> Essenza di Amore
>  by Cerulean Voice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: Cadence of Her Last Breath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Predawn gloom shrouded two young earth ponies as they wandered further from home than permitted. A colt with an olive-green coat and a wild, purple mane trotted along the border of the White Tail Wood, at the base of the Smokey Mountain. Stalking along a strange trail, he was careful to place his hooves on some lengthy, consistently lain wooden beams outlined by two oddly short iron rails that barely came off the ground.

At his side jogged a younger filly, with a wavy mane of mauve that fell beyond her green shoulders. Sweat shone on her forehead and beaded at the edges of her pale pink eyes as she struggled to keep up.

“Artax, stop already!” said the filly, slowing her pace and panting as she wiped the perspiration from her eyes. “We’ll get in so much trouble…”

Artax looked at her over his shoulder but continued down the curving trail and around the gentle incline. “Come on, Kartanya. I’ve never explored this far before. I don’t get why the area is taboo anyway.”

“It doesn’t matter why!” Kartanya glanced back at the wood, groaned, and picked up her pace. “The elders say it’s out of bounds, and I don’t wanna get in trouble. Just come back! Everypony will know we’re gone when the Sun rises.”

Artax looked to the eastern horizon, blocked partially by the shallow bend in the trail leading down the mountain. “We still have about an hour before the Sun Goddess wakes everypony. Stop worrying. We’ll be back long before then. I just want to follow this a little more…”

“Aaaartaaaaax!”

Panting, Kartanya kept pace with Artax as his strides lengthened. Her breaths shortened until, finally, she halted next to the tracks and gasped. Her short legs burned from the unexpected exertion. “Wait!”

Artax turned his head again and slowed, stopping after a few more metres. “Kara, either keep up, or return home. I never asked you to follow me. It’s your own fault you came out here.”

“But… I just wanted to… stop you getting in trouble!”

“I’ll be fine,” Artax said. “All you’re doing is slowing me down. I could have been on my way back by now, but no, you—”

A high-pitched shriek interrupted Artax; both siblings jumped as if jolted by lightning, dropped and covered their ears. The ground rumbled beneath their hooves, and they looked at each other with wide eyes.

“What is that?” yelled Kartanya, uncovering a single ear.

“I don’t know! But I think it’s coming right for us!”

The rumbling grew louder. Another deafening shriek—definitely closer—sounded from the woods to the south.

“Artax!” cried Kartanya. “Get off the track!”

Just as Artax stood and leapt to his right, a giant, grey-and-brown worm rushed along the bend at them. Smoke spewed forth from a hole in its head, and it seemed to have a miniature sun for a face.

Artax let out a cry and ran to his sister, who had dropped to the ground again, trembling, her eyes scrunched up and her forelegs covering her head. He lowered himself to her level and pulled her against his chest, his own forelegs wrapped tightly around her as he rocked her back and forth, stroking her mane.

A minute passed, during which the beast’s undulating body roared along its path. Another piercing shriek joined the rushing wind and the click-clack of its strangely round, multiple legs. Finally the rolling thunder faded from earshot, and the ground stilled once more.

Artax looked to the north and let out a sigh. Panting lightly, he placed his hooves on Kartanya’s shoulders and pushed her to arm’s length. “Whoa… thanks, Kara. That was close. I was almost returned to the earth.” As he looked into his sister’s eyes, a frown crossed his face at the tears streaming down her cheeks. “Hey, you okay?”

“No!” Kartanya drew a hoof back and smote Artax across the left cheek. He pulled his hooves back and rubbed his stinging face, and she drew her own hoof back for another swing. “I am not okay! That thing scared me to death, and… and you…” Her voice broke, her hoof faltered, and the dam behind her eyes broke. She snorted up a trickle of mucus and hit the ground.

Artax ceased rubbing his cheek and lowered his head. He placed a hoof upon his weeping sister’s chest. “Kara, I am so sorry. I understand now why this place is forbidden. Come on, let’s go home. I’ve seen enough anyway.”

Kartanya wiped her nose and looked up. “P-promise?”

Artax nodded. “Yes. Now, let’s get back before they see we’re gone. And not a word of this to mother or father, all right?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Good.”

Artax scooped Kartanya up in his hooves and planted her upon his back. He sighed as the filly draped herself over him and snuggled into his coat. Once she was settled, he turned westward and began the trek home. The further we stay away from here, the better, he thought as they drew closer to the treeline.

Another roar shook the land, almost as loud as the thundering worm. The new one was higher pitched and seemed to rend the sky itself in two. Both ponies froze.

“A-Artax? W-was that… it?” Kartanya pressed herself into Artax, the pair of them shaking as their eyes traced the skyline.

The red terror that roars. Oh, no…

Artax grabbed Kartanya and pulled her about to stare into her eyes. “Now, you listen here; you run for the wood, and you run hard. Don’t stop until you can’t run any more. Understand?”

“Artax—”

“Do you understand, Kara?”

She gave him a quick nod then spun around and set off as fast as her filly legs could carry her. Artax cast a gaze upon the roar’s origin, and swallowed at the cloud of black smoke emanating from the tip of the Smokey Mountain.

“I’m right behind you,” he called as he sped up to catch her. “Just keep moving!”

The pair had almost reached the canopy line when—

“Aaaiiiiiiiihhh!”

Artax and Kartanya halted in their tracks at the sudden scream. Shivers ran down each of their spines as they looked first at each other then at its source, a shadowy being hurtling toward them in a downward spiral. Yet another roar filled their ears. A plume of flames—brilliant in the early gloom—shot out from atop the mountain.

By the temporary firelight, a pink pony—a winged pink pony!—flashed into view from above between the siblings and the flames, her mane a smoking mess of dark brown with blonde streaks. Her coat was patchy in places near her rear legs and across her back, and she stank of burned hair. A large pouch was slung across her shoulders, and she clutched it to her barrel like a newborn foal.

“Hold on! I’ve got you!”

Artax rushed forward and dived underneath the tumbling mare, using his body to break her fall. As the pair slammed into the ground, the impact knocked all the air from Artax's lungs.

“Artax! Are you okay?”

Kartanya took a few steps toward him, but stopped with a leg in the air as another flaming jet lit up the sky. This time, the flame was not the only thing to emerge from the cave. She shivered at the sight, and took a step backward.

“A-Artax…”

Artax snorted, clutching his chest and sucking down ragged gasps. With visible effort, he pulled a hoof from beneath him and waved it at Kartanya. “Go, you fool!” he shouted. “What did I tell you before? You have to get to safety!”

“B-but aren’t you hurt?”

“I’m fine!” Artax took a deep breath and rose to his hooves. A grunt escaped him as he lifted the larger pony on his back. With a final straightening of his legs, he stood tall then made his own way back to the trees. “We have to get out of here, now. Run ahead and wake our parents.”

Kartanya hesitated. “But I thought you said you didn’t want—”

“That was before a hurt pony with a dragon on her tail fell out of the sky and landed on me! Just go—I’ll catch up!”

Artax panted and dashed beneath the canopy after his sister. “She might even be dying,” he said after a moment. He turned his head to look at the mare on his back and frowned; she must have lost consciousness. “Keep going, Kara. Find the river, and we can follow it home again easily enough.”

“W-what about the dragon? Won’t it follow us?”

Artax looked Kartanya in the eyes. “Don’t worry. Father told me that dragons only stick to their territory. Once we get far enough away—get down!”

There was another shriek and a downward force of wind that buffeted the nearby trees. Artax and Kartanya dropped to the leafy forest floor as the dragon passed overhead. Fire spewed forth, licking at the treetops above their heads. Sweat beaded upon Artax's brow, his body heating up as though he'd spent a whole day in full sunlight. He heard Kartanya’s feeble whimpers, though he dared not move to comfort her.

A sharp crack drew their attention. A large, thick branch from one of the taller trees split from its trunk and plummeted toward them. Kartanya screamed as Artax leapt at her and pushed her out of its path. All three ponies spilled onto the ground in a quivering pile.

The dragon peered through the dense forestry, its head whipping back and forth as it flapped in place, forcing the trees into bowing before it with every rise and fall. Another gout of fire poured down into the trees, soon followed by the dragon's head as it searched through the blaze. Branches cracked and fell from the trees, showering the ponies below with ash and burning bark. The dragon stared at its handiwork for a moment then snorted, pumping its wings to rise back into the sky.

High above, the dragon circled, smoke rising up around it as the forest burned. One pass then another. Slowly it searched, its eyes narrowed down at the forest below. Shaking its head, the dragon screeched at the trees below before turning away. The beat of its wings grew faint as it flew back toward the mountain.

The ponies crawled out from behind the broken branch. Around them, the fire crackled and smoked. The heat rose, and Artax started to sweat. He looked up, eyes wide, as they took in the spreading devastation.

“Kara, we’ve got to move.”

Kartanya poked her head up to face him and nodded with a determination that took Artax by surprise. She stood, danced her way around the blazing branch and galloped west, away from the intensifying inferno. Artax watched her go then focused on his passenger. She groaned, letting loose a trio of weak coughs.

It was then that Artax realised the full extent of her injuries. Her coat was charred black or burned away in several places, and her left foreleg bore a gash along its entire length, covered with a streak of clotted blood. His eyes wide, Artax looked at his left shoulder and spotted patches of crimson on his own coat. He shook his head and looked around again: flames were climbing, trees were splintering and falling, and with the rising heat came stifling smoke.

Artax coughed, a hoof over his mouth. He grunted again and lifted the winged pony to an upright standing position. He then moved to let her collapse upon him and flicked his rump, jolting her up onto his back. He sucked in a deep breath through his mouth and—holding it—squinted before setting off through the searing heat. As he jumped around burning logs, birds and other small rodents flew and scampered respectively ahead of him and by his side.

A minute passed before he looked back at the blazing forest and exhaled. Panting, he faced forward and beheld the Snowflow River before him. Of course, he’d crossed it earlier that morning, though he noticed the water level had risen to about neck-height in the past hour and had definitely picked up speed. Pebbles skipped along the riverbed.

“Hurry, Artax!”

Kartanya’s cry drew his attention. He glanced to the southern end of the river, where Kartanya had already crossed. She was dripping from head to hoof. “Come on!” she cried. “Quick, or you’ll be cooked!”

A dull roar reached Artax’s ears, growing louder every second over the creeping flames he’d not quite left behind. His eyes followed his ears to the right.

A cascading torrent—only half a kilometer away—rushed down the side of the mountain. Although Clarity Falls was usually only at full flow in the spring, the dragonfire at the summit—

Without wasting another second, Artax pelted toward Kartanya. When he drew level with her, he plunged into the rising river. As the shock of the icy flow hit him, he gasped. The water threatened to slide the mare off his back, but he held onto her with his right hoof and switched to a sideways paddle.

Kartanya stood at the ford’s edge on the far bank, her leg outstretched. Her pupils reduced to pinpricks as her head darted between her brother and the oncoming torrent then back again. Pacing rapidly in place, she let out a whinny as the liberated ice charged around the bend to meet them.

“Take my hoof, Artax! Come on! Hurry!”

Spurred on by his sister’s frantic cries, Artax lunged across the rising ford. The roaring in his ears grew louder with every passing second while he fought the strengthening current. Stones on the riverbed rolled and slipped beneath his hooves, and he tripped with a splash, sending both he and his load below the surface.

Icy water flooded his throat as he floundered in the flow. Freezing, penetrating needles assaulted his screaming nerves. He struggled to lift himself under the mare’s weight, every action depleting more air from his lungs and strength from his muscles. He flailed his legs, desperately seeking a stable foothold. His ears perked as Kartanya’s muffled cries pierced through the veil of water.

When his hooves finally found purchase, Artax followed the voice and forced himself up with all his remaining strength. His head broke the surface; coughing and spluttering, he gasped and struggled forward.

He felt the pony on his back slide, accompanied by a low groan. Turning quickly, he flicked his body to the side, readjusting her position. He watched Kartanya pace along the river’s edge to keep up with him. Still holding out her hoof, she waved it around while shouting at him to grab it, her cries rising in pitch and urgency.

From behind Artax, the smell of smoke and burning elms wafted in front of his nose, filling his lungs. Heaving and gasping, he looked between Kartanya and the impending deluge, headed by a tall, cresting, frothy wave, bearing a thick log at its forefront. For a brief moment, fear gripped his mind; time seemed to slow, and then, it was gone.

The water level reached a point where he could no longer place his hooves upon the riverbed without being submerged. Kicking to stay afloat and avoid being swept away by the current, Artax reached the bank and shrugged off his passenger. He wrapped his forelegs around her and tried to lift her onto the shore while kicking furiously with his rears.

“Kara!” He stared into his sister’s wide, pleading pink eyes. “Help her up, quickly!”





Kartanya screamed her little lungs out as she watched Artax struggle through the rising current. As he reached the bank, he begged her to aid him in getting the winged pony to safety. She nodded as she wrapped her own hooves around the mare’s wing joints and, straining, aided in hoisting her up the bank. With her load obscuring her vision, she heard a loud thunk.

She fell back onto the ground with the weight of the mare upon her belly and the roar of the river’s fury in her ears. The mare’s bag rested upon the ground next to her, completely soaked through. She panted for a few seconds, unable to move with the full-grown mare atop her. She took in a sharp breath and worked up the will to stand.

Artax.

With a strained grunt, Kartanya pushed the mare off her, jumped to her hooves, and ran to the water’s edge. The river’s flow still filled her ears, but her brother…

“Artax? Brother?”

She approached the bank, where the freely flowing river rose up level with her hooves for the first time in months. He’d been there just a minute ago. He’d passed up his burden and then… and then…

In spite of the heat coming off the still-burning woods on the far side of the river, icy claws grasped Kartanya’s heart. She looked back to the mare, then returned her focus to the river. She stared downstream, the raging rapids still churning up white in their unrelenting downward sprint.

“Artaaaaaax!”

She fled down the river as fast as her legs would allow. The flow proved too much, though, always keeping ahead of her. No! No! No! This can’t be happening... No, please. He has to be okay—he has to be fine!

Don’t stop until you can’t run anymore.

Just keep moving!

Look after her, Kara…

She slowed, allowing the river to outpace her once more. Her heart raced, a pounding drumbeat that threatened to burst free from her chest. Air fought desperately for space in her lungs. Warm water pooled at her eyes, and she sank to the ground, head in her hooves.

“Artax! Come back, you s-stupid idiot! Why’d you have to go and-and be a hero? Now what am I gonna d-do?”

Shivers wracked her body, her grief demanding to be poured out into the world. Small birds and critters took cautious steps toward Kartanya as her shoulders gently rose and fell, her mane askew across her face. A blue jay flitted onto her shoulder, tilted its head and chirped. A small litter of bunnies nuzzled into her legs and peered up through her wavy tendrils. A squirrel hopped up onto her back and began to gently rub her shoulders.

Kartanya lifted her head, smiling through her hiccups at the creatures comforting her. “Thank y-you, friends.” She sniffed up an unbidden trail of phlegm. “But… but I c-can’t be cheered up right now. M-my brother…”

She lowered her head again and resumed her sobbing with a loud wail. The critters offered the pony a farewell hug and scampered away. The blue jay gave a final twitter in her ear and took flight to leave her in solitude.

Daylight crept over the woodland canopy before Kartanya finally got to her hooves. She sniffed once more then turned, took a deep breath, and galloped back up the river. Her hooves crunched upon dried leaves and solid turf as she fled back to the site of Artax’s disappearance.

Minutes passed. How far did I run? she thought. Can’t be that far ahead. The river’s roar had quieted and slowed to a streamline trickle, bearing no sign that it had just carried a pony out of her life… forever.

She closed her eyes, tight against stubborn tears that threatened to overwhelm her yet again. Shaking her head, she ran harder. Soon, she caught sight of a speck of pink alongside the river bank and slowed to a canter. Shallow trails in the riverside clay indicated the mare had attempted to drag herself some short distance and collapsed again.

Kartanya wiped her face clear of moisture and steeled her gaze. This was the pony who had ruined everything, the reason her brother wasn’t still with her. She closed her eyes and turned away.

What do I owe her? She’s ruined my life. Why shouldn’t I just let her die? Why should she live, and not… and not...

Because then Artax would… he’d be gone for nothing.

“...Please…”

Kartanya’s eyelids snapped open. She trained her pink onto the mare’s crystal blue.

“Help… must protect…” The mare coughed aggressively and motioned to her bag, then let her gashed hoof fall to the ground.

Kartanya crept up to the mare, grasped the strap in her mouth, and lifted the bag free from the mare’s shoulders, eliciting a gasp and a hiss from its owner. She undid the top buttons on the pouch, and lifted the flap. Her eyes widened; she almost dropped the bag. Her gaze flicked back and forth between contents and owner, her mouth open. She brought a hoof to it.

“My Cadance…”

With a final pleading look, the light in the mare’s eyes faded. Her wings gave a last feeble flap then fell and remained still. An ending exhale… then nothing more.

Kartanya sat and stared at the pink body until the river’s trickle had become white noise, and the crackling of the flames on the other riverbank left only ash and embers in their wake. The woods had long since awoken before shouts of her and Artax’s names drew her attention. She perked her head up and looked to the south to see a pair of green ponies racing her way.

As her name-callers drew closer, she felt a small nudge at her foreleg. She looked down: the foal inside had crawled out, shook itself free of excess water then proceeded to rub up against her. It opened its mouth wide and let out a short little yawn before nestling itself against Kartanya’s coat and closing its eyes.

Kartanya stared at the tiny pink foal, looked down river, and closed her own eyes as tears leaked out once more.

By the memory of my brother, I will protect you… Cadance.
> Chapter One: Eva
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Just inside the western boundary of the White Tail Woods, a small village lay tucked away from Equestrian civilisation. Mostly, the citizens of the village kept to themselves, and had no need of any outside help, for the weather remained temperate and cool all year round.

A pink filly raced about the village: around wooden houses of oaken log, through alleys between them, and around the village well.

On her tail, a lime-green colt chased her in circles, though he could not match the filly’s agility step-for-step. He growled under his breath as he was outwitted again and again by slender legs and guiding wings. Continuing from overnight, light rainfall coated and drenched everything in the vicinity.

“Not fair, Kaviyayu! You can’t use your wings to help you dodge! That’s cheating!”

The filly grinned back at her pursuer as she repeatedly danced around his sluggish attempts at tagging her. She giggled and stuck her tongue out, blowing a raspberry. “Hey, the rules were that I can’t fly, not that I can’t use them at all.” Still giggling, she added, “If you can’t catch me, that’s your problem, not mine.”

The colt growled and blew a lock of red out of his face. “They need to change the rules. Either that or you need a handicap.”

Again, the giggle. “What’s this? The mighty Avran outwitted by a mere filly? For shame. And you want to slay a dragon someday.” Kaviyayu shook her head and clicked her tongue with a mocking smirk. “Can’t even catch little—” he lunged again, and she dodged backward with a flap of her wings, sending him falling into a puddle of mud “—old me.”

Avran looked up, his face dripping and teeth bared. Kaviyayu matched his stare… then lost her wits and collapsed, laughing uncontrollably, into the same mud puddle. The grimace immediately faded from Avran’s face; both ponies cackled as the wet earth painted them in a generous, sticky layer of muck.

After a short time, Avran stuck out a hoof, nudging Kaviyayu’s shoulder. “Heh… tag. You’re it.”

“Oh, taking advantage of a young mare in the mud? Who’s the real cheater now?”

Kaviyayu got slowly to her hooves as mud trailed down her legs. Larger clumps fell and squelched back to the ground. She flashed her pearly-white smile—the only part of her face not caked over—at Avran. She held out a hoof.

“Come on. Time for a dip in the river, or Mother will flay us and tan our hides.”

Avran snorted. He knocked away Kaviyayu’s hoof and stood as well, though he almost slipped again. “I guess…” he said, “you’d better catch me then! One-two-three-go!” With a mad dash forward, Avran ran past Kaviyayu and headed east, weaving through an alley between two houses.

Kaviyayu rolled her eyes, spread her wings and lifted off into the air. Looking down, she could see the entire village, inhabited by close to a hundred ponies. The sparkling Snowflow River ran down from the permanently snow-capped tip of the Smokey Mountain. One of its lesser tributaries trickled through the village, a generous flow that supplied the villagers with all they needed and more, before continuing on toward the nearby Western Ocean.

To the east—closer to the Snowflow, where Avran galloped—stood a grand mill, bordered by a field filled with wheat, barley, and lucerne shoots. Shallow trenches led a convenient supply of water through the ground at regular intervals. In the centre of the field stood a tall straw figure of a pony. Kavi had heard from elder colts that once a month, under the full moon, it would come to life and leave the fields, off to do who-knew-what.

She chuckled at the memory. Who ever heard of a stick pony coming to life before? It was surely a scaretale meant to frighten the younger ones. Shaking the memory from her head, she breezed over the rooftops in pursuit of Avran; he would soon make it to the river, and she knew that nopony was allowed to approach it by themselves.

The river entered her view as Kaviyayu weaved amongst greening trees, partially sheltering her from the drizzle with their fresh new leaves. She followed a trail of fresh divots, filling with water, that Avran had left behind. When the trees cleared a minute later, she landed at the water’s edge and shook herself free of a little excess mud.

“’Bout time you caught up to me!”

Kavivayu turned her head left toward the voice yet saw nothing but the Snowflow’s steady stream, just barely below the bank’s level. She smiled and trotted upriver, where a circular pool—ten stallions tail-to-nose in diameter—had been dug out. Water trickled in from the river, filling a hole deep enough for three ponies to stand on each other’s shoulders and still be submerged.

She was greeted at the edge of the pool with a splash that soaked her from nose to tail. The cold shock of spring’s fresh-melted ice gnawed at her coat, and she gasped as three green heads broke the surface, along with three pairs of hooves that had so graciously given her such an unexpected shower. 

“Come in, Kavi!”

“The water’s great!”

“Wow, how’d you get so filthy?”

Kavi glared at the offenders and paused to strike the ground with a hoof while her blonde and pink mane almost dragged along the muddy earth. She shook off the remnants of the deluge, her mane whipping about, the tips slapping her back and legs.

Avran and his friends snickered at her futile attempts to dry herself.

“You little brats! You are so going to get it!”

Kavi rose into the air as the other ponies continued to laugh. When she reached the height of a nearby yew, she grinned and dived directly at the centre of the pool.

“Uh oh…”

Kavi tucked herself into a ball and slammed into the water's surface, sending a wave of water crashing over her brother and his friends. Flaring her wings to halt her underwater descent, she pumped them and rose back up toward the surface, muffled shrieks and the crashing of water echoing in her ears. Breaking the surface, she gasped and rubbed her face before examining the results.

All three colts had been pushed back against the edge of the pool. Water continued to swish back and forth, eroding the soggy walls and letting in even more water.

“Whoa! You need to lay off the sunflower cakes, Kavi!” Avran said.

“Says the big, fat clydesdale who ate all the cherry pie last night,” Kavi countered with a wink.

“S-shut up,” Avran said as his friends laughed from the other side of the pool. “You know Mother makes it irresistible.”





“Hey, who wants to play Merpony Out Of Water?”

While the colts played and splashed, Kavi paused to look at sundown's golden glimmer over the treetops. “It's getting late," she said, ducking a splash aimed at her flank. "Come on. We should get back before the elders start to worry.”

Amid groans and a few final splashes, Kavi, Avran and the two colts finally exited the pool. She fluttered her wings and shook her body, flinging away the last drops of mud and water while the colts did the same. 

“Hey, Kavi?”

She turned to Avran. He stuck out a hoof and tapped her on the muzzle.

“Tag!”

Kavi’s eyes had not even the chance to uncross before Avran laughed and bolted back toward home, his lackeys in tow. She shook her head again and glared after him, though a giggle escaped her lips anyway as she galloped after him, her hoof-falls sounding pursuit and egging him on faster. Back through the woods they ran, laughing as the Sun completed its descent, leaving only a fading, incandescent glow in the sky.

After a minute, the village came within sight, its wooden houses bathed in the late evening’s red and gold radiance. Ponies toiled away in the town centre, some collecting water from the well, others setting up kindling in the communal fire pit while a stallion bashed a flint together at its base.

Delicious smells filtered between the cottages and reached Kavi’s nostrils. Her mouth watered at the scent of herb-infused mushrooms flowing from her mother’s house.

“There you are!”

Kavi’s ears shot up. She looked over her shoulder at her sister, whose face was creased down into a frown.

“Kara? You were after me?”

Kartanya sighed and shook her head, then trotted next to Kavi. Only slightly taller than her sister, the mare—like every other pony in the village—bore no wings. Her lengthy braided mane and tail, both of palest pink, lay draped over her shoulder and tailbone. She placed a green hoof over Kavi’s shoulder and directed her attention to the largest house.

“Mother has something to discuss with you. She’s wondering where you’ve been all day.”

“Oh, that’s my fault.” Kavi brushed the ground with a hoof. “Avran and I were playing tag, and we ended up going for a swim. I promise, we had no idea we’d be gone for so long—”

“You went to the river? Without telling anypony?” Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened.

Kavi shifted again. “Well, yes, but Avran—”

“No ‘but’s about it, Kavi. You know that an adult must be there to watch over you: you and anyfoal else. The river is dangerous at full flow—you know that!”

Kavi dropped her head and backed away from Kara. She stood still with her eyes closed for a moment then raised her head again. “Look, Sis,” she said to a pair of glaring hazel eyes. “I’m practically old enough to be considered a mare now anyway, aren’t I? Can you not trust me with a little responsibility?”

There was quiet between the two as the kindling in the fire pit flared to life with a rushing crackle. Kavi felt the silence stretch taut, her uncertainty growing. Ponies began to settle around the blaze, chatting among themselves.

“Honestly, Kara,” she continued, “I’m glad that you look out for me so well. Really, I am. But I’m not a little foal anymore. I know the lessons, I heed the warnings, and I can be mature when I have to be.”

The two ponies stared at each other for several long moments before Kara sighed.

“Kaviyayu… you’re right, you know. You really are growing up, and Mother, Father, and I are all very proud of the mare you’re becoming. I just worry, you know, after what happened to Artax all those years ago. Actually—” she pointed toward a cabin near the mill “—that’s the main reason they want to talk to you tonight. Don’t keep them waiting. It’s important.”

“Well… I suppose I should, uh, be on my way, then.”

Kavi backed away then turned from Kara and trotted off home. Fillies and colts ran by, most already having eaten and looking forward to the early spring fire. Laughter rang in the air.

She clopped up three short wooden steps and pushed through the reed doorway. “I’m home, Mother,” she called as the reeds fell back into place. “Are you here?”

She approached the back of the main room, meandered past the large stone slab, and ducked through an alcove into a warmer room. The fragrances of rosemary, ginger, and bay leaves coalesced into a single heavenly scent. Her mother stood before the small brick range, her light green coat obscured by a woven apron and her blonde mane draped over her shoulders.

“Dearest Kaviyayu. So good of you to grace me with your presence.”

“Sorry, Mother,” Kavi said as she wandered up to the mare and pecked her cheek. “Daylight escaped me today. Kartanya said you have something to tell me?”

“Yes indeed. We would have told you earlier today, had you and your brother not wandered off together all day. But never mind that—dinner’s almost ready now, so we’ll tell you after.”

“It can wait,” Kavi said. “I love wild mushrooms, especially the way you cook them.”

“You’d better.” Her mother chuckled. “Your father roamed far from home to find these ones. Why, they were almost as large as his head. I had to cut them down just to fit them in the baking dish.”

Kavi’s eyes widened. “Father was home?”

“He was.”

With that, her mother slipped her forehooves inside a pair of thick cotton mitts and reached into the range to draw out a circular clay dish. Chunks of diced fungus and a smattering of herb sprigs filled the bowl.

Kavi sighed. “Did he really have to leave again so soon?” She exhaled and shook her head. “I wish we would see him more often. I shouldn't have gone to the river today.”

“It was a surprise to me as well,” her mother said. “You couldn’t have known he’d drop by. Don’t think ill of yourself for missing him. Now, go and fetch your brother—then, come back and sit at the table.”

“Yes, Mother.” Kavi turned to depart the kitchen, her head bowed.

“Oh, sweetie? One more thing.”

Kavi halted and raised an eyebrow at her mother, who set the dish down on the stovetop. She walked to her daughter and wrapped her limbs around Kavi’s shoulders, adding a kiss on the cheek. “Happy birthday.” Another kiss on the other cheek. “And happy birthday from Father, too.”

Kavi beamed and nuzzled her mother in the embrace. “Thank you, Mother.” 

As Kavi left through the front door and spread her wings, she slowed and stopped with them raised in mid-flap. She felt a sourceless prickle of unease tingling between her ears, raising her hackles and setting her thoughts on edge. The feeling dimmed as soon as she turned to face the gathering gloom. 

Was there…?

She shook her head and looked forward again. The feeling returned, and she could not shake it quite as easily.




*  *  *  *  *



On the outskirts of the village—crouched in the long grass and camouflaged in the lengthening shadows—a hooded figure watched the single pink filly walk among a sea of green Earth ponies. Under the Mare in the Moon’s silhouette, a pair of white lips pulled back to reveal an equally bright set of teeth.

“Yes, this place will do quite nicely.”




*  *  *  *  *



An hour later, with a full belly and music in her ears, Kavi sat on a log before the crackling fire feeling utterly relaxed. Tribesponies passed her by, offering words of encouragement, congratulations, well-wishes, and in some cases, courting proposals. She smiled at each pony who approached her, accepted their kind words, and politely declined the older stallions’ advances.

Despite all the positive attention, she was grateful when Avran came to take a seat next to her.

“Why aren’t you up dancing with everypony, Kavi?” he asked. “It’s your birthday, isn’t it?”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” Kavi said. “I like to watch them having fun." She smiled and nodded towards the fire. "I’m fine with staring into the flames. You know, sometimes I swear I can see shapes flickering in the pit, like the flames are trying to tell me something.”

Avran laughed. “And what do they say now? That you’ll meet the Sun Goddess? You’ll find the love of your life? No, wait, I’ve got it: you’ll fight and defeat a mighty foe!”

Kavi rolled her eyes. “No, silly. Just, the way the flames flicker sometimes, I like to think I can see faces or other shapes. Never for very long—they always vanish with the flick of a red tongue.”

Avran gasped.

“What?”

He pointed toward the flames, his hoof shaking.

Kavi whirled around to look at the fire; dead centre in the hot light, a pair of eyes took shape and cast their roving gaze over the village square. Many dancers halted in their manoeuvres and stood, transfixed, at the disembodied eyes as they fell upon pony after pony. Instruments faltered, and the square fell silent but for the crackle of fire that sustained the unknown stare.

“Please, fear me not, my little ponies.”

The voice was harsh and dual-toned, grating against the ears of ponies within earshot. Not a muscle moved save for the twitching of tens of pairs of ears.

“What you are witnessing is my special talent at work. Even now I walk among you, though you do not realise. Be not afraid, though, for I mean you no harm. Rather, I would hope that I could enrapture you all with my illusory gifts, and tales of the wide world around you. I have been many places, seen many things… and fought many foes. If you would extend me a warm welcome, break your bread, share your soups and divide your desserts, you will find yourselves thoroughly entertained. What say you, natives of Western White Tail?”

Nopony moved. All were silent, barring the crickets and the ever-hungry flames as they danced upon their oaken bed.

“Well? Be there any among you with the courage to stare down a mere illusion?”

Silence reigned again. The eyes roved around the camp, searching, seeking—

“I’m not afraid of you.”

All eyes turned to Kavi as she strutted forward, her wings outstretched. “Come out from your hiding place, weaver of flame. Face us in your true form. If you truly mean us no harm, trust us to show you the same courtesy.”

A dull murmur permeated the herd as the flaming eyes returned to their full luminosity. They narrowed in Kavi’s direction, sustained her curious stare... then disappeared.

