> My Little Pony: Azure's Wrath
>  by The Grimm Reaper
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Wrath Is Born From My Desires
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I felt constricted as I awoke. My eyes were groggy, but not for long as I saw what lay before me. I was facing downward, strapped to a cold metal bench that lifted me higher above the dead and colourless bodies of other ponies. In the background, I could hear thumping, like pressing machines working at an accelerated rate. There was a thump, followed by what sounded like the hissing of a changeling.
I looked around, wide awake now. The first thing I saw was darkness trying to cover the rainbow of colours in the distance. Ponies wearing white bloodstained coats were travelling between work stations. I called out to them all, asking what was going on. Only one replied. Covered in blood, it would have been impossible to tell who the pony was were I to somehow see them in public. I could tell he was male by the sound of his voice and the shape of his body.
“Welcome to the ‘Rainbow Factory’, Azure.” his voice rang throughout my body and the sudden twist of his head revealed to me why that was the case. He was a unicorn, one of two kinds of ponies who could produce and harness magic.
“What is this madness? Release me immediately.” I shouted at him, but his smile just appeared from behind the darkness and he shook his head slowly.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Azure. You see, now that you’ve witnessed the outcome of our subjects below, we can’t let you leave.”
I growled at him. Of course I’d have witnessed them; I was hanging from the bench. The unicorn just laughed and turned to one of the workers.
“Begin.” he commanded. The worker nodded with a blank and emotionless expression on her face; clearly, working here numbed everypony’s feelings toward life and death. I watched as the worker pulled on a lever and the bench I was against rotated upright. A mechanical arm appeared, brandishing a long, thin blade at the end. I knew exactly where this was headed. I turned to the stallion and yelled at him.
“I’ll get you for this. Even in death I will not rest until you’re dead.”
The stallion seemed amused and nodded at me.
“I’ll live with the consequences.” he replied, pressing a button on the workbench. The arm before me thrust forward and I was met by a sharp pain in my chest. I gasped, losing all feeling in my body except around where the blade had entered. I looked down at it, seeing a nozzle draining me of my blood. It was attached to the blade. It started out slowly at first. But something else cut its way even further into me and occupied a space near my heart. The blood began to drain even quicker and I watched as the colour on my body, once a beautiful hazel colour, turned grey. My Cutie Mark faded slightly and distorted like a chalk scene left out in the rain. Once an azure fire symbol, it was now an orb of maroon. My eyes began to roll back into my head and I searched desperately inside my failing mind for something that would force me to remain alive. I figured my family would be enough to keep me conscious, but I grew frightened as I forgot who they were. The pain became all I knew. The fear of having forgotten my wife and daughter brought me back.
I saw a mirror resting a few hooves away from me. The stallion wanted me to watch myself slip away. As the pain-filled tears filled my eyes, the image of glistening eyes registered in my mind.
“Bright Eyes.” I exclaimed, letting out a gasp afterwards. They were my last words as the blood in my body was depleted. My heart stopped and the final thought in my head was the image of my little girl: Bright Eyes. I felt relieved to have remembered her name in the end.

The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by white. There was a sinister chuckle in the background, usually the kind of chuckle used when a prank was being pulled. It wasn’t the Unicorn’s chuckle, but somepony else’s. I looked myself over. I was my usual hazel self, my azure fire symbol as clear as day.
“Where am I?” I called out. The chuckle changed to a bemused laugh.
“Where does anypony go when they die?” The manner in which he laughed brought to mind a clown. I looked around for the owner of the voice, wanting to put a face to it.
“Welcome to the afterlife, Azure. You’re dead.” a flash of light impossibly brighter than the whiteness surrounding me revealed a strange creature. I recognised him immediately. It was Discord, the spirit of Chaos and Disharmony.
“Discord? What are you doing here? You’re not dead, you’re just trapped. Discord chuckled once again and waved his chimera’s finger at me.
“You know my title, Azure, so you figure it out. I am the Spirit of Chaos. The important word being ‘spirit’. While I am trapped physically in Celestia’s private Garden, spiritually, I reign free. Think of the statue as a closed gate. I can’t possess more than one body at a time in a physical realm. But enough about me, I brought you here for a reason.” I didn’t pay much attention to his description of the spiritual and physical plains, but his last words interested me.
“So this isn’t the afterlife after all? You wouldn’t need to bring me to the afterlife if I were dead.” I knew I was right when Discord smiled at me.
“You got me, I knew I chose the right pony. You’re quite right, you’re not dead, just in a comatose state. It’s kind of like REM sleep, only you can’t be awoken from the outside.” he floated around me in a circle, resting his head on his hand.
“What do you want of me?” I asked. Discord laughed and back flipped in the air, holding his stomach.
