorite.”

Canvas quickly dropped by her room to put away her bags and went to help her nanny. As they baked the time away, Canvas talked about the opportunity that was presented to her. As Nursery Rhyme was the closest thing to a mother she knew and she took the time to hug and nuzzle her in congratulation. Their confections were finished and Canvas munched away at them with Nursery Rhyme, but the younger mare saved a few for her father for when he got home.

“Daddy’s home!” Canvas exclaimed as she pounced on Star Chamber as he walked through the door. “Daddy! I have something amazing to tell you!”

“Woah there, daddy’s a bit fragile today,” Star said with a chuckle as he returned his daughter’s hug. “Now what did you want to tell me?”

“Daddy, I was recommended for a contest. They want me to display my art at the show!”

“Oh, and Nana and I made some vanilla puffs. Most of them are gone, but I saved some for you, because I knew you’d be hungry after working so late.”

The following days, Canvas made time to work on her submission for the art show. Her teachers suggested submitting something she’d already made, but she decided to make something special; if she was going to display something that would be recognized, she wanted it to be a masterpiece. When the day of the show came, she arrived early at the rec center where it was being held to set up her station so she wouldn’t have to fight for a space later.

“My, my. That is quite an impressive piece you have there,” a sophisticated male voice called out from behind her. Canvas quizzically turned around to see who it was and the source of the voice turned out to be the last pony she expected.

“P-prince Blueblood! W-what are y-you doing here?” Canvas stuttered as she didn’t expect to see royalty in this place of all places, least of all Blueblood.

“Well, I’m one of the judges of this competition. I attend this event each year. I must say though, you’ve got some talent for somepony as young as you.”

“However,” Blueblood began which worried Canvas, “I’ve seen some of the other contestants and well, some of them are more professional in their efforts. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure you are good in your own merits, but I’m hard pressed to find one I’m willing to invest my time in. I’m sure with me here, other patrons will pay attention to which ever contestant I choose and I can’t promise it to be you.”

“But, I could be persuaded to promote you if you prove to me how much you want that.”

“So what exactly happened? He didn’t… force himself on you or anything, did he?” Lightning Dust said trying to suppress her rage against the prince.

“Not exactly. He basically gave me a choice. Either I do a ‘favor’ for him, and he would invest in my station. Or I decline and nopony would even give me a second glance.”

“I was naive and believed the prince’s words. I was backed into a corner and didn’t know what to do…” Canvas buried her face into her hooves so that the other girls wouldn’t see her crying. “He was blackmailing me! It just wasn’t fair!”

“Well… that kind of thing is... painful, the first time around.” Sunset’s shaky statement earned her a strange look from Ditzy, the kind of look that just screamed ‘how would you know?’, causing Sunset to blush and she glanced away with an uncomfortable clearing of her throat. “I uh…. Well, I knew a guy in that other world and he and I grew close and, well….” Sunset swiftly stuffed some grapes in her mouth which muffed the rest of her sentence.

“Oh, no no no! I didn’t go THAT far,” Canvas suddenly spoke up when she caught on to what Sunset was implying, saving her from the awkward situation. “I wasn’t about to do that just for some silly art contest. But…”

Twilight wrapped her wing around the young mare and nuzzled her. “It’s okay Canvas, It’s not your fault the Canterlot nobility is so corrupt. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Yeah. I mean, I can’t say I’m surprised with the prince,” Trixie stated. “From what I hear, this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this. But it seems it was his word against yours and he’s a prince and niece to Celestia.”

“Nope,” Trixie said just as flatly. “He doesn’t act like much of a stallion, therefore he doesn’t deserve to be called one.”

“With how little he was, he could be her niece.” Canvas softly laughed, causing the others to do the same. “You… don’t hate me, do you?” Canvas nervously asked peeking from under Twilight’s wing.

“Sweetie, we can’t hate you for being blackmailed like that,” Ditzy responded.

“Yeah, I mean what Blueblood did was far worse.” Lightning added. “Solicitation of a minor? That’s preeetty low.”

“We all make mistakes, Canvas,” Twilight continued to nuzzle her. “Like I said when we first met, the important thing is that you learned from it.”

“Thanks girls. You’re the best. I wish I would’ve had you as my classmates instead of that stupid Ruby. She’s even worse than Blueblood.”

Canvas lost track of how long she spent in the bathroom. It was the only place in the building where she had the privacy to just wallow in shame of what she just did. She’d also brushed her teeth as many times as she possibly could, but no matter what, she just couldn’t find any comfort in it. Nothing seemed to wash away how violated she felt.

By the time she worked up the courage to come out of the mares’ restroom, it was almost time for the competition to start up and many of the contestants, as well as the other judges, had arrived. She was about to go to her station when she was stopped by a familiar voice.

“Well, well, well. Look who it is.”

Canvas glanced to the side to see Ruby and her clique of mares, all grinning slyly. Canvas smiled sheepishly as she tried to back away. “Uh, hello. Nice seeing you here. I’d like to talk, but I’ve got to get to my station before they count roll call.”

