> Old Mare Celestia
>  by Guillermo
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Decadent world
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A long time ago, there were two princesses who ruled the world. The younger sister brought the Moon, and lit up the nights with her and her stars, caring for the ponies in her dreams. The eldest, on the other hand, brought the Sun, which ruled the heavens...

"What is the sun?"

The unicorn mare who had been telling her story stopped, looking at her five year old son, a pegasus foal, lying on his bed and ready to go to sleep, looking at her curiously.

"Why do you ask, honey?"

"Well, you always tell me this story, and although it is very good, you have never explained to me what exactly the sun is."

The mare was silent for a moment, a little doubtful of how to answer. Trying to remember her own mother's stories, she tried to come up with a satisfactory explanation.

"It's... uh... a star."

"Like the ones in the sky?" asked the little colt doubtfully.

"No, honey, it's a very big star, the King of the stars."

"King?" the colt asked. "How can a star be king?"

"I don't know, darling, but that's what they call it in the old stories" said the mare with a smile. "It is said that, in the past, the Moon used to hide to make way for the Sun, bringing the day..."

"Um...mom, it's always day."

"No honey" said the mare with a giggle. "It's always night."

"Then why do you tell me 'have a nice day', or 'this day we will eat soup', or...?"

"It's a way of speaking, honey, a way we have to remember the old days" said the mare with a smile, giving him an amused look. "Can I continue or do I finish the story?"

"Yes, mom, I'm sorry" replied the colt with a nod.

"As I said, the sun brought the day, illuminating the skies with such force and power, that it hid the stars in the sky, not even the Moon was a rival before its light."

"Really?" he interrupted the colt again, his eyes bright with excitement, but seeing his mother raise an eyebrow in his direction, his cheeks turned slightly red. "Uh…sorry."

His mother looked at him a little longer before giggling softly and continuing.

"Yes, and the sky was a brilliant blue that warmed everypony's heart. But one day, the princess of the Sun disappeared without a trace, and they say that because of this, her younger sister was so sad and heartbroken that she could not have the strength to bring the Sun to a new day, so the Moon has ruled the skies ever since. But they say that one day the lost princess will return and both sisters will rule together once more."

Finishing her story, she saw her son with a small smile on his face, his eyes heavier and about to fall asleep.

"I hope they meet again... I'd like to see the Sun..."

"One day you'll see, honey" said the mare as she gave him a kiss on the forehead and tucked him in a little better with the blanket.

Her son gave one last yawn before curling up into the blankets and closing his eyes. The mare watched him for a few more moments before sighing and walking away from his room, exiting into a room containing the bed she and her husband shared, the kitchen and the table where they used to eat, with just one more door to a small bathroom. It wasn't much, but it was the best they could get in Rockville, after all, there weren't many fancy houses in a small town devoted solely to rock farming.

The mare stepped out onto the porch, breathing in the fresh air, waiting for her husband to return from the mine, and she gazed up at the starry sky, a sky she had seen since she was a filly. Her gaze went to the East, where the moon hung low, close to the horizon, almost touching it, a perpetual view, and the address of the rock mine where her husband and most of the ponies in the village worked. There were more houses around, most with ponies, a few mares, and a few stallions, who, like her, were waiting for their husbands, wives, or relatives to return from their hard work.

Torches, always burning, lit the way to the mine, which was said to have once belonged to a family of proud earth ponies who owned an entire rock farm. Now, that farm was owned by the Governor of Rockville, who managed its operation and the trade of magical rocks, delivering the corresponding part to the legitimate owner of the surrounding lands. After several more minutes, the figures of the tired ponies began to become visible in the almost perpetual darkness, highlighted by the torches. The mare waited patiently until she saw her husband, who approached their porch, smiling at him with joy and love.

"How was your day, darling?" she asked him as she leaned in to kiss him.

The stallion, a pegasus, responded with a short kiss, following his wife inside.

"Tiring, I can't feel the hooves," he growled at her as he sat up, examining his body.

Like almost every day, he had small wounds criss-crossing his body, dotting his fur, and patches of mine-acquired dirt. His wife went into their kitchen and used her hooves to make him a bowl of cabbage soup, one of the few vegetables Rockville could produce, as the Governor refused to buy more effective plant preservation spells. Grabbing the bowl with her right hoof, and advancing with practiced balance towards the table, she left the plate to her husband, who sighed with satisfaction when he smelled the aroma, his last meal had been a piece of bread that they gave him in the mine.

"Thank you dear, I don't know what I would do without you" he said as he grabbed the bowl and began to drink the soup.

The mare sat in front of him and watched him eat in silence. Her husband always arrived tired from work, a working day of almost 12 hours a day, with only one day off a month. They barely had time to see each other, and their son treasured the moments where his father could be with them. After finishing half of the soup, the stallion turned his eyes to the door that led to his son's room, sadness on his face, which made the unicorn feel a bad feeling.

"Did we get a spot in the lottery?" she asked doubtfully.

After a minute of tense silence, the stallion shook his head.

"No, we have to wait until next year."

The mare felt a gigantic weight fall on her body, her gaze going to the door with immense sadness.

"What shall we tell him now? I had promised him that he could fly on his birthday."

"I'll tell him before I go to the mine" the stallion said firmly, before his posture wavered a bit. "Did you have trouble putting him to bed?"

"At first, but he calmed down a bit after I told him The Legend of the Sun."

The stallion frowned slightly at her as he looked at his wife.

"That old wives' tale again?"

The mare glanced sideways at her husband before shrugging.

"It's a nice story, and the other times I've told it to him, he's liked it."

The stallion sighed before looking at his wife.

"Honey, we've talked about this, we can't get his hopes up with a legend, a legend that isn't real. It will only make it harder for him."

"I know" said the mare with a sigh. "But it's a story that brings him some hope, let him have that. At least until he's 7 years old."

"That's a long time…" the stallion said looking at his wife, who looked at him with pleading in her eyes, which made him sigh and nod. "Okay, you win."

The mare smiled slightly, then looked at their son's door, sighing once more.

"He's going to be devastated when he finds out he won't be able to fly on his birthday."

"It's something he have to get used to" the stallion said with a shrug. "Emperor Tirek only offers a few magic permits a year, he knew we was unlikely to win."

"That didn't stop him from getting his hopes up" replied the mare. "We both know what it's like, especially at that age. Even the slightest chance to do magic fills him with hope, and there's nothing you or I can do."

The stallion fell silent, sighing and focusing on his food, making the house silent. When finished, both went straight to bed, blowing out the candles and preparing to sleep.



Near the Badlands, now known as the Hivelands, was the tiny town of Sproutville, and even further away, practically on the edge of changeling territory, was a small farm, barely containing three orchards. The cabin was simple and wooden, inhabited by a single pony, a unicorn mare named Light Flare. At that moment, she was waking up from a long dreamless night, a common thing for her. With a groan, she rose from the bed, quickly covering herself with a robe that hid much of her body, revealing only her legs, tail, and head. 

Light Flare headed toward her small kitchen, where she made herself a morning coffee to wake up to. She was a tall mare, she could perfectly look the tallest stallions in the face, and her horn, unlike other unicorns, was two or three centimeters longer and a little sharper. Her fur was white, and although it seemed that in the past it was impeccable, now it seemed more gray. Her mane was a dull pink, hanging practically lifeless, often forcing her to sweep the strands of her hair with her magic away from her face, since the mare seemed not to want to even comb it. Lastly, her eyes were a fuchsia color that, like the rest of her fur and mane, seemed dull and lifeless.

When she had her cup of coffee ready, she walked out onto her porch and lay down on the wood, looking out at the horizon, and beyond the imposing silhouette of the Changeling Hive, from where Queen Chrysalis ruled her assigned territory of Equestria, was the moon. She took a couple of sips of her coffee, quietly waiting a few minutes, until at last, she heard something to her right. First it was the faint sound of flapping wings, then the soft crackling of the fire, until at last she heard the wood of her porch railing creak under new weight, and seconds later, a squawk in its direction, one that sounded anxious and furious in equal parts.

Light Flare remained unperturbed, sipping her coffee without heeding the incessant crackling of the fire to her right or the increasingly loud caws. After about five minutes, the presence fell silent, and after another minute, it began to walk away from her. Only when the fluttering had faded completely did the mare take the last of her cup and get up, ready for another day's work. 

Leaving her cup in the kitchen, she went outside again and, lighting up her horn with a dull yellow aura, all the torches around her farmhouse were lit. Once she had a source of light, she went to make sure the conservation spells she had put on the plants were still working, a spell that could keep the plants healthy and growing, though the knowledge of why those spells were needed was lost to time, and some say that its taste is nothing compared to what it had in the past. Light Flare was the only pony in Sproutville capable of putting quality spells on her plants, which made them taste so much better than the others, while the rest either only knew the most basic spells, or had to resort to services of the small magic preservation company in town.

After checking to her satisfaction that the spells were still working, she walked to the warehouse she used to store her tools and her harvest. She grabbed a belt and tightened it around her waist, then took a hoe and sickle, which hung from her belt, then tied herself to a cart, in which there were four barrels, which she carried outside. Of the three orchards she had, dhe only had one active, where she was harvesting wheat and potatoes, the other two were idle until the next season, she already planned to plant carrots and cabbages.

Pulling the cart to one side of the orchard, she went to work, using the sickle to cut the wheat and, with her magic, carry it to the cart. After half an hour of hard work, in which there was still half the wheat to harvest, she move on to the potatoes, uprooting the superficial plant, which she keep in one of the barrels, and with the hoe she took out the potatoes, taking them to another barrel, separating both parts of the plant. After an hour of work, filling the four barrels, and with half of the potatoes still unpicked, she finished, approaching the car and taking it to the warehouse, where she began to secure the wheat in bales and store it in various boxes that she had stored. 

After everything was done, she carried the full barrels and boxes outside the warehouse, loading the cart with empty barrels and returning to the orchard to finish harvesting. When she was close to finishing the wheat, her ears twitched at a characteristic sound that she had already gotten used to. Looking up, she saw what appeared to be a huge swarm, only distinguishable in the dark of night by the greenish light that illuminated them. Arriving at her position, it broke up into several smaller groups that dispersed to go to the surrounding farms. One such group headed for her, five beings with insectoid equine forms that landed at the entrance of her orchard, changelings. 

Despite their slight aspect to ponies, they were more like insects. They had short, sharp horns that lit up the night with a green glow, fangs protruding from their mouths, and webbed manes and tails. Their skin was made of protective black chitin, hard and cold to the touch, protecting the fragile interior, a dark blue shell on their backs, which could open to let out a pair of insectoid wings, and they had holes in their legs.. Finally there were their eyes, blue eyes that covered everything, which made them seem like they had no intelligence or emotions, but nothing could be further from the truth, because they were still expressive. Light Flare watched them carefully as they approached, the one in the center wearing dark blue armor, with a green shield that represented a pierced heart, symbol of Queen Chrysalis's hive, and symbol that this changeling had risen to become a captain of his own squadron, who was showing her a big smile.

"Hello Flare, how are you today?"

The mare stared at him before focusing on her work.

"You have your share of the harvest where it always is, take it and get the hell out of here" she said nonchalantly.

"How dare you talk to us like that?!" shouted one of the changelings, who only wore her armor but without the shield on her chest, a simple soldier. "Show more respect to your Masters!"

Light Flare looked at her out of the corner of her eye, ignoring her outburst of fury. She could tell she was a mare by her voice, her horn smaller than her peers, and a softer, more refined muzzle. Her captain let out a small laugh before speaking.

"Calm down, soldier" the captain said with a smile, one that the others were imitating.

The changeling blinked and looked at her leader in confusion.

"But sir, this pony has disrespected you."

"If you stick with us long enough you'll find that Flare is pretty harmless, she's just pretty grumpy, right Flare?" The mare didn't respond, deciding to ignore the changeling and continue with her work, making the captain laugh. "Besides, the mare does her job diligently and always does her part, we can forgive her for her cantankerous attitude."

