“Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!” Goldenseed shrieked as she galloped forward, her eyes wide with excitement. She'd never seen anything like it, though she'd always imagined she might. It was beautiful. Wonderful. Glorious. The coolest thing she'd ever laid eyes on.

Crystalopolis. The capital of arcane magic and their users the world over. A city entirely made of crystals, many of which were filled with aether. The land seemed to hum to her, calling out gently as she moved. She galloped across the road, coming ever closer.

Then she stopped as IT came into view. The Crystal Palace, a tower of crystal that reached high into the sky, glowing brilliantly in the sunlight. Inside resided the crystal heart, an ancient artifact that was said to have once spread the love of the crystal ponies all through Equestria. Now it worked as a sort of artificial conjurer, steadily fixing the aether and protecting those around it from the negative effects of their magic. She couldn't wait to see it up close.

When she finally made it to the main gate she had to almost forcefully be stopped by the guard. “Hold on, what's your business here?”

“Crystals crystals crystals!” she shrieked excitedly. She then froze. “Errr, I-I mean, I'm seeking passage to Canterlot.”

The guard nodded, before looking down the road. “Really? Where's your parents?”

“I'm on my own,” Goldenseed said with a sigh. “Can I please go?”

The guard nodded and motioned inside. “Very well. I'd suggest looking around the festival a bit before heading to the airships.”

She nodded, before stopping. “Wait, the festival? What festival?”

The stallion looked shocked. “The summer's end festival, of course. It'll be fall in a week or so.”

“Oh, right, of course,” she said before trotting forward. She paused after a few steps before trotting backwards. “Could... you repeat that?”

“The summer's end festival?”

“No, after that.”

“It'll be fall in a week.”

“That's... that's what I thought I heard. T-thank you.” She shrieked before galloping off, leaving the stallion behind, staring at her in confusion. The zebra ran as hard and fast as she could, before skidding to a stop in one of the crystal homes. She pushed against it, staring at her reflection.

“I'm still a zebra. That, that doesn't make sense. It can't be, that's not...” She held out a hoof and looked down. Still striped. “But it was the beginning of summer. That doesn't make any sense. How could, that's almost three months! It's...” She slowly looked up and realized she was being stared at by a bunch of ponies. She gave a sheepish grin. “Sorry!” she said before quickly galloping off.

“Okay, think. Think. There has to be a logical explanation. It should have worn off by now. If... oh. Obvious.” She rolled her eyes and giggled. “They just must not have their seasons at the same time. That's it. They do it early. I mean, I've only been traveling for... a few weeks. At most. A little over one. Three months could not have possibly passed. I just... I just need to find a way to get to Canterlot. That's all. That's... that's all.”

She started walking through the town again. The place was filled with sights and sounds she'd never imagined. Dragons, unicorns, crystal ponies and changelings made up the majority of the people, but there were a few from the other races. The sights and smells of exotic treats filled her nostrils as she went and great displays of magic were being performed by street magicians.

Not a single act of it could catch her interest. Her mind spun wildly as she tried to find the nearest airship port. Fortunately, she was given directions quickly and soon found the place.

“Canterlot? Heading home a bit early, aren't you?”

Goldenseed shook her head. “No, I mean, yes. I mean, I just need to know the price. I uhhh, you know, want to get back and all before... errr...”

“Well, hold on, let me check our prices,” the changeling behind the counter said. “You're in luck, if you had come last month, all our seats were booked up. Have plenty now.”

“Really? Why?” She thought back to the previous month, but she couldn't remember any festivities going on.

“The coronation of the prince. Lot's of ponies wanted to go an see the new future ruler take his crown. Mostly just nobles though, ones who couldn't afford to just teleport. Ah, here we are. It'll be... miss? Are you okay?” the changeling asked as she looked up. “You look horrified.”

“There... there was the prince's coronation last month? But... but I thought... that doesn't...”