“I’d reconsider if I were you. We wouldn’t want it to get out that you cheated, would we?”

Canvas’ eyes widened in horror as Ruby presented a picture to her of the deed she did. From the angle of the photo, Ruby had apparently been hiding in the room and took the picture.

“Performing favors on one of the judges to win? For shame Acrylic Canvas, for shame!” Ruby said in mock disappointment. “What would your father say if he saw this? To think his own daughter bribed somepony to get ahead. Honestly, I don’t know what that would do to his reputation, let alone yours if this got out.”

A soft gasp came from the young magenta mare as she’d just begun to realize the consequences of her own actions. She didn’t even think about what could become of her father because of her.

“Please don’t release that! I don’t want my father to suffer! I’ll do anything, just please don’t do it!”

“Anything?” Ruby’s smirk grew even more devilish. “Okay then how about this: I want you to forfeit the contest and give me that painting you made so that I can use it. That sounds like a fair trade, right? Nopony else has seen it yet, so they won’t know the difference. In exchange, I’ll give you this here photo. Be a nice little filly and go bring it here to me.”

Tears started to fall from Canvas’ eyes as she glared at the mare who was threatening her and wanted to take credit for her own hard work. Yet there was little she could do. She was outnumbered and the odds were stacked against her with the incriminating evidence she possesed. She surrendered from trying to fight back and trudged back to her station to retrieve her covered painting. Once she had it, she snuck back to the group of mares and relinquished possession of her pride and joy.

Ruby gave an impressed whistled as she uncovered the painting. “Impressive. This’ll get me first place for sure. Here,” she tore the photo up and threw the pieces at Canvas’ hooves. “A deal’s a deal. I got what I wanted. Now maybe you should go home or something. Wouldn’t want anypony complicating things more than necessary.”

As Ruby and her yes girls laughed and carried the painting away, Canvas gathered up the pieces of the photo and hid them in her bag as she ran from the building without bothering to check with the staff. She didn’t care about any of that at that point.

“Then after that, I ran home and burned the pieces of the photo in the fireplace when nopony was around. That night, I just didn’t have the courage to face my father. I was too ashamed. So I ran away and I haven’t been back for over two years now. Then I met Twilight.”

“Don’t worry, Canvas. Everypony can do something stupid. The important thing is to try and redeem ourselves. You will get your chance, you will see,” Lightning offered with a reassuring smile.

“But you shouldn’t have run away like that. He would have understood and helped you. He surely misses you dearly. Losing a foal is the greatest pain I know of,” Ditzy added with a solemn expression. Rest of the happiness from the group vanished. They all sheepishly watched their hooves, not knowing how to react. Then Twilight who knew the mailmare the best broke the silence.

“I’m sorry Ditzy. I didn’t know you lost a foal. I thought Sparkler and Dinky were the only foals you have.”

Ditzy looked at her quizzically, not comprehending what Twilight meant, before she perked up with a realization. “Oh! Not like that! I didn’t mean that my foal ran away or heavens forbid died. But they took Dinky from me and I had to fight to get her back.”

“Why would anypony do that? From what I have seen you are a great mom,” Lightning asked, recalling her meeting with Ditzy in Ponyville. Ditzy’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink as a result of the praise and she scuffed the ground with her hoof.

“Why, thank you, Lightning. I do what I can. But I wasn’t always like this. When I remember how badly I led my life, I would slap myself.” She took a deep breath and shifted a bit on her pillows to get more comfortable for an unpleasant talk. “You can see that I am different. It used to be worse, I could barely coordinate my wings and I had difficulties perceiving my surroundings even at lowest speeds. It was so bad I got an invalidity pension. My family always took care of everything I needed and I took it for granted, living like the world was here just for my amusement.”

Ditzy squirmed a little under her blanket as the sun rays tickled her nose. She scratched it and stretched with a wide yawn. “How many times have I told them to close those curtains in the evening. How can I sleep with sun shining in my face?!” she muttered angrily and glanced at the clock on the wall. “Only two? Dang, I wanted to sleep more. Well, it can’t be helped now. I won’t fall asleep again.”

She got up and made her way out of her room to grab herself some breakfast although most ponies were already finished with their lunch. “Hm,” she mused as she walked down the stairs, “no headache today. That’s worth celebrating. But food first.” She retrieved a slice of cake from the fridge and poured herself some orange juice. Only when she sat down at the table did she notice she wasn’t alone in the room.

“Hi mom, didn’t see you there,” she greeted with full mouth. She washed the mouthful down with her juice and grinned at the decidedly not happy mare sitting across the table. “What a beautiful morning we have today, right?”

“It’s afternoon, Ditzy. Morning was when you returned home. Another party I suppose?” Soap Circle inquired. This time Ditzy took the time to swallow first as she was planning a longer statement.

“Yeah, details. The party was great by the way. You should have seen Misty Dive dancing. She’s like totally crazy! Oh and about that afternoon, I asked you to close those curtains, didn’t I?”