“I want so many things, Azure, but from you, nothing.” I was brought aback by his response. If he didn’t want anything from me, then why keep me alive? Or did I somehow survive naturally?
“Then– what?” I asked, wanting clarity. Discord approached me, twisting and slithering like a snake in the air.
“I’m going to give you something, Azure. Something only two other ponies possess. My condition is that you put on a good show for me. I don’t expect you to do my job, which also happens to be my passion, oh no. No, I’m going to give you the power to get revenge on those in the Rainbow Factory. Would you like that?”
His question was so simple, but I found myself lost. I didn’t remember anything. I was going to address this problem, but he tapped my head and I found myself back at the Factory. The mechanical arm was headed toward me, but time had slowed down to a snail’s pace. I began to wonder why I wanted to remain conscious for such a thing. The answer ‘To live’ registered in my mind. Why did I want to live? The scene around me vanished like ripples in the water. There was white for a moment, and then I found myself standing in front of my wife – Ocean Heart. She was an Aqua coloured mare with an ocean blue mane. She was lying back in our bed, holding something in her hooves. She smiled at me and gently turned the bundle around, revealing a creamy coloured filly with light violet eyes.
“This is my girl.” I choked, tears coming to my eyes. I reached out my hooves to touch her. She looked at me with a curious expression. Then she began to cry. I stopped in my tracks and looked at her, confused as to what to do. Ocean Heart did nothing to stop her, but waited for me.
“Say her name, dear.” she said, giving me a smile. I looked down at my daughter once again and let a tear fall onto her face. She stopped crying and looked up at me with those beautiful eyes.
“Bright Eyes.” I said.

I snapped out of my trance and found myself back in the whiteness with Discord. He was giving me a quizzical look. When he moved to lean closer to me, everything came flooding back. I yelled at the top of my voice, feeling as though I were being flooded with water. I continued to yell longer than I should have, as though all the pain I’d felt in my life was exploding from within. Even with my voice screaming as loud as it was, I could hear Discord chuckling.
“Oops. I guess I underestimated your desire for revenge. You could be more powerful than me, Azure.” he disappeared into the whiteness, which turned to black afterwards. I continued to yell as loud and as high as I could. I felt like I was going to die all over again. The stab wound began to hurt again and my colour faded once more. My cutie mark turned into the maroon orb and I found myself unable to move. I snapped open my eyes and found myself lying on my back, the familiar sounds of thumping and hissing sounding in the background. I felt cold around me and at the same time, softness. I moved my eyes to the left to see a grey hoof sticking upward. To my right I saw the face of a mare who wore the expression of sadness and fear. It was the same expression I remembered seeing on Bright Eyes’ face when I went to hold her for the first time. I looked directly upward and saw the same procedure I had gone through happening to another pony. The screaming of a mare was unmistakable.
	
> Chapter 2: Wrath Takes Many Forms
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I listened to everything that shouldn’t exist; tortured screams, the sound of the factory, the silence beside and beneath me, even my own heartbeat. I tried to move my hooves again, but they wouldn’t budge. My body was dead, but my heart and mind weren’t. I looked down at myself and tried once again to force movement into my hooves. To my surprise, they were shaking as though I had been tied down. With the memory of Bright Eyes still fresh in my mind, I struggled harder and harder to stand to my feet.
I yelled again in unison with the screams coming from above. Slowly but surely, I managed to roll over onto one of the corpses and lift myself up. I felt as though I were being weighed down by a minotaur as I struggled to remain standing above a recently murdered mare. I looked into her cold dead eyes and listened to the screams from above. I imagined what this mare sounded like when it was her turn. She seemed so innocent, even with her terrified expression forever planted on her face.
I looked toward where the latest victim was being tortured and drained of blood and colour.
“Is this the true nature of Equestria; to hide death and destruction under the guise of a business? I won’t stand for this. It spits on the name of everything the Princesses worked for.” The mare above fell from the bench, limp as a doll. I stood directly beneath her, unmoving. I felt her weight add to mine instantly and my legs began to wobble. She was barely alive as her raspy breath slowed quickly. I looked her in the eye which she returned. Hers was a look of hatred and fear.
“You leave them to me… I swear I’ll get revenge for everypony in this pit.” She continued to look at me and her fearful eyes changed to reassured. She struggled to lean her head against mine.
“In the name of our Princesses, I will eliminate this factory. But for now, I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.” I heard a little whimper escape her, followed by two small words:
“Thank you.”

I lay her to rest where I had once been and closed her eyes. Her expression was one of relief as she knew she wouldn’t die alone. She was the only pony in this heap of bodies that looked settled and content.
