Prologue:

Firefly

The unrelenting wind buffeted my face with sand, it’s grainy and annoying texture brushed through my mane and felt as if it was piercing the skin under my fur. I made the mistake of opening my wings to try to fly, the useful appendages immediately caught the wind and threw me backwards. I had the strange, spinning sensation ponies get when they fall then I felt my back hit the sand. I covered the top of my eyes, then opened them, seeing sand blowing over me in what looked to be a never ending torrent, the scorching sun beamed down, but was shrouded by the sandstorm.

“Well shit...” I cursed, spitting out some of the grinding sand in my mouth.

I knew this had been a stupid idea, I should have never listened to Thunder Cloud or Roaring Rain. They had dared me to fly into a sandstorm for fifty bits, and who in tartarus was I to not accept? I mean, fifty bits could get me quite a lot.

I sighed, “Money isn’t everything, Firefly.” I spoke my mother’s words, she had told me that countless times, and yet I still get into things like this.

I brought myself to my hooves and ran towards the way I had been going, hearing a louder and louder hurricane of laughter. I had to admit, I started laughing too once I broke out of the wall of the sandstorm, dropping at the hooves of a laughing stallion. A dark blue hoof helped me up and dragged me away from the sandstorm.

“Holy shit, Firefly, I didn’t think you could do that!” Roaring Rain said.

“Well, I did.” I said, looking around, “Where did Thunder Cloud get off to?” I asked.

He made a sour-looking face. “Um, he said he would be back in a few minutes, he was going to... uh, get the money we owe you.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, but disregarded it. “I’ll just go meet him!” I said cheerfully, spreading my wings for flight.

“Wait!” He called out suddenly, making me tuck my wings back down. “He... uh, was acting really weird, I think he might be proposing today!” He said.

I felt my heart skip a beat, Thunder Cloud and I had been dating for a little over a year now, everything had been running smoothly. I thought of his dreamy, golden eyes, his smooth, ash coat and soft, thundercloud-black mane. I felt my wings flare out again and I took off, I had to see him.

I unconsciously flew across town with a wide smile on my face, if there was a thermometer for happiness and you measured me with it, the meter would break.  I stared straight ahead, never giving a glance to the sand and mud built homes. To me, it was normal, to others from across the world, it would be different.

I stopped over the large house at the end of Haynolulu street, looking in the ceiling window that would show down to Thunder Cloud’s bedroom.

What I saw there, would stay in my heart forever.

At first I thought he was just standing on top of his bed, but as I flew closer, I saw another face, another face I recognized from High School

Mercedes Sapphire.

On top of her, rutting her like there was no tomorrow, was Thunder Cloud, my coltfriend.  Not her coltfriend, my coltfriend.

I felt tears well up in my eyes, my vision blurred for a few moments.  When I opened my eyes again, she had her bright blue eyes opened, as well as her mouth, staring up at me.

It took a few seconds for Thunder to realize what she was doing, then he also looked up, staring up at me.

Tears were like liquid fire, burning my eyes.

I dropped down to the front door, taking his spare keys he had given me and swung the door open.  It felt like every step I took up the stairs I was growing hotter and hotter with fury.

He opened the door before I got up the stairs. Looking at me with frightened eyes.

“Firefly, I-”

I pushed past him, entering his bedroom and coming face-to-face with Mercedes.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

Her lipstick looked like it had just been redone, I was determined to knock the smirk right off of her face, but I pushed past her too, exhaling deeply.

“I’ve come to get my things.” I said. “Then I’m leaving.” As much as I hated my own words, I knew I would achieve nothing with violence, it was over between us.

I started grabbing a few things that were mine when Thunder came up behind me, putting a hoof on my shoulder.

“Sweetie, please, don’t do this.” Thunder said imploringly.

I didn’t speak, but I whipped his hoof off rather forcefully with my wing.

“Firefly.” He demanded, spinning me around and holding my shoulders.

“Let go of me.” I said, trying to back up, but only finding myself against a wall.

He grasped one of my wings with his own, massaging the base of it and sending a tingling sensation into my spine.

