Harmony's Parallel

by Xutiepops

Soft Hooves, Lots of Ponies, and Long Corridors

The new throne room had a few adjustments. For one, the air was much heavier, as if it could hold a mare in the air heavy. The magenta light that had came to be the sun didn't flood in through the windows, curtains hung over every open crack in the room.

But the biggest adjustment were the lifeforms. Six thrones were full of bored and agitated mares and a dragon. But the alicorn in the throne on top was a paranoid mess.

She tried to think of a plan for the enemy side, she didn't want to lose Canterlot like how she lost everything else. So, of course, after how many days had passed, she forced every one of them to sit in the throne room. Of course, the fights they had all gotten in made that one of the worst ideas.

Each of them could think of one valid reason why'd they let the other die. Rarity smiled up at Twilight, of course it was fake, but she needed to smile. "Twilight, darling," she started. "What are you so scared for? You have a dragon as a pet."

Twilight didn't look at her, her hind leg bounced with anxiety. She took a deep breath and looked to Rarity, seeing the fake smile. She remembered her reason for Rarity. The mare was useless. "And what's so agonizing about sitting in a room all day? The fact that your dragon's right next to you?"

"Shut up!" The dragon lord yelled at them. "All you mares do is fuss. So shut the hell up."

"Says the problem with scales," Fluttershy hissed. He started growling at her. The end of his wings were caked in magenta as Twilight pulled him away from his pouncing position. He just groaned.

"He's right though. We can deal with our fueds once we for sure got Canterlot," Applejack stated bluntly. She narrowed her eyes at Rarity with disgust. "Though I wouldn't mind beating some of y'all into the ground."

Pinkamena bounced out of her throne and started pacing. "As if you could do anything. You'd just cry and ball when she lands a shot."

"You couldn't do any better!" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. She held her eyes shut at the sound of Pinkamena's annoying gasp. She almost wished the mare was still a ball on the floor they called a freak.

Twilight bit down on the end of her hoof, the background noise dying out as she stared at her own cutie mark on a deep magenta banner.

The banner flashed to white, a flaming sun sitting in the middle of it. " Princess please! I promise I'll pass this next test! Promise!" A small purple unicorn yelled up at Daybreakers annoyed expression.

The filly was shot into the doors, one of the banners falling on her. "Fine," Daybreaker smirked. "Only if you can get that off of yourself, will I give you another chance."

The unicorn smiled happily. Of course she could do that, she already stood up underneath it. "Using only magic," Daybreakers voice boom, sending the unicorn back on her stomach.

Tears instantly sprung to the young mares eyes. The rod weighed enough on its own, minus the fabric. How could she even get her magic all the way around the thing? But that didn't stop her from even trying to try.

Her magic finally covered the banner, the vapor splitting and regrouping from the amount of surface area, but it held together. She stood up, trying to lift up the banner with her, it didn't work.

She was there for hours, trying and trying to pick up the simple banner. Her hooves ached, her horn felt swollen and she couldn't breathe. When she couldn't do anymore, she fell and just fell to sleep. Not caring what happened to her, not thinking of her eternity under a banner, she just thought of relaxing and rest.

She awoke to the princesses room. That was obvious by the size and glamour the room had. She couldn't think, her horn still felt swollen, even when nothing was wrong with it. She sat in the huge bed for a while, not able to comprehend where she was.

When Daybreaker waltz into the room, she shook her head and smiled up at the mare, thinking of her as her savior. But she couldn't see Daybreakers disappointed stare.

To her, the burning feathers for wings shone with a bright white. Her frown was a motherly smile, along with soft green eyes instead of a piercing orange. Her armor was a pure white coat. All Twilight saw was an angel. Not the fire driven demon they all called a princess

A sound snapped her out of her daydream. A crash. While everyone else in the room was at each others throats, she leapt up off her throne and ran over to a window. She pushed back the curtains and stared at the shield. It was fine, no signs of new life, meaning nothing teleported in or out.

The room was silent and all they heard was a door bursting open. It was a lot closer than the crash. Twilight tried to be brave, but all she felt was fear. She had no idea what she'd do to herself if she failed. Disappoint her childhood angel again and she'd be done.