“If this is the future, then I want nothing to do with it.” As I spoke, small balls of light emerged from the corpses, floating around me. I could see them; the souls of the ponies who had suffered at the hooves of the factory. They surrounded me, taking on transparent forms of their bodies and giving me empathetic looks of anger. They closed in and enveloped me, unicorns, earth ponies and Pegasi alike, entering me from every direction. I felt them all intrude upon me and settle in my soul. The last one was the pony I’d reassured. She smiled as she recognised me. But she did not enter my soul, but rather, she rested within my eyes. They burned for a few seconds, then cleared themselves of all darkness and dreariness.
I felt the pain of the stabwound once again and decided it was time to leave. A noise sounded from above, like a monotonous buzz. I then felt the pile of bodies begin to shift, light creaked through whatever gaps were available. The floor was opening. I considered my options. I could have fallen with the bodies and used them to break the undoubtedly high fall that was to come, or I could find something to stand on that wouldn’t fall down, and wait for the floor to close again before searching for another exit.
I wanted to go for the latter option, but my legs were caught in the compressed bodies that were squeezing together as they struggled to get out of the pit. With no other option left to me, I allowed myself to become encased is a protective cocoon of bodies. I felt myself falling with the others, the weightlessness somehow familiar to me. Perhaps it was the fall from the bench, though I couldn’t discern how that would be the familiarity, as I had been technically dead, or unconscious at the time.
My fear began to rise as light started to reach my eyes. The dead bodies that were supposed to protect me were breaking apart. I tried pulling more of them closer, but my reach was severely limited thanks to the open wound on my chest, which throbbed with a sharp burning as the edges opened up. Combining that with the airy pressure that was hitting me as I fell, my body began to retreat on itself.
“This can’t be it. I won’t let this chance go to waste.” I heard a noise and a flash of light reached the corners of my eyes. I looked behind me and saw what appeared to be wings. But they weren’t like any wings I’d seen before. A metal plate was attached to my shoulder blade, which also joined to a metallic, brass coloured wing bone. Branching out from that bone was a thin metal net of the same colour as my pelt that took on the form of a wing membrane, small rods extended at the back to act as Primary and Secondary flights. The same design was on my other side with the same metal plate on my shoulder.
“M-metal wings?” With little time to question their existence, I tried to use them to escape the quickly approaching ground. To my surprise, I felt a propelling force from my new ligaments, and the sound of a strong fire from behind. I looked behind me again as I levelled off and realised that the wings weren’t flapping, but acted as little more than a gliding device. What propelled me were small exhausts from the ends of Primary Flights. I was unable to find the source of the fire, but I had little time to consider the science behind it as I noticed a familiar body falling above me. I grew angry as her body was disturbed once more.
“How many times must I lay her to rest?” I used my newfound wings to reach the calmed mare. I caught her easily enough and I took her far from the cloud of falling bodies. I looked back and noticed that they were heading for a lake. A clever place to dump bodies as that particular lake was connected to the ocean through a tunnel. All it took was a shift in the tide for the bodies to be flushed through the tunnel and lost at sea. I knew that I couldn’t allow this innocent mare to join the rest of the unfortunate. I didn’t understand why I felt such an attachment to this particular pony, but it didn’t matter. I managed to land somewhat gracefully in the depths of the Everfree forest. My hooves burned slightly at the long skid that I made and my wound had split even further apart, stinging like a Timber wolf had his claw in it and was digging around for my heart. I placed my catch on the ground gently, making sure not to disturb her still calm expression, and then I proceeded to dig a hole roughly her size.
“You’ve been through so much. You deserve at least this much.” I gently placed her in the hole, fixing her position to make her seem more comfortable, despite the fact she was unable to feel anything anymore. As I was about to place the first pile of dirt over her, I suddenly realised why I favoured her over the others. Though her colours were different, she bore a striking resemblance to Ocean Heart. Her expression was exactly the same.  I dropped the dirt over her body and began to bury her, saving her face for last. I patted the dirt pile and took a wall of bark from a tree and gently carved Celestia’s symbol on it. Inside the sun symbol, was Luna’s Crescent moon carved on one side.
Satisfied with my work, I shoved the bark into the head of the pile and laid some flowers over the grave. With the desire to give the mare rest, I looked up into the sky and yelled as loud as I could for as long as I could.
Too many have died at the hooves of those in that Celestia forsaken factory. As a loyal servant of the Princesses, it is my duty to obliterate the Rainbow Factory. If not for the Princesses, then for Bright Eyes. I can’t bear the thought of her in that hellish place. My mind travelled between my desire to destroy those involved with the factory and my primary desire to protect the only family I had left.
I wondered where I needed to go next in order to gain information about the factory’s employees as well as receive medical aid, and perhaps answers relating to my new wings. As memory served, Ponyville was the closest  place to the Everfree  Forest and between it and the factory. The Library was the best bet for answers to the questions I had, and the hospital was what I required for my wounds.