“C’mon, baby, you know I love you.” He said, increasing pressure on my wing.

Mercedes flicked her hair impatiently in the background, mumbling something to herself.

“Stop.” I said, twisting his wing in an awkward position.

He took his foreleg and raised me up on the wall, holding it under my chin.  My hindlegs were just touching the ground enough to keep me from choking, but he raised a bit more, lifting me completely off the ground.

“You aren’t going anywhere.” He said, “You were nothing until I took you in, you didn’t have friends, you were on the streets for fuck’s sake.”

I remembered my foalhood, moving from house to house, I remembered when we had to leave dad. I remembered ending up here.  Meeting Thunder Cloud and his friends in high school.  He did take me in, he pretty much supported my mother and me.

I felt instinct take over my body, I realized that I was choking, suffocating against his grip.

I looked at his wing in my wing, the closeness of my hindlegs to his stallionhood, then his muzzle, then I reacted.

First, I delivered a ball-breaking kick to his stallionhood, he dropped me and backed up a few hooves. Next, I twisted his wing with my own, doing a frontflip over him and twisting the flying appendage until it was bent backwards and I heard a menacing pop! Finally, as he fell onto his right, holding his now broken wing, I spun around and blew him onto his bad wing with a skull-shattering kick to his temple.

I took a silent breath, grabbed my leather jacket from his closet and walked out, pushing the starstruck Mercedes out of the way.

I stared into the mirror, my room was lit by four candles, my pink fur still had bits of sand in it, as well as my purple-blue mane and tail. I sat back on my haunches, breathing heavily from the fly home. I blinked, looking closer at my purple eyes, marveling at the almost artificial sparkle and glow that came from the nearby candlelight.

I exhaled deeply, looking down at my hooves.

“It’s okay, girl, you did what you had to.” I said to myself.

I looked to the right, seeing the bathroom, I dragged myself in there, turning on the water to the shower and stepping in, the warm water surged down over me, running through my mane and in between my eyes, I shut my eyes, twisting my neck to pop it. The water gave me a warmth that was like a mother’s hug. I yawned slowly a sleepy feeling built up in my chest. After everything that had happened today, I was ready for bed.

After shampooing myself, I stepped out of the shower, a towel held my mane up and I whipped my tail back and forth to dry it off. I slipped a cozy velvet robe over my body and splayed out on my bed, letting my mane hang free. I stretched my legs freely, holding them in the air for a second before I dropped them back down at my sides.

I brought my tail up, rubbing it across my belly, feeling the soft dampness against my soft fur.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

I raised an eyebrow, someone was knocking on my door. I looked at the clock on the wall, it was half past midnight. I wondered who could be knocking on the door at such a time.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

“Yeah, I’m coming...” I said, exiting my room and quickly skipping towards my front door, slowly opening it.

Three ponies in professional-looking suits were standing there, two larger, dark blue stallions stood on the sides of a light yellow mare.

“Firefly?” The mare said.

“Yes, may I help you three?”

The stallion on her left’s horn lit up and he mumbled something.

“We need you to come with us.” The mare said demandingly.

I backed up, “Wait, what?” I asked. “But, what about my-”

“Your mother is already in good hands, she is staying in a Royal Suite in Canterlot.” She said, cutting me off.

I blinked. “Canterlot... Equestria?!” I stared in disbelief, neither of the ponies expressions changed the slightest bit, this was clearly no joke.

“Yes, Ma’am.” The mare said, “Princess Celestia needs you.”

“Princess Celestia?! What does she want with a pony like me?!” I asked.

The mare reached out her hoof to me, “Everything will be explained when we get there, we just need you. Right now, it is a National Emergency.”

The mare didn’t wait for me to answer, she extended her hoof and touched my shoulder.

I was falling. Falling fast. I could not open my wings, I was completely frozen in place. Yet I was falling.

Just as quick as it happened, a blinding light flashed, and I covered my eyes.

“Hello, Firefly.” Next Chapter: Prologue: Ricco Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 38 Minutes