But she glanced at Pinkamena, and felt her bravery grow. She needed to be brave, so Pinkamena didn't have to suffer anymore. Twilight turned to the group of ponies, they all looked bored.

"Alright, we split up and find one of these rats. Whether its a guard, civilian, or one of those pests, kill it in any means possible," Twilight stated loudly, taking everyone's lazy attention.

Rainbow Dash flew in front of her. "Isn't, uh, splitting up a bad idea usually?" She rubbed the back of her mane.

"Not if you put something useless with something useful. The useless distracts enough for the useful to work," Twilight explained bluntly with a lot of attitude. Rainbow rolled her eyes.

Magenta covered Pinkamena. "Pinkamena comes with me, Rarity, tag along with us. Applejack goes with Rainbow, Spike with Fluttershy." Magenta covered Rarity as well, dropping the two by her side. "Try not to kill each other," she stated and turned towards the door.

Once she was out of the room, they all glanced at each other. Of course, Fluttershy hopped back into her throne and lounged about. Of course, the three were pissed. "Uh, what're you doin'? We gotta job to do." Applejack stated.

Fluttershy rolled onto her stomach. "I can't do anything by myself since nothing's an animal, and I'll get the drake to kill me. So I'm safest here." She explained it bluntly. Having agreed with her, but mostly hoping something would teleport in and murder her, the Dragon Lord started for the door by himself.

Stomping towards the door, his claws scraped against the ground as his wings expanded. The three could just watch in amazement, a wide wingspan and a vicious stomp just made him seem terrifying, and they had been living with him. Of course, the three also thought it was majestic.

"Whatever, we don't need her. Come on," Rainbow trotted past the two with a snarky attitude, also hoping something would murder her. Applejack stared at the lazy pegasus as she trotted out after Rainbow. She almost felt bad, but that almost wasn't close enough to make her feel something. She snorted and turned her head away, agreeing with the hope of her murder.

Twilight trekked off with the two tension carrying mares following her. She went in the instinctive direction of the crash, hoping to find something. Especially a harmonized rat.

Rarity hated the two she was with, so of course, she fled away. She didn't want to fight with Pinkamena, and she most definently did not want to be ordered around by Twilight, so she turned a corner when the two weren't looking. She walked as fast as she could without making much noise, which worked lovely with the carpeted-floors.

As she turned another corner, she heard Twilight yell her name and all she could do was giggle. She trotted down an open corridor with a proud smirk, not looking to her sides. She was too self-absorbed to look. Of course, she missed two ponies hiding behind the curtain in the corner.

The two were dangerously close. Which was fine and terrible for both. Magic and Flash had conflicting feelings about the other, but the two were generally awkward no matter what, so being shoved in a corner was nice and awful.

Once they heard Rarity trot by, they went as stiff as boards, not even breathing. Once she turned a corner away, Flash was the first to get away from Magic.

"Flash?" Magic asked quietly, worry smothered her face, including her voice. He put on a nervous smile and turned to her, his spine as straight as could be.

"Y-yeah, Twi?" He asked nervously, his cracking voice made it difficult to keep control of it, but it was generally quiet. She took a step towards him, eyebrows curled up and her eyes full of worry. She looked as if she was about to cry. She looked away, at the ground. "Twi?" He asked again, genuinely worried for her.

She shook her head. "I just wanted to tell you something. But I don't know if I should," her voice broke, understanding the idea of their death even further. He knew what she wanted to say, and he didn't want to hear it. Just because he didn't feel the same.

He looked behind him worriedly as she tried to muster the courage to say it. He got the peak of a black stallion turning the corner. Of course, green eyes pierced him as Magic spoke. "I love you."

Flash whirled to her shoving her away from him. She looked terrified, not understanding. "Just go, find Pinkie or something!" He turned away while she stood there. And once he started running, her world fell apart. She thought she got rejected, but of course, she quickly noticed the black stallion as the two started fighting.

She shook her head and cried, understanding now. He didn't love her, and she couldn't question why. She turned away and started running, her world falling apart around her. The floor started falling away behind her in chunks created by cracks.

The roof was lifted off the castle and was consumed by a white light as she ran towards the end of an endless hall. She just left her love to a fight and could do nothing but sob at her emotions. She blinked the tears away as the world started building itself back up.