The soldier looked at her superior in confusion before focusing on the mare, who was still ignoring them.

"Very well sir."

"Excellent, take our share and prepare to return to the hive."

The four changeling soldiers approached the barrels and crates filled with wheat, potatoes, and its associated plants, grabbing it with their magic and lifting themselves into the air. The captain watched them before approaching the mare.

"See you next month, Flare," he said with a smile, but at the last moment, and with wicked amusement, he smashed one of the potatoes, crushing his hoof hard enough to render the surface plant useless.

With a last goodbye gesture, he took flight and rejoined his soldiers, but the changeling who had protested earlier looked at him in confusion.

"Sir, is you not going to absorb the corresponding fraction of love from her?"

"That is not necessary."

"But sir, the law states that all ponies between the ages of 5 and 80 must give a portion of love to the hive" said the soldier with a frown. "Not doing so would be a violation of the law and..."

"Do me a favor and try to assess the love in her."

The soldier blinked in confusion but she did as he was told, and as she did, her eyes widened.

"She's... she's empty!"

"Yes."

"But that's impossible! No being can survive without love!"

"She does, and that's why we don't extract the fraction of her love" the captain said with a shrug. "There is nothing to extract from her."

The soldier glanced from the mare, who was waiting irritably for them to leave, and from her captain.

"Why haven't you reported this, sir?"

"What? That a pony has no love?" the captain said with a raised eyebrow. "Even if they believe the report, it's an irrelevant thing that only interests the hive investigation committee. And since she's one of the few ponies in this seedy town who delivers her share of the crop on time, there's no need to turn her into an experiment, right?" The soldier looked at him a moment longer before shaking her head, causing her captain to nod in satisfaction. "Okay, back to the hive!"

In one quick move, the five changelings stalked away from their farm, carrying the full barrels. Light Flare watched them for a few more moments before approaching the plant, removing the shattered part and exposing the potato, which luckily was still intact. Placing it in its proper barrel, the mare turned to finish her job.
> The Princess of the Sun
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sproutville was a small town, it miraculously reached a thousand inhabitants, and it was divided into four main streets that converged in a huge square, where not only the town hall was, but also the market, where the farmers went to sell their products or, as was the case with Light Flare, they sold it to a merchant. The mare was advancing down one of the streets, hitched to a cart that had two barrels full of potatoes and their corresponding plants, duly separated, and six boxes full of wheat, more or less half of what she had left.

It had been three days since the changelings' monthly round, three days in which the ponies were physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted from the extraction of love, so that virtually nopony wanted to open their market stalls, shop, or even go for a walk, at least until they recover a little. Light Flare walked at a brisk pace, ignoring the ponies around her, who in turn ignored her, for, after almost 24 years living in Sproutville, she had developed a reputation as a hermit, grumpy, and curmudgeonly. So much so, that she hardly spoke to anypony, except for the pony she sold her wares to or the ponies who sold her supplies.

The market was illuminated by almost a dozen poles where lanterns had been placed, in which the fire crackled and illuminated the place. There were few ponies in the place, but despite that, and the fact that most of the stalls were starting to open, there were already some buying some products. Light Flare made her way to one particular stand that sold all manner of fruits and vegetables, run by a pegasus who had his own farm, albeit relatively smaller than the mare's or most of the farmers in Sproutville, his market stall was almost exclusively his only source of income. The stallion's ears twitched when he heard Light Flare's cart, so he stopped setting up his stall and turned to look at the mare with a smile.

"Here is my silent provider!" he said with amusement. "Today do you have a phrase to say to me or will you remain silent?"

He was a gray-coated stallion, with a bluish mane and a cutie mark that represented a bag of bits, its name was Fair Trade. He was the only one who bought the mare's products, and she didn't seem interested in changing that. Despite having a basically one-sided relationship in which she barely spoke, the stud considered her a friend, or at the very least, a business partner. Light Flare stopped in front of his stall, and as usual, she didn't reply, just unhooking herself from the cart and preparing to unload the barrels and crates.

"I see you're still silent" Fair commented with a shrug. "Leave only a barrel of potato plants and a box of wheat."

Light Flare stopped what she was doing and turned to look at Fair Trade, her raised eyebrow the only sign of her curiosity.

"I don't have enough money this month" the pegasus said with a shrug, looking away. "I had to help my brother pay his rent this month, so I won't be able to buy you the usual."

Light Flare watched him a little longer before continuing to download, much to Fair's confusion.

"I told you that I can't buy you the potatoes and the rest of the wheat" he replied, but his complaints fell on deaf ears.

Light Flare continued to download, ignoring Fair's complaints, and when finished, turned to face him.

"Here I leave you the usual."

"You're stubborn as a mule," growled Fair Trade. "I don't have money to pay you for everything. So you can take the potatoes and whe..."

"The extra wheat and potatoes are a gift," Light Flare interrupted. "Pay me only what you can."

Fair Trade left his avalanche of objections in shock, looking wide-eyed at Light Flare.

"But... you will have much less than other months, how do you expect to survive the month without the money?"

"I still have part of my crop in the barn and some money saved" replied the mare with a disinterested shrug.

Fair looked at the mare for a while before shaking his head.

"No, I'm not going to accept it. You need that money."

"Last time I checked, I live alone, I don't have rent to pay to anypony, and my farm gives me a harvest big enough for me to keep some. You, on the other hoof, have a family to feed and you don't have as many products to sell on your own, you need all the help you can get."

Despite her words, her expression remained unchanged, her dull eyes staring at Fair Trade, who, after a few moments' deliberation, sighed and nodded, approaching his booth.

"Okay, you win" he said as he rummaged through his saddlebags, from which he extracted a small bag of bits.

Fair passed the bag to Light Flare, who hefted it with her magic, opening it and seeing a nice pile of bits.

"There you have 100 bits," Fair said, a small smile spreading across his face. "And... thanks... I knew there was a good heart inside that curmudgeonly mare."

Light Flare barely paid attention to that statement, putting the bag of bits in the saddlebags she had on the robe that covered her body, hooking herself to her cart to start walking away.

"See you next month, Flare" Fair said with a happier tone than when she arrived.

The mare didn't seem to hear his farewell, as she kept walking without returning his gesture. She walked through the market without paying attention to the others, who moved out of her way, some of them looking at her suspiciously or even fearfully.

"Look where you're going you fucking bitch!"

Light Flare stopped, turning her head in the direction the scream had come from, to her right. A few meters away, there were three ponies, a pegasus mare, an earth pony stallion and a unicorn stallion, the latter was the one who had shouted, and in front of them, lying on the ground, was an earth pony mare, who looked in terror of the pony that had yelled at her. He was Rough Wood, a unicorn with brown fur, a black mane and a cutie mark that represented a trunk breaking. He was the son of the mayor of Sproutville, Scroll Wood, and as such, he was untouchable, doing and taking what he wanted and nopony seemed to care or they were too afraid of him to do anything about it.

"I'm so-sorry... I di-didn't see yo-you..." the mare said between stutters, lowering her gaze and not daring to meet his eyes.

"Sorry? Do you think that's enough?" Rough growled. "If you want to prevent me from notifying my father, you'd better compensate me properly."

"Ho-how do yo-you wa-want me to ma-make it up to you?" the mare replied, afraid of the answer, everypony knew the rumors of what Rough and his friends did to the ponies, whether they were mares or stallions.

Rough stared at the mare for a few moments before speaking.

"Lucky for you, I don't feel like fucking you today, and you?" he said turning to his friends.

"Nah, I pass" answered the earth pony.

"Tempting" commented the pegasus, studying the mare, licking her lips. "But maybe another day."

"Then you will have to compensate me with your money" Rough said after refocusing on the mare.

"Bu-but I ne-need the mo-money to buy this mo-month's fo-food."

"And what the hell do I care? Give me the money if you don't want me to change my mind and fuck you right here like the worthless bitch you are."

Despite the sparks of anger that were beginning to ignite inside her, Light Flare looked away and continued on her way, quenching the anger that rose in her every time she saw that bratty brat. She had gone years without getting into trouble, she wasn't going to start doing it for a mare she didn't even know, no matter how much her insides burned with rage.

She walked out of the busy plaza and into one of the streets, stopping in front of a store on the left side of the road, a sign above the door saying Antiques and Exotic Products. Light Flare unhooked from her car and entered the small establishment. The room was lit by a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, four shelves, two on each side of the store, where several different products were displayed, many of them antiques, but many other products not usually seen in Sproutville, like apples, something rare in town, or even cocoa powder, something even more exotic. In front of the entrance there was a counter, where the owner was, and a door to her left that led into the building.

The owner was a unicorn mare, with reddish fur and an orange mane, her cutie mark being a jewel, and her name was Jewelry Refiner, and like Fair Trade, she was one of the lucky few (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it) who had interactions with Light Flare. She ran the store with her husband, a pegasus who spent most of his time out of town, exploring the country for antiques to sell and exotic goods that would interest the ponies of Sproutville. Between her hooves, the mare had an old golden helmet, although it was rusty in some places and, running along the top of it head from the front to the beginning of the nape, a crest from which some tufts of mane protruded, although almost everything had disappeared. She was busy wiping the metal surface clean, but when her ears twitched at Flare's approach, she looked away from the ancient object and smiled at her customer.

"Ah, Flare, it's you. What do you think?" she said as she showed the helmet. "My husband found it on one of his trips. It belonged to an ancient guard that protected the kingdom of Eques..."

"Do you have mine?"

Jewelry Refiner blinked in confusion before sighing, slightly annoyed.

"Right, I forgot that you're not interested in ancient history at all. I'll be right back."

The mare left the helmet on the counter and went into the store, certain that Light Flare would not steal anything. After a few minutes, she came back out, carrying in her magic a rather large bag that she left on the wood.

"Here it is, moon tea, it took my husband a little longer to find it. There aren't usually places that sell these things."

Light Flare grabbed the bag in her magic, studying it before nodding and turning back to her saddlebag, where she pulled out her bag of bits. Taking out twenty-five coins, she left them on the counter and took the bag away, without saying goodbye to Jewelry.

"I don't know why you like that tea so much" murmured the mare as she picked up the coins. "But I'm not the one to judge others, see you next month, Flare."

The mare left the store, ignoring Jewelry and hitched herself to her cart, starting to retrace her steps and heading back to her farm.



It had been a few hours since Light Flare had gone to Sproutville. She was now in her kitchen, patiently waiting for the tea she had put to boil in the kettle to finish brewing. Once ready, she poured some into one of her cups and went out onto the porch, where she lay on the wood and watched the horizon, trying to ignore the Hive and focusing on the moon. The only sound present was the crackling of the fire from the torches that lit her farm and the chirping of a few crickets, which sang almost at any hour.

Light Flare took a sip of her tea and closed her eyes in satisfaction, enjoying her moment of peace and forgetting about all problems for a few minutes. Her moment of peace was interrupted by a particular sound that made her ears perk up. With a frown, she tried to locate the source of the sound, and after a few minutes, she did, in the sky above her farm. Opening her eyes, she raised her gaze to the sky, scanning the night for those responsible, for she knew that sound all too well, changelings, and if she did her math right, there were three of them.

After a few minutes, the incessant noise of a changeling flying grew louder, and before long, they came into range of torchlight at last, three changelings flying without lighting their horns, in complete darkness, two stallions and a mare. They landed, not on her farm entrance, but directly in front of her front porch. Light Flare frowned slightly, getting up and setting her mug down on the railing before walking down the stairs.

"I have already given you my share of the harvest, what are you doing here?"

The changeling in the center looked at her carefully, glancing sideways at the mare to his right, who nodded subtly.

"I guess you're Light Flare, right?" he said as he refocused on her.

Light Flare glanced at the changeling mare before nodding.