“It was quite the event,” the changeling said. “We had a lot of travel there then. You don't look so well, miss.”

“Just...” she took a slow, deep breath. “Is... is Canterlot having summer end in a week as well?”

“Of course. Why wouldn't they?”

“The... the prince has been a fine ruler? No... no worries?”

“Miss, are you okay? If you're interested in knowing more about Canterlot, I'd suggest trying the library. There should be plenty of current news there. But I'm afraid I-- Miss? Miss, where are you going?”

Goldenseed ignored the mare as she galloped off. The library was a little harder to find, but it didn't stop her. Finding current news on Canterlot, however, was quite a bit more difficult. But sure enough, she soon found them. She found her own picture, Goldenseed, staring back at her. As he waved to the adoring public. As he was crowned. Pictures as his father proclaimed him the heir.

“Not... not possible,” she whispered. “How?” She held her head and shook. She tried going over the events leading to now. She couldn't have possibly been in the caverns for more than a week. She wasn't in that frozen outpost for long, either. Though it had felt like forever. The only time she couldn't remember was--

She stiffened and her eyes went wide with horror. “The centaurs...” she said softly. She then felt her head. A coma? Is it possible? What if I was out for months? No wonder they didn't have me guarded, they didn't think I'd ever wake up. But how were they keeping me alive? Why didn't I change back? Aetherbind is going to be... She paused and looked back at the picture. Everypony looked so happy. Even her father was smiling, something he rarely did.

They had a prince. A true, good prince. A real adventurer, a pony who was kind, sweet, noble. She held up her hooves. She was a prince who had run away from her responsibilities. She'd abandoned the ponies who cared for her and she was supposed to care for. Maybe it was fate that this fake form hadn't worn off. Maybe she was supposed to be a zebra. Maybe she didn't deserve all she had.

“Miss? Are you okay?” a voice said as a unicorn walked up behind her.

Goldenseed looked down and realized she was crying all over the papers. She got up and turned away. “I-I'm fine.”

“Miss, why are you--”

She didn't listen. Instead she turned and ran away. She shoved her way out the front doors of the library, galloping through the streets. Even with the ponies going through their festival, she couldn't find the remotest joy in it. She galloped out through the front gates, ignoring the calls from the guards. She just kept running.

She finally stopped outside the city, near the farm land. The fields were filled with tiny ewes, though she couldn't focus on them either. She collapsed onto her stomach and cried, covering her face with her legs.

“It's... it's not fair...” she said softly. But it was fair. It was completely fair and she knew it. She didn't deserve the throne, she never had. She was a horrible, horrible pony. She could go back, but what was the point? The potion might never wear off. Even worse, they'd all be miserable with her as a ruler. She'd probably end up destroying the kingdom with her greed and stupidity.

But then, what else could she do? She wasn't ready to do this. It was only supposed to be a month, a short month. Even if it was better for everypony else, how could she take care of herself?

She felt more like a child than ever before. She longed to run home and jump into her father's hooves and have him tell her it was going to be okay. But she couldn't. He wouldn't recognize her. Even if he did, he'd probably disown her for what she'd done. Everypony was better off if she stayed away. After what felt like hours the tears finally stopped and she laid there, exhausted.

She felt as if the world was torn out from under her. They didn't want her, didn't need her. They gave somepony else her crown. Sure, they didn't know the other pony wasn't her, but--

Snap.

Goldenseed sat up, her eyes going wide. She felt it. Like a rope pulled so taut it finally snapped, the aether in the world finally struck back. With a vengeance. She turned to the east, shivering as whatever was unleashed spread out to fight back. A full elemental. Just the feeling of its release made her feel nauseous and like the world was spinning.

She shook her head and got to her hooves, turning to get away from it. Then she heard the scream. She took another step.

She turned around and galloped towards it. Maybe home didn't need her and maybe she wasn't a good adventurer. But there were still some things she could do. Some good. She crested the hill and nearly fell on her butt, her ears going flat on her skull.