Soap sighed in exasperation. She was used to her daughter’s bratty behavior, but more and more often pondered about where her husband, Breeze Flow, and she went wrong with their daughter. Even more often than that she tried to figure out how to fix what they obviously broke. “So you could sleep until the evening and then go party right away?” she asked in deadpan voice.

Ditzy, ignorant to her mother’s raising annoyance, beamed her a brilliant smile. “Yes! That’s exactly the idea!”

“That was a rhetorical question, Ditzy. You weren’t supposed to answer it and it would have been better if you hadn’t.” Soap facehooved, but then steeled herself again. “It’s not healthy, Ditzy. Not just your sleep regime, but the whole partying business. You will hurt yourself this way.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. Besides, what could go wrong? Dancing is kind of exercising anyway. I’ll keep myself in better form this way.”

“Did the doctor say that? Did you even go to that check-up you had scheduled? Is there any change for the better?”

Ditzy thought hard as to remember what her mother was even talking about, but then recalled meeting a doctor few days ago. “Uh I went there. The coordination got a bit worse, but the eyes are stable, so there is nothing to worry about.”

“There goes your exercising idea, Ditzy,” Soap dejectedly pointed out. “If this goes on, you won’t even be able to go to your parties anymore. Do you want that?”

The option that she would no longer be able to party never even crossed Ditzy’s mind before. She got a bit more serious, but it lasted only a second. “Well until then I’ll still have a great time. I deserve it when I was born with this.” She pointed at her wings that were slightly twitching and her squinting eyes. “When it happens, I will fix it. Until then, I want to live my life. So if you’ll excuse me, I want to get some new dress for today’s party.”

Not waiting for an answer she started for the door. “I will let them send the bill as usual. See you.” She was about to leave when she remembered one more thing. “Oh and the doctor said I was pregnant. Well what’s done is done I suppose. Bye!” She made three steps outside when her mother landed in front of her. The look on her face got through Ditzy’s careless attitude and the young mare froze.

“Get back inside. Now!”

Ditzy obediently returned to the house and sat back on her chair, supporting her chin with her hooves. “What’s the big deal?”

“Big deal? Big deal?!” exclaimed the older mare not believing her ears. “The big deal is that you got pregnant! And that you tell me about it just by the way who knows how long after you found out! Who is the father anyway?”

“No idea. It just happened on one of the parties.”

“You want to tell me you have been sleeping around?!”

“So what? It’s my body anyway. So it is only my problem,” Ditzy countered defiantly.

“It would be only your problem if you lived in only your home and from only your finances, Ditzy! Neither is truth.”

“How so?” inquired Ditzy. “Don’t I get that invalidity rent? If I remember, it is enough to live from.”

“Live yes, party every day and throw money away no. Not to mention that it wouldn’t support two ponies in a million years even if they spent the money carefully.”

“Then you will simply help me with it. Problem solved.” Ditzy flashed her mother another brilliant smile, but dropped it when her mother didn’t reciprocate. “What?”

The elder mare looked more and more dejected, annoyed and tired. “We barely come by with your expenses, Ditzy. Oh well Having a foal means you will have to cut the parties and not just for the financial reasons. It is a great responsibility to have a foal.”

“It can’t be that hard.”

“No? Well you have to feed it, change its diapers, get up in the middle of the night if it so pleases, take it to the doctor and so on. I don’t know if you are ready for something so difficult and taxing.”

This made Ditzy jump up from her chair. Such insult couldn’t go unanswered. “Are you implying I’m not capable of taking care of a foal?”

“I’m not implying anything, Ditzy. I have no reason to believe that you will take care of it or that you could. All you do is sleep and party and… sleep with others it seems. Do you for example know how much milk costs? Or where the pediatre works in Cloudsdale? No. It will all fall on me as always. You aren’t taking care of yourself either, so that’s quite clear!” Soap matched Ditzy’s angry stance and glared at her daughter with all the cumulated anger from previous years.

“So that’s how you see me? As a hindrance that can’t even feed herself? You think this about your own daughter?” Ditzy shouted, kicking into the chair and making it fall to the ground in her rage. “You know what? I will show you! I don’t need you or father or this stupid place. I will live on my own and raise my foal on my own.”

She stormed up to her room, hearing her mother calling for her to return downstairs, but paying it no mind. Her pride was bruised and she would not back down. With her suitcase full she went down the stairs and directly for the entrance door. “You will see how capable I am!” she shouted and slammed the door behind herself.

Soap flew out after her daughter, trying to catch up, but Ditzy was too angry and her anger fueled her speed. “Ditzy, please! Come back and we can talk about it! I’m sorry, come back!” But Ditzy made her decision and didn’t even turn her head.

“I was stupid and spoiled back then. I’m fairly ashamed of how I acted to my mother.”

“Sorry, but rightfully so, Ditzy. It doesn’t look like you at all, so what changed?” Twilight asked.