"Yes, there is any problem?" She said with a half growl.

"I have heard that you do not possess love."

"I don't have it, is that a crime?" Light asked with a raised eyebrow, trying to keep her nerves under control.

"It is when you use an illusion spell to make it look like you don't have love."

Light Flare was silent for a few moments before focusing on the changeling mare.

"You were that mare that came here with the collectors."

Even though she tried to keep her face calm, Light Flare saw the nervousness on her face.

"My friend is an expert at detecting illusion spells, and yours was very powerful, she almost had a hard time finding it. No wonder you've been able to live here for so many years without being found, the collectors aren't the smartest changelings in the hive. "

Light Flare watched the changeling carefully, studying him.

"So you've found me out."

"That's right, your lie wasn't as effective as you thought."

"Neither is yours" Light Flare said matter-of-factly, watching as the three changelings tensed. "I mean, just three changelings to arrest a mare who has used illusion spells for 24 years to hide her love, I don't see any elite soldiers or high level changeling mages to counter that. Besides, coming here without lighting your way? I have the impression that it is to hide your movements, and not from me precisely."

The changeling who had been speaking regarded the mare for a few moments before sighing.

"You're smart, just as I expected."

In an instant, his body was enveloped in a green fire, characteristic of changelings when they comes to transforming. His two companions looked at his leader not with surprise, but with concern. When the flames died down, left behind was the bugpony she had known for years, in his place was a very different version. His chitin was light green, much darker in the chest area, and with a sky blue shell, with yellowish eyes. The holes in his paws completely disappeared and his face now had more distinctions compared to those of common changelings.

"I am Captain Tweezers, and I and my companions serve King Thorax."

The other two changelings looked at each other before sighing and lighting up their bodies as well. The mare changed her color to a soft violet, her horn smaller than Tweezers's, and her shell a deep purple, as were her eyes. The rest turned bright and colorful red, his horn disappeared, but he made up for it by becoming the largest of the three, even larger than the unicorn, his shell dark red and orange eyes. Light Flare watched them carefully before speaking.

"Let me guess, you are that resistance of which so many rumors are heard."

"That's right," confirmed Tweezers, "she's Shell," he said pointing to the changeling mare, then gesturing to the stallion, "and he's Sting."

"Delighted, now get out of here" said Light Flare sharply. "I've had no trouble with the Hive for years, I have no plans to change that."

"The Hive isn't looking for us, and neither are you, you're safe. We just want to talk."

"Of what? What the hell do I have that interests you so much?"

Tweezers looked at his companions briefly before replying.

"We were sent here to try to locate and, if possible, rescue a possible ally that the Hive are keeping locked up."

"And what does he have to do with me?" Light Flare asked impatiently.

"We found him yesterday," Tweezers continued, apparently not hearing Light Flare's question, which made her even angrier. "We couldn't rescue him, the Queen made sure of it, but he told us there was somepony nearby who could help us... a mare capable of hiding in plain sight from the Hive."

Light Flare growled to herself, a slight suspicion as to who this ally was.

"And how do you know that mare is me?"

"First of all, your love concealment spell" Tweezers said with a shrug. "Too powerful and subtle to be the work of anypony. And then there are your plant preservation spells." The changeling looked over his shoulder at the orchard. "More powerful and effective than the ponies around here have."

Light Flare growled, turning around and starting to walk away from them, back to her house.

"I'm not the mare you're looking for, I'm just good at magic, my parents were high level wizards, nothing more. And I'm getting sick of this" Light Flare stopped on her porch, grabbing her teacup in her magic and looking over her shoulder at the changelings. "Get out of here, you're having the wrong pony."

"You're her, right? The Princess of the Sun."

Light Flare was silent for several minutes, minutes that felt long and tense, especially for Shell and Sting. Tweezers didn't take his eyes off the mare, and she kept her eyes on him. At last, the mare carried her cup into her house, setting it on her kitchen table before facing the changeling from the top of the porch.

"That Princess of the Sun is a legend, a myth."

"I thought the same thing about our possible ally, then I found out he was real" Tweezers said with a shrug. "If he is real, then so are you, Princess of the Sun."

"And what makes you think I'm that princess?"

"Other than advanced spells? He gave us a description in case we found you, a taller than average mare, slightly tapered horn, white fur, and pink mane. You're a little sloppier than I thought, but it's definitely you."

Light Flare was silent for a few moments before speaking.

"In case it's true, which it isn't, what do you want from me?"

"We need your help."

"And what makes you think I want to help?"

"I've heard the legends, about your kindness, mercy, and your ideals of a world of friendship and harmony. You can't ignore all of that forever."

Light Flare started down the stairs and advanced until she was face to face with Tweezers, looking him straight in the eye.

"If I were the Princess of the Sun for real, I've been ignoring all of that for 1000 years, and I could do so for many more centuries."

"The ponies...no, all the creatures in the world need you" Tweezers said firmly.

"The legends say that the Princess of the Sun disappeared, have you ever wondered why?" asked Light Flare, tilting her head slightly. "Haven't you considered that perhaps the Princess thought the creatures of the world weren't worth it?" the mare watched Tweezers for a few more moments before turning and starting to approach her house. "Go back the way you came, you won't find your princess here."

"He said you could refuse" Tweezers said as he stepped forward. "And he told me, in that case, to tell you that if she could see you, Luna would be very disappointed."

Light Flare stopped abruptly halfway up the stairs, turning her head to look at the changeling, and her eye, for the first time in a long time, began to glow a little brighter.

"What have you said?" She told him in a low and threatening tone.

Despite the shiver that ran through his body and the alarm signals in his brain, Tweezers stood his ground.

"I said Luna would be very..."

He couldn't finish the sentence, as he felt a blow to his jaw, so hard, it propelled him back with overwhelming force. He crashed to the ground and crawled on the ground for a few meters, destroying the orchard, until he finally stopped.

"Tweezers!" Shell yelled as she moved closer to her superior.

Sting positioned himself in front of his teammates, trying to keep the distance between them and Light Flare, who was now where Tweezers had been before. Despite being taller than her, his body was trembling slightly, which made him furious. Why was he being afraid? The beaten changeling managed to sit up with Shell's help, massaging his jaw, which was thankfully unbroken, watching the mare. He hadn't seen she coming, she had moved quickly, very quickly.

"NEVER say that name again" Light Flare said, and even though she tried to keep her voice under control, her eyes shone, coming back to life, and they were furious. "Get out of here and never come back."

"I was right, you are the Princess of the Sun" Tweezers said with a small triumphant smile.

Light Flare growled and turned around, ready to enter her house.

"We'll be in the Dead Forest for a week, in case you change your mind" Tweezers said as he got up with the help of Shell.

"You can skip the wait and walk away" Light Flare growled before slamming the door.

The three changelings were left alone on the farm, the crackle of fire and crickets the only sound. After a few moments, Shell scowled at her superior.

"Are you crazy? How the hell can you provoke her?"

"He said that would make her react, if he was right, she would come."

"I keep saying this is a bad idea," Sting commented.

"You're not going to tell me that the Princess of the Sun doesn't exist, are you? You just saw her."

"He never specified who the mare he was talking about was, and if she were the Princess of the Sun, I don't think she would want to help us. You heard her, she has ignored the suffering of all of Equestria for 1000 years."

"She once cared, not just for ponies, but for any innocent creature. She will help us, we just have to give her time."

"Do you really want to wait for her?" Shell said, directing her gaze to the silhouette of the Hive, illuminated by the moon. "They'll realize we're not here."

"Does matters?" Tweezers replied. "They won't worry about three unimportant drones. We're safe" the changeling opened his shell and took out his wings, much more stylized than those of the changelings of the Hive of Queen Chrysalis. "Let's go."

Tweezers took flight and flew away, disappearing into the darkness. Shell and Sting looked at each other before sighing and following him. Light Flare watched them from her house, through the curtains. Making sure they were gone, she walked over to the teacup, taking hold of it in her magic and watching it for a few moments. Leaving it on the table again, she began to walk towards her bed.
> Rage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was only darkness, wherever Light Flare looked, she could barely see herself, and when she tried to turn on her horn to illuminate her surroundings, it didn't work. Soon, a whisper began to be heard, a sound from beyond the grave, putting her on alert. The darkness began to shake, changing to become a starry sky.

"Celestia..."

The whisper grew louder, now she could make out the words of whoever was speaking to her. In front of Light Flare, rising from the stars, appeared the head of a unicorn mare, or so it seemed, a gigantic head, its eyes completely white.

"You forgot me..."

Light Flare growled and tried to look away from her, to take a step back, but she realized that she couldn't, and looking down at herself, she understood why. A black mass covered her hooves, slowly spreading upwards and covering her entire body.

"You have forgotten who you are..."

The dark mass began to cover her head, and even though Light Flare tried to scream, nothing came out of her mouth, which it was soon enveloped as well. The mare tried to shake in vain, as darkness covered her eyes, the last thing she saw was the face of the ethereal mare.

Light Flare woke up with a start, breathing hard, her fuchsia eyes shining with intensity and terrified. Three days, three days since the changelings had passed by her house, three days of having this nightmare. She had gone years without having any kind of dreams, and now she couldn't sleep without seeing that ethereal mare. With a groan, she stood up, covering her body with her robe, closing her eyes and forcing herself to calm down, return to a calm state, and when she opened her eyes, they were just as dull and lifeless as before. 

The only way to get rid of those nightmares was with an anti-sleep potion, and the only place she could find the ingredients, or at least order them, was Antiques and Exotic Products. Clutching her saddlebag, she headed out into her small living room, heading for the exit, but when her hoof was on the pommel, she paused, thinking. She closed her eyes and was silent for a few moments before sighing and walking away, it was still too early.



It had been a few hours since Light Flare had woken up, and now she was once again walking through Sproutville in the direction of Antiques and Exotic Products. The few ponies she came across looked at her sideways, confused, it was strange to see her there so soon, with only three days since her last appearance, she normally only appeared once a month. The mare went into the market, where she had to pass to reach her destination, hoping that the ingredients she needed were in the store. Although she could put up with these nightmares for a month, she felt that her self-control was weakening. She didn't know how long she would last before her most primal instincts, instincts she had managed to shut down for years, took over.

"Again you?!"

Light Flare paused briefly, searching for the source of the sound, to the right of her. Rough, once again alongside his friends, was yelling at the same mare she'd seen last time, only this time, she was turning her back on them, looking more confused than terrified.

"I… I…" she tried to say as she stood up and looked at Rough, who didn't let her finish.

"Go twice this week, do you like me or something?"

"What? No! I…"

"Oh I see, are you implying that I'm the one bumping into you on purpose?" Rough said, with a smile and a tone of voice that implied that this was what was happening. "That's insulting, I think you deserve a lesson, don't you think guys?"

"Totally," said the earth pony with a sinister smile.

"I agree, besides" the pegasus mare smiled, taking flight with a jump and standing behind the frightened earth pony, "I love to teach bad mares lessons."

Light Flare felt her anger grow, much bigger and harder to control than other times, fueled by the nightmares she had been having and by the memories that had been awakened from their long slumber. Her eyes began to light up, coming to life, her instincts trying to surface, her hatred for injustice growing stronger, but with a growl, the mare closed her eyelids and took deep breaths, trying to get control of herself again, it wasn't worth destroying everything she had built in Sproutville.

You have forgotten who you are...

Light Flare growled even more, she intensely hated those three changelings.

"Please no!" cried the terrified mare.

"Please no, what?" Rough replied with a wicked grin, taking a single step forward.

The mare, terrified, tried to back away, only for the pegasus to hit her on the flanks, causing her to cry out in surprise and fear, putting a smile on the lips of her tormentors.

"Let me make one thing clear, the changelings control Sproutville, my father is their second-in-command, and I'm next in the chain of command. My father doesn't give a shit what I do, and the changelings give even less, so I can do what I want with you and nopony is going to do any..."

