Prologue

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She was picking flowers by the edge of the Everfree forest when it happened. It was a perfect fall day, with the sun shining and the wind slightly chilly but not frigid. The Everfree’s outside trees and all the trees around her cottage had begun to become beautiful, different colors illuminating the green leaves. It was a gorgeous sight, and a certain yellow pegasus could stare at the trees for hours on end if she could. Fluttershy loved flowers just as much as she loved animals, and today was the perfect day to pick a fresh bouquet. Fluttershy always kept fresh flowers in her cottage, and she tried to keep them for as long as she could before changing them. But, it was time again, for the bunch she had picked two weeks ago had browned, curled up, and died, no matter how much water and nutrients she gave it. So today, she woke early, selected a straw basket filling it with her garden shovel(just in case she wanted to add another flower to her own personal garden), an apple dumpling two days old that Applejack had made in case she became hungry, and some mini flowerpots, perfect for carrying small blooms. She grabbed a straw hat that Rarity made for her on one occasion, and left her house with breakfast prepared for her animal friends, and promised herself that she'd be back by the time they awoke.

There were many blooms in the clearing that separated her cottage and the mighty Everfree. They were all different kinds, glittering in the sunlight. There were pansies and daffodils and irises and lilies. There were delicate tulips and roses and lilies of the valley. At first the pegasus was frightened of the forest's presence, like something menacing were to spontaneously pop out of the canopy and harm Fluttershy, and this fear was still present in her mind, but the more she visited the clearing, the more she began to respect the surroundings she was in. It still felt foreboding, but nothing had happened yet.

While she crossed her lawn and onto the clearing, Fluttershy couldn’t help picking a beautiful bouquet to place in her home. She hummed a soft tune to herself as she carefully picked each delicate bloom. Not only would she pick flowers for her home, she would take some of the plants back to her garden at home, if she liked the flower enough.

Fluttershy spotted a delicate yet small Queen Anne’s Lace and trotted over to it, and carefully inserted her garden shovel into the soft ground. The warm, slightly wet soil spilled over her hooves as she dug softly. She set her basket beside the little patch on which she was working, and resumed work. She dug past some rocks and other roots, and finally saw a glimpse of the pretty flower’s slender white roots. She carefully persisted, and finally got full sight of the roots.

She carefully placed both hooves on the base of the flower, not touching the roots, and gingerly lifted the plant out of the ground. It’s weight surprised her, but she didn’t drop it. She placed it beside her basket, and after this was completed, she dug around her bouquet, and located a mini flowerpot. Once she had it, she took the Queen Anne’s Lace and placed it inside the mini flowerpot. She then placed the flowerpot in her basket, being cautious not to crush her flowers.

Fluttershy picked flowers for a little while more, until her hooves began to ache and the basket felt heavier than usual. She was just about to leave the clearing when a glint of gold caught her eye. She turned around, ready to spot the flower that possessed this gold hue, but nothing was there. Just the same old patches of different blooming and gorgeous flowers. But Fluttershy was certain she had seen something, and she was determined to find out. Maybe it wasn’t a gold flower, she decided. It could be a piece of jewelry somepony lost. Not that Fluttershy knew very many ponies that came to this clearing(in fact, she could barely place any), but there was always a chance somepony dropped something by accident if they were flying or trotting by.

Fluttershy set her basket down on a patch of slightly yellowed green grass, and stuck her face near the flowers. Maybe she’d find an animal in them. She trotted around for about twenty minutes, looking and looking and looking. But alas, all seemed in vain. She didn’t want to believe there was nothing, but she couldn’t ignore the obvious. Just as she was about to turn away, the same glint of gold caught her eye. In an instant her face was in the flowers, and there it was.

It was a majestic flower, one that Fluttershy had never seen before. It was the size of a full grown bunny, with an amazingly long glimmering green stem. The flower itself was bright gold, shimmering so bright almost as if it were made of a part of the sun itself. Inside the flower and around the edges of it a purple hue was painted along the gold, and it glittered by itself, almost as if the flower was made solely of magic.

Don’t touch it, her mind instructed her. Fluttershy wasn’t a pony for magic, and this flower did intimidate her. It could have been a trap, and the pegasus was vulnerable on her own.

Maybe I should leave it alone, she thought to herself. This probably was a good idea. This flower wasn’t bothering anypony. And Fluttershy wanted to keep it that way. It could very well jump out at her, or try to eat her. Besides, if she picked it, it would eventually die, and she wouldn’t know how to get another one like it.

I could put it in my garden, though, she reasoned. I could ask Twilight what it is, and see if its dangerous. It is really pretty, and an animal could eat it or other harm might come to it, thought Fluttershy. Though she hated to admit it, she badly wanted this strange flower in her garden, simply because of its outstanding beauty and the mystery of its origin. She had seen many a beautiful bloom, but this flower topped all of the others.

She reached a cautious hoof by the bloom, bracing herself for it to hurt her. And it didn’t; it simply glimmered up at her iridescently. Pushing some other blooms away gingerly, Fluttershy positioned herself comfortably by the flower. She located her garden shovel, and inserted it into the warm, wet ground. She carefully maneuvered the small shovel around the base of the plant, making a small circle. Once she had a decent circle, she studied the plant again. It was much too large to carry in her mini-flowerpots, but maybe she could take it on her back, or go back by her home and get a bigger flowerpot. But flowerpots were heavy by themselves, and Fluttershy could lift one and fly with some difficulty, and this flower was large; she could need help.

I’ll carry it on my back, she thought to herself. That seemed like a good idea. It might be heavy, but it was too pretty to leave out here to possibly be eaten or to die. She placed her hooves by the flower and in one movement, she lifted the flower out from the soft earth, spilling dirt and other nutrients all over herself. Once she had it in her hooves, she started at it for some time, the flower more beautiful than ever. The roots themselves were things of beauty, curled and prettily hanging towards the ground, like a braided mane taken out after a long night’s rest. Fluttershy gingerly lifted the plant over her head and laid it as gently as she could on her back, where its warm wetness warmed Fluttershy slightly.

She flew as cautiously as she could over to her basket, where she slowly picked it up, regained herself, and began to fly slowly across the field to her home. Little did she know, through the trees of the Everfree, a silent figure watched her throughout her entire picking and uprooting spree, and as soon as the figure watched Fluttershy fly back to her cottage, the figure snickered and disappeared through the dense trees.

Deep in the Everfree forest, away from prying pony eyes, and certainly farther away from Canterlot castle and the princesses, lay the secret unseen hideout of the changelings. If somepony were to ever see this hideout, the changeling army would capture this straggler, and happily feed off him or her. The changelings were an independent group, not to be disturbed by outside interferences. But an independent group cannot stay secluded for so long, and soon after the changelings slowly but surely began to starve. They began going out into nearby towns in disguise, preying on the innocent and unsuspecting. The changeling’s humble and ruthless queen, Queen Chrysalis, was beginning to consider moving out of the Everfree forest and moving her people north to the Crystal Empire, when an opportunity arose.

The magnificent city of Canterlot had been her target for some time; being huge and populated to the fullest, and the ideal place for royalty, namely Princesses Celestia and Luna. Yes, Canterlot was the Jewel of Equestria. And the perfect place for the Queen to take over. So she devised a plan to borrow the life of another princess, a Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and pose as her for a while, taking over from the inside. This plan went up in smoke, however, when a young unicorn named Twilight Sparkle saw the Queen for who she was and not who she was posing as, and to make a long story short, Queen Chrysalis and her army were catapulted out of Canterlot in disgrace.

Ever since then, the Queen had healed but not by a lot, and a fresh round of hatred for the princesses had grown inside her. Her army was beyond weak, and so was she, from hunger, fatigue, and wound. But planning to go after the princesses again was taking all the time the Queen had, and something had to be done. If not, she and her army surely would die. As a result, she set the few changelings who weren't near death to research in all the old and musty books they had, and for a while, there was nothing but things she already knew. She and her army became weaker by the day, being forced to eat bark off trees and mud off the ground. The Queen ate these things too in an attempt to stay alive, but none of these things was as satisfying as the emotions a pony could give. It had become even riskier to go into the nearby village and prey on the innocent. Stragglers were becoming fewer and fewer. The Queen hoped for something, and eventually, it came. A new piece of information popped up in the changeling’s research.

It was a magic golden flower that had the ability to heal the sick and injured, and to activate this power, all one had to do was sing a special song. Right away the Queen told her subjects that were left to find a copy of the song, and the Queen began learning it right away. Soon, she had it down pat, though the Queen thought singing was revolting and a waste of time. Of course at first Queen Chrysalis was overjoyed. Such a flower would mean so much for her and her withering army. But when the flower was researched further, it appeared that the flower’s location was unknown; nopony alive knew where it was. The research said that the flower could be anywhere from Fillydelphia to Appleloosa or anywhere in between. Queen Chrysalis was about to give up hope when a certain butter yellow pegasus found it for her. Queen Chrysalis had been taking a walk by the edges of the Everfree, looking for stragglers or something edible, when she spied the yellow pegasus looking through some flowers. The Queen recognized the pegasus at first, and was about to pounce when the pegasus lifted up a shiny golden flower out of a clump of other flowers. At first the Queen realized how crazy it was that this flower could be THE flower. But the more she looked at it, the more she thought it could be. And she thought that if even if it wasn’t it, she at least knew what it could look like.

It was then the Queen knew exactly what to do. She would sneak over to the pegasus’s cottage and take it from her, and then she would use it to heal not only herself, but her entire army and maybe a few new recruits as well. She would wait until nightfall, so then the night could cloak her and keep her unseen. She would scrape up the remaining energy she had left. If she was spotted, however, she could be caught, and she was one changeling who had just enough energy left. On a regular time, she could summon her army, but they were in no state to attack. The Queen could possibly be taken to the Princesses, and then she would be killed and her army, everything she worked for, and everything she believed in would die. That is why she waited like she did. Queen Chrysalis’s magic was too poor to heal all of her army, but the magic of the golden flower would. It would be a perfect time to invade, just like old times. But this time, they would not fail.

Right now, the Queen was sitting in her moth eaten crumbling castle, in the throne room, preparing for the robbery. Her subjects, of course, were in the throne room, pestering her about food and clothes. Right now a particular old male changeling, covered in holes yet baring impressive fangs, was taking up the Queen’s time and attention.

“Your majesty,” said the old male changeling, bowing as gracefully as he could manage. He was dressed poorly, with his mane mussed and his wings frail, and he looked as tired and as weary as a changeling could.

“I have come upon you today to humbly request that we move to another part of Equestria. There is little food here, and what we gather does not fill the hole in our stomachs.”

“Patience, my changeling.” replied the Queen. Her voice echoed across the near empty throne room.

“I have devised a plan to heal us all. You, your family, everyone. But until I obtain the things I need, we will not be going anywhere.”

The old male changeling, though wanting to say more, didn’t, and left the throne room as fast as his hooves could take him. As soon as he left and the heavy doors banged shut, Queen Chrysalis brought her hoof down on a nearby table and let out a grunt of frustration.

“UGH!” she exclaimed, sending the loud noise echoing across the throne room.

