> Drowned In Secrets
>  by Darkie 09
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prologue

"She took my arm. I don't know how it happened. We took the floor and she said-"
Whatever the voice in my dream was saying was interrupted by the deafening noise of my alarm clock that shattered the silence in my room. I rolled over and pressed the button on my alarm clock, putting an end to the ear-grating beeps. I looked around my room. My drawing tablet was still on my bed where I left it last night. I shifted my body and took a look at the time displayed on the alarm clock. Six-thirty in the morning. Great...
"Midnight! C'mon! Get up! It's the weekend!” I heard my mother’s voice shout from the hallway, “You should be excited! We're going to Baltimare for the weekend." I soon found myself jumping out of bed and trying to pack my things as quickly as possible. I had almost forgotten that we were going to Baltimare for the weekend.
"Nighty! We’re going to Baltimare!" my sister shouted as she rushed into my room and tackled me to the ground.
"Did you just call me Nighty?" I said to her, giving her a stern yet confused look. "Hey, can you get my toothbrush and mane brush from the bathroom?" I turned my head towards to the door to my room and shouted, "Hey, Mom? What time are we leaving Fillydelphia?"
"I plan for us to leave by seven-fifteen,” she said as she flew into my room, “Why do you ask?”
"Just wondering. Is Dad coming with us?" My mom seemed to hesitate for a moment when I asked her this. She stared at the turquoise-colored walls of my room briefly, then turned her head back towards me and said,
"Umm, no, Midnight. Your father's not coming. He needs to work this weekend."
"Oh, okay." I walked towards my dresser and picked up the mirror that was sitting on it.
Who’s the prettiest pegasus in Equestria?  I asked myself as I smiled at my reflection, Me, of course! How could it not be?
As I admired myself in the mirror, something happened that startled me. My eyes were suddenly glowing like oil lamps. Then, as quickly as they started, they turned back to normal. I put the mirror back on my dresser and continued packing.
"What the heck was that?" I asked myself out loud. I turned to my sister and said, "Aqua? D-did you see what just happened?”
"No, what?" She puts down the snowglobe and turns to me.
"In the mirror, s-something happened to my eyes! Th-they just started glowing a mixture of green, blue, and black! I mean, it only happened for a second, so I didn't see all of it. It was weird." I leaned over the mirror again to see if my eyes would repeat what just happened. But they just remained the same.



"Girls, get on the train," my mom said as she put her hoof in the doorway of the train, "C'mon!" We got on the train. I looked back and saw that Mom stayed back to talk to Dad a bit more before planting a kiss on his cheek.
"Eww! Gross, Mom!” I screamed from the train in a joshing manner, “We're in public, you know! Just a reminder!" She rushed over to the train. I looked at Dad and shouted, "Bye, Dad! Love you!"
"Bye, ladies, have a fun time in Baltimare!" he shouted back as he blew Aqua and me a kiss. The train started up and the doors closed. I waved to Dad as the train started to move.
I sat down on the train and took out my Ponypod. I put my earbuds in my ears and relaxed as they filled my head with music. Aqua pranced around the train like a happy-go-lucky leprechaun until Mom told her to sit down and zip her lip.
"Aqua, come here!” I called to my sister, “I wanna talk to you!" She reluctantly sat next to me and I paused my music. "Look, something happened with that mirror.” I don’t know if you pulled a prank on me or what. I'm not mad, but please don't do it again."
“Midnight, I have no idea what in Equestria you’re talking about,” she said. From the look on her face, I could tell she was serious. “I didn't do anything to that mirror, I  swear."
"Oh, alright then.” I then turned to Mom. “Hey, Mom? Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, what is it?" she said as she put her arm around me and gave me her undivided attention.
"Uh, I saw... Um, well, I looked in the mirror and I found that my eyes were glowing... Like different colors, blue, green, and, uh, black?" Mom seemed utterly petrified after I said that. I looked at the rest of the train. Every single passenger seemed to be staring directly at us. Everypony. This could not get uncomfortable for me, and I think Mom felt the same way.
"Midnight, now's not the time to be asking about that kind of stuff," she whispered with a paranoid look, I glanced at her in surprise. I shook my head.
"Wait, so you do know what I'm talking about?"
"What? No, Midnight... Please just don't-” She exhaled a deep sigh, “-Don't bring it up." I was baffled by the way Mom was acting.
What the hell? I thought to my bewildered self, What is she hiding now? I glanced over to Aqua Blossom, who was staring at me with a puzzled look on her face,
"What the heck was that?" she asked.
"I don't know," I admitted, "But I'm going to find out. Come with me." I led my sister to the back of the train into a small, secluded room.
"What was that? I know I'm crazy and all, but I know I'm not that crazy enough to be seeing pink elephants or anything like that!”
"She's hiding something... I heard Dad and her fighting a few days ago. They were talking about telling us about something. I didn't hear what it was; but based on they've been pretty jumpy around us recently, I say it can’t be good!”
"I know that! Did you not see the way mom reacted to my question? She just froze up. If that wasn’t bad enough, the whole train was staring at us as if we had screamed the most hurtful string of curse words at her! C'mon, Mom's going to get worried if we don't turn up soon." We walked back to our seat on the train and resumed the activities we were doing before I had asked the question. The rest of the train ride was smooth and calm. We finally made it up to Baltimare!



Mom inserted the keys in the door and swung it open,
"Surprise!" a voice rings out from in front of us. I peek out from behind Mom and saw Dad standing in front of us!
"Dad?!" I ran up and hugged him.
"What are you doing here?” asked Mom, not sure what to make of the situation, “I thought you had to work."
"Yeah, well... Turns out they didn't need me at the office,” said Dad in response, shrugging his shoulders, “So I thought I'd surprise the girls here at the Baltimare house!" As he hugged me tightly, Mom asks Aqua and I to go unpack our stuff.
"C'mon, let’s give Mom and Dad some time to talk..." I walked to my bedroom and shut the door behind me. I laid my suitcase on my bed and started to unpack my belongings. I heard a soft knock on the door. I walked over to the door, opened it up, and saw Aqua standing in the doorway pointing down the hallway.
"Listen..." she whispered. I listened carefully and heard my parents talking in the kitchen.
"Look, Silver Stream, I'm worried about Midnight. I fear she’s finding out the truth. It’s only a matter of time before she knows..." The sound of hoofsteps clattered within the kitchen.
"What do you mean?"
"Today, on the train... on the way here. She told me her eyes were glowing different shades of blues, blacks, and greens. The whole train was staring at us. Everypony on that train was murmuring about something. I froze up because I didn't know what to say, but-" I pulled Aqua into my room,
"What. Was. That?!" I asked her.
"I don't know! Before that, my door was open and I heard them saying we were going to find out. Also, they need to tell us something before your fifteenth birthday. When they tell you, they need to tell me, too." Aqua paced around my room.
"What is going on? I thought this was going to be a great family weekend.  But apparently that’s not the case.." I walked around my room for a bit, then sat on my bed.
"How are we going to get them to tell us?"
"Well, I don't know, but I do know that I’m pooped after sitting on that train for an hour and a half. So I'm taking a nap." I crawl into my bed and turn off the lamp light. Suddenly, I felt something crawl onto my bed. I quickly turned my lamp light back on and, thankfully, it wasn’t a spider crawling on my bed. It was just Aqua.
"Midnight, I'm scared,” she whispered meekly to me, “Can I cuddle with you?" I turn on my lamp light and look at her.
"Well, there are going to be times when you get scared and can't do anything about it. If it makes you feel better, I'm scared too. Come on in!" I lifted up the covers for her and she crawled under the blankets next to me. She put her hooves around my waist and hugged me like a stuffed animal. I turned off the lamp light and went to sleep.
> Chapter 1: Avoidance 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1

An image of my mom flashed before my eyes, my father being brutally dragged into the Hayseed Swamps. That was all I saw before my eyes shot open and I awoke from the ominous dream. I could breathe a little bit easier when I when I realized I was back in reality. My sister, Aqua Blossom, leaned over me.
“Are you alright?” she asked with concern, “Did you have a bad dream?"
I felt incredibly light-headed. As I stood up, my attention was quickly drawn to the sound of voices coming from downstairs. I heard my mother’s voice, as well as my father’s. I walked out into the hallway and crept quietly to the stairs. I looked down the staircase, but only saw the door and the shadows of my parents on the wall.
“You know what’s going to happen to them eventually. When it does happen, they won’t have control over it. It’ll take them a few days to learn how to shift from one to the other.” My mother’s voice was low and firm, which usually meant that what she was saying was important.