His speech was cut short when something hit him with such force that he was thrown several feet into the air, landing with a thud on the ground. With a grunt, he tried to get up, But whoever hit him before, hit him again, and before he could recover, he felt a hoof placed on his chest, holding him immobile. When he managed to clear his daze, he was able to focus on the pony responsible, seeing a mare with grayish-white fur, a dull pink mane and bright fuchsia eyes that almost seemed to release sparks.

"Leave her alone," she said, almost like a growl.

Rough blinked slightly confused before storming off.

"You don't know how much trouble you've gotten yourself into, bitch!" he yelled as he tried to shake the mare off, but to no avail, she was much stronger than she seemed.

His earth pony friend snapped out of his surprise before frowning and starting to approach with aggressive intent. Before he could get much closer, Light Flare's horn lit up and a dull yellow magical aura, growing brighter with each passing second, enveloped him and knocked him to the ground hard, drawing a groan of pain from him and holding him immobile. 

"Leave them alone you fucking whore!" yelled the pegasus as she took flight and prepared to launch herself at the mare.

Before she could do so, the same magical aura enveloped her, crushing her wings against her body and throwing her hard to the ground. Rough watched this from his pinned position, somewhat surprised, before turning back to the mare and growling wildly.

"Let go of me right now you crazy whore!"

"I'm just going to give you one warning, just one" Light Flare said in a low and threatening tone. "Leave the ponies in this town alone, stop abusing them, and I'll set you free."

"Or what?! What are you going to do to me, huh?!"

Light Flare watched the pony below her carefully. Over the years she'd lived in Sproutville she'd watched that unicorn go from bratty colt to juvenile delinquent to true criminal…a monster. He had stolen, he had beaten up innocent ponies, some of them never walking again, raped dozens of mares and stallions, and maybe he was responsible for some disappearances or corpses found in some dark alley. And here she was, trying to give him a chance to redeem himself, to get him off that dark path…and he was rejecting her. 

In the past, Light Flare had tried the same thing, she had tried to reform villains, monsters, and if she didn't succeed, she would lock them up somehow, but she never crossed the line... ever. And as a consequence, she lost absolutely everything and many innocent ponies suffered because of her. Did she really want to risk making the same mistake? Rough was a monster without compassion, he had proven it time and time again… he didn't deserve a chance. Slowly, she began to press her hoof to his chest, steadily ignoring stallion's curses and protests, until the unicorn felt the pressure.

"Wh-what a-are you do-doing?" he said with some difficulty, feeling the hoof getting tighter and tighter.

The mare didn't reply, instead squeezing harder, causing Rough to cry out in pain.

"Fu-fuck! S-stop! Da-damn bi-bitch, STOP!"

Light Flare paused for a second, looking at Rough, his eyes watering with pain and trying to breathe despite the pressure of her hoof. As she watched him, the memories of all his victims came to her, all the rumors she had ever heard, and years, centuries, of fury and indignation came to light. Her eyes lit up more, beginning to take on a yellowish hue, while her mane grew brighter, turning to a more vivid pink.

"A long, long time ago I could have stopped," she whispered, bending down lower and bringing their face closer. "But I stopped showing mercy a long time ago."

She squeezed her hoof again, resuming Rough's screams and pleas. A larger cry of pain and despair erupted from his mouth as the sound of bones breaking was heard. In a snap, Light Flare smashed into the stallion's chest, breaking ribs, piercing his skin and muscle, and colliding with the dirt floor below him, sinking her hoof a little deeper. Blood splattered, splashing onto her face, and the unicorn gasped in agony, coughing up a bit of blood as he kept his eyes on the mare, until the life in them died completely.

Light Flare stood still for a few moments before starting to separate, the remains of shattered flesh and organs sticking to her hoof. Rough's corpse now had a hole in his chest, blood spreading beneath him, an unrecognizable mass that had once been part of his lungs and heart. Everything around her was dead silent, and looking up, she saw dozens of ponies staring at her in horror, surprise and, some of them, relief, relief that the one who had caused their misfortune was dead. Among them was Fair Trade, who didn't look away from the mare, his eyes wide.

Light Flare stopped looking at them, focusing on the two ponies who were still caught up in her magic, terror in their eyes. After a minute, she started to move closer, causing the fear to grow stronger.

"I'm going to tell you the same as him" said Light Flare with a threatening tone. "Never prey on the innocent again... or I'll come back for you."

The magic holding them back faded, allowing the two ponies to cautiously rise to their hoof, glancing from Light Flare to their dead friend. After a few seconds, they galloped away, leaving the market in no time. The mare watched them carefully before running her eyes over the ponies present, some of whom had already fled. Even though she wanted to go to her house, she knew she had one thing left to do. Lighting her horn, she grabbed the corpse in her magical aura and started walking, the ponies in her path moving quickly away, in the direction of the town hall.



Scroll Wood was sitting in his office, in his magical aura carrying a book and a glass of champagne, enjoying a moment of peace. He was supposed to be working, but since his family had had a cordial relationship with the changelings, he could be in government without lifting a hoof and the Hive would say nothing to him, as long as the production of love and crops from the inhabitants of Sproutville remain in optimal condition. And along with all of that, he had made sure that the ponies in power with him, mostly the small guard the town had, were on his side with some benefits.

Several screams brought him out of his moment of peace, causing him to frown and look up at the door. Trying to ignore the noise, he turned back to her book, only to start hearing, not just more screaming, but the sound of guards yelling and ordering someone to stop. Confused and curious, he got up and started to walk away from his desk, but after only a few steps, the double doors were shattered, their remains falling into his office, forcing him to back away.

As the small cloud of smoke dissipated, and what he saw made his eyes snap open. Fear, anger and desolation hit him at the same time with crushing force. There was what he dimly recognized as Light Flare, and behind her, in the corridor that led to his office, he could see several guards who had tried to stop her crushed to the ground in her magical aura. What really caught his attention was what hovered just above his head, the body of his son, blood still dripping from it. Without any care or respect, the mare dropped the boy's body in front of his father, who could barely move, his eyes moving from his son to his murderer.

"You... you... you ha-have..."

"I have killed him, yes" Light Flare finished, looking at Scroll with her eyes lit up and with suppressed anger. "I gave him the chance to redeem himself...he didn't want to take it."

Light Flare was very different from how he remembered her. Her eyes were alive now, but the color of fuchsia was mixed with the yellow, and her hair had become more alive, and he could almost swear that it looked like it could move, but those movements were so rare that it might as well be an illusion. Scroll refocused on his son, his weak legs unable to support him, so he fell on his butt, his eyes, beginning to water, lost.

"Listen to me, Scroll Wood" Light Flare's voice said, and as much as he wanted to ignore her, he was forced to focus all of his attention on her. "I'll tell you the same thing I told him, stop taking advantage of the weak, stop using your position to gain advantage, start behaving like a true leader, or I'll come back for you."

Scroll stared at Light Flare for a few moments before anger flared within him. Furious, he stood up, facing the mare.

"I will not negotiate with a murderess! You're going to pay, you and everypony you care about! You're going to…!"

His words were interrupted as a magical aura enveloped him and, like the soldiers in the hallway, he was sprawled on the floor with a thud, unable to move.

"Murderess?" Light Flare growled, moving forward to stare at Scroll, like a predator eyeing his dying prey. "I'm a murderess? Your son did much worse things than me. He robbed, raped and murdered dozens of ponies in this town while you looked the other way."

"I... I don't..."

"You may not have done those crimes directly," interrupted Light Flare, silencing Scroll, looking at him seriously, "but by allowing your son to become a monster, you have become another. You are as guilty as he was." Light Flare lowered her head so she could look Scroll straight in the eye. "I warn you, don't you dare harm any innocent, because I will know, wherever I am, I will know if you do it, directly or indirectly, and there will be nothing to save you from my wrath. I have already shown you that you pathetic guard is nothing to me."

Her horn shone with more power, and the magical aura that surrounded Scroll began to heat up and spread inside him, which terrified him even more, had that crazy mare cast a curse? And as much as he hated to admit it, she was right, Light Flare seemed to be a prodigy in magic, enough to humble him and his guard, but he still had a small glimmer of hope.

"T-the cha-changelings will lo-look for you a-and..."

"Let's be real, Mr. Wood" Light Flare interrupted, getting up again. "The only reason you're in power is because of your family's relationship with the changelings, but we both know they don't really give a shit about you. They're not going to waste their troops on getting me."

Light Flare turned off her magic and took a few steps back, passing Rough's corpse. Her gaze remained on Scroll, who didn't dare say anything, knowing that what she said was true. He would never get the Hive to do him that favor.

"Mark my words, Mr. Wood. I will know if you go after the innocent, and if you do...the Wood family will cease to exist."

Illuminating her horn, Light Flare disappeared with a burst of light, making the magical auras of his guards disappear. Scroll took a while to get up, his eyes returning to the corpse of his son, and remembering the mare's words.
> Leave behind
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With a burst of white light, Light Flare appeared in the living room of her small cabin, breathing heavily. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down, to regain control of herself. Her mane, which had begun to move slowly, froze, but no matter how hard she tried, it did not return to a dull tone, and her eyes suffered the same fate. Despite the fact that she managed to eliminate the yellow color, the bright fuchsia remained, proof that her spirit and her fury, were present again, running through her veins with the same force as centuries ago. 

Her eyes focused on her hoof, the hoof she had worn to end Rough's life, still stained with blood. With a sigh, she ignited her horn and enveloped it in a magical aura that was no longer dull yellow, but now golden, reflecting that her long dormant power was now awaker. The blood began to evaporate little by little, disappearing from her fur, and as it did, the mare thought of what she had done as she let her instincts take control of her. Everything built in Sproutville was destroyed. She had partially lied to Scroll, it was true that the Hive would not waste their troops looking for her, as long as she left the village, because if she stayed there, the changelings would come for her. 

And she had also lied about knowing if he committed any injustice, she did not have a spell capable of doing that, but she knew very well the kind of pony the mayor was, unlike his son, he would obey her, as long as he believed there would be serious consequences. But to maintain that illusion, she had to leave before the changelings came for her. When the blood completely disappeared, she walked over to her kitchen table, taking her bag of bits out of her saddlebags, which she also took out of her body, and set it down on the wood before she walked over to her bedroom. Flashing her horn, she pushed aside her bed, revealing a trapdoor she hadn't opened in a long time. Opening it, inside she found a set of travel bags, much larger than the ones she had, but not quite an exploration kit. She was supposed to use it in about 5 or 7 years, but recent events forced her to go ahead.

Setting the saddlebags aside, she pulled out another object wrapped in a gold blanket, its color faded with time. Carefully, she unwrapped it, revealing an ancient book that told the history of Equestria. Making sure the warding spells were still active, she wrapped it back up, closing the trapdoor and walking away with the two items. Putting on the traveling saddlebags, she stows the bit bag, the book, and the smaller saddlebags, after a spell to make them even smaller, on the left side, then moving over to her kitchen cupboards. Taking out the moon tea bag, next to the teapot and cups, she put it away on the right side.

Once everything was ready, she went outside to the warehouse, where she began to place the rest of her harvest in her cart, anchoring herself to it before starting to leave the farm where she had lived for the last few years. As she advanced, she lit her horn, dousing all the torches until all was dark, her magic the only thing that lit her path. Light Flare began to walk along the dirt road that would lead to the town, trying to think of a place to be her next destination, a secluded place, where she would not raise suspicions, and if possible, a place where injustices were not an everyday problem, she doubted she could control herself now that her emotions were surfacing again.