“Patience? How can I be patient?” she seethed. She was ready to have an uprising in Canterlot this minute. She calmed, but only for an instant. Part of her reminded herself to think of her subjects and army. There was no possible way they could lead an uprising this minute. The more she thought of her army healing, the more she wanted to steal the flower from that wimpy pegasus. A good queen, like the small royal voice inside her commanded, always thinks of her subjects.

She lay back in her throne, sighed heavily, and began to watch the sun set behind the crumbling windowpane.

A humble cottage came into view, and Fluttershy, basket and fancy flower clad, sighed in relief. The basket and plant were beginning to get heavy, and it was already late morning. Her animal friends would surely be up by now. Fluttershy had not known that she had been in the clearing for more than a few hours, but it seemed so. She had not realized that she had been gone so long. She flew as fast as she could manage with the large plant on her back towards the homely little cottage.

Once she was on the front step, she gave a soft knock, careful not to wake her animal friends. The door opened, and Angel appeared, bedraggled. Behind him, she realized that almost all of her animal friends were awake, except for the bear, who was snoozing loudly in the corner.

“Hello, my friends!” she said cheerily. She set her basket by the doorway and shut the door behind her, still flying slowly. She flew over to a cabinet and from it produced a glass vase. It was a beautiful, dainty, green paint covering it with a single pink stripe down the middle. She had gotten it from her friend the glassmaker pony down in Canterlot on a visit there. She had treasured it ever since she got it; and it would be the perfect size for the flower. The flower had not moved from her back, and she carefully reached behind her and took the flower from off her back. It glittered up at her. She carefully set the vase on the cabinet and lowered the flower in it. After this was completed, she sighed and went in the kitchen, her animal friends following. She filled a kettle with water and set on the stove. After a few more minutes, the water was nice and hot. She took the kettle off the stove and brought out a ceramic bowl. She poured hot water inside it and added honey, ginger, cinnamon, sugar, and lemon. Fluttershy, for one, loved tea, and the bowl was for sharing. Her mice friends loved the tea, and sometimes the bear would have a swig or two. She brought her tea with a straw resting haphazardly on the side of the bowl into the main room, and sat down on the floor next to the cabinet. She took a sip of the tea, let the sweet soothing liquid slide down her throat, and offered the bowl to her friends, which they struggled to get a sip of.

SQUEAK!
A loud sound pierced the air and scared the timid pegasus.

“Eek!” she shouted, and jumped backwards, hitting the cabinet with the vase on it. The tea bowl rattled, and her animal friends, surprised by the pegasus’s outburst, flew the other direction and began hiding in various places around the room, the mice hiding in the potholes in the floor and the mouse holes, the birds fluttering up into the birdhouses, the small mammals like the chipmunks and squirrels taking shelter by the birdhouses in their ceiling dens. The bear took shelter by a curtain, the kitty with him. The other animals found places behind cabinets, couches, under rugs and behind rug, lifting up one tassel and peering cautiously at his keeper. artifacts on shelves. Angel, Fluttershy’s precious bunny, hid under a nearby throw rug.

Fluttershy zipped behind the cabinet with the flower, and cowered there. The animals cowered including Angel, and so did Fluttershy, but if they were looking they would have seen that the bump had caused the vase to violently shake. Fluttershy wouldn’t have known that the flower was very fragile and that it was hanging on the stem very haphazardly. The vase shook so much that the flower was shaken off, and it fell off the stem and down off the cabinet. No one saw the flower fly gracefully into the waiting bowl of tea, and hit the surface. Once inside the mixture, the flower glowed a very bright gold, but just faint enough so that no animal or pony saw it dissolve into the mixture. The tea glowed for a minute more, and then the flower completely dissolved, sending a small burst of gold sparks out of the bowl, and then back in it again. Now all that remained was left of the tea, now filled with magical flower, and a bunch of cowering animals. Since there was nothing left to scare anypony, Fluttershy peeked one cautious teal eye. The coast was clear. She carefully stepped out of her hiding place and peered around. Nothing.

“It’s alright, my friends. Come on out.” she called softly to them all. She watched as they all peeked out one eye, cautiously. Once they saw their keeper out of her hiding place, one by one, they began to get out of their hiding places and join her by the cabinet. Fluttershy smiled at each of them and counted, silently moving her lips by the animal horde, counting.

“We’re missing one.” she said, carefully. She opened her wings carefully and quietly left the ground. After which, she flew around looking in various knotholes and mouse holes. She checked the ceiling dens, and under the furniture. Finally, she peeked under a throw rug and discovered that her bunny friend still hadn’t come out. When he saw her, he smiled and got out of his hiding place. Once all of the animals had settled again, she went over back by the tea bowl.

“Does anypony want any more?” she asked, holding the bowl out at hooves length so that the animals could see. There was no clamor for any more; all of her friends appeared to be done with tea. Fluttershy turned to Angel, but the bunny waved his little arms as a way of a refusal. Fluttershy smiled, tilted the bowl back and let the now lukewarm sugary substance slide gracefully down her throat. She opened her eyes to see how much of the tea was left, and when she did, she could have sworn the rest of the tea began to glow a bright gold around the outline of the tea. As it slid down her throat, she watched it in wonder. She never knew how well she could brew tea.

As soon as she finished the rest of the tea, she dropped the bowl in surprise, for a strange feeling began to wash over her. It felt almost as if somepony very young was yanking on her mane very remorselessly. Her tail felt the same way. She looked around at her animal friends to see if they were yanking at her, but they weren’t; each had found something to do amongst themselves. Even Angel had found his favorite spot on the couch and had curled up, ready for napping.

The mysterious yanking of her mane continued, harder and harder with each passing minute. It was pulling so hard now that Fluttershy felt as if somepony were trying to take her mane clean off her head. Then a severe yank occurred, sending an immense pain through Fluttershy’s scalp.

“Ouch!” the pegasus cried, helplessly, and the animals looked at her curiously. Then, seeing she was in pain, they all rushed by her side, looking at her with concern. Fluttershy was on the ground now, pressing her hooves to the side of her head to show the pain. The yanks and pulls persevered and intensified, leaving the shy pegasus in a disarray. The animals chattered anxiously amongst themselves, and many turned to Angel for explanation. But the bunny gave nothing, and they could only sit and watch their keeper in pain. They did not see where the pain was coming from, and they figured it was in Fluttershy and Fluttershy alone.

Then, as if by magic, the yanks and pulls went away, just as fast as they had come, and Fluttershy breathed a large sigh of relief, as did all of her animal friends. In its place of the yanking came another unusual feeling, but this time, one of complete and utter relaxation. There was no pain that Fluttershy felt except for her sore scalp, but other than that there was complete peace. The peace filled the room with a warm and buttery feeling, almost as if each someone in the room had enjoyed a fabulous and very filling holiday dinner. Fluttershy relaxed every bone in her body, and let the peace fill her. This is just how she liked it.

Then, out of nowhere, the bear’s head bobbed down, and large and throaty snores were heard. Then two blue jay’s heads bowed and their eyes shut. Then three raccoons. Then four frogs. Then every animal in the room.

“What’s going-” Fluttershy started to say. The remaining animals crowded by Fluttershy, and they too fell to the fatigue. Soon, only Angel and Fluttershy were left awake. Fluttershy, filled with fear, grabbed her bunny and got up against the wall to steady herself, worry and fear coursing through her veins. Angel looked up at her with the same fear, and then she saw his eyelids droop ever so slightly. There was nothing for her to say, and before he could squeak or hug her in thanks, his eyelids slowly closed, and soft breathing came out of his nose.

“Angel? ANGEL?” she cried frantically, pressing her head to the rabbit’s chest and finding a heartbeat in return.

“Why…” she leaped up, and carefully set her bunny friend on a throw rug before flying around the room, inspecting every animal. They all were sleeping soundly; as if nothing had happened. Confusion joined the worry and fear. She landed in her usual place, and was about to go out the door to find Twilight, when slowly and surely, she began to feel weak in the knees. She sat again, and she began to feel dizzy and sleepy.

“Maybe if I…” her voice trailed off, and she laid her head on the ground, thinking maybe the dizziness would end. But slowly and surely, she began to loose focus of the room. She fought to stay conscious, but all attempts were in vain. Slowly and surely, her eyelids began to close. In one final attempt to stay conscious, Fluttershy used her remaining strength to fling out one hoof and try to make some noise, thinking passersby would hear and come to help. She did make a sound, but she was drained, and the last thing she remembered before she blacked out was the warm, buttery feeling that still hung in the air.

Soon, night had graced the land, and Princess Celestia made way the day for the milky moon. As nighttime filled the air, the mighty Queen was preparing to step out of the shadows herself for more than five minutes. Her minions were as anxious as she was, and when night fell, she couldn’t wait long enough. And then, finally, it was time to go.

“Your cloak, milady?” asked a humble subject, offering the Queen her midnight violet cloak. Instead of answering, the Queen motioned with her puncture clad hoof. The young changeling slipped the cloak delicately by the Queen’s shoulders and bowed away, shuffling as he went.

“Any snacks for you before you go, your majesty? We have some very nice bark cookies, and of course the pine needle and mud smoothies are good this time of year.” said a young female changeling, one by the name of Rust.

“I want no more of that revolting sludge.” spat the Queen, pulling the cloak closer around her shoulders self consciously.

“I want REAL food. I will not eat anything until my army is healed. Then we feed. In Canterlot!" snapped Queen Chrysalis.

“Now!” she said loudly, startling the three subjects that surrounded her. Rust licked her fangs nervously and hungrily, pondering the thought of Canterlot.

“I’m going.” spoke the Queen, and flung her cloak around her dramatically.

The night cloaked the Queen as she flew faster and faster. The only thing that kept her going was her army and subjects suffering without the healing. If they died, eventually she would as well, and then she would never get her sweet revenge on the Princesses and that awful Twilight Sparkle for ruining her plans. The trees whipped past and Queen Chrysalis thought of the healing and the screams of ponies as her minions finally got something to eat. This very image egged her on, and she flew faster still.

As she neared the edge of the trees, she stopped abruptly, digging her hole clad hooves in the moist ground. She peered out by the trees, watching the pegasus’s cottage. There were no lights on, and the houses nearby looked dark as well. Nopony was about unfortunately, so the Queen would not get a snack tonight. Then, without any hesitation, she flew as fast and as quiet as she could across the clearing. The quiet night air was bone chilling, but hesitation did not visit the Queen. However, a bit of fear had creeped into the Queen’s usual demeanor, but she shoved it down deep inside her.

Before she knew it she was at the pegasus’s cottage. She pressed her back against the back of the cottage and breathed for the first time in over five minutes. She darted by the nearest window, and cautiously peeked inside. Inside the warmly lit cottage, six ponies and a whole lot of animals lounged inside. Apparently, they all appeared to be sleeping soundly. When the Queen studied them further, she gasped as softly as she could manage. She recognized each of these ponies. There were the two earth ponies, and the two pegasi, and the two unicorns, including that awful Twilight Sparkle.

Don’t you see?, said a voice inside Queen Chrysalis.
She’s right in front of you…and unconscious! You could take her back to the Everfree and get revenge on all of them for ruining you the first time.

The Queen pondered this. Here were some of her sworn enemies were sitting right in front of her, unconscious. She could take them back to her lair and suck all the life out of them. But while that would be very fulfilling, she would heal only herself and not her suffering army and subjects. Plus, she would die for the chance to see Twilight’s face when she destroyed the Princesses and Twilight in the process. The Queen shoved the anxiety of capturing them down deep and concentrated on the task at hoof.