“I will take you at your word, pink one.”

The voice was softer, more feminine, like a regular pony instead of the harsh tones the face has spoken in. Beneath the moonlight, a rainbow glow shone—seemingly suspended in midair—before Kavi. Tendrils of the aurora peeled off from the middle and circled around, until it seemed like a miniature spectral tornado swirled before everypony. It fell slowly from the air to the ground.

During the descent, a figure materialised from within the spiral. Covered from head to hoof in a dark cloak that reached the ground, it raised its horned head. The rainbow magic vanished as the figure solidified. It threw back its hood to reveal a pure white head, complete with an equally colourless mane. Pale pink eyes blinked as though unseeing, though their pupils met Kavi’s own.

“What name belongs to this pretty face of trust?” the mare asked.

Kavi stared at the black and white figure. She seemed to have no pigmentation at all on her body, which was mostly covered by her cloak, save for her head and hooves. And those eyes…

She shook her head quickly, then lifted her chin. “My name is Kaviyayu Samanka, and this—” she waved a hoof about the campsite, indicating all of the stunned and whispering ponies “—is my family. Tell us: what is your name, and what brings you to our little neck of the White Tail Wood?”

The white pony rotated slowly in place, taking in all the staring faces. She caught the view of the village elder, whose beady eyes seemed to absorb the night sky as they scrutinised their pale-pink subjects. She fixed her look next upon a small herd of foals to his left and gently bowed when a mare stood in front of them. Turning in a half-circle, she flashed her impossibly white teeth upon a trio of adolescent colts, who chuckled nervously and looked at each other.

“Excuse me, Miss.”

The mare turned back to the white-bearded elder as he coughed to clear his throat. “The young filly asked you two questions. It would be in all of our interests for you to answer. Yours included.”

The mare looked around again after the elder’s words. Stallions began to step forward in front of their herds while mares stood behind with their foals. Some of the stallions held a hoof in the air, as if paused in taking another step.

“Very well.”

A rainbow danced around her horn and spread to the fire pit. A map appeared in the flames, which rose as though a dragon had just burped from the ground up. A pulsing rainbow ‘X’, revolving in the roaring flames, marked a position on the flickering map.

“Wood-dwellers, my name is Eva,” she called over the orange din. “I am a unicorn from the northern town of Tall Tale.” She pointed to the ‘X’, which shot toward the north-western corner of the map. “My travels have taken me all over the wide world of Equestria, from my humble hometown, to the city of Manehattan—” the ‘X’ raced across toward the north-eastern corner, leaving a dotted rainbow path in its wake “—to the remote desert community of Dodge Junction—” the ‘X’ traced a path to the south-east “—and even to the royal stronghold of Canterlot, where the Princess herself resides—” the ‘X’ tracked back north around a clump of dark-looking forest and rested at the summit of a mountain.

“Finally, after passing through a small town called Ponyville—” the ‘X’ floated toward the south-west a short distance “—I sought a quiet, peaceful place to reflect upon my journey.”

The ‘X’ came to rest at the western edge of a forest, beneath an ice-capped mountain.

“Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon your little village here, for it does not appear on any map that I have ever seen…”

The rainbow glow spluttered and died, taking the map with it. The fire rescinded into the pit, crackling gently once again.

“So.” Eva smiled at the elder as she approached him. “Am I correct to assume that you are the head of this cute little camp site?”

“Oh, er, yes. You are.” The elder coughed once more, thumped his chest, and lifted his head. “I am Havijhan. This is our village of Zahara, and there is a reason you will not find it on any map. We keep to ourselves, you see, and we prefer it that way.” He leaned forward. “On that note, I request that you keep our presence here a secret, and not share knowledge of its existence when you leave. In the meantime… you may stay.”

Eva smiled and bowed. “Of course I will keep your village secret, Havijhan. The world will never know I was here.” She stood, then turned to Kaviyayu and her brother. “Thank you, Kaviyayu. Your faith in me is most heartening.”

Her stomach rumbled.

“So, about that ‘bread-breaking’ I mentioned... anypony up for a story?”
> Chapter Two: For the Heart I Once Had
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Eva awoke before sunrise the next morning. With a suppressed yawn, she stretched her forelegs and arched her back. After standing up from her heather bed with exaggerated care, she crept through the Samankas’ living room on light hooves, soundlessly parting the beaded curtain hanging in the door with her magic before stepping outside into the cool predawn air.

A red glimmer broke over the horizon and scattered through the trees to greet her. She took a deep breath, savouring the crisp morning air, the smell of pine needles and fresh daisies tickling her nostrils. Light, cool raindrops trickled down her coat; it was not enough to draw shivers, but enough to accelerate her waking. 

Eva turned her back on the sun and walked westward through the village to the woods. They greeted her with a chorus of chirping birds as oaks and willows swayed gently in the westerly breeze. Shallow puddles in the path—cool against her hooves as the rain was against her coat—invited her with more invigorating chill. 

The sound of flowing water ahead drew her attention. She smiled, increasing her pace toward the welcoming sound. A short walk later, she sat down at the river’s edge and watched the water gently pass by. Persistent, chilly pinpricks upon her coat stole the last remnants of drowsiness from her body.

With another yawn, she lifted a hoof and swept the black hood off her head, liberating her white mane. Using magic, she scooped up a small ball of water and splashed her face.

“This village is most serene,” she said to nopony in particular. She placed a hoof to her chest and massaged her face with the other. Cool water flowed down her face, through her mane, before dripping to the ground. “Oh, they are a special sort of herd, no doubts there at all. A pity I cannot settle with them.”

In the middle of rubbing her eyes, she froze as her horn vibrated. Ears perked, she turned her head slightly.

“Good morning, Kaviyayu.” Eva shook her head, mane flying about her face and back. She grinned internally at the absence of a return to her greeting. “Come on out, young filly. I can feel your presence. I promise not to bite.” She waited a few more seconds, taking the time to study the knots in a nearby oak.

Finally, a shadow fell upon her. Kavi descended, landing with a squelch in the soft mud. She folded her wings, looked up, and met Eva’s calm smile.

“How could you tell? Nopony ever knows when I’m in the air above them unless I make myself known.”

“Oh, I have my ways,” Eva said, facing the river once more. “When one has been everywhere and seen everything, one learns to maintain an air of caution about themselves. Not everypony I meet is friendly, to say the least.”

“Is that why you did what you did last night with the fire?” Kavi asked, walking slowly up next to Eva. “You thought we might not welcome you?”

“It was... a possibility based on my past experiences.”

“Oh.”

Kavi looked at her reflection in the water as the morning light glistened off the clear flow. She stretched out her wings sighing with every snap, crackle and pop of her joints.

“Your wings are lovely, Kaviyayu.”

Kavi’s cheeks flushed a deeper pink than normal. “Thank you, Miss Eva. I’m quite fond of them.”

Eva chuckled. “Please, just call me Eva. You need not be so formal with me.”

“Well, okay—” Kavi’s wings clicked a final time before she folded them in “—but only if you just call me Kavi.”

“A fair trade-off… Kavi.”

The pair sat in silence, enjoying the smell of the forest, the calls of the wildlife, and the drizzle upon their coats. Overhead, a rainbow kaleidoscope announced the sun peeking over the top of the trees. A pair of robins settled on the other side of the bank and dipped their beaks into the water, then shook themselves dry and took off again.

“You know, I’m really curious about something,” Kavi said, watching the birds flutter away. “I’d like to ask you, if you don’t mind.”
 
“Not a story-related question? Not something I can answer at camp tonight?”
 
“Um…” Kavi shook her head. “It’s actually a more… personal question.”
 
Eva raised an eyebrow. “And what is it you wish to know, my dear?”
 
“Well…” Kavi faltered, turning back to her reflection in the river; even then, she could not escape the curious gaze of Eva’s own image in the clear water. “I just wonder why you wear that thing all the time. I’ve never seen a pony so determined to cover up their body before.”
 
The sound of the river filled the following silence. 
 
“That is actually quite a personal question, Kaviyayu,” Eva whispered, watching as the robins settled across the river in their nest. She pulled the hood back up over her head. “I will answer, but only if you tell me something first.”
 
“Um, okay?” Kavi sat on all fours and pressed her elbow into the ground, resting her chin on a hoof. “What do you want to know: anything about the village, the river, the mountain?”
 
Eva chuckled. “No, Kavi. I am a traveller and a storyteller, in case you forgot. I have seen almost all of our beautiful country. I know of the Smokey Mountain and that the dragon at the summit melts the ice that your river is so named for. As for the village and its inhabitants, well… I admit, learning about you all will hopefully be interesting.”
 
She pointed to Kavi’s back. “What I am most interested in… is those.”
 
Kavi craned her neck and stretched out her body. “My wings? Oh, I was born with them.”
 
“Yes, I am aware of that,” Eva said. “What I mean to say is, why are you the only pegasus in your entire tribe?”
 
Kavi cocked her head. “What’s a ‘pegasus’?”
 
Eva blinked. “You mean you don’t know what you are?”
 
“Of course I know what I am!” Kavi turned her head innocently. “I’m my mother’s ‘one-in-a-million angel’.”
 
“Oh, of course you are. I was watching you last night—you turn heads wherever you go, and not just for your appearance.” Eva smiled then. “Everypony adores you. It is no small thing that the adults trusted you last night, when you vouched for me. They treat you like one of them, and I saw how the other colts ogle at you, even if you yourself do not notice.”
 
Kavi laughed. “Oh, I’ve noticed. That actually does get kind of annoying. I’ll choose somepony when I feel like I’m ready. But anyway, what’s a pegasus, and why do you think I’m one?”
 
“That is what we call ponies with wings where I come from. In fact, there is an entire city filled with your kind.”
 
“An entire city of angels?”
 
“Yes,” Eva said. “There are many, many of your kind. Besides—” rainbow light surrounded her “—have you not been curious about my horn?”
 
“Of course,” Kavi said as she eyed the prismatic glow. “Everypony wonders why you have it and how you can create such fantastic images in our fire pit.”
 
“That is because I am what we call a unicorn,” Eva said, tapping her horn. “As with your race of pegasi, there are entire cities filled with unicorns, all of us capable of using magic in many different ways. Of course, every race has magic…”

She paused, appearing deep in thought. A short moment later, she lowered her hoof and smiled. “I can show you all of them now, if it takes your fancy.”

Kavi’s eyes lit up, sparkling like a dewdrop reflecting a sunbeam. “Yes, please!” she said, nodding vigorously.

“All right, then.” Eva’s toothy grin widened as her rainbow light danced and shimmered, contorting into the shapes of three ponies.

“Pegasus magic flows from their wings, not only allowing them to fly but also to walk on clouds.”

The pegasus’ image flittered up onto a small puff and sat down above the ground.

“Unicorns, however, are the most adept when it comes to manipulating items,” Eva continued. “Most use it to levitate, as you have seen me do around town, but there are hundreds of other uses for it. For example—”
 
Eva disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared at Kavi’s side, eliciting a squeal and a backward leap from the stunned filly.
 
“—I can use it to teleport.”
 
“Whoa!” Kavi shook her head and sat up, catching her breath. “Warn me next time you’re going to do that!”
 
“Sorry.” In spite of herself, Eva laughed. “But there are two other types of pony to explain yet.”
 
Kavi took a deep breath and held a hoof over her heart. “Do normal ponies have magic too?”
 
“Yes, they do.” Eva nodded and, with a frown, refocused her magic. “Even though they have no horns or wings, ‘Earth’ ponies—as we call them—possess tremendous strength and have a knack for producing food. The magic flows through their hooves, making the ground fertile wherever they walk.” Her magic depicted an Earth pony dragging an enormous pile of logs behind it, with flowers and shrubs sprouting up in the wake of its hoofsteps.
 
“But there is one final type of pony—and this one is the most magical of all.”
 
The three different pony images swirled before Kavi, spiralling together in a haze of colour. When they converged, a blinding flash of light lit the wood. She raised a hoof to cover her eyes and looked away.
 
“The rarest of all ponies: the alicorn.”
 
Kavi lowered her hoof slowly, squinting. She gasped and her eyes shot open. A tall, slender pony shone with an illusory sun at its back. A coat of pure white, a flowing multi-coloured mane, an equally impressive tail, a colossal pair of wings coupled with a lengthy horn… and unlike the other images, clearly defined facial features. The kind, gentle face looked ahead; Kavi stared, slack-jawed.
 
“She’s so beautiful. Who is she?” she asked as the image turned in midair, revealing a decorative sun emblazoned on each of her flanks.

“This is the image of perfection,” Eva whispered reverently as she made the image spread its wings. She looked to the east, from where dawn had crept up on them silently. “The alicorn race has the magic of all three races together, but it is said that their overall power is far greater than the sum of their parts. In fact, the alicorn you gaze upon now is the only one in existence. It is said that she has lived since the beginning of time and rules over everypony in Equestria with a kind and just heart.

“Kaviyayu Samanka, I present to you the pony whom you and your village know as the ‘Sun Goddess.’ This is Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia, Shepherd of the Sun and Moon.”

“This is our Sun Goddess? You mean she’s a pony just like us?” Kavi walked around in a circle, assessing the image from every angle. “I wonder what it would be like to meet her. I’ll bet she has visitors day and night, just to say they’ve been near her.”

The image flickered and wavered, before being replaced with the visage of a gravity-defying city on the side of a mountain.

“This is the city of Canterlot, where she lives,” Eva said, pointing to the castle that seemed to make up most of the city by itself. “She lives on top of the world. That balcony right there—” Eva placed her hoof on the image where the tallest tower stood, the image rippling slightly “—is where she sits and raises the sun and the moon every single day.”

“I’d love to see her raise the sun one day,” Kavi said. She sighed and turned away.

“Is something the matter?”

Kavi stared at the river, seeing her downcast reflection. “It’s a village rule: nopony is allowed beyond the border of the White Tail Wood. It’s too dangerous to go any further east than the river or too close to the mountain where the dragon lives. They say it’s for our safety, that it’s a dangerous world out there. Besides, you heard what Elder Havijhan said—he doesn’t want anypony knowing about us.”

“Hmmm.”

The light around Eva’s horn flickered and died, along with the image of Canterlot. She walked next to Kavi, sat at the water’s edge, and placed a hoof on her shoulder. The breeze picked up, blowing a sudden flurry of leaves around the ponies.

“You know, you haven’t answered my question yet,” Kavi said after the leaves passed or fell into the river and around their hooves.

Eva stiffened and dropped her hoof. “I… I promise I will tell you. Since you gave me the information I sought, even without telling me, I do owe it to you.”

Kavi frowned at her, head cocked to one side.

“However, I would prefer it if we were truly alone. Put simply, it is not something I would like any… younger ears and eyes to be aware of.”

“‘Younger ears and eyes’? What do you mean?”

Eva shot her a wink. “I mean, you were not the only one to try sneaking up on me this morning. Others have been watching us for some time.”

“I think I understand,” Kavi said. “Come on, then. Let’s get back. Mother will wonder where I am—” she whipped her head around, catching Avran’s stunned gaze “—and where her youngest son is at this time of the morning!”

Four sets of hooves beat a hasty retreat north as the mare and filly laughed.





Kavi spent the majority of the day watching Avran, making sure he kept his nose out of mischief. The sun hung low in the sky, the temperature having already dropped to a comfortable level by the time she let her attention waver for the first time. Just as she was about to call it a day, Avran tried to climb a giant, fat oak tree and got stuck. It took Kavi—laughing openly at her crying brother—to fly up and lower him back down.

“And what in the Sun Goddess’ name made you think that was a good idea?” she asked when their hooves were all back on solid ground.

“Um… it didn’t look so high up from down here?” Avran shrugged as his posse sniggered at the thick trunk’s base.

Kavi shook her head as they bolted back toward the village, then sat beneath the oak. Time ticked further away while she just sat and relaxed, watching orange light dance upon the western horizon with its deep violet partner at the baseline.

What if I do want to leave one day? she thought. I have the wings to carry me anywhere, but… would Mother let me?

As the sun finally slipped out of sight, Kavi flapped her wings and headed home. She passed the fields near the mill, waving at the harvesters as she soared overhead. The scent of freshly cut hay wafted up, making her mouth water.

Smoke already wafted up from the village centre when she descended. Avran, Kartanya and their mother all sat in a circle. On her mother’s side sat—

“Father!”

Kavi immediately dashed toward her family, hooves thudding in the dirt with a solid thunk. She hit the ground running and pelted toward a stallion of patchy green and brown coat. With a squeal, she leapt at him and caught him in a full body tackle, burrowing her head into his firm chest.

“You’re back! It’s been weeks!”

Her father laughed, almost overbalancing, his deep belly-laugh joining Avran’s sniggers and Mother’s quick chuckle.

“It’s great to see you too, my angel,” he said when she finally released her hold. “Come, let me look at you.”

Kavi zipped back and twirled on the spot with her wings up.

“My, my, you do seem taller every time I come back,” her father said, his eyes twinkling like the stars above. “And your mane—it almost touches your hooves! Might be time for a trim soon, yes?”

Kavi shook her head quickly, blonde and pink curls flying back and forth. “Nu-uh! I’m never cutting this, and you can’t make me.”

“Stamska, you may as well give up now,” her mother said. “She seems determined to let it grow out. Just wait—” she faced Kavi “—soon you won’t be able to walk without tripping over. I really think you should at least let me tidy it up.”

“You should listen to your mother, Kavi,” Stamska said. “Shouldn’t she, Samanka?”

Kavi harrumphed and folded her forelegs, standing on her rears with her wings flapping for balance.

“Do I detect a family quarrel?”

“Not a quarrel, so much as a little tease,” Stamska said as the family’s eyes all fell upon Eva. “Greetings. I am Stamska, patriarch of this little herd. I’ve never seen you around before.” His eyes flicked to her horn for the briefest moment. “In fact, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anypony with one of those. Your name, Miss?” He held out a hoof. 

Green and brown met white.

“Eva,” she said, shaking Stamska’s hoof. “And you are quite correct—I myself had not known I would stumble upon your quaint little home, even by yesterday’s sunrise.” She dropped her hoof. “You have a lovely family, by the way. Why, I’ve never felt so welcome in a new place before. I suppose it helps that nopony can get enough of my stories.”

“Are you kidding?” Avran’s hoof shot into the air, narrowly missing Kartanya’s face. “Eva’s amazing, Father. You should hear her—no, you should see her stories!”

“‘See’ them?” Stamska gave Avran a quizzical look. “How can one ‘see’ a story?”

“Oh, it’s rather fascinating,” Samanka said. “Eva here has quite the gift.” She shifted her gaze to the unicorn. “Will you be performing again tonight?”

“My tales are yours, if your food is mine.”




*  *  *  *  *



The Mare in the Moon gazed down upon the camp, the communal fire at its heart flickering invitingly. Sleepy ponies lay around the fire, murmuring to each other as they patted full stomachs, dinner and supper both long since consumed. Beds called, but the chill of the cold spring night convinced many that heat could cure their drooping eyes, not sleep.

“Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria…”

The fire roared to life. Ponies jolted awake as the flames crackled and sparked, leaping skyward as if to offer their heat to the heavens above.

“There were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land…”

A swirling image appeared in the fire. A winged white unicorn rotated opposite a similarly sized, winged dark blue unicorn.

“To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the Sun at dawn. The younger brought out the Moon to begin the night…”

Eva’s voice washed over the village as the images danced in the inferno. The white pony smiled over a field of happy, dancing smaller ponies, while the blue one turned away, a single tear dropping from her eye as the same ponies slept through her beautiful night.

Kavi sat enraptured by the performance, her eyes following the figures’ every move as they danced in the flickering flames. She gasped as Eva’s voice dropped to a vicious whisper when the younger sister threatened to bring about eternal night. She hid her face in her mother’s mane when the rebel princess blasted her elder sister with a beam of magic from her horn. But it was the sight of the white one using a collection of mystical weapons to banish her sister to the moon that finally brought tears to her eyes.

“Those poor sisters,” Kavi whispered to her mother.

“It’s just a story, Kavi,” Samanka said, stroking her daughter’s mane. “A myth from almost a thousand years ago. There has only ever been one goddess, the Sun Goddess. She controls both sun and moon.”

“But what about the Moon?” Kavi pointed up to the sky, the shadow on the moon’s face suddenly feeling much more imposing. “Is that really the jealous younger sister, trapped inside?”

“This is the story we are told—” Eva’s commanding voice drew the villagers’ attention, the images fading with the aura around her horn “—when we grow up in the city of Tall Tale. Whether it is myth or ancient history is irrelevant. Only Princess Celestia rules in the east, and she commands both Sun and Moon. Be it because she always has, or because she adopted the role from her banished sister, only she can truly say.”

Stamska stood, leaving his family sitting together. “Now I have seen what you are capable of, Eva. I must say, it was a truly impressive performance, the likes of which I’ve never seen. Kavi and Avran weren’t lying when they said you would ‘wow’ me.”

He beckoned to Kavi, who looked at him with her head cocked. “Daughter, please join me by the fire. I have a tale of my own to tell in return, one that you have never heard. I understand your mother wanted to tell you yesterday, but with the arrival of our guest—” he gestured toward Eva “—it must have been driven from her mind.”

Samanka and Kartanya shuffled; Kartanya looked at the ground.

“What is it, Father?” Kavi asked.

“So, you believe you can tell a story to rival my own for sheer impact, Stamska?”

Stamska grunted and wrapped a hoof around Kavi as they stood before Eva. “As a matter of fact,” he said, “I do. It is a story not yet told, for everypony knows what happened. In fact, it was my own eldest daughter who experienced the events in this tale first-hoof.”

“Kara?” Kavi said, looking at her sibling, still determined to count the individual grains of dirt at her hooves. “What story is this?”

“The time has come for you to know, Kaviyayu,” Samanka said. “You too, Avran.”

“What is it?” Kavi and Avran asked simultaneously.

Stamska took a deep breath, exhaled, and looked to the sky.

“The Tragedy... of Artax.”





It couldn’t be.

It just wasn’t possible.

They had always been her family. She’d never known anypony else. Her first and earliest memories were filled with nothing but Mother, Father, Kara, and the village.

So why did the story feel so… so…

So real?

Kavi looked around at the villagers, the houses, the fire…

Not my home.

Her parents…

Not my parents.

Kartanya and Avran…

Not my siblings.

“Kaviyayu.”

She looked at her mother.

“We know this must come as a huge shock to you. But you must understand that despite everything, we still love you.”

Samanka approached Kavi with Stamska at her side. The pair made to wrap their forelegs around her—

“No!”

Kavi backed away, shaking her head, eyes dancing wildly. “Don’t touch me!”

“Kaviyayu!” Stamska boomed. “Don’t speak to your mother that way.”

“She’s not my mother,” Kavi said, looking away. “My mother is dead. So is my father. You two are just pretenders.”

A hush descended upon the village.

Kartanya stepped cautiously forward. “Listen, Kavi,” she pleaded. “We know you’re upset, and we know this is a really big thing to take in right now, but we are as much your family as we could have been. We love you, sister. We always have, and we always will. But you need to calm down.”

Kavi flapped her wings and flew backward into the branches of a nearby yew. “Why did none of you ever tell me before?” she called down. “Why did you let me believe a lie for so long?”

“We’ve never lied to you, Kavi,” Samanka said as she walked up to the tree trunk. “We just… thought it would be better if you were older when we told you. We thought you’d understand.”

“You’re still our angel, Kaviyayu,” Stamska said, joining his wife. “You’re still our daughter, whether we made you or not. We loved you the moment we laid eyes on you, and we’ll never stop.”

“Yeah!” Avran added—the whole family had gathered at the tree by now—“You’re still an awesome sister. You’re one of my best friends, even when you tell me off.”

Kavi turned her back, rotating on the branch. She held her hooves in front of her; she ran one through her mane, and rubbed the other over her pink coat. She stretched her wings, eyeing her feathers before folding them back into her sides.

“I should have known all this time,” she said. “I’ve always been different. But you all let me believe it was because I fell from the sky, that I was an angel from the heavens above. Not because I’m… a pegasus.”

She descended from the tree and swooped over her family, where she came to a halt before Eva.

“Thank you, Eva. In twelve years, you were the first to tell me what I really am. So far, you’re the most honest pony I’ve ever met.”

“Er…”

Eva looked around as her audience cast looks her way. “Well, I wasn’t aware that you didn’t know you were adopted… even though the thought did occur to me. But even if I was, it wasn’t my place to say anything.”

Eva began to back away. “Perhaps… I should take my leave. You’ve all been so kind to me, but now I feel my welcome is worn out.”

“Nonsense,” Samanka said with a shake of her head. “You can stay here. You’re not at fault… that would be Stamska and I.”

She looked back to Kavi with shining eyes. “Please, Kaviyayu, you have to believe we never wanted to hurt you. We’ve raised you since before you could crawl. You are our daughter.”

“I… I just want to be alone right now.”

With a flap of her wings, Kavi ascended into the air. “Just give me a while, okay? I really need some time to think.” She turned and sped away to the north, over the wheat fields.

“Kavi!”

Avran leapt up and made to gallop after her, but Stamska placed a firm hoof upon his shoulder. “Let her go, son,” he said. “She needs some time alone. Don’t worry—she’ll come back soon.”

“Will she, though?” Kartanya whispered, watching the pink form vanish into the heart of the wood..





The night dragged on, seemingly endless. Quiet rustling and tiny pinpricks of light shining through the bushes around her were Kaviyayu’s only indication that she was not alone. She sat in the boughs of an enormous elm, overlooking the northern border of her village’s territory.

Not her village.

It was all too much to take. She’d had a loving family her entire life, been treated the same as her sister and her brother, given all the same rules and allowances…

The same love.

She sobbed into her hooves for the mare and stallion she’d never known: the pegasi who had gifted her with life and given theirs to allow hers to continue. She imagined what they would have been like. Who would she have grown up making friends with? Would she have lived in the floating city that Eva mentioned in one of her stories?

The parents who had been claimed by a red wyrm’s wrath.

And she’d had another, older brother? Artax, the one who’d died valiantly trying to save her birth mother, who together with Kara had saved her life.

I know they love me. But how could they keep this from me for so long?

Maybe it’s because they love you that they did so? To protect you.

Protect me from what? Did they think I would run away and get myself lost, or hurt?

Can you blame them after Artax?

She shook her head, sick of the warring factions in her mind. She sucked down a deep whiff of air and opened her eyes. Extending her wings for balance, she stood on her hind legs and shouted to the moon. The sound of wings filled the air as nearby nesting birds took flight, shocked and disturbed from their midnight slumber.

Kavi ended her high cry and sank back onto the bough, laying her head upon her forelegs.

“Hey up there!” called an unfamiliar, honeyed voice.

Kavi lifted her head and peered down over the edge of her perch. Squinting, she saw nothing but shadows and the lower forest canopy. “Hello? Who’s there?”

“I’m coming up. Don’t move.”

A moment later, a bright flash and a pop almost made Kavi fall off the branch.

“Whoa!” she cried, flailing to keep her balance. Her wings extended, allowing her to catch herself and regain her composure. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to you doing that.”

Eva smiled as she found a place to lodge her hooves as the light around her horn faded. “At least I warned you this time.”

“Not really,” Kavi replied. “I didn’t know it was you. Did you change your voice? You sound a bit… um, less like you, I guess. Sweeter.”

“My voice changes after a large meal, dear.”

“Oh. Weird.”

“So,” Eva said as she lit her horn again, bathing them both in a dull glow. “Would you care to explain your grand, overly dramatic performance earlier?”

Kavi lowered her head with a sigh. “I’m not sure I want to talk about it. I sort of wanted to be alone for a while.”

“I know that,” Eva said. “But your mother looked so upset when you left that I offered to go and find you. Even if you do not return with me, she will be glad to know that you are okay out here.”

“My mother…”

Kavi turned and looked at the moon again. “I… know that I said some really hurtful things. It’s just that, well, my whole life, I knew I was different. But I never really knew why. And now, knowing what I do, I just can’t help feeling like I’ve been… sort of betrayed.”

“Kaviyayu Samanka.”

The mention of her family name drew Kavi’s attention.

“You were taken in as a barely-born filly,” Eva continued, “by a family who lost their eldest son, because your birth mother indirectly contributed to events leading to his death. Do you realise just how lucky you are that they did not instead choose to abandon you to your fate?”

“Um…”

“They rescued you, despite the heartache they must surely experience whenever they look at you. They’ve fed you, raised you, and from the sounds of it, treated you just as if you truly were their own foal. And this is how you repay them?”

“Stop—”

“You need to consider what truly matters, Kavi. The blood family you never knew, or the adoptive family that have given you the world out of the love in their hearts.”

“Okay!” Kavi yelled, drawing a slight flinch from Eva. “I have to go back. I know that. It’s just... things won’t ever be the same anymore.”

Eva closed her eyes. Rainbows poured off her horn and began to form an image in the air. The haze twisted and swirled until a clear picture of the village emerged.

There was the fire burning low. Everypony had gone to bed, except Kara and her parents. The three ponies huddled together, staring into the night with glassy eyes. Samanka’s gaze had misted over, and she was leaning into Stamska’s shoulders. Kara simply sat still as a statue, watching, waiting. Avran was not present; presumably he had been sent to bed.

Kavi looked at their forlorn expressions, their defeated yet hopeful body language. “They… really care about me,” she whispered.

She cringed as a hoof came from nowhere and bopped her nose.

“Of course they care about you,” Eva said. “You’re their daughter, and no technical matter like whose blood flows in your veins will ever change that.”

“How can you know that? You don’t even know us—you’ve been in the village for barely a day.”

“Oh, trust me on this, Kaviyayu,” Eva said. She patted the cloak covering her barrel. “If there is a single thing on this planet that I know, it is how to recognise love. Why, you could consider love-detection like a secondary special talent of mine.”

“How?”

Eva paused. She leaned back on the bough and turned her head. Dropping her hood, she let her stringy white mane fall about her shoulders, her face obscured. She held a hoof to her barrel, murmuring unintelligibly.

“Eva? What is it?”

Eva dropped her hoof and faced Kavi. “Never you mind, dear. Just a little self-conference, that is all. Now, I… suppose I did say I would show you if you answered my questions earlier this morning, did I not?”

She slipped off her cloak, eliciting a gasp from Kavi. Like her mane, Eva’s coat was pure white, so bright that Kavi imagined snow would seem brown next to it. Her tail was the same; even longer than her mane, it too appeared pallid and unkempt. The only parts of her that showed any kind of pigment at all were her pink eyes and her cutie mark: a pallet of rainbow paints surrounded by a prismatic aura.

Yet what drew Kavi’s attention the most was the thing fastened around Eva’s neck. A glorious light-blue sapphire gem sat at the heart of a pendant, affixed to a chain of rounded amethysts. It glowed in the night, seeming to call to her…

“This is my secret, Kaviyayu,” Eva said as she fondled the sapphire. “My Crystal Pendant detects and enhances the feeling of love anywhere nearby. It is how I found your village, when I saw you playing in the river with your brother and his friends. Since I set hoof in your village, it has been going completely haywire with excitement. Even now, it reacts to the love residing in your own heart—the love you feel for your family.”

“It’s so beautiful,” Kavi said. She leaned in closer, wishing to appraise the finer details.

Eva drew back, clasping a hoof over it. “Sorry, Kavi, but I cannot let anypony touch it. It is my only valuable possession… my one constant companion on my travels. I guard it with my life.”

The pendant faded from sight as Eva slipped her traveling cloak back on and lifted her hood again. “Also, I would appreciate it if you told nopony about this.”

“Um, sure.” Kavi nodded.

“Now, come on. You have a family to return to—and to apologise to for scaring to death.”

Kavi nodded again. “Yes. Thank you so much, Eva. Will you come with me?”

“Of course.”

Eva charged up her horn and disappeared with a pop. “Follow my horn, Kavi, lest you lose your way in the night.”