“Everything,” Ditzy said with a smile. “But I would be getting ahead of myself. Could you get me something to drink? We seem to have run out of juice.”

“Right away, princess Ditzy,” Sunset said with a smirk and reached to the atrium with her magic, grabbing a whole pitcher so serve them all.

“Harr harr, Sunset,” Ditzy giggled. “Anyway. When I ran from home, my first journey was to the town hall to tell them to start giving my pension directly to me. Then I rented a small flat as far from my parents’ house as possible. I did nothing else, no preparations, no change of lifestyle. You can imagine what a mess my flat was. I didn’t clean at all and ate only fast food. It’s a wonder Dinky was born healthy.”

“So you just partied on? Even when you became mother?” Sunset asked incredulously.

“No, of course not. When I gave birth I took it as a signal to start showing my parents how good a mother I can be. Needless to say I did poorly. Dinky required constant attention and as my mother predicted, we ran short on money. I was getting exhausted and annoyed and Dinky felt that. My parents probably knew how I was faring, because a social worker showed up when Dinky was six weeks old.”

Sunset whistled in disbelieve. “They sent inspection on their own daughter? My, you had to be really something.”

“I was, they did and I am thankful to them for it,” Ditzy confirmed. “The social worker found what was expected and initiated a court hearing about Dinky’s custody. I lost and was declared incapable of taking care of a foal. Dinky was given to my parents. At that time I hated them. I told them so right after the hearing. That’s what I regret the most.”

“But Dinky is living with you now. Did the court change their mind by the second instance?” Canvas asked. “Cases of custody can be fairly subjective and each judge can see them differently.” She earned a collective surprised stare and chuckled lightly. “What? I’m the daughter of a judge. I loved listening to him talking about his job.”

“Back then I didn’t even know there was an option to invoke. But I would lose anyway. The way was more difficult. I took it as my goal to prove my parents wrong at first. Only later did I start missing Dinky for the right reasons. I was determined to do anything.”

Ditzy sat in her now meticulously clean flat. If a social worker came with microscope they wouldn’t find a single piece of dust anywhere. The place was decorated and babyproofed accordingly to housing a unicorn toddler. Only the toddler was missing.

“It is no use,” Ditzy sighed and brought a cup of tea to her lips using her wing to do so. The appendage was no longer trembling and Ditzy’s aim was immaculate as well. “They simply won’t hire me! No matter how much I try to impress them, no matter how often I do exercises, they simply refuse to give me a job.”

It was true. Despite her massive medical state improvements and her best efforts to improve her lifestyle, whenever a job offer appeared in the newspaper, somepony else would be chosen. At first she wrote it off as a result of her condition and used it to fuel her determination, but as the months passed, she slowly figured out this had no longer any connection to her health.

Cloudsdale may have seemed like quite a big town, but despite the large area it covered the population was small enough for ponies to have a good idea about who was who and Ditzy had gained a lot of negative reputation in her life, even more so with losing custody of her own daughter.

She folded the Cloudsdale job offers page she was reading and set it aside. “There is no reason trying here. I need to move somewhere where they didn’t hear about all this otherwise I won’t have a chance to get Dinky back.” She looked at the wall where quite a few photos of the small foal hang, courtesy of Ditzy’s parents. “It mustn’t be too far though otherwise I won’t be able to visit her. Hm.” She grabbed the job offers page covering notices from all of Equestria and started perusing it. “But where should it be…”

Suddenly a slight glimpse of light from one corner of the page seized her attention. “That’s strange. I would swear something threw a golden piggy on the paper. But it’s cloudy today, so how… No matter. Ponyville looks for a mailmare or mail stallion? If I remember, that’s close by. It’s worth a shot!”

She quickly got up and flew out of her flat and right in the direction of Ponyville. Few months ago such journey would scare her, but thanks to her exercises she became an acceptable flyer who could manage the trip with little trouble. It still took her almost two hours to get to her destination though so the post office was getting ready to close.

“Excuse me, sir?” Ditzy called to one of the clerks. “I would like to apply for the position of mailmare advertised in the newspaper. Could you tell me where to go?”

The stallion took a curious look at her, though Ditzy felt it had nothing to do with her appearance. “Really? You are the first, this backwater town has nothing to offer really. Oh well, who am I to tell you how to live. Go down that hall, third door to the left. But beware, boss is kinda grumpy today.”

She bowed a little in thanks and with newly gained hope skipped down the indicated path. She knocked on the door and waited to be called in. She didn’t wait long.

“Who the hay is bothering this late? Don’t you know we are closing in like ten minutes? Come in and make it quick,” a very cross mare voice called. Ditzy followed the order and entered the office. The mare behind the desk looked as cross as her voice sounded. “So? What is it?”

“Good afternoon, my name is Ditzy Doo and I would like to apply for the mailmare position,” Ditzy explained politely. Her heart was sinking with every second.