Reaching the top of a hill, from which she could see Sproutville, she stopped, thinking. Who was she trying to fool? Currently in Equestria there was not a single place that did not have corruption and injustice, wherever she went, she would see all of that, it was only a matter of time before she would commit an act similar to what she had done again. Her brow furrowed slightly, if it wasn't for those damn changelings none of this would be happening, she wouldn't have to leave her farm, she could continue to ignore the suffering around her without the risk of her emotions getting out of control... and she wouldn't have the image of that ethereal mare in her dreams, further reminding her of her failure, past and present.

Those three had taken all that away from her, all in search of help that would not come... right? Light Flare sighed to herself, despite the hatred she had for them, she knew she had no choice but to follow them, what else was she going to do? She wasn't willing to reveal herself once more to the world, nor to become a savior, that was something that had been left in the past, but at least she could help them a little, a tip here, fight with an enemy there, just enough to satisfy her emotions a little. Still not convinced, she continued on her way to Sproutville, she still had something to do.

On her way she met some ponies, most of them running away, while others watched her from afar, either with fear or with admiration and gratitude. Light Flare walked by without paying them any attention, arriving at the market after a few minutes, quickly spotting Fair Trade at his stall. He was speaking quietly and nervously with Jewelry, who had apparently come out of her shop, and she was the first to see the unicorn, gesturing to her friend, who turned his head and looked at her with concern, approaching at a fast pace. His eyes lingered on her mane and her eyes for a few seconds, confused by their more vivid color, before refocusing on Light Flare.

"May I know what you have done?" he said in an alarmed whisper, his eyes sliding over the market.

"Eliminate a plague" Light Flare growled, her anger surging for a few seconds before fading again.

As Fair Trade looked at the mare in shock, Light Flare began to disengage from her carriage.

"A plague?" Fair said incredulously. "He was a pony, by all the gods!"

"To be fair, he kind of deserved it," Jewelry chimed in, but she trailed off at the look on Fair's face.

"We are nopony to decide that" his gaze went to Light Flare, who was heading to the back of her carriage. "That only belongs to the gods, not to us."

The mare glanced at Fair briefly before using her magic to unload the cargo from her cart.

"Are you listening to me?"

"This is what's left of my harvest" Light Flare said as dhe unloaded the last barrel, ignoring Fair. "Sell it, keep it or throw it away, I don't care what you do, I don't need it anymore."

"You leave?" Jewelry asked in disbelief.

Once again, Light Flare advanced without seeming to listen to her, returning to the front of her wagon. Just before buttoning up, she paused, thinking for a few seconds before looking at Jewelry.

"You told me that your husband had complained that his carriage broke down often, right?"

Jewelry blinked in confusion before slowly nodding.

"Yeah... honestly, I didn't think you even heard that..."

Light Flare didn't reply, instead backing away from the carriage, glancing briefly at the mare.

"Tell him he can have mine."

Jewelry widened her eyes before looking at the cart, her eyes returning to Light Flare. She was very confused at the time.

"Why are you doing this?" Fair asked, snapping the question out of Jewelry's mouth.

"I have to get out of Sproutville before the changelings come" Light Flare said with a shrug. "The cart and the harvest would get in my way."

"That's not what I meant" Fair growled, pointing with his hoof at the crop left behind by Light Flare. "That's what I mean. Why are you giving me your harvest? Why are you giving Jewelry your carriage?"

Light Flare was silent for a few seconds before shrugging.

“Because you are the only ponies who have agreed to help me and you have accepted me as I am, I guess you are…” Light Flare fell silent, her gaze darting straight ahead, her eyes lost in memories of a previous life. "I guess you are my friends..."

Jewelry looked at Fair for a few moments, studying Light Flare. In all the years they had known her, she had never called them that, never even called them acquaintances, but still, they couldn't disagree.

"I may never approve of what you've done today" Fair began with a frown, sighing a few seconds later. "But I'd be lying if I said what you've done won't bring a little peace to this town... as long as his father doesn't retaliate..."

"He won't, I made sure of it."

Fair looked up immediately, eyeing Light Flare suspiciously.

"Won't you...?" Jewelry began with hesitation.

"He's still alive, if that worries you."

Fair let out a sigh of relief that he didn't know he was holding, glancing back at the unicorn, who was starting to move.

"I don't know where you're going, but I wish you luck."

"And if you run into my husband out there, ask him for help if you need it" added Jewelry with a smile. "I'm sure he'd be happy to do it."

Light Flare walked a few steps before stopping thoughtfully, watching the two ponies.

"Thanks for everything."

"As you said, we are friends and friends take care of each other" Jewelry said with a slight smile.

Light Flare felt a stab of pain in her heart upon hearing those words, awakening forgotten memories trying to come back to the surface. Pushing all of that deeper into her mind, she nodded one last time at the two ponies she had come to think of as friends, and walked away, following the streets that would take her out of the town that had sheltered her for just over 20 years. The ponies watched her go, making no attempt to stop her, even the few guards who worked for the mayor who saw her, and though they gritted their teeth in fury, did nothing, word had spread of what she had done in no time. She at last reached the outskirts, and the mare walked down the dirt road that, long ago, she had taken to get there, and now she was using it to get away from it.

Light Flare walked for a while, having to shine her horn to see where she was going, and after almost half an hour, she came to a fork. In front of her, the path continued indefinitely, entering a frozen desert, thanks to the constant night, and to her right, was the so-called Dead Forest, an immense forest that, unlike others that were cared for, was, as its name indicated it, dead. Its trees lacked any kind of leaves, and its branches were skeletal, few animals lived there. After some more thought, the mare approached the edge of the trees. 

Once within inches of entering, Light Flare thought of the three changelings. Their leader, Tweezers, had told her they would wait for her there, but he didn't tell her where exactly. With a small growl, she turned off her horn, leaving her in complete darkness, barely illuminated by the moonlight, and she closed her eyes, concentrating on the inside of her, summoning a power she hardly used. never.

"Forgive me…sister…" she whispered before opening her eyes, which had changed.

Although her irises were still fuchsia, her pupils were now slanted, just like a cat's, but in a short time, they began to dilate, enlarging until they almost covered the entire sclera. Light Flare watched as the world lightened, the darkness receded, and, with a slight adjustment to her eyes, she began to detect traces of magic. Just as she expected, the trees were dark, empty of life, but in the air, further into the forest, there were three traces of green magic. After a few moments, the mare began to move forward and into the Dead Forest.



Everything was silent in the Dead Forest, not even the crickets were heard, the only ones that populated the forest were three changelings. They were resting in what in the past would have been a clearing full of flowers, but now nothing was growing. Their provisions were duly stored in their respective travel bags, which had been hidden with powerful concealment spells cast by the mage of the group. There was no fire or light source, their eyes were adapted to see in the dark, and since they had no need to keep warm thanks to their unique biology, which allowed them to stay hidden. Shell kept her eyes on the starry sky, though she occasionally glanced at her captain, Tweezers, who was staring intently at a map.

"You can speak your mind, Shell" said the changeling without taking his eyes off the map.

"I keep saying we should leave, as soon as possible."

"I told you, the hive won't miss three drones."

"What if they find out you infiltrated in his cell?" Sting intervened, although he seemed to be dozing, he was attentive to his surroundings. "Then we would be in trouble."

"They won't, I made sure of it. Besides, we have to take our chances, we won't be able to leave until she's here."

Shell growled to herself when Tweezers mentioned that mare.

"That mare almost broke your jaw, I don't know why you want her with us."

Tweezers looked up from the map and stared at Shell.

"Because she is The Princess of the Sun. Since we failed in our mission, she is our best chance."

"And what makes you think she's going to help us?" Shell questioned with a frown. "1000 years Tweezers, 1000 years doing nothing, why trust her?"

"He told us that she would help us, that was in her being, she can't help it."

Shell snorted in annoyance, rolling her eyes.

"If I remember correctly, the legends say that even when he was an ally of Equestria, he was a prankster and a liar. Do you really think he told you the truth?"

Tweezers was silent for a few moments, heaving a sigh to himself.

"I don't know…" he admitted at last, dropping his confident attitude. "Honestly, I'm guided more by hope than anything else."

Shell stared at Tweezers for a few more moments before sighing and looking away, letting the discussion end. Time passed slowly, with their captain planning their next move and his subordinates waiting patiently. In a moment, the changeling mare, who had closed her eyes and was beginning to doze off, suddenly perked up, alert, her horn slightly alight in a hue similar to the color of her chitin.

"Something happens?" Tweezers asked getting on alert.

"Something has crossed the magic field" Shell replied as she stood up.

Sting did the same, preparing for combat. Tweezers instead stared at the dead trees, trying to see something with his enhanced vision. After a few minutes, he saw a silhouette approaching, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Calm down, it's her" he said calmly.

His companions looked at each other doubtfully before relaxing their postures, though not without reservations. From among the trees, and out into the clearing, they saw Light Flare, and to the surprise of the three changelings, she was different from how they had seen her the last time. Not only did her mane and her eyes seem more alive, although the latter were extremely dilated, but a much more powerful magical aura emanated from her body.

Shell focused on the mare with a frown, trying to analyze her, and as she did, she noticed that the mare had hundreds of feelings on the surface, all of them trying to impose themselves on the others. Anger, indignation, hatred… but the most powerful, the strongest of all was, to her surprise, sadness, a sadness so deep that the changeling mare felt like a bottomless pit. Light Flare's head whipped around in her direction, a spark of anger in her eyes, and suddenly Shell couldn't feel a thing. Confused, the mare focused on the unicorn, who kept her gaze on her.

"I'd appreciate it if my feelings were kept private, thank you" she said with a small groan.

Shell took a few moments to nod, still shocked. She boasted that she could detect any emotion-concealing spell, that was one of the reasons she tracked down that mare in the first place, but now…now she couldn't feel anything coming from her. Tweezers stepped forward, facing Light Flare with a smile and beginning a small bow.

"Thank you for agreeing to help us, your highness..."

"NO."

Tweezers blinked in confusion before looking up, seeing Light Flare staring at him.

"DO NOT call me your highness, or princess, and do not bow to me either."

Tweezers nodded slowly as he stood up.

"Alright...uh...Celes..."

Light Flare growled even more, her hoof hitting the ground hard.

"Least of all call me THAT. That name is dead, my name is Light Flare, NOTHING ELSE."

Tweezers was silent for a few moments before nodding.

"Very well...Light Flare."

"And for the record, if I'm here it's because thanks to you I can't stay in Sproutville. I'm not going to save Equestria, but I can give you some advice."

Tweezers held Light Flare's gaze for a few more moments before nodding.

"As you wish... We'll be leaving in about two more hours."

Shell and Sting looked at each other, unsure what to do before returning to their resting positions, but not relaxing at all. Light Flare held Tweezers's gaze until the changeling could take no more, looking away and returning to the map. The mare glanced over the small group of three before settling down at the far end, her eyes drifting to the stars. She hadn't even been with them an hour and she was already regretting it.
> Fire bird
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group remained silent, Light Flare looking up at the starry sky and the changelings going about their business, although they couldn't help but glance at her from time to time. Tweezers averted his eyes from his map to her, still thinking of her words, she was only there because she couldn't stay in Sproutville anymore. He had to force himself not to smile at that, it was obvious to him because she had joined them, their visit had probably awakened something in her that had been asleep for a long time. Just tips? The changeling was looking forward to finding out how long it would be before she broke that rule.

Shell was the only one who didn't bother to hide that she was seeing Light Flare, a permanent frown on her face. She had punched Tweezers in the jaw, nearly broken it, denied them her help, and despite all of that, he had accepted her, and she seemed to take it more as a disgrace. Although a part of her still believed that she was not the Princess of the Sun, she could not deny all the evidence she had seen so far, and that only made her more suspicious of her. In her eyes, anycreature who has the ability to help others and chooses to ignore the suffering of the innocent would never be trustworthy.

"I already have our route" Tweezers said from his position, drawing the attention of his two companions.

As Sting and Shell approached their leader, Light Flare barely gave him a sidelong glance, turning her attention to the stars. Tweezers glanced at her before focusing on the map in front of him, pointing to a specific point.