A big, blue elemental, its body made of lightning circling around its core, hovered in the air. Lightning struck down around it. She then saw the ponies huddled under a wheelbarrow as bolts exploded around them. Two unicorns. Even worse, they were just fillies. Or colts. She really couldn't see from this distance. The zebra couldn't imagine what tiny spell the two must have used, but whatever it was, it was the last little nudge the aether needed to snap. “HEY! YOU!” she yelled out to the elemental. It didn't react. She face hoofed. “Right. No ears. Well, take this.” She thrust out a hoof and drew a little aether from the world around her. The ground shot out, smacking against the elemental.

It stopped for a second, before it began racing towards her. “Run!” she yelled at the kids before turning and taking her own advice. She shrieked as lightning started arcing down and striking near her. “Bad idea bad idea bad idea!”

A blast of lightning struck ahead of her, making the ground explode. She skidded to a stop and turned back towards the elemental. Her entire body shook as she stared at it. “I... I don't care how big and s-scary you are, I'm not afraid!” she lied.

The elemental didn't stop, it just kept coming, drawing towards her. She could feel the aether that made it up pulsing. It was strong. Far stronger than anything she'd ever been trained to deal with. An elemental like this would have usually required three to four conjurers back home. She whimpered and stared. She was going to die, she knew that. There was no way around it. But she was going to die fighting. She jumped to the left, narrowly avoiding another bolt of lightning. She then thrust a hoof out, gathering the aether in the world and creating a rock. It flew at the elemental, smacking against and bouncing off the core.

A moment later lightning struck down, enveloping the mare. She screamed and collapsed, pain wracking her body. Sparkles drifted across her body as she convulsed, electric aether flowing through her. Everything hurt. Then the second bolt hit. All she could see was white hot light as every nerve in her body erupted in pain. She tried to roll away, but her legs refused to obey her, just spasming wildly. She opened her eyes and looked up at the elemental. She could see the electricity gathering around its form once again.

An arrow pierced its hide. To her amazement, the elemental sent off the blast of electricity, not at her, but past her. Then something charged over her and slammed into the elemental. It took Goldenseed a second to realize what she was seeing.

A zebra was beating the ever living aether out of the elemental, with a shield. She couldn't see the aether around the shield, but she knew it had to be there in order for it to hurt the creature. A pair of talons grabbed and pulled her away from the creature.

“Are you okay?” her rescuer asked.

“F-fine,” she said with a groan. The pain was slowly decreasing and she could at least move now, the electricity no longer paralyzing her. She held out a hoof as gentle, healing aether flowed through her body. It took a few spells before she could fully stand.

“Good,” her rescuer said before letting her go on the ground. He then stepped over her, pulled out his bow and started shooting arrows at the creature. Her eyes widened as she realized that each one was hitting perfectly. A little hint of magic enveloped each, giving them the extra boost they needed to ensure they wouldn't hit the mare with the shield and that they could hurt the elemental. Another bolt of lightning struck down, hitting the shield-wielding zebra and making her shriek.

Goldenseed's eyes widened and she held out a hoof. A glow of white light enveloped the mare, slowly removing some of the singes all across her body. The elemental continued raining lightning down around them, but together they were pushing it back. Then the elemental was cleaved clear in half. It's form re-knitted itself a second later, but she could see claws cutting through it from behind. A black scaled young dragon tore into the creature with his claws, the aether flowing around the creature's claws to allow it to strike. The elemental began to shrink down, its aether being distributed back through the land and flowing naturally once again. Strike by strike it got smaller and smaller until, finally, there was nothing left but a small breath of aether. Goldenseed had no problem sending it back into the land, defeating the creature.