She scanned the room for the flower, and then she saw a vase with a long graceful stem growing out of it. Her eyes jumped up to the top of the stem, expecting to see a graceful, magical golden flower, when instead she only saw nothing.

“What?!” she cried, exasperated, then stuffed a hole clad hoof in her mouth, remembering that her enemies were asleep. They would surely wake and see her, then report to the Princesses. That was why she would keep as quiet as she could manage. An earth pony rolled over in her sleep, but did not wake, and the Queen could relax again, for now.

But on the other hoof, the presumed flower was gone, and in its place, a soon to be dead stem. She looked around the room, pressing her face hotly against the window’s glass, searching for some explanation, but there was none. Queen Chrysalis’s heart sank, and questions raced through her mind. Now what was she going to do? Move? Or wait and have her and her subjects die off? She was about to fly away in shame when something caught her eye. It was a porcelain bowl just beside the table that held the vase. The Queen struggled for a better look, and realized if she wanted to get one, she would probably have to go inside.

Before she could think against it, her wings had already flown to the front of the cottage. She now faced the doorway. Fighting against herself, the Queen put a single hoof on the door and gave the doorknob a single turn, and to her surprise, the door clicked open, revealing a closer look at her enemies sleeping soundly. They were sprawled out on random places: one on a throw rug, one gracefully on the couch, one on the fireplace hearth, one curled up on a chair. One had managed to squeeze herself in a copper pot that hang by the fireplace, and though she looked uncomfortable, she appeared to be just the opposite. The pegasus the Queen sought, however, was sprawled on the floor, a troubled expression on her muzzle. The Queen searched around the pegasus, but didn’t see any sight of the flower. She flew quietly over to the vase, and examined the stem. It couldn’t possibly be the flower’s stem, but the Queen had seen the pegasus take it, and the stem matched the descriptions in the books.

She was about to fly away in shame or take her anger out on her enemies when the bowl beside the table caught her eye once more. She picked it up frantically, and examined it. There was a single miniscule drop of what appeared to be some kind of tea. Queen Chrysalis stuck her nose close to the drop and took a deep whiff. It smelled like cinnamon and honey.

This is ridiculous!, thought the Queen furiously.
Am I expected to believe that she DRANK it? How do you DRINK flowers? Is she hiding it or something?

The Queen was so angry that when she swung her back hoof out to kick something, she barely missed the head of the wimpy pegasus. That was when the Queen had an epiphany. If the pegasus drank it, it could be still inside her, possibly alive. She could sing the flower out of the pegasus, or perhaps cut the pegasus open and retrieve the flower that way. Either way, she'd have her flower. But she had to sing, and if she sang very loudly she'd wake her enemies.

Not to worry,she thought to herself.
I'll sing quietly.

The Queen bent over the pegasus and stationed herself closely by the pegasus's sleeping body, and opened her mouth and let the melancholy words quietly spill out of her fang filled mouth.

Flower, gleam and glow

Let your power shine
It was then the Queen discovered something very interesting and horrifying. As she sang the song carefully, just how she had learned it, a light came from the pegasus's mane and it glowed an iridescent and luminous gold. It flowed through the mane and touched every single strand and then continued through the tail. When it reached the end of the mane and tail, before Queen Chrysalis's very eyes, the mane and tail began to slowly but surely grow. Grow in length and in beauty. It grew quickly and soon it was all over the floor by the Queen's hole clad hooves and by the other sleeping ponies' places of rest. It spilled everywhere, still glowing, and then the Queen could not see any floor. It glowed from every inch of the room. She jumped a little in surprise, yet still managing to sing softly. Maybe singing wasn't such a gruesome idea after all.

Without thinking the Queen leaned down close to the glowing mane and stuck one of her wounded hooves down close by it. In an instant, her hoof felt warm and buttery and didn't feel pain in the least. It was like no pain or hurt had ever come to the hoof. It made the Queen drowsy for a moment, before glowing for a few minutes before feeling normal again. Completely normal. Joy, deviousness and victory surged through Queen Chrysalis all at once and her veins were pulsing as she finished the eerie song.

Make the clock reverse

Bring back what once was mine

What once was mine
As soon as the incantation was finished, all light subsided from the mane and tail and darkness filled the room once again, and the Queen was left in the middle of all the mane and tail, its pale pink hue littering the floor. But the healed hoof that had once felt so good a few moments ago grew cold and pained as it was before, which made the Queen's hope's falter ever so slightly. Then, a new idea struck her.

It's so simple now. I'll cut all the mane and tail that has the flower's power in it off and bring it to my minions. We can't ever feel pain if the magic mane is always there. Then I will always have it to heal my army, and we will never suffer again.

And with this new plan fresh in her mind, the Queen lowered her horn down by the pegasus's face and began to sing softly again, and again the light glowed in the mane and tail. Queen Chrysalis powered up her hole clad horn and with one movement, made the horn slice a lock off the mane and tail. But as soon as she did, the locks that she had removed grew cold in her hoof. She looked, exasperated, over to the glowing mane and tail, and noticed that the parts she had cut from were turning an ugly mud brown. These mangled sections stuck out among the sea of pale pink. The locks in the Queen's hoof grew the same shade, and though she tried singing again, the cut locks did not have the power the uncut mane and tail did.

That is when yet another new plan came to mind. A plan that could quite possibly be both her destruction and her victory. A plan to take the pegasus, and wipe the memories of all who knew her, so that the pegasus would forever be a slave to healing her minions. The Queen was joyfully imagining owning one thing that Twilight Sparkle and the Princesses would die for to retrieve if they knew she had it. If this plan backfired, however, the Princesses and Twilight would leave no parts of the great changeling queen and her army behind.

The Queen sighed, and looked back at her sleeping enemies. She took a deep breath and began to sing the melancholy tune once more.

Flower, gleam and glow

Let your power shine
The pegasus's mane and tail glowed the same luminescent gold, and as the Queen drew nearer to pick the pegasus up, she felt strength, juicy and delicious strength, that she hadn't felt in months. She had the strength to maybe even lead an uprising in a few short days if she could. She focused her magic and gained the strength to lift the pegasus off the ground with her magic, which was more than she could have hoped to do days ago.

Make the clock reverse
The song continued, slowly and surely, as the Queen opened the door carefully, levitated the sleeping pegasus out, and shut the door behind her. She opened her wings and was in the air faster than she was in months.

Bring back what once was mine
She reached the edge of the forest faster than ever before, and cast one final look at the cottage. She would send a healed minion over there to wipe memories as soon as she could, but for now, she had an army to heal. She took a glance at the unconscious pegasus before turning away and flying into the trees, finally feeling victory.
The last piece of the song echoed through the quiet forest, the sounds of night faltering, and with the mare in the moon's ear turned away, it faded slowly as the Queen moved farther and farther away from the cottage, her prize in tow.
What once was mine

Chapter One

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...

When Fluttershy awoke she was alone in a place she did not recognize in the least. Her head hurt like never before, and she was laying on the softest blanket ever. The last thing she remembered before she blacked out was the warm buttery feeling. She didn't remember if her friends came for her or what else happened. She sat up and looked around. Instead of her animals friends surrounding her, she saw nothing but furniture placed carefully around. The room that held her was small, and there was a tiny area that substituted a usually large room. There was a stove in the corner, with pans stacked messily on top of and a sink nearby that. There was a closed cabinet as well, and a clock that hung on the wall. The only exit was a large hole that was covered by two shutters. It was like a doorway, without a door. In another corner there was a large teal wardrobe and beside that, a table and two stools to sit on. There was a bay window on her left, its large velvety drapes drawn. A dress mannequin stood nearby the window, out of place. There was another floor to the strange place, with curving stairs leading into one small room that Fluttershy, from where she sat, could not see into. She looked up and noticed that the place had very high ceilings and many rafters that were exposed. There was another wall that stood in the center of the back of the room, with a large ornate wood door type thing stationed at the very top. At the bottom, there was a hearth and fireplace for when it got cold, with an empty log holder nearby. Dark blue drapes were pulled just by the ornate wood slab, hung by thin golden cloth ropes. The floor was stone and wood in some parts, covered by throw rugs and a strange series of thin pale pink carpeting that covered most of the room.

Fluttershy stood up, finding this a difficult task, without looking down, and her hoof caught something and she slipped and fell into the soft blanket, pain shooting through her.

"Ow!" she cried, and decided quickly to sit for a few more minutes until the pain stopped. It was then that she looked down and saw what the blanket was. It was pale pink, the exact shade of her mane, and it looked like the carpeting that covered the room. It was then that it dawned on her. She was sitting in miles and miles and miles of her pale pink mane. She turned and looked at her tail to discover it had grown in length too. It was everywhere, curling by her hooves and weaving along the ground, and how it had grown as much as it had, Fluttershy hadn't a clue.

"Wha-?" she began to say in confusion, when she caught somepony lurking in the shadows. Fear shot through her, and she saw it slowly move toward her. Looking for place to hide, the pegasus opened her wings and flew into the air, zipping under the table as fast as she could. Once there she took advantage of her mane and started mounding it around herself for protection. The figure came closer, but didn't come into the dim light of late afternoon. It moved along the shadows, and finally made its way just by the table Fluttershy was under. She held her breath as sweat trickled down her face. Then, much to her surprise, the figure above her laughed and stepped into the light.

As it did Fluttershy saw a large black pony with holes dotting her entire body and hooves. She had hole clad gossamer wings and a jagged hole covered horn. Her mane was sheer and turquoise, as was her tail, and her eyes twinkled a bright and luminous green. She had fangs, a sly smile, and a devilish look about her. This pony's appearance only made Fluttershy tremble more. Then, for a brief second, Fluttershy recognized the strange alicorn. A foe that Fluttershy saw catapulted out of Canterlot a long time ago.

"Chrysalis?" she said softly, letting it roll off her tongue. The changeling queen turned and looked straight at the wimpy pegasus.

"Oh yes. You're awake." said the Queen, and without another word, ignited her horn a scary green hued magic and levitated the pegasus out from under the table, Fluttershy crying out in fear, her long mane trailing after her. Once in front of the Queen and the magic around her had relented, Fluttershy sought to run away again, and maybe get out in the process, but again the Queen used her magic to bring the pegasus closer to face her. Instead of keeping her in the same place, though, Queen Chrysalis made a cage magically appear from thin air and then swung the pegasus in the air without giving her a chance to fly off and Fluttershy, remembering her childhood when the coaches would randomly shove her off a cliff, her wings snapped shut and she fell down into the cage with a soft bump. Once inside, she again wrapped herself in her mane and peered fearfully out of a small slit she had allowed.

"That's better, isn't it?" asked the Queen, menacingly.
"Are you gonna eat me?" asked Fluttershy, softly, fear clutching her stomach. To this the Queen gave a rather hearty laugh.

"I would, pony, I would. But you're more useful to me alive than dead." replied the Queen.
"You have swallowed, or as I suspect, DRUNKEN my flower. I have tried to cut it out of you, but it seems to have dissolved in your mane and tail, resulting in its length. Your mane has special powers of healing, and thus you will heal my army."