“Honey, why do you think we get monthly letters from the Princesses? They want to check up on us. Why do you think we are what we are?”
“Silver Stream! I will tell you this for the fourth time now! We are not like other ponies in Equestria!!” I heard the clip-clop of heavy hoofsteps get closer. I stood as still as a statue on the stairs, wondering if Mom was going to come upstairs and check up on me. I prayed to Celestia that she didn’t have that idea. “We are not like other ponies in this world! We’re anything but normal! We don’t even belong here.” She spoke in the most solemn and reprimanding voice that I’ve ever heard come out of her.
“But the Princesses know that. They also know that we’re not the blood-sucking kind!” I turned around and crept back down the hall towards my room. I saw a flash of magenta and purple zip past me.
“Where are you-” I said as I turned around and watched Aqua barrel down the stairs. I only stood there with a dumbfounded look on my face as the flash of my sister’s trail left me in the dust. After what I just heard, there was no way I could go down there and face my parents now. The last thirteen years of my life... Have I been living a lie? What were they talking about? What are we? How do the Princesses know and what do they have to do with us? I watched my sister disappear behind the wall that separated the kitchen and the stairs.
“Where is she- Oh, no!” I lifted myself up by my wings and flew downstairs. I stuck to the ceiling and silently flew around to the kitchen counter. I kneel down and begin to listen….
“Mom! Dad! What were you guys talking about?” I peeked over the counter and saw my sister trying to prod the information out of my mother with her adorable baby-doll eyes.
My mother took a long pause before answering. “Your father was just telling me-” she hesitated for a moment “-About something that happened at work... That’s all!” I saw her glance over to my dad, probably signaling him to play along with her.
My sister went upstairs, leaving it up to me to find out the truth. Eavesdropping behind that kitchen counter made me feel like a secret agent on a mission of espionage.
“Delilah! We have to tell them! They can’t live their lives and not know the truth about what they really are.” My dad’s voice grew more serious with every second that went by.
“Silver Stream, I agree. When the time comes, we’ll tell them. But I am not going to pounce on this opportunity and ruin their childhood!”
“She’s fourteen! She can handle the truth!!” my father screamed as he stomped the ground with a great deal of force. I was shuddering. I hated to hearing them fight like this, but I had to continue listening if I wanted to get more information.
“I know, but do I have to remind you of her grandparents?! My mother and father?!” I remembered them. When I was younger, they were always so nice to me. Rusty and Jasmine. “Do I?!” I peeked over the counter again and watched them. “Silver Stream listen, they-” she paused for a moment and looked around the room frantically. She looked like a shady dealer on the lookout for the police, “...Let’s talk on the back porch, please…” Hoofsteps came in my direction. I needed a place to hide, and I needed one quick! Suddenly, the pantry came to my mind. I peeked around the corner of the counter. I made a mad dash to the wall and opened the door to the pantry.
Wow, are we stocking up for the zombie apocalypse already? I thought to myself with a smirk as I looked up at all the canned food that was piled on almost every shelf. I heard the hoofsteps get closer. They had to pass the pantry to get to the back door. I flew up to the top shelf and hid behind some pots and pans. Good thing Dad installed the 9-inch wire shelf instead of the 3-inch ones, otherwise I would probably have gotten stuck trying to squeeze in. I landed on the wire shelving and knelt down as far as I could, lying on my stomach. I aligned the pots and pans along my body and put the last one right in front of my face, leaving a little gap between two of them to serve as a peephole. I watched their shadows stop right in front of the door.
Oh crap, I forgot to close the door! I thought nervously. Luckily, Mom and Dad didn’t seem to care too much. I sat and waited patiently. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally left the room. I removed the pots and pans to make room for me to wiggle out of my hiding spot. It felt good to stretch out my legs after practically being entombed in cookware in that tight space. With great haste, I flew up to my room. I fly up to my window and roll the window open.
Geez, I wish I had some butter or something! I thought miserably when I realized I was in for another round of cramming myself into something. I carefully slid the window open with my hoof and squeezed my way through with the little leeway I had. I was anything but comfortable for me. As I flapped my wings, I was praying that Aqua wasn’t following me. She’s not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to stealth. I flew around to the front of the house and walked through the plant-filled path that led to the backyard. I ran under the porch, squatted down, and began to listen.
“Look, I get that you want to warn them, but I don’t think we’re ready to do that just yet.” I heard the sound of crying, and I knew it was coming from Mom, “I don’t want her or Aqua to end up like Rusty and Jasmine! If you want our children to end up kicking the bucket, then you must have a serious death wish!” I heard more sobbing. What did she mean? Were we going to die? Did we have some sort of genetic disease or something? Were we we going to die young? I hoped not. There were so many things in life I hadn’t done yet! I pondered these questions for a moment, but figured it would be best if I just listened to the rest of the conversation going on above me.
“All they wanted to do was find acceptance in this-” my mother stomped her hoof on the ground. Her voice got louder and was filled with anger, “-This damn world! For their children, for them! And it because of that desire that they were murdered! What if Midnight and Aqua meet the same fate and end up joining them?! This is what I fear, Silver!”
“Let me get this straight, Delilah. You fear our children are going to discover the truth about themselves and make the same blunder your parents did?”
“Yes, I don’t want a repeat of that Silver.” my mom’s breath was shaky. “Please don’t fight me on this, I-” she stopped herself for a second, “-We can tell them soon... But let me make the call on this one. Please!”
“Okay, okay. You can make the call on when to tell them. But if I could weigh in, I think we should do it before camp starts. I mean, school for both of them ends in two months. Less than that, actually.” My dad’s voice sounded much more tranquil than usual. His voice was never that calm when Aqua and I were around.
“That would mean taking them out of camp though. I don’t want to do that! They love camp!” said my mother. Her voice still sounded nervous, but it maintained a trace of objectivity.
“Delilah, we have to...”
“Okay, then. Let’s go inside.” I heard hoofsteps, followed by the sound of the door opening and closing.
“Omigosh, what the-” I stammered as I squeezed back through the window and saw my sister standing in front of me.
“Where were you?!” she asked. She sounded slightly irritated, “I've been going around the house looking for you! Mom wants to see us both.” She turned around and I just watch
Aw, crap! I thought. I was beyond apprehensive about what my parents were going to tell me. I was terrified! I can’t go back downstairs! Not now!
“I refuse!” I said to her, “I won’t go downstairs until I know the reason she wants to see me. Do you know why?” I looked at Aqua, giving her an inquisitive look.
“I think it might be about spring break, but I’m not sure. C’mon!” I walked out of my room, wondering what in the world I just got myself into. I watched as Aqua skipped down the stairs and into the kitchen.
“Where’s Midnight?” I heard my mother ask Aqua.
“I’m right here, Mom! I’m coming now!” I yelled down the stairs. I trotted down the hallway and set hoof on the first stair. “Oh brother, do I really want to hear this?!” I muttered nervously to myself. I trotted down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. “I’m here! What do we need to talk about?”
> Chapter 2: Déjà Vu and Secrets Too
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sit down Midnight, we need to talk about something." My mom looked at me in a way that made me not eager to sit down right away, so I didn't. I looked at Dad.
"That something being?" I asked while walking cautiously around the table. Mom asked me to sit down again, but I refused. I wasn’t entirely sure that I wanted to hear what my parents had to say. I had a hunch of what this meeting was about, but I was in no rush to see if I was right.
"Midnight, your father and I have something we need to talk you about. Please sit down." My mother was practically begging for me to sit down at this point, but I wouldn’t budge. I did not want to be there.
"I'm- uh, I'm not going to sit down Mom. I-I think I might just take a walk and-" Before I finished my sentence, I was interrupted by my father.
"Midnight, you need to hear this. We both agreed that we'd tell you and Aqua today." My father got up and walked towards me.
"Dad, please- I-" I walk backward as he approaches me. "I don't care what you need to tell me, I-I-"
"Midnight Strike! Sit down!" My father's voice was thunderous and powerful. I froze in terror at the way he was yelling at me. When he raised his voice like that, I knew he meant business. "Midnight Strike! I will count to three! One.... Two.... Don't make me get to three, Midnight! Two and a half..." My father's voice got stronger and stronger as he counted, which made me walk back further and further. I was almost at the door. I took one more step back and reached for the doorknob.
"Wha- Ahh!" I fell on my back and quickly picked myself up, "Dad! I-" He gives me a stern, reprimanding glare.