She had different loves she could protect: her friends. And that was her mission, he could handle himself, they couldn't. She ran even faster, turning to protect someone she loved dearly who needed it.

---

Applejack and Rainbow Dash found nothing, and they were more than bored. They could hear yells and they couldn't run after since there was more than a few of them.

And they couldn't stand the idea of being with anyone of their 'colleagues'. Even the other. They remembered being friends, but just the idea of the others annoyed them away from being friends.

Despite being 'friends', they still began to hate each other and the others obvious views on something, like their 'friends'. They didn't even speak to the other, understanding the dislike. But the annoyance of not finding something and the annoyance of being around somepony tipped them over the edge.

They heard a bunch of hoofsteps and clanking metal nearby. Two sets of hoofsteps told them not to interfere, knowing the guards were taking care of it. Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Good Daybreaker! How long till we find one of those ponies? There can't be that many hiding spots."

"Shut up and stop complainin'. It ain't gonna help nopony," Applejack groaned, having heard Rainbow complain more than once now.

Rainbow just snarled and looked away with a pout. "Sorry I'm trying to make conversation. Plus I'm bored! I can actually handle myself and I'm sure Rarity split off and found someone all by herself."

"Well we ain't need much talkin'. If they hear us nearby they ain't gonna wanna come round here," Applejack stated rudely.

"When did you get so bossy?" Rainbow asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes and leaning forward. "Our Applejack's a big baby who can't handle herself."

Applejack simply rolled her eyes. "I ain't one of them! Just dealin' with all this random drama between you, Rarity, Pinkamena... just everypony is making me speak my mind more I guess!"

"Flim and Flam ever teach you that?" Rainbow asked, sticking out her tongue.

Applejack bumped her away with her hip. "Shut. Up." she said rudely, staring Rainbow down. Rainbow rolled her eyes, as usual, and got back into her position, she stopped talking while mocking Applejack in her head.

The two continued on silently, mentally mocking every move the other made. Of course, they were too engrossed in their own hatred and dislike that they didn't notice their copies on a different hall.

The two were actually smart and didn't speak, or go after the two. Loyalty noticed Rainbow and was immediately disgusted with just the thought of the psychotic mare as the two continued past them. Honesty tugged on the pegasus' wing, "Stop lollygaggin'." She noticed the turmoil between the two and moved on towards the throne room.

They were following Magic's plan perfectly, not getting caught by anyone, they only hoped the others were faring better as they crept along. Every corner they'd turn from they'd peak around it and hide back behind their wall and peak again.

Surprisingly, the method worked from the back entrance of the castle to the midway halls. They'd stand on the tip of their hooves as they walked, holding their breaths until they'd stop. The closer they got to the throne room, the more worried they had become.

All they had heard since they entered was hoofsteps and something else. That wasn't the best thing, especially since they were all heading to the same place.

They crept past many corners, terrified they'd get caught and ruin everything. But the second Loyalty saw the huge, chocolate doors she smiled and dashed towards them. Honesty was quick to chase after her, holding back a yell.

The two hid behind the doors, understanding that they just ran through plain sight. Loyalty looked to Honesty and saw the annoyed, angered face. She smiled nervously and crept off of the door, walking silently down the open hall.

The floors were covered in magenta, the sun that crept through didn't listen to the glass paintings. Honesty wondered why Twilight hadn't changed those as well, but soon forgot it as they made it to the end of the hall.

Loyalty pushed on the huge door, hearing a loud creak. The two winched as she pushed it open further. The two stepped in the room, captivated by the difference. Instead of a light, warm room, it was now dark and horrifying. They felt as if they lived somewhere else, it didn't even feel like the Canterlot Palace.

The walls were coated in a deep violet, the floor held a long, straight carpet towards the top throne, a checker between magenta and purple. The floor themselves were a dull grey. The ceiling held a tall, large chandelier of yellow candles admitting pink light.

The thrones shined in their own lights, the coats of the owners made up the color. Behind the thrones were large banners of their cutie marks. They almost couldn't remember what their Canterlot looked like. They barley remembered the bright colors of pink, yellow, and white.

"Did you two not find anything?" Fluttershy asked bluntly, laying on her stomach on her yellow throne. The two froze and slowly looked over at her. She raised an eyebrow. "What? I thought you two wanted to listen to the 'queen'."