Kavi spread her wings and descended beneath the canopy. She landed next to Eva, leaves crunching under her hooves. Glowing eyes retreated into their bushes as the ponies set off at a swift gallop.





Kavi and Eva entered the village square. The fire had burned itself out, leaving only smouldering cinders and lingering smoke. Most other ponies seemed to have indeed taken their leave and elected to retire for the night. Yet the three ponies remaining on the log closest to the fire pit were all she cared about.

“Go on,” Eva said. She nudged Kavi’s flank. “Do what you have to. I shall hang back—this is a family affair, after all.”

“Okay.”

Kavi stepped slowly forward. Each step felt like trudging through sticky mud. Her head felt heavy, and her tail dragged along the ground. As she neared the green trio, she regained confidence and lifted her head higher.

“Mother? Father? I’m sorry I ran away. I was just… hello?”

Kavi called to them as she approached, but nopony even acknowledged her.

“I’m back. And I want to say—”

“Say what?”

Before Kavi knew what was happening, Kara was in her face. “My brother died twelve years ago,” she spat. “We took you in, we fed you, we raised you! And when we finally work up the courage to tell you your origins, you run away? Denounce us?”

Kavi stepped back, opening and closing her mouth, but no words came.

“You ungrateful little filly,” Samanka said as she walked next to Kara. “How could you put us—us, your parents—through such an ordeal? We loved you, and you threw all of that love in our faces and abandoned us!”

Kavi never saw the blow coming, only felt the sharp pain in her cheek and heard the crack of hoof against bone. She gasped and stumbled backward, collapsing onto the ground.

“Wha…? Mother! I’m sorry!” she yelled as tears welled in her eyes. Her cheek burned as she rubbed it. “I never should have run away. Please forgive me!”

“Why?”

Stamska had joined his wife’s side. He glared down at Kavi. “Why should we? You broke our hearts. Your sister, who saved your life, your mother, who allowed it to continue, and I, who protect us all each and every day from the horrors out there. We’ve done and do so much for you—what do you do for us, besides generate misery?”

“I… I-I… don’t…”

Kavi scuttled backward away from the three ponies. Not a single one appeared to have any semblance of care in their eyes. Instead, she could almost feel the waves of hatred emanating from their sharp, fierce glares.

“Go away, Kaviyayu,” the pony who was once her sister growled. “Don’t ever come back.”

“You don’t belong here."

“You'll never replace Artax. It's your fault he's dead!”

Waterfalls cascaded freely down Kavi’s cheeks as she picked herself up and spread her wings. With a final wail, she flapped her wings violently and sped off, past Eva, past the houses, and back from whence she’d came. Tears stained the ground from above as she retreated into the darkness.
> Chapter Three: Master Passion Greed (part one)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Look what you did.

Kavi flapped against the chilled midnight air. Her wings and shoulders screamed in protest, begging her to slow down.

You stupid little filly.

She ignored the aches and pains in her mantle and shoulders, for they paled in comparison to the aching of her heart.

They hate you now. All because you overreacted.

Kavi sobbed as she beat her wings even harder, as though she could outrace her thoughts. If her wings ever had held such power, though, it had long since left her.

She was exhausted. The Moon had long since crested the night sky and begun its descent, and her wings could carry her no further. She looked up at the familiar silhouette of the Mare in the Moon, staring into its emotionless, constant gaze.

“Princess Luna… if you are real, then maybe you know what it’s like to be banished, too.” She sniffed, drawing a wayward bit of mucus back into her nostrils. Despite the cold spring air, her eyes burned. Every gasp of air kept her on the verge of a hacking cough, her throat drier than an autumn leaf.

Kavi set her wings into a glide position and drifted slowly to the ground. As she approached Smokey Mountain Ridge, a dark shape crept into view amongst the trees: a wooden cottage nestled up against the side of the mountain. Unlike the houses in her village—the village—it had been hastily crafted. Not much care had been put into the architecture; it slumped to the side, its wooden log walls thrown atop one another instead of firmly lashed together, leaving no space for windows. There were patches in the roof where branches and leaves had been laid out to form a barely adequate shelter. The entryway yawned open, large enough for one pony to walk through; there wasn't even a hint that a door had once held fast against the elements.

Still, a shelter was a shelter, and its presence invited the cold air to claw at her coat all the more. As she spiraled down for a landing, the air bit at her eyes and lips while the beginnings of rain pricked at her coat and drove the cold deeper.

When she touched down on the slick vegetation, her hooves flew out from under her, sending her into an uncontrollable slide. Her balance already unstable, she came to a splashing stop in a deep puddle. As she scrambled out of the bog's cold water, the night breeze deepened the chill, sucking the breath from her lungs. 

Mud caked her hooves, her legs, and the longest parts of her mane. Her head came up dripping wet, leaving her feeling like she’d just been hit in the face by one of Avran’s snowballs.

Avran… I wonder how he feels. He wasn’t there when…

As the memory resurfaced in her mind, Kavi turned her gaze up to the night sky and screamed, her cry echoing through the otherwise silent woods. Gasping for air, a fresh round of shivers wracked her body when a light breeze teased her damp coat.

“I never wanted this!” she cried. “I wish I’d never known the truth. I wish I’d never flown off in the first place! And how I wish wish wish I could take back everything I ever said!” She slumped into the muck at her hooves. The rain and mud faded away into the background of her misery.

What's it matter anymore?

The growl of distant thunder accompanied her sobs as the sky cried with her. Raindrops and teardrops mixed on her face and fell thicker and faster with each passing moment, the weeping sky thoroughly drenching her coat. Her aches and pains were washed away, all other sensations replaced with cold and numbness. 

Vaguely, she registered a flash and a pop nearby, too quiet to be a lightning strike. Eva stood in the doorway, shaking her head.

“Why in Equestria are you wallowing outside in the mud, Kavi?”

“It doesn’t matter. Go away.”

Kavi felt a prickling sensation; before she could register it properly, she was separated from the ground’s cold, sludgy embrace as she floated toward Eva.

“My dear, you look like you just crawled out from under a mudslide. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up. I’ll run a bath for you.”

“Just leave me alone…”

Eva clucked her tongue. Her horn’s rainbow glow intensified.

“H-hey!” Kavi cried out, eyes flying open as she was shaken violently. Finally waking up to her situation, she twisted in midair and tried to break free.  “What are you doing? Put me down, Eva!”

“You are behaving like a foal,” Eva said. She stepped back into the doorway with Kavi firmly gripped in her aura. “Do not let depression drag you down. Now, come with me—you can get warm, clean, dry, and then settle down. We can have a rational discussion in the morning when you are well rested.”

Kavi said and did nothing while Eva's magic carried her inside. I already lost control of my life. What good would it do to fight her? 




*  *  *  *  *



Kavi moaned and closed her eyes; Eva had levitated her into some sort of tub, filled it with rainwater from a makeshift reservoir tank near the house, and warmed the water with her magic. It was a heaven unlike any that Kavi had ever experienced. Her tired wings, aching mantle, tight shoulders—all were caressed and cleansed by the lovely embrace of soapy hot water as it absorbed her woes, giving her the best full-body massage of her life. Dirt and mud fell off her coat as simply as the ocean breeze could pluck leaves from trees in late autumn.

“How do you feel, Kavi?”

“Hmmm?”

Kavi opened her eyes at the question; Eva had sat, rocking her chair back and forth in silence, waiting for a sign that her effort had paid off. She fluffed a yellowed, aged pillow suspended before her inside her aura. A small fire crackled in a shallow pit surrounded by large stones. An old-looking mattress occupied the corner. Aside from the essentials, various small personal effects littered the house, and the corner opposite the bed contained a giant carrybag of sorts, next to some wheeled device.

“Are you feeling better now?” Eva persisted.

“Oh. Um, yes, I suppose. Thank you, Eva.” Kavi sighed and bowed her head. “You’ve already done so much for me, and yet I’ve done nothing in return.”

“What complete folly, Kaviyayu,” Eva said. “You degrade yourself too much. Why, you have done far more for me than anypony has in years.”

“What do you mean?” Kavi tilted her head and sat up, rippling the water back and forth. “All I’ve done is ask you questions and be a total burden. You didn’t have to go looking for me before. You never had to tell me what I was—what I am. And you don’t have to be doing all this for me now.” She frowned in spite of her relaxed state. “Why are you so nice to me? I don’t deserve it, not after—”

“Shhh.”

Eva smiled as she stood from the chair, leaving it swinging back and forth. The pillow floated over toward the mattress, freshly fluffed and ready to receive a tired filly head.

“Just because you had a moment of weakness at a critical point in time does not mean you are obligated to suffer and wallow in despair in the aftermath. Now trust me when I say this: you have no idea the measure of gifts you have given me.”

Her horn lit up again, and the Crystal Pendant floated up from within her cloak. Contrary to earlier, it shone with a radiance that filled the cottage. Pale blue light bounced off every wall, glowing with a ripple effect that made the cottage feel almost like it was underwater.

“See how it shines, Kavi. This Crystal Pendant pulses with love from your village. Never before have I entered a place so pure, so peaceful… so appreciative of life and the simple things. Everypony in the village has a deep, interwoven love for each other. It is really quite extraordinary.”

Eva lowered the pendant with a frown. “I feel I owe you an apology, Kavi. You have to believe me—I genuinely believed that your family would be thrilled and relieved to see you back home. Why they turned on you so viciously like that… it makes no sense.”

“It’s not your fault, Eva. You meant well.” Kavi slumped back into the tub, no longer enjoying the slowly-cooling water’s caress. “Love, huh… I threw that away, for sure. My mother… she hit me! She’s never done that before. And my father—my father did nothing to stop it. He just jeered at me. As for Kara…”

Kavi swallowed the foul taste rising in her throat. “She found me. She convinced Mother and Father to adopt me, but… but s-she... she’s the one who… who—”

“Shhh, sh sh sh. Calm down, Kavi.”

The blue light vanished as Eva slipped the pendant back inside her cloak. She grabbed a towel from near the bed with her magic and brought it over to the tub, where she tucked it into a rail on the side.

“Come on, now. Let us get you out of there, dried, and into bed. I shall warm some blankets and you can sleep this horrible night away.” Eva furrowed her brow as the water slowly floated out of the tub.  Forming the water into a sphere, Eva levitated it out through the door before letting it fall to the ground.

“There. A final log on the fire for a slow burn, and you should sleep well,” Eva said as Kavi rubbed herself all over with the coarse towel.

“Why are you being so nice to me, Eva?” Kavi asked, tossing the towel aside after she finished drying herself. She trotted over to the mattress and collapsed onto it with a muffled moan. “All this effort, and what have I done but take from your kindness?”

Eva chuckled. “For the last time, Kaviyayu, you have already given me more than anypony in years. Do not doubt my words. Now go to sleep, okay? With the dawn, we will talk.”

“I am pretty tired, I guess,” Kavi said, yawning. “But what if I have nightmares? I’m… I’m afraid to fall asleep, Eva. I don’t want them to come.”

“I promise you will be fine, Kavi,” Eva said as she sat next to her. She ran a hoof back and forth over Kavi’s fluffy coat, which drew a sigh of content from the young filly. “We can share the mattress. I will be right here, I promise.”

Kavi stifled another yawn. “Okay. Thanks, Eva. You’re a great friend.”

She lay her head down upon the pillow, slipped beneath the woolen blanket, and rolled up against the wooden wall. The relentless pitter-patter of rain upon the roof along with the drip of it running down to the ground helped her relax, and she fell asleep almost instantly.




*  *  *  *  *



“Kavi! Wake up! Kavi!”

With a low moan, Kavi shifted her body away from the sound. She kept her eyes firmly closed and turned her head.

“Kaviyayu! Get up, please!”

She felt a hoof prodding at her flank. Grumbling some unclear response, she lifted her head. Her eyelids fluttered open slowly.

Blue. Why was everything so blue?

Am I dreaming?

Kavi groaned and stretched her limbs with a petite yawn. She blinked a few more times, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. Still groggy, she stood up and turned to the voice. Her eyes widened.

“Kara? Is that you?”

Kartanya stood before Kavi. Stamska, Samanka, and Avran sat together on the—ground?—in a huddle nearby. Though they smiled at Kavi after meeting her gaze, the expressions seemed… somewhat forced. All was blue around them as Kavi cast her eyes about.

“Oh, thank the Goddess you’re okay!”

Kara pulled Kavi into a crushing hug. “We were so worried when you flew away. We thought we might never see you again!”

A spark jolted Kavi’s memory. She pushed her sister away with a forceful shove. “What do you mean, ‘thought you’d never see me again’?” she shouted. “You all yelled at me, hit me, and told me to leave and never return!” Her expression blazed, her legs shaking.

Kara’s eyes widened as she took a step back. “We… we did what? No, we’d never—”

“Don’t even try to deny it!” Kavi said. She pointed a hoof at Kara, circling it around the rest of her family. “I know I said some terrible things, but I’d just learned something huge and life-changing. I came back… I tried to apologise, but none of you would hear it. You all disowned me!” She rubbed her cheek, the memory of her mother’s blow stinging as much as her cheek had hours earlier.

“Kavi, listen to us!” Samanka pleaded. “We love you! What’s making you say such things? We waited long into the night, hoping you would come back. The thought that you might not return—it was tearing us apart.”

She stood and took a tentative step forward. “You have to believe us. We’d never say such terrible things. I’d never hit you.” She drew closer, seeing confusion dawning on Kavi’s face in place of anger. “I love you, Kaviyayu. Your father loves you, your siblings love you, and the whole village thinks you’re the most special, precious filly of all.”

“But…” Kavi backed away, shaking her head. “I know what you all said. I felt you strike me down. I landed in the mud, crying my eyes out. There’s no way I imagined that… is there?”

She stood still and quiet as Stamska and Avran also rose and joined her, circling her. Together, Kavi’s family embraced her in a group hug. She stayed put, not daring to move while her mind raced.

“Where are we?” she finally asked.

Everypony backed off and sat down again, their faces once more contorted in inexplicable sadness.

“We don’t know, Kavi,” Kara said. “We fell asleep by the fire waiting for you. Next thing we knew, we were all here in this strange blue place.”

She waved a hoof around; Kavi followed the motion, only then noticing other ponies sitting in their own herds further away. Apart from her family, she recognised others: Avran’s friends, Havijhan the Elder, her father’s scouting party...

“But where is ‘here,’ and why?”

“Oh, lovely. You’re awake in there. About time—I was growing rather impatient.”

The honeyed voice rang out from everywhere, and everypony jumped, looking around wildly.

“Eva? Is that you?” Kavi asked. “Where are we? What’s going on?”

“Ah, my dear Kaviyayu. So glad you could join us all. As for your question, just let me slip into somewhere more comfortable.”

Eva’s rippling visage shimmered into view. She had abandoned her cloak, her full white body and hair on display. Her eyes, previously pink, gleamed the same blue as their surroundings, small wisps of green smoke also flickering around the edges of her corneas. The Crystal Pendant gleamed around her neck, its sapphire swirling with the same mist that surrounded everypony.

“That’s better. How are you all feeling? Sad? Lost? Emotional?”

“Wh-what?” Kavi shook her head. “Why are you asking that? What are you doing?”

“Taking what I desire, of course.”

Her horn lit up, although it was not with the rainbow hue that Kavi expected. Its cerulean glimmer shone in tandem with the Crystal Pendant as an identical glow covered everypony’s barrels. An odd pressure grew in Kavi’s chest, like some invisible creature had decided to squeeze her in a tight hug. She looked down at the blue aura as it brightened, then disappeared. Her family and many other ponies around them also had similar auras coating their hearts.

It was as though all the sadness she had ever felt in life had returned to grip Kavi by the heart and squeeze it. She dropped to her knees, gasping, tears running down her cheeks.

“I… what did you… I don’t understand…”

“Oh, let me make this quite simple.” Eva trotted toward Kavi and lifted her chin to meet her eyes. “You, my dear, are everything I have sought after for years. The love that you possess for your family makes for a most exquisite banquet.”

Kavi’s eyes lit up, her mouth open. “You’re eating my love?”

“And it is truly delicious, I assure you. Of course, I plan to take it slowly over time. Love is rather potent, you see, and I do so enjoy savouring its sweetness.”

Kavi scrambled backward, tripping over herself in her haste. She looked up from the ground, eyes shining.

“But why?” Samanka shuffled forward, also having fallen from her own heart’s piercing. “We gave you our food, our attention, a place to sleep. We trusted you!”

“That you did.” Eva walked toward Samanka, her lips pulled back into a leer. “Why, I have your dearest ‘daughter’ to thank for that, do I not? Was it not her words, her trust, that won you all over?”

“You leave my wife and family alone, you freak,” Stamska growled, moving to stand in front of Samanka. He threw a punch at Eva's head as she approached, but his hoof passed through her face like she wasn't there at all.

Ignoring Stamska’s look of shock, Eva prowled forward until she stood right in front of Samanka. “You know, I really must thank you and your stallion for adopting little Kaviyayu. I have wandered this world for over a decade and never found anypony near as full of love as she.”

“Why do you want our love anyway, you witch?” Kartanya shouted from behind her.

Eva’s ears perked. She turned slowly and stared at Kartanya, who was busy comforting the shivering Avran with a gripping hug.

“Because, Kartanya, love is the most wonderful feeling in the entire world… Something that I have never had the pleasure of experiencing first-hoof.”

Rainbow light swirled around the Samanka family. Eva’s image depicted a pure white filly having rocks thrown at her by many other young unicorn foals. One of them galloped up and pushed her into the dirt; as the filly cried, her coat streaked with brown, a chorus of jeers filled the air. The image faded, replaced by another, depicting an older-looking filly sitting in a classroom and doing her best to ignore the flying spitballs aimed at her. After it, too, shimmered out of existence, a third image showed a young mare sitting alone at a party while everypony else danced with their partners. Her pink eyes shone, dark stains running down her cheeks while the music drowned out her sobs.

“Ever since I was born, I’ve been vilified,” Eva said. “Everyone hated me. They mocked my albinism, my mane, my eyes… and I couldn’t even conjure up the simplest of spells to defend myself. I failed magic school, which only made things worse.”

One last rainbow image flickered in midair. The white mare was backed into a corner in an alley, a group of stallions approaching her wearing predatory grins. She let out a yelp—

“Finally, there came a day I refused to take it anymore.”

—and the entire alley exploded in a brilliant flash of rainbow light. When the light faded, only the shaking mare remained, sitting in the centre of a crater. The buildings around her were missing pieces of their foundations; seemingly on the verge of collapse, they were freshly coated with enormous blotches of scarlet. The stallions were nowhere to be seen.

“I fled Tall Tale in fear of my life, for I knew that nopony would hesitate to incarcerate me if I was found.”

The final image faded. “I have been starved of love my entire life. Now, I take it from others. I watch as misery consumes them while I relish in their pain. But that is not all I do. You see, once I imprison a pony’s soul in my pendant, their body is mine. I can make it do whatever I want. I can make them hurt each other, or themselves if I want to.”

Prismatic magic engulfed her, and she began to slowly fade, growing more transparent by the second. “I grow stronger and more powerful with the might of my pendant and my magic combined. And when I finally absorb enough power, the entire world will know my true name: Prismia, the Goddess of Love! I will see everypony bow to me and love me... while they wallow in their despair!”

She reared up, reaching for the sky as she vanished with a loud bang and a flash of light. The ponies gaped as Prismia’s parting cackle echoed around them.

“Are we… stuck here forever?” Avran asked.

“Hush, dear, of course not,” Samanka said, stroking his mane. “We’ll find a way out of… wherever we are.”

“I think…”

All eyes turned to Kavi. “I think we’re… inside Eva’s—Prismia’s—Crystal Pendant. I saw how it lit up the walls of her house before I fell asleep. This air around us—it’s the exact same colour.”

“Inside a piece of jewellery? That’s absurd! We saw her wearing it not a moment ago!” Stamska shouted. “How could we be inside it?”

“Stamska, calm down,” Samanka said, placing her hoof upon his shoulder. “You saw the way your hoof passed through her when she walked toward me. I don’t believe it was really her… just another of her magical illusions. What if she somehow put herself inside it, just to communicate with us?”

Stamska growled. “I don’t care what she did. All that matters is that we find a way to break out of this place.”

“What are we gonna do?” Avran asked, still shivering in Kartanya’s embrace.

Kavi sighed and walked over to them. She unfolded her wings and draped one each across her brother and sister. “Hey. You know how Prismia said she could make ponies ‘hurt each other’? Does that mean… when you all said and did those things to me before…”

“It… could be,” Samanka said. “Even though we don’t remember any of what you said we did, if she was controlling us at the time… we wouldn’t.” She held a hoof to her mouth. “Oh, my darling, if we really said those nasty things… did I really—”

“Mother, it’s okay. It wasn’t really you. I know that now.”

Samanka nodded and rushed to Kavi, wrapping her forelegs around her and planting kisses on her cheek. “Oh, baby girl, I’m so sorry. I love you so much. I always have.”

“We all have,” Stamska added, joining in.

“Uh huh!” Avran jumped up onto Kavi’s back and nuzzled into her neck. “Even when you tell on me and get me in trouble.”

Kavi giggled and spun in circles, waving her wings up and down; Avran grasped her around the neck and held on, his rear legs flicking around in different directions. She stopped soon after and shifted her gaze. “Kara?” She tilted her head. “Are you okay?”

Kara closed her eyes and hung her head. “Kavi…” She looked away.

“What is it?” Kavi asked, again extending a wing over her sister. “Look, we’ll find some way out of here. I promise. Don’t worry.”

“It’s not that, Kavi, it’s…” Kara opened her eyes. “It’s just that seeing us all here together like this—wherever here is—in this situation… I can’t help thinking about Artax. He’d…” She wiped away a tear. “He’d have loved to watch you grow up.”

“Kara, I—”

“It’s okay,” Kara said with a headshake. “I just think of you as his final gift to us. I’ll never forget his face as he… as he… passed you to me, before…”

The rest of the family jumped in, all clutching each other.

“All of Zahara loved Artax, Kartanya.”

Havijhan’s voice wafted over as he walked toward the family, the villagers all following behind him. “Artax was strong, a hard worker and an even harder player, brave… but most of all, I remember a kind young colt who looked up to his parents, and who adored his little sister. Sun Goddess willing, he looks down on you from above every night with that silly grin he used to wear.”

Kara smiled at his words. “Thank you, Elder.”

“What a touching display.”

Kavi and everypony turned abruptly at the voice, all of them stiffening and falling silent.

“No, please, do continue reminiscing upon days of old,” Eva said as she shimmered into view before them all. “It is most delicious.”

“Prismia, stop this!” Kavi cried, stepping forward in front of her family. “You’re hurting everypony!”

“What of it?” Prismia sneered. “I was hurt all my life. Now I’m taking my share of the love I never had.” Her horn glowed.

“You don’t have to do this,” Kavi said. Holding her head high, she walked forward and stopped short of the glowing mare. “Taking things from other ponies isn’t right. You need to earn the things you want.”

“I have earned this!” Prismia stamped a hoof, her eyes flashing dangerously with the pendant. “A lifetime of neglect and suffering is far more than enough advance payment for any amount of love I wish to take.”

Kavi shook her head and stepped a little closer. “I’m sorry you were hurt so bad when you were young. I admit it: I have no idea what that must have felt like, how it must still feel to remember it.” Another step. “Earlier tonight, I learned that I’ve also lost things. Once upon a time, I had pegasus parents who loved me.” She hung her head. “They died a long time ago. I never knew them.”

She lifted her head and looked around at the Zaharans. “Yet I’ve never felt alone—not for a minute, not with all of these lovely ponies—” she waved her hoof around “—to help raise me and teach me about all the good things in life.”

“Just what are you trying to say?” Prismia said. “Of course I know how strong your love is! Why do you think I was drawn to you?”

“And what happens when our love is all gone, Prismia? What do you do next—move on to the next village and keep going?”

“There will be thousands more where you came from,” Prismia retorted. “For every pony I drain, another ten will replace them. I will never run out!”

Kavi paused. “But… doesn’t it get tiring, roaming all over the land from town to town? To never have the same ponies around you? You’re talking about these ponies like they’re just food to you—something to be nibbled on and then thrown away.” She lifted her wings and giving them a shake. “You drop them as easily as if they were feathers falling from my wings after moulting.”

“A goddess does not get tired.”

“Should a goddess need to steal her love?”

“I—”

“No, I think you are just a pony like me. You want love—you crave it. You aren’t the ‘Goddess of Love’; you’re just an old, sad pony!” Kavi crept forward a little more. “How many ponies have you hurt, all over Equestria? When will you stop? Will it ever be enough? Where does it end?”

“Enough of your questions!” Prismia hissed. “I’ll stop once all of Equestria bows before me. Do I need a better motive?”

Kavi sighed. “You just don’t get it, do you? Think about this: you take a pony’s love. Then what happens? They have no more love to show their family. It breaks them apart so much that they never feel love again. Everypony is sad. Even you. But you keep going—you keep taking, and taking, and taking some more! Soon, everypony will be so sad and mad with each other that they won’t want to make any more families. You know what that means, right?”

“It means they will have only one pony left to love: me, their Goddess.”

“No!” Kavi shouted. “Why can’t I make you understand? No more love means no more families… no more children…” She bent her front knees and lowered her head, eyes closed. “No desire to live on…”

“But…” Prismia paused then shook her head. “But they must. They’ll have to. Their love for me—” 

“It wouldn’t be real! Just because you are the only pony they won’t hate doesn’t mean they’ll love you!”

“That makes no sense. They will have to love me. I will command it.”

“‘Command it’? Are you listening to yourself, Prismia?” Kavi jerked her head up, her eyes glistening. “Have you ever even felt love—real, true love? You can’t command it. It’s an amazing thing, but I think... you’ve only glimpsed it, and it calls to you somewhere deep inside. If you had really, truly taken love and stored it deep inside your heart, you wouldn’t be this mean. You couldn’t be this mean.”

Kavi turned and paced back toward her family. “I’ll show you.” She came to rest before Stamska, looking each other in the eyes. “Father,” she said, “two days ago I disobeyed Mother and went to the Snowflow without a grown up. I know it’s dangerous and against the rules, and I’m very sorry.”

Chuckling, Stamska wrapped his foreleg around Kavi and ruffled her mane. “I forgive you, Kavi. We all make mistakes. In fact, I’m glad you were there to keep an eye on your brother.”

The Crystal Pendant shone a little brighter.

“Explain!” Prismia screeched, the glow drawing her attention. “Why—how can his love have increased? You were wrong and should be punished. You do not deserve love!”

“She is my daughter, Prismia. She did nothing to become my daughter, and she can do nothing to stop,” Stamska said. “I love her now and will always love her, no matter what choices she makes in life. I am not perfect, and I don’t expect her to be.”

Kavi grinned and hugged Stamska. “I love you, Father.”

“I love you too, my angel.”

They broke apart, and Kavi and turned to Samanka. “Mother, the other day, I flew up really high, even though you’ve told me not to because I could get tired and fall down, or get horribly sunburnt. It was cloudy, so I thought I could just rest on them, and they would help me to not get burnt. Even so, I knew it was wrong, yet I did it anyway.”

“You’re right, Kavi—it was wrong of you. If I had caught you myself, you’d be in a lot of trouble, young filly.” Samanka sighed, a small smile creeping onto her face. “But the fact that you’ve come out and confessed to your actions, even under threat of punishment, is an admirable thing. Thank you for being honest with me… but don’t you do it again, okay?”

“Yes, Mother,” Kavi said while also embracing Samanka. “I love you too.”

“I love you more.”

The Crystal Pendant brightened again.

“This cannot be possible! Whenever I disappointed my family, I was yelled at, beaten, and ridiculed!” Prismia bared her teeth. “You are all deceiving me somehow—you must be!”

“True love doesn’t lie, Prismia. I know this now.” Kavi bent down to nuzzle her brother. “Avran, I ate your cookie last week when you weren't looking.”

“What?” Avran gasped. “So it was you!” He frowned, then smiled. “Nah, that’s okay. I ate yours the day after anyway.” He leapt onto Kavi and hugged her fiercely as they both burst into laughter.

When the laughter subsided, Kavi looked around at the rest of the herd. She flapped her wings and rose off the ground a little way, granting her a clear view of all present. “Everypony,” she said as she opened out her forelegs, “I’ve spent my life among you all, and I’ve loved every waking moment that I can remember of it. You never had to accept me, but you did. You’re all so kind and sweet, not just to me but to each other as well, and I love you for that too.” 

A warm tingle spread through her body as the ponies all offered up various assent and their own smiling faces.

“Stop it!” Prismia shielded her eyes against the Crystal Pendant’s shine, too bright to look at directly. “This emotion, it hurts… it’s too much...”

“Lastly, there is something important you all need to hear.” Kavi dropped back to the ground and swept her mane from her face. She reared up and placed her hooves upon Kartanya’s shoulders.

“Kara… sister… I owe you everything. You are the reason I’m still here today. When I was told the story yesterday, I… I panicked—I just didn’t know what to think. I ran away from the ponies who’ve cared for me all my life, scared you all and myself. But I know now what’s important.”

As with the others, she embraced Kara with a nuzzle and a hug. “You are my family. All of you, whether we share our blood or not.”

Kara closed her eyes and leaned into her sister. “Of course we are,” she said, grasping Kavi tight in return; Kavi felt a drop of moisture on her shoulder. “We’ll never not be.”

They broke apart, smiling at each other before Kavi nodded and trotted back toward Prismia.

“Enough of this.”

Kavi halted, eyeing the leer on her captor’s face.

“All you have done with your little performance is expose all of your love for each other. And now it is there, out in the open for me to take it!” Her horn brightened, a jet of rainbow light shooting out of it. The light streaked toward Kavi and pierced her barrel, illuminating her whole body.

A collective cry of “Kavi!” echoed through the area.

Prismia’s grin widened, giving way to confusion, anger, and finally fear as she took a step back, her mouth hanging open and her pupils the size of raisins.

“Do you understand yet?”

Unaffected by the beam, Kavi walked slowly toward the love vampire, her glow dissipating. “Love is not just something you can take or force ponies into giving. It can come from anywhere. Sometimes it doesn’t even need to be earned. But if you have it, it’s something you need to return in order to keep it deep down in your heart. And even if…”

Kavi paused and took a deep breath, steadying herself. “Even if your blood family never loved you, there’s always somepony out there who might. Maybe even more than just one somepony. Maybe a whole town can… if you give them all a chance.”

Squinting against the pendant’s intense light, Kavi crept right up to the squirming Prismia and wrapped her forelegs around her. There she stood for a full minute, pressed up against the suddenly rigid white body. Nopony spoke; barely anypony breathed. At last, Kavi broke away from Prismia and met her gaze, irises a mixture of blue and pink with green wisps still flickering at the edges of her corneas.

A heart-shaped sparkle flashed in Kavi’s eyes.

Seconds later, a tremendous sound filled the area, as if a giant glass window had shattered; everypony gasped and averted their eyes as the pendant’s light filled the area completely. The pendant shattered around Prismia’s neck, many blue fragments all floating before her along with its beaded amethyst chain. They began to spiral around in an elaborate pattern, in and out of each other’s position, each fragment emitting a ping before dulling completely.

When all of the fragments had dulled, they ceased their midair dance and hovered in front of Kavi. She looked down, eyes wide as each fragment and amethyst rejoined, perfectly slotting back together around her own neck instead of Prismia’s.

“What have you done?” Prismia whispered.

Kavi opened her mouth to answer, interrupted by another flash of light. Looking around, she saw nopony else in the vicinity. She smiled.

“Everypony has gone home, Prismia. It’s time for us to leave, too.”