"Midnight! The table!" He practically screamed in my face. I could tell he was fed up with my crap. I ran past him and got to the back door, I tried to open it up but found that it was locked. I felt like that unlucky victim in a slasher movie. I undid the locks as quickly as I could and swing open the door. "Midnight, do not go through that door or you will be grounded!" As he came charging at the door, I slipped through and began to fly as fast as my wings would take me. I looked back and saw him catching up to me.
"Ah!" I flapped my wings faster and flew up towards the clouds in an attempt to lose him. I soon found myself within a sea of clouds and couldn’t see head nor tail of him anywhere. I assumed he lost me in his failed attempt to catch me. As I flew back down to the surface, I decided to enter the Hayseed Swamps. I looked back behind me for moment, which I immediately regretted as I ended up crashing into a large, solid object. I fell like a stone and let out a groan of pain as I sat beneath the tree I had collided with. Although the sun wasn’t shining and it wasn’t particularly hot outside, the shade of the tree still felt nice and refreshing. I leaned against the tree and closed my eyes. A white light shined brightly in my eyes, blinding me temporarily. I squinted, and through the brightness I saw the unmistakable silhouette of an alicorn.
"Huh?" I rubbed my eyes, "Luna?" I looked up again. It was indeed Princess Luna.
"Midnight Strike!" Her voice boomed across the Swamps. "I am thy Night."
"Princess Luna-"
"Midnight, I cannot stay long, but there is something I must show you. Something you cannot stop." A screen showed up, seemingly out of thin air, and a video came on.
Wait... I… I recognize that video! I thought to myself.
"Wha- wait! I- that was in my dream! Was that real?" I looked at her and then back at the screen still playing the video.
"No- not yet. It will be, though. Soon..." She looked down at me with a worried facial expression. I looked back at the screen. The video changed. I took another glance at Luna and found that she was gone... I turned back to the video and I saw my old friend Swift Wing and I playing up in Cloudsdale. We were jumping on the clouds, and I went too far to the edge of the cloud. I took a tumble off the cloud and heard the filly version of myself screaming her head off. I ran towards it.
“Wait, this is... It's a video." I slowed to a trot and eventually stopped myself in my tracks. The video stopped and the screen, as well as everything around me, faded to a lifeless, sinister black color. "Wh- Princess Luna?!" A voice echoed through the air,
"Sometimes in life, the hunted must become the hunter." I walked around the dark eerie void, trying to find the where the voice was coming from. I bumped into something hard. I look up a pair of eyes glow.
"Wah!" I stumble back and the floor opened up beneath me. I soon found myself falling. I tried to flap my wings, but found myself unable to move them. It was as if my wings had been turned to stone. "Princess Luna! Help!!" I screamed as I continued to fall faster and faster to my impending doom. "Princess Luna, can you hear me?! Where are you?! Please help me!" I then landed on something soft (which was a relief considering my record with my other crash landings…) and stood up. I was once again in the swamps. "Wait, why- Wasn't I just here?"
"That is correct, you were." I heard a voice say. It startled me and felt myself jump.
"Wait, am I in a dream?"
"Yes. Déjà vu, actually." She looked at me. The scene changed to Aqua and I running into the swamp.
"What's it supposed to mean?" I asked.
"That-" She hesitated before saying more, "-That is for you to figure out. But I will tell you this, Midnight."
"What?"
"It is beyond your power to stop it." She looked at me, "Oh, and by the way..."
"Yes?" I kept my eyes transfixed on the ground.
"You might want to get home."
"What? Why?"
"I'm sorry, I must go now." She began to fly upwards. The bright light came again and all I could see was her silhouette.
"Wait! Princess Luna!" I chased after her, hoping I could get to her before she leaves. "Luna!! Please! What does this mean?!" I, unsurprisingly, couldn’t catch her, and saw her disappear in a flash of blue light.
"PRINCESS LUNA?!" I wake up with a start. "Huh?" I look around, I feel the ground beneath me. "Am I? Omigosh! I am. That's what she meant!" I dash out from under the tree, "What time is it?!"  I rushed out of the swamp and into town. Ponies were walking around on the streets. Most of them were coming home from the train station. I walked up to a stallion.
"Excuse me, sir?” I said in the most polite tone I could muster, Could you by any chance-"
"Look, kid, I can't help you. I need to get home. I'm sorry,” he said without even so much as batting an eye at me.
Geez, you couldn’t take two seconds of your time to look at your watch and tell me the time? Jerk! I grumbled in my head as I watched the pony walk out of sight. Once he was gone, I walked up to another pony and tried again. "Excuse me?" I asked. He looked at me and kneeled down.
"Yes?"
"Do you know what time it is?"
"It's a quarter to one."
"Oh shi- Uh, thank you!" I ran up the street and turn to a dead end, I ran faster hoping the guy's watch was wrong, but there was no point in denying it. The starry sky and the light of Luna that shone from that big circle in the sky gave me all the hints I needed. No lights were on in the houses. "Omigosh, they're going to be pissed!" I ran to my house and up the porch stairs. Out of breath, I opened the door. I walked inside the house. "Crap!" I whisper to myself.
The air was dead with an eerie silence. My eyes could not see through the thick coat of darkness that filled every room. Luckily, I’m pretty good at feeling my way around through such darkness. Too bad I don’t have echolocation like a bat, because that would have been perfect for this situation. I started to walk around, feeling my way around the house. I thought I was in the kitchen when I heard a click go on in one of the other rooms. I turned around and saw a light turn on around the bend of the wall from the living room.
Horsefeathers! I thought to myself. I walked to the cabinet and grabbed the broom beside it. I walked to the wall and peeked around the edge. Is that... No, it can’t be! I shook the thought out of my head and leaned against the wall. When I looked around the corner and saw something that made me gasp and look away. Did I just see a Changeling in our living room? I turned to get another glance, but only saw Dad in there, writing something in a notepad.
"Midnight! I know you're there,” he said in an emotionless, dull tone. Oops! He must have heard me gasp behind the wall. I walked out from behind the wall and into the living room.
"Hey, Dad..." I said to him. After what happened today, it was very awkward to talk to him now. I knew that the second I had stepped into the living room.
"Don't talk to me, Midnight!” He said with a grimace that made me feel a little bit guilty on the inside, “Just go to bed. I'm very, VERY disappointed in you." He didn't bother looking up from what his notepad. I carefully slinked upstairs like a thief in the night and, with great care, opened up my door ever so slowly to minimize the creaking sound that the doors in the house made when they were opened. Dad was already pissed at me, and I didn’t want Mom to feel the same way by waking her up. I was pretty sure she was already ticked off when I ran away back in the kitchen.
"Well, I was beginning to believe you really did leave." I heard a voice say that scared the living daylights out of me and made my heart pound against my chest like a savage beast against the bars of a cage. I turned on the lamp in my room and saw my sister sitting on the bed with her arms folded.
"Ah, Aqua?” I stammered, “I- I didn't leave, I, um. I j-just-"
She flew over to the door, closed it, then sat back down on my bed. "You just what, huh? You just didn’t want to hear it? You weren't prepared?"
"Wha- I-" She glared at me.
"You know what, I just learned some very disturbing news that was not only about you, but it was about me too as well as our entire family! And not only that if you had been there you would know!!" She started to throw a tantrum and I tried to calm her down.
"Calm-"
"No! I won't calm down! You'll know why I can’t calm down when you find out! You should've been there when they told me! But no! You had to go on your own selfish terms and leave me in the dust!"
"I didn't leave you in the dust, Aqua! What's going on? I'm here now!" I stomped my hooves on the ground in frustration.
"Well, being here now isn't helping!! You know what, Mom and Dad can tell you!" Tears welled up in her eyes and began to trickle down her face. "I'm not telling you! You should've been there, Midnight!"
"I'm sorry. Look, I know it must not have been an easy thing without me there. Again, I’m really sorry that I couldn’t be there with you."
"No, you're not! You’re just saying that so when you need me, you can have me there!" She looked at me with a hurt look. Tears are pouring from her eyes.
"Okay, you know what? Screw this! What’s it going to take to convince that my apology is genuine?! You’re just being a huge brat about it and calling me a liar! So goodnight! If you don't want to accept my apology, fine! But do not come looking for me when you need me again, okay?!" I ran over to my dresser and grabbed a bag out of the closet. I shoved clothes into it and grabbed a small blanket. I ran downstairs at a brisk pace.
"Where are you-"
"Don't talk to me!” I snapped at her, “Just shut up and don't follow me!" I heard the sound of Mom's voice. Better get out while I still can… I ran downstairs and rushed right past my father, who was still sitting in the living room reading his newspaper.