They'd done it. They'd actually done it. She fell back onto her butt and let out a sigh of relief. It was far, far beyond what her test would have put her through. She looked up at the griffon and smiled. “Thank you, you-- YOU!” she said with a shriek as she stared at him. How could she possibly have forgotten him? It was the very griffon who had stolen her first kiss. “You followed me!”

“What? No! I don't...” He paused and rubbed his cheek. “O-oh. You're that little mare I... errr...”

“Is everypony okay?” the shield bearing mare asked as she walked forward. At first Goldenseed was certain it was the one she'd seen before, but the stripes were now black over an orange coat. Not very different, but enough.

“I'm fine!” Goldenseed snapped, scowling at him. “This... this lecher has been following me!”

“Who, Ganry?” the dragon asked as he walked up behind them. “I don't think Steelhorn would like that.”

The other zebra's eyes went wide. “Oh! OH! I remember you, you were that filly we met... wait, let me explain! He really did think you were me!”

“You? How could he thing I was, wait, you weren't the mare I... wait, how did you know about--” The words caught in Goldenseed's throat as the zebra disappeared in a flash. In her place a changeling stood. “Oh. You're a...” She flushed and looked between the griffon and the changeling. “I... oh. So that's why. That... makes a lot more sense.”

“I'm truly sorry about that,” the griffon said, bowing his head. “I truly did think you were her. It was a slight miscalculation on my part. I meant no ill will by it.”

“You... oh...” She sighed. “You stole my first kiss,” she mumbled. She tried to be mad, but it was an accident. She still felt frustrated by it. “Jerk...”

“Yes, he kind of is,” the changeling said. “He really should have asked first.” She held out a hoof. “My name is Steelhorn. This feather bag is Ganry. The lizard is Swipes.”

“Hey, dragon! I am not a lizard! I don't do that tongue thing,” Swipes said angrily, stomping a claw down.

Goldenseed nodded. “I... I see. It's... nice to meet you all,” she said, a little stunned. “How did you all end up here?”

“It's where our base of operations is located. We're part of the free company, Torrential. A pleasure to meet you,” Steelhorn said, waving her hoof around a bit.

“T-Torrential? A... free company?” Goldenseed asked, gently taking the hoof and shaking it.

“You know what a free company is, don't you? Are you part of one?”

Goldenseed shook her head. “No. I... I don't. I'm not. I... I'm sorry.”

“It's a group of adventurers. We go about helping people and doing jobs. We...” The changeling trailed off and eyed her. “Are... you okay?”

“N-not... not really,” the zebra said, grinding a hoof into the ground.

“Do you want us to take you home? Do you live around here?”

That made her quiver and finally break down yet again. The griffon and the dragon took a step back, but the changeling stepped forward and wrapped a hoof around her. “Easy, easy, it's okay. It's going to be okay. Did something happen at home?”

“I-I don't e-even h-have a home anymore!” Goldenseed said with a sob, shaking in the changeling's legs.

There was silence for a moment before Steelhorn nodded. “I... I see. Do you want to come with us? I'm sure we can find you a room or something in the company house. Okay?”

“O-okay...” the zebra said, nodding as the tears slowly began to dry up, just a bit. “But I... I don't have any bits.”

“Don't worry, it'll be fine.” The changeling glanced to the other two. “You guys go find out everything that happened here, okay? We need to know how that elemental was summoned, why it—”

“It was an accident,” Goldenhorn said softly. “T-two little unicorns, t-they were hiding under a wheelbarrow that way.” She pointed. “I... I think it was a small spell. It disrupted the aether and made it snap and just...”

“I see,” the mare said. “Get the reports from those two, an official statement. And be gentle with it,” she ordered before glancing back to the zebra. “Come on, let's get you cleaned up. So, miss, what's your name?”

Goldenseed opened her mouth, but paused. Was she truly Goldenseed anymore? There was a better pony now being her. But then who was she? If she couldn't be who she was, then who did she become? The answer hit her hard enough it even made her tears stop for a moment.

“Espirit. M-my name is Espirit.”