The pendant flashed.
> Chapter Four: Master Passion Greed (part two)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The first thing Kavi knew was darkness. Compared to the Crystal Pendant’s shimmering atmosphere, her surroundings seemed pitch-black in the early hours of the morning. Only the moonlight shining in through the doorway told Kavi where she was. She groaned, blinked furiously, and rubbed her eyes before looking around.

Everything was as it had been before she fell asleep. All of Eva’s… no, Prismia’s things were arranged about the place in the same way. The rain pounded just as loud as when she’d laid her head down. The shadows seemed the same, yet the air was completely still.

“You…”

Kavi spun around at the voice. A wizened, grizzled old pony sat on the mattress, rocking back and forth in a foetal position, her horn glowing feebly. “My power,” she croaked, her voice harsh and dual-toned again. “You took it all away. I… I have nothing left now.” She caressed the Crystal Pendant, no longer shining but a dull, dark blue.

“Prismia.”

Kavi trotted next to the elderly mare and stared her in the eye. “You didn’t have to deceive us and try to take everything from us. You could have stayed in the village—made friends with us all. You might have come to love somepony, or even be loved in return.”

She sighed, eyeing the pendant. “I’m sorry about your past. I have no idea what it must have been like for you. Even so, you had no right to steal emotions from other ponies. Just because you suffered, doesn’t mean everypony else has to.”

“But… it was the only way.” Prismia buried her wrinkled face into her hooves. “I was never loved. I… I wanted it so much. When I found the Crystal Pendant twelve years ago, it was like a dream come true. Suddenly I had it—I had a way to acquire love. I kept using it, and… the more I took, the more I craved. I never wanted it to stop…”

Prismia burst into tears and covered her face with her hooves, sobs wracking her aged body. Kavi watched in silence as Prismia’s long-bottled and hoarded pain flowed down her cheeks.

“Take it off.”

Prismia lowered her hooves enough for the top of her eyes to look up at Kavi. “W-what?”

“Take it off,” Kavi repeated. She held out a hoof. “Give me the pendant. You’ve done far too many terrible things with it. Now, take it off and be free. Be your own pony, and stop letting it control you.”

Prismia sniffled, rubbed a leg across her nose, and nodded. Encased in a rainbow, the Crystal Pendant floated up from her neck. Instead of placing it in Kavi’s outstretched hoof, however, she slipped it over Kavi’s head.

“H-here. You s-should wear it. You have s-so much more love in your h-heart than I.”

As Prismia’s aura faded, Kavi looked down at her chest. The ring of amethysts seemed to shrink around her neck while the sapphire itself sat upon her breast. She touched it—it was cool, soothing against the heat in her chest, like the Snowflow’s caress against her coat on a hot summer’s day.

It felt like she’d reclaimed a long-lost piece of herself.

As she turned the Crystal Pendant over in her hoof, it vibrated violently; startled, Kavi dropped it. Floating in midair, the pendant emitted a shrill hiss; Kavi and Prismia both cringed and brought their hooves to their ears. Green and black smoke poured from the sapphire’s centre, filling the dwelling.

The fog swirled and contorted, its edges solidifying into something vaguely pony-shaped. Four misshapen hooves thudded into the floor. A section of green cloud sharpened into a pair of translucent wings from its back. A stringy, tattered teal tail burst from its rear. Crowned by a twisted horn, a head atop a slender neck sprouted from the body and rose until it towered over Kavi and Prismia. A pallid mane draped down over its face and down its back. Sharp fangs lined the too-wide mouth, a short nose poked out, and bottomless eyes of the deepest emerald green filled most of its new face.

With a menacing hiss, the monster bared its fangs. Before Kavi had a chance to react, it lunged for her throat.

As it closed to within a foot of her face, the Crystal Pendant gleamed to life and created a blue barrier between Kavi and the monster. It slammed its legs against the shield three times, hissing as the contact left fresh, glowing blue scorch marks on its solid black coat. The smell of singed flesh filled the cottage as the burns seared holes into the monster’s body at each point of contact.

The monster retreated, flicking its tongue out at Kavi. Green flames engulfed it, and suddenly Kaviyayu found herself face to face with… herself. When the monster spoke, it was with Kavi’s own young, high voice, although its chosen words would never have left the original’s lips.

“You! Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for somepony like you? Ages have come and gone, years and years spent endlessly craving delicious, enriching love, and now you dare to stand before me and deny me of such power?” It hissed again, and reverted to its hideous form. “Well, if I can’t have yours, mi amore, I’ll just take it from others in your place.”

The monster turned to Prismia, licking its lips. Another flash of green flame later, a second Prismia leered at the first. Its voice changed again to mimic the elderly mare.

“As for you… for too long I’ve put up with your minimal nourishment. You never could satisfy my demands for love. Now, with her in possession of the pendant, both it and you are worthless to me. That said...”

The pretender cackled, making Kavi’s hackles rise. “Haha! Yes, this is perfect! If it weren’t for the two of you, I’d still be contained in that disgustingly cramped prison. I really should thank you both—at last, I’m finally free to go forth and take my own share. Equestria’s love will be all mine!”

Its horn flashed once, green flames wrapping around the monster’s body as it cackled madly. With a sudden crack, it vanished, leaving only a small scorch mark on the floor.

Kavi swallowed hard and looked down at the sapphire that had just saved her life. It was still cool against her chest, a comforting, welcome presence.

“That thing… What was it? I think it might have been female, but...”

Prismia sat wide-eyed, trembling as though the ground shook beneath her. “That… that must be what the voice in my head all these years belonged to. From the day I found the Pendant and placed it around my neck, it promised me as much love as could fulfill my desires. It…” She faltered before swallowing and carrying on. “It knew me, inside and out. It whispered to me of its memories—memories of others throughout the ages.”

“‘Throughout the ages’?” Kavi held the pendant up between them and narrowed her eyes. “Just… how old is this thing, Prismia?”

“Centuries, at least. Possibly thousands of years.”

“T-thousands?” Kavi dropped the pendant. “But why would… I don’t understand—why would that… that monster choose now to come out? Wouldn’t it have tried to escape a long time ago?”

“I cannot say for sure. All I can offer you is my best guess.” Prismia coughed and lay back down on the mattress. “When I… when I took your love while under that creature’s influence, it was the purest strain I had ever tasted, far stronger and more satisfying than anypony else’s before. Such potency… the creature could no longer stand to remain inside. Then, when you confronted me, and the pendant shattered… that must have weakened the pendant’s magic that kept it bound. Or maybe—” she coughed again “—maybe your pure heart forced it out.”

“But… I don’t understand.” Kavi sat and shook her head. “Why am I so special? I’m just a filly.”

“Don’t you ever believe that for a second, Kaviyayu,” Prismia said sharply. She continued to cough. “You have been raised in the most loving and isolated environment I have ever come across. Little wonder the Crystal Pendant hugs you so tightly. Even...” She looked down at the ground. “Even without it around my neck, I can still sense the power you possess. The pendant recognises you as its true bearer, Kavi—make no mistake about that.”

Kavi fondled the pendant once more. As she moved it around, the monster’s voice rang in her memory. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for somepony like you… I’ll just take it from others in your place… others in your place...

Equestria’s love will be all mine…

Kavi gasped. “No! It can’t. Prismia, she’s going after my family—I’m sure of it!”

Prismia remained motionless, her eyes bloodshot and downcast.

“Come on! We have to get back to Zahara and help them!”

Prismia lifted her head a few inches, then let it fall again.

“Please, you have to help me! I can’t fly fast enough to get home in time and warn them! Everypony will be asleep, and… and I don’t want to think about that right now, but come on, please!”

Kavi jumped onto the mattress and grasped Prismia’s shoulders, shaking her hard. The mare’s head lolled back and forth with the motion. Kavi opened her wings and beat them hard, straining, but Prismia’s adult weight was too much for her.

“I can be of no use to you, Kaviyayu,” Prismia murmured. “I am an old mare, deprived of her main power source. My actions are unforgivable. I should stay here in my solitude, where I cannot hurt anypony ever again. ”

She leaned back and curled into a ball again as Kavi released her shoulders.

Kavi took a step back. “Hey, don’t say that. Look, I know you’ve done a lot of bad things to a lot of good ponies.” She shook her head, mane waving from side to side. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t start doing good things now! I’m sure my family will appreciate it if we help them together then explain what happened with that… that thing and the pendant before.”

“I doubt it.”

“Come on! Don’t give up like that!”

Kavi jumped up onto the mattress again and pressed her face close to Prismia’s. “I know the truth now. It wasn’t you doing all those bad things! Yes, you craved love, and you let the pendant take hold of you, but you’re not a bad pony—you never were. You just made a bad choice and let the spell take over you. But when I wear this pendant... I can feel it inside me: the love for my family, and for all the good things in this world that I don’t even know about yet. There’s a power inside me, just sitting there waiting to be brought out.”

Kavi whipped her head around, her eyes wide as she backed away, panting and shaking.

“This is really it then?” She returned her gaze to Prismia. “You’re just going to stay here and mope. You won’t even think about trying to make things right?”

No response, save for a deep sigh.

Kavi bowed her head and trotted to the door. The rain poured heavier now; a beaded curtain of water flowed down over the space. She faltered at the door, the wind spraying her with a fine mist as she closed her eyes. Sighing, she spread her wings.

“For what it’s worth, even if you won’t help me now… I forgive you, Prismia. The question is, can you forgive yourself?”

Kavi took a deep breath and plunged through the curtain into the cold, wet night.





While her initial adrenaline rush was enough to get her off the cliffside and into the air, Kavi’s lack of sleep began to creep up on her. The hot, comfortable bath felt like a distant memory as she struggled to keep her tired wings beating. Rain raced down from the sky, doing its best to force her to the ground. Flashes of lightning frequently blinded her, forcing her to slow down every time to blink the spots from her eyes. Every blast of thunder that followed set her heart racing faster.

What am I doing? I’ll never make it in this storm!

Kavi gritted her teeth against the pain in her overworked wings. She tried switching to a glide, only to find herself rapidly losing altitude under the heavy rain. She gasped and flapped harder until a sharp pang ran through her sides.

Oh no, I can’t get a stitch now!

Taking shallow breaths, Kavi searched the darkened canopy below for a place to land. Between the pouring rain, clouds covering the moon, and erratic wind gusts, she struggled to make out any decent landing place. Her head flew from left to right.

Come on, come on…

There!

Kavi aimed toward the centre of a great oak with a gaping hole between branches. Fighting the pain in her side, she dropped slowly, resorting again to taking short, sharp gasps.

Just as she neared the top of the tree, a sudden gust threw her off-balance. With a cry of alarm, Kavi tumbled through the air and crashed into the top of the tree. Unable to right herself, she plummeted toward the ground, smashing through thin limbs and bouncing off thicker branches while yelping with every impact. She reached for a branch about five metres above the ground with her flailing forelegs; failing to grasp it properly, her hooves slid over the slick wood and she fell the rest of the way, flapping her wings errantly.

She slammed into the hard ground, the impact bringing a thunderclap with it. Kavi screamed into the night, tears leaping from her eyes as heat seared through her left wing. She tried to move, only for a jolt of lightning to run through her nerves in the wing’s main joint. With another anguished cry, she rolled onto her side and clutched at her abdomen, sobbing in the mud. Rain continued to fall around her—lightened somewhat by the trees above—and more lightning flashed.

When the fire in her nerves burned down to embers, she scrunched up her eyes and tried taking deep, slow breaths. Careful not to move her wing, she curled up into a ball and lay still. She looked around for any familiar section of the wood, but every move made her head swim; she could barely make out which way ‘up’ was.

Delirious and discombobulated, Kavi wept as the cold rain soaked her to the bone.

In the moment that Kavi finally took a deep breath and exhaled, all of her senses returned at once. The dark, blurry outline of the woods around her took shape, lit by the pendant’s soft glow. The sounds of rain, wind, and thunder roared in her ears. The taste of acid and sweet potatoes filled her throat as she leaned her head forward and retched. The stabbing pain in her wing burned hot again.

Wiping her mouth clear of excess ex-dinner, Kavi closed her eyes and felt the world start to spin. She collapsed to the ground, landing hard on her uninjured side, gasping through the searing haze of pain and nausea. Her head swam.

“Mother… Father… Kara… Avran… I’m so sorry.”

Everything faded to black.





For how long she lay in the empty abyss, Kavi knew not. All was bliss, all was warm, all was fine. As such, she objected to the feel of something shaking her shoulder. The pain, the nausea, the chill in her bones—all returned in full force as somepony sought to drag her from the comfort of unconsciousness.

With a long, low groan, Kavi shifted her body and lifted her head. Her eyes fluttered open, meeting with a familiar white coat.

“Pr... Pris… mia?”

The albino's body swam into view, sharpening with every passing second.

“Praise the Sun. You're awake.”

Prismia knelt down, placed a hoof on Kavi's left shoulder, and breathed a sigh of relief. “When I saw you lying on the ground like this, I... well, I feared the worst.”

“Prismia…” Kavi made to stand, but yelled and fell back down as the pain returned. “Argh... you came back... but why? You said—” a coughing fit wracked her body “—you said you were done. I thought I’d never... see you again.”

Prismia bowed her head. “Nor I you, young one. Though in fact, I am surprised that you have a chance to see anypony again at all. Such injuries, and in this storm—it is a miracle that you still draw breath. You look like you have seen the face of Death... and defied it.”

“Oh no! The monster!”

Kavi sat bolt upright, her eyes wider than the moon above. Her wing panged again, forcing her to bring up a leg to cradle it. She noted that the rain had finally stopped, and that she had been moved and laid at the base of a larger willow tree. The night seemed lighter, like the Sun was sitting below the horizon, just waiting to rise.

It’s almost sunrise...

“My family! Oh, no! They won’t have a chance! What if they’re—” two hooves flew up to her mouth, the wing forgotten “—Prismia, please! You have to help them now. I’ll do anything for you if you at least try!”

“Kavi, I—”

“Please! I’m begging you—”

“Kaviyayu! Listen to me.”

Prismia rubbed Kavi’s shoulder as the filly fell silent. “Have no fear for your family. They will be fine. You and I are going to help them… together.”

“Really?” Kavi’s face lit up, only to fall again. “Oh, but I won’t be very useful at all. You should go alone. I’ll only hold you—argh!—back.” She rubbed her wing, every pang bringing forth a wince. “See? My wing is useless now. I broke it when I fell out of that tree in the storm. I can’t fly. I can barely walk.”

“Kavi…” Prismia looked her firm in the eyes. “I am not leaving you behind. I will take you home. My actions might not earn your family’s forgiveness, but… at least my conscience will be clear. I see that now, and I am prepared to do what is right.”

“Prismia… what happened? Why the change of heart?”

Prismia smiled and looked over her shoulder. “I… thought about all those things you said. The more I contemplated your words—” she coughed and cleared her throat “—the more I realised… I want this. I want to be loved, for real, and to try and earn it. As I walked outside to think, I saw a flash of blue coming from far away, and then another, and another. I remembered how the same thing happened when that beast attacked you earlier. And then, the flashing stopped.”

She swept a hoof across her face. “If I was ever going to learn about real love, I knew I had to protect you.”

Kavi sat mute for but a second before she nodded. “Okay. So what do we do?”

“Grab onto me, and I will do what I should have done hours ago.”

As Kavi wrapped her forelegs around Prismia’s neck, the mare closed her eyes. Her horn shone with rainbow light; the two disappeared with a bright flash.





Home. We made it.

Kavi took a deep breath and released Prismia’s neck. Swaying from instant travel disorientation, she stumbled to her hooves. After wobbling around, she planted herself into the ground, legs spread apart evenly. She looked around, her heart leaping for joy at the sight of familiar buildings. So far, all seemed quiet and normal in the pre-dawn gloom.

“Mother! Father! Everypony, wake up!” she cried, bounding toward her house, ignoring the constant stabbing pain at her side.

Wind rustled in the trees. Birds chirped in the surrounding woodland. The distant sound of the flowing river reached the village square. But not a single pony was awake.

“Kavi...”

She paused and looked over her shoulder, a hoof still in the air. She retraced her steps and dropped to the ground next to Prismia, who was lying on her side. Her eyes were closed, her breath coming in slow, soft pants.

“Prismia, what’s wrong? You need to get up!” Kavi said, lightly shaking her.

“It is… all up to you now,” Prismia murmured. “I have… no strength left. I used what remained… getting us here. It was… no small distance.”

“But…” Kavi stepped back, eyes shining. “I need you. The village needs you!”

“No, Kavi. I have… played my part. This is... this is your moment.”

“But I’m… I’m scared. I don’t know what to do. What if the monster attacks us? What if it’s…” Kavi whipped her head around, cringing as her wing twitched. “...Already here…?”

“Then you had better—” Prismia coughed five times in succession then cleared her throat “—you had better check on your family, post-haste. That is… what you came to do, is it not?”

“I… okay. You’re right.” Kavi backed away from Prismia and watched her close her eyes, her barrel gently rising and falling. With a nod, Kavi scrunched up her eyes and fought back the tide behind them. She took a deep breath and galloped back toward her home. Her wing drooped by her side, drawing a wince with every step.

Gritting her teeth, she trod up the steps. As she reached the doorway, her heart leapt into her throat; Kartanya stepped outside, rubbing her own eyes.

“Was it really a dream? It felt so real…”

“Kara!”

Kara yelped and jumped into the air. She landed slightly off-balance, then turned to meet Kavi.

“Kavi?” Kara rubbed her eyes once again for good measure. “You came back! Where were you? What happened last night? What happened to your wing?” She closed the gap between them, mouth open as she reached out to touch the useless appendage.

“Kara, no!” Kavi pulled back, wincing and shaking her head. “Please don’t—it really hurts. But forget about that for now, okay? You have to help me wake everypony up, now! Do whatever it takes—just make them get up!”

“Kavi, what—”

“Now, Kara!” Kavi yelled. “Something’s coming, and—”

A distant sound reached their ears.

“Sounds like some kind of swarm,” Kartanya said. “Did the beekeeper neglect his hives again?”

“Kara, that isn’t… that isn’t bees. Now quickly—” Kavi shook Kartanya’s shoulder “—wake everyone up for me!”

Kartanya opened her mouth, but closed it and nodded instead. Without another word, she retreated through the beaded curtain. Kavi sighed and turned west, heading for another house. The buzzing grew louder, rising in pitch.

“You ponies are so predictable.”

Kavi slid to a halt as she froze up. She stumbled, crying out as her wing brushed against the ground and dragged her down. She shook her head then turned around, heart hammering in her chest.

The monster drew back its lips to reveal gleaming pointed fangs. A vicious leer covered its face as it stalked forward, every step slow, deliberate, calculated. “I knew you would take my bait. It was too easy tracking you here.”

Kavi trembled, lips quivering. “You… you f-followed us?” Taking a step back, she caught the tip of her drooping wing underhoof and yelped as new pain shot through her body.

“Awww, did the little loving pegasus hurt her wing?”

Kavi blinked as green flames engulfed the monster. A second later, she gasped as a being the spitting image of her mother stared back at her.

“I told you not to fly off by yourself, you insufferable disappointment of a daughter! Now look what you’ve done—you’re completely useless to everypony!”

Another flash, and Samanka’s feminine form was replaced by a taller, stouter figure. “What do you do every day besides mess around with the foals? When have you ever helped with our workload? Lazy layabout, never grateful for anything…”

“Shut up!”

Kavi and her not-father both turned to Kavi’s house, where Kartanya and the rest of the family came to rest after galloping out of their door. “You leave my sister and all of us alone, you… whatever you are!”

The imposter Stamska cackled, its mirth rising from low to high pitch as he shape-shifted into his challenger. “And who is going to make me? You and what army?” the duplicate Kartanya said, her grin never fading.

“You’re not my sister!” Avran yelled as he ran between his parents’ legs and lowered his stance in front of them. “And we don’t need an army anyway. Everyone’ll be awake soon, and there’s only one of you. I bet my dad could beat you up by himself right now!”

The grin vanished, the night seeming darker without the monster’s teeth enlightening the vicinity. “I highly doubt that, you little foal,” she hissed, again reverting to her monstrous figure. “Inside me lies the pent-up power of over a thousand years worth of greed and envy. I have wings and magic, and no inhibitions about hurting any of you. Why, the only reason I don’t simply take your love and wipe you out right now is because of just how amusing I find all this. After all, I should be savouring my birth into such an accommodating world.”

It lowered its neck and approached Avran, who swallowed but—though he trembled—refused to look away. “Even without your precious sister’s shiny new toy, I have far more than enough power to grasp my victory. And I think I’ll start with you, little one.”

More green fire, and Kartanya’s doppelganger became Avran’s. “Tell me what you cherish most. Give me the pleasure of taking it away.”

“Stop it!”

Both Avran’s whipped their heads around as Kavi lowered her own stance. “Why can’t you just leave us in peace?”

Her right-most brother disappeared in a flash of green, appearing directly before Kavi; she jumped back with a yelp of surprise, adding another as her wing sent another jolt through her body.

“‘Peace’?” the monster repeated, again towering over Kavi. “You think I want something less? Do you think I really feel like fighting you all? Fighting generates hate and resentment, something I absolutely cannot stand. In peace, love and good will thrive. Why would I not want peace when it begets the very thing I need, the emotion I crave above all else?” She cast her eyes around at the family, a lazy smirk playing across her features. “You ponies are like a gold mine, and I’ve struck the motherlode.”

“Enough of your mind games!”

Stamska leaped forward in front of Samanka and Avran, bounding up into the air with a hoof drawn to swing in. “Begone, demon creature—wha?”

A green aura enveloped his body. Stamska strained against the force yet could do naught but wiggle and grunt in his airborne suspension.

“Ah ah ah,” the monster taunted, its twisted horn glowing with the same hue. She approached and circled Stamska, flicking her tail in his face as she passed. “It would be better for you to cooperate with me under my terms. Otherwise—”

Every other member of the Samankas floated up off the ground and drifted over next to Stamska, all of them crying out to each other.

“—I might be less inclined to negotiate with you,” she finished.

Kavi trembled as her family all struggled against the binding force holding each of them prisoner. Her eyes darted back and forth between them, all yelling together incoherently. “What… what do you want?” she whispered.

“Finally,” the monster said. “A pony with some sense among you. Was it so hard to just ask me what I wanted?” She smiled, then began to hum in a low murmur. “As to that end, I require but one thing from you, little one.” Her wings flickered in a clear blur, the buzzing rising in pitch. “Come forth, my subjects!”

“S-subjects?”

The question died on Kavi’s lips as she turned away from the monster, for the buzzing grew even louder. She stared in horror as many other smaller versions of the monster emerged from the dwellings. Although shorter than their leader, each one looked no less menacing. All bore the same style of tattered wings and miniature horns, resting upon a solid black carapace; they reminded Kavi of overgrown beetles. They closed in on Kavi, their pupilless blue eyes shining as bright as her pendant.

Forming a predatory semi-circle around her, they transformed one by one into different residents. Familiar, once-friendly faces leered at her as they sniggered. Four of them surrounded Kavi’s family as the monster finally deactivated her magic and dropped them to the ground in a heap.

“W-where did they all c-come from?” Kavi asked, eyes darting back and forth. “And what have they done with… everypony?”

“Relax, little morsel,” the monster said, her grin stretching from ear to ear again. “Everypony is safe and sound inside their little dens… at least they are as long as you give me what I want.”

Kavi’s heart hammered in her chest as she pushed the Crystal Pendant into it. Everything in her being told her not to trust the monster…

But what will happen if I don’t?

“I’ll tell you what will happen.”

The monster laughed while Kavi stuttered. “Yes, I know your thoughts. Magic is a powerful ally. Now, let me tell you how this is going to go.” She made a screeching sound in her throat. Ten more of the smaller creatures surrounded the Samankas, some circling them, others hovering overhead.

“You are going to offer up your heart to me, with all of your sweet, delicious love, and I am going to gorge upon it until I burst. Alternatively, you can refuse—” she turned to her captives “—in which case I’ll simply take what love everypony in this village has for you instead, and then make mincemeat out of their withered husks. And no funny business with that pendant either.”

Kavi looked at her family, all struck dumb at the monster’s proclamation. Stamska was set in a determined pose as Samanka and Kartanya huddled up to him on either side. Avran pushed up against Samanka, his eyes glistening. She swept her gaze about the village, eyeing the forces of darkness surrounding her.

“So, what’s it going to be?”

Kavi looked up at the monster’s question, the challenge heavy on her mind. A motion to her right caught her eye as the glimmer of sunrise crested over the eastern trees. She blinked, smiled, and answered the monster.

“Take it. Come and get it. I won’t resist.”

At once, her family erupted.

“No, Kaviyayu!”

“Don’t do it, angel!”

“Sis, don’t worry about us! Save yourself!”

“I’m doing this!” Kavi yelled. “There’s no other way. I love you all, and I’m going to save you.”

“Ah, a wise decision, young Kavi,” the monster said, licking her lips.

“On one condition.”

The monster raised an eyebrow and snorted. “You are in no position—”

“You let them all go, right now, and promise to leave us alone when you’re done with me,” Kavi continued, undeterred. “Or else I’ll throw myself into the Snowflow river near here, and I’ll be nothing more to you than a cold, wet lump of fur. Everypony will be miserable, and you’ll get no love from any of us.”

The monster hissed, its forked tongue flicking out through its teeth.

“And don’t think you’ll stop me either,” Kavi added. “We both know my pendant will protect me from you and your magic.”

The monster growled, but relented. She nodded to her young, and all the creatures backed away. Once freed from their captivity, her family rushed forward to wrap their hooves around Kavi.

“Sweetie, you don’t have to do this,” Samanka said, gripping her tight. She slackened off as Kavi yelped. “Oh, your wing! you poor thing, however did you—”

“It’s not important, Mother. Nothing else is anymore.” Kavi smiled as she felt the more careful hugs enveloping her with warmth. “I know what it means to be family now. You love me for who I am—you always have, and you always will.”

“Of course we will, Kavi,” Kartanya said.

“Always,” Stamska said.

“Yeah!” Avran added.

“I love you all,” Kavi whispered. “Now let me do what I must to save you.” She lifted her head and walked slowly forward until the other ponies fell behind, whimpering and holding each other. Bowing her head, she allowed the Crystal Pendant to slide forward. For a moment it seemed to fight against its removal, but soon enough she held it in her outstretched hoof.

“You promise to leave everypony here alone, forever?”

The monster smiled at her, a rather motherly smile; if anything, Kavi found it more disturbing than any other expression yet. “Of course I will, darling. I am a creature of my word. Besides, your heart will more than suffice for a good few years.”

The pendant flew off into the dark, its sheen fading.

“There,” Kavi said. “I’m all yours. Come and get me.”

The monster cackled, laughter filling the village square. “It’s about time! After thousands of years inside that accursed crystalline chrysalis, my true imago into this world will be glorious!” She lowered her head and pointed her horn at Kavi’s chest, the twisted appendage glowing a sickening green. The monster’s eyes shone, radiating with the fervour of an endless hunger about to be sated.

A blue streak of light slammed into her side.

“Aaargh!” She screamed as the beam sent her flying metres away. Shaking—an angry red scorch mark on her flank and an acrid, noxious smell filling the air—she struggled to her hooves and looked back at her assailant. “You!”

“Yes, me,” Prismia said, the Crystal Pendant glowing brighter than ever around her neck. She stood next to Kavi, and placed a hood upon her left shoulder. “You will not harm a hair in this filly’s mane, nor any of the others.”

“You useless, insignificant foal!” the monster screeched. “You just doomed this entire village with your insane ploy. Now you will all pay!” She spread her wings, horn glowing once again. “Subjects, drain your captives. Leave no pony with any trace of love in their hearts.”

“I don’t think so.”

“What?” The monster snarled and faced Prismia. “You are—”

Beam after beam of blue light slammed into each and every one of the creatures, dissipating them into smoke and shadow. The black miasma converged into a cloud and returned to its owner through her nostrils. She barely had time to let out a curse before yet another beam slammed into her, followed by a slinky tendril wrapping itself around her legs.

“Aaargh! It burns! Get it off, take it off!”

Kavi and Prismia looked at each other and nodded.

“Together?” Prismia asked.

“Yes, let’s,” Kavi said.

They both closed their eyes and touched the pendant. With its hog-tied victim still screaming their curses, the tendril of light bent back toward the ground and unloaded like a trebuchet. With naught but a cry of “I’ll get you one daaaaaay,” the monster disappeared over the western forest, and away from dawn’s first light.

The cerulean aura enveloping both bearers spluttered and faded, leaving everypony in the vestiges of night.

“We did it… Kavi,” Prismia said, voice and legs wobbling.

“Yeah, we sure… showed that thing, didn’t we?” Kavi answered. Completely spent, starving, and sleep-deprived, Kavi collapsed to the ground. After a final flash of light and gasps from her family, she lost consciousness.
> Chapter Five: Meadows of Heaven
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Kaviyayu slowly moved her legs from side to side, feeling the ground beneath her. It was… surprisingly smooth, gentle even, like the surface of the river yet somehow solid. The air softly tickled her coat. It was warm, like a night by the fireplace in early fall.

Her eyes creaked open as the pulsing warmth in her barrel disappeared. She ran a hoof along the Crystal Pendant, still around her neck.

What… is this place? Am I trapped inside the Pendant again?

She shook her head and tried blinking. No, this had to be someplace else; instead of an all-encompassing cerulean, the world beyond stretched into a seemingly endless blue and white void. Twinkling motes of light floated overhead, some passing by her while she rose. As she looked at the ground, she screamed and scrabbled her hooves at the apparent lack of anything to stand upon. She took to the air instinctively, hovering in place.

Wha-huh? I can fly? But my wing was broken…

Unsure where to place her hooves in the transparent atmosphere, Kavi lowered one further than the others until her hoof found solid ground, then set herself down. She spread her wings, turned her head, and grasped the left one in her mouth, giving it a gentle tug. Far from the searing pain she expected, it felt… normal.

Frowning, Kavi released the wing and took a deep breath, walking forward carefully. She looked around the void as she trotted through it in no clear direction.

“Hello?” she called out.

Hello?

“Is anypony here?”

’Pony here?

The echoes came back, her only companion in the swirling, sparkling void.

“Where am I?”

Am I?

“Well, well, well. This is a pleasant surprise.”

Kavi’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening. The deep, feminine voice had come from behind her, intimidating and yet somehow soft at the same time. It was laced with authority, but something else too… curiosity perhaps?

She slowly turned around and took in the unreal, impossible sight before her. Her knees wobbled; her legs gave out, dropping her back to the ground.

With slender legs and an arcing neck, the pony stood twice as tall as even Kavi’s father. Her body—white as Prismia’s—was topped with a horn over twice the length. A long, glittering mane and tail of many colours flowed around her. A majestic pair of wings, dwarfing Kavi’s own, rose from her back. Golden shoes, a peytral with an inset amethyst, and a tiara adorned her hooves, neck, and crown respectively, all complimenting the blazing sun on her flank.

“And who might you be, little one?” the giant asked.

Kavi slowly lifted a trembling hoof.

“Are… you’re… you’re the S-Sun Goddess. A-aren’t you?”

“‘Sun Goddess’?” The pony smiled and closed her eyes with a chuckle. “My little pony, you flatter me. While it is true that I do control the sun, I am no ‘Goddess.’ I am a Princess.”

“Princess.” Kavi closed her mouth and shook her head. “Princess… Solest… Sirlest… oh, I’m sorry!”

“Never fear, my dear. I could hardly allow myself to be offended by a young filly like yourself tripping over my name.”

The princess kept up her radiant smile as she strode forward; Kavi eyed her approach, unsure whether to freeze or flee. “My name is Celestia.” She leaned and crouched down until both of their pink eyes were level. “May I trouble you for yours?”

“Um… m-my name is Kavi, Princess. I mean, Kaviyayu. Kaviyayu Samanka.” Kavi bowed her head. “I come from a v-village named Zahara.”