"Midnight?" I opened the door and slammed it closed. I didn't listen to my father and ignored the fact that my mom was coming down the stairs. I ran around to the backyard and started to climb up the tree. I would have just flown to the top if my I wasn’t so exhausted. I climbed up the tree and got into the treehouse. I place my stuff in the corner and took out the blanket. I spread it out on the floor and made myself comfortable. As I stared at the ceiling of the treehouse, thoughts began to race through my mind. Was that a changeling in our living room? Or was I going crazy? I closed my eyes and began to drift away, but not before I heard a soft voice outside.
"Midnight? Midnight?" I looked up to see a silhouette of a mare in the darkness. I stood completely still, not daring to even so much as breathe. "Midnight, I know you're there." I recognized the voice. It was my Mother. I sat up and blinked at her.
"Mom? What are you doing here?" I asked her while sitting myself up.
"Midnight, why was your sister screaming and crying?" She asked. I laid back down and ignored her. Why should I care? She may be my sister, but she can seriously be such a pain in the butt!
"Mom, I want to go to bed, if that's alright." I told her.
"Midnight, you can't ignore this forever." I heard her hoof steps as she got up and went back to the house. About a minute later, I heard screaming coming from the open window in the living room. I looked out the window of the treehouse and saw that all the lights were on in the house.
"She can't avoid this forever! You think she can! She can't!"
"I know she can't! But she won't let anypony say anything to her!"
“You know what, no! I’ve had enough games! She can't hide from it forever and we can't hide it from her forever!" I hear the door open and slam shut. I thought Dad was coming to the treehouse, I held my breath and prayed to Celestia that he wasn't. I waited for a few minutes, but he never showed up. I peeked outside.
He's down the street?! I thought. I flew out the window and followed him. I saw that he was heading for Hayseed Swamp. As I trailed him, I saw him walk down and stop right in front of the opening in the trees. He sat down and stood as still as a statue. I heard him muttering something to himself. Suddenly, he yelled out the series of curse words that would definitely get a bar of soap shoved into my mouth if I ever said any of them. Geez, mad much? I stayed concealed within the shrubbery. I began to feel frightened when I saw something creep over him as he began to walk back towards town. He looked back at the figure and gasped. I wanted to jump out of the bushes, but I pulled myself together and remained hidden. The creature lurked over Dad. I could hear its dark whispers,
"When will you tell her?!" The voice scolded at him.
"I'm-I'm sorry! Please, don't-" He fell to the ground with a loud thud. I winced and watched in terror as the thing dragged my father back onto the forest.
“You worthless sack of piss! It’s time to face the music for your incompetence, Silver Stream!”
"Please! Anyone?! HELP!!" My father disappears into the forest with that thing still dragging him back. I watched as he ran back out of the forest and tripped over a rock or something. I didn’t care what punishment he had in store for me stalking him, I had to help him!
"Dad?!" He looked at me, gripping the ground hard. "Dad!!" I run over to him despite his desperate calls telling me to stay back. I didn’t care, he needed me!
"Get your Moth-" he stammered. I couldn’t fathom what was wrong with his voice. He couldn't finish a single sentence, it was almost like he was choking.
"Dad?!" I screamed out once more. I freak out, "Dad? What's happening? Tell me!" He looks at me, gasping for air.
“Get- Mom- Hel- Help- P-Plea-" He stopped, gasping for air. I leaned over him and tried to help him get up.
“Trying to be a heroine, eh little filly?” I heard the creature shout as it emerged from the swamp, “I think not!” As I turned my head to look at the thing, it picked me up and hurled me away from the clearing. As I dealt with the intense pain that was coursing through my body after landing on the cold, hard ground, I looked at Dad. He glanced back at me and shouted,
"Go!" He was then dragged into the into the forest again, and he didn’t come back out. I sprinted back home as fast as my legs could go. I burst through the door, gasping for breath. I galloped up the stairs, trying not to faint or throw up from exhaustion.
"M-Mom! Help! Dad's- Dad's gone!" She looked up at me.
"What- Midnight, sit down. What happened?" I sit down on the edge of the bed.
"He’s gone! I saw it! He was dragged back by this freaking demon!” I shouted hysterically to her, “Mom, you have to come, and Aqua needs to come too!” I jumped onto Aqua's bed and woke her up. "Come on!" I dragged her and Mom out the house and down to the swamps, right where I saw Dad last. "H-he was dragged back! I tried to help, but he said that I should go get you!" My mom just stared... "Mom? Are-"
"Get back to the house! Let's go! Your Father will be fine." She pushed us along back home.
"Hang on, I'll be there in a second." I walked back to where my Father was last and shouted into the swamp, "Hey! Who the heck do you think you are taking my Father like that?! Whoever you are, I will find you, kill you, and get my Fa-" A hoof clamped over my mouth, "I wasn't done Mom!"
"I know you weren't, okay! That was rude!" She said as she looked at me with a grimace on her face.
"But it’s true!!" I told her with aggressiveness in my voice. "I will find them, kill them, and avenge Dad! If we don't find him, I'll find the pony that took him and take the ones that THEY love! How would you like that?!" My mom covered my mouth once more.
"Midnight! Shh." We walked back home and stayed up for the rest of the night figuring out what to do. Well, almost everyone. Technically, I was the only one who actually did anything to try and find Dad. Aqua was bawling her eyes out about Dad. I'll admit I wanted to cry, but I didn't. While Mom was comforting Aqua, I filed a missing pony report, did the dishes, calmed down, went back to the swamp, cursed a hurtful string of curse words, came home, and finally, at five o’clock in the morning, went to bed.
> Chapter 3: Truth Set In Stone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I shifted my body weight and looked over at the clock. I felt a sharp tug in my wing. I turned my body back to the way it was when I woke up.
"Oww." I groaned as I slowly adjusted to the throbbing pain in my wing. I flew out of bed and immediately fell like a stone. "Again? Damn it!" I walked around my room, trying to shake off the pain in my wing. Maybe it'll go away, I think to myself. I stopped walking and thought back to last night. I thought about what happened, where I went, and other things like that. It suddenly all came back to me. I remembered how I hurt my wing. I remembered the voice... Trying to a heroine, eh little filly? I think not! I was then thrown back by what had to be magic. I remembered that when I was hurled through the air, my wing landed on what felt like a large rock or something. The pain didn’t bother me so much yesterday, but today it was absolutely agonizing!
"Midnight?! Are you awake?!" I heard my Mother's voice call from downstairs. It was a relief to hear a familiar voice after trying to remember everything that went down last night.
"Yes, Mom?" I shouted down the stairs. I paced around my room, still trying to shake off the pain after my little tumble last night.
"You need to come downstairs! The police are here to talk to you and Aqua!" I tried my best to make it look like I was perfectly fine. I didn't want my Mom to know about my injury and I was certainly in no rush to pour salt in my wound. I made my way downstairs and sat at the table. Aqua was sitting right next to me, sobbing with her head face down on the table.
"I'm sorry about Dad, and what I said to you." She didn't look up at me. She simply continued to bawl.
"Hello, I'm Officer Swift Force," he said to me, extending his hoof out to shake my hoof.
"Hi, I'm Midnight Strike," I said to him, shaking his hoof. I then point to Aqua, who was still crying, and said, "This is my younger sister Aqua Blossom."
"So, uh, I'm going to have to ask you some questions about your Father's disappearance. First question: What happened that night?" he asked me as he pulled out a notepad and a pen.  I sighed as I tried to dig through my brain to find the information I was looking for. I looked over to Aqua, who, unsurprisingly, was still sobbing.
"Um, let’s see... I came home, and Dad was mad at me. He went outside, so I followed him back down to the Swamps. He shouted some curses at him-"
"How did you know he came down to the Swamps and shouted these things?" he asked me cutting me off.
"Oh, I followed him," I said, feeling quite guilty about it now. “This voice came up out of nowhere and told him he was a 'worthless sack of piss' and dragged him into the swamp. I tried to help him, but that thing - the voice - was really strong and it said to me, 'Trying to be a heroine, eh little filly? I think not!' Then it tossed me back, at least twelve feet." I heard Mom's heavy hoofsteps. I looked over and saw her stomping towards me with a frustrated look on her face. When she reached me, she gripped my shoulders tightly, which startled me. I turned to face her.
"Midnight! How could you forget to mention something like that?! You made contact with it- No, it made contact with you?! Do you know what could've happened?! The same thing could've-"
"Mom, I know! But it didn't! I'm still here, and I was trying to help Dad!" She released me from her iron grip and I turned back to the officer.