“No, I can’t. Not only might I be endangering more ponies, but the possibility remains that Ponyville is in cahoots with them.” I growled in frustration as I made my way towards the village. As I walked, it dawned upon me that the Librarian there was Celestia’s student, Miss Twilight Sparkle.
“Yes. If anypony can help me, it would be her. And of course, somepony of her prestige would have medical knowledge among other things. She might be able to aid with all three problems.” With that in mind, I picked up the pace.
The Everfree forest was rumoured to be a dangerous and creepy place, what with the weather changing of its own accord and the wildlife being different to what one would find anywhere else in Equestria. Such a rumour was ill proven as the wildlife kept well clear of me throughout the trek to the edge. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being followed. I wrote it off as natural predators too scared to attack me. Why that was the case, I didn’t know. Perhaps it was my slight connection to Discord that caused them to distance themselves.

Ponyville was a sight for sore eyes as I heard the lively humdrum of its inhabitants from the forest edge. I went to take a step forward to exit the forest entirely when I felt a sharp pang coming from my heart. My body stopped in its tracks and I fell to the ground, motionless. I began breathing heavily and I realised that I’d over exerted myself in such a short amount of time. A heart attack. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and I lost all sense of consciousness.
Bright Eyes.
	
> Chapter 3: Wrath Leads To Infamy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	My body felt tighter at first. It was an uncomfortable feeling that caused me to want to squirm around. The instant I did, I felt a pulling at my wound. My eyes shot open and I looked down. My chest wound had been stitched closed, very well.
I didn’t do that. I looked around and noticed that I was on a makeshift couch made of wood, leaves and animal furs. That was the source of my constriction as I noticed I was lying on my hooves. I felt lighter than before and angled my head towards my wings which had vanished without a trace. Thoughts of all shapes and sizes entered my mind and I felt a rush of panic as I looked around the area. I was in a hut of sorts; no, a house with walls of sturdy wooden construction. I recognised the wood to be that of the trees in the Everfree. It became clear to me that one of the many things that followed me had dragged me back inside. But they’d helped me.
The makeshift home was dark, save for the small fire in the wall cleverly fitted with rocks so as to avoid the fire spreading beyond its desired location.
“I saw you fall from the Factory.” a voice called from behind the couch. I turned my head quickly to look at my aid, but the motion pulled at my stitches, forcing me to turn back. I groaned in pain and squinted my eyes shut.
“You’re the first survivor I’ve seen since…” the voice trailed off. It broke slightly as it spoke, revealing the voice to belong to a female roughly two, maybe three years younger than myself. A door opened, letting in some natural light. The sudden flash burned my retinas and I fidgeted about, trying to escape the evil sunlight.
“Shut the door, quickly.” the mare’s voice called out. A lighter voice replied with a quick collection of apologies as she complied with the original mare’s command. The light faded and I felt relief envelop my eyes. I went to speak, hoping to address them and reveal them for who they were, but when I projected my voice, all I could hear was silent gurgling.
“Your body is dehydrated. I’m surprised you’re able to move so easily.” the first mare said. A bowl of water entered my view and I saw the slight hint of a turquoise coloured hoof. It looked dishevelled as it retreated back into the darkness. I slowly drank the water that was placed in front of me, holding back the sudden urge to chug it as the liquid made me realise just how thirsty I was. When I’d finished, I tested my voice again. My throat seemed fine if not a little sore.
“Where am I?” I knew I was still in the forest, but where in the forest was my question.
“A hideout in the Everfree forest. This place has been our home for nearly a year now. We’ve done our best to fashion living areas inside. We went so far as to construct walls and floors made of the wood of other trees in the Everfree.” the lighter voice reminded me of Bright Eyes and my eyes snapped open.
“Why did you bring me here?” I stumbled to my hooves and backed around to the opposite side of the fire. Trying my best to ignore the stinging from my stitches, I searched around for my saviours. Or perhaps they were more than they seemed.
“You undoubtedly want to get revenge on Cloudsdale and its Rainbow Factory. We want it all gone. I was loyal to the floating city once, but events changed my point of view.” the older of the two mares spoke. I detected a hint of guilt in her voice.
“Who are you?” silence was my response. My perception of time slowed down, making the moments that passed seem like minutes. Finally, a reply sounded in the darkness, followed by their approach. In the fire, I saw a young filly with a bright orange coat and a royal purple mane and tail. To her left was a slightly older mare with scars coating her turquoise pelt. Her mane and tail were of a particular menagerie of colours. I then remembered hearing about this particular pony throughout my term as Captain of the Royal Guard and afterward in idle gossip in Canterlot.