"B-B-But, my friends...they will come looking for me." said Fluttershy, softly still, more braver than she felt. Again, Queen Chrysalis gave another hearty laugh.

"By now the changelings I have healed while you've been unconscious have wiped your friend's memories. You are gone in your friend's minds, and if they find out otherwise I will suck the life out of them for opposing me again." spat the Queen.

"As for you, you will be held here until I decide what to do with you. You will heal my entire army, and then we will leave and you will be freed. But for now, I'm keeping you here. I'll be in whenever I feel like it three times a day to feed you, because as I said, you're more use to me alive than dead. In these times I will heal my changelings one by one."

"W-W-Why don't you just....c-c-cut my mane and tail off?" whimpered Fluttershy. She could live without her mane and tail for a little bit if it meant going free. Going back to her friends.....

"I already tried, believe me." said the Queen, and used her magic to yank a lock of Fluttershy's mane into Fluttershy's face. After wincing in pain, Fluttershy studied the lock. It looked fine, except that it was colored a deep and ugly brown. It was the only lock of mane that wasn't colored pink, and it was the only one that had jagged edges where it had been cut. In light of this new information, Fluttershy still cowered and felt the new information pull at her heartstrings. Her friends.....they wouldn't remember her anymore? She couldn't bare the thought, and almost began to cry when Queen Chrysalis began to speak more.

"You'll get bored, I'm sure, so I've left you chores and some other things for you to do. And don't think this kindness is any consolation for you. You're still my prisoner, and if you weren't magically powered I'd happily feed off you. Anyway, I must be going. I have better things to do." the Queen turned away from the magic cage, and she ignited her horn again and destroyed the cage she had made and Fluttershy fell to the ground again.

"Why don't y-y-you wipe m-m-my memory?" blubbered Fluttershy, fat tears now streaming down her cheeks.
"Why, to leave you with these fond memories, of course." said the Queen, and walked toward the exit. She used her magic to open the shutters, letting the golden light of the sunset fill the room. The Queen opened her hole filled wings and flew semi gracefully out of the room. Before her prisoner could react, the Queen lowered her horn right by the exit and from it a bolt of green hued magic shot out and hit the open space that separated Fluttershy from the Queen. Instead of hitting Fluttershy(who cowered), it hit the space and formed around it, the magic fizzled around the exit, and sparkled slightly. The Queen cackled as she flew away and out of Fluttershy's eyesight.

Before Fluttershy could move or scream or do anything, the sadness consumed her, and she released herself from her mane and put her head in her hooves, and began to cry.

Little did Fluttershy or Queen Chrysalis know, the changeling that was said to be sent to wipe Fluttershy's friends' memories never did make it to Fluttershy's cottage, because it was spotted by another creature of the Everfree forest, one more menacing than Chrysalis herself, and this creature took the changeling against its will, and the changeling, though fought for its life, was taken and ended up becoming this mighty creature's lunch. The mane six, now five, was safe. At least, until Queen Chrysalis found out.

When Twilight Sparkle awoke, her head hurt like nopony's business. Her memory flooded back to her, and then she about jumped up in realization. She had come by unaccompanied to see Fluttershy about meeting her and her animal friends for waffles sometime next Tuesday, but instead found the pegasus passed out on the floor, and all her animal friends with her. Twilight took one look at her passed out friend and ran out of the cottage to tell her other friends. Soon they were all there, wondering what to do. Then, according to Twilight's memory, they all felt the same weird feeling and all of them, one by one, passed out on the floor for some unknown reason. Now she had woken up again, and she sat up slowly and looked around the room. Her friends were around her as well, still passed out, and all the animals were as well. She looked around the room, expecting to see her butter yellow pegasus friend in the same place she was before, but instead, all Twilight saw was the floorboards, and a single pale pink strand of mane. In surprise, the violet unicorn was on her hooves in seconds. She galloped over to the nearest friend she could see, which was Applejack, and gave the farmer a hard shake.

"Applejack!" she said at once, and the farmer gradually snapped out of her trance.
"Wha?" she exclaimed, suddenly and groggily, as if everything were coming in to focus.

"Applejack, its Fluttershy." said Twilight, urgently, her eyes snapping over to the place where the pegasus had once lay.
"She's still not wakin' up?" asked Applejack, still groggy.

"No! She's gone!" said Twilight, and once Applejack got wind of that, she too was on her hooves in an instant.
Together they both began to go about the room and wake their other friends, which all of them sort of gave the exact same response. Soon they were all around the place where their pegasus friend had once lay, at the exact same conclusion they were at the night before: nothing.

"Where...where is she?" asked Applejack, carefully, examining the place where Fluttershy had been.
"I'm not sure. First we find her passed out, and now this." responded Twilight, worriedly.

"Maybe she ran away?" suggested Pinkie, who had also become as worried as the others.
"Why would she do that? She was passed out when we last saw her." remarked Rainbow, doubting that somepony unconscious could snap out of their trance in a second to run off. And as far as they all knew, Fluttershy was very contented. Then, without warning, a gasp sounded across the room and all eyes turned to the source; their other unicorn friend.

"Or...somepony took her!" said Rarity, her eyes wide. Pinkie and Applejack gasped as well, but Rainbow and Twilight remained unfazed.

"Why would somepony take Fluttershy?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I don't know. I wish I had some sort of clue as to why. But then again, if somepony did take her, then why would they have left her unconscious for us to find? Maybe they wanted to get revenge on all of us for something?" inquired Twilight,and as she turned around to look for more evidence, a flash of pink caught her eye. Confused, she slowly walked over to it for a better look, and once she was directly in front of it, she used her magic to levitate it closer to her vision. It was a long and graceful piece of somepony's mane, and it shimmered pink under the immense amount of light in Fluttershy's cottage.

"Twilight? What is it?" asked Applejack, carefully.
"What do you make of this?" returned Twilight, and levitated it generally in the middle of where everypony was standing. Gasping, everypony reached around for a piece of their own mane.

"It's definitely not one of ours....." said Rainbow, tossing her rainbow colored mane back behind her head.
"I'll bet it's Fluttershy's! Only she has pretty long and pink mane like that! I saw everypony's manes on that train to Canterlot that one time for the baking competition, rahmember? It has to be hers!" insisted Pinkie, tossing her mane back in its resting place as well.

"So it is..." said Twilight, and inspected it carefully once more. It was true that none of her other friends had mane such as this, but why would their friend run off like that? Unless...unless Rarity's assumption was true?

"I just don't understand..." said Twilight softly. The rest of her friends gathered around her protectively and studied the mane piece along with the purple unicorn. Worry swirled and danced and filled the room, and the usual playful aura felt in Fluttershy's cottage was extinguished almost completely.

"You don't think it's Discord, do you?" asked Rarity, putting a hoof to the side of her face worriedly.
"Moi? Why in Equestria why would you all think such a thing?" said a voice from nowhere. Then, as if on cue, the draconequus materialized from thin air above Fluttershy's couch. The five friends sprung into action, formating and putting anger on their faces. They should have known it was the work of this trickster.

"Discord!" challenged Twilight, still levitating the mane piece.
"What have you done with Fluttershy?"

"I've done nothing with her." said the draconequus, and then a halo materialized around Discord's head innocently.
"Yeah, right. We know you've kidnapped her!" said Rainbow Dash, angrily.

"I'm reformed, as you all seem to forget, so naturally I wouldn't kidnap a friend. I came by Fluttershy's for a harmless visit, but then I see you all here and decide to see what all the fuss is about." replied Discord calmly, and rearraged himself on the couch comfortably.

"He looks pretty shifty to me, Twilight." said Pinkie, going over and looking the spirit of chaos over.
"If you're not here to be mean, didn't you at least bring me some chocolate milk rain? With maybe a dollop of whipped cream this time?"

"Do ya at least know anythin' about Fluttershy's possible kidnappin'?" asked Applejack, ignoring Pinkie's comment.

"Why, of course not. I told you, I've only just got here. There was somepony or something walking around last night, but that was probably Princess Luna, yes?" he asked, slyly.

"Where was this something going?" asked Twilight, eyes softening ever so slightly.
"The Everfree Forest, of course. The only place decent enough in Equestria." replied Discord, examining his eagle claw.

"Then you wouldn't mind going on the search with us, would you?" demanded Rainbow, sticking her muzzle in Discord's face. He pushed her away, stuck his tongue out at her and then faced Twilight once more.

"I suppose I'll go with you ponies. You all are always good for a laugh."

Though the tower was a place of confinement, Fluttershy found one thing that made her a little bit happy. A cameleon, one small and green, wandered in the tower one day and saw the pegasus crying. He stayed there and tried his best to comfort her without speaking. He stroked her mane with his little green feet and gurgled occasionally. He then stayed when she stopped crying, and she thanked him for being there. It had been almost four days since Fluttershy had been brought to the tower, and already it had felt like she had been there a thousand years. Chrysalis had left her chores, but didn't seem to care if Fluttershy did them or not. Fluttershy did them anyway, not about to take the risk of being yelled at by the ruthless queen. True to her word, however, the Queen did bring Fluttershy food, and it wasn't as horrible as she thought it would be. The Queen dropped by on the first full day Fluttershy was captive and said she didn't want Fluttershy to get sick and risk loosing the healing power, so the Queen would give her healthy and good food from then on. But while the food was a small kind consolation, the Queen also brought in her changelings to be healed everyday. The Queen would pop in at any time she pleased and bring a wounded changeling on her back with her up to the tower. If Fluttershy wasn't terrified of the changelings, she would have felt sorry for the poor creatures. After they were healed, however, they turned as menacing as Fluttershy remembered, and Chrysalis would leave without another look at Fluttershy. Fluttershy was thankful whenever they left, leaving her to her peaceful tower.

However, every day became more saddened and brittle for Fluttershy. She became empty and pale. Without her friends and the animals there wasn't much Fluttershy could feel happy for, minus her new friend. She wondered every day what her friends were up to, and if her animals remembered her. She wondered what part of the farm Applejack was harvesting, what books Princess Celestia sent Twilight to read, and what parties Pinkie was planning and what dresses Rarity was sewing. She longed to fly with Rainbow(or at least fly behind Rainbow) and to feel the sun on her face and the air rushing into her mouth and drying it out. She longed to see Angel and her cottage, Elizabeak and Hummingway, and all the animals that made her happy, but with each passing minute the weight of reality bogged her down. The only thing besides her new cameleon friend(whom she had named Pascal) was the large cedar chest of paints and brushes that Chrysalis had somehow forgotten to mention. There were all sorts of happy colors, and for days after finding them Fluttershy would only look at them and begin to sob. The colors reminded her strongly of Rainbow Dash, and thinking of one friend made her remember they may not ever remember her again, and the weight began all over again.

So, to commemorate this sadness, Fluttershy picked up a brush and coated the empty walls with pictures of her friends. All of them together, and each of them specifically. She painted her life and everything about it: her friends, her home, her animals, her cutie mark, her element, Discord, her smiling, everything. By looking at these paintings they made her very sad, yes, but it also gave her a sense of peace and hope. That one day she would be let go, and she would return to her friends, and after convincing them she was their long lost friend, Twilight preform the memory spell on each of them, and they would all remember. And things would return to normal, including her mane and tail.