"What happened to your wing, Midnight?" he asked me. I looked over my shoulder and down at my wing. There was a big bruise the size of a cantaloupe and dried blood smeared on my wing. "Did your Father do that to you?" He asked me, jotting something down in his notepad.
"What? No! Of course not! I was pushed back..." I told him. "Hard," I added.
"Are you sure? Did you land on anything or did anything land on you?"
"Um, I-I think I landed on a hard, sharp rock," I told him, trying to divert attention away from my wing.
"Okay. Who pushed you?" he asked, jotting down another thing in his notepad.
"The voice,” I answered, “I was trying to help Dad and a green beam lifted me up and threw me about twelve feet, I think." He stared at me for a second before breaking his gaze and going to his notepad.  
"Okay, so it was a unicorn. Can you tell me anything about the voice? Did it sound feminine or masculine?"
"I-" I stopped. It wasn't exactly easy to recall as I really didn’t know what to make of the voice when I heard it, "I think it might have been a masculine voice." I looked at him as he wrote again in his notepad.
"Okay, thank you for your time. I think you may want to see a Doctor about your wing, Midnight. There may be a muscle or something that has been torn or displaced from the socket. I’d stay on your hooves for now if I were you. Thank you again for the time. We will call you if we find anything." He walked out the door and closed it behind him.
"Is this true, Midnight? Did you fall on a rock and hurt your wing?" I nodded miserably as I got up and off the chair. Mom looked at me with those fierce, stern eyes of hers. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she scolded.
"It didn't bother me last night!" I snapped back. That was a total lie. It didn't hurt immediately after I came home, but it started acting up a while after I filed that report.
"Okay, well, please... Next time something like this happens, tell me!" my mother begged. I nodded, and then she did the thing I feared she would do next. She started playing Twenty Questions with me. “Okay then, does it hurt when you move it?" she asked with a worried look. I flapped my left wing.
"Um, yeah. It- It hurts really bad when I move it. Why?" I asked her.
"Okay, on a scale from one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" She sat down in the chair next to me.
"Like a, um, maybe a high eight, or a low nine," I told her. She looked at me with concern. I watched as she walked back over to the counter and grabbed her purse.
“Oh, great! The last thing we need...” I muttered under my breath. “Mom! Please, don’t make a big deal about this. I know what you’re thinking, and I’m feeling fine.”
“I doubt that. Let’s go! Aqua, come on, you too! We’re going to Urgent Care.” I rolled my eyes and walked out the door trailing behind her. We walked down to the train station. “Come on, get on the train, girls.” I trotted onto the train and gently sat down onto a seat.
“Mom, why-” I looked at her as she sits down next to me. This was exactly why I usually hide my injuries from Mom. She would always make mountains out of molehills about this kind of stuff and I hated playing Twenty Questions with her about my injuries.
“Because, Midnight, I am not taking chances. Not this time! Not after what happened last time with your hind leg. We waited almost two full months, and then you almost had to get surgery. It’s a good thing you didn’t need surgery; otherwise we might have had to sell the house to get the money to pay for it! So, in other words, we are not putting this off.” I looked out the window and watched as the scenery changed from trees, to flat land, and then to mountains. It was a long ride, but we finally made it to the Urgent Care. We walked in and saw that, aside from us, there are only four other ponies inside. My Mom flew over to the counter.
“Hi, I need to admit my daughter to the Urgent Care.” The pony gave my mother a clipboard with three sheets on it. Mom sat down in the chair next to me and began to fill out all the things on the form. (Patient's name, home number, how it happened, etc.) I rubbed my aching wing. My mother must’ve noticed because she wrapped her hoof around me. She got up and handed back the clipboard to the pony behind the desk when she was done filling out the paperwork. She then sat back down and we waited until they called our names (or my name to be more specific.)
“Midnight Strike?” I got up and trotted over to the door, she led us through a small hallway and into a small room. We walked inside. There were a couple of chairs and a small doctor’s counter with a sink and some puzzles and books. We waited for a little while. I watched as Aqua solved puzzle after puzzle and read all the books, too. They were mainly for five year olds, so it wasn’t like she beat any record time. “Midnight Strike?” A pony wearing a white doctor’s outfit came in. She looked down at her clipboard. “Hurt left wing?”
“Uh, yes.” I told her.
“Okay.” She sat down in the doctor's chair and placed her clipboard on the counter. “So, what did you do to your wing, Midnight?”
“I was hurled through the air by magic and I landed on a rock.” I told her, rubbing my sore wing.
“Okay. Well, we’re going to take an X-Ray of your wing and see what kind of damage we’re dealing with.” She looked at me and wrote something down on her clipboard. “Please follow me.” She led me to a big room with a table and told me to get up on it. She placed some sort of blanket thingamajig on my body and went into the backroom. “Stay completely still until I tell you to move.” I heard the beeps and boops of the X-Ray machine and I hear the click. She took a couple more X-Rays of my wing and then helped me off the table once she was finished.
“So, what do you see?” I asked her as she leads me back down the hall and back into the room where my Mom and sister are waiting for me.
“Well, I am not sure yet. I’m going to send it to a lab. You can get the results in a few days. I’ll send them to you, but until then I can’t tell you anymore than it’s definitely more serious than just a twist or sprained wing.” She walked us back to the main lobby and whispered something to the pony at the front desk. We walked outside and began to head back to the train station.
Midnight, please tell me the next time something like this happens.” She looked really concerned, so I agreed for about the fifth time now.
“I will,” I promised her. We began to walk to the doctor. We walked the full 17 block trip to the hospital. The trip seemed to take hours, but we eventually got there. We walked inside.
“Girls, go sit in the waiting room, I’ll be right back,” my mother said as she left us in the lobby. We sat down. Aqua hugged me.
“Will you be okay?” she asked as she tightened her hold around my waist. I looked down at her.
“Of- C-course.. I’ll be- can’t... breathe... too... tight!” She loosened her grip around my waist and looked up at me.
“Yay! So you’ll still play with me… right?!” she asked me with enthusiasm.
“Yeah! C’mon, of course! I’ll always play with you.” I told her. Mom returned to the waiting room with a doctor. “Hi, Mom.”
“Girls, this is Doctor Blaze. He’s going to help see what’s wrong with your wing, Midnight,” my mom tells me. Doctor Blaze gestured for me to follow him into a tiny room. Once I was inside, he closed the door and began to talk to me.
“So...Midnight Strike? How does your wing feel now?” he asked as he reached for his notepad.
“Uh, bad, I guess. It hurts badly regardless of whether or not I move it.” I tried to smile, but that was insanely difficult to do. With the intense amount of pain coursing through my body, trying to make a poker face was next to impossible.
“Okay, I have received the results from your X-Ray and I’ve examined it. You said you fell, correct?” he asked. I nodded and he continued, “Well, the X-ray says that the injury is not even in your wing. It says that you have hurt the rotator cuff in your shoulder. In fact, it’s possible that you have been injured in two places. We are going to do an extra X-Ray to see if your wound is as serious as we think it is.” I nodded as he led me to yet another X-Ray room.
Oh boy, I thought to myself. I climbed on to the table and the doctor went into the backroom. I heard the clicks of the machine and, since I’ve had some practice, made sure to stay as still as a statue. He came back out and helped me off the table.
“Glad that’s over.” I told him.
“Well, not quite. It turns out from the pictures that you did hurt your wing in two places.” He told me uneasily. I gulped. I would have been screaming right then and there if my mother hadn’t walked in at that very moment.
“So, what happened?” she asked, “Is she okay?” She anxiously looked down at me. Aqua practically tackled me to the ground when she hugged me.
“I’m so glad you’re alive!” I looked at her with a bewildered look. Then I suddenly remembering that she has radiophobia, a fear of anything having to do with radiation, and particularly… X-rays. (In this case.) I sighed.
“Of course I’m alive,” I told her as I pulled myself off the ground. The doctor and my mother walked outside and closed the door behind them, leaving Aqua and I in the X-Ray room. Well, the minute they stepped out of the room, Aqua freaked out. She backed herself in a corner of the room as far away from the machine as possible and conjured up a wall with her magic. There are two things in Equestria I’ll never understand: unicorn magic and my weird sister.
“Aqua, it’s not going to try to murder you!” I told her.
“I don’t know that!” She snapped back at me. I gave up on her and waited on the table for Mom and the doctor to come back. Luckily, at that moment they walk back in. Mom’s first concern was Aqua cowering in the corner of the room.