“Post Haste. So you want to be a mailmare? Let’s look at you. Hm. Mailmare with strabismus? You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“I assure you it won’t hinder my performance in any way, Ms. Post Haste,” Ditzy said with as much determination as she could muster.

“It’s Mrs.” Ditzy got a bit paler, fearing she buried her chances with that mishap. “Oh well, can’t decline you just for a disability. You would sue me to no end. Any experience with delivering anything?”

“No, Mrs. Post Haste.”

“Education?”

“Secondary school.” With every answer Ditzy was crouching more and more to the ground, understanding she didn’t stand the smallest chance.

“Well in that case, it is clear that we-” Post Haste suddenly went prone, eyes wide open for a second before she clenched them firmly shut. When they opened again, they lost their original sky blue color. It was replaced with silver. “can help you accommodate to your new tasks as a mailmare without problems. Welcome in the team, Ditzy Doo. I will prepare your employment contract now.”

“You can imagine how confused I was. One second it looked like she would throw me through the door and the other she did one-hundred-eighty and gave me the job. But I was too happy to dwell on how it happened. The next day I found a small place in Ponyville that I could rent and moved all my things. With a proper job, a clean place to live and with how I changed, it was easy to get Dinky back in my custody. We were together again before she even said her first words.” Ditzy was glowing with happiness recalling the probably happiest day of her life. “And do you know what was best? My parents! They congratulated me to what I achieved and offered all the support they could. We have been on the best terms ever since.”

“You worked on yourself pretty hard, Ditzy. Probably hardest of us all,” Lighting said and patted Ditzy appreciatively on her back. “But did you ever figure what happened there with Post Haste?”

“I did and it was soon after I got Dinky back. Turns out Scintillant was watching me for some time and decided to reward my efforts. That's what she told me and I am very grateful for what she did for me. Even more so because she wasn’t allowed to and had to accept a punishment for directly intervening with our world.”

“She said she couldn’t act in our world. Obviously that meant only not being allowed to. And that punishment would explain a few things too,” Twilight muttered to herself.

“So you were the first to know Scintillant of all of us? I always thought it was Twilight who met her first,” Trixie asked.

“Well yes, she came to me and told me what happened. Then she asked if I would like to help others in need as well. Of course I agreed. That’s when I started taking various small tasks for angels. I know this place quite well from my dream visits. And then few years later I manage to save up enough money to buy my current house and since we had enough money and space, I adopted little Amethyst Star, or Sparkler as we’ve come to call her. Poor girl had it hard when she was small and I couldn’t leave her in that orphanage.”

“Adoption huh? Hm… There seems to be a lot of adoption among us,” Sunset pondered at Ditzy’s last statement as she munched on more grapes.

“What about your parents, Sunset? Do you have anything to say on the subject?” Twilight asked.

All eyes were on the amber unicorn as she snapped out of her daze and swallowed the grapes in her mouth. “Hm? What now?”

“You’ve been somewhat quiet all night, Sunny,” Canvas said as she drank the last of her juice.

“Yeah, you got anything for us?” Lightning inquired.

Sunset stretched as she sat up from her lounging position. “Ain’t much to say really. I don’t have any parents. I’ve been an orphan for as long as I can remember.”

“Oh um, sorry Sunny.”

“Ah, don’t fret over it Canvas. I wasn’t alone. As you girls probably already know, I used to be a personal student to Princess Celestia just like Twilight. Well, she took me in when I was young, I guess I grew sort of a bond to her, just like you, Twilight.” Twilight smiled as Sunset did the same. “The castle was my home for a long time and when the time was right, I took an entrance exam for the Princess’ school for gifted unicorns. Probably not the same one you took though, Twilight,” Sunset said making note of the dragon she saw when she first met Twilight. “Mine involved a taxing set of spells. I was a magic prodigy as well as you, and Trixie can probably attest to it.”

“Oh yes!” Trixie said with a shudder. “You should’ve seen the way she fried that scolopendra back in Everfree. Burned it with a blast of fire magic and almost got me in the process.”

“Well excuse me for saving your hide!”

“I’m not complaining, mind you. I just didn’t want to end up with a roasted flank.”

“Oh cry me a river,” Sunset said dejectedly before she remembered who she was talking to. “Actually, please don’t. I’ve had enough water from you in the past few weeks.” Sunset’s comment earned a sly chuckle from Trixie. “Anyway, back to the main subject. I passed the exam and I studied under Celestia. Thing is… I remember Celestia putting a lot of pressure on me sometimes, though I can certainly understand why. I was her unofficial daughter and then I was her star protegee at the school. With a situation like that, you can imagine there might’ve been some claims of… What’s the word I’m looking for?”

“Nepotism?” Twilight suggested.

“Yeah that. Well under my circumstances I had to work hard to prove that it wasn’t the case of neapolitan-”

“Nepotism.”