“Kaviyayu, from Zahara.” Celestia rolled the name around on her tongue as if tasting it. “Such a pretty name, for a pretty filly like yourself. Hmmm. Kavi… ‘song?’ ‘ballad?’ Yayu… ‘us,’ or ‘our,’ perhaps? Kaviyayu—would you prefer Kavi?”

Kavi nodded.

“Hmmm.” Celestia lifted her eyes and brought a hoof to her chin. “‘Our song,’ ‘Our ballad’—” her eyes opened fully “—no, ‘Our Cadence.’ My, you do have a gorgeous name. Tell me, Kavi, were you adopted?”

“I, uh, yes, Princess Celestia.” Kavi looked up, pink meeting pink. “I actually only learned that myself, just yesterday. I was raised by… well, I’ve called them my parents my whole life, I suppose I shouldn’t stop now… my Mother’s name is Samanka, and my Father is Stamska. I have a big sister, Kartanya, and a little brother, Avran.”

“Fascinating,” Celestia said. “All ancient Hordi names. I would very much like to hear more about you all, that is, if you are willing to share?” She smiled, showing off perfect teeth.

“Okay, um, yes.”

Celestia rose and beckoned with her wings. “Come, Kavi. Walk with me, and share your story.”

Kavi nodded and got to her own hooves. She fluttered her wings and tentatively stepped up to Celestia's right side. “Well,” she began, “the first thing I remember about anything was the time I stubbed my hoof on a tree root…”





Celestia and Kavi walked on through the endless realm. Celestia listened patiently as the filly spilled out as much of her life story as she remembered; not once did the princess interrupt her, instead only urging her to continue whenever she faltered or asked if her life's recount bored her audience of one.

Only upon Kavi's tale reaching the point of Eva's arrival did Celestia stop walking and furrow her brow.

“It was really something. She sure scared—Princess?” Kavi looked back at Celestia. “Is everything okay?”

Celestia closed her eyes. When she opened them, the smile had returned.

“Yes, Kavi. Forgive me if I alarmed you. Please, continue,” she said, retaking her place at Kavi’s side.

“Um, sure. Well, after that, Eva told me a whole lot of things about other ponies…”





Eventually, Kavi reached the point where the monster escaped from the Crystal Pendant; once more, Celestia stopped walking. Standing still as a statue, she stared straight ahead into the unfathomable distance.

“This creature… did it offer you a name? Any kind of word that we might use to identify it?”

“Um, well, not exactly,” Kavi said, shaking her head. “It was a really tall mare, just like you. Except it was black, a blue mane… what else…” She tapped her chin. “Oh, its horn was all twisted, and I could see right through its wings.”

“You mean it was an alicorn?” Celestia asked.

Kavi titled her head. “Yeah, I guess it was. But it was so… I mean, please forgive me but you’re, um… sorta beautiful, Princess.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow, the ghost of a smile creeping across her face.

“Well what I mean is, this mare was really scary looking—not like you at all. And she could change into any other pony she wanted.”

“A smoke monster that looks like me except black, feeds on love, and can change its shape…” Celestia closed her eyes for a moment then opened them. “Truly I have never experienced such a creature before. It’s settled then—I shall call her a ‘Changeling.’ Using your description of her, and anything else Prismia can tell me in later days, I will add her to the Royal Bestiary and try to track her movements.”

Celestia sighed. “There is always another foe…” She shook her head. “Forgive me, Kavi. Let us move on. Where did we get up to?”





“That’s all I remember, Princess. One minute, Prismia and I had driven the changeling away from our village, and the next, I collapsed and woke up here.” Kavi took a deep breath and looked around. “Actually, I’m still not even sure where ‘here’ is. Where are we, Princess?”

“‘Where are we,’ indeed,” Celestia said. “Let me ask you instead, Kavi—where do you think we are?”

“Um…” Kavi peered around at the sparkling atmosphere, the endless nebulae, the starry skies that stretched on forever. “Am… I in a dream? I mean, I know my wing is broken, but—” she flapped her wings and looked at each “—here they both work perfectly fine, and I don’t feel any pain. And… I’m talking to the pony who rules all of Equestria… who I’ve never met before.”

“Perhaps you are in a dream, then. How are you finding it so far?”

Kavi stared at the ground. “I feel… calm. Like nothing can bother me at all. I… I think everything is fine. I’ve been talking for a long time, telling you about myself, and yet I don’t feel like any time has passed at all.” She glanced down at her neck, her pendant shining like the shimmering surroundings. “I feel… loved. And it’s all because of this.”

She looked up and stared at Celestia. “What makes me so special, Princess? Why can I do amazing things with this pendant?”

Celestia looked off to her right and closed her eyes. A golden glow enveloped her lengthy horn and spread out to conjure up an image: a gleaming, shining city with a towering central spire at its heart. The image zoomed in further until a glowing jewel became visible beneath the spire: a jewel identical in shape to Kavi’s accessory.

“Is that… my pendant?” She fondled the jewel at her chest.

“You have told me a truly remarkable story today, Kavi,” Celestia said while they both stared at the image. “I have heard your testament of events, but now it is time for me to share a story with you.”

“Y-you have a story for me, Princess?”

Celestia nodded. “It is one of the greatest stories of all time… except it is no mere myth. It is, in fact, a tale from ponykind’s most ancient history—one not told for many hundreds of years. It ended in tragedy, but I have reason to believe that now, almost a thousand years later, it can finally begin again with you.”

Kavi’s eyes widened.

“A long, long time ago, before even my time,” Celestia began, the images in front of her flickering and changing, “there was a vicious snowstorm that covered all the land…”





The three tribes of ponies, long divided by the barriers of race, blamed each other for the horrible winter. The Earth ponies blamed the pegasi, the pegasi blamed the unicorns, and both unicorns and pegasi accused the Earth ponies of hoarding all of their food and not sharing. Everypony was cold, miserable, and starving. The cruel winter raged on, growing ever more oppressive.

After a meeting between tribes failed to yield any effective resolution, two ponies from each tribe set out to find a new land not plagued by winter. But I will come back to them later, for while what they achieved became the stuff of celebrated history, there are few who know and remember the tale of a particular young unicorn filly with a pink coat and a rosy-red mane.

This filly came from a loving family who enjoyed each other’s company every day. Everypony who knew the family claimed them to be the most caring ponies in the land; her parents were always welcoming to visitors and strangers. They were very generous with their skills and would often give away portions of their food and wealth to other less fortunate ponies, even allowing their visitors to stay overnight in their home. Unlike most other unicorns, they did not favour any race more than any other, even treating earth ponies with the same respect as their unicorn friends and relatives.

But when the blizzard hit, the family began to change. They became as cold as the snow that covered their house. They stopped offering ponies a place to stay. They hoarded their food and refused to share with others, and they even began to accuse each other of taking more than their fair share.

While the blizzard raged on, the filly pleaded with her family to stop being so mean and to remember what was important, that they had to work together. Her pleas fell upon deaf ears.

She knew in her heart that she had to do something. After she watched her father strike her mother across the face, she made up her mind—she left her town in the early hours of dawn while everypony else was helping to raise the ineffective Sun. She loved and cared about her family so much that she thought only of breaking the winter... at whatever cost.

She struck out toward the frozen north, searching, seeking, reaching always for a way to end the winter. The winds bit and gnawed at her coat as they swirled around endlessly. She trudged through field after field of deep snow, her hooves numb. The small pouch of food that she’d filched from the family’s private pantry quickly ran low, and though an icy white ocean swirled around and blanketed everything, her throat quickly became parched as she failed to catch any of it in her mouth.

Still, she refused to give up. She loved her family so much that she was willing to do anything to save them from themselves. With the blizzard’s intensity reaching new heights, the filly’s progress slowed. She lost track of just how long she had been walking. Her breathing sped up even as her hoofsteps grew heavy.

When it seemed she could go no further, a mountain emerged out of the blizzard in front of her. At its base was an arched entryway that led inside. With her heart in her mouth, she found a burst of energy and ran for it. Out of the freezing winds and numbing snow, she took a few moments at the entrance to catch her breath and look around.

Instead of snow, the walls were lined with sheets of ice. Shining blue stalagmites and stalactites grew from the ground and ceiling. The further into the depths she walked, the darker and colder it became. With what little energy she had left, she used her horn to light her way. She felt in her heart that something up ahead could hold the key to bringing an end to the storm.

When she came to a wide opening supported by icy pillars, she stopped and gasped at the sight before her. Flying and dancing through the air were many pale white horses, twisting around each other, prancing in circles. She had met the Windigoes: evil spirits of cold hatred.

Stepping up off his icy throne at the rear of the cavern, the largest of the Windigoes rose and stared down at the warm pink being that dared to enter his domain. With a rallying cry, he summoned all of the others to his side and rushed down through the air to completely surround the filly. Although she trembled inside their freezing dance, they could neither harm her nor feed on her emotions; all she could think about was her family back home and how much she loved them, and how she craved to see them again in happier times.

It was in that moment that a small spark of warmth flowed out of her horn from within her heart and began to swell. The Windigoes galloped, faster and faster, neighing louder and with more urgency, but they could do nothing to stop the growth of the spark. Soon, they and their cries faded away completely and the cavern filled with the warmth of the filly’s love.

The cavern’s foundations crumbled. With the ice pillars shattered, boulders and smaller pieces of rubble came crashing down around the filly. Turning around, she fled the cavern, her hooves splashing through the rising water. After leaping through the entrance, she gasped and twisted her head around, witnessing the entire hill collapse upon itself.

For a long while, naught reached her ears save for the continuous winds. Her senses returned, her stomach growling, her eyes drooping. With nothing but desperate hunger and desire for sleep as her company, she forced herself to trudge on. The winds gradually died down, and the ground thawed wherever she walked.

To her dismay, even with the land returning to normal, it had been dead for far too long, imprisoned beneath the avalanche of despair. No grass grew, no trees lined the distant lands, and even though the snow should have left water everywhere, no trace of it remained. With no food in sight, and her mouth dry as the wasteland she walked through, she finally succumbed to weariness and collapsed.

She knew she was about to die. But even with that realisation, she was happy knowing that the unnatural winter’s end had finally come. She had succeeded. The power of her love had overcome the greatest of adversaries. Her family would return to how they had been before. Nothing else mattered.

As she accepted her death and lay still to embrace it, a light shone on her from above, piercing her closed eyes. Against her desire to ignore it and welcome the abyss, she lifted her eyelids and gasped.

A tall pony stood above her with a radiant smile. Her pure white coat made everything else around her seem dull and colourless. Her sky-blue eyes shone with the light of the sun. Her perfectly straight, short-cropped red mane and tail, deeper red than a rose, hung about her face and rear legs.

The immaculate mare lowered her head and smiled as a blue aura surrounded her incredibly long horn. The aura split apart, shooting off in multiple directions before burrowing into the ground around them.

The filly gasped again, looking around as the ground vibrated her into a standing position. From every point where the magic had entered the ground, crystals and shrubs of various hues shot up. Within seconds, an entire city’s worth of crystal had sprouted. The scent of a bush with small red growths wafted into the filly’s nostrils.

With a glance at the tall pony—who simply nodded—the filly leapt upon the bush and gobbled up a small number of berries. Their juices dribbled down her chin as she munched happily on the life-saving fruit. Her stomach sated and her thirst quenched by the raspberry juice, she sighed and sat down, still taking in the nearby scenery.

As she lifted a hoof to wipe away the berry juice, she paused; her hoof shone like a sparkling river in dawn’s early light. Turning in a few circles, she realised her entire body glowed pink. Mouth open, she again faced the majestic pony, who said nothing but reared up onto her hind legs and lifted herself into the air. Suspended in place by the movement of her gigantic wings, the mare’s barrel glowed together with her horn. A bright flash lit the area, forcing the filly to cover her face.

When she lowered her foreleg, the filly gazed upon what remained of the mare: a short blue stalagmite topped with the most beautiful crystal she had ever seen. Shaped like a heart, it gleamed and rotated slowly. Curious, not knowing what else to do, she reached out to it with her magic.

Another flash lit the area, and she felt a sudden weight. Glancing down, she saw a small sapphire of identical shape, suspended around her neck on a string of beaded amethysts. The pendant shone with the same brilliance as the larger crystal before her, which started to spin faster.

A third and final flash—though not as bright as the others—drew her attention just as her flanks tingled. On each side of her rear, yet another crystal heart revealed itself. The filly squealed with delight and fled to the south, guided by the sun once again visible in the blizzard’s absence.

When she returned to her family’s dwelling, there was much rejoicing, crying, and wonder. Where had she run off to? When had she acquired both the image on her flanks and the pendant about her neck? Why was she glowing? But most importantly, how could she have worried her family to death like that?

After the filly answered all their questions, she learned that six brave ponies had conquered their own demons: Windigoes, exactly the same as the ones she had encountered alone. Facing certain death themselves, the ponies had formed an unbreakable bond, igniting the Fire of Friendship to drive the monsters away. The winter was over, the Windigoes defeated.

When the filly met with the Six, she told them her tale. For her bravery, her determination in the face of death, and for displaying the strongest love for anypony ever known, King Bullion—father of Princess Platinum, one of the Six—granted the filly the title of the first Crystal Princess. She would rule over her new crystal kingdom, spreading the essence of love to the world through the power of the Crystal Heart.





The images faded away. As Celestia’s tale came to a close, Kavi stood up and closed her eyes. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly before again fondling her Pendant.

“Princess, you said the filly in the story wore a sapphire pendant. Was this one right here… the same one from the story?”

Celestia nodded then held out her leg. “I believe it is. Now, let me point something else out to you.”

Kavi turned her head and gaped; a familiar Crystal Heart covered both sides of her rear.

“But… but… what? Where did… when...”

“There is no doubt about it, Kavi.” Celestia walked over and draped a wing over the stammering filly. “You are here because Destiny recognised you. Think about the story I just told you. Why, you recounted something of a very similar nature to me not long ago.”

“What do you mean? I never helped to end an eternal winter,” Kavi said, still staring at her crystal-emblazoned flank.

“Well, let us look at the facts—” Celestia held a wing in front of her and began lowering her pinions one by one as she spoke “—you fled your home, realised you had made a mistake, tried to correct it, and defeated a powerful enemy with the strength of your love for your family in the process. You then faced down certain death while thinking only of how to save them all, and inherited the power of this pendant you bear.”

“I…” Kavi fell to her haunches. “It’s… really true, isn’t it?”

“For true, final confirmation—” Celestia gently pressed a hoof to Kavi’s barrel “—think about the lesson you learned, and how it relates to the magic that powers your Pendant.”

Kavi furrowed her brow. “Well, I’ve learned a lot over the past two days, about many things I never imagined were possible. But I think the most important thing I learned was that… when it comes to family, you don’t need to share the same blood to share the same love. F-family will... l-love you… no, no matter what.”

The tears came freely. “I love my f-family, Princess. And I always will.”

A glimmering ball of light appeared in front of Kavi and began to circle her slowly. It sped up, becoming a solid ring before closing in on her. With a small gasp, Kavi felt herself lifted into the air, despite her wings being pinned to her sides.

As it had thousands of years earlier with a different pink filly, a flash of light temporarily blinded Kavi. Pressure built in her forehead, and she gave a cry as she felt something shoot out of it. The light dissipated, dropping her back onto the invisible ground. She lifted her eyes, shook her head, lifted her eyes again then turned to Celestia, shining eyes accompanying the widest pearly smile on her face.

“Princess… what just happened?”
> Chapter Six: Bye Bye, Beautiful
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“We should banish her.”

“But she helped save us!”

“She’s evil!”

“We should give her another chance.”

Prismia lay on the ground near the extinct fire pit. The base of her horn throbbed, every muscle in her body aching. Her adrenaline having worn off, an entire day and night without sleep had finally caught up to her. Taking short, sharp breaths, she kept her eyes firmly closed while the villagers milled about.

Her final, last-ditch effort… such a crazy plan… had actually succeeded with amazing results. She knew that Kavi walked willingly to meet her doom, had known that her own power was insufficient enough to do a thing about it. But taking back the Crystal Pendant itself…

At first it had rejected her; how dare the former bearer try to take back her relinquished strength? Yet with the second attempt, it had obeyed its new bearer’s desire to share the power within. And if the new bearer, the true bearer said it was okay—that she needed to share—then why should it deny access to its well?

Tapping into the pendant’s power again felt strangely alien, even when she fired off blast after blast at the horrible beast. Finally, after throwing it over the horizon, Prismia stopped casting; her power was limited after all, and she had drained the pendant’s reserves. Completely spent, Prismia fell to her knees and bowed her head, just as Kavi murmured something about their victory and did the same.

Then, Kavi disappeared completely after that flash of light, but not before Prismia caught a glimpse of the fresh image adorning her pink flank.

I thought I would be the one… but she is far more worthy to bear the title.

Amid her musings, Prismia became aware again of the voices surrounding her. Conversations spiked and ebbed between ponies as they tried to piece together the morning’s unprecedented, rapid-fire series of events. Her head pounded with a steady beat, like a metronome had taken residence in her skull.

A hush fell over the crowd as a blue light filtered through Prismia’s eyelids. Ignoring the pain in her head and her horn, she opened her eyes and looked up; her mouth fell open.

Shining in the sky, a giant yet familiar blue heart descended toward the ground. When it touched, the heart flashed and faded away, leaving Kaviyayu Samanka in its wake. Head down, eyes closed, she spread her wings and stomped the ground before lifting her head and opening her eyes.

Kavi the pegasus no longer stood before the villagers. Instead, Kavi the alicorn smiled, her horn gleaming with a cerulean aura to match both the Pendant around her neck, and the heart on her flanks.

“K-Kavi… what…?” Stamska stepped forward to greet his daughter, but stopped just short of contact range. “You… you’re alive?”

“Wow, Kavi has a horn just like Eva!” Avran cheered as he rushed past his father and nuzzled her. “That is so… wow! Just wow!”

“I don’t understand. We thought… you just vanished…”

Kartanya stepped up next to Kavi and brought a hoof to her cheek. “You’re taller. Your wing… it’s not broken anymore, and you have a horn now too. What—”

“Yes, what have you done to my daughter?” Samanka asked, rounding on Prismia. “What illusions are you casting now?”

“Mother, please. Leave her be. She has suffered enough.”

Kavi hugged her siblings then slowly walked forward, Avran and Kartanya at her side; she planted a kiss on Stamska’s cheek before continuing her approach. She stopped to hug Samanka, holding on a little tighter to her than the others.

“This is no trick, Mother. It’s me, I promise. I’m just a little different now.”

“Kaviyayu…” Samanka buried her face into Kavi’s shoulder and wept, clutching her tighter still. “My beautiful girl, how I love you.”

“I love you too, Mother,” Kavi whispered. She backed out of the hold and looked at the mare on the ground. With a smile, she extended her right hoof. “Stand with me, Prismia. There are things that everypony needs to know about both of us… and I want you there with me.”

Prismia looked around at all the curious faces. After taking stock of them, she turned back to Kavi and nodded, raising her own hoof and allowing the smaller pink one to grasp it. As they both stood and faced the herd, Kavi motioned with her left wing for her family and held her head high.

“Everyone, I have something important to tell you.”





The Sun’s light crested over the distant Smokey Mountain by the time Kavi finally concluded her story. Only she and Prismia remained standing, everypony else having sat to hear the tale of her struggle, her meeting with Celestia, and the acceptance of her birthright.

“You see, everypony? Even though Prismia came here seeking nothing but power, she unintentionally taught me something that I’ll never forget. If ponies consider you a part of their family—even though you may not be bonded by blood—then you know their love is real. I was in a very dark place when Prismia helped me realise that. And even after I thought you’d all turned on me, when I learned the truth… I was so, so happy inside.”

Kavi smiled at Prismia, who looked down with a faint pink tinge in her white cheeks. “Prismia has, in her own words, ‘seen the light,’ and wishes to make up for her bad choices. I know that many of you might not want to right now, but I hope you can find it in your hearts to eventually forgive her. After all, she’s the reason we’re still here right now. We all owe her our lives.”

She backed away from Prismia until she stood with her family at the front of the assembly. “Thank you, Prismia. Thank you for everything.”

She bent her forelegs and presented her horn to Prismia. Ignoring the gasps behind her, she kept her head bowed until, finally, she felt and heard the telltale rustle of others following her lead. Soon, everypony in Zahara had dropped to their knees.

“Uh… Everypony, please, this really is not necessary.” Prismia flushed a deeper shade of red. “I appreciate the sentiment, really, but, uh, you can all get up now.”

“You should enjoy your moment in the sun, Prismia. Such moments do not come often.”

The voice seemed to come from everywhere. All whispering together, the villagers looked around and to the sky; who had spoken?

“Look!” Avran pointed to the east. “I knew it wasn’t just a campfire tale!”

From out of the trees, a green figure stepped forward, moving slowly on stilted wooden legs. Its pallid, straw-like mane and tail hung straight and limp toward the ground. As it reached the square, it fixed its faceless head in Kavi and Prismia’s direction.        

The stick pony stopped and began to glow, becoming a figure of solid light. Wings and a horn erupted from its sides and its forehead as the mane and tail lengthened and shimmered. Its legs widened and took on an elegant curve. When the golden glow faded, another pony stood in its place. She looked around at all the stiff, shocked faces and smiled.

“Hello, my little ponies. It is such a pleasure to meet you all,” said their Sun Goddess.





Sunset beamed its last golden vespers upon the village as a delicious array of smells drifted through the square. Ponies had brought seats and tables from inside every house and arranged them in a large square around the fire pit. Celestia spent most of the day sharing tales of the outside world while others prepared a grand feast in honour of their heroes and the arrival of their Sun Goddess.

After ending her latest story—drawing a few laughs from Kavi’s family—Celestia broke off and stared at the Sun. She closed her eyes and gave a contented sigh before opening them and catching Havijhan’s eye. She nodded, earning the motion in return.

Havijhan cleared his throat, banged his hoof on the table three times, and boomed over the noise. “Everypony, pay attention please. You are about to witness something that nopony in our village ever has before.” The herd’s voices gradually died down, and he smiled as parents called in their foals to sit back down. “It has truly been a remarkable three days in our humble village, three days that will be forever recorded in our history. Now, at the closing of the third day, let us bear witness to an amazing feat. Your Highness—” he looked to Celestia “—whenever you are ready.”

All eyes focused on Celestia as she stood from the table and walked gracefully to an empty space. Facing the square with the reddening sky at her back, she stood on her hind legs and, horn alight, rose into the air with four precise flaps of her body-length wings. All eyes fell upon her body, completely encased in a golden glow once again.

Behind Celestia, the Sun slid down out of sight, plunging the village into darkness softened only by the firelight. Seconds later, up came the Moon, rising higher and higher, stars appearing in the inky sky to join it. Celestia’s glow faded, her hooves returning to solid ground as the area filled with the sound of stomping hooves and whistling.

“Thank you, everypony,” Celestia said, returning to her seat at the table. “I am pleased that you enjoyed the show. But while the Sun may be gone for another day, please remember also the beauty of the night. See how the Moon shines its gentle radiance upon us, and how the stars twinkle in their dark canvas. Embrace the cool air, the quiet woods, the sound of crickets and owls as they come out to play. Never forget to appreciate the night as much as the day, for it is always there even while you lay your weary heads to rest and await the next sunrise, and the peace and tranquility it brings allows you to drift into slumber and dream of your desires.

“Ponies of Zahara, I give you the night.”

Everypony clapped their hooves together as Celestia ended her speech, beaming around at them all. She turned to Prismia. “Now I think the time has come for ponies to hear your story, Lady Prismia. In fact, I too am anxious to know such an intriguing individual’s history.”

Prismia gulped and eyed the villagers, some staring at her with disdain, others with indifference… Yet among them were curious faces too, younger ones eager to see and hear another of her fantastical illusions. The sight warmed her chilled heart, renewed courage flowing through her blood. She sparked up her horn and focused on the crackling fire in the middle of the gathering.





At first, Prismia recounted her foalhood: how she had been neglected and unloved as a youth because of her condition and treated as a lesser equine in her city of Tall Tale. She moved onto the incident that caused her to flee her home and seek her own destiny. She spoke about roving from township to city to county, all the while telling her stories with the power of her special talent. She acquired a reputation as a talented showmare, even hiring her services out to private parties.

“One family had the most adorable little blue filly. Shining silver mane she had, to go with the light in her eyes when she looked at me. After her birthday party, she said she wanted to grow up and become great and powerful, just like me.”

Prismia smiled at the memory as the filly and her family vanished from the flames.

“Not long after, I was on a train—a kind of long, ponymade snake that can move hundreds of us at a time inside it—from Las Pegasus to Van Hoover, when I chanced a glance out of my compartment window. To my surprise, I saw a pair of two young ponies, huddled up next to the tracks as we passed by. Not a moment later, a mighty roar shook the sky.”

A red dragon emerged from a mountaintop cave in the flames.

“I watched the dragon breathe a plume of fire and turn atop the summit toward the pair of ponies, who were looking up at something else. A pink pegasus fell out of the air and landed on one of them as the dragon beat its wings and leapt off the summit.”

She shivered. “I… I didn’t know what else to do. They were surely going to become dragon dinner if nopony did anything. Without a further thought, I teleported off the train and landed outside. Of course I had forgotten all about the train’s momentum. As a result, I ended up rolling several metres when I reappeared, and I soon came to a crashing halt in some nearby shrubbery.

“After checking myself for injuries, I quickly pushed my way out of the bush and ran back to the south… though of course the ponies had already fled into the White Tail Wood by then, one of them carrying the pegasus on his back. The entire woodland border was already burning, having been in the firing line of the dragon’s attack. I knew then that I could do nothing to help them, and so—praying to Celestia for their safety—I made to set off along the tracks and wait at the next station for another train.

“But before I turned completely around, a flash of blue drew my gaze as an early dawn sunbeam lit up something on the ground. I watched the dragon circle over the Wood and then fly back toward the mountain. With the coast clear, I made my way over to the glimmer. There, lying on the ground…”

Prismia broke off and pointed at Kaviyayu.

“...was the Crystal Pendant. It must have fallen out of the pegasus’ saddlebag before she landed on the two others.”

A hush descended upon the herd.

“So, this Pendant,” Kavi said as she held up the Pendant with her aura. “This belonged to… that mare from the story of my brother’s death and the day I was found. She must have been… my mother. My blood mother.”

Samanka placed a hoof on Kavi’s shoulder. “Dear, we’re so sorry—”

“No, it’s okay,” Kavi said, though she brought her own hoof up to touch her mother’s. “Please, carry on, Prismia.”

Prismia nodded. “As I picked up the Pendant, it seemed to speak to me. When I slipped it over my neck… me, a mare who had never known love, wearing a pendant that generates and amplifies its power… Well, I think you all know what happened over the next twelve years.”

“All this time—” everypony looked toward Celestia, her eyes narrowed “—I could never figure it out. Ponies everywhere began to suddenly turn on each other. It was like they had… no more love left in them to care about others.”

Prismia bowed her head. “I am truly, most immensely sorry for the grief I caused the citizens of Equestria. Including you all here,” she added, waving her hoof around. “I abused and misused the power of the Crystal Pendant to terrible effect… but I could not not stop myself. I had become addicted to love, so much so that I sought only to take it from ponies. I was driven by madness, and I never even stopped to consider that… I could have tried earning it instead.”

“You have done many terrible things, Prismia,” Celestia said. She stood from the table and walked up next to Prismia as she swallowed hard and raised her eyes reluctantly to Celestia’s. “Had I ever caught you in the act, you should know that you would have been prosecuted to the full extent of Equestria’s laws.”

“I kn-know, P-Princess,” Prismia stammered. “I plead gu-guilty of my actions, and I am f-fully prepared to ac-accept the consequ-quences. Please, bestow a-a… any punishment upon me that you see fit.”

“Indeed, your crimes were most malicious, and performed with zero regard to others.” Celestia bowed her head. “You should, by all rights, be sentenced to a lengthy stay in the realm of Tartarus.”

Prismia shivered harder.

“However.”

Prismia looked up.

“Your testimony here tonight, coupled with the story that Kavi told me in our meeting this morning, have led me to suggest an alternative,” Celestia said. “I am instead sentencing you to a lengthy stay in the Canterlot Rehabilitation Clinic for Wayward Ponies. You will be effectively under house arrest, watched and surveyed every hour of every day as you undergo treatment.”

“I… yes, Princess.” Prismia slowly nodded. “Of course I accept your sentence.”

“That said—” Celestia suddenly smiled and draped a wing over Prismia’s back “—you must not consider it a prison. You will be given care, nurturing, and attention as their expert counselors assess and process you. There, you may yet learn the true values of love, kindness, friendship, and many other virtues that you were so deprived of as a foal.”

“Princess…”

Prismia blinked and looked to the night sky, her eyes shining. “Your mercy knows no bounds. This is… is one of the k-kindest things anypony has ever d-done for me. And after all I have done… the suffering I have wrought upon others...”

“There are no bad ponies, Prismia. Only bad choices.”

Kavi stood from her seat and walked over to the pair; she, too, placed a wing upon Prismia. “I told you back in your hut that it’s never too late to make up for your mistakes. Everypony can earn forgiveness, no matter what they’ve done in the past, if they truly want it.”

Ending her speech, Kavi looked at the herd and smiled. “You helped me save us all,” she said with a sweeping gesture. “That’s a great start.”

The Crystal Pendant gleamed in the dark.

“Now, let’s celebrate, laugh, and feast the night away!” she cried, punching the air. A cry rang through the square as everypony ravenously resumed their meals.





Kavi awoke early the next morning. She stretched her legs, pulling them back in as they connected with some unexpected company. She smiled a toothy grin at the sight of her entire family packed in around her on the bed, their chests gently rising and falling. Mother and Father’s hooves were touching, Kara had her tail over Kavi’s back and flank, and Avran had his head underneath her wing on the other side.

She chuckled to herself. I’d better not disturb them so early. Now, let’s try this…

She concentrated on her task; horn alight with a pale blue, she narrowed her eyes and stared at the spot where the side of Avran’s head rested against her side. The glow spread to a gap between them and nudged Avran until his head leaned against nothing but the aura. Keeping the image in mind, she looked next to Kara and focused on her rear. The aura spread further, lifting the braided pink tail off her own back.

Moving carefully, she slipped out of bed and turned around. She closed her eyes and gently dispelled the magic. Avran’s head rested upon the bed at the same time as Kara’s tail fell to her side.

Wow. I can’t wait to learn more about magic.

She brushed aside the beaded curtain of her family’s doorway for the final time, breathed in hard, and exhaled. The smell of morning dew and musky air welcomed her to the cool morning. The Moon hung low, emitting its dying light over the treetops. The sound of chirping crickets filled her ears. She took a moment to stretch properly, no longer encumbered by her family. With a shake of her head, she turned and trod down the three steps toward the fire pit, where final embers struggled in vain to ignite the remaining coals.

Celestia sat on a log next to the dying fire, a golden chariot and four pegasi wearing ceremonial armour behind her. Prismia stood at her side, engaging the princess in quiet conversation. She had her hood up, resembling a dark shadow in the early twilight. They looked up as Kavi approached, and immediately ceased their discussion.

“Good morning, Kavi,” Celestia said. “Are you ready to embrace your new life?”

“I am,” Kavi said, stopping short of Celestia. “I always knew I was different from my family. Not just in the way I look, but there were other signs too. I always had this yearning to explore, when everypony else was fine to keep to themselves here. Now I am finally free to see the world.”

She bit her lip. “Princess… will I be able to return here and visit whenever I like? I’d… love to show my family how I’m growing as I learn about my duties.”

Celestia nodded. “Any time you start to feel homesick, you may return. But know that once we leave, I will again restore the barrier I have maintained around Zahara for the past few centuries. It’s quite fascinating, really—Prismia here tells me she broke through it without even meaning to. The Pendant picked up on the love in all of your hearts and guided her right to you all, in spite of the barrier’s repulsion charm.”