“So, Midnight?” I look up at the Doctor, he looks back on his clipboard. “From the X-Rays, we know that you in fact did hurt your shoulder in two places. The first place was in your rotator cuff, which is fractured. This is leading to the pain in your wing since there is a bone above it called the clavicle. The rotator cuff is connected to a little, thin wire bone that is the beginning of the wing. Basically, it’s a joint that connects the shoulder to the wing and you have severely injured said joint. So, don’t try to fly. We are going to put a cast on it. Come back in three weeks and we’ll see how you’re doing.” We walked out of the X-Ray room. We went back into the room where we met the doctor and he plastered the cast onto my wing and onto a section of my arm.
We walked out of the Doctor’s office, happy that that ordeal was finally over. We thanked him, and on the way out, I got a sticker for being such a brave patient! I wore that sticker all the way home. Proudly!
We got back on the train and went home. For the entire train ride, Aqua was cuddled up on Mom’s lap. 


 
(The chapter art was done by me. Midnight Strike: Left. Aqua Blossom: Middle Mother: Right) 


The first thing my Mother was concerned about was about me ‘not protecting’ Aqua during time she and I were in the X-Ray room. So for the entire ride home on the train, I had to listen to my mother endlessly babble on about how I was not being a good sister and how I need to look after my little, poor, innocent sister because one day, when she’s not around, Aqua won’t be able to cuddle up in her lap and I’ll be responsible for her. I told my Mother not to talk like that, as it was very uncomfortable for me to hear her talk about her inevitable demise. We made it home. Finally… Aqua was told to go up to bed. I was tired, too, but Mom insisted that I stay downstairs for Celestia only knew what. Apparently, there was something so important that Mom needed to tell me that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow.
“Mom, are you sure this can’t wait ‘til tomorrow? I’m so tired, and my wing is really sore.”
“I understand,” she said as she turned to face me.
“Is something wrong, Mom?” I asked her. She begins to pace around the house cleaning everything in sight; something she does when she was anxious.
“Midnight, I know you heard your Father and I talking out on the porch the other day.”  I stared at her in utter disbelief. How the hell did she know?!
“Wh-What?!” I stammered, trying my best to play dumb, “Wh-what are you talking about?!”
“I know you heard all about our little chat on the back porch before we left. About your grandparents, the shifting, and all the other things we were talking about. Oh Celestia, you must have a million questions.” She sat down at the table and sighed.
“Wh-what? No, I- Me? No.” Oh, shit! She knows!
> Chapter 4: Past Mistakes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I stared at her dumbfounded, “I- What? I’m really confused.” I told her, trying to play dumb to the best of my ability. “Mom, I’m sorry…. I’m just not following.” She dismissed me, and I headed up to my room. I took out my saddle bag, my water bottle, extra bandages for my wing, and a flashlight. At midnight, I’m going on an adventure.
I heard Mom’s hoof steps. I quickly chucked the items into the saddle bag and threw it on my desk. I climbed under my covers and shut my eyes tight, waiting for my Mom to walk down the hallway. I opened my eyes a few seconds later as I heard the click of her bedroom door being closed.
“Wow, close call,” I told myself as I rose up out of bed and stumbled around trying to work my way across the room. I peeked down the hallway both ways and crept into Aqua's room. She had something I needed. I gingerly opened her closet door, trying ever so carefully not to make the hinges squeak, and rummaged through her stuff. I found it.
I'd probably be away for a couple of days. Knowing my sister, she probably has a secret stash of money that she’s saved up. Now, being the older sister, I know I shouldn't have done this. And by this, I meant take thirty-five bits of her own cash. But I could replace it. Plus, I needed it. That probably wasn’t the best excuse; but I'd have time to come up with a new one.
I heard Aqua shift in her bed. She's a pretty light sleeper. So if have to be careful, about the creaky wooden floor planks. I began to exit the room when I stepped on a creaky plank. I winced, Aqua sat up in bed.
"Blaze? What are you doing here?" She asked me, reaching for the light.
"Oh... Me? Oh right, yeah, I- Mom, just- uh- told me to come and, uh, check on you. Sorry to wake you. Sweet dreams." I tucked the money under my wing and bolted for the door.
"Love you, Sis?" I kept running and closed the door when I reached my room.
I knew there must be a million things that she was wondering. But knowing her she'll blab the whole story to Mom. I stuck the money in a secret pocket in my bag. I climbed into bed and stared at the clock. Debating whether or not I should really do this, it didn't seem right. But, I know the police weren’t going to find Dad. We’d be lucky if we even find his body. He might already be dead!
No, Stellar, don't think like that. Don't say such things, I thought to myself. I had another hour before I could leave. I tossed and turned and tried to get some sleep. But no matter how hard I tried, it seemed impossible. But somehow, I slowly drifted off to sleep. I began to see things, things in a dream. There was a dark figure hovering over me. I could see myself frightened and frozen stiff.
"You want to know where your father is?" It asked me. I didn’t respond. I was too frightened to. "Hmm? Not much of a talker, are you?" Finally, I mustered some of my courage and said,
"I-I do want to know where he is and what happened to him? Will you tell me?" I asked the figure.
"Oh, you poor, innocent child. You and your sister both. You really don't understand the situation, do you?"
"I suppose you're right-"
“I am! And I know I am! Do you remember when you left your sister in the dust? When the family told her the fate of the family. Remember when she broke down in tears, after you came home and refused to talk to you? Because I do. Oh yes, I remember. Fun times, am I right?" It walked towards me.
"No, not fun at all!" I told it, feeling disgusted by this thing’s sick sense of humor.
“Stellar, Stellar, Stellar. Don't you know who you are?" It lurched forward, and I hopped back.
"Yes. I am a pony. I am Stellar Blaze. The one and only." I told the figure, hoping it'd go away.
“No, no, you are wrong. All wrong. You... You are different! You are one of us!!" It leaped forward again. It pushed me down, with rage and eyes filled with fire! I struggled but then something it said made me stop. "You want to see your father, don't you? Well look that way...."
A light shone brightly, in front of me was a cell, with a pony behind bars. I looked at him and stared at him for a while. He looked like a walking skeleton wrapped in a thin layer of papery flesh, like he hadn't eaten in days. His hair was all scraggly looking and dirty. He was bleeding in multiple places, there was a gash on his forehead, the size of my hoof.
"Who is that?" I asked.
"You're joking... You don't recognize this stallion?"
"No." I said honestly.
“It's probably b-better you don't," a voice said. I stared over at the pony in the cell. It all came back to me. It was Dad!
"Dad!! What the heck?!" I shook furiously at the cell bars. "What are they doing to you?! Are you okay?! What's this all about?! DAD!!"
I woke up, trembling and scared half to death.
"Dad?"
My breathing was heavy. But it slowed down. I looked at the clock, twelve-thirty. Time to get going, I suppose. I snuck into the hallway. All the lights were off. I painted a mental picture in my mind of what the house looks like in order to find the stairs. I felt my way through the old, dark house and down to the kitchen. I took a few snacks and ate them as I was preparing to leave. I filled my water bottle and threw it back in the bag.
I went out the back door because the front door was large and made a lot of noise when it was opened. I went down to the sight where Dad was last. I searched around. There was no trace of him whatsoever. I inspected a few trees and found a tree with a hole in it. I suspected that's how whatever took Dad made the quick get away. But I was wrong, and, in the process of inspecting the tree, I disturbed a bunch of sleeping birds. Oops. I checked under pebbles and rocks alike. I found a rock to be an odd shape and pretty heavy.
I gripped the rock and began to fly up, trying pull it up with me. Flying is hard when you only have one wing, and the burning pain I felt when that thing first broke my wing came back after only a few flaps. So I gave up on that idea and tried something else. I began to try to push it. But that didn't work. I bet if I were a unicorn, this would be easier. In a way, it made me wish I had brought Aqua along. Then again, I don’t think criminals would be too intimidated by my weird little sister who can’t even go near and x-ray machine without wetting herself. I kept trying to push the rock. It finally moved and I could see a peek hole that looked like an animal burrow.
I moved the rock a little bit more and finally got the entire hole unearthed.  I looked at it for a while. Pondering whether or not to take a closer look.  But I didn't have a choice. If I wanted to save Dad, I would have to do this.  I climbed down into the hole, and started feeling my way through the dark, A lot of dirt came down onto my head but I kept crawling. I noticed that it started to get steeper. I kept crawling as best I could.