“You’re Rainbow Dash, the fastest mare  in Equestria. You were also the first pony to turn down the offer to become a Wonderbolt for reasons you never revealed.” My surprise showed in my voice. Rainbow Dash nodded with a mixture of solemness and pain. The filly beside her reached out a hoof and rubbed the renowned rainbow mare, who leaned into it.
“Yes, I am. And this is Scootaloo. She saved my life and my soul.” I dropped my guard as I watched the two practically hold each other in their arms. I wondered if this was what it would have looked like if Ocean Heart were holding Bright Eyes. Painful memories and fantasies brought me back to reality.
“That doesn’t matter.” My words caught their attention. “I need to find Twilight Sparkle. If not her, then perhaps her assistant. Spike, I think his name is. I need to get a message to Princess Celestia, or perhaps Luna.” A huff from Scootaloo halted my demands.
“You think we didn’t try and expose the Factory? We sent letters through Spike, but somehow she never received them.” Rainbow Dash sighed as Scootaloo explained the situation.
“We think they’ve found some way of interfering with Spike’s deliveries. And there’d be no point sending a letter the old fashioned way. They have ponies working on the inside of the mail system. Ditzy Doo’s one such pony.” Scootaloo shuddered at the thought.
“And she used to give me muffins.” Despite the rambling, I growled at nopony in particular.
“That unicorn.” I muttered. The two mares’ ears flicked, indicating they’d heard me.
“Unicorn? What unicorn?” Rainbow Dash seemed to take an interest in that bit of information.
“From what I could tell, he was the one in charge. He seemed to know me personally, but I couldn’t recognise him. How a Unicorn could walk on Clouds is beyond me.”
“Then they have an advantage.” Scootaloo interrupted me once more.
“Huh?”
“The new Manager of the Rainbow Factory knows who you are, but we don’t.” she clarified. I felt hesitation reach me. There was a moment’s pause as I contemplated revealing myself to the two. Ultimately, my mind told me to do so, taking on the form of Discord’s voice. Why I’d decided to use his voice baffled me to no end.
“My name is… Azure. I was the Captain of the Royal Guard before Shining Armour. Who I believe is Twilight’s older Brother.” Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo seemed surprised.
“What?” I demanded. They both gave me a look as if to say they didn’t believe me.
“You don’t look anything like your poster.” Rainbow Dash said. She escaped into the darkness once again, leaving Scootaloo and me standing around the fire. We heard rummaging sounds from afar, then the heavy hoofsteps of the rainbow mare as she approached, revealing an old poster of me in my youth and a mirror.
“I don’t understand, I can’t have changed that much in seven years.” I looked at the poster first, but as she flashed the mirror in my direction, a pair of bright glowing orbs drew me towards it. My surprise at what I saw was beyond comprehention. I froze, looking at the unfamiliar stallion in the mirror. His coat and mane were grey and the eyes, oh the eyes. It was as if my pupils and irises were removed and replaced with a white light. I didn’t move as Rainbow Dash removed the mirror from my sight. Scootaloo went so far as to wave her hoof in my face, but I didn’t stir.
“I think we broke him.” she said in a mock humorous tone. Rainbow Dash returned with another bowl of water.
“Better he find out here, than in public. Sometimes the extent of madness depends on where one is. If he were back at his home, he’d probably be screaming. Whereas here, there’s no point because nopony can hear him this far in the forest.” Scootaloo gave Rainbow Dash a disbelieving look.
“Have you been reading Twilight’s books again?” she asked.
“I’ve little else to do while I wait for an opportunity to reveal myself to the public without the fear of the Rainbow Factory catching me, haven’t I?” she gave Scootaloo a raised brow as she spoke. The young filly just kicked at her hooves.
“An opportunity which has just frozen in front of us.” she added. For the first time since I’d left to pick Bright Eyes up from school the day I was captured, I heard a laugh. Discord didn’t count.
“So we’re going to help him destroy the Rainbow Factory?” Rainbow Dash smiled with a glimmer of hope in her eyes and nodded.
“That’s right, kiddo.” she replied with a tomboyish personality that seemed to better suit her than the depression she was radiating.
“And when it’s all over, I’ll adopt you. Just like you always wanted.” Scootaloo blushed slightly, breaking eye contact with her friend.
“I heard you in your sleep the night we escaped. You were dreaming about your past desires.” Scootaloo’s face reddened, making her face look like a peach with a bunch of purple leaves on top.
I then remembered Discord’s statement about him watching me wreak vengeance upon the factory, and the slight hint of my rage spreading beyond Cloudsdale’s dark side crept upon me like a spider. What if I prevent their goal? I snapped out of my frozen state and looked upon the two now focused ponies.
“I can’t use you… unless your resolve is as great as mine. What would you give for this?” The two ponies looked at each other, their confusion emanating like an aura.
“Are you willing to die for this?” I clarified. To my surprise, they both nodded without hesitation.