"First we'll travel to Dodge City, from there we'll take the train to Appeloosa, refuel there with our contact, and take the train back to Ponyville..."

"Ponyville?" Sting said with a raised eyebrow.

Light Flare quickly looked away from the stars and focused on the three changelings, who were paying no attention to her at the moment.

"Yes, Ponyville, any problem?"

"Yeah, it's extremely guarded," Shell said with a frown. "And I don't know if you remember, but you need passes to get in."

"I have Government Changeling approved official passes."

"And what about her?" Shell asked, gesturing to Light Flare, who turned her gaze back to the sky, but kept her attention on the conversation.

"I'll figure something out, don't I always do it?"

"The last time you said that, we almost ended up getting eaten by a hydra in the Colosseum."

"It was only once, Sting, it won't happen again" Tweezers said with a roll of his eyes, returning his attention to the map. "Anyway, from Ponyville we'll go to Hollow Shades, from there we will go north and follow the pass through the mountains and head to the base. Now get things ready, we're leaving in twenty minutes."

Sting and Shell looked at each other for a few moments before they started packing up the few things they had outside. Tweezers looked at his companions for a few seconds before focusing on Light Flare, who had stopped paying attention to them. Seeing that the mare gave no sign of wanting to speak to them, he gave a small sigh before putting the map away in some saddlebags that he had next to him. Once they were ready, the group started to walk away, with the unicorn getting up for the first time and following from behind, not getting too close.

The four of them advanced through the Dead Forest, and after almost half an hour, emerged from its lifeless trees, heading for the desert that surrounded all of the changeling territory. None of them had lights on, their eyes dark-adapted, hiding them from prying eyes in case somepony, or someling, followed them. Light Flare paused for a few seconds to take one last look at the distant and almost indistinguishable form of Sproutville, sighing and following the changelings responsible for breaking her out of her rut.



They had traveled all day, marked by the watch Tweezers kept in his saddlebags, coming to a patch of desert littered with rocks, some small and some larger, large enough to offer cover from any potential storm that might rage in the wild, uncontrolled desert weather, with a few dead trees here and there, most fallen to the ground, lacking strong roots to support their weight. After half an hour spent among the rocks, the changeling leader decided that it was time to camp and get some sleep, so he approached one of the largest rocks, near which there was a skeletal tree that if it managed to stand up, and deciding that they were far enough away from the Hive, they built a fire to cook a small supper.

After gathering some firewood from the fallen trees, they lit the fire, on which they placed a small cauldron that they took from their luggage, all this done by the changelings, since Light Flare stayed lying on one side doing nothing, just watching the stars. Contrary to what might seem due to his size and his always frowning face, it was Sting who began to cook with the few vegetables he had, potatoes, carrots and two or three onions, while his companions walked away and rested a bit. After a while, a fairly pleasant smell filled the air, making the great red changeling smile, if there was something that filled him with pride, it was his cooking, even more than his strength.

"I hope you're hungry, because my vegetable stew is ready" he announced proudly.

"Finally, I was hungry," Shell said as she looked away from the sky and walked over to their luggage, taking out four plates, the last one after a moment's hesitation, and corresponding spoons, approaching her friend with a smile. "It's a shame we don't have peppers, it's delicious with them."

"And that's why I asked our contact for a ration of peppers," Tweezers chimed in with a small laugh as he approached too, smelling the aroma of stew. "Smells great, Sting."

"Did you doubt me, boss?"

With a wry smile, Sting filled the plates of his companions, and after hesitating a bit, he filled a third. With a small flash of red magic, a horn appeared on his head, enveloping the plate in a magical aura and drawing it closer to Light Flare, who looked away from the starry sky upon noticing it, eyeing the food for a few moments before focusing on the cook, who looked back at her.

"If our boss agrees to you being among us, then you have the right to eat our food."

Light Flare watched him for a few more seconds before wrapping the plate and spoon in her own magic, nodding at the changeling, who nodded back. Focusing back on the cauldron, he filled a plate for himself, noticing Tweezers' gaze out of the corner of his eye.

"What?"

"Nothing, I just like that you're accepting her."

"Make no mistake, boss, I still think it was a bad idea, but..." Sting shrugged, preparing his plate and looking at Tweezers "...you're the boss."

With that, he walked away and sat down next to Shell, starting to eat. Tweezers looked at his two companions before looking at Light Flare. The mare was focused on the silhouette of the moon, although from time to time he took a spoonful to her mouth. A small smile graced the changeling's face before he sat down next to his companions and began to eat too.



The hours passed slowly, and the three changelings took turns standing guard, as Tweezers did not want to risk being spotted by any wandering Hive patrol. With the fire out, the only thing that illuminated the night was the brightness of the moon and the distant stars, which Shell watched. It wasn't long before she had to wake up her friends and Light Flare, who, true to her attitude of the day before, made no sign of offering to stand guard. Despite the fact that her captain seemed to have faith that this behavior would change, both the mare and Sting believed that at the slightest opportunity, the unicorn would walk away from them forever.

Shell shifted her gaze from the stars to Light Flare, regarding her with a frown. Even though she knew it would be useless, she made sure that she was asleep before activating her base instincts and tries to analyze the mare, looking for any sign of that sentimental concealment spell, trusting that it would be weakened during sleep. After a few frustrating minutes, the changeling mare gave up, growling as she turned her gaze to the heavens.

"Couldn't resist, could you?"

Shell widened her eyes before looking at Light Flare, who had turned her head towards her, looking at her with a raised eyebrow, showing no signs of anger. After a few minutes, the mare shrugged, looking away from those pink eyes and different from those of a common pony, more typical of a thestral or felines, in the back of her mind, she wondered how she managed to change her eyes compared to the first time they saw her, a little less than a week ago.

"Until now I thought that no spell could be hidden from my sight, until I met you."

Light Flare watched Shell carefully for a few moments before shrugging her shoulders and turning to her saddlebag shortly after to start rummaging through them.

"And you're the first in a long time to force me to put more effort into my cloaking spell, so we're even."

Shell glanced sideways at the mare, and though she wasn't entirely convinced, she felt a small flicker of pride that she had been the first in many years to detect her spell. Light Flare managed to pull out a pot of tea, then eyed the changeling with a questioning look.

"Can you give me some water?"

Shell watched Light Flare for a few seconds before nodding and getting up, approaching the traveling bags they brought with them and, after rummaging around a bit, grabbed a canteen and handed it to the mare in her magical aura. The unicorn caught it in her own magic, filling the kettle with water before handing it back to the changeling and placing the full kettle on the pile of dead wood. Lighting her horn with a little more power, the fire erupted, coming to life, keeping the kettle on top of it to heat the water.

"You like tea?" Light Flare asked as, without taking her eyes off the kettle, she managed to get two cups out.

Scowling at the mare, Shell nodded slowly.

"Yes..."

Light Flare nodded, placing the cups on the floor, waiting to be filled. After a few minutes, the water began to boil, so the mare took the kettle off the heat, filling the cups. Putting the kettle down, she turned to her saddlebags and pulled out a good-sized bag, from which she in turn took out two tea bags, leaving one in each cup, and after grabbing two spoons, she handed one to Shell, who caught it gingerly in her magic. The changeling mare stared at the cup for a few moments before glancing at Light Flare, who had focused her gaze on the moon.

"Why?"

Light Flare gave Shell a sidelong glance before shrugging.

"You offered me your food, I think it's only fair that I offer you my tea."

Shell watched Light Flare for a few more moments before sighing and taking a small sip of her tea. Despite her initial reservations, it was pretty good, so she decided to relax, if only for a few moments. Silence filled the campsite, broken only by the newly lit fire, but as the minutes ticked by, the changeling frowned, her hearing becoming more acute. The crackle of the fire was loud, but her ears seemed to pick up another source of heat from somewhere else, with a fainter sound.

Looking around and concentrating on the distant crackling, Shell made another worrying observation, in the sky, quite a distance from them, there was a point of orange and reddish light, typical of the light produced by the fire, and it was fast approaching. Alarmed, she set her teacup aside and stood up, heading towards her companions.

"Tweezers, Sting, get up! Now!" she yelled as she shook her leader.

Tweezers blinked as he was jolted awake, trying to focus around him and looking at Shell, who had started shaking Sting.

"Shell...what's wrong?" he asked her, still with the effects of the dream, but waking up quickly.

"Something is coming!" shouted the mare as she pointed to a point in the sky.

Tweezers, rising to his hooves, followed Shell's hoof, his eyes widening as he saw the large creature approaching.

"Shell, create a shield around us!" he yelled as he got into a defensive position, watching the creature.

Sting, who had managed to wake up, looked at the fire creature, imitating Tweezers as Shell lit up her horn, creating a dome around the group, including Light Flare, who barely looked disturbed and continued to drink her tea. 

"What do we do?" Sting asked as he watched the creature get closer and closer.

"Nothing at the moment, if it's a wild animal, either it will ignore us, or it will give up when it sees that it can't get past the shield."

"And if it does?" Shell intervened doubtfully.

"She's not even going to try."

The three changelings focused on Light Flare, who seemed too calm.

"How are you so sure?" Tweezers asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I know her well, and of all of us here... she will only be interested in me."

The three changelings looked at each other doubtfully before looking at the creature, which had already gotten quite close. She circled them a couple of times before landing on the branch of the nearby dead tree, cawing with a power that almost seemed like a roar, and allowing the group to get a good look at her. She was a kind of bird, a huge bird, the size of an adult pony, with predominantly red feathers, and around her neck there was a ring of orange fire, further highlighting her head, crowned by three columns of fire that moved with force and contained power. She slightly spread wings were the same bright red, though the lower feathers seemed to be alight with flame. Her tail was different from that of any bird, it were three tongues of fire that reached almost to the ground, crackling and moving slightly. Tweezers took a long look at the bird before his eyes widened in comprehension.

"By the old gods... it's a phoenix."

"A phoenix?" Sting asked without taking his eyes off the bird. "I thought they were extinct."

"And that they were smaller" added Shell, adding a little more power to her shield, just in case.

The phoenix swept her gaze over the changelings before focusing on Light Flare, who had her back to her. Her golden eyes gleamed with power before she opened her beak and let out another squawk, one that sounded very furious. Tweezers eyed the bird warily before slowly shifting his eyes to the lying mare.

"Are you absolutely sure it won't try to break the shield?"

"Yeah, she's not interested in any of you."

The three changelings looked at each other doubtfully before looking back at the phoenix, who once again roared that mighty caw.

"He seems angry" Shell said uneasily.

"She" emphasized Light Flare, taking a sip of tea. "And I already knows she seems angry, but you don't have to worry, she'll get tired and leave."

"Are you sure about that?" Sting asked, not trusting her words at all.

"Yes, that's how it's been for centuries, over and over again... Sometimes I wonder if one day she'll get the point or she'll continue like this for the rest of eternity" the mare muttered to herself.

After an incredibly tense few minutes, the phoenix finally let go of her furious chant, spreading her wings before taking flight, darting away and, with a powerful flash of light, vanishing, confusing the changelings somewhat. Shell held the shield up for a few more moments before shutting it down, at which point she looked at Light Flare, who didn't seem the least bit affected by what had happened.

"Okay, what was that?"

Light Flare glanced over her shoulder at the changeling mare, turning her attention to the distant moon.

"A memory from my past that I can't get rid of."

"Is that thing going to follow us all the time?" Sting asked doubtfully, his gaze on the last spot the bird had been.

"Yes, but she knows how to stay hidden when necessary" answered Light Flare with a shrug. "If she showed up here it's because she knows you're not a threat to her. So don't worry about her showing up in the middle of some city or something."

Tweezers looked at his two companions before stepping forward with a slight frown.

"You should have warned us."