Honesty kicked Loyalty's back hoof. Loyalty's head whirled to Honesty with an annoyed look. She rolled her eyes and looked back to Fluttershy. "Uh... yeah! Just couldn't find anything."

Fluttershy groaned and moved to lay on her back. "I know you two are the enemy. So just kidnap me or get the hell out."

"You aren't gonna try to kidnap us?" Honesty asked, actually curious. She guessed the mare wasn't a threat, she wasn't before, so she guessed it was okay. Though she noticed that Loyalty started to slowly back up as the mare was faced away from them.

Fluttershy just yawned. "Nah. I wanna go home. So failing lets me go home," she looked back at the two and jumped off of her throne. She sat on her hind legs and put her front hooves in the air. "So capture me or go find your friends. I'll tell you that Queen-can't-can-it is serious this time. Saving your princess fucked her up, so she won't do it again."

Loyalty kept her guard up as she slowly backed away, consistently analyzing the girl. She was nothing like her Fluttershy, it made her wonder how much an evil trait did to someone. Her answer was a lot.

Honesty turned and started towards the door, trusting the lazy mare. Loyalty spread her wings instinctively, just to make herself look more frightening as she backed away.

The pegasus was still in her hooves raised position once the doors closed. Loyalty looked to Honesty, closing her wings. Honesty sighed, "Guess that's a problem we won't have, lets just find Twi." Loyalty nodded and the two started out of the door to start their creeping trek back.

They turned corners they had turned many times before, but they didn't recognize them. The castle seemed like every wall and floor was magenta, the sun shining through the shields changed every color. They felt as if they were brought into the world of evil their counterparts were from. It didn't feel like their Canterlot at all.

The only direction they could go was a straight-shot hallway they really didn't want to go down, saying as of how open it was. But every other direction back would loop around and it would take ages to get to Magic. So, they took a deep breath and slowly made their way down the hallway.

They heard a mumbling growl and loud stomps. Their eyes widened as they ran backwards as fast as they could. They constantly looked back as they ran and eventually turned a corner, they hid underneath a deep purple curtain with light blue gems on it. They peaked out from underneath it to see what was there, even if they had a good idea of who it was.

Once the monster turned the corner, they held their breaths, even if he was far away from them. They couldn't look away as he growled consistently. His wings were spread, somewhat bent so they wouldn't scratch the walls. His claws were drawn as he blew smoke out of his nostrils.

Once he got nearby, they hid behind the curtain. Honesty looked behind her and noticed a dim hallway with purple doors, light blue gems on each door. Her eyes widened in fear as her head whirled to Loyalty to watched the curtain.

She grabbed the pegasus' hoof and started running down the hallway, ignoring the noise it might've made. As confused as Loyalty was, she still ran with her. Honesty looked to the curtain as they ran, seeing the outline of the dragon. She looked ahead of her and kept running, she saw a peak of magenta light show underneath her hooves and looked behind her.

As a purple claw started to pull open the curtain, she noticed a crouched body at the end of the hall. She guessed it was Pinkamena and looked to the doors around them. She bit onto a feather of Loyalty's wing and threw the pegasus in front of her as she watched the curtain pull open further. She pushed the pegasus into a door and fell in afterwards.

---

Twilight and Pinkamena walked in silence as they searched for the rats that invaded their empire. Of course, Pinkamena was apprehensive about being around Twilight, but she loved how protected Twilight was being over her.

But she'd always tell herself that Twilight didn't deserve her. Twilight betrayed her and barley knew her, she didn't deserve to be hurt after everything that happened to her, so she wasn't going to let it bother her.

Twilight was being way too protective. She told herself she was just doing it because she wanted too, but she knew it was just to impress Pinkamena. But she forgot about trying to impress Pinkamena with every noise she heard, she instantly stood in front of Pinkamena, never looking at the mare and always looking ahead.

She glanced back at the earth pony, noticing the mare spaced out, staring at the wall. But once the mare would notice her staring, she'd blush and look away, acting as if she was still mad. Of course, Twilight would simply smirk and look away, forgetting that Pinkamena actually didn't want to like her anymore.

And as being confident would give herself lee-way to talk to the mare. So, she poked out her chest and spoke with a high head. "If we run into trouble, go off and find Rarity-the-Bimbo."