The sudden growth of her mane and tail at first scared Fluttershy, but the more she sat with it, the more it didn't bother her. It just weirded her out. She didn't remember doing anything to cause it to be like it was, and she didn't understand why she had blacked out in the first place. All she remembered was trying to stay conscious to go for help, but the warm buttery feeling knocked all her animals out and her along with it. But the more Fluttershy pondered, the more her brain would hurt from confusion. Before long Fluttershy had a routine going, and to keep herself from crying or laying around being miserable, the pegasus had made up a song for herself, one which she hummed throughout the days. (song:When Will My Life Begin
Seven a.m., my usual morning lineup
I'll start on the chores and clean till the tower's nice
Polish and laundry, wax and sweep up
Sweep again and by then its like seven thirteen
So I'll read a book
Or maybe none at all
I'll heal a changeling, there
And then I'll paint the wall
I'll fail at dancing, sure and maybe watch outside
Just wonder when will I be free.

Then after lunch it's healing and darts and thinking
Paper mache, maybe ballet, no chess.
Pottery, maybe ventriloqy, candle making,
Then I'll sketch, maybe stretch, take a fly, try a dress!!
And I'll reread the books if I'm not in pain
I'll paint the walls some more, maybe a candy cane
And then I'll brush and brush and brush and brush my mane
Been stuck in here all day
And I'll keep wondering and wondering and wondering and wondering
When will I be free?

Tomorrow night
Another day will go
Just like it does; my pain only grows
What are they doing?
Oh how I miss them......
Maybe just maybe
She might just let me go?

Three quiet figures manuevered alongside the walls of the majestic Canterlot castle. It should have been nighttime, so the figures would have been cloaked more easily, but no thief ever pulled a heist off easily. It was actually midday, and guards of all kinds were alongside the magnificent builiding. What the figures wanted was inside the castle; the most protected item in the entire place. It was a golden tiara, the crown of not a princess, but of a high honor. The crown represented pure kindness, and could only be wore by a pony of such. Of course, the tiara had been tried on by many a kind pony, but the tiara would only made to fit one. It was said that if a pony of pure kindness was found, all evil would be destroyed and good would prevail always. There was rumor of such a pony, and the princesses had searched for her for a long time, almost fifteen years. She was rumored to be still in Equestria and alive, and to celebrate this belief, every year on the pony's inferred birth, the princesses and the citizens of Canterlot would release millions of paper lanterns into the sky, thinking that the pony would see them in the sky and come. But no such pony ever came, and every year chances dwindled. So day by day the magnificent crown was guarded, and every day it collected more and more dust. To keep its magnificent sheen, however, it was polished once a week to keep from tarnishing. It was truly a thing of beauty, pure gold with curls in its design, with tiny delicate diamonds placed carefully in in a pristine pattern around the crown's outline, all circulating around a rose quartz, the very thing symbolizing pure kindness. It was also said that when the true pony came into Canterlot, the quartz would glow so brightly the entire kingdom of Canterlot would be illuminated and seen from a thousand miles away.

Besides being the ultimate honor, it was also seen by some as the ultimate prize. The pure gold and diamonds would surely fetch a lot of bits, more than some thieves had ever seen before in their lives. This was the ultimate goal of the three figures as they held on for dear lives onto the Canterlot castle walls. They would sell the crown and forever be rich.

They each slowly climbed up the roof and were perched atop it, overlooking Canterlot and all below and around. Two figures pulled off their magic camouflage cloaks(stolen from a rich unicorn who invented things in the mountains; it had the ability to take the outside form of anything and camouflage any user; it still had some bugs in the spell. Why the unicorn had more than one was still a mystery) and began to look around the roof for possible entrances. They were twins, each with similiar fox cutie marks and carrot orange coats. They had unruly black and grey manes and matching tails and menacing blue eyes. They were earth ponies, and the only way that one could tell them apart was that one of them had scars all over his face, an eye patch, and didn't speak at all. The other twin did all the talking, and when he did speak it was limited. The other figure pulled off his magic cloak's hood and stared out the beautiful view. Unlike his fellow thieves he was a dark grey in color with a white and pale blue mane. He was a pegasus, but his wing had been injured in the last heist he and the twins had pulled. His eyes were light chocolate brown, and he smiled as they swept across the beautiful landscape. He wore a magic camouflage cloak, same as they did.

"Wow...." he said aloud, loud enough for his twin partners in crime to hear. The twins didn't take any notice, and the one with the eye patch tapped his hoof around the roof tiles, looking for weak spots. The pegasus kept looking at the view and didn't pay any attention to the twins.

"I could get used to a view like this."
"Lane! Come on!" said the twin who usually spoke.

"Hang on." said the pegasus. He took one more huge eyeful.
"There. I'm used to it." he turned to the twins.

"Guys, I really want a castle. Have you ever wanted one?" The twin who usually spoke smirked. The twins had found a place to enter the castle.

"Once we finish this job you'll have enough bits to buy your very own. Now let's go!"
The colt rolled his eyes and trotted away from the overlook. The twins then pulled a rope from a saddlebag hidden underneath the cloaks secured a thin rope around his middle and opened a rusted roof tile. This tile obviously hadn't been changed in a while, which made it easier for the twins to open it and slip the colt inside. Before sending him down, however, the eyepatched twin tossed the colt a worn leather satchel, a beloved item they always carried to put stolen things in safely. It was patched and scuffed in many places because of often use. Clutching the satchel, the colt slipped safely through.

He was lowered into a large and spacious room. There were windows everywhere, adding delicate and gorgeous light to dance and fill the room at every angle. There were expensive and well made long tapestries that hung from the rafters that looked hoof made. There were equal amounts of tapestries with Princess Celestia's cutie mark and Princess Luna's, to show their joint ruling. And there, directly below him, was the magnificent crown, resting on an overstuffed satin purple pillow, the pillow resting on a wooden pedestal. But, not only was there a lot of light and beauty in the room, there were also an impressive array of guards. They were in a perfect fan in front of where the crown lay. They all wore golden armor, symbolizing that they were Princess Celestia's guards.

The twins slowly and quietly lowered the colt down farther, and soon he was directly above the crown; one more inch could make him fall. He was so close to the guards he could hear them breathing slowly and evenly. He froze the rest of his body, and slowly reached one hoof down to retrieve the crown when a loud sneeze pierced the silence. One of the guards directly in front of the colt had sneezed, causing the rest of the guards to jump ever so slightly.

"Ugh. Hay fever?" asked the colt, pleasantly. He got his hooves on the gorgeous crown and placed it in the satchel as carefully and as hurriedly as he could manage. Expecting the guard to react, the colt tugged on the rope twice to let the twins know he had it. He was halfway up the room before the guard realized.

"How'd you guess?" asked the guard, to no one.
"Who are you talking to?" remarked another, examining his fellow guard. The rest of them stirred as well.

"Him." said the guard, absentmindedly, pointing a hoof in the colt's previous direction. Then the reality hit him. He whipped around, spear at the ready.

"Where are-" he started to demand, but then realized nopony was there. He looked up and saw one black hoof disappearing into the open sky above.

"Get him!" yelled the guard, and the array of guards sprang into action, five leaving the room and two staying behind.

The twins and colt got off the castle faster than anything, and were galloping as fast as they could away from Canterlot, towards the train station. They were in the train before anypony could say anything, and with that, the train hummed to life and was out of the station before the guards could reach the thieves. The thieves found an empty car nearest the caboose and settled in. They panted for twenty minutes, standing erect and motionless, and when nopony came after them, they sighed. They found seats away from each other and rested their sore hooves. The colt looked out the window and saw Canterlot castle once more. He sighed, wistfully and slyly.

"Can't you two think of me in a castle of my very own?" When the twins only glared at him, he smirked and continued.
"I can. Well, you know what they say. All the stuff we've seen and it's only half past nine! What a day this will be!" He said triumphantly, thrusting the satchel in the air.

The mane six, now five, including Spike and Discord, decided to leave as soon as possible to find Fluttershy. They all prepared supplies and saddlebags for the trip. Rarity was advised(or rather, demanded) to pack as lightly as she could, and she was limited to one small bag that she herself would carry on her back. Spike, however, volunteered to carry that one small bag, and Rarity happily allowed it, so the matter was settled. Discord, though not needing to bring a saddlebag at all, brought one anyway, although it wasn't really a saddlebag by nature. It was more like a rucksack, one worn and a sandy brown. It was made of burlap and Discord had only placed a few items inside; all of which the mane five didn't get glimpses of. The first place to start looking was in, of course, the Everfree forest. Twilight had packed a reasonable amount, a few books and a field guide on all strange monsters and other creatures, food and water, and other bits and bobs here and there, including the mane piece just in case. She went to bed early, and advised Spike to do the same, much to his protest.

They all met at Fluttershy's cottage to feed the animals and say goodbye to the animals as well that morning. They all brought their saddlebags, and just before they entered the Everfree, Twilight began with her usual pep talk.

"Alright everypony. We're venturing now into the Everfree forest." she said, hiding the fear in her voice.
"Obviously." said Rainbow, under her breath. Tempers had been very high since Fluttershy had disappeared, and all were anxious, scared, and worried.

"I do hope I brought enough plastic protective boots. I simply cannot have that awful dirt on me," complained Rarity. The pristine unicorn was fashionably dressed, with a mud skirt and a purple blouse. She wore her hair piled up and away from her face, and she wore purple plastic protective low rise boots on all four hooves. She wore cute purple sunglasses, three hoop earrings in each ear, and a look of sheer worry. Her one saddlebag was stuffed to the brim, and Spike's face could barely be seen over it's volume. Besides her saddlebag she also brought her tent, which she would allow each of her friends to sleep in.

"I am positive we will bring Fluttershy back safe and sound. Now that you're here, Discord, since you're accompanying us on this trip, you have to promise to behave yourself." said Twilight, carefully.

The draconequus was a few minutes late to Fluttershy's, and wore a visor, a puffy orange vest, forest green parachute pants with pockets galore, and a camera around his neck.

"Behave? I hardly know the meaning of the word." he said. Twilight cast a glare at Discord, and remarkably, the draconequus was quiet. Twilight gave a huge sigh, and took a step inside the mighty Everfree, and everypony followed.

Even in the soft daylight, the Everfree still looked as mysterious and foreboding as it did at night. Mist hung on the branches of trees, and there was a strange yet peaceful morning quiet. The girls walked in a line of pairs and one trio, Twilight and Discord up front, Rarity and Spike behind them, and Pinkie and Applejack bringing up the rear. Rainbow Dash flew somewhere just above the middle of the pack, and surveyed what could be seen from the air. Twilight didn't particularly want to walk next to Discord; she would prefer if he brought up the rear with Applejack and Pinkie, but she figured if she asked him to go to the back he'd shoot stuff at her head just to annoy her. There wasn't much to talk about, so the group pressed on in silence until the spirit of chaos broke the silence.

"So...none of you remember what happened when you last saw Fluttershy?"
"No, not really. We ran in, and then she was gone. I guess I must have fallen asleep or fainted, because the next thing I knew it was morning, and I was on the floor." said Twilight, not meeting the spirit of chaos's gaze.

"Her animal friends were just fine, though, so she couldn't have been gone for very long." said Rarity, worriedly.
"We should have made her a care package!" said Pinkie, biting her lip.