“Whatever! I worked as hard as I could, but as I got older, it just seemed like Celestia was offering very little in exchange for said work. At first I just shrugged it off, but it was starting to piss me off that I was getting ignored for my accomplishments. Well, maybe ignored is a little too much, but you know what I mean, I wasn’t getting anything out of it. So I dove deeper into my studies and started practicing some higher level spells to impress her and everypony else. When I entered the next level of schooling, I performed an exam that really wowed them all.”

“Really?” Twilight asked. “Just out of curiosity, what did you do?”

“Nothing too big, admittedly. Just a growth spell on a beanstalk.”

“A growth spell?” Trixie said incredulously. “That’s a bit mundane.”

“It broke through the roof of the building.”

“So?”

“It was a seven story building and we were on the first floor.”

“Like I was saying, that sounds impressive,” Trixie said doing a one-eighty from her last comment.

“It wasn’t that impressive,” Sunset responded with mock modesty, obviously joking. “But after I passed, I guess I got pretty arrogant. I mean, not to brag or anything, but how many other unicorns besides Twilight do you know off that can pull off something like that at the age I was? I didn’t let up on my studies and when these mares came up and asked if I wanted to join them for lunch, I believe I said something along the lines of ‘I have better things to do than socialize’ or something like that.”

“Yeah because making friends does a genius no good.”

“Shut up Trixie.”

“What? I know what you were going through. I’ve been down that road myself, in one case literally.”

“Well… Whatever, let me finish.”

“As you wish, your highness,” Trixie said with a sarcastic bow.

“Funny you should say that, actually. One day Celestia brought me to a room that she kept the Crystal Mirror in. Yes that mirror, Twilight. Anyway, I looked into the mirror and saw something interesting. And NO it wasn’t my beautiful reflection,” Sunset glared at Trixie before she could say any more mockery. “Well, it was, but that’s not the point I’m trying to make. I saw myself as an alicorn with a crown on my head. When Celestia heard what I told her about my reflection, she pulled me away from the mirror and told me not to look at it again.”

Sunset took a moment to stretch out again before she took a drink of her juice. “Anypony else need any refills?”

“I do,” Canvas said holding out her cup. Sunset used her magic to lift the pitcher and pour some of its contents for the magenta mare. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Anypony else?” Her question was met with shaking of heads indicating the answer to be a ‘no’. “So after that day, I would always ask about that mirror every chance I saw her. Each time I did, she said no. That I wasn’t ready for it yet. I pressed on because I felt she was hiding something from me. At the time, I couldn’t stand that she was withholding power and knowledge from me. After one cloudy picnic, I got fed up and I began to distrust her more and more. It eventually got to the point where I started to study on my own, disregarding and neglecting my work in the process. So I snuck further into the castle and into the library of dark magic.”

“Dark magic!? How did you get in there? I thought that place is off limits to most ponies, especially students. Not even I’ve seen the inside.”

“Funny thing about that, Twilight. You’d think that place would be heavily guarded, I even said that to myself when I entered. But no, the only other pony there was a librarian who was sleeping. Job security my flank. Then again, considering the job the royal guards did back at the Crystal Empire… Well anyway, I learned about some spells that I kept for later, but the book that I was interested in was the Canterlot History which told me about the mirror. All I learned from it was that the mirror opened every thirty moons to another world before the princess came in with a few guards. We had an argument of our very own which resulted in her removing me as her student and had me escorted back to my room in the castle to await further disciplinary action.”

“She didn’t just throw you out?” Lightning ask confused.

“She was still my caretaker, remember?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.”

“But as you can tell, it takes more than two royal guards to manage me. I mean hell, an overgrown centipede couldn’t even take me, let alone two pegasi. No offense.”

“None taken,” Lightning and Ditzy said in unison.

“So I stunned them and ran for the mirror. Again, the ever so competent Canterlot Royal Guard, everypony,” she said sarcastically. “I don’t know if it was some crazy coincidence or dumb luck, but the portal in the mirror was actually open. By the time the princess caught up with me, I had already slipped through. After that, I was on the other side in the other world. You know the rest. Twilight encountered me many years later and here we are.”

“That’s quite the story, Sunny,” Canvas tiredly said with a yawn.

“You know,” Twilight began, “I don’t ever recall Celestia talking about you when I was studying under her.”

“Doesn’t surprise me. From what I’ve gathered while under her myself, she doesn’t like talking about her past. Though I guess when you live for over a thousand years, you tend to have some memories you want to repress. I gotta say though, talking about this all with you girls is kind of liberating.”

“Yeah, same here,” Trixie added.

“It was kind of fun,” Lightning nodded.

“But now I’m even more tired. I don’t know how late it is, but I’m just going to guess it’s almost midnight,” Ditzy said rubbing her eyes. “Dangit Canvas, I shouldn’t have watched you yawn like that. I’m going to get some sleep if that’s fine with you all.”

“Yeah, I feel like turning in myself,” Sunset said getting up and starting to walk towards her room, dragging her pillow with her. “It was nice talking with you guys. We should do it again sometime.”

“Good night everypony!” Twilight said to the girls as they walked away. She was about to go back to her own room, but when she attempted to stand up, she noticed Canvas had fallen asleep while tucked in her wing. “She sure was tired. Rest easy, Canvas.”