“We learned the night we escaped the factory that we couldn’t live without each other. At the very least, we want to die together, and not at the hooves of those in that hellish place.” Rainbow Dash proceeded to hold Scootaloo tightly in her arms. I thought of Bright Eyes at that moment, and to hide the pain I felt, I grew an angry expression.
“Good. All I need from you two is to find out who works at the Factory and perhaps discover who the unicorn is. Leave the rest to me.” I placed my hoof over my wound and lightly pressed against it.
	
> Chapter 4: Wrath Coats Itself In Many Masks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I stayed with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo for the next few days as they gave me the details relating to the Rainbow Factory. They were reluctant to reveal their personal encounter with the factory, and I was not about to let them know more than they needed to. My life was my own and the trust between us was tied together by our mutual hatred of the topic of discussion. Beyond that, we were as strangers, having heard of each other through idle gossip.
Scootaloo tended to act as a maid around the house, taking care of Rainbow Dash. She even went so far as to rub lotion over her scars, which clearly pained her. My curiosity toward those scars crept up on me, but I was not about to intrude on a matter that in the greater scheme of things, didn’t interest me. The relationship between the three of us was shaky and the slightest hint of betrayal from either of us would shatter it.
“I went to Twilight first when we made it out and she did everything in her power, short of going to Princess Celestia personally, uninvited. That unicorn you mentioned must be blocking any messages related to the factory from reaching either Princess.” Scootaloo offered me a drink as if we were in a restaurant. Still thirsty from earlier, I accepted. My knowledge of pleasantries had vanished along with my colour and personality as I failed to thank her for the drink. A failure she clearly noticed when she walked away with a slight anger to her stride.
“I still wish to talk to her. I have something I’d like her to do. Something I don’t feel I would be able to do without it turning out horribly.” Rainbow Dash seemed interested in my hint towards a personal matter.
“What’s that?” I contemplated telling her, asking myself the obvious questions. Should I tell her? Would telling her compromise the safety of my daughter? Why does she want to know? Will the factory find out?
“I want her to check up on somepony, and perhaps keep an eye out for them.” I replied.
“Who?” I said no more on the matter, which bred an uncomfortable silence. I wondered what else I could say that didn’t involve my daughter, that would also interest her. Then it came to me.
“I also hear that she’s familiar with a spirit called Discord.” it interested me to see her eyes widen in obvious fear and surprise.
“What about Discord?” Her tone suggested that she did not like him, nor the mere mention of him. I hesitated to respond. Her unease grew as I just stared, observing her discomfort. Clearly, Discord was something that was not to be reckoned with. But how did she know him? Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle. Those two names linked together brought on another little piece of gossip that interested me.
“I see now. You’re one of the Elements of Harmony, Loyalty. I never would have guessed that you were the same pony. So, you imprisoned Discord five years ago. Good, that proves you’ll be of more use than a host to a hideout.” Rainbow Dash rose to her hooves, which forced me to do the same.
“I haven’t been an element for a long time. And don’t you question my usefulness. I’ve got a lot of tricks up my sleeve that I plan to use against the Factory.” I’d hit a nerve.
“Then why have you not implemented these tricks? Unless you still work for them?” Rainbow Dash faltered.
“I-I…”
“What has stopped you from doing everything in your power to take down that Celestia forsaken place? Are you still loyal to Cloudsdale? Do you no longer care to prevent other ponies from going through what we have? What has stopped you?” I was pressing an answer I knew she didn’t want to give. Fortunately, my will to protect Bright Eyes gave me the push I needed to go where other ponies wouldn’t dare tread.
“Maybe you’re lying to Scootaloo. Perhaps you’re still with them and you’re trying to lure her and me into a false sense of security. Perhaps you’re just being cruel to Scootaloo, and you’re waiting for the right time to slit her throat.” Rainbow Dash didn’t hesitate to throw a punch. Her whole body in fact. She lunged at me over the fire. We crashed on the couch and struggled against each other. I could tell she was weak, and given my scar, so was I. Tear drops hit my face as she struggled to get past my defense.
“She’s scared of that place. That’s why I haven’t carried out my plans. I can’t do it myself because she’s scared I’ll leave her alone one way or another. I can’t abandon her and I won’t.” She didn’t let up her onslaught as she spoke, but I’d dropped my defence. I allowed her to strike me as many times as she saw fit. Her punches didn’t hurt. Other than my wound, I couldn’t feel anything. I brought my eyes over to where Scootaloo had stood, frozen at the spectacle before her. Rainbow Dash stopped her attacks and looked over to her younger friend.
“Scoots.” Rainbow Dash choked. Scootaloo had tears streaming down her face, visible from the light the fire gave off.