"Everypony calm down. I'm sure she's fine." said Applejack, carefully.
"Let's hope wherever she is, she's not crying in a corner somewhere."

Chapter Two

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"...Twenty eight...Twenty nine...Thirty!!! Ready or not, here I come!" said Fluttershy, and opened her eyes. They swept the tower, but there was no trace of Fluttershy's little green friend, until Fluttershy saw a little green tail zip behind the flowerpot Fluttershy kept on the windowsill. There was silence except for the soft hum of Chrysalis's magic. Flying softly across the room, Fluttershy, she stood in front of the windowsill and pretended to survey the outside.

"Hmm....I thought for sure Pascal was hiding up here..." she said, and pretended to trot away, when she heard a little noise, like a little chuckle. Then, without hesitation, Fluttershy took a lock of her mane, threw it over the flowerpot with surprisingly good precision, and got hold of the chameleon's tail. She grabbed the lock that held Pascal and hoisted it up to her eyes and giggled softly.

"Gotcha!" she said, triumphantly, and Pascal squealed in shock.
"So......what is that? What's the score?" Fluttershy asked the cameleon, smiling.

Pascal smirked, and then pointed his tail at the wall, where there was a chart painted in purple paint. On one side, it had Fluttershy's name with a few tallies, and the other it had Pascal's. Fluttershy, with Pascal still in her hooves, flew over to the chart and examined it.

"That's another point for me....wanna do a tiebreaker?" she asked, softly, finding her paintbrush and painting another line on the wall on her side. Pascal gurgled a low sound, which Fluttershy took as a no.

"Well...what else would you rather do?" inquired the pegasus, blowing her mane out of her face. Pascal smiled(if chameleons could) and used his tail once more to point outward, beyond Fluttershy's prison and outside. Her eyes followed his tail, and her face fell.

"No...we can't do that today." she said, looking at the chameleon sadly. His face contorted into frustration, and he took one last glance outside.

"Well...it's not so bad in here. I guess it just takes a little getting used to." said Fluttershy, and landed on the stone floor. Before Pascal could answer, however, Fluttershy's butter yellow ears perked up. She heard movement outside...which meant Chrysalis must be there for mid-morning healing. Fluttershy didn't have much to hate in life, but she supposed she finally had something to. She hated how Chrysalis spoke to her, as if she were lower than the dirt. She hated how Chrysalis shamelessly used her for her own nefarious purposes...and then left Fluttershy in a dark place to do chores. Fluttershy's only hope was that her friends would somehow remember her...even after Chrysalis had told her that they wouldn't. Fluttershy clung to the hope that when she was released(or if she escaped), that she could go to her home and help her friends remember...even if that meant completely rebuilding their friendships. The movement outside got louder, and before Fluttershy knew it a familiar menacing voice was ringing through the near empty tower. She sprang into action, and took Pascal to a corner by the makeshift kitchen. They had done this before, so he went right into his hiding place, and Fluttershy resumed her place at the opening of the tower.

"Pony! Let us in." demanded the Queen.
"Couldn't you just...fly up?" called Fluttershy, softly.

"Are you mouthing off at me?" came the reply.
"No....it's just....I can't get out."

"Fine! I have to do everything around here." griped the Queen, and moments later she was looking Fluttershy straight in the eye from beyond the green barrier. The Queen ignited her horn and pointed it at the barrier, and her green magic shot out of the hole clad horn and hit the barrier, causing it to open. The Queen was not alone, as usual, and she carried yet another one of her subjects on her back. She entered the tower, and didn't say a word to Fluttershy as she set the wounded changeling down. Fluttershy gave the Queen a wide berth, refusing to go near and bother her. After the changeling was safely on the cool stone floors, the Queen looked at Fluttershy, and Fluttershy couldn't determine whether the Queen was glaring at her or looking at her with great urgency. Fluttershy wasn't going to wait around to figure it out, so she went over to the changeling and sat nearby it. She took some long locks of her pale pink mane and placed them around the wounded being. When the locks almost covered the changeling, Fluttershy opened her mouth and began to sing the healing incantation.
Flower, gleam and glow
Let your power shine
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine

Just as before Fluttershy's mane ignited, and every strand began to glow with a warm and powerful light. The magic slowly spread through every inch of her mane, and was around the changeling in seconds. Fluttershy looked away, refusing to look at the creature when it came to, and kept singing with all her might.
Heal what has been hurt
Change the fate's design
Save what has been lost
Bring back what once was mine
What once was mine

Fluttershy finished the incantation, and her mane stopped glowing, the light extinguishing as fast as it had come. The changeling was fully healed for now, and it opened its hideous pale blue eyes and stared right at Fluttershy with a certain interest. The Queen went up to the changeling and waved Fluttershy away, who was happy to get out of the surrounding area. She opened her wings, grabbed as much of her mane and tail as she could in her hooves, and retreated to the upstairs, where she hid in the bedroom. She peeked through the curtains, and gathered up her mane by dragging it slowly, like she were pulling a rope, up the stairs and into where she was. The Queen took no mind of Fluttershy, and Fluttershy's fear reawakened as the Queen spoke to the healed changeling.

"So good to have you back, my loyal subject." said the Queen, triumphantly, like she herself had healed the changeling.
"Yes, your majesty." said the changeling, in a high pitched voice that sounded like claws going down a chalkboard.

"Now, you will accompany me out. We'll leave my prisoner alone for now." said the Queen, and cast a sneer at Fluttershy's trembling figure. The changeling followed the Queen in sneering, and both opened their wings and flew out the opening. Once she was out, Fluttershy could barely see it, but she saw the Queen ignite her horn and once again trap her inside. Then, silence resumed, just as it had done before.

The three thieves ran out of the train station as fast as their hooves could carry them, the pegasus still holding the satchel triumphantly. They knew for sure that the guards would be coming after them, and possibly not even on the next train. Perhaps they were flying after them right now, bringing reinforcements along with them. The three had to hurry. They found a back road behind the station running around a small town called Ponyville, and decided to take it to avoid unwanted attention. The back road was a simple dirt road that ran into a huge thicket of trees. It clearly hadn't been used in a while, because there was severe undergrowth crowding the path. Even though it was daylight, the pegasus holding the satchel couldn't see much light in the dark thicket ahead. The three stood in front of the thicket, panting for a few minutes, as if debating whether to go inside or to go through the town. The pegasus spotted two scraps of something on a nearby tree, and galloped over to it. Recognizing what it was, he ripped one of the scraps off the tree's stump and examined it while going back to his comrades.

"No, no, no, no!" he said softly, examining the parchment.
"It's terrible, you guys. It's really bad...you won't believe it." he said, looking up at them. They looked at him, expectantly, still panting. He turned the parchment around and they saw it. It was a WANTED poster, one they had seen before, with the black letters across the top and the reward at the bottom and a crude depiction of the criminal in the middle. The drawing showed a picture of what appeared to be the pegasus standing before them, except the drawing pegasus's mane stuck out at odd and bizarre angles as opposed to the real pegasus's mohawk type style. Sighing heavily, the pegasus spoke.

"They just can't get my mane right!" he said, almost whining.
"Who cares?" asked the older twin, darkly.

"That's easy for you to say." said the pegasus, going over to the tree where he had found the poster and found the other one depicting his comrades.

"HALT!" came a strong, billowing, and slightly faint voice from behind them. They all whipped around, knocked out of their trance, and saw flashes of light from high and far away in the sky. It was fuzzy, and the pegasus holding the satchel and parchment squinted to make out what had told them to stop. The three thieves were slowly backed into the underbrush to get a better look at what was after them when pegasus holding the satchel got an idea. He stuffed the parchment into the satchel and turned to one of his comrades.

"Gimme a boost real quick," he said, and one of them came over. He bowed beside the pegasus, and the pegasus took this opportunity to get onto his comrade's back. The comrade grunted to support the pegasus's weight, but the pegasus ignored this. Once on, he peered as best he could past the dark forest's canopy. Sure enough, flying quickly, were at least ten golden armor clad guards, and though they seemed far away, the pegasus knew they could be on them in a second if they didn't hurry. The pegasus jumped off his comrade's back, and landed with a soft thump on his hooves in the dirt. He looked at both of them, wiped sweat off his brow, and turned in the direction of the forest opening. He could see beams of the sun shining through the heavy canopy here and there, and enough light.

"Let's go!" he said, and galloped off, deeper and deeper into the underbrush, his comrades following close behind.
The flying guards following behind them had seen the thieves go into the forest, and flew one by one into it, their eyes adjusting to the limited light. Once inside they pursued the thieves, who they could barely see but could hear very well from the pounding of hooves on the dirt. The three thieves galloped deeper and deeper into the forest, kicking up dirt and leaves as they went, and dodging fallen trees and overgrown weeds that blocked their path. They were panting so hard that spittle was also flying everywhere, mixing with the debris, and the pegasus carrying the satchel felt exhausted. His chest was screaming and there was a strange sensation in his upper body, like he had just eaten a brick. He was breathing so fast that if somepony nearby were to hear, they would think he was hyperventilating, and he was sure that if he stopped now, he would keel over. In fact, he was so fatigued that when he ran by a tree branch, it swung out and scraped something on his back. He knew it to be the satchel, and he turned around to inspect the damage. There was a tear in the satchel's strap, so the pegasus tried to wrap it more tightly around himself, and galloped on.

He and his two comrades continued to gallop with all their might, and as they rounded a corner, light flooded their eyes and their senses. Surprised, the pegasus stopped abruptly and closed his eyes from the brightness. Dust went everywhere as the two comrades stopped abruptly as well, almost bumping into the pegasus. The three found themselves looking at an enormous stone niche, that almost looked like a wall. It was in a clearing all its own, with the trees stopping behind the three, and it was higher than the three of them standing on top of each other at least. The pegasus looked up as best he could beyond the stone wall, and he could see more forest continuing from there. He looked around, then turned around and addressed his two panting comrades.

"Okay, you guys. If you two will give me a boost, I can pull you both up from up there." he said, and pointed. After hearing this, the pegasus expected the two of them to spring into action, but instead he watched them share a look. The one who did all the talking and the older of the two faced the pegasus before speaking.

"Fine, but give us the satchel first." he said, and held out a carrot orange hoof. Seeing this, the pegasus's hooves flew to the satchel's strap, almost protectively.

"What? But...I..." the pegasus stammered, still clutching the strap.
"Do you two not trust me, after all we have done so far?" he asked, and felt a surge of betrayal. The twins didn't say anything, and they both wore a flat look to show they were serious. Seeing a flash of light in the forest behind them, he slowly took the satchel over his head and off himself and placed it in his comrade's hoof.

"We don't have time to stand around. Let's go!" he said, watching his comrade put the satchel around himself, not notcing the tear. His partners sprang into action, the youngest twin taking a place against the stone. The stone seemed to be facing north, the guards were coming from the south, and the twin was facing west. The second twin, the one holding the satchel, got atop the younger, the younger grunting in pain from the weight of his brother. The pegasus was the last to go, and he tried to hurry without being caught. He knew the guards could reach them at any moment. He climbed up the twin's makeshift ladder, all the while hearing the twins grunt in pain from his weight. On the way, he pretended to accidentally fall ever so slightly on the younger twin's good eye, causing a yelp of pain from the younger and a reprimand from the older. The pegasus played dumb and yelled apologies down after him and continued going up.