"Woah!" I screamed as I began to fall. It was pitch black and I couldn’t see anything. I continued to tumble down into the darkness like a stone. I screamed louder, thinking of all the things I could've been doing if I had just stayed home. "Help!!" I tried to grab on to something, but all that was there was dirt lining the pit. I hit my head on the way down a couple of times, but I was still alive at least. I dropped into a cave. My head hurt like hell. I looked around, everything was really fuzzy and disoriented. I couldn't really see because of the lack of light, but I managed. I got to my hooves and snuck around. I kept walking. It was dark and creepy to say the least.
The place looked as though nopony had lived here in eons. I walked around a bit more until I came to another, smaller cave. It looked cute and cozy.... Until I heard voices. I couldn't tell where they were coming from, so I tried to stay on the down low. I walked around a corner and saw... Changelings! I backed away behind another wall. Intently listening to their conversation.
“What do you think the mistress is going to do with that runt now?” One of them asked the other.
“I don’t know, she never said anything after the show ended,” said the other.
“Speaking of the show, they really should’ve let me perform the torture on that sad excuse for a Changeling. I’ve been working hard around here and I thought I deserved a little bit of a reward. But, no, they let that other guy do it.”
“I don’t blame your jealousy, considering some of the twisted stuff the other Changelings suggested we do to him. Heh heh, his screams were like music to my ears!”
“Oh yeah, that coward deserve every bit of pain we inflicted upon him. That fool couldn’t even tell his own daughter the truth about who she really was. If you ask me, I don’t think he even deserves to be a father or even be married to that lovely mare I’ve see her with.”
Based on what they were saying, it sounded like they were talking about my dad! I wanted to march up to them and kick them all their little, tiny faces for talking about my dad the way they were. But I didn't. I set my saddlebag on the floor quietly and carefully. I took out my water bottle and drank a few sips before putting it away in my saddlebag.
"Shut up!" Someone hissed. It startled me, but I remained calm. "I thought I heard something."
“It was probably just a rock falling down a tunnel or something.”
“What if was an intruder?”
“Well, if it was, we’ll do what the mistress told us to do. Sink our fangs into their necks and show them no mercy!” I winced at that sentence. I quickly ran around to try and find Dad. There was no use in running from who it was though. I looked around for any signs that would point me to Dad. But so far, none had. I checked my watch. It was already one-forty, and I was starting to lose hope that I'd ever see him again. Just then, in the darkness.... I heard a voice.
"Help... M-Me, p-please..."
I whispered to it, "What's wrong?" I started feeling my way through the dark and found a set of metal bars.
"E-Everything..." It told me. "You sh-should leave… B-B-Before they f-find you."
"Who's ‘they’? And do you know who you are?" I asked. It sounded like a seriously hurt pony, but the only way I could help is if I had the information I need to help.
"Ch-Change....." It sounded weak and I was going to go over and help it. But then it said something that made me stop cold in my tracks."I- I am Silver S-Stream." He told me. Tears formed in my eyes. As of now, I realized who I was talking too!
"Omigosh! Dad? What- What did they do to you?!"I looked around for something I could break the bars with but there was nothing to help me aid him.
"DAD! ANSWER ME!" I screamed. "DAD!"
"Shhh... They will he-hear you." He told me.
"I DON'T CA-" A big shadow cast over me, and I froze like a statue. I dared not to look back.
"I see you've found your father," It said to me. "Remember the last time we met? It was a long time ago." I snarled. I wanted to tell it to shut up. But I didn't. "I'd understand if you didn't remember me."
"Would you understand if I wanted to kill you?!" I responded in a snarky attitude. I turned around to face the creature. I flew up, came back down and kicked it. But that was about as effective as if I had kicked a solid brick wall. It threw me down hard and stepped on me. I thought I might’ve heard one of my ribs crack.
"Do you know who I am, Stellar Blaze?"  
“No, and I don't care to know either. How's that for an answer?" I snapped. I began to get up, when it kicked me back down again. I skidded across the hard, rocky floor.
"I am Queen Chrysalis!"
"Never.... And I mean NEVER, kick me when I am already down. Because when I get up, you are FUCKED!!" I managed to get back up on my hooves and charged at her like an angry bull.
"My, my, what a feisty child you are.” She said in a condescending tone, shaking her head and clicking her tongue as she trapped me in a magic bubble, “If you’re suggesting that I rip you in half and feed your blood and guts to my kin, then I’d be happy to make your wish come true. But I’m sure you don’t want that, as I’m sure you’re desperate to see your father, aren’t you?”
A light went on somewhere. That’s when I saw a skinny, boney, sick pegasus who looked like he had been starved to the bone. The magic bubble suddenly disappeared and I ran up to the cage bars.
"DAD?!"
"Stellar?" He said in a weak, raspy voice.
“Dad... Wh-what have they done to you?" I asked trying to open the cage bars.
"You want to go in and see him?" Queen Chrysalis asked me. I nodded and she opened up the cage bars with her magic. "Go on...."  I walked cautiously inside, and ran over to him.
"Dad, I'm sorry." I took out my water bottle and gave it to him. "Here." He took it without hesitation and drank the water. He seemed a bit better afterwards.
"I'm sorry too, Stellar. I shouldn't have let loose on you all those times. I was just trying to protect you. And listen....."
I nodded. "Yes, Dad?"
"When you get out of here, I want you to run. And I want you to run far."
Tears streamed down my cheeks. "You mean, when we get out of here, right?"
He shook his head. "I’m in no condition to make that trip, darling. They've experimented on me and broke my wings."
“I prefer the term ‘tortured’” Chrysalis said under her breath with a smirk on her face. I began to breathe heavily. My chest tightened. My lungs seemed as if they had stopped working. I couldn't breathe.
"D-Dad."
"Please, honey. Return home. I'll meet you there, I promise." He got up and limped past me Chrysalis.
"Dad! Stop!" I screamed. "You'll hurt yourself more! Please!" I ran to catch up with him. In the corner of my eye, I saw Chrysalis nod; but it wasn't to me. She had an evil glare on her face. I kept running. "Dad!" A boulder came down on my Dad. Blood was splattered on the boulder and all over the floor. I heard the loud snapping and crackling of his bones, which sent chills down my spine. I stopped running.
"Dad!" I turned back to Chrysalis, "What have you done?!" I screamed at her, advancing toward her.
“Why the long face, little filly? I think the floor looks fantastic painted red. It really brightens up the whole room.” Chrysalis then found herself cackling at me. I was about to let out my unbridled rage, but Chrysalis cut me off. "You and I both know he wasn't going to live much longer. He was as worthless as discarded candy wrapper! You're just like the rest of them! Just like Thorax!" She hissed.
I remembered hearing the name Thorax before. He was an old childhood friend of mine.When we still lived in Cloudsdale. We were really close, and then he moved away and I never saw him again. A couple of nights ago, there was a changeling on the news called Thorax. He had made friends with crystal ponies. But that couldn't be the same Thorax I knew. Thorax was sweet and kind and not a changeling.
"Thorax?" I asked her.
"Oh yes, no wonder you two were so close. You guys were practically inseparable. Do you want to know the reason as to why he left you?" She asked me. I didn't really want to, but I had a feeling she wasn't really giving me a choice.
"Because we were after him. We wanted to kill him for betraying us. For leaving us behind in the dust."
"The Thorax I know wasn't a changeling!" I snapped back at her. But then questions began to run through my mind. Thorax hadn't ever told me where he lived or what his parents did for a living. We never went over to his house, either. He had never brought up his heritage or family or if he had any siblings. "Omigosh."
"Don't you see, darling?" She asked me in an uncomfortable manner.
"Don't call me darling! I'm not your daughter!" I looked over to the boulder that had ended my father’s life. "I'm his daughter."
"That may be true, but we’re two of a kind." She looked at me with a cold, harsh stare. "Do you know what I mean by that?"
"No." I stared at her with a glare. Her horn started to glow green.
"C'mon, take a guess."
"Does that mean I am...." I stopped.
"Ding, ding, ding! we have a winner." She stood in front of me, with her horn glowing a sickly green color. Her magic touched me and took hold of me. I squirmed, trying to get out of her grip. “Let’s give you a makeover, my dear!” A beam hit me and I shut my eyes. I waited a few seconds after feeling no pain at all. I looked down at my feet, they were black and covered with holes! She reached the top of my head and her magic disappeared.
"What have you done to me?"  She pulled up a mirror and I walked up to it. I looked at myself. "What the-" This wasn't me at all. I looked like a changeling. But... I couldn't be. "Please. Change me back!" I begged her.