“Does that make me a burden?” she asked, her voice choking up afterward. Rainbow Dash didn’t reply. She was as petrified as her companion. So I spoke up instead.
“No, it makes you both weak-willed.” I threw the Pegasus off of me and rose to my full height. The stitches on my wound stretched, giving me slight pain around my heart.
“But that changes nothing. Like I said; I just need names. The rest is for me to do on my own.” Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo looked at me. Their trust in me was wonkier than before. I’d broken their defences and now they weren’t sure what to do with themselves. We all knew next to nothing about each other, but I had the advantage.
I towered over them as they huddled together. I could see how much they loved each other, how much they wanted to be together in whatever way they could. Like me, they had something to live for. But I could never obtain what I continued to live for. Discord had made sure of that. All I could do was make sure that the Rainbow Factory couldn’t obtain it either.
“Take me to Twilight, now.”

Ponyville was a lively place to say the least. Stallions and mares were getting together in the spring season of romance. My first thought was why this didn’t remind me of when I’d met Ocean Heart.
I received odd glances from the ponies that passed us, which came as no surprise, especially when we three were the only ones wearing hooded cloaks. We did our best to avoid the local law enforcement, coming across a few close encounters a few too many times.
“How much further is it?” I asked Rainbow Dash, Irritably. She turned to me and slammed me against the wall, doing likewise with Scootaloo before joining us. A police stallion strolled by, whistling a tune as he spun his nightstick with his unicorn magic. I held my breath, waiting for him to notice us. To my delight and surprise, he failed in that prospect.
“Cops are pretty dim in Ponyville. We’ve the lowest crime rate, so their senses aren’t as… attuned to stuff as other cops may be.”
“Attuned to stuff? What is happening to you from behind and how can we make it stop?” Rainbow Dash blushed for the first time since we’d met.
“I’m tired, leave me alone. Hiding doesn’t exactly give a girl time to exercise.” Scootaloo watched us argue with mild amusement compared to the previous day.
“Actually, I’d have thought that hiding would give you plenty of chances to exercise when running.” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, taking to the air. She hovered over me.
“You wanna fight me again?” she boasted. I grinned under my hood.
“And is this the Rainbow Dash I can expect to see when I bring down the factory?” Scootaloo giggled as she grabbed her partner’s hoof and lowered her back to the ground.
“Got a problem with my real personality?” the Pegasus asked with a slightly gruff tone. I allowed a chuckle to escape me.
“Oh no, it’s quite charming. Almost makes me forget about the forest.” I walked ahead, removing my cloak. With my eyes closed, I feigned blindness as I reached a paw in front of me.
“What are you doing?” the two mares said in unison, only to be stopped as a stranger approached.
“Oh my. Good sir, are you lost? How can I assist you?” I smiled and turned my head toward the voice.
“Oh, thank you kindly, ma’am. I’m afraid I lost my helper along the way here. I was heading to the Library. I thought I might ask the local Librarian for a few books in Braille coding.” I feigned my original personality. What was once who I was seemed now to be as foreign to me as a Gryphon who didn’t eat meat.
“Oh, well let me help you good sir. I happen to be best friends with our Librarian. Her name’s Twilight Sparkle. She’s also the number one pupil of our Princess Celestia.” I smiled as she began striking up a conversation.
“Oh, I’ve heard of her. Yes, I’d hoped to meet her, actually. It involves a rather private matter.” The mare who helped me gave a rather kindly and seemingly practiced chuckle.
“I see. Well Twilight is your mare. If it’s magic related, then she’s definitely the one you want to see. She’s the most talented magician in all of Equestria. And I’m not boasting my friend, sir, oh no. Her powers could rival her brother, Shining Armour.” I chuckled as she tried to sell her friend to me.
“In any case, it’s very kind of you to help me, miss…”
“Oh, how rude of me. My name is Rarity. I’m the local seamstress here in Ponyville. If you ever need any kind of clothing for any occasion, then come and see me. I design clothes fit for Canterlot Nobility. And you, Darling, would look fabulous in something in a navy blue. I don’t often go for those colours, but I believe you’d pull it off. I’d also recommend a mane cut.” I listened with practiced interest as she regaled her fashion tips like the fashionistas in Canterlot. The probability of her originating from either there or Manehattan was very high. But to ask her such a question would not only have been imposing her personal history, but also a waste of time as in my mind, time was short.
“Well, here we are, sir. Ponyville Library. Home to Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s faithful student.” Rarity said chirpily . I opened my eyes and turned to the mare, smiling sweetly.
“Thank you ever so much, young lady. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were the so called Element of Generosity.” I remarked. I watched as she stared into my eyes with wonder.
“Generosity, not Kindness?” she mused. I grinned at her and looked her directly in the eye.