When he reached the older twin ever so quietly and without the older twin noticing, the pegasus outstretched his good wing, reached it out as far as it could go, near to where the older twin had it fastened, and the pegasus went slightly slower to get it off the older twin. The pegasus found the tear with his eyes, and eased his wing around it. In one swift movement he shot his good wing up, and the satchel's strap tore, allowing him to take the satchel quickly and hide it with his wings. He climbed up over the older twin and climbed a little more, all the while sweat and fear pulsing all around his body, and fumbled along the stone until finally reaching the top. He felt the soft grass around his tired hooves, and wanted to collapse then and there. He set the satchel beside him where he knew the twins could not see it, and sat there panting for a second or two. A voice came over the side of the stone, and the pegasus remembered what he was supposed to do.

"Hey! Thundersqueak!" said the older twin, and the pegasus grimaced at the demeaning nickname the older had given him a while back. He poked his head out of his hiding spot and almost came face to face with the two brothers, who hadn't moved from their positions. The older was craning to see the pegasus where he stood, and the younger's good eye was puffed up and red, tears streaming out of it from where the pegasus had stepped on it.

"Help us up there!" the older demanded, rotating himself on his brother ever so slightly so that he could face the pegasus and throwing up a carrot orange hoof. The pegasus panted slightly, saw a faint flash of gold and heard wings flap softly, and reached for the satchel and got it in his hooves. He smirked slyly and looked down at the older, who seemed to be getting angry through his fear.

"Sorry....my hooves are full." the pegasus said slyly, held up the satchel triumphantly, and turned and galloped away, securing it under his bad wing, where he knew it wouldn't be harmed. Getting an eyeful of this, the older twin looked down and around himself, as if to see the satchel once strapped firmly there.

"What?!" he asked, aloud, exasperated. He couldn't begin to believe what had just happened. Seeing that the double crossing thief was gone, he angrily shouted after the pegasus in hopes that the pegasus would come back and help like he agreed.

"THUNDERLANE!!"
The sound of the older twin's yelling reached Thunderlane very quickly, but he didn't think of stopping. He knew the guards were almost right behind him, and he had to find a place to hide before nightfall if he had any chance of getting to White-Tail Wood in a few days. If he found a place, he would go to the wood as fast as he could, sell the tiara, make a bundle, and settle somewhere remote, rich and happy. They would catch the twin comrades any minute now, and be on Thunderlane like caramel on a candy apple. Through his thoughts, Thunderlane didn't concentrate on where he was going and almost collided with a fallen tree. Thunderlane slowed, jumped over the tree, barely missing it, and got a back hoof-ful of something sticky and warm.

He turned and looked and saw a glob of amber colored tree sap stuck to the back of his hoof. Getting an idea, he quickly peeled a bit off his hoof and took the satchel out from under his bad wing. He got both ends of the broken strap in one hoof, and carefully eased the hoof covered in sap near both ends. He slathered the sap on both ends, then rubbed the sap off of him on his cloak, then stuck the two ends together. They stuck together, and held fast. It wasn't perfect, but it would work until he could get somepony to sew it, or until he stole a new one. He secured the satchel on himself tightly, looked behind him, and saw a quick flash of gold. The guards weren't far behind now, and Thunderlane took this time to gallop away.

Meanwhile, not to far away from where Thunderlane was trying to gallop away to safety, Queen Chrysalis looked out among many healed subjects, fealing more triumphant than ever. She had asked all of her subjects that had been healed so far to meet her in the once grand ballroom of the crumbling castle. Excited chatters filled the room as Chrysalis entered, but as she passed, slowly but surely, a quiet issued around the room. When she reached the head of the room, the room was so quiet, one could hear a pin drop, if possible. She reached the head of the room, outstretched her wings grandly, and faced her audience.

"My loyal subjects!" she said, soon to be victory surging through her chest. The changelings around her acknowledged her, but they knew better to not speak unless directly and individually spoken to.

"It has been a long time since I have seen this many of you this healthy, and it pleases me! Even now, almost every one of us has healed! It will be a short time now before I can truly address you all. That aside, I have called you all here today to discuss tactics about our attack on Canterlot and about your daily healings. As you all know, our prisoner will continue to stay with us and heal us when we need it, but once we take Canterlot, you all will never have to suffer again!" she said, her voice ringing out against the crumbling ballroom.

A low cheer started in the back, but soon all of the changelings took up this cheer, and once again the dissapating ballroom was filled with sound. The changelings were pleased, and the Queen took this pleasure as a sign to continue. She smiled out across her almost completed army, and held up her hole-filled hoof to silence the cheers. Once they had died down, she spoke again.

"We attack Canterlot in almost a week." she said.
"A week, your majesty?" A single voice rang out against the crowd, and many changelings sitting around the speaker turned to see who had spoken. Chrysalis honed her vision on who had spoken, and ever so slightly, her smile faded. It was the old changeling from before, the one who had told her that they move somewhere else for food. Chrysalis hadn't been bothered by him before, but now it seemed he wanted to argue rather than avoid suffering forever.

"Yes, a week." she said to the changeling, and turned back to face the crowd. Now that that was out of the way she would continue with her speech. She opened her mouth to speak, but the old changeling spoke instead.

"Your majesty, with all due respect, I humbly ask why a week would be suitable to wait to attack. Might I suggest more time, perhaps? Two weeks, at least, or a month, if you find that to be okay...."

The Queen turned her gaze to the old changeling, who had risen to his hooves now. Leave it to him to spoil her good mood. He was almost as bad as her prisoner. She put on a look of sheer annoyance and anger, and felt the words pulse out of her before she had a chance to react.

"SILENCE! You old fool! You are not even fit to scrub my back hooves, much less fight in my army, but I healed you because you will somehow be of use to me. A week we will prepare, and in a week will we go. During that week we will heal and train up. We will perfect our magic skills, and stockpile supplies for when we take Canterlot. In fact, if possible, we may even try to get our hooves on some weapons, to best Celestia's guards." she spat in the old changeling's direction, and she watched as he slowly sat back down. She turned away from him and addressed the crowd again, her good mood crushed.

"We will go in a week, my subjects, as I said before. We need supplies, as you all know, and among these will be places of dwelling. Of course you will all have your own homes to infiltrate, and your own ponies to feed off of, but most of you won't be able to enjoy these pleasures for long. Once we have captured Celestia, Luna, and that awful Twilight and her friends, we will dispose of them by either placing them in dungeons or sucking the life out of them. There will be plenty of ponies and guards to go around, so you will not go hungry. Most of you will be around the borders of Canterlot, for security purposes. But, I figure that once Equestria finally realizes that something is up they will come. I'm sure my dear friend Princess Cadence will come, along with Shining Armor.

"They will surely bring guards and such, and when they do most of you will be fighting them. I will take the Princess and Shining Armor. From there we will fight as Equestria comes to us, and soon we will have Equestria, this I am sure of. What you must do is train up, and train hard, and if you do, I assure you we will have Equestria. But until you do, there will be no love to have. Can I trust that each and every one of you, including myself, will work as hard as you can? Together, we will take Equestria?" she asked, her voice ringing out.

Before any changeling could answer, however, the crumbling ballroom's door burst open, and in ran one of Queen Chrysalis's more loyal subjects, Rust. She panted heavily, and from where the Queen stood she could see that Rust was sweating profusely and appeared to be coming back from a run of some sort. The changeling's attention shifted from Chrysalis to the oncoming distraction. Rust came in the door, panted, and the door closed behind her before she could speak.

"Your majesty!" she said, her small voice projecting across the ballroom.
"What is it?" demanded the Queen, fuming because Rust had interrupted her speech.

"Your majesty, we have reports that several ponies are coming extremely close to our base, and fast!"
"What?" The Queen asked.

"Yes, unidentified ponies were seen by one of ours moments ago!"
The Queen's mind sparked in an instant. The changelings began to hastily stir around her. She knew they were itching for a fight and a snack.

"Attention, my subjects!!" shouted the Queen over the stirring. The crowd quieted once more, and she had their attention again.

"I will go and see about these mysterious beings. Perhaps they will run right by, and miss our base. But I will go and see this. If I get caught, they will see only me and not all of you. I leave at once. Dismissed!" she said, hastily, and opened her wings. She lifted herself off the dirty ballroom floor and flew over her subjects, over Rust, past the withering columns, and out the dissapating door.

It was now that the guards could see their culprit in full sight. He was a cloaked pegasus, but his hood was down, and even though they could only see the back of his head, they knew that he was their stallion, from his white-blue mohawk mane style. The head guard turned to those flying around him, all the while dodging trees and other debris the stallion was kicking up.

"Retrieve the satchel at any cost! Capture the thief and we'll put him with the others!" shouted the head guard, dodging a tree.
"Yes, sir!" chorused the guards following behind him.

Thunderlane heard the orders loud and clear, but he was more worried on where he was going. He had been in the Everfree Forest before while trying to get away from his many heists, but he had never been in this particular part before. He swallowed those thoughts, however, and concentrated on the getaway, the satchel firmly by his side. Thunderlane darted this way and that, dodging fallen trees, overgrown weeds, and vegetation that had grown over the narrow path.

The head guard squinted to make out where the path ahead lay, but he couldn't see much of anything. He pulled his crossbow from its place around his neck, and, steadying himself, aimed right at Thunderlane's leg. The other guards around him followed suit, and took their crossbows from themselves as well. The head guard shot first, and when he did, there was a small noise of something kicking off another, and a slim arror shot through the air faster than a bullet. One by one, the other guards fired too, and their arrows shot through the air as well. Meanwhile, Thunderlane, with no idea that the guards were armed, bounded over a fallen tree. He didn't hear the arrows behind him, but he leaped just in time. The arrows, scattered from all different places, landed not on the target, but on the fallen tree. Hearing the noise, Thunderlane galloped away, but turned around ever so slightly to see that the guards were armed and that the arrows they had shot at him landed on a tree.

Thunderlane galloped farther and farther, his sight becoming more limited the farther he went in. However, through the dim light, he saw something coming up into his line of sight. It was a huge and oddly misshapen tree, one that had branches on all sides, but a large pony shaped hole in the middle. He galloped toward it, the tree giving him new hope. The guards behind him didn't see the tree at first, and some of them were aiming their crossbows at Thunderlane when the thief bounded through a hole that they did not get a chance to see. The sounds of their crashes echoed through the suspected empty forest, but one managed to get through. The head guard, though upset about the other guards, he knew his duty was to catch Thunderlane. He would attend to the others once this was accomplished. With this thought fresh in his mind, he pursued Thunderlane as fast as his wings could carry him, not noticing that something else was flying beside him, covered by the trees.

Queen Chrysalis flew dangerously close to the head guard, knowing he was too busy trying to catch somepony than to notice her. She had the lack of light to cloak her, and she flew ahead, towards the other pony. In his effort to get away, Thunderlane didn't notice the Queen either, and instead looked behind him to see how far away the head guard was. The Queen knew that these two were dangerously close to where her army and prisoner were, so she debated with herself as she flew along, dodging trees and other debris. Should she knock these two ponies unconscious, or wait until they slowed down, exhausted, to take them back to her camp? She got so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the oncoming events. Thunderlane found a vine ahead of him, grabbed it, and propelled himself into the air. Chrysalis didn't even get a chance to react, because before she knew it he had swung out out of nowhere and hit her straight in the head, causing her to recoil and stop flying, and come crashing towards the ground. The sound of her crash was swallowed by the empty forest air. Meanwhile, Thunderlane, while thrilled that he was able to fly a little bit again, felt something solid yet soft hit his back hoof as he whizzed by on the vine.