"And how would I know then if you know how to act quickly in the face of a possible threat?" Light Flare asked looking over her shoulder at Tweezers, her eyes sparkling for a second with some amusement. "Congratulations, you have passed the test. Some tea to celebrate?"

Tweezers stared at the mare, who had stopped paying attention to him and looked at the teapot. After a few moments, she put it back on the fire, ignoring Sting's annoyed growl as he lay down again. Despite the shock, the pale green changeling was relieved that it had been just that, a shock. Dropping onto his paws, he settled down to rest a bit before starting off again, and if he was being honest, the idea of ​​tea wasn't such a bad idea.
> Conversations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few days had passed since the appearance of the phoenix, who appeared every morning since then, and although at first the changelings were not very comfortable, they eventually got used to it and accepted that the bird was not going to attack them (although the three remained alert just in case). That day, they had walked for hours, with only a break for lunch, and at last, they climbed a small hill, from which they could see Dodge City, a small city that had large stands of trees, maintained by various conservation spells, and which were the main source of income for its inhabitants. But what was most striking was the small changeling structure to the east of the city.

"We've arrived," Tweezers announced as he surveyed the city, focusing on the small hive. "We can rest and sleep in the inn or take the train directly, I leave you that option."

"I don't feel comfortable sleeping with those parasites around," Sting growled. "I vote to take the train now, we'll rest there."

"Shell?"

The mare was silent for a few moments before looking at Tweezers.

"If the main hive has detected that you infiltrated in his cell, they will have informed the secondary hives. It is best to leave now."

Tweezers nodded before wrapping his body in greenish fire, and as it disappeared, in his place was a pony. It was a unicorn with fur the same color as its chitin, and its mane taking on the color its shell had once had, and with a cutie mark that represented a compass. His gaze flicked slightly to Light Flare, who was more focused on the hive, before he spoke.

"Alright, it's settled, let's take the train."

His two companions nodded before changing as well. Shell became a unicorn mare, her fur and mane taking on the colors of her chitin and carapace, and with a cutie mark that represented an open book from which some sparks of magic came out. Sting imitated his two friends, only he became an earth pony and with a cutie mark that showed a cauldron full of vegetables. Once disguised, the four descended the hill and approached the town, arriving in a short time at one of its main streets, lit by several torches. There were few ponies outside, as they were home at that time, although there were still a few open shops.

Light Flare swept her gaze around the various venues with minimal curiosity, memories returning to her mind. This had been her home before Sproutville, she wondered if there was still somepony who remembered her, most likely they were old by now, but it was still a possibility. That was why under normal circumstances she would have passed Dodge City, but since she was traveling with three changelings who did not have enough provisions for that, and even if they did she seriously doubted they would want to pass the town, she had no choice but to take that risk.

Her gaze lingered on one store in particular, one that had been there when she lived in Dodge City, but kept drawing her attention. It was a relatively small store that sold almost exclusively products made from the town's star resource, cherries. On the sign you could read its name, Cherries, Flim & Flam company. Despite the small spark of anger at seeing those names, she quickly looked away from it and followed the three disguised changelings. After a few minutes, they arrived at the train station, with a few tracks for incoming and outgoing trains, one ready to leave for the West, a covered space with several benches so that passengers could sit, with a few already waiting for the next train, and a small glassed-in booth where you could buy tickets.

"Wait here."

Tweezers walked over to the window, through which an earth pony stallion could be seen staring boredly at the ceiling, at least until a unicorn appeared at the edge of his vision, concentrating entirely on him.

"Hello" said Tweezers with a friendly smile. "I'd like to purchase four tickets to Appleloosa, please."

The pony shifted his gaze from the unicorn to the three ponies behind him, his eyes lingering longer on the mare in that body-covering robe, before turning his attention back to the customer at the window.

"Appleloosa... Are you aware that this town is in Emperor Tirek's territory?"

"That's right, we won't be staying more than a day, we're just passing through. Soon we'll be back in Her Majesty's kingdom" Tweezers replied with a bigger smile, making the pony look at him with a raised eyebrow before shrugging. 

"Very well, but I must still give you some warnings, company policy. You must have your Changeling Nationality Documents with you at all times, otherwise the Centaur Army soldiers could arrest you for illegally possessing magic on his territory."

"We are aware, we have our documents in order."

"In that case, it will be 20 bits, please."

Tweezers nodded as he rummaged through his large travel bags, managing to pull out a small bag of bits and, counting out the correct amount, set it on the counter. The pony scooped them up through the small gap available and, after a few minutes, handed back four tickets.

"You came on time, the train will leave in about fifteen minutes."

Tweezers nodded and grabbed the tickets in his magic, giving him one last friendly smile before walking away to his companions.

"The train will take a while to arrive, so I suggest not drawing too much attention to yourself."

"Hey, you know me, I'm stealth itself" Sting joked before going to sit on one of the benches.

Tweezers couldn't help but smile before focusing on Shell, who was staring at him with a look he knew.

"What happens now?"

"I remind you that our new partner does not have any CND. What do you plan to do if she is arrested?"

"I'll take care of that, I know how to take care of myself."

Shell and Tweezers turned to see Light Flare, who had walked a little way to the edge of the station and was looking out at the empty streets of the town. The mare looked at her leader before focusing on the unicorn.

"Are you sure?"

Light Flare turned her head and stared at Shell, nodding soon after and looking back at the stars.

"If I couldn't take care of myself, I wouldn't have stayed hidden for so long."

Tweezers took a long look at Light Flare before nodding, looking at Shell.

"Be prepared, the train won't take much longer to leave."

Saying that, the costumed unicorn walked away from the two mares and sat down next to Sting, waiting patiently. Shell watched them for a few moments before focusing on Light Flare, and with a sigh, she moved closer. She sat next to her and watched the quiet streets of Dodge City, the crackle of fire in the torches the only thing breaking that silence. Inevitably, her gaze drifted to the changeling hive in the city, towering over the rest of the buildings but not nearly as imposing as the main Hive.

"No matter where I go in changeling territory, there's always one of those things."

Light Flare glanced sideways at Shell before focusing on the hive, nodding slowly.

"I know, it's in every pony settlement in this part of Equestria. Even the most insignificant."

Shell fell silent, her eyes drifting to Light Flare, a question stuck on the tip of her tongue.

"Were you... were you here when those hives didn't exist?"

Light Flare was silent for a long time before speaking.

"Yes... there was even a time when changelings were just a legend, a myth" a small amused smile appeared on her face. "I still remember the scholars discussing who came first, the changelings or the vampires."

"So I guess we were always monsters to the ponies," Shell muttered, looking down at the ground.

Light Flare looked at the mare next to her, her shoulders slightly slumped, her ears flat on her head, and a frown on her face. A long-forgotten memory of a similar conversation came back to her.

I will always be a monster to ponies.

Light Flare closed her eyes tightly, feeling a knot in her heart as she recalled that conversation. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she focused her gaze on Shell, unable to help her heart feel a little sympathy for her.

"Maybe" she said, causing Shell to look at her with a raised eyebrow, but Light Flare already had her gaze fixed on the stars. "Ponies are fearful by nature, now more than ever. But I've lived long enough to see them accept just about any creature with open hooves, even if their kind weren't the... kindest."

"At least none of those creatures have enslaved them and treated them like cattle" Shell replied with a frown.

"No, but the question is..." Light Flare fixed her gaze on the mare beside her. "Will you let that be the only image the ponies see of you? A cruel and selfish being who views ponies as cattle? Or will you try to show them that you are so much more than your kind?"

Shell looked at Light Flare carefully before sighing and looking away.

"I wish it was that easy, but it isn't, I know. There are ponies who will never accept us."

"Would you rather give up and let them hate you?"

Shell frowned and stared at Light Flare at that.

"I'm not giving up, I'm just accepting reality."

"Accepting reality is another way of saying you give up" commented Light Flare as she turned her gaze to the starry sky. "You'll hurt yourself if you keep doing that."

Shell felt rage explode inside her. She wasn't a coward to give up at the first opportunity, and to make matters worse, that stupid mare was calling her a coward and lecturing her…with the things she was making of her. And that was beyond her tolerance limit.

"I don't think you're the best pony to say that... princess."

Despite the dangerous gleam in the mare's eyes, which sent a chill through her body, Shell held her ground, getting up and walking away to join her friends. After a few moments watching her over her shoulder, Light Flare managed to calm down, turning her gaze to the moon as she thought about what had happened. Did she really have the right to tell her that?

You've always been good at giving advice, but you've never stood out for following it.

Light Flare squeezed her eyes shut as the memory came back to her. Another different conversation, the same mare. Opening her eyes again, she gazed up at the moon as the last words she said to Shell were repeated over and over again.

Accepting reality is another way of saying you give up.
> Appleloosa
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The landscape was moving quickly in the window, the few sand dunes, the occasional rocks, everything passed by at great speed. Light Flare observed this from her seat, next to her was Shell, who had decided to take a short nap, having enough space to lie down without disturbing her traveling companion. Across the hall were Tweezers and Sting, the former looking at the scenery that the window next to him showed, and the latter humming a little tune as he thought about his stuff.

The interior of the train was illuminated by various lights that were powered by magical crystals, a valuable resource, especially in Emperor Tirek's territory. There were few passengers with them, something normal, because although the darkness was constant and the moon always ruled the skies, few liked to travel at that time, they preferred to rest and sleep at home. Those who did were either ponies who had gotten a leave of absence from their jobs to visit their loved ones, or had traveled in search of some product they needed, or were working far from their hometowns.

At last, Appleloosa's silhouette began to be seen in the distance, getting bigger and bigger as time passed. A trip that would have taken days on hoof from Dodge City had taken only an hour and a half by train. After a few more minutes, the vehicle began to stop, so many passengers began to get up, including Sting and Tweezers, the latter approaching to wake up Shell. Once everypony was ready, and when the train finally stopped, they went out to the town station. This was considerably larger than the one in Dodge City, with many more spaces for trains that had destinations at various important points throughout Emperor Tirek's territory and other destinations in the Changeling Kingdom.

"Come on, our contact's house isn't far," Tweezers informed as he started off, followed by his companions.

Light Flare surveyed the city with vague interest. It had been many, many years since she had passed through Appleloosa, but her stay there would not be something she would easily forget. After about twenty minutes of walking through the silent streets barely lit by a few torches, they arrived at a simple two-story wooden house. Tweezers approached the door and knocked several times, lowering his hoof and waiting patiently until, at last, the door opened slightly and a unicorn stallion with gray fur and a black mane appeared through the small opening, looking at his guest suspiciously before recognizing his face.

"Ah, Destiny, it's you," he said, a smile spreading across his face and opening the door wide, his gaze moving to the rest of the group. "Come in, come in, feel at home."

The four entered the modest dwelling and left their luggage on the floor, and despite its simplicity, it was larger than the house that Light Flare had had, something that was not very difficult to overcome either. There were several sofas and armchairs arranged for the ponies to sit comfortably, to the right was the kitchen, which had a large table to accommodate guests, and a staircase at the far end that led to the second floor, all illuminated by several lamps powered by magic crystals. The mare looked inside with vague interest before focusing on the unicorn, who, like all ponies native to Emperor Tirek's territory, lacked a cutie mark, something caused by the absence of magic in his body. Despite that, the stallion didn't seem affected by that detail, turning to observe the group with a smile.

"How did your mission to the territory of those bugs go?"

Light Flare couldn't help but notice the hateful tone in the word bugs. Her eyes subtly strayed to Shell who looked away from her host, but other than that, she showed no further discomfort.

"Sort of, Gray" Tweezers said with a shrug, unaffected by the unicorn's attitude. "We were unable to rescue our target."

"That's what you get for trusting a bug. I always tell you, all those bugs are treacherous."

"Yeah…" Tweezers said, keeping his true feelings hidden from him. "But at least we found somepony who will join our cause."