Twilight carefully inched her wing from Canvas and flung a blanket over the sleeping mare. But as she tried to stand again, all feeling in her legs just vanished.

“I guess she’s not the only one who’s tired,” Trixie smirked as she closed her eyes. “Why not just sleep here tonight, keep us company.”

Twilight, without giving a second though, snuggled back in between the two mares with a yawn. “Yeah, my legs won’t get me far anyway.” The warmth from the fire, the warmth of her two friends, and the hour of night all created an unprecedented feeling of contentment that allowed her to fall asleep with almost no complications whatsoever. Trixie cracked one of her eyes to check her sleeping friend. After a moment of hesitation, she blushed slightly before resting her head against Twilight’s.

I’m glad to finally do this again. It’s been too long.

Her heart skipped a beat as she stole a peck from Twilight’s cheek.

It was barely light outside as a single angelic figure approached the sleepy building. She unbarred the door and walked inside, the only light coming from her halo as she quietly stepped through the corridors and the only sound being a metallic echo of her hoof shoes resonating.

It is surprisingly quiet in here. I would have thought at least Ditzy would be up at this hour.

Scintillant began to check each of the rooms given to her guests, but was surprised to see only half of them occupied with sleeping mares. Her worries quickly subsided when she found the remaining three snuggled in front of the brazier. She couldn’t help but bask in the cute sight that lay before her and almost didn’t want to wake them, but alas she had to bring them back to the citadel.

“Rise and shine, little ones,” Scintillant said as she pulled the blankets away and nudged them. Her efforts seemed to be in vain however as Trixie seemed to snuggle closer to Twilight.

“Wake up! We must go.”

Again she was met with no response. She was slightly frustrated with the task before her, as it appeared that Twilight subconsciously casted a soundproofing spell. However, an idea came to her as she spotted the metallic bowl that lay next to Canvas. With one of her wings, she reached over and picked it up high off the ground and with some force, threw it to the hard ground resulting in a loud enough sound to get through to the mares, who jumped as the ruckus startled them.

“Scintillant! What gives?” Trixie shouted aggravated.

“Is it morning already?” Canvas mumbled as she rubbed her eyes.

“Technically, it was morning when we went to sleep,” Twilight responded groggily as she stood up. “Any good news Scintillant?”

“Indeed. I must ask you to follow me back to Mother Dogma’s chamber. She must speak to you in person.”

“This early in the morning?” Sunset said as she walked into the room with Lightning and Ditzy, all apparently woken up from the noise as well.

“Mother wants this to be done as early as possible. She was quite generous last night so we best not keep her waiting.”

A few stretches later and the group of mares was being escorted back to the building they first came to the previous evening, with only Scintillant with them this time.

“So how did it go last night? You didn’t get into trouble or anything, did you?” Canvas asked still groggy from the sudden wake up call.

“You needn't to concern yourself with me, dear. I was well prepared to take responsibility for you all, but I wasn’t really worried. Though I will have to take on the burden of a few more tasks in exchange for all this. It’s not a problem however.”

“Can I ask you something, Scintillant?” Trixie stepped between Scintillant and Twilight. “No disrespect to that dragon or anything, but I noticed she seemed kind of irritated with you. I mean I could understand being woken up abruptly, but the way she talked to you seemed like you two have some history, even though I didn’t understand half of what anyone was saying.”

“That’s quite normal for Mother Dogma actually. With our last Grand Creator, or Grandmother[1] if you will, long gone, she’s taken a high position of authority over Elysium, effectively making her the de facto leader and administrator. She is one of the Sanctorum, mortal beings such as yourselves who have been allowed to enter Elysium without dying. Ascended if you will. She is a different case from you six however. While you all entered through the gate, she accomplished a great feat in the mortal realm that caught the attention of the Grandmother.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question.”

“As you know, dragons are prone to greed. Dragons tend to grow larger as they collect and hoard many belongings, such as gems or treasure. As a youth, Dogma resisted this temptation and gave many of her gems to other dragons during hard times. As a result of her generosity, she gained a longer lifespan as she did not grow as quickly. Eventually, she was accepted into the highest honored ranks among the Creator’s council as her closest angel.”

“This sounds interesting, but can I please get an answer to the question I asked?” Trixie said noticing Scintillant seemed to be dodging her question.

“The point is, she is a relic among the rest of us. You know you are old when even mountains call you ancient. With age and authority, she isn’t always the most pleasant. But her tenure here gives way for honor and respect. However, even though I always respect her authority, I don’t always follow her orders. I disagree with her occasionally and as a result, I’m not high on her list of respected Ein Sof, err angels.”