Did I hit a tree?, he thought to himself, but shrugged it off. He concentrated on where he was whizzing to. The vine he was clutching whipped around the tree it was attatched to, and Thunderlane could then see the guard in plain sight. He did some quick thinking as the vine drew him ever closer, and he reached the conclusion just as the vine swung him through the air and onto the head guard's back. The weight of Thunderlane crashing on his wing startled the guard, and so he spun out of control with Thunderlane still on his back, and finally hit the ground with surprising force. There was silence for a moment, and Thunderlane took this opportunity to get off the guard's back/wing, and gallop away.

Once he got off the guard's back, he looked back at the guard, who had his head down in the dirt, Thunderlane turned slowly away, panting slightly, and kicked up his forelegs to begin running again, when he felt a strange force around his neck. He stopped, turned around, and saw the head guard sitting up, his face smeared with dirt and sweat and anger, and in his mouth Thunderlane saw that he had the satchel. The two looked at each other awkwardly for a few moments, and Thunderlane carefully took the strap of the satchel that was around him, secured it in his mouth, and carefully began to pull against the guard's grip.

Seeing Thunderlane fight back, the guard tightened his grip and pulled the satchel his way. Thunderlane increased his grip, and pulled the satchel his way, anger sprouting in his chest. Soon the two were in a tug of war, right in the middle of the forest. The head guard stood up, planted all four hooves in the dirt, and pulled with all his might, and Thunderlane mirrored his actions and pulled just as hard. The satchel went back and forth for a few moments, and it was then that Thunderlane used his last burst of energy to pull with everything he had left. The guard did the same, and their energies were at a stalemate. The satchel, however, could not take the ponies' fighting, and snapped under the pressure, the force of both ponies' pulling propelling it through the air, through a thicket of trees, and into the light. Thunderlane and the head guard exchanged glances, then galloped after it.

They came out of the trees and were hit with a burst of light, and both shielded their eyes. They were on the edge of a cliff, with trees all around them and no land out from the cliff. The only thing on the cliff was an overgrown tree trunk, that had grown out horizontally, almost like a makeshift bridge. Thunderlane and the guard's eyes searched frantically for the satchel, but it was Thunderlane who found the satchel first, and the guard simply looked where Thunderlane was looking. The satchel was almost off the cliff, and it's strap hung haphazardly off the last branch of the overgrown tree trunk. The head guard and Thunderlane exchanged another glance, and both started after the satchel at the same time. In an attempt to retrieve the satchel first, Thunderlane shoved the head guard to the ground and tried his best to gallop away when he felt a force on his back hoof, and he was sent to the ground. He turned to see that the head guard was the first one on the overgrown tree trunk, walking slowly towards the satchel.

Thunderlane scrambled up onto his hooves, and without really thinking, leaped into the air. The head guard didn't notice Thunderlane come up behind him, so when he felt a strong weight on his back again, he winced from the pain in his wing and grunted. Once on the head guard, Thunderlane used the guard's back to propel himself up and over the guard and nearer to the satchel. While Thunderlane was looking back slyly at the guard in pain, he must have misstepped, because instead of landing on his feet, he landed on the trunk, slipped, fell, and grabbed the first thing he thought to grab. When he carefully opened his eyes, he found that he was facing the tree trunk. He carefully turned his head, fear pumping through his veins, and looked down. It was a sheer drop, and Thunderlane couldn't see the ground below. He gulped, and moved his head around the tree thrunk and came face to face with the head guard. It was then that he realized the situation he was in. The guard was above him standing on the tree trunk, and Thunderlane was along the underside of the tree, hanging on for dear life.

Once the head guard saw Thunderlane, Thunderlane saw a flash of anger paint his face. The head guard's hoof hit the tree trunk with such surprising force that even the vibrations of it made Thunder dizzy. The vibrations told Thunder that the guard may be trying to step on his hooves and cause him to fall, so he began crawling in the direction of the satchel, which was now ahead of him on the tree. Seeing Thunderlane move, the head guard continued to try and step on Thunderlane's hooves, and barely missing them as Thunderlane crawled farther down. The satchel was slipping ever so slightly, and just before it could slip off of the branch it was on, Thunderlane steadied himself, put his weight on three hooves, and stuck out one to grab the satchel. He did, and once he did he put two hooves up and over the tree trunk as quick as he could before the head guard could react. Holding the satchel up triumphantly while fear and anxiety pulsed through his veins, Thunderlane smiled at the head guard.

"Hah!" he said.
CRACK

Before the head guard could respond or tell Thunderlane that he wasn't going to get away with what he was doing, a sharp cracking sound filled the air around them. Thunderlane's heart jumped up into his throat, and the anger that painted the head guard's face morphed into fear. Both looked slowly over to the side of the cliff, where the beginning of the tree began, and the noise sounded again. This time, instead of a noise, the tree broke off the side of the cliff and began whizzing down at what felt like a hundred miles an hour. Thunderlane was pressed up against the tree at the force of the tree falling, and he settled in a sort of frog position. The head guard wasn't doing much better; he was pressed down on the tree as well, all four hooves wrapped around it tightly. Both yelled in fear as the tree plummeted downwards toward a rock, and Thunderlane squeezed his eyes as tightly as they would go and awaited death.

Instead of crashing, however, the tree hit the rock and split in two, sending Thunderlane one way and the head guard the next. Thunderlane was still squeezing his eyes closed, and didn't see where his half of the trunk finally landed. In a burst of pain, the tree trunk landed un-gracefully, in something very soft. After a few moments, Thunderlane carefully opened one eye and surveyed his surroundings. The tree trunk had rolled out from under him and now lay just a few feet away. He craned his neck and was able to see barely over the boulder, and when he did get an eyeful, he gasped. He was in soft, green grass, and in front of him was a waterfall of green vines. There were trees everywhere, but they weren't as thick as the ones from before. In fact, there was more light in this forest as opposed to the other one. The satchel was laying beside him as well, and using one of his hooves, he opened the flap and studied the crown, which appeared unharmed.

He sighed in relief, and closed the flap. He tried to sit up, and when he did a pain shot up his back where his injured wing was. He sighed, and thanked Celestia that he didn't injure his wing further. He suspected the injury was still in shock of the fall, as he was. He tried sitting up again, and succeeded, and lay his back up against the boulder, facing the waterfall of vines. Studying them carefully, he wondered what was on the other side of them. Probably rocks or another animal's home. It was not very important to Thunderlane, and he stopped studying them and laid his head up against the boulder, thankful for the chance to rest.

Meanwhile the head guard had crashed pretty lightly, rolling down a hill in the same soft green grass. Since he hadn't fallen very hard, he got to his hooves in almost an instant. He carefully ran one of his forehooves over his other hooves and back, just to make sure that he didn't break anything. Once his inspection was complete, he sighed heavily, and focused his mind on the mission. He didn't think of how tired he was, how worried he was that he might be lost, or how badly he wanted to drag his sorry self to Canterlot and go to bed. He began to walk forward, even though he didn't have the slightest idea where he was going.

Thunderlane heard hoofsteps nearby him and every one of his tired muscles tensed up. He carefully peeked one brown eye around the side of the boulder, and immediately went back behind the boulder once he saw who it was. It was the head guard, and he looked in almost the same shape as Thunderlane. Thunderlane pressed his body up against the boulder and prayed the guard would not see him.

The head guard's ears perked up, and he could have sworn he heard grass rustling, but when he listened harder, he heard nothing and walked on.

Once the guard was out of sight, Thunderlane double checked to see if he was really gone, and once the coast was clear, he stood up, carefully. He secured the satchel around himself, and faced the waterfall of vines once more.

"Hey!" called an all too familiar voice. Without thinking, Thunderlane turned to look at who was addressing him, and tripped and fell into the vines. Surprisingly though, instead of feeling a rock on the other side, he felt nothing, and almost fell into the space. He went inside the space, flipping his cloak's hood up over his head, found a rock in the space, and crouched low. The shadow of the head guard could be seen through the vines, and Thunderlane heard him pant, as if he had galloped there just now. Thunderlane tensed up, and he could hear his heartbeat roaring in his ears.

"Hmm....I guess it was nothing." said the head guard to his inferred self, and Thunderlane watched as the guard slowly trudged away. Thunderlane waited a few more precious moments in case the guard came back, but only heard silence. When he figured he was finally alone, he lifted the cloak's hood off of his head, and took in his surroundings. He was in a cave of some sort, but there was light ahead. Looking behind him once more, he followed the light out, came out of the cave and stopped right at the entrance.

He was standing in a beautiful yet very secluded clearing, with immensely high stone walls, probably taller than at least thirty or fifty ponies standing on top of each other. There were some trees around him, but not very many, and a majestic waterfall was spilling over the sides of one section of the stone wall, and this waterfall flowed all the way down into a cool, clear pool, that ran all the way to where Thunderlane was standing and beyond. There was clean, emerald green grass everywhere, with flowers growing here and there, and patches of where the grass had clumped and almost had become like a pillow. But the scenery around Thunderlane wasn't what confused and surprised him the most.

It was the long, painfully tall and painfully narrow tower that stood at the edge of the clearing. It was a little distance away from the stone walls, and the sun seemed to beam right on it. It was white, with vines and other plants growing around it, and if Thunderlane really squinted, he could see a small opening at the top, but he didn't think anypony lived in it. It was probably abandoned, and yet the perfect place to stay until he got to White-Tail Wood.

Though Thunderlane could stay around and admire the scenery forever, a noise from beyond the cave startled him into moving again. It was a yelp, a deep and male one, and Thunderlane recognized it from earlier. It was the head guard, and what was worse, he sounded dangerously close. Thunderlane trotted out away from his spot and began going up to the tower. He would hide there until it was safe to come out, and maybe stay awhile. As he trotted closer, it felt like the sunlight almost got stronger, and before he knew it he was smack dab in front of the tower. He looked up, and gulped. It was almost taller than he had seen it previously.

Don't worry, Thunderlane. You've climbed much bigger structures than this, said a little voice in Thunderlane's mind.
With this thought giving him courage, he placed one hoof on the structure, and found it not to be crumbling. With this in mind, he hoisted himself up on the tower, and put one hoof in front of the other, placing them on the bricks and sometimes on the vines. He climbed farther for the sake of some well deserved rest, and he panted as he hoisted himself higher and higher. When he reached the opening of the tower, he looked through the opening and found that the tower was almost completely empty, at least from the outside. Without looking down or hesitating, he steadied himself, and jumped into the opening. While jumping through, he could have sworn that he felt a strange energy pass by him as he went into the tower.

Once on all four hooves, he grabbed the satchel from around him, and opened the flap once more to check on the crown. It was there, undamaged, and smiled up at him. He panted, and then sighed in relief.

"Alone...at last." he said, and then the back of his head exploded in pain.

The Magic, Golden Flower

by Cerulean Swirl

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two