“Barrier? What do you mean?”

“She means, Kavi—” Prismia lowered her hood “—that the reason Zahara stays so quiet, calm, and pure is because, for many centuries, anypony who drew near to this location either felt compelled to turn around, or remembered urgent appointments elsewhere and had to leave for them right away. Elder Havijhan told me about it last night, when he quizzed me on how I managed to find you all in the first place. It was an old agreement between Celestia and Havijhan’s ancestor, who desired his privacy before starting his own family here.”

“For all that time, I maintained our ancient agreement out of respect,” Celestia said. She looked around at the houses, the trees, the fields and the well. “And so many years later, Zahara remains a hidden sanctuary for those who live within its boundaries. When you wish to return, think hard about your loved ones, and the Pendant will guide you to them.”

She eyed the Moon. “The time for sunrise draws near. Do you think ponies would like to see me bring it?”

Kavi nodded. “I’ll go and rouse them.”





The Samanka family sat together, watching Celestia lower the Moon and raise the Sun. They and some other early risers cheered and clapped their hooves together after Celestia touched ground, the golden orb above bringing the day’s first light and warmth.

“Thank you, everypony,” she said with a bow. “I hope your day is as pleasant as your night was.”

She looked over her shoulder and waved a wing. Her guards brought forth her golden chariot, the interior large enough for four to sit side by side. “I thank you again for the most extravagant feast. It was lovely to see you all after so many centuries, but I must return to Canterlot. While you all seem completely self-sufficient here by yourselves, my ponies back home will surely panic if their Princess cannot be found, even for a day.”

She allowed herself a chuckle before opening the chariot door and stepping up into it. She lowered herself onto the seat and patted the velvet next to her. “Prismia, Kaviyayu… your new lives await. Let us be off.”

“Of course, Princess,” they said. Prismia stepped up and carefully took her seat next to Celestia. She waited a few seconds, but felt no pressure on the seat next to her. She tilted her head to the side.

“Kavi? Are you not coming?”

As she and Celestia glanced back down to their left, Kavi stood rooted in place, still as a statue.

“I… I thought I’d made up my mind, but… but…” She dipped and turned her head. “I can’t do it. I can’t do it, Mother!” She stepped back and rested her head against Samanka’s shoulder. “I’m not ready for this. It’s all happening so fast. Four days ago I was just a normal filly with a happy family in a peaceful village, and now I’m supposed to inherit some thousand-year-old throne and learn how to rule my own kingdom someday. It’s just too much!”

Kartanya, Stamska, and Avran all huddled into her as the tears began.

“Angel, this is your destiny—who you were truly born to be,” Stamska said. He kissed her cheek. “You should go with the Princess. She can offer you a better life than the one you have with us.”

“But my life is fine here!” Kavi argued. “I was happy before any of this happened.”

“Shhhh-sh-sh-sh. Calm down, baby.” Samanka stroked Kavi’s mane. “I’m happy that you have so loved your life. It means your father and I succeeded, and we couldn’t be more proud of you. But think about how you’ll feel if you stay here now that you know who you really are. You’ll spend every day wondering what this whole other life could be—the ponies you’ll meet, the wonders you’ll see, the things you’ll learn…”

Kavi broke away from Samanka, her eyes glistening. She wiped a hoof across her nose and nodded. “I just… if I go, I’m going to miss you all so much. And now that I’ve come to realise how much I love you all, I d-don’t know if I can leave you behind.”

“Hey, don’t say that!” Avran piped up as he wrapped his forelegs around Kavi’s neck. “We’re not going anywhere. You can come see us again whenever you want, right?” He released his hold, turned, and stared up at Celestia. “Can’t she, Princess?”

“Well, my dear colt, your sister will be quite busy learning how to become a princess herself,” Celestia said. “It is far from an easy life, but it is incredibly rewarding. And, of course, she will have to begin attending school, too.”

“Oh.” Avran hung his head.

“Buuuuut, I see no reason why she cannot come back to see you all every now and then, when she has the time.” Celestia flashed her smile.

“Yay!” Avran hugged Kavi again. “See, it’s okay! You can go.”

“I… well… I guess…” Kavi smiled and hugged her brother back. “If I can just come back, every few months or so, that… might be enough.”

She hugged her family one by one, then placed a hoof upon the chariot’s first step. She took a deep breath, let it out and turned back to Kartanya.

“You, Kara… you found me first. I will always be grateful.”

“I couldn’t not save you, Kavi,” Kara said, her own eyes welling over. “I lost a brother that day… but I gained a wonderful sister in his place. Both of you will always be in my heart.”

“And you’ll always be in mine.” Kavi wiped her own eyes as she turned back and stepped up into the chariot, taking her place next to Prismia. “It’s okay, Princess. I think I’m ready to go now.”

“If you are sure, then we should be on our way.” Celestia looked to the sky. “Gentlecolts, if you would, please.”

The four stallions all saluted Celestia, then pawed the ground. In perfect formation, they set off at a trot—

“Wait!”

Celestia held up a hoof and used her magic to tug on the reigns of her chariot. Its occupants all looked to their left, seeing Kara rear up and place her hooves upon the door.

“What is it, Kara?” Kavi asked, grasping her sister’s hooves with her own.

“I just thought you should know—” Kara blinked and smiled “—your birth mother… she called you Cadance. That’s how we named you. Kaviyayu, you are our cadence… our love song. Use that name when you go. Ponies will probably like it better. Just… keep the name ‘Kavi’ as our family’s own secret, okay?”

Silence fell again for a few seconds before they nodded together.

“We love you.”

“I love you too.”

Cadance nuzzled her sister for the final time and dropped down again, waving as the Royal Guard again accelerated and beat their wings, lifting themselves and their passengers into the air. Over the eastern treeline and into the clouds they flew, leaving the hidden village of Zahara behind them.
> Epilogue: Last of the Wilds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“And that’s the story of how I became a Princess of Equestria.”

Cadance sat at the end of the bed, a gentle breeze flowing through the open window. A solitary oil lamp flickered on the bedside table, littered with books and scraps of paper. A miniature notebook and quill sat next to a plush toy, which a small purple filly grasped in her aura.

Twilight Sparkle sat up and bounced on her bed, still cocooned in her blankets. “No, no, no! You can’t end the story like that, Cady! Now what happened next?”

“Ah ah ah, Twily. No more story until you lie back down again and relax.”

Twilight crossed her legs and pouted, her head sideways.

“Twily, please? I’m getting a little sleepy myself. I may just fall asleep before I finish the story. You don’t want that now, do you?”

Twilight turned back, held a firm expression for a moment, and then finally sighed as she fell back into bed, covers tightly drawn about her small body. “Fine… so what next?” Her patchwork doll floated in next to her as she clutched the covers even tighter. “You came here, right?”

“Yes,” Cadance said. “It was a long ride by Princess Chariot. Honestly I think I could have flown by myself a lot faster, but the Princess said it would be more proper to arrive in the service of her guards. Besides, we had to stop somewhere else first.”

“Where?”

“The city of Cloudsdale,” Cadance said. “Princess Celestia wanted to check some personal records on the way. So, we found them in the Cloudsdale archives… and, well, quite a few mysteries were solved that day.”

“Like what?” Twilight asked, sitting up again.

“Lie down, Twily. No more story for upright little unicorns.”

“Pfft. That’s a silly rule.” Twilight scoffed.

“It’s also your mother’s rule.”

Without another word, Cadance lightly pushed Twilight until she fell back onto her mattress. Wrapped up in her little cocoon, Twilight bounced a single time before becoming still. “Well?” she pressed, “what did you find in the library, Cady? Were there any good books?”

“Uh... yeah, Twily. Lots and lots of great books. They were mostly about flying though, so nothing you’ll ever need to worry about, okay?”

“Hey, that’s not fair! I might still wanna read them sometime.”

Cadance shook her head and giggled. “You just want to read every book in all of Equestria, don’t you, Twily?”

“Yep! Now come on! What did you find there?”

Cadance sat still for a moment, her head turned down.

“Cady? You okay?”

Cadance looked up as Twilight waved the plush doll in front of her face. “Smarty Pants wants to hear more too.”

“Hmmm.” Cadance smiled and leaned forward, running a hoof through Twilight’s mane. “We found my family tree. From there, I learned my parents’ names: my father was Crescendo Breeze, and my mother was Ruby Amore. Turns out that my mother was distantly related to an ancient Princess from long ago.”

“Wow,” breathed Twilight. “You’re really a Princess. So what did you do after you learned who you are?” She yawned as a pink hoof stroked her forehead before withdrawing.

“Well, the three of us all got back in the chariot and headed for Canterlot. We landed atop the castle’s north tower, where some Royal Guards were already waiting to take Prismia into custody. She went with them willingly, although she turned and gave me a hug before they led her away.

“I stayed with Princess Celestia in her chamber, because she didn’t want me to feel alone. I really missed my parents that night, but it was good to know that she cared so much. I’m still not sure who appreciated each other being there the most, though.

“She introduced me to the Day Court the next morning after sunrise. Everypony gasped and pointed at me at first, but then the Princess told them all to settle down and that she would make an official announcement soon. It was amazing, seeing so many ponies all making such a fuss over me.”

Twilight giggled for a few seconds before settling down. “So what happened to Prismia, Cady? Did she ever learn to love anypony?”

“I’m... not sure, Twily,” Cadance said after a pause. “I haven’t seen her since she was taken away. I’ve been so busy with my own studies, learning to become a proper Princess for the day I’m needed. I should probably go visit her sometime. But if I do, that’ll be another story for another time, okay?”

“Okay.” Twilight stretched her legs and yawned. She grabbed at the patchwork doll with a stringy mane and polka-dot pants next to her. “Thanks for the story tonight, Cady. You’re the best foalsitter in the history of foalsitters. I love you.”

“And I love you too, Twily. I’m so glad the Princess assigned me to foalsit for you. But it’s time for bed now. If you be a good filly, close your eyes and go to sleep, I’ll tell you another story tomorrow night.”

Twilight closed her eyes and nodded, hugging her doll tightly. “Smarty and I are both looking forward to it,” she said with another yawn.”Good night, Cady.”

“Good night, Twily. Sweet dreams.”

It took less than a minute of a hoof stroking her mane—coupled with some melodious humming—before Twilight was snoring faintly, mane askew over her face.

“Moonshine, Moonshine, fireflies alight. Rest your eyes and embrace the night.”





Twilight’s bedroom door closed as Cadance grasped the handle in her magic and twisted it gently. Once the mechanism clicked into place, she turned and tiptoed down the hall toward the stairs; with every footfall, she gently flapped her wings so that her hooves only very lightly touched the ground.

She turned at the end and look at a photo on the wall. It depicted her special little filly surrounded by her adoring—and adorable—family. Twilight Velvet sat with a foreleg around both little Twilight and her big brother, Shining Armor, while Night Light stood behind them all, a relaxed grin on his face.

For a short while Cadance just stood there, looking at the happy family. A pang of loneliness hit her chest.

I’ll have to ask Princess Celestia if I can postpone my study for a few days. I’m sure my family worries about me, even if they say they fully support my decision to live here.

She lowered her gaze and descended the stairs into the hallway. To her right was the ruckus room, where Shining Armor and some of his school friends were playing his and Twilight’s favourite board game, Oubliettes and Ogres. As she passed, she caught Shining’s eye; he immediately dropped the dice in his magical grip, to raucous laughter from his friends. I must have given him a bad roll, she thought as laughter rose up when she passed by, heading for the living room. A small smile crept over her face.

Gosh, that colt can be cute when he wants to be.

She proceeded slowly, poking her head around a corner into the living room. A flickering fire cast dancing shadows on the walls.

Night Light sat on a plush sofa, some scrolls next to him while he studied some kind of miniature blue statue with a magnifying glass. At a nearby desk bathing in light from an oil lamp, Twilight Velvet grasped a quill, scribbling every so often at a sizeable stack of paper. Both looked up as Cadance entered the room.        

“Twilight is asleep, Mister and Missus Light,” she said. “We had a great time this evening.”

“We really appreciate it, Miss Cadenza,” Night said. He stretched and stood from the sofa, returning the statue to the coffee table next to it. He trotted over next to his wife. “Velvet and I have been ridiculously busy lately, and it’s a real load off our backs to have somepony looking after little Twily. Shining is great most of the time, but we understand he has his own social life too.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all, Mister Light,” Cadance replied with a smile. “I’m quite happy to look after Twilight for you. She’s so adorable with her books and her doll. I was actually thinking I could take her to the Royal Library tomorrow, if that’s okay with both of you.”

“Yes, I’m sure she would love that.” Velvet lowered her quill. “Our Twily sure loves her studies. She’s already surpassing the other fillies at school by a long shot—we hope to hear back from Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns about her application any day now.”

A broad smile spread across Cadance’s face. “I’m sure she’ll pass with flying colours,” she said. She turned her head to the ceiling in the bedroom’s general direction. “You should have seen her mastery of levitation magic when we built a mini fort out of pillows and books. Why, she has better control of her magic than I do of mine!”

A loud whoop, followed by some cheers from outside the hallway, drew their attention.

Night Light rolled his eyes. “I think I have to remind those colts to keep it down after dark.” He kissed Velvet on the cheek then nodded to Cadance. “Thank you again, Miss Cadenza,” he said before departing the living room.

Cadance turned back to Velvet, the Crystal Pendant glowing around her neck. “You two are such great parents, you know. Twily and Shining are lucky to have you both.”

Velvet blushed and turned back to her stack of paper; scratching once again filled the room as she resumed crossing out and rewriting sections of text. “We’re lucky to have you too,” she said over the sound of her quill dancing with the paper. “You’re a sweet filly, Miss Cadenza. Thank you again for your outstanding services.”

“Thank you, Missus Light.” Cadance sank into a brief bow. Just the way that Aunt Celestia taught me. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Have a good night.”

“You too, dear.”

As Cadance made to leave the living room, three colts beat her to the door, followed by Shining Armor and Night Light. After wishing each other a good night—with a promise to continue their ‘campaign’ the next day—they exited, leaving Cadance standing there with both stallions of the house. Night looked between them, bearing the ghost of a grin before returning to his documents and the blue statue.

Which left Shining and Cadance standing there together, alone in the hall.

As Cadance turned back to look at him, he averted his gaze and coughed. “Er, I-I should get to bed, too,” he said, eyes darting every which way except at Cadance. “You probably should too—uh, I mean, not like I’m trying to get rid of you or anything, but… I mean, yeah. Bedtime.” He let out a surprisingly loud yawn and stretched his forelegs to the ceiling.

“I was just about to leave anyway, actually,” Cadance replied. She walked toward the door. “Need my ‘Royal Sleep’ as Auntie calls it, especially if I’m getting up early to take Twily out for the day.”

“Oh, you’re coming back?”

A glint appeared in Shining’s eyes for a split second before he turned his head again. “I mean, er, oh, that’s cool. Twily’ll… she’ll like that.” He started off upstairs. “I’ll—we’ll—see you tomorrow, Miss Cadenza.”

He placed a hoof on the bottom step—

“Cadance.”

He stopped and looked back at Cadance—rather, the floor at her hooves—his lip quivering. “Pardon me?”

“Cadance,” she repeated. “Just… call me ‘Cadance’ from now on, okay?”

Shining stood still for a moment before finally making no more than a second’s eye contact. “Okay. Good night, Cadance. Seeya!” With a wave, he spun around and walked upstairs a little too quickly, leaving Cadance standing in the hallway alone. She suppressed a giggle and stared down at the Crystal Pendant.

Well, that’s not surprising in the least.





As she stepped outside and closed the door behind her, Cadance looked at the sky. The Mare in the Moon’s silhouette stared down at her as usual.

It took me a while to adjust to it being much larger from Canterlot than back home in Zahara, but now I cannot imagine a night sky where it does not shine down from just over the castle towers.

She walked away from the house and opened her wings to the cool air. The breeze ruffled her feathers, but she no longer felt the cold as she once did; Aunt Celestia had told her that, like regular pegasi, alicorns do not feel the cold so much as other ponies.

She bent her knees and sprang off from the cobblestoned ground, enjoying the feel of the wind between her wings as she soared through the air. She started to head back to the palace.

So what happened to Prismia, Cady? Did she ever learn to love anypony?

Twilight’s question rang in her mind.

I’m... not sure, Twily.

She slowed a little in mid-flight.

I should probably go visit her sometime.

Cadance cast her eyes toward the northeastern end of Canterlot, where a small building rested a little higher up the hill than most others. She looked back at the palace, and then back at the building. After taking a deep breath, Cadance changed course.

But if I do, that’ll be another story for another time, okay?

Sorry, Auntie, but I’m going to be back a little later tonight.
> Author's End Note: Acknowledgements, Art, Music, and Q&A
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


All quoted material below copyright of Hasbro® and My Little Pony™


Taken from Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell, written by G. M. Berrow under the Hasbro® License.





“When I was found as a baby Pegasus, in a forest far, far away…”

Cadance began the familiar tale. Twilight listened intently as Cadance recounted her path to becoming the great pony leader she was today.

Cadance told her how some Earth Ponies from a nearby village took her in as their own little 
filly. And as she grew up, the natural love and compassion she had for others filled everypony with warmth and the urge to protect her. Cadance was definitely special.

But all was not well for long. An evil pony enchantress named Prismia lived alone nearby. She rarely came out of her cottage because she felt nothing but jealousy for the other ponies in the village—the way they loved and took care of one another. And yet, she had nopony who cared for her.

Prismia always wore a powerful necklace, which she cared for more than anything else in the world, and it served to amplify the evil and jealousy within her own heart. When Prismia’s bad feelings and the power of the necklace finally overtook her, she cast a spell on the villagers that leeched all the love from their homes. She hoped to capture some of that love for herself. Everypony was distraught and sad.

Cadance decided that she couldn’t let that happen, so she went to see Prismia. Luckily, the 
enchantress’s powerful necklace also amplified the power of Cadance’s love, and she soon defeated Prismia with her incredible gift of compassion.

Once Prismia changed her horrible ways, Cadance was surrounded by magical energy and transported to a strange place—a place that nopony except Princess Celestia had ever been! So when Celestia discovered special little Cadance in that mysterious location, her fate was sealed. The princess brought her back to Canterlot to raise her as her very own royal niece—the special and loving young Princess Cadance.



…

Wait. That’s it? That’s all we get? I thought after reading about Princess Cadance in G.M.Berrow’s Hasbro®-licensed novel, Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell. I almost threw the book across the room after reading that. I mean, fair enough that the story is supposed to be about Twilight, but come on, G; could you not perhaps have at least dedicated a single chapter to Cadance’s story, with a little more detail, so she could not only show us how special she really is, but also that Twilight, too, realised the significance of her ascension?

No? Okay. I guess it falls to me to write her history then. Let’s do this…

Conception:

That was my thought process. But how to go about it? Hmmm.… At first, I was stumped for clues. I mean, I knew the bare bones of the story: adopted by earth ponies, approached by the witch, love stolen, overpowering the pendant and thwarting the witch with… compassion? How does that even work? For a long time, I was stumped.

One day in chilly July (I live in Australia, for those who were unaware), I had Nightwish playing on an endless loop at work. Quite often at work—much to my own chagrin—I find myself coming up with the most wild and crazy story ideas due to the repetitious nature of my tasks. For about the third time that day (might have been the fourth, I don’t know truly), I heard the song Cadence of Her Last Breath start up. Then, it hit me.

Cadence of Her Last Breath.

Cadence of Her Last Breath!

Wow! I can work with this!

Less than an hour later, I’d sent a PM to my good friend, J (You guys might know him better as JustAnotherTimeLord), describing my idea. Here is the ensuing series of PMs back and forth:

Had another idea for a fic.


29w, 5 ago
Cerulean Voice said:
....Dammit.

Cadance of Her Last Breath:



Before Princess Mi Amore Cadenza (or Princess Cadance as she prefers) was ever a princess of Equestria, she was simply known as Kaviyayu, an orphaned pegasus filly raised by a village who loved her as their shared daughter. Grateful to her rescuers and new adoptive family, Kaviyayu quickly learned the value and importance of love from her young age.
One night, the teenage Kaviyayu has a dream about a white colt with blue hair, who seems to be running to her while calling a single word over and over: "Cadance." Yet try as she might, she cannot ever close the distance between them; instead, a shadow blocks her path, always cackling, always accompanied by a flash of blue.
Who is the mysterious colt, why does he haunt her dreams, and why is the laughing shadow within so determined to keep the two apart?



Story inspiration:




29w, 4d ago
JustAnotherTimeLord said:
Holy shit, this is good stuff. Really good stuff. I really like this idea. Like, a lot. Now, here's the thing, though: the villain NEEDS to be something original. Discord is overplayed, and Sombra CAN be used, but really, you'll need to get creative here.
I say this because with how great of an idea this is, it is a disservice to use a villain that doesn't match it. I'd think of maybe using the Nightmare or something. That just came to mind. It probably doesn't work overall, but it's the thought that counts.
So yeah. That's all I have for it. All in all, this is a great idea.

29w, 4d ago
Cerulean Voice said:
The villain, in fact, already exists. Her name is Prismia:



“When I was found as a baby Pegasus, in a forest far, far away…” Cadance began the familiar
tale. Twilight listened intently as Cadance recounted her path to becoming the great pony leader she was today.
Cadance told her how some Earth Ponies from a nearby village took her in as their own little
filly. And as she grew up, the natural love and compassion she had for others filled everypony with warmth and the urge to protect her. Cadance was definitely special.
But all was not well for long.
An evil pony enchantress named Prismia lived alone nearby. She rarely came out of her cottage
because she felt nothing but jealousy for the other ponies in the village—the way they loved and
took care of one another. And yet, she had nopony who cared for her. Prismia always wore a
powerful necklace, which she cared for more than anything else in the world, and it served to
amplify the evil and jealousy within her own heart. When Prismia’s bad feelings and the power of
the necklace finally overtook her, she cast a spell on the villagers that leeched all the love from their homes. She hoped to capture some of that love for herself. Everypony was distraught and sad.



Prismia is a blank slate.



A week later, I abandoned the one-shot idea, and the “dreaming of Shining and the shadow” concept, and had listened to more than enough Nightwish (Mostly the album Dark Passion Play) to get myself into a superhyped fantasy mood. Thus was the name of the story changed from Cadance of Her Last Breath, to The Essence of Love, and then finally to Essenza di Amore. The final naming choice felt fitting, both because it is an elegant, smooth title out of a language I find gorgeous (Italian for those who don’t know/too lazy to look it up), and also because of Cadance’s Princess name: “Mi Amore Cadenza.” This was her story, and so to have her defining trait as well as a part of her name in the title just felt 100% right.

Brainstorming ideas:

Initially, I intended for the story to be about episode length, or between 12-15k words over a few chapters. I figured I might push it a little further if necessary, if I got lost in the descriptions.

Ha. Great joke, huh?

Firstly, I was going to have a chapter introducing her as an orphan, why she was an orphan, who took her in, and Lady Prismia’s arrival: all within the first chapter. The second chapter would be about Prismia’s sapping of love, Cadance’s confrontation of her, and her subsequent ascension to alicornication. Chapter three was intended to be the resolution, with Cadance having redeemed Prismia, Celestia showing up to tell her of her destiny and to take her away to Canterlot. All of these chapters were going to be framed under the guise of Young-Twilight-Era-aged Cadance telling her story to Twilight as a bedtime story.

But something was annoying me, niggling at the back of my mind. Namely, if Cadance was an orphan, how did she come to be raised by earth ponies in the first place? Why would they not try to return her to her other family: aunties, cousins, grandparents? Did they know she was special? Did they know that Cloudsdale even existed?  And so, the idea of Cadance being rescued at the expense of multiple other lives came to mind. She was far from home, and her rescuers had never seen pegasi before. She would appear to fall out of the sky, and they would see her as a blessing from above. So I drafted up this huge conflicting chapter about some Amish-styled ponies, who basically knew nothing of the outside world save for their own village. A couple of naughty foals wandered too far from home, being adventurous, and their decision to disobey the rules of their elders set in motion a series of events that changed the entire course of history.

But how to make them seem so secluded, so out of touch with the outside world, that they wouldn’t even consider trying to return Cadance to her family? That was where the idea for giving them strange tribal-ish names came from. They were a secret family, a herd hidden away from the world in a secret village that nopony knew about. A family so ancient and out of touch with progress, that they continued to use ancient naming conventions. Thus, my search for weird names began. I also decided to name my chapters after songs from the Dark Passion Play album, as a homage and thanks to Nightwish for inspiring the story in my head.

It is here that I must give great thanks for one of my earliest collaborators: PaulAsaran. Striking up a conversation with him, I mentioned that the earth ponies were inspired by the Greenskins, from The Neverending Story (that being the subtle nod to NES, with the pony named Artax being the obvious nod). He suggested naming them from a language that he himself adores: Hindi. Putting our heads (and a Hindi-English translator) together, we experimented with a few names that combined other names. The end results came out thus:

Kaviyayu: Kavi + Eriya + yu ( Poet + Aria + ours/all of us)
Kartanya: Karen + Tanya (Pure + Light)
Stamska: Stambha + Skatur (Pillar + Scout)
Samanka: Samanta, light variation of Samantha (Family or Kinship)
Avran: as is (Cover or Shield)
Havijhan: Anubhav + Jivan (History or Knowledge + Life Experience)
Eva: light variation of Eve (Life)
Artax: although I plucked his name right out of The Neverending Story, it turns out to mean (Divine)

Writing:

As I wrote, I realised just how deep a world and characters I had created. I also realised that I was falling in love with Cadance as a character. She was so cute, carefree, innocent and spirited, with the kind of attitude you might expect to see emulated by many Studio Ghibli heroines such as Kiki, Chihiro, Sophie, or Nausicaa. Clearly, 20k words was not going to cut it for this story. No, I wasn’t just creating a backstory for an underappreciated character anymore; I was creating an epic for her, a love song—a cadence if you will.

Prismia became fascinating as well. Although all I had to work with from canon was that she was a jealous witch who lived nearby, I never felt like that did her any level of justice. As I began the third chapter, I really began to wonder what her real story was. Why was she jealous, and what was it about her past that made her so? It was then that I remembered a truly delicious villain from a highly rated cartoon called Avatar: The Last Airbender. Seeing Prismia in my mind—the level of deception she displayed, the demeanour of her attitude and her actions before striking the critical blow—really woke me up to the fact that I was subconsciously basing her on someone else.

An old waterbender character called Hama. Here is her bio from the A:TLA wikipedia. Needless to say, they are incredibly similar, not only in appearance, but in tragic backstory, loneliness, suffering, and desire for retribution.

The Search For Editors:

I asked around for a few people to preread and perhaps edit for me, to give me an idea of just what I was creating. A pretty decent amount of friends jumped on board, willing to help me out:

•Syeekoh
•ThatOneWriter
•The Albinocorn
•Foals Errand
•ZOMG
•vren55
•Comet Burst

There were a couple of others, but they didn’t really read much or give me an opinion. Many of them had a few things to say about certain things, but for the most part, all responses were overwhelmingly positive. Everyone listed above contributed in their own way, even those who only left a few select strategic comments that made me really think about certain things.

Then, it was time to gather actual editors. I had realised at this point that it was on track to become the best thing I had ever written, and so I sought after only the best people that I personally knew to help me. My oldest acquaintance and former editor, ChromeMyriad, seemed eager to help, but life caught up to him in a rather vicious manner, and so he had no choice but to abandon the project after chapter one. With Chrome gone, I asked a very talented writer and then-contributor to Twilight’s Library, Lambent Dream (then known as Noble Thought) as well as someone I had a truly great amount of respect for: Chris. With (Noble) and Chris on my case, suddenly my gdocs pages were covered in a rather large amount of graffiti, which both depressed and encouraged me. (Noble) was incredible at helping me rewrite sentences to be less awkward and more concise, whereas Chris was a major asset in finding areas that needed greater explanation, or things that just didn’t quite add up or have quite enough “oomph.”

Alas, (Noble) also had some life and confidence issues build up, and we pretty much said good bye halfway through chapter four. While Chris served as an amazing plothole finder/story strengthener, he also had life issues to worry more about. Not wanting to leave the story to languish, I decided to bite the bullet and ask the two people I knew could be reliable when it comes to both objective and subjective editing: Prak, and NightWolf289. Finally, I asked for a return favour from one Titanium Dragon, whose works Dawn and Dusk I had edited the week before. Even with these editors, September-through-November proved to be rather challenging when it came to finding time to dedicate to the story.

Finally, I threw some money in PresentPerfect’s general direction to help him out a bit, and he took the time to give me some additional feedback as well as final editing suggestions.

Release Plans:

With the story about 85% complete, I decided to submit my first two finished, edited chapters to Equestria Daily, in the hopes that I could nab a feature there at the same time as nabbing the fimfic feature box. Having submitted the story in early December, I was taking the gamble that, if it was approved, it might be published somewhere around Christmas. Around the beginning of December, I also contacted one of my favourite MLP fandom musicians, whose music I’d been listening to for two years already: The L-Train, most famous for his absolutely stellar collaboration, Moonlight: a symphonic metal opera. I asked him very nicely if he would consider making a song for my story, and to my immense surprise agreed without any further effort on my part.

My ideal plan, because I had promised my followers a Christmas release, was to release around Christmas Eve. Alas, Christmas came and went, with no word on the blog’s progress with the story. New Year’s Eve rolled around, yet still, nothing. It was at this point I decided “bugger it, I don’t need it to be featured anyway. My people have waited long enough (24 weeks at that point in time).” So, I released it on New Year’s Day instead. To my surprise, the story still featured anyway, claiming fourth in the regular box, and 6th in the mature content box. Two days later, when it had already been pushed out, Sethisto himself read and approved my story and proceeded to post it. Four weeks later, L-Train finished his recording, mixing, and mastering of his/our brand new track, The Crystal Pendant.

The other important person to thank for the song is my friend, Ayemel. She is one of the best artists in this fandom, is underrated as hell, and puts her absolute all into her pictures. By herself, she created seven images to complement not only the music video, but also my story. Suffice to say, Ayemel did a damn fine job on it, with many many hours put into such pieces and a very patient attitude. You can find all the art at the bottom of this blog. You will also find L-Train’s music track near the end of the chapter, after the artwork.

Deleted Scenes:

It is here that I should tell you that I was waiting to release my created foes, the Vargar. Originally named Wargen, they were a breed of enormous direwolf, hungry for either death or the taste of flesh. There was also a largely extended scene of Cadance in Cloudsdale with Celestia as they confirm Cadance’s lineage. Days from uploading, Titanium Dragon told me that those chapters were both better off eliminated, which forced me to cut almost 14k words from the final product. This was about ⅓ of the story, just gone completely. I hammered out a new conflict involving a familiar villain and was done with it just in time to keep to my self-imposed deadline. These deleted scenes have been posted and are readable after this chapter, if you have not already read them.

Reception:

Despite being just a little less successful than I anticipated, Essenza di Amore received high amounts of praise as well as many wishes for the story to continue. It had a good overall rating, but it was really the comments that made me smile. Yes, I had achieved what I set out to do— impress people with my version of events surrounding our little pink princess. Having run its course of updates (and Equestria Daily updates), the story has closed on the highest approval percentage of any of my stories yet, at a rating of over 97.7% approval. I am extremely happy with how it turned out, and the overwhelmingly positive reviews and comments it has received.

Acknowledgements:

Here, I thank all of those involved in helping make this dream story come to life.