Magic watched from underneath a purple curtain as a pair of lavender and dull pink hooves trotted by, hearing the confident voice pierced her eyes and seized her heart with fear. She held her breath and watched as the two walked past. She peaked out from underneath the curtain, ready to run in the direction they came from.

"Can't I just go look for her now then?" The pink mare snarled, leaving Twilight to lose her confidence. Magic just watched as the two mares separated, their likeness towards the other faded into the atmosphere.

She wanted to wait for them to turn the corner, but a loud set of hooves hitting the ground hit her ears. She looked behind her, seeing the shadows of two ponies. She held her breath and saw as the two that walked past stared at the curtain she was under.

She took a deep breath and dashed out from underneath it, the snap of the fabric adding to the noise. She heard a shout and another loud set of hooves dash after her. She couldn't bring herself to look behind her, she just turned as many wrong and weird corners as she could.

She dashed into a room with an open door and shut it as quick and silently as she could. She looked around through her tears to find something to hide underneath or behind.

She looked towards the door, hearing hoofsteps become louder. She held back her shaky breaths as she slid underneath a table. A loud wham! followed. Her hooves covered her mouth as she shivered, her wide eyes watched the ground in front of her.

Every nerve shook in its place, the top of her skin tingling. She heard loud hoofsteps as she silently held back everything that wanted to escape her. She couldn't hold back one loud, shaky breath.

In response, she heard loud, consecutive hoofsteps. They got louder and louder until she saw a lavender hoof. She backed up as far as she could, shaking eyes watching as more hooves passed by. She sucked in her gut, her shoulders and back were as straight as they could be against the back of the desk.

She saw the mare stop in place, and she slowly saw a blue mane show through. "Hey Twi!" She heard a punkish voice say, the blue mane retreated, and the lavender hooves walked away. She breathed as quietly as she could when they spoke. "Did you find anyone? We can't find nothin'."

"Found their me. Lost her though. You two keep looking down this hall, she ran somewhere down here," she heard her own voice repeat demandingly.

"And what're you gonna do?" She heard a southern voice demand curiously.

"Look for somepony else. Gives you two some fun with that bitch," her own voice stated bluntly. "Though make sure not to kill her. You leave that to me."

She heard some 'mhm's and some hoofsteps fade away. The door slammed shut and her hooves fell to her sides as she let out a deep breath. She hunched over herself, her hooves covered her eyes as she started to silently cry. She was terrified. She thought this would've worked out better, but she was so, so wrong.

She hoped and begged that her friends were okay. She was happy to hear that three, well four, hadn't found anything yet. But that didn't tell her anything about the other three.

Once her panic attack had faded away, she climbed out from underneath the desk. She took another few deep breaths and crept towards the door. She sighed with her safety that she had had, understanding that now it would fade away again. And she also knew she wouldn't be as lucky next time.

She crept open the door and looked to her left, down the long end of the hall. She sighed and stepped out of the door and looked to the other end of the hall.

She screamed and turned the other way running as fast as she could. The two chased after her, one with a sick smile and the other with an annoyed look.

She never looked back, just staring at the mix of magenta and grey as she ran. The two mixed together, they swirled into one as she started feeling sick. But her aching hooves reminded her of reality. And so did the endless noise of racing hooves. She practically slid past the corner, almost hitting the wall.

She looked on the wall and saw a picture of Celestia and tears hit her eyes. A shout from the two confirmed where she was. "End of the road, deary!"

She looked up at two large doors, the word 'library' posted at the top on a gold plate. She shoved her hooves on the ground as she stared up at the chocolate color. The tip of her hooves slightly touched the door as her muzzle was just a centimeter away. She quickly turned to look at the two hyenas who slowly approached her. A twisted smile on Rainbow was imprinted in her brain.

She was terrified. She looked all around, even after understanding she was at a dead end. She tried to push backwards through the doors to wrap around, but she knew she'd only get cornered even further. So she did the only thing she knew to do in her time of danger.

"GIRLS!"

---

Loyalty and Honesty held their breaths as they heard a cacophony of horror. Hoofsteps running, and loud stomps were the only things behind the door. Their minds worked in overtime as they tried to find something to hide under.

They wanted to help whoever was getting chased, but they couldn't. They had a five-foot tall dragon behind the door searching for them.