As she finished her last sentence, Scintillant and the other mares arrived at the citadel and went through the familiar halls with the familiar angelic faces, this time greeting instead of glaring. The same minotaurs that guarded the large double doors bowed as they opened said doors. The chamber inside was much more lively this time as it was packed with many other angelic beings, some being small ponies and others being larger creatures the girls had never seen before. None were as large and imposing however as the central commanding angel that stood within the large pool, giving off an aura of kindness instead of coldness. Scintillant gestured for the mares to follow her onto the glass platforms that extended center bound, bowing as they stepped onto the last platform.

“Your Eminence, I have done as requested and brought the visitors.”

“Good. Now then,” Dogma leaned down to eye level with the group, “rise and introduce yourselves to us. Full names only.”

“Twilight Sparkle.”

“Trixie Lulamoon.”

“Acrylic C-Canvas.”

“Lightning Dust.”

“Sunset Shimmer.”

“Ditzy Doo.”

Dogma raised an eyebrow as she heard the last name. “Ditzy Doo? That name is familiar to us. You… are the courier, correct?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“I see. We thought we’ve seen you before. Yes, we were told there was a mailmare among us, but to see it be you….” Dogma raised her head. “That aside, we have come to the decision that you will be allowed a chance for the Elements. We shall provide accommodation for five of you. However, you will be observed for the first few fortnights. We are still somewhat wary by your presence and must maintain caution. You will be allowed to move about the grounds as you please, but you must stay out of the way of those that work and you may only enter the inner sanctuaries with permission from us. Do you understand?”

The girls all gave a firm nod and Dogma dropped her serious attitude and replaced it with a more pleasant one.

“Now then, it will take much time to inform the other Sanctorum and have them prepare your training. Use this time to familiarize yourself with the lands and customs of Elysium. But try to be careful as there are restricted areas that are not open to most. Do not trespass into these areas. Any questions you have can be addressed to Scintillant as I am putting you under her jurisdiction for the time being until the preparations are complete.” Dogma glared at Scintillant, who gulped and did her best not to gaze away. “You will be responsible for our guests, are we right?”

“Yes, your Eminence!”

“Good. You are all dismissed aside from you, Scintillant. I must speak with you in private for a moment.”

A few pony sized angels flew down beside the girls and prepared to escort them out of the citadel. Twilight glanced at Scintillant with a concerned expression painted on her face.

“Go on, girls. I will meet with you later,” Scintillant assured as she tried to hide her own worry.

Twilight nodded reluctantly and followed her friends and the double doors closed. Scintillant and Dogma stood in their places as the enormous chamber was slowly vacated, leaving only them inside. As the final angel exited the near empty sanctum, Dogma dropped her warm exterior and again placed her eyes at eye level to her only guest.

“We are warning you, Scintillant. You have disobeyed many of our decrees and now not only did you intervene in mortal affairs, but you bring them into our home. Be grateful that we don’t banish you to the bowels of Tartarus for this.”

“I apologize, your Eminence.”

“Tread carefully, Scintillant. Our patience with you is running thin. Another infraction will seal your fate. I will entrust you with the Elements for now, BUT you had better step up and compensate for my kindness. You are not giving us many reasons to like you as of late.”

“Yes, Mother Dogma. I will not take this for granted.”

“You best not.”

“Geez that was intense!” Trixie shouted as she was finally outside and free from their escorts.

“Even when Dogma is being nice, she’s still intimidating,” Ditzy said with a nervous laugh.

“Speaking of which, you said you did tasks for Elysium when you got custody of Dinky back, right? Is that why Dogma addressed you like that?”

“More or less. I’ve never properly met her, but I assume she’s familiar with me because of my tasks,” Ditzy said as she unsuccessfully fought back a yawn. “It’s almost time for me to get back though. My girls are going to wonder where I am.”

“You’re leaving already?” Lightning inquired. “I thought you’d be here to train or whatever.”

“Oh I still will, just during the nights. I will come here during my dreams, but I can’t physically come here often. I guess Dogma knew this which is why she said only five of us are being accommodated, not six.”

“Makes sense,” Twilight replied. “You have a family and a job to get back to in Ponyville so you can’t just stay here. When can we expect to see you again?”

“Uh, maybe around nine or ten in the evening, give or take an hour. I don’t really know. I do know that I have to get back to my girls, but I promise you we will see each other later.

“Have a good day Ditzy,” the others said as Ditzy stepped through the open portal of the large gate. It was silent for a while as none of the other ponies knew what to do next, but that silence was soon broken by Sunset.

“Welp. I’m bored. Wanna go explore this place?”

“Yeah, why not,” Lightning said taking to the air and started to fly around the plaza.

“Anypony else?” Sunset asked.

“Maybe later,” Canvas replied while rubbing her stomach. “I’m getting kind of hungry and I’d like to paint a picture of this place. It’s too pretty not to draw.”

“Yeah, I’m with her,” Twilight added. “Trixie and I will get something to eat with Canvas. We’ll meet with you two later.”

“Ah fine. Have fun.”

Just when did she start making decisions for me? Trixie wondered, but followed Twilight’s lead nonetheless.

Ein Sof Zealotry

by ZhaoZoharEX

Chapter 16