Inspirations:

•G. M. Berrow., author of Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell
•To Make a Spark, by Chris
•Lady Prismia and the Princess-Goddess, by Skywriter
•The band Nightwish, and certain themes from their album Dark Passion Play

Initial idea pitch and discussion:

•JustAnotherTimeLord
•PaulAsaran

Prereaders:


•The Albinocorn
•ThatOneWriter
•vren55
•Syeekoh,
•ZOMG
•Foals Errand
•Comet Burst

Editors:

•ChromeMyriad
•Titanium Dragon
•Lambent Dream
•Prak
•NightWolf289
•PresentPerfect
•Chris

Artists:

•Ayemel
•Silfoe

Equestria Daily:

•Equestria Daily
•Sethisto
•TheSlorg

Music:

•The L-Train

Artwork:


Newly orphaned Cadance is rescued by her adoptive sister, Kartanya, at the cost of Cadance’s parents’ and Kartanya’s brother’s (Artax) lives.


Young Cadance (rechristened Kaviyayu), Avran, and two of his friends play together in a riverside pool. Little do they suspect that somepony is watching their every move...


Kavi, her family, and some other Zaharans are captivated by newcomer Eva’s illusory talents and skill in storytelling.


Having learned the truth about herself and her family, Kavi retreats in a distraught state of mind, however Eva is not far behind with moral support. Or is she?


Even those who commit great wrongs in life may be deserving of love. Perhaps it’s all they really want.


The changeling queen, newly released from her prison inside the Crystal Pendant, demands Kavi’s love in exchange for her family.


Lost and afraid, Kavi has a meeting with the most powerful, benevolent being in Equestria.


Kavi has learned an extremely valuable lesson about life, and so earns her horn and her apotheosis.

A phenomenally great thank you to Ayemel for creating all but one of those images. I watched each one come to life, and Ayemel is amazing to work with in her livestreams. Also a note of thanks to Silfoe, who allowed the L-Train to use her old Little Cadance image as part of his music video.

Music:



Go and listen to L-Train’s stuff. It’s incredible.

Final Thanks:

As you can see, this story would not have been possible without the combined efforts of these amazing, dedicated people. Each and every one of them contributed in some way, large or small, and I am grateful to every one of them. Thank you all so much.

Lastly, my thanks go to all of you, my lovely readers. Without you all to read and enjoy the story, I might never have had the will to finish it. I am glad for all of you, and I hope you enjoyed this coming-of-age tale.

Q&A:

Something else you’d like to know about the story that I haven’t covered? Feel free to ask me anything! Go on, right there! Type a comment and I’ll be sure to answer you. Here, I’ll even answer a frequently asked question for you right now:



Will you be writing a sequel?



Uh, well…

Teaser!



Mid-afternoon sunshine bounced off the Crystal Empire’s many buildings, creating a kaleidoscopic effect across the sky. Eager voices mingled with music as residents and tourists alike milled about, inspecting the various stalls all offering their unique wares.

Princess Cadance smiled as she strolled down Emerald Boulevard. The scent of crystal strawberries, raisins, dates, and others filled her nostrils. All around her, other vendors bowed and called out when she passed them by. She waved to all her subjects, who beamed their own bright smiles in return.

As she approached a crystal fruit stall, she caressed the Crystal Pendant around her neck. Many years earlier, she had inherited the enchanted, heart-shaped sapphire and used it to help her spread love wherever she went. She had outgrown the need to wield it, however, and had bestowed its emotion-amplifying power upon her sister-in-law as a coronation gift. Although Twilight had put it to good use, she had felt uneasy about keeping it, and so Cadance found it in her possession once again.

“You are the Princess of Love,” she had said upon returning it to Cadance. “You defeated the witch and purified it all that time ago. It rightfully belongs to you. Keep it, and pass it down to your foals.”

Cadance giggled, remembering Twilight’s words that day. Oh, Twilight. I think you’re more hopeful to be an auntie than Celestia or Luna are to be great-aunts.



Keep your eyes posted! Until next time,
Love,
Adren “Cerulean Voice” Perry.
> Bonus Deleted Scenes (non-canon to the story): Seven Days to the Wolves
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first thing Kavi knew was darkness. Compared to the Crystal Pendant’s shimmering atmosphere, her surroundings seemed pitch-black in the early hours of the morning. Only the moonlight shining in through the doorway told Kavi where she was. She groaned, blinked furiously, and rubbed her eyes before looking around.

Everything was as it had been before she fell asleep. All of Eva’s… no, Prismia’s things were arranged about the place in the same way. The rain pounded just as loud as when she’d laid her head down. The shadows seemed the same, yet the air was completely still.

“You…”

Kavi spun around at the voice. A wizened, grizzled old pony sat on the mattress, rocking back and forth in a foetal position, her horn glowing feebly. “My power,” she croaked, her voice harsh and dual-toned again. “You took it all away. I… I have nothing left now.” She caressed the Crystal Pendant, no longer shining but a dull, dark blue.

“Prismia.”

Kavi trotted next to the elderly mare and stared her in the eye. “You didn’t have to deceive us and try to take everything from us. You could have stayed in the village—made friends with us all. You might have come to love somepony, or even be loved in return.”

She sighed, eyeing the pendant. “I’m sorry about your past. I have no idea what it must have been like for you. Even so, you had no right to steal emotions from other ponies. Just because you suffered, doesn’t mean everypony else has to.”

“But… it was the only way.” Prismia buried her wrinkled face into her hooves. “I was never loved. I… I wanted it so much. When I found the Crystal Pendant twelve years ago, it was like a dream come true. Suddenly I had it—I had a way to acquire love. I kept using it, and… the more I took, the more I craved. I never wanted it to stop…”

Prismia burst into tears and covered her face with her hooves, sobs wracking her aged body. Kavi watched in silence as Prismia’s long-bottled and hoarded pain flowed down her cheeks.

“Take it off.”

Prismia lowered her hooves enough for the top of her eyes to look up at Kavi. “W-what?”

“Take it off,” Kavi repeated. She held out a hoof. “Give me the pendant. You’ve done far too many terrible things with it. Now, take it off and be free. Be your own pony, and stop letting it control you.”

Prismia sniffled, rubbed a leg across her nose, and nodded. Encased in a rainbow, the Crystal Pendant floated up from her neck. Instead of placing it in Kavi’s outstretched hoof, however, she slipped it over Kavi’s head.

“H-here. You s-should wear it. You have s-so much more love in your h-heart than I.”

As Prismia’s aura faded, Kavi looked down at her chest. The ring of amethysts seemed to shrink around her neck while the sapphire itself sat upon her breast. She touched it—it was cool, soothing against the heat in her chest, like the Snowflow’s caress against her coat on a hot summer’s day.

It felt like she’d reclaimed a long-lost piece of herself.

As she turned the Crystal Pendant over in her hoof, it vibrated violently; startled, Kavi dropped it. Floating in midair, the pendant emitted a shrill hiss; Kavi and Prismia both cringed and brought their hooves to their ears. Green and black smoke poured from the sapphire’s centre, filling the dwelling.

The fog swirled and contorted, its edges solidifying into something vaguely pony-shaped. Four misshapen hooves thudded into the floor. A section of green cloud sharpened into a pair of translucent wings from its back. A stringy, tattered teal tail burst from its rear. Crowned by a twisted horn, a head atop a slender neck sprouted from the body and rose until it towered over Kavi and Prismia. A pallid mane draped down over its face and down its back. Sharp fangs lined the too-wide mouth, a short nose poked out, and bottomless eyes of the deepest emerald green filled most of its new face.

With a menacing hiss, the monster bared its fangs. Before Kavi had a chance to react, it lunged for her throat.

As it closed to within a foot of her face, the Crystal Pendant gleamed to life and created a blue barrier between Kavi and the monster. It slammed its legs against the shield three times, hissing as the contact left fresh, glowing blue scorch marks on its solid black coat. The smell of singed flesh filled the cottage as the burns seared holes into the monster’s body at each point of contact.

The monster retreated, flicking its tongue out at Kavi. Green flames engulfed it, and suddenly Kaviyayu found herself face to face with… herself. When the monster spoke, it was with Kavi’s own young, high voice, although its chosen words would never have left the original’s lips.

“You! When I come for you next time, I will tear the flesh from your bones. I will split your chest apart and feast on your heart. And I’ll do it slowly, painfully, keeping you alive long enough to know the last thing passing through your mind is your own hooves when I rend them asunder and slam them through your face!”

The monster turned to Prismia, licking its lips. Another flash of green flame later, a second Prismia leered at the first. Its voice changed again to mimic the elderly mare.

“As for you… for too long I’ve put up with your minimal nourishment. You never could satisfy my demands for love. Now, with her in possession of the pendant, you are worthless to me. At last, I am finally free to go forth and take my own share. Equestria’s love will be all mine!”

Its horn flashed once, green flames wrapping around the monster’s body as it cackled madly. With a sudden crack, the creature vanished, leaving only a small scorch mark on the floor.

Kavi swallowed hard and looked down at the sapphire that had just saved her life. It was still cool against her chest, a comforting, welcome presence.

“That thing… What was it?”

Prismia sat wide-eyed, trembling as though the ground shook beneath her. “Never did I imagine such a beast lived inside the pendant... such a hideous, terrifying monster... Did you notice how it sizzled when it slammed against the shield?”

“Yes. But I wonder why it lived inside the pendant for so long when you wore it. Does that mean it can’t return to its home now that I’m wearing it?”

“That would be my best guess.” Prismia coughed and lay back down on the mattress. “When I… when I took your love while under that creature’s influence, it was the purest strain I had ever tasted, far stronger and more satisfying than anypony else’s before.”

“But… I don’t understand.” Kavi sat and shook her head. “Why am I so special? I’m just a filly.”

“Don’t you ever believe that for a second, Kaviyayu,” Prismia said sharply. She continued to cough. “You have been raised in the most loving and isolated environment I have ever come across. Little wonder the Crystal Pendant hugs you so tightly. Even...” She looked down at the ground. “Even without it around my neck, I can still sense the power within you.”

Kavi fondled the pendant once more.

In the dark twilight hours, from somewhere not so far away, a petrifying sound reached Kavi’s ears. It lingered for a few seconds as she stepped outside the cottage to investigate. Ears perked, she peered over the edge of the ridge at the dark wood below.

A second call answered; then another, and another. A long cacophony swept over the land, more and more howls adding to create a chilling chorus. 

“Oh!”

She turned on the spot and flapped hard, soaring through the doorway back into the cottage. “Prismia!” She skidded to a stop before the mattress that the old pony still lay upon. “Prismia, the vargar are on the move! My father warned us they were getting closer, but I thought we would have more time!”

Prismia remained motionless, her eyes bloodshot and downcast.

“Come on! We have to get back to Zahara and help my family—all of them!”

Prismia lifted her head a few inches, then let it fall again.

“Please, you have to help me! I can’t fly fast enough to get home in time and warn them! Everypony will be asleep, and… and I don’t want to think about that right now, but come on, please!”

Kavi jumped onto the mattress and grasped Prismia’s shoulders, shaking her hard. The mare’s head lolled back and forth with the motion. Kavi opened her wings and beat them hard, straining, but Prismia’s adult weight was too much for her.

“I can be of no use to you, Kaviyayu,” Prismia murmured. “I have no power left. All of the stolen love was returned to its owners. I should stay here in my solitude, where I cannot hurt anypony ever again. My actions are unforgivable.”

She leaned back and curled into a ball again as Kavi released her shoulders.

Kavi took a step back. “I know you’ve done a lot of bad things to a lot of good ponies.” She shook her head, mane waving from side to side. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t start doing good things now! I’m sure my family will appreciate it if we help them together then explain what happened with that… that thing and the pendant before.”

“I doubt it.”

“Come on! Don’t give up like that!”

Kavi jumped up onto the mattress again and pressed her face close to Prismia’s. “I know the truth now. It wasn’t you doing all those bad things! Yes, you craved love, and you let the pendant take hold of you, but you’re not a bad pony—you never were. You just made a bad choice and let the spell take over you. But when I wear this pendant... I can feel it inside me: the love for my family, and for all the good things in this world that I don’t even know about yet. There’s a power inside me, just sitting there, waiting to be brought out.”

More howling flowed in through the doors over the endless tapping of rain. Kavi whipped her head around, her eyes wide as she backed away, panting and shaking.

“This is really it then?” she asked, returning her gaze to Prismia. “You’re just going to stay here and mope. You won’t even think about trying to make things right?”

No response, save for a deep sigh.

Kavi bowed her head and trotted to the door. The rain poured heavier now; a beaded curtain of water flowed down over the space. She faltered at the door, the wind spraying her with a fine mist as she closed her eyes. Sighing, she spread her wings.

“For what it’s worth, even if you won’t help me now… I forgive you, Prismia. The question is, can you forgive yourself?”

Kavi took a deep breath and plunged through the curtain into the cold, wet night.





While her initial adrenaline rush was enough to get her off the cliffside and into the air, Kavi’s lack of sleep began to creep up on her. The hot, comfortable bath felt like a distant memory as she struggled to keep her tired wings beating. Rain raced down from the sky, doing its best to force her to the ground. Flashes of lightning frequently blinded her, forcing her to slow down every time to blink the spots from her eyes. Every blast of thunder that followed set her heart racing faster.

What am I doing? I’ll never make it in this storm!

Kavi gritted her teeth against the pain in her overworked wings. She tried switching to a glide, only to find herself rapidly losing altitude under the heavy rain. She gasped and flapped harder until a sharp pang ran through her sides.

Oh no, I can’t get a stitch now!

Taking shallow breaths, Kavi searched the darkened canopy below for a place to land. Between the pouring rain, clouds covering the moon, and erratic wind gusts, she struggled to make out any decent landing place. Her head flew from left to right.

Come on, come on…

There!

Kavi aimed toward the centre of a great oak with a gaping hole between branches. Fighting the pain in her side, she dropped slowly, resorting again to taking short, sharp gasps.

Just as she neared the top of the tree, a sudden gust threw her off-balance. With a cry of alarm, Kavi tumbled through the air and crashed into the top of the tree. Unable to right herself, she plummeted toward the ground, smashing through thin limbs and bouncing off thicker branches while yelping with every impact. She reached for a branch about five metres above the ground with her flailing forelegs; failing to grasp it properly, her hooves slid over the slick wood and she fell the rest of the way, flapping her wings errantly.

She slammed into the hard ground, the impact bringing a thunderclap with it. Kavi screamed into the night, tears leaping from her eyes as heat seared through her left wing. She tried to move, only for a jolt of lightning to run through her nerves in the wing’s main joint. With another anguished cry, she rolled onto her side and clutched at her abdomen, sobbing in the mud. Rain continued to fall around her—lightened somewhat by the trees above—and more lightning flashed.

When the fire in her nerves burned down to embers, she scrunched up her eyes and tried taking deep, slow breaths. Careful not to move her wing, she curled up into a ball and lay still. She looked around for any familiar section of the wood, but every move made her head swim; she could barely make out which way ‘up’ was.

Delirious and discombobulated, Kavi wept as the cold rain soaked her to the bone. She shivered in the dark as another howl, much louder, pierced the haze of her mind.

Please... no...

The nearby shrubbery rustled. Kavi whipped her head around, but the rustling stopped. Another rustle, from another direction; again, the sound faded when she lay eyes upon the bush making the noise. She shook her head, still whimpering as more pain flowed through her shattered wing.

For the third time, her surroundings rustled. For a moment, she dared to hope it was all in her imagination, but her hopes were dashed against the jagged rocks of reality; a flash of lightning revealed three vargar staring at her, their teeth bared in eager, hungry leers. All three towered over Kavi, their furry, streamlined bodies showed off lean yet defined muscles from their wide shoulders to their giant paws. Yellow eyes gleamed in the dark like lanterns. Six-inch fangs protruded from the front of their mouths. Three bushy tails swished with anticipation as the mutant canines growled low to each other. 

As they slowly split apart from each other, Kavi scrambled backward against the giant oak's trunk. Fear and adrenaline flowed through her, breath accelerating, heart threatening to burst through her chest. Her wing hung limp at her side, pain shunted to priority two as she stared certain death in the face.

Trapped against the tree, Kavi cradled her useless wing. Her whimpering resumed, eyes darting back and forth between each predator.

No... it can't end like this. I have to get home! I want to go home!

“Somepony, help!” she cried, knowing full well it would fall upon deaf ears. Her shout gave the vargar pause for barely a moment; then, they closed in further. She could smell their rotten breath, could see the saliva dripping from their tongues. She raised her forelegs in front of her face and turned away.

“Mother!”

She squeezed her eyes shut and leaned into the oaken trunk. She heard a collective snarl, expecting it to be the last thing she ever heard before her own screams inevitably mingled in a macabre harmony with the sounds of tearing flesh and cracking bone.

Instead, all she heard was a strange thwing and three yelps. A flash of blue, gone quick as it came. Instead of the life-ending fangs at her throat, she felt only the tree trunk at her back. Slowly, daring to hope against hope, she lowered her hooves and creaked open a single eye.

The vargar lay sprawled in a heap a few metres away. Still shaking, Kavi looked at her would-be predators. She tilted her head in confusion, heart hammering, before a faint glimmer below her line of sight caught her eye.

The Crystal Pendant pulsed with a gentle glow, the sapphire shining in the centre.

Before she could ponder the pendant further, a loud snarl startled her. She snapped her head up and gasped as the lead vargr shook himself off and leapt at her once more. She screamed, reflexively lifting her forelegs to shield her face again.

Once more, a thwing and a flash of blue. Eyes open the second time, she saw the outline of a magical barrier, not unlike the one that protected her from the shadow monster in Prismia's hut. It filled her vision for an instant, vanishing after it sent the varg flying back against his fellows.

Is it... protecting me?

Again and again, the pack leapt at her; again and again, they were thrown backward by a persistent barrier of blue light. Kavi stared down at the pendant around her neck, gleaming and flickering as the barrier twinged repeatedly, repelling every one of the vargar’s attempts.

"I... I don't understand," she whispered. "I don't have a horn... I'm not casting any spells..."

An ear-splitting howl made her look up again. The three vargar slowly approached her then stopped. The leader raised and tentatively reached out with a taloned paw. As it closed to within six inches of Kavi's face, the blue barrier thwinged again, bouncing the paw away.

Cheated out of his easy morsel, the leader snorted, turned his tail, and fled. The other two hesitated just a moment before following him into the darkness.

In the moment that Kavi finally took a deep breath and exhaled, all of her senses returned at once. The dark, blurry outline of the woods around her took shape, lit by the pendant’s soft glow. The sounds of rain, wind, and thunder roared in her ears. The taste of acid and sweet potatoes filled her throat as she leaned her head forward and retched. The stabbing pain in her wing burned hot again.

Wiping her mouth clear of excess ex-dinner, Kavi closed her eyes and felt the world start to spin. She collapsed to the ground, landing hard on her uninjured side, gasping through the searing haze of pain and nausea. Her head swam.

“Mother… Father… Kara… Avran… I’m so sorry.”

Everything faded to black.





For how long she lay in the empty abyss, Kavi knew not. All was bliss, all was warm, all was fine. As such, she objected to the feel of something shaking her shoulder. The pain, the nausea, the chill in her bones—all returned in full force as somepony sought to drag her from the comfort of unconsciousness.

With a long, low groan, Kavi shifted her body and lifted her head. Her eyes fluttered open, meeting with a familiar white coat.

“Pr... Pris… mia?”

The albino's body swam into view, sharpening with every passing second.

“Praise the Sun. You're awake.”

Prismia knelt down, placed a hoof on Kavi's left shoulder, and breathed a sigh of relief. “When I saw you lying on the ground like this, I... well, I feared the worst.”

“Prismia…” Kavi made to stand, but yelled and fell back down as the pain returned. “Argh... you came back... but why? You said—” a coughing fit wracked her body “—you said you were done. I thought I’d never... see you again.”

Prismia bowed her head. “Nor I you, young one. Though in fact, I am surprised that you have a chance to see anypony again at all. Such injuries, and in this storm—it is a miracle that you still draw breath. You look like you have seen the face of Death... and defied it.”

“The vargar!”

Kavi sat bolt upright, her eyes wider than the moon above. Her wing panged again, forcing her to bring up a leg to cradle it. She noted that the rain had finally stopped, and that she had been moved and laid at the base of a larger willow tree. The night seemed lighter, like the Sun was sitting below the horizon, just waiting to rise.

It’s almost sunrise...

“My family! Oh, no! They won’t have a chance! There’s a lot more vargar than the group that attacked me. What if they’re—” two hooves flew up to her mouth, the wing forgotten “—Prismia, please! You have to help them now. I’ll do anything for you if you at least try!”

“Kavi, I—”

“Please!”

“Kaviyayu! Listen to me.”

Prismia rubbed Kavi’s shoulder as the filly fell silent. “Have no fear for your family. They will be fine. You and I are going to help them… together.”

“Really?” Kavi’s face lit up, only to fall again. “Oh, but I won’t be very useful at all. You should go alone. I’ll only hold you—argh!—back.” She rubbed her wing, every pang bringing forth a wince. “See? My wing is useless now. I broke it when I fell out of that tree in the storm. I can’t fly. I can barely walk.”

“Kavi…” Prismia looked her firm in the eyes. “I am not leaving you behind. I will take you home. My actions might not earn your family’s forgiveness, but… at least my conscience will be clear. I see that now, and I am prepared to do what is right.”

“Prismia… what happened? Why the change of heart?”

Prismia smiled and looked over her shoulder. “I… thought about all those things you said. The more I contemplated your words—” she coughed and cleared her throat “—the more I realised… I want this. I want to be loved, for real, and to try and earn it. As I walked outside to think, I saw a flash of blue coming from far away, and then another, and another. I remembered how the same thing happened when that beast attacked you earlier. And then, the flashing stopped.”

She swept a hoof across her face. “If I was ever going to learn about real love, I knew I had to protect you.”

Kavi sat mute for but a second before she nodded. “Okay. So what do we do?”

“Grab onto me, and I will do what I should have done hours ago.”

As Kavi wrapped her forelegs around Prismia’s neck, the mare closed her eyes. Her horn shone with rainbow light; the two disappeared with a bright flash.





Home. We made it.

Kavi took a deep breath and released Prismia’s neck. Swaying from instant travel disorientation, she stumbled to her hooves. After wobbling around, she planted herself into the ground, legs spread apart evenly. She looked around, her heart leaping for joy at the sight of familiar buildings. So far, all seemed quiet and normal.

“Mother! Father! Everypony, wake up!” she cried, bounding toward her house, ignoring the constant stabbing pain at her side.

Wind rustled in the trees. Birds chirped in the surrounding woodland. The distant sound of the flowing river reached the village square. But not a single pony was awake.

“Kavi...”

She paused and looked over her shoulder, a hoof still in the air. She retraced her steps and dropped to the ground next to Prismia, who was lying on her side. Her eyes were closed, her breath coming in slow, soft pants.

“Prismia, what’s wrong? You need to get up!” Kavi said, lightly shaking her.

“Kavi… it is… all up to you now,” Prismia murmured. “I have… no strength left. I used what remained… getting us here. It was… no small distance.”

“But…” Kavi stepped back, eyes shining. “I need you. The village needs you!”

“No, Kavi.” Prismia groaned and coughed, shifting on the ground. She opened an eye. “I have played my part. Now it is time… for you to play yours. They come quickly. They are… not far away. Wake as many as you can. I just… I need to rest.” Her eye closed, and she lay still, her barrel gently rising and falling.

Scrunching up her eyes, Kavi fought back the tide behind them. With a shake of her head, she took a deep breath and galloped back toward her home. Her wing drooped by her side, making her wince with every step. Gritting her teeth, she trod up the steps. As she reached the doorway, her heart leapt into her throat; Kartanya stepped outside, rubbing her own eyes.

“Was it really a dream? It felt so real…”

“Kara!”

Kara yelped and jumped into the air. She landed slightly off-balance, then turned to meet Kavi.

“Kavi?” Kara rubbed her eyes once again for good measure. “You came back! Where were you? What happened last night? What happened to your wing?” She closed the gap between them, mouth open as she reached out to touch the useless appendage.

“Kara, no!” Kavi pulled back, wincing and shaking her head. “Please don’t—it really hurts. But forget about that for now, okay? You have to help me wake everypony up, now! Do whatever it takes—just make them get up!”

“Kavi, what—”

“Now, Kara!” Kavi yelled. “The vargar are—”

A single echoing howl interrupted them. Both sisters froze as the howl was answered by a chorus of others.

“Kavi… get inside, now,” Kara said slowly.

Kavi shook her head again. “No! We have to warn everypony. We’re all in terrible danger!”

“No, I will not let you face those things. They would… with your wing...”

“I’ve already faced off against three of them, Kara. This—” she pointed to the pendant “—will protect me. I mean it, you have to trust me,” she insisted as Kara narrowed her eyes. “There’s no time to explain, okay? Just wake everypony up as fast as you can. I’m going to start at the other end of the village.”

“No!” Kara shouted. “You were gone all night, you left us worried to death about you, and now you—”

The howls drew closer, prompting both of them to look around.

“I’m sorry, all right?” Kavi stamped a hoof, her eyes glistening. “But unless you help me out right now, there won’t be anypony left to apologise to!”

Kara’s rebuttal died in her throat as her eyes flew up, staring at something over Kavi’s shoulder. She raised a shaking hoof.

“Are… are they...?”

Kavi spun around, covering her mouth with a hoof after a sharp inhale. Two pairs of gleaming yellow eyes blazed in the early morning gloom. Their owners padded into the square and looked around, converging near the fire pit.

One of them spied a particularly vulnerable target and growled, drawing its fellow’s attention. Both of them slowly made for the motionless white pony.

“Kara,” Kavi whispered. “Get inside, now, and wake everypony up, starting with Father.”

“But what about—”

“Please… Sister.”

The word hung between them. Kara stared into Kavi’s eyes then looked down at the pendant. With a single nod, she stepped quietly back into the house.

Kavi knew not whether it was desperation, fatigue, or any other reason that drove her forward. Whatever it was, she didn’t care as she galloped right into the vargar’s path. She slid to a stop in front of Prismia and lowered her stance as best she could, teeth still clenched against the constant pain.

“You leave her alone,” she said to them as their mouths opened, jaws dripping with anticipation. “I won’t let you have her. She saved me and brought me back here to save everypony else.”

The vargar snarled in response and leapt forward. The next second, both went flying into the trees as the Crystal Pendant flared to life once more.

“Kaviyayu! You’re home!”

Kavi looked back at her house. There on the patio stood her father, mother, and sister, all staring wide-eyed at her. They rushed over, surrounding her and flooding her with questions and admonitions.

“We were so worried!”

“We fell asleep waiting for you!”

“Are you all right—is that a broken wing?”

Kavi nodded her head quickly. “Yes, it is, but that’s the least of our worries right now—they’re here!” She pointed to the two bodies sprawled in a heap at the base of their tree. “And there’s more coming…”

Stamska sprang into immediate action, his nostrils flaring. He stood tall and swept his gaze around the gloom.

“I’ll wake everypony on the east side. Samanka, you take Kartanya and Avran with you to sweep the western dwellings. Quickly—they’re less than a kilometre from here!”

As the mares and Avran nodded and galloped away, Stamska turned to Kavi. “You get inside the house. You’re injured, weak, and you look like you haven’t slept in days. You’ll be their first target.”

“I’m not leaving.” Kavi cringed beneath her father’s glare. “Prismia needs me.” She stepped to the side, revealing the immobile body.

Stamska’s glare hardened further. “What is that witch doing here? She betrayed us, imprisoned us… She tried to take everything from us, including you!”

“I know what she did, Father,” Kavi said. “But things have changed since then. She’s the one who brought me back here. If it weren’t for her, you’d all… you’d…”

They both looked around as one of the downed vargar rose to its feet and howled a long, high note. It growled at them as its partner slowly stood. In the distance, a return howl answered the first.

“Half a kilometre,” Stamska said, his ears sky-high. “Argh, there’s no time to argue. Stay at my side, Kavi. I’ll protect you from these beasts.”

“No, Father. It’s you who needs to keep close to me. I’m the protector here.”

“What? You? But you’re—”

“Just trust me, Daddy!” Kavi cried. “Stay next to me! I love you and Mother so much. I know that now. I don’t care if we’re blood or not—I won’t let anything happen to you!”

With her words, the Crystal Pendant gleamed brighter and brighter, forcing Stamska to shield his eyes against the piercing blue. When he lowered his hoof, he gaped at the familiar jewellery around Kavi’s neck.

“How did you get that? And what is it?” he asked.

Kavi smiled at him. “A gift from her.” She pointed at Prismia. “This is our protection, Father. Just stay near me, and remember that I love you.”

“I… I love you too, sweetheart.”

As Stamska said the words, the pendant brought forth a glittering shield, encasing the three ponies.

Kavi looked around at the barrier; unlike earlier, it did not simply vanish again but remained bright and solid. She reached out to touch its inner wall and smiled as her hoof met a welcoming warmth.

“It’s protecting us all,” she said. Her eyes dropped down to her chest, the pendant gleaming bright. “Or… am I?”

She jerked her hoof back just as the approaching pair of vargar snarled at her and lunged, although the barrier launched them into the air again. They crashed, yowling, in the fire pit as a stampede of ponies rushed past.

“Stamska! Kaviyayu!” Samanka called. Avran, Kartanya, and half of Zahara joined them, most still confused and blinking sleep from their eyes.

“Mother! Everypony, next to me, now! I’ll protect you.”

The shield grew as ponies stared wide-eyed at the scene before them. Kartanya and Avran stepped up next to Kavi, Avran to her left side, while Kara sidled up on her right.

Kavi smiled through her pain and closed her eyes. “I love you all so, so much. I’ll never scare you again, I promise.”

“We love you too, my angel,” Samanka said, tears in her eyes. Avran and Kara both nuzzled her side. “We’re just glad to have you home again.”

The shield expanded further; as more ponies came running, it continued to swell, a gigantic spherical blue orb of light that encapsulated everypony who added to the gathering.

The loudest howl of the night greeted them.

“Keep calm and stand your ground, everypony,” Stamska said, the fur bristling on his back. “Here they come.”




*  *  *  *  *



The Alpha vargr opened up his throat, piercing the early dawn with his howl. The scent of fear sent a ripple of euphoria through his body. He shivered with anticipation. An entire settlement to devour…

Too long had it been since he and his pack had fed on more than miserable scraps of rabbit or pheasant. He had caught the scent days ago, a small herd of ponies. Of course, they had also caught his pack’s scent and fled, but no matter—the herd would surely lead them to more. Four days they had run, barely stopping, barely sleeping, lest they lose the pony smell. All were tired, and all were hungry.

The Alpha’s stomach rumbled as his elongated fangs dripped saliva onto the ground. At last, it was time to feed, to gorge themselves. His mate joined his side, her eyes gleaming in the dark. She nuzzled him then repeated his howl. Seconds later, more howls filled the night.

Something was wrong.

The Alpha looked around at his pack. Sixteen sets of eyes, shining like fireflies, met his in the darkness. There should have been eighteen. He snorted. Of course. It was typical of the two youngest ones to desert the pack and strike off on their own. He would have to give them a stern reminder of his dominance after the frenzy was over.

He howled again, and the pack rushed forward. Buildings came into view, lit by the low-hanging moon. The smell of flesh, pain, and sweat ran rampant through his nostrils. The fear in the air only heightened his anticipation.

But what was that blue light ahead? That was unexpected, and it was growing brighter every second. The intoxicating fear began to lessen, the scent less enticing. Could the ponies be making it?

The Alpha slowed his pace and stopped before the first house. He whipped his head around, growling, a signal for all to remain where they were. He pawed forward slowly, eyes closed and nostrils flaring as he inhaled the scent. There they were, all concentrated around the village centre.

His lips stretched with glee. They had made this all too easy. In fact, this was better than catching them unaware in their beds. Foolish morsels. The pack could spread out and close in, pushing their prey together even tighter. None would escape.