“Generosity and Kindness are intertwined, Rarity. I know you to be generous because you took it upon yourself to give up your time to help a pony you didn’t even know find the Library. Such a thing is akin to both aspects of Harmony.” I dropped my façade as I spoke, retaining my smile for the sake of impression. She seemed unsure about me now I had revealed my sight to her.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Not yet, Rarity. Perhaps later. I still need to know if I can trust Twilight, let alone anypony else.” I stepped through the Library, leaving the white unicorn to stir her thoughts around outside. The bell above the door gave a little jingle and I was almost immediately greeted by a lavender unicorn I knew of very well.
“Hello, welcome to Ponyville! This is the Lirbary, and I’m your humble host,–“
“Twilight Sparkle, yes, I know.” Twilight dropped her introductory acting and squinted at me as if trying to see something within my body.
“You look familiar, have I seen you around Ponyville before?” I couldn’t help but smile at the mare.
“Shining Armour spoke very highly of you, Twilight, and I can see why. I look nothing like I did last time you saw me and even then it was a passing glance as you walked by my office door.” Twilight seemed confused as she tried to piece together where she’d seen him before, yet he’d said that he looked nothing like he used to.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t see it, who are you?” she asked. I stopped smiling and looked over to one of the books in the history section. One book in particular had an image of me standing beside my whole team, Shining Armour included. An even older book showed Shining and me with another unicorn standing mischievously beside one another in the middle of another team photograph.
“I’ll never forget the way your brother acted when he told Spiral Edge and I that he had a little sister. He showed the whole team pictures of you just after you were born. He told us he took the pictures himself and he didn’t have the decency to wait until the nurses put a towel around you.” I laughed as I recalled the day. “Those were the only nude pictures I ever let my team look at inside castle grounds.” I tossed the book with the picture of the three of us during our cadet years to her. She caught it with her magic and looked upon it. She gasped and I watched as the book lost the magenta glow around it and fell to the ground.
“Sun Azure?” she asked, still unsure as to who I am.
“Got it in on, Twiley.” I replied, using her brother’s nickname to validate my story. She dropped to her haunches as she looked upon me with horror.
“What… bu… how…who did this to you?” I abandoned what remained of my old self as I approached her.
“That’s something I don’t know, but desperately want to. And I need your help Twilight. You’re the only one I can trust so far. I’ve had to manipulate my way here, and while I feel I may have an ally of interest, I still don’t trust her.”
“Who is she?” Twilight asked, gathering her notepad and quill. So she truly is dexterous to a fault.
“You know her, I believe. Rainbow Dash.” Like with the picture book, the pad and quill both joined it on the ground.
“Rainbow Dash is alive?” she asked with more calm than I would have expected from such a reaction.
“Yes, but badly scarred. She’s been living in the Everfree with Scootaloo.” Twilight exhaled with relief.
“Thank goodness. All this time I thought they’d been killed on their way home in a freak accident involving a badly timed storm. Wait, you said she was scarred… by what?” she asked.
I informed Twilight of what I knew about the Rainbow Factory. It was common knowledge that ponies possessed the colours of every rainbow, but the way I described it made it sound like the reverse which wasn’t far wrong. By the time I had finished my own story, including the burying of the mare that looked like my wife, Twilight was petrified with tears streaming down her eyes and her hoof to her face.
“To the best of my knowledge, a similar event occurred with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. We’re not very forthcoming with each other’s experiences or pasts.” Twilight shook her head, trying not to believe what I was saying, but my appearance was proof of it. I half expected her to throw me out so she could fool herself into the lie that was disbelief. I heard the door open behind me and close exactly one second later. The huff and puff of two mares, one older and the other quite young reached my ears and I knew my allies had arrived.
“That’s what I get for calling the cops in Ponyville lazy. I swear, some day when this is all over, I’m gonna teach you how to fly, Scoots.” I watched as Twilight’s eyes widened at the sound of Rainbow Dash’s voice. She tried to speak, but her voice broke before she could muster anything coherent. It almost sounded like she was in pain and was trying very hard not to cry out. I imagined Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo both looked toward us as they heard Twilight’s pitiful croaks.
“What took you?” I asked, reverting to my defensive demeanour. Suddenly, a cloak was thrown at me followed by very sarcastic words.
“Your cloak, dear!” I growled at her.
“Do you want your teeth back, Auntie?” I retorted. I heard Dash growl loudly at me before dropping the ball altogether and addressing Twilight.
“Twilight, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you I was alive. At the time I thought the workers at the factory knew where I was and that I was alive, and I was afraid to make contact with any of you in case they went after you to get me.” she said.
“Wise move.” I commented, receiving a mild look of appreciation. Twilight began to blubber like a filly before throwing herself at the cyan Pegasus, crying her heart out. I remembered the feeling when Shining Armour and I had lost our closest friend, Spiral Edge.