"No!" She replied quickly. “I think you look better that way!” She laughed maniacally, enjoying my misery like the cruel, twisted villain she was. I had insect wings and a weird horn. I had more holes and gaps than a block of swiss cheese and didn’t have a cutie mark anymore.
"Who am I?" I asked.
"You are my subject!" She screeched.
"I will never be YOUR subject!" I taunted back. "Never!"  I ran past her and into the main room of where I entered.
“Yeah, that’s right!” yelled Queen Chrysalis, “Get out of my sight! You’re nothing to me and now you’re nothing to everypony in this whole damn realm!”
I'm sorry, Dad! I thought to myself, You always taught: F.E.A.R. Face Everything And Rise. Not F.E.A.R. Forget Everything And Run.
Tears welled up in my eyes. I flew up the hole I came through and out into the open world. Everypony was staring at me like I had three heads as I walked down the street. I knew why. They tried to stay away from me and protect their children. I tried apologizing, but it was no use.  I took to the skies and flew fast trying to get to Canterlot without drawing any more attention to me.
I finally made it to Princesses’ Castle. I went up the stairs, the two guards standing on either side of the door blocked the way.
"Please, I need to talk to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna right away!" I pleaded with innocent eyes. They didn't answer.  "Please, let me in!" I pleaded while getting down on my knees. That's when Princess Luna came to my aid. "Princess Luna?"
"My sister and I have been waiting for your arrival." The guards let us into the castle and we walked to the throne room.
"I'm so sorry. I know what you must think of me, but I'm not like the-"
"We don't think any different of you, Stellar Blaze." She looked at me. Princess Celestia walked through the door and gasped. I hid behind Princess Luna for protection.
"Sister, ‘tis only Stellar Blaze. She has found out the truth the hard way." Luna spoke up and shoved me forward. I smiled a small, nervous smile.
"H-hello." I said shyly. I had never come face-to-face with a Princess before. She smiled and greeted me, where she took me to a secret library room. There was a chest above the bookshelf that looked dusty and almost ancient. She took it down and told me a bit about what was inside it.
"Your mother and father used to write to me all the time." She told me as she opened the chest. That was news to me because Mom hated writing letters.
"Really?" I asked in awe.
"Yes, this is the first letter they ever sent me. It's from October 3rd, 2001." She continued on…
Dear Princess Celestia,
Thank you for helping us get settled into our new home and lead a good and new life. We are eternally grateful that you are helping us. We know for the safety of Equestria that you would not take a chance with our kind.  We appreciate it a lot. Knowing that somepony is looking out for us makes us feel safe. Thank you again for helping us get settled in and adjust to our new home in Cloudsdale. Also, we have great news! We went to the hospital today to get a sonogram of our baby, and it turns out she's a healthy baby girl! We cannot wait to present her to you!
With Love,
Silver Stream and Delilah
"That was right before I was born!" I pointed out.
"You're right, and I have one from them two days after you were born!" She rummaged through the chest until she finally found the letter.
"This one is from October 21st, 2001, and it reads:
Dear Princess Celestia,
We are pleased to announce that we have a healthy baby girl named Stellar Blaze. I guess we will have to bring her over soon, so you can meet her and give her a pelt. Anyway, we'd love to hear back from you soon.
With Love,
Silver Stream and Delilah
"Wow, so you gave me my fur coat and stuff?" I asked, surprised that one pony could do that.
"Yes, I made you and your parents your own fur, I also made Aqua Blossom’s pelt." She answered. "Stellar, if I may... Can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead," I told her.
"Did you know about these letters beforehand?" I hesitated before answering this question. I must've spaced out for too long because the Princess was waving her hoof in front of me.
"Oh, um... Sort of, you could say." She seemed to be satisfied with my answer and she let the matter drop.  "Princess Celestia? How can I control this? How can I just switch back to what I was before?"
"You can. But you weren't subjected to the ways of the Changelings. So you wouldn't know, now would you."
"I suppose not." I told her honestly. "But, isn't there someone who could teach me?"  I asked.
"Not that I know of." She shook her head sadly. I turned away, ready to cry, but I kept it together. Luna came in.
"Luna, do you know of anybody who's be able to teach her about shifting?" I heard Celestia ask. She shook her head in the same manner that her sister had.
"No. I'm sorry." She looked at me. "Stellar? What about your Mother?"
"My Mother wouldn't have the time to teach me how to shift, she has a busy enough schedule as it is. She works from six in the morning to five-thirty in the evening. Then finds time to do the laundry, dishes, shopping, cleaning, taking us to and from our friend’s houses and a lot more. Now she's a widow, and a single Mom. I can't imagine how much she's going to have to do now." Tears welled in my eyes again.
"Sister!" Luna shouted. "What about Thorax?!" Celestia looked at her.
"I suppose that could work."
"Shall I send a scroll to Cadance?" Luna asked.
"Please do," said Celestia. Luna ran off and she looked towards me. "So how are you handling things as of now?"
"Better than I expected I would." I told her, still replaying my Dad's death in my head.
"That's good. We should get you back home. Your mother must be worried sick about you. There was a ‘Missing Filly’ report filed about you. A scroll came earlier today. But I suppose you are tired and worn out. So tonight I will let you sleep in the castle. Tomorrow, I will have a carriage bring you home."
"Thank you so much Princess Celestia." I bowed to her, and she showed me where I would sleep tonight. She lead me down a corridor and opened the door to an elegant, decent-sized room. It had a queen bed and a mahogany desk. Along with that, it had a walk-in closet and a few dressers. "Thank you so much, again."
"The pleasure is mine, Stellar. Now get some rest. I will come for you in the morning."
She closed the door and left me alone in the room. My belly roared with hunger, demanding that I feed it. Come to think of it, I hadn't eaten since yesterday. I sat down at the desk and took a sheet of paper out. I wanted to write a letter to my explaining that I was okay.
Dear Mom,
I just wanted to write you this letter to let you know that I am safe and sound in Princess Luna and Celestia's castle. They have been very kind to me and are sending me home tomorrow. I know it was irresponsible and dangerous to do what I did and I am deeply sorry. I hope we can talk more about it when I get home. I will be ready for any punishment you decide to give me because I deserve it. I'm sorry. I also have some news about Dad. But that can wait when I see you tomorrow. You must be terrified and I'm so sorry. I will talk to you when I get home.
With love,
Stellar Blaze
I opened my door and snuck quietly down the corridor. I owned the big double doors and when down the stairs, when I ran into Celestia.
"Um, I was just coming to find you." I told her, she look a bit surprised. "I was just going to ask you if you can send the back to my family. It's a letter letting them know that I’m okay."
"Oh, of course." She gripped the letter with her magic and in the blink of an eye the letter was gone. I started back to my room. When I got there I settled down in bed and began to look at a book I found of the bookshelf. "Safe and Sound" I studied it a bit more. It seemed like my kind of book. I opened to the first page and began to read. I was on chapter three when I heard a knock come from the door. I walked over and opened it up.
"A letter to Miss Stellar Blaze." The guard pony gave me the letter and I thanked him. I closed my door and opened the scroll.
Stellar Blaze!
This is Aqua! I hate you!! Why would you leave?! And is Dad there? Don't ever talk to me again! I hate you! You may be my sister, but you don't act like it! Don't even bother coming home! I hate you!!
Tears welled in my eyes. "I didn't mean too..." I shut off the light and climbed into bed. Throughout the night, those words haunted my dreams. I kept hearing them echo within my head. Aqua’s letter and me saying "I didn't mean too..."
"Stellar Blaze?" A knock on the door followed. I opened the door.



"Princess, I'm sorry I have a bed head. I just woke up."
"That's quite alright, Stellar. Gather your belongings, I have a carriage waiting to take you home." I grabbed my things out of the closet and followed her outside.
"Thank you for having me." I told her. "And thank you for showing me those scrolls."
"You are very welcome." The carriage started to move and the pegasi started to fly. She waved to me and I waved back. It was a long ride home.
I walked up onto the porch and braced myself. I opened the door and walked inside. The house was deserted.
"I-I'm home..." I shouted very quietly. "Hello? Mom?" I flew upstairs and heard sobbing come from Aqua's room. I opened the door ever so slightly. I saw Mom and Aqua cuddling together and crying. "Mom?" I asked her in a hushed tone. She looked up at me and started bawling. She motioned for me to come over. I flew over and leaned in close.
"I heard." I stood back up.
"You heard?" I asked her, "What's that supposed to mean?" I suddenly realized what she had meant. She heard about Dad...