The room was an utter mess. Fabrics and gems covered the floor as the vanity, mirrors, and shelves were covered in junk. Their eyes were glued to the doors as the stomps got louder and louder. They swallowed and lunged underneath pieces of fabric in the corners of the room.

As Loyalty pulled her tail from the open, the door slammed open with irritation. She tried to peak through the fabrics to see where Honesty was hidden, but she was terrified he'd notice.

So she prayed Honesty was okay, hoping the mare would scream if he found her. And as Honesty prayed the same thing for Loyalty, the two hid in a silenced fear as he stomped around the room.

The Dragon Lord growled at finding nothing. He knew he heard something, but maybe it was just hid excuse at seeing what Rarity had fixed up for herself. "Damn that mare's messy," he mumbled at the sight of the room. None of the others were any better. Especially the one he guessed she slept in, though it seemed she could sleep anywhere with the amount of fabric she had everywhere.

"Where did she even find this stuff?" He asked looking around. He always thought the castle was empty rooms and a throne room. That's how his was. So was Embers actually. He sighed and turned back towards the door. Maybe dragons just sucked.

As he pulled the door open, he heard a loud scream. "GIRLS!" He guessed it was the rats, Twilight wouldn't have screamed. She would've teleported away. He wondered why the mare didn't do that actually, maybe fear.

In a shocking response to the scream, two ponies dashed underneath his arms and out of the door. He was too confused to even chase after them. He looked back at the room and saw the two piles of fabric disrupted in a different way than before.

He sighed at his own stupidity and walked out the door, shutting it behind him. He was too bored to go after them, what did he need here anyway? He had his kingdom and a Princess he was gonna marry. Why did he even agree to go here?

He put his back against the door and he looked up at the door in front of him in the darkness. "Oh yeah," he snarled. The purple door with light blue gems. The colors were normal, the curtains didn't allow any magenta to seep through. He just smiled at it. Rarity was too self-centered to even let Twilight's color in on her little cave of herself.

He almost liked her little cave, it felt like an actual castle. He wouldn't have minded staying in her little home inside a castle of Twilight's. He ripped one of the scales off his arm and growled at himself. He was being stupid, like she liked him. She just used him.

And she's just making herself think she liked him, to make her feel like a pony or something. Ember was similar, he knew how it played out. And he barley knew her! How stupid was he?! He sighed and headed towards the curtains, contemplating just flying away and finding this worlds Dragonlands.

But of course, once he opened the curtains, he got a glimpse of Rarity as she trotted away with a smirk of defiance. He just growled to himself and turned back behind the curtain. He put his back to the wall and slid down it.

He looked down the hallway. "Why not just stay here until we lose?" He asked himself and hugged himself. "God you're stupid."

---

Honesty and Loyalty dashed underneath the dragon and down the dark corridor. They didn't look back as they ran, they went as fast as they could, their hooves ached against the ground, but they didn't care.

They turned a corner, the curtains snap echoing down the hall. They knew anypony nearby could hear, but they didn't care. They slid down the hall, turning the corner, and almost running into the wall, but that didn't stop them. Their adrenaline peaked as they saw two ponies of their colors.

"Get away from her!" Loyalty shouted down the hall. The two didn't slow down as the two at the end of the hall looked at them, giving them a glimpse of the terrified Twilight.

She pushed her hooves on the ground, stopping right in front of herself as her anger rose above the castle. Her pink eyes locked with her own as she saw the bored, twisted spark in them. Air blew out of her nostrils as her chest rose and fell violently.

"Stay... the hell.... away from her... you... monsters..." Loyalty spoke rudely between pants, not moving a centimeter away from herself.

Honesty just stared at herself. Watching every move the orange mare made. The mare crouched down in a pouncing position, clearly having learnt more independent skills since their last visit.

"Make me," Rainbow said as she backed away from Loyalty with a smirk.

The four had a staring contest, not noticing who was approaching the scene. But Magic saw as herself slowly walked forward, the magenta shining from the window made her look as if she was glowing. It was like looking at an angel, one that would turn on you any second.

Twilight didn't see the same thing. She saw Magic curled up on the floor, her own shadow standing over her, creating a darkness that surrounded the mare. And all she saw was that, a lavender mare crying on the floor in the dark. And she didn't want to see it.