Tweezers gaze went to Light Flare, who couldn't help but snort at that, but otherwise remained silent. The eyes of the apparently named Gray focused on the mare he didn't know, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Really? And who is she?"

"Just a friend we met along the way" Tweezers said with a reassuring smile.

Gray looked at him for a few moments, before shrugging.

"Any friend of yours is my friend...as long as they're not one of those bugs" Gray said before approaching Light Flare with a smile and hoof raised to shake her. "Delighted, Gray Apple."

Light Flare's frown deepened at the name.

"An Apple rejecting his friendship with the changelings? I thought your family was the friendliest in the Three Kingdoms."

Gray frowned at that, lowering his hoof slowly. Out of the corner of her eye, Light Flare watched her companions stare at her with wide eyes.

"And we're friendly, with the creatures that deserve it, and those critters don't deserve friendship."

"If I recall correctly, there is a rogue hive that supports the resistance. Don't they deserve friendship?"

"None of those critters deserve friendship, not even the ones who claim to support us. As soon as they can, they will betray us."

"Do you have proof of that?" asked Light Flare with a raised eyebrow.

"Is it necessary? Those bugs are monsters."

"If that's what you really think, you would put your ancestors to shame."

Gray felt his blood boil with pure rage at hearing that. With a barely suppressed growl of fury, he inched closer to Light Flare.

"What the hell do you know about my ancestors?"

Light Flare watched Gray silently, the distant memory of one mare in particular coming to her.

If what you say is true, then you are my friend.

Light Flare blocked out the memory, keeping her gaze on Gray, not responding. After a few moments, the stallion snorted furiously and turned his back on her.

"You have your rooms as usual," he said, his gaze lingering on Shell. "Your room still has that extra bed, I hope you don't mind sharing it, Book Star."

"Don't worry, it's not something that keeps me up at night."

Despite her words, Light Flare noticed the look Book Star gave her, but kept silent. Gray nodded and continued on his way, stopping to look at Tweezers.

"Choose your friends wisely... or you could have an upset."

Without waiting for an answer, the owner of the house went up the stairs, leaving them alone. Once they heard the door to his room close, the three disguised changelings looked at Light Flare with angry eyes.

"May I know why you did that?" Shell hissed. "He's the only contact we have in Appleloosa, we can't risk losing him."

"Is that why you put up with his insults and slander?" Light Flare asked, looking around the three of them.

"We can't force him to change his mind," Tweezers said with a frown.

Light Flare watched him for a few moments before starting to walk, deciding to keep quiet, and brushed past him to head up the stairs, ignoring the stares from the three changelings. The moment she placed a hoof on the first step, Tweezers stepped forward.

"Please try not to tease him anymore."

Light Flare didn't even bother to look at him as she headed up the stairs, leaving the three changelings alone.

"You know she's not going to listen to you, right?"

"And what do you want me to do, Sting?" Tweezers said with a tired sigh, turning to look at the two of them. "She is not under my orders."

"And what do we do?" Shell replied with a frown."Hope she listens to you and our only contact in Appleloosa doesn't kick us out of here?"

"Yes."

The word hung in the air for a few more moments, letting the changelings take it in. After a few minutes, the three began to walk, heading to their rooms.



Light Flare walked through a field of flowers, illuminated by the light of the moon and the stars, absolute silence, at least almost absolute. A sinister whisper began to be heard, causing the mare to turn towards the fountain, but without finding anything. Despite that, the mare chose to ignore it and continued to advance, slowly, little by little, the landscape around her changed until it became a dark forest that barely let in the moonlight, forcing her to use her horn to light the way.

The trees surrounded her, creating shapes in the shadows, and the whisper grew louder, trying to get her attention, but Light Flare continued to ignore it, and after what seemed like hours of wandering in total darkness, she came to a clear, illuminated by the moon, allowing her to turn off her horn. The mare allowed herself to sit in the middle of the clearing, observing the heavenly body and the stars that accompanied it. After several minutes, the silence in the clearing was broken by the same sinister voice, taking on more force and making her words understandable.

"So much power... hidden and wasted" said the voice from the shadows, a voice that Light Flare knew.

"You are not real."

"I am very real... and you know it" said the voice.

Light Flare turned her head, seeing something in the shadows of the trees, slanted eyes with irises that glowed gold and pupils as black as the darkness around them.

"Look at you... once loved and respected... praised as a goddess... and now they barely remember your name."

"I'm not a goddess, and I don't want to be treated like one."

The voice fell silent. Light Flare turned to the moon, wanting to avoid her gaze.

"I admit it... your will is stronger... our sister was easier to corrupt."

"Don't you dare mention her," Light Flare growled, looking over her shoulder at her, her eyes turned as golden as the eyes that watched her.

"Do I not have the right?" the voice asked. "We are both the same being..."

"You're lying, you're just a nightmare that will vanish when I wake up" replied the mare, seeing the moon again.

"Do you really want to fool yourself?"

Silence was the only answer. Her eyes remained on Light Flare, studying her.

"You've killed a pony... willingly... that's a step forward."

Fire erupted on the ground, briefly illuminating the figure of an impossibly tall unicorn mare with a sharp horn. Tongues of fire began to spread towards Light Flare, who turned her head to look at her.

"Your shield has cracked... Light Flare... I will soon be able to pass through and take control."

Light Flare turned and faced the approaching fire, looking into those eyes full of hate and evil.

"Don't worry... I will avenge our sister... and free the ponies from their suffering."

Fire began to surround Light Flare, cutting off any means of escape.

"And from the ashes of the Three Kingdoms... will rise a new Empire... one in which I will be properly worshiped."

The fire began to get closer to her, soon it would reach her hooves.

"Don't worry... Celestia... your ponies will be safe with me..." The figure of the unicorn began to emerge from the shadows, revealing a pair of majestic wings. "You just have to surrender... and give me control... surrender to my power..."

Light Flare stared at the dark being in front of her with a slight frown, but no real interest. The moment the fire touched her hooves, she ignited her horn and generated a golden energy field that spread around her, extinguishing the flames, and upon reaching the mysterious mare, the reduced to mere ashes. The last she heard from her was a scream of agony and fury, and soon the clearing was silent. The unicorn looked at the place where that dark spirit had been, turning to look at the moon, listening to a faint whisper that would soon disappear.

"You can't seal me forever... Light Flare."

Light Flare woke up abruptly, staring at the ceiling, still remembering the dream she just had. It was rare for her to dream of her, but due to recent events, she knew it was only a matter of time before she saw her in her dreams. With a sigh, she turned her head to see Shell lying on the other bed in the room and sleeping peacefully. She closed her eyes slightly and concentrated, and after a few moments, she got up without needing to put on her robe, since she had slept with it. 

Grabbing her saddlebag and, careful not to wake her roommate, she went out into the hall and carefully closed the door, down the stairs to the first floor and from there to the kitchen, where she lit the magic lamps. She took the kettle and, after filling it at the sink, which had running water, she placed it on the stove, activating the magic crystal to generate a small flame and begin to boil the water. She took out the tea bag and checked that she still had enough for a breakfast of five.

"May I know what you're do?"

Light Flare looked over her shoulder at the pony who had spoken to her, Gray, who was frowning slightly.

"Some tea," she said, looking back at the pot. "Is prohibited?"

"No, but they usually ask my permission before using my kitchen."

"In that case, you can have a cup if you like."

"No thanks, I don't like tea, they always make it disgusting."

"Perhaps you haven't met somecreature who knows how to make good tea yet."

"You mean somepony."

"No, I said it right" Light Flare stared at Gray. "All thinking creatures are capable of making good tea."

Gray frowned some more at that, but sat down at the table.

"We'll see."

Light Flare watched him a little longer before concentrating on the teapot. When it started to boil, she poured two cups, taken from her saddlebags, placing two tea bags, and sat down at the table, handing a cup to Gray, who caught it between his hooves, unlike the mare, who used her magic. Still a little wary, the earth pony took a sip of the drink, and instantly his face relaxed a bit.

"Well, tea is acceptable, but I still don't like it at all, I'm more of a coffee pony."

Light Flare shrugged at that, taking a sip from her cup.

"You can leave it then, somepony else will drink it."

"I don't like to leave things half done, besides, it's the first tea that doesn't make me gag" Gray replied, taking his own sip of it, staring at Light Flare. "And... I'm still waiting for an apology."

Light Flare looked up and regarded the stallion with a raised eyebrow, showing no signs of wanting to speak. After a few minutes, Gray growled to himself before pointing accusingly at the mare.

"You know, because of how you talked to me yesterday."

"I don't see anything worthy of an apology" replied Light Flare. 

"I disagree." Gray put the teacup aside and leaned across the table, staring at Light Flare. "I remind you that you insinuated that my ancestors would be ashamed of me. I think that is worthy of an apology."

Light Flare was silent, not deigning to answer, she wasn't even paying attention to him. Gray frowned even more, eyeing the mare suspiciously.

"I have given you shelter, even though you insulted me, and when I ask you to apologize, you refuse to speak to me."

"I can't make an apology for something that's true."

Gray gave a small groan, watching as Light Flare sipped her tea, deliberately ignoring him. Before he could reply, he heard the sound of hooves behind him, and turning, he saw the one he knew as Destiny, approaching with a worried face.

"Something happened?"

Gray watched him for a while, focusing on Light Flare for a few seconds before getting up, his gaze lingering on his teacup before turning to Tweezers.

"I have to go to work, and when I get back, I want her out of my house" he said with a frown.

"Why?" Tweezers asked, already suspecting the answer.

"Because that mare has insulted me in my own house, because I don't trust her and because I have a feeling that she could be one of those bugs."

"She is not..."

"I have an instinct for these things," Gray interrupted in a confident tone. "Besides, why else would she defend those insects?"

Tweezers fell silent, sparing his opinions. Gray watched him a little longer before heading to the door.

"You and your group are still welcome, but I don't want to see that mare again in my life" Gray paused at the door, thinking for a few moments before turning to look at Tweezers. "You be honest with me, is she a changeling?"

"No."

"Would you tell me if she was?"

Tweezers was silent for almost a full minute before nodding.

"Yes... you're my friend, aren't you?"

"Sure" Gray said with a shrug. "Give my regards to the others and have a good trip."

"Take care, Gray."

The stallion nodded and left the house, leaving the two of them alone. After a few seconds, Tweezers turned to look at Light Flare, who had placed her mug on the table and was staring at him.

"You say that he is your friend, and yet you lie to him."

"If I didn't, he wouldn't even talk to me," Tweezers replied with a shrug.

He walked over to the table and sat down across from the mare, staring at her. Light Flare raised an eyebrow in his direction, lifting the cup back into her magic.

"Are you mad at me?"

"A little, but it's not like I can do anything, right? You're not going to obey me if you don't want to."

"No."

Tweezers nodded, his gaze resting on the cup left by Gray, taking hold of it in his magic.

"Did you make him some tea?"

"Yeah, too bad he left it."

"Guess he didn't want to drink tea made by a would-be changeling," Tweezers muttered as he sipped from the cup, humming approvingly.

"Why are you his friend then?"

Tweezers looked up and saw Light Flare, who was staring at him. After a few moments of hesitation, he shrugged.

"Although it may not seem like it, behind all this hatred of my race, there is a good pony who would give his life for his friends."

"And what will happen the day he finds out what you are?"

"I can only think of two possibilities, either he disowns us and hates us, or he will finally discover that his ideas were wrong" Tweezers looked at his cup for a few moments before focusing on Light Flare. "But why do you care now? You didn't care about us for a millennium."

"I never said I didn't care" replied Light Flare. "I said I was ignoring you."

"What changed then?"

Light Flare was silent for a few moments, looking away from Tweezers and looking at her cup.

"I do not know..."

The two fell silent after that, each lost in thought. The image of a mare with dark fur, a starry mane and white eyes appeared in Light Flare's mind, staring at her.

You have forgotten who you are...