He barked once, and the pack immediately joined him. Shifting his head from side to side, he directed them all to spread out around the village. A perfect circle, a simultaneous convergence, and the feast would begin.

He waited another minute, still keeping sight of the inexplicable blue glimmer as it continued to brighten. Whatever it was, it would not intimidate him.

He howled a final time, and rounded the first building.




*  *  *  *  *



“Here they come.”

Kavi looked at Stamska as he stared past her. She followed his wild stare, placing a hoof to her mouth as she saw what he saw. Unease and tension filtered through the herd, mares and stallion alike stiffening and looking from side to side as yellow eyes shone from Zahara’s boundary. The stench of wet, matted fur and decaying breath accompanied the nightmarish creatures as they moved into the light, fangs and talons at the ready.

“Everypony, keep calm. Hold yourselves together, and remember your loved ones.” Kavi’s voice floated into the ears of all present. “Hold them. Kiss them. Comfort each other. Don’t let fear overcome your mind. Just keep your family near and dear to your heart and your mind. Never forget who you are, who we all are… and what we mean to each other.”

Kavi looked at her mother, at Kara, at little Avran, and all around her.

Somepony screamed as the first of the vargar leapt at the shield; its streamline body sailed through the air and collide with another, both sprawling on the ground.

All at once, the entire pack rushed the shield. With every thwing, every impact, another vargr flew through the air and crashed in a heap of tangled legs. The shield flashed a brilliant white after each attempt before reverting to its cerulean blue.

Ponies shivered and began to sob as vargr after vargr relentlessly launched themselves at the shield.

“Keep calm!” Kavi shouted. “Just continue thinking loving thoughts, and we’ll be okay!”

Gradually, the screams died down, even as the howling and snarling increased. The shield held firm against every blow.

“You see? They can’t touch us if we stick together!” she said. “Don’t lose hope!”




*  *  *  *  *



The Alpha bared his teeth and let out a menacing stream of barks. This was not going to plan at all! That blue light was keeping them safe! It made no sense—the entire herd should have been easy picking! Blood should have drenched the ground by now, rattling death-throes filling the air with the intoxicating scent of fear!

He side-stepped as one of his pack came at him, once again reflected off that incessant blue cover. He glared at the flashing points on the shield where every vargr impacted it and rebounded off into the sky, some landing on rooftops, some on each other, some in the upper levels of tree branches…

He narrowed his eyes at a single point on the barrier. Looking closely at it, he noticed that the white flash it gave after impact lingered for a second before fading back to blue.

A cruel leer stretched across his face. That was the solution—that was how he could break through.

He howled, rousing the pack to gather behind him. Seconds passed while many of them halted in mid-lunge, bounding over next to and behind him. He waited until the other had recovered and also joined the main group. He gave two barks and motioned with a paw behind him.

The pack reassembled themselves until all stood in single file behind the Alpha. He stared at the small filly with the broken wing and eyed the spot of blue around her neck. There was his target. She was the one responsible for this persistent, infuriating barrier. But not for long. He would rend her throat from her body himself.

Slowly, he marched forward until he stood three body lengths from the filly. His leer widened further, his fangs bared as he stared his prey in the face. Yes, he would extinguish the light in those eyes soon enough.

Pawing the ground, he bent his knees and jumped.




*  *  *  *  *



Kavi cringed, but held her ground as the largest vargr in the pack leapt at her, his fangs even longer than those she had survived earlier. Predictably, he crashed against the side of a nearby building, but quickly stood and shook himself off.

Immediately after the leader jumped, the one in line behind imitated his attack then rebounded away in a different direction. Vargr after vargr lined up and attacked, barely a second passing between jumps. The shield gleamed brighter every time, almost to the point where it hurt Kavi to look at it.

“What are they doing?” Kara asked, her voice raised over the constant thwings.

“I don’t know!” Kavi answered. “It’s like they’re… they’re... “ She gasped. “Oh, no. No, no, no no no! They can’t!”

“What, Kavi?” Samanka asked. “What is it?”

“They’re… they’re trying to breach the shield.” Stamska pointed to the impact point where the vargar continued to throw themselves. “They’re concentrating their attacks… trying to crack it in one place, and one place only.”

Before Kavi could respond, she felt movement at her hooves. Looking down, she saw Prismia stirring. Her eyelids fluttered open as she groaned and stretched out her legs.

“By the Sun, what is going on?”

“Prismia! You’re awake!” Keeping her focus on the pendant, Kavi brought a hoof down and grasped one of Prismia’s. The mare struggled to her hooves, overbalancing before righting herself.

“Urgh… my horn feels like somepony is stomping on it.” She shook her head and sucked in a quick breath as she looked around. “Oh. I appear to have missed some things.” She recoiled as a vargr rebounded off the shield, inches from her face. Backing up quickly, she stopped next to Kavi.

“I see you have discovered how to work the pendant.”

“Yes, but…” Kavi’s voice faltered. “I-I’m unsure how much longer I can hold the shield. I can feel the pendant straining. What the vargar are doing... it seems to be wearing the barrier down. Look!”

She pointed at the besieged section. After tens of relentless hits, small, fine cracks were beginning to spread outward from the point of impact.

“Prismia… I can’t hold it forever. They will break through eventually.”

Prismia closed her eyes and bowed her head while the vargar continued to bash themselves against the barrier.

“What can we do?” Stamska said.

Kavi and Prismia remained silent. Seconds passed. Avran whimpered and pressed in closer to Kavi’s side. Samanka wrapped a hoof around Kartanya and Stamska, who placed one gently upon Kavi’s back. All of them bowed their heads and concentrated.

“Truly extraordinary, this,” Prismia said unexpectedly. “Even freed from the pendant’s magic, I can still feel its overwhelming power. Were you any other pony that I have ever known, Kavi, this shield—” she tapped the barrier “—would have fallen long ago. The love you feel for your family, the ones you hold most dear… it is surely unmatched by anypony in history.”

“It’s not enough, though, is it?” Ice gripped Kavi’s heart; the shield flickered for the barest of moments. “We won’t hold…”

A few more seconds passed.

“There is one thing we can do,” Prismia whispered.

Kavi looked up. “What?”

Prismia smiled and brought her mouth to Kavi’s ear. “We could go on the offensive.” She eyed the pendant. “But I need your help. If you can trust me, like you once did—” she bit her lip and swallowed “—we can save us all… together.”





The Alpha panted as he stood from his fourth flight of the evening. Bruised and battered, he shook off the ache in his back and walked gingerly toward the line again. No, this was definitely not going to plan at all!

He licked his chops and growled. Every leap at the barrier amounted to another potential injury for he and his pack. What was with that thing, anyway? So far, it had staved off every hit. But surely it could not hold them for too much longer? He stalked toward the front of the line and looked at the chosen point. He smiled as he found what he was looking for. Excellent. So his plan was working. If they could keep pressing the attack, it would definitely not be long.

He shot a cold stare at the pink morsel. She stared back, face set in grim determination. He could see it behind the hard glance; she was losing spirit. She seemed to be favouring her right side too… perhaps she was injured?

He narrowed his eyes as a white pony at the pink one’s hooves shook her head, stretched, and stood. She brought her mouth to the pink one’s ears. Clearly, they were communicating. He snorted; it was probably about their inevitable defeat. Would they make a final stand when the shield fell? No matter. Even tired out from four days running, stomachs rumbling in protest, the pack would not stop until they took every last corpse.

But wait. What was the white one doing? She lowered her horn—her horn?—to the gleaming blue stone on the pink one’s chest. The stone shone an even brighter blue for a moment as the white one’s horn took on its colour; then, both faded. The shield around the herd flicked and faded—not completely, but it was certainly noticeable.

The Alpha grinned again in spite of his soreness. Oh well, that only meant they would feast sooner. He took a place behind three others, each lunging at the now-visible crack in turn. Every impact lengthened and widened the potential breach, each vargr being thrown shorter distances after their attempts.

A gash finally opened up in the shield. Yes, there it was: the inviting hole through which they would finally obtain their hard-fought-for prizes. He lined himself up, backed up a few metres, and ran at top speed, fangs outstretched to tear that hole asunder… just as the white one sparked up her horn.





“Now!” Kavi yelled.

Prismia cast her magic as the vargr bounced off the shield for a final time. A deafening explosion rocked the village square. Cracks spread across the shield like a multi-layered spider’s web, before finally shattering and raining shards of blue down upon the ponies below. Mares screamed, foals cried, and stallions pawed the ground in preparation.

Voices all around filled Kavi’s ears: parents comforting their foals, even as the vargar closed in for the kill; lovers kissing and embracing each other, expecting their ends to come swiftly; and general screaming.

The vargar circled around, pressing in, ready to pounce—

Pony and vargr alike averted their eyes as a brilliant rainbow flash lit up the entire square. The fire pit blazed into life, ponies next to it leaping back from its sudden heat washing over them. All present backed up, putting as much space as possible between themselves and the rapidly growing being of solid light in front of them.

A ground-shaking roar shattered the sky above as dawn’s first light finally crested the horizon. Teeth as long as tree branches lined a gaping maw large enough to crush one of the village dwellings in a single bite. Blazing yellow eyes shone like the sun behind them. Red scales covered a serpentine body the size of a small mountain. Jagged spines ran the length of its back to its tail.

The dragon roared again, shooting a jet of molten death at the vargar. Several of them yowled and barked as their coats were set ablaze. Others—having already suffered welts and blisters from close proximity—turned their tails and fled back north, heedless of their burning brethren. The smell of singed fur and burning flesh filled the atmosphere while hapless vargar dropped to the ground and desperately tried to roll out the flames.

Ponies covered their ears while the dragon’s cry echoed over the land. It turned its head, the glow in its throat spilling forth for the second time, seeking further victims. A wheel of fire encircled everypony then spread outward, igniting what vargar had been foolish enough to not flee at their first opportunity.

When the swirling vortex died down, none of the vargar remained.

The dragon, its work done, let out a final roar before becoming a solid being of light again. The light shrank, down, down, until it faded, leaving a small pink shape. The flames in the fire pit spluttered and died.

Kavi groaned and brought a hoof to her forehead before looking around. Everypony appeared to be safe and sound, if severely shaken. Ponies everywhere hugged each other tight, praising their good fortune; her own family all gathered around her, encasing her in a familial embrace.

As the adrenaline wore off, the full scope of her experience caught up to her. She registered her aching muscles, her drooping eyes, the constant stabbing pain in her wing.

“Heh… We did it… Prismia.”

Her knees gave out. She hit the ground and closed her eyes. A strange sensation filled her from within, her chest heating up. She heard some cries of alarm, saw a bright flash through her closed eyelids, and then knew nothing more.
> Bonus Deleted Scenes (canon to the story): Song of Myself
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The chariot raced in and out of a white and blue ocean, stretching above the green pastures far below. The Sun had crested the top of the sky by the time Cadance ran out of things to talk about.

“Are either of you getting hungry?” Celestia asked after Prismia ended one of her many tales of wonder.

“Oh, no, that’s okay, Princess,” Cadance said. “I can wait until we reach Canterlot.” She looked away, cheeks darkening as her stomach betrayed her words with an audible rumble.

“There is no need to stand on ceremony around me, no call to impress,” Celestia said. “You must be hungry. The floating city of Cloudsdale is just up ahead, about another ten minutes flight. I have business there anyway, as well as some things I would like to confirm.” She winked. “You can both try Cloudsdale’s most famous delicacy. Take it from me—you will never eat anything so light and tangy as cloud cake.”

Cadance smiled and nodded. “I guess I am a little hungry.” She looked down from Celestia. “Have you ever had cloud cake, Prismia?”

“I have heard of it, but no, I have not,” Prismia said. “Cloudsdale is one of the few places I have not yet visited. My nomadic lifestyle could never have supported the cost of an airship ride to the city. Notice also my distinct lack of wings.”

“That is easily remedied,” Celestia said. Her horn glowed. “I know a spell that can briefly enable you to walk on clouds. Oh, come now—” she chuckled as Prismia began to stammer “—it will be perfectly safe. You can trust me.”

“I… yes, Princess.” Prismia swallowed. “However, let me go on record as saying I am glad to be between you two in this chariot. I truly cannot stomach the sight of the ground from this altitude...”

Cadance giggled. She moved further to the left, placing her hooves upon the chariot’s edge, and looked down and around. Grassy plains stretched out beneath them, hundreds of metres below. Left behind in the chariot’s wake, the White Tail Wood and Smokey Mountain sat like great sentinels, separating the plains from a vast, seemingly endless body of water to the west. To the southwest, many other mountains rose into the air, although they were not like any that Cadance had ever seen before; all of them were tall and narrow, too precise to be natural.

“Princess, what are those over there?” She pointed toward the distant hills where some large white letters decorated the countryside near the tall, narrow mountains.

“They are towers, Cadance,” Celestia said. “Sometimes, so many ponies gather to live in one place that they build giant houses that touch the sky, to save land space.”

“Wow, really? So many ponies all living together like that?”

“Tall Tale is much the same,” Prismia said. “That city in the distance is Las Pegasus. Those letters on the mountain next to the city spell out the word ‘Applewood,’ which is Las Pegasus’ largest district. Many famous and popular ponies live there.”

Cadance nodded, returning her gaze to the sprawling countryside below. Among the grassy meadows and rolling hills, there were pockets of small woodland areas, winding rivers, and what appeared to be an orchard with a large red building at its edge.

Something odd near the orchard caught her eye. She leaned further out of the chariot and fixed her sight upon the flurry of motion. Several small figures zipped through the air, each one a different colour. They brought together small tufts of cloud, all combining seamlessly to create a blanket of shadows over the nearby town.

Cadance hopped up and down in her seat. “Princess, Prismia, look!” She pointed down at the figures. “Those other pegasus ponies are playing with the clouds!”

“That is what pegasus ponies—or pegasi—do, Cadance,” Prismia said, peering briefly over the edge before quickly withdrawing. “That town down there must be Ponyville. It seems they are scheduled for some spring rain.” She swallowed and turned to Celestia. “Princess, if that is Ponyville, we must surely be coming up on Cloudsdale very soon?”

Celestia nodded. “Indeed we are. The time has come.” She closed her eyes, her horn glowing golden. “I need you both to sit perfectly still, please. I am about to perform three complex spells, and I need your complete compliance for them to work.”

Cadance and Prismia looked at each other and nodded. Placing their hooves firmly on the chariot floor, they joined Celestia in closing their eyes. The sound of a spell activating reached Cadance’s ears, and she felt a tingle run through her body: up and down through her muscles, over her coat, finally converging into the base of her horn. Pressure briefly mounted in her forehead before fading away.

“Is it… safe to open them now, Princess?” she asked, eyes still squeezed shut.

“In a moment,” Celestia said. “Let me finish my other spells first.”

Cadance sat and relaxed, rubbing her forehead. Celestia’s magic flared through her eyelids while the chariot’s motion rocked her gently, the breeze setting her mane to dance about her face and shoulders. She heard a quick intake of breath to her right, exhaled only after the magical sound faded. The sound returned, another moment passing before it dissipated for the final time.

“Now before you open your eyes, I ask you both to not be alarmed by what you see,” Celestia said. “Especially when you look at me. Are we clear?”

“Yes, Princess,” Cadance and Prismia said together.

“Good. You may open them now.”

Cadance’s eyes fluttered open. As she looked to her right, she lifted an eyebrow at Prismia. “Uh, you don’t look any different. Am I missing something?”

“Well, I feel lighter,” Prismia said. She waved a hoof in front of her, twisting it around with an interested expression. “It is as if my hooves wish to float away.” She lowered her hoof and turned to Cadance with her eyebrows raised. “You, however, have a far more obvious change. Reach up and touch your forehead.”

Cadance tilted her head, but did as Prismia said. There it was, her new horn; she could still feel it protruding from her forehead. “Um, yes? What about it?”

“I see no horn. To me, you are a regular pegasus again.”

“What? But I can still feel it...”

Cadance lowered her hoof and looked past Prismia. “Princess Celestia, what magic did you… you… Princess?”

Her eyes roved over the strange pony sitting next to Prismia. Although her coat and cutie mark remained the same, that was where the similarities ended. Celestia had shrunk to half her size, and her own horn had also disappeared. Her mane and tail were no longer multi-hued but a solid pale pink, and they hung down instead of rippling constantly around her. Small fluffy wings replaced her larger regal ones.

“How do you like my new look? Aren’t my wings pretty?” The mare ruffled her feathers and giggled, her voice rising in pitch as she spoke.

“Impressive illusion, Princess,” Prismia said, a smile growing on her face. “Even I would have to keep my horn alight to maintain such a disguise.”

“Princess?” The mare giggled again, a hoof to her mouth. “I’m not a princess. I’m Sunny Skies! Nice to meet you!” She held out her hoof to Prismia—who shook it rather slowly with an odd expression—then to Cadance, who also laughed as she took the hoof ‘Sunny’ offered.

“Now that we’ve been reintroduced, I’ll tell you what I just did,” Sunny said. “This is how I normally run around when I wish to mingle with my subjects, without everypony bowing wherever I go. Prismia, your spell has temporarily substituted your unicorn magic for pegasus magic, enabling you to walk on the clouds with us. Lastly, Cadance, I cast a similar spell on you as I did to myself. Alicorns are extremely rare, of course—I’ve hidden your horn from plain sight, so that ponies don’t cause an uproar and crowd us while we walk amongst them.”

She turned back to the east. “Just a little further up, and…” She swung her leg out as the clouds ahead parted; Cadance’s mouth fell open with an awed gasp.

“Here it is. Prismia, Cadance... welcome to Cloudsdale.”




*  *  *  *  *



A minute later, Sunny ordered her escorts to park on the opposite side of an enclosed field. When she, Cadance, and Prismia hopped off the chariot, Sunny ordered her escorts to remain behind, and thanked them for their services.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine,” she said as they left the Royal Guard behind. “However, I would prefer to go about our business here without everypony crowding us, and four Royal Guards following a normal looking trio of ponies would be sure to raise questions.”

They walked along the outside of the field. Cadance eyed the many different coloured pegasi inside, her head on a swivel as she tried to take it all in. Pegasi darted back and forth at high speed, flying through cloud rings, up and over clouds shaped like other obstacles, and around in large circles just inside the field’s exterior.

“What’s happening here, Prin—I mean, Sunny?”

“It looks like we’ve caught the Wonderbolts in one of their training sessions,” Sunny said. “The Wonderbolts are a group of elite fliers who put on shows all over Equestria for ponies’ entertainment. No pegasi are faster, more agile, or anywhere near as precise as this expert team.”

Prismia walked next to the two, also looking as three of the pegasi simultaneously flew through a series of rings in a complex looping manoeuvre. “I have seen the Wonderbolts before. I must say I was rather impressed with their new captain, Spitfire. Watching that mare in flight is to witness flames given wings.”

“Wow,” Cadance breathed. “I don’t think I could ever fly that fast. But I never flew much anyway, really. I never liked doing it around my family—I always felt guilty that I could and they couldn’t, I suppose.”

“I understand,” Sunny said, placing a hoof on Cadance’s shoulder. “That sounds very considerate of their feelings, Cadance. But now you are unrestricted in that regard. Indeed, a pegasus pony who chooses not to fly is often looked down upon in Equestria—especially by others of your kind. Pegasi are a very proud race, as you will come to see soon enough.”

Cadance nodded. She followed Sunny as they traversed the ocean of white, Prismia at her side. A constant breeze blew around them, ruffling Cadance’s feathers. As they passed a statue dedicated to some armoured pony, she looked at Prismia and stopped.

“Are you okay, Prismia? You’re shaking pretty hard.”

Prismia simply smiled, pulling her cloak tighter about herself. “Worry not, Cadance. I am still acclimatising to walking on these clouds, is all. Although I admit it is rather chilly, and the wind does not help matters.”

“Oh, you must forgive me, Prismia,” Sunny said. “I completely overlooked that you aren’t as resilient to cold temperatures as Cadance and I. Quickly, come with me!”

She bounded off past the statue of somepony named Hurricane and entered into a nearby building. It rose high above them, its supporting pillars carved with an intricate spiraling pattern. The entrance was wide and open, four ponies able to walk through side-along.

Cadance and Prismia crossed the threshold and gasped together: rows upon rows of shelves lined the walls as far as they could see. In front of them, several staircases led up and down and around what seemed like tens of thousands of books, piled up high toward the ceiling. The midday sun beamed through the gigantic glass dome covering the building, light piercing through and casting different rainbowed refractions off the shining interior. Pegasi walked and flew around everywhere, grabbing and reshelving books.

“Cadance! Prismia! Over here!”

They turned to their right, where Sunny was speaking to a larger blue mare. The counter behind her displayed many different food and drink options. “I ordered us all some oatmeal with strawberries, a slice of cloud cake each, and a pot of tea to help warm us all up.” She motioned to a table. Together, the three sat down as another mare brought out a table number, three cups with leaves at the bottoms, and a pot of hot water on a tray.

A half hour passed as they ate, drank, and chatted in peace. As she nibbled at her food, Cadance’s attention wandered between watching other pegasi drift around, listening to Sunny and Prismia discuss finer details of Prismia’s rehabilitation, and her own thoughts. The oatmeal warmed her stomach, the cloud cake tickled her tongue in the most tantalising way, and the tea seemed to soothe her very soul…

I’m in Cloudsdale, a place I never knew existed last week...

“Cadance.”

Sitting on this seat, with two ponies I met just days ago… sharing food and drinks and conversation...

“Cadance?”

I’m some kind of alicorn princess, only the second in known history… Crystal Pendant… Crystal Princess—

“Cadance! Are you still with us?”

Cadance jolted upright in her seat, eyes darting left to right. “What? Oh, I’m sorry! I just…”

“Are you all right?” Sunny asked, her head tilted, mane touching the table near her plate. “I, um… yes, I am,” Cadance said. She held her head up, breathed in then swung her right leg in front of her while exhaling. “I’m okay. Now what were you saying?”

“Sunny and I have finished our meal and our talk,” Prismia said. “If you have also finished your meal, Sunny wishes for you to accompany her while she peruses the library for some specific information. Both of you have some history to discover.” She closed her eyes and stood from her seat. “I will browse these halls at my own leisure.”

Cadance looked from Prismia to Sunny, who nodded. “What I hope to discover concerns both of us,” Sunny said. “Although I said Prismia is free to accompany us, she has decided that, in the event we find what I seek, such a moment should be shared between only you and I.”

“What kind of moment?” Cadance asked. She turned back to Prismia. “What could be so… um, private that you don’t want to know?”

“Trust me on this, Cadance,” Prismia said, closing her eyes and tipping her head forward. “It has potential to make you quite emotional. As such, it really should be something you come to terms with yourself.”

Sunny stood from the table, drifted over it, and landed next to Cadance. “Come on, Cadance!” Her foal-like giggle returned, light dancing in her eyes as she reached out to grab a pink hoof. “Let’s go find some history!” She lifted the hoof and backed away, bringing Cadance off her seat as well with the motion.

Cadance gave a last look at Prismia, acknowledged her nod, and spread her own wings.





Up and down sets of stairs, through narrow aisles, passing trolleys of unshelved returns, the two pegasi flew past hundreds of shelves of old books, scrolls, and ancient-looking artifacts. Sunny led while Cadance stayed behind, having no idea what her partner sought or where to find it.

“Sunny,” she called, panting as they zigzagged in and out of the aisles, “would it be easier to just... ask somepony what you’re looking for?”

“Oh, of course it would,” came the voice ahead of her as it rounded the next corner and disappeared from earshot. “But—” Cadance jumped as Sunny appeared on the other side of the shelf next to her “—I’m actually enjoying this if I say so myself. My old mentor used to get so annoyed at me when I raced around his library like this. ‘Libraries are for being quiet and still in,’ he would say, but it was always so much fun to zip in and out of his knowledge halls.”

“I… er...”

Cadance shook her head as Sunny took off yet again.

Princess Celestia sure knows how to disguise herself well. She’s not only changed her appearance, but her entire attitude too. Nopony would ever suspect they’re in the company of the Sun Goddess.

“Hey, wait up!” she called again. She flapped up over the top of her nearest shelf and cast her eyes down, head moving left to right. She caught sight of a white and pink blur streaking in and out of the aisles and smiled. Passing overhead, Cadance flew toward the tenth aisle in front of her and dropped down to the floor, just in time for Sunny to round the corner.

“Oh!” Sunny giggled as she slid to a halt, barely a metre from Cadance. “Hello again. Nicely done, by the way—” she turned her head and touched her hoof to an embossed plaque on the shelf to her right “—you found the right section!”

Cadance looked at the plaque, swept some stray mane from her face, and squinted her eyes. “Re… records, ge… gene… what’s that word, Sunny?”

She looked back at the sound of magic and did a double take; Sunny Skies was gone, replaced by Celestia in her usual form.

“Sunny? Who is ‘Sunny’?” Celestia asked, offering Cadance a wink. Her horn glowed a second time, and a gold-tinted shield enclosed the pair, along with the particular section they stood in.

“Princess?”

“I believe that what we are—hopefully—about to discover should be kept as private as possible.” Celestia’s horn dulled, but the shield remained. “Nopony can see, hear, or walk through this shield. We have complete privacy now.” She pointed to the plaque. “It says Records, Archives, and Genealogy, Cadance. Can you tell me why we might be in such a place today?”

“Um…” Cadance frowned at the plaque. “Well, ‘records’ are about the past, right? But I don’t know what ‘archives’ or ‘genealogy’ means. Is that something else to do with old things?”

Celestia nodded. Looking up to her right, she grasped a large stack of papers and floated them down. A red ribbon in a neat little bow held them together, a contrast to the yellowing pages it bound. She also floated out a scroll housed in a section from a lower shelf, marked A-C. The stack touched down upon the floor while the scroll unravelled before her nose.

Cadance watched Celestia’s eyes rapidly rove back and forth over the scroll, the top of the paper folding over as she brought more up to eye level from below. She shuffled over to the stack of paper and stared at the lines of black text and different images covering the aged pages, her head tilted at a gentle angle.

“Well, that is interesting.”

Cadance looked up at Celestia’s voice; the scroll covered the floor, only the very end floating before the princess’ eyes. She sat there staring at the bottom, her expression unreadable. A few seconds later, she resealed the scroll with her magic and returned it to the shelf.

“You are twelve years old as of three days ago, correct?” she asked.

“Mm-hm,” Cadance murmured with a nod of her own. She thought for a moment. “At least, I always believed my birthday was three days ago… but I must be at least a little older than that, really. Mother and Father must have based it on when they found me, I guess.”

She fell quiet for a moment as Celestia began unraveling the ribbon. “I… don’t actually know my true birthday at all. I’m sorry.”

The papers floated apart as the ribbon fell away. Celestia narrowed her eyes as paper after paper floated in front of her eyes, each one replaced by another as she lowered them to the floor.

“Now would be an opportune time to practice wielding your magic, Cadance,” she said, motioning to the growing pile at her hooves. “Try to pick them up and move them around using nothing but your mind.”

“Okay, Princess.”

While Cadance concentrated on moving around individual papers, Celestia finished her first pile and reached up for a second lot. She repeated the process until both ponies found themselves surrounded by paper pillars.

Sweat formed on Cadance’s brow, and she began to pant. Celestia was searching for something specific, but what? And why was it taking so—

“Ah, here it is. Come, Cadance—this is something you need to see.”

Cadance looked up at Celestia. Her expression was unreadable: whether sorrow, joy, or indifference, Cadance could not tell. She dropped the small pile of papers in her grasp and fluttered next to Celestia, who lowered her head and the paper for Cadance to see.

“This story is dated the seventeenth day of Vita—the first month of spring—year nine hundred and seventy-seven After Banishment,” Celestia explained. She highlighted a square below some slightly faded text. “Look at those ponies in the picture.”

Cadance peered at the greyed-out photo. A handsome stallion—not unlike Stamska, if only he had wings—stood with a wing around a beautiful mare wearing a radiant smile. Around her neck, she wore a pendant identical to Cadance’s. In their other three wings, they cradled a small bundle in front of them. The foal had its eyes closed and a small smile on its face.

“They’re… my parents. My real parents,” Cadance whispered, misty-eyed before she knew it. She studied her blood mother’s soft features, her blood father’s strong muscles and larger wings, and the little wings on the curly-maned foal between them. Everything she knew about herself came crashing around her. These were the ponies who brought her into the world, who loved her even before she was born. The picture immortalised their faces, both beaming up at her from the time-worn pages.

“Yes, Cadance.” Celestia pointed to the caption below the photo and began to read. “Crescendo Breeze and Ruby Amore—pictured with their newborn foal, Cadenza Amore—shortly before the disappearance of all three.” She looked at Cadance and smiled, although her eyes glistened. “You have Ruby’s coat... and her eyes.”

What colour eyes did they have? How did they met, fall in love, plan a life together for me and themselves? How could they have ever fallen prey to a monstrous dragon—

“You knew them, Princess?” Cadance asked.

“Mmmm.” Celestia looked back at the picture again. “I kept a distant watch over Ruby’s family for a very long time. I only met Crescendo the year they were married, though. When you came along, I meant to visit again so I could meet you all properly. However…”

Taking a deep breath, she pointed to and highlighted the textbox above the photograph, and exhaled slowly. “Crescendo Breeze, twenty-two,” she began, “and Ruby Amore, twenty-one, were last seen heading for the city of Van Hoover on the fourteenth of this month. Friends of the couple say they were on their way to visit family after the birth of their daughter, Cadenza, on the seventeenth of Termina, but had failed to arrive at their destination. Crescendo has a viridian coat and a silver mane and tail; Ruby has a peach coat and a dual-coloured mane and tail of blonde and brown. Family members in both Cloudsdale and Van Hoover are hysterical, and urge anypony who bears any information about the couple and their foal to contact both them and the authorities.”

Cadance heard the words, but barely registered their meaning as she continued to stare at the picture, determined to burn the image into her mind. A drop fell onto the paper; she turned her head away, lest she spoil any more of her family history with her welling emotions.

Crescendo Breeze… Ruby Amore… Father and Mother… they died defending me. Crescendo must have distracted the dragon to let Ruby escape with me. She crashed into Kartanya and Artax… only Kartanya and I survived that day of flames, torrents, and bloodshed.

“So m-many lives lost… to s-save me…”

The tears flowed freely then, Cadance wiping her cheeks as history bombarded her with wave after wave of realisation. It was all about her. It always had been: Her parents made their sacrifices, Artax made his, her adoptive family took her in, and all of Zahara embraced her.

Celestia lowered the paper and met Cadance’s gaze, both of their eyes shimmering. “This newspaper is twelve years old as of today, Cadance. There can be no scrap of doubt remaining that you are Crescendo and Ruby’s missing daughter... and the sole remaining heir to the Crystal Throne.”

Silence lingered upon the pair of alicorns as Celestia wrapped a wing around Cadance and held her close. Both of their tears fell then, undammed, through the cloudy floor at their hooves.

For the first time in many years, Celestia clutched the hopes of an entire empire—an entire race—to her side. The Crystal Princess’ heir, long thought dead, had finally returned to the world. And, for a brief point in time, nothing else mattered; nothing but the little pink alicorn filly, sobbing into her foreleg, who had overcome all odds and realised her destiny.

“Crystal Princess Amore’s ancient line endures. You have returned to us… Cadenza.”

Cadance gave a long sniff and drew back from Celestia. She closed her eyes, wiped the remaining tears away, and stood tall.

“As I stand before you now, Celestia, I swear—to all the ponies who’ve ever loved me, who gave their lives so that I may live, to you, my family in Zahara, and everypony in Equestria—I will be the best princess I possibly can. And the name I choose, the title I bear as a descendant of Crystal Princess Amore and in honour of my loving family…”

Cadance took a deep breath and closed her eyes, spreading her wings.

“Is Mi Amore Cadenza, the Princess of Love.”

The Crystal Pendant gleamed.