She hid underneath a stand, staring up at the apples on the stand next to the one she was under. She licked her lips as her stomach growled. She bit the inside of her mouth as her mind played out the scene.

All she had to do was take it and run. The pony behind the stand was too fat to run after her for a while, and no one else would care.

She nodded and took a deep breath. She dashed up from underneath the stand and grabbed an apple. She heard shouts and gasps as she instantly turned to run. Her ears cut out the noise as her mind raced with adrenaline.

After a while of running, she turned down an alley on the outskirts of town and bit into the juicy apple. She tried to savor the taste, but her stomach took over and she devoured it. She smiled down at what was left, hungry for more. She looked back outside, ready to go again, her adrenaline didn't seem to go down.

As she ran out, she was pulled back in by her tail. She looked at whatever had a hold on her tail and she saw a phoenix. It glowed in the dark and looked at her sternly. She pouted. "Hey! Leave me alone stupid bird! I'm starving! I need it!"

It tilted its head, still looking sternly at her. She rolled her eyes. "Please! Like a stupid bird can make me question what's growling right now!"

She puffed out her cheeks and just stared at the bird. "Look. I know where Shining is! I didn't lose him!"

It tilted it's head in the other direction, more curious this time. "I know he's okay! So are my parents!" Twilight shouted at the bird. "So I have to make sure I'm okay. So I can be healthy when I see them. They'd worry if I was a stick."

The bird hopped towards her and nuzzled against her hoof. She shoved the bird away. "Yeah, they're dead. Daybreaker killed them, it might've been her sister. I stopped caring."

The bird nuzzled again. "I know. I shouldn't. I should just ask someone to let me in, right?" The bird nodded. Twilight sighed and sat against the wall. "What's the point in that? They'll just say no. They'll know I was in Daybreaker's cult."

Twilight looked down at her cutie mark, a bright sun sat in its place. Everypony hated Daybreaker, they wouldn't let her in if she had her cutie mark.

She leaned into the wall, the phoenix nuzzling her. She suddenly jumped up off the wall with an idea. She whirled to the bird with a smile. "I just have to get a different cutie mark! Then they'll let me in!" The bird smiled up at her. She stood up on her hooves. "And I know just where to get it!"

She started to run, the bird following her. The closer she got to her destination, the more apprehensive the bird got. The bird eventually stared up at the back of the Canterlot Castle. Twilight smiled and snuck in through the back entrance.

She quickly snuck towards the library. She looked through every scroll, trying to find a cutie mark spell. Every book on Cutie Marks was trying to answer the why of them. Every scroll did nothing.

She rolled her eyes and looked up at a whole extra wing of the castle. She stood up, leaving all the books and scrolls on the floor. "I never saw this before." She told the bird, reading the gold plat above the wing. 'Starswirled the Bearded'.

She shrugged and walked through, not noticing the golden material that she walked through. The bird tried to warn her as she looked through every scroll. But even they didn't have what she needed.

"Ugh!" she groaned and fell on her back, only to look up at a smirking, white mare. Her eyes widened as she rushed to her hooves, quick to back up against the wall. She instantly started crying as Daybreaker smiled down at her.

Daybreakers shadow covered her in a darkness. But she knew this wasn't it. It wasn't even close. She looked to her bird friend, leading Daybreaker to notice the bird. Twilight yelled, "Fly!" The bird didn't even get off the ground before it was consumed by a gold.

Twilight winced as she heard a snap. "You make my job the funnest it could be, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight heard a magic spell and glanced at the bird, seeing as a gold rebuilt its insides. Tears fell down her face as she lunged towards the bird, not noticing the difference.

The bird bit and hissed at her, she backed up against the wall again, feeling even smaller. She looked up at Daybreaker, not able to see through the blurry lines. "The guards will be here soon. So just wait here. And thanks for the new pet. It's immortally mine now."

"Twilight," Twilight spoke quietly, but everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her. Her face contorted into anger as she frowned, her eyebrows furrowed. She stood straight as she could be, her chest poked out. "I'm not going to protect you this time."

Magic saw the bright violet eyes stare at her with the fury of a million stallions. And she was terrified, but all she saw behind those eyes was a crying filly who wanted to scream.