Danielle had never thought of herself as physically above average. Of course, there was her job and the general but rather active lifestyle associated with rural life, but she did not engage in active sports. Neither did she subscribe to early morning jogging, nor had she swum for more than four or five lanes in the pool on occasion. So it was that she seldom felt anything like muscle soreness. Perhaps after a long day, if she worked overtime, her legs ached a little the next morning.

This time, it was her entire body.

Her muscles felt as though they were made of clay when she slowly came to her senses. She moved her arms as slowly as she could, not that she had much choice at that moment, and pressed with her hands away from the mattress, on which she was lying on her stomach. She felt the blanket slipping from her legs and falling to the ground, and also realized, through the haze in her mind, that this was the only thing that covered her.

She slowly opened her eyes, her body trembling lightly. Everything seemed blurred, a uniformed white mass. Even her right hand was no more than a hazy spot in her eyes. Danielle groaned and slowly turned her head to the side, where more than two colors greeted her. Dark, purple patches, long and slightly moving, stood out strongly from what had to be a white wall. Noises from behind the dark patches reached her ears, and she realized that this was a window with curtains.

The sounds were familiar: voices with different inflections and tones, the tapping of hooves, and fresh wind blowing into the room. For a moment, she thought she was back in the estate of her grandparents, and that old McGilford had once again unloaded his horses in the pasture in front of the house. But that could not be. She had last been in New York with her brother and the others. However, that was not their voices she had heard. There were too many and seemed to come from a distance. Where was she?

Carefully, slowly, trying to avoid further pain, Danielle brought her right hand to rub her eyes. It felt like she was removing a scab from a wound, but her gaze at least cleared. What had been different splotches of colour was now a bed with white sheets, a similarly hued head pillow, and a dark lilac duvet on the floor. The curtains were now visible, the wind flirting with them. She looked around. The entire room seemed like a one in a noble and old country house. Dark wood was evident in the form of cupboards and table, along with a white wallpaper decorated with bright blue ornaments showing a floral pattern that ended in a bud of a single gem.

However, her eyes remained on the mirror hanging from the front of the wardrobe, which stood beside the door leading into the room. She gazed at herself as she leaned on the edge of the bed with her arms bent on her knees, with a slightly stooped posture, and seemed to stare at the deep rings under her eyes. Or perhaps it was the large white wings that were folded on her back.

The first attempt to get on her legs failed, and she fell back onto the mattress. The second time, however, she succeeded, and with her left hand on the wall, she stumbled against the mirror. Despite that, the wings were still there and not a prank her tired eyes had played her. White wings lay visibly over her shoulders and twitched slightly. As soon as she thought about trying to move them, they spread apart, and it was that she managed to grab onto the handle of the wardrobe did she not lose her balance and fall to the unforgiven ground.

When she once again stood safely on her feet and added the weight of the wings to her balance, she came to the ultimate conclusion that these would soon become little more than annoying. Soon enough after she had finished the thought, the weight on her back disappeared as each feather from her wings began to detach themselves in a manner akin to leaves from a tree. Even before they could touch the ground, they dissolved in a golden light. The entire thing did not last more than ten seconds and no sign remained that she had ever had wings. At least there were the dark spots on her shoulder blades where the bones of the wings had sprouted.

For a few seconds, Danielle continued to focus on her reflection, her torso still half-twisted so she could see her back. "What the hell," she muttered, turning her gaze away. She found something else interesting in the mirror. Over the bedside hung her pants, only she did not recognize the jeans covered in gems. The bright blue, which had become quite grey in some places, had its old colour back. Also, all the holes had been repaired, even the ones that had been part of the design. It was done so flawlessly that, even as she pulled the pants over her legs, she could not spot a single stitch or seam. Still, she was grateful for every piece of clothing, no matter how ostentatious it was.

When she was no longer completely naked, the urge came back to find out where she was. Besides, it was legal to go around topless in New York, right?

Shaking her head, her stomach twisting slightly, she opened the door and stepped into what looked like a studio apartment. The living room was furnished with opulent furniture, but much more modern than the one in the bedroom. In the middle of the white living room was an open fireplace, and she also spotted a kitchen that was decorated with black marble. A stairway to her right went up a floor, where there were other doors. Whoever had lived here had money.

The thought of a phone suddenly shot through her head, but the usual place of her cell phone, her jeans’ pockets, was empty. She went past the living room into the open kitchen and only then did she realize that everything seemed a little smaller. Not much, but enough that she noticed. No telephone could be seen far and wide. Then her gaze fell to the large window, which almost covered the entire wall near the staircase.

Crystals, as tall as the building she occupied and some even higher, stretched into the sky and gleamed in the morning sun. She almost slipped on the tiles as she hurried to the window to get a better view. As far as the eye could see were gigantic crystal structures, some even connected with sky walks. Could she believe what lay before her? Danielle looked down and immediately took a step back. The road was still visible, and small dots in various colors moved en masse and hurried around, filling the street. However, no cars or anything similar could be seen. Had someone covered Coruscant with crystals? Instinctively, she took another step back from the window, stumbled over the arm of the sofa and tumbled on it.

"Darling!" She suddenly heard a voice, her head swiveling around to find the source. "I see you’ve finally decided to arise from your beauty sleep. How are you?" According to who stood in front her, not good. Hallucinations were notorious signs of a stroke. But it was not a hallucination, she reminded herself. Equestria was real; her brother had been there. She had met Lyra, Amaryllis, and Auralia. They had gone to New York to talk to Lauren Faust about it. What she also knew what that that was not New York out there. In conclusion, what had just come down the stairs with worried expression on her face was not hallucination. It was Rarity. Not a flash-animated Rarity—she could see every hair in her mane and how her chest rose with every breath. And now the mare stood right in front of her.

"You are so pale." The mare lifted a foreleg and laid her hoof against Danielle’s brow.

"Ditto," the latter muttered slightly, which the mare probably overheard.

"No fever," she finally said, smiling at her. "Can I offer you something to eat?" Rarity did not wait for an answer. She went past Danielle to the kitchen and began to put on a pot of water. In itself, that was nothing special except that she did all this by making the pot float around.

"Rarity?" Danielle finally said as she sat up.

The mare turned around, while in her light blue aura she chopped carrots, celery, and other herbs with a knife. "Oh, where have my manners gone again?" She bowed her head slightly and crossed her front legs. "My name is Rarity Belle de Lippiranza, Knight of Generosity under her Royal Majesty Crown Princess Twilight Sparkle, Countess of and to Ponyville." She raised her head again. "And it is my honour to meet you, Lady Danielle." For a brief moment, all that was to be heard was the knife working its way through the vegetables.

"I'm glad to meet you, too," Danielle finally replied, and the mare turned back to the kitchen. A slight hum was heard.

For a minute or longer, the woman watched as Rarity worked. The mare dunked every piece of the chopped vegetables into the pot of water and began to stir while she peeled some potatoes at the same time. She scuttled back and forth as though she had never done anything else, her eyes always closed when Danielle could see them. It was almost as if she was dancing and her hum gave the beat.

"What can it be for you, dearie? Would you prefer soup or rather mashed potatoes with fresh carrots?" The question brought Danielle out of her trance and she saw Rarity grace her with a smile.

"The latter." With a nod, the mare turned back to the stove. "Miss Rarity, I—"

"Only Rarity is fine, darling. We're all friends here."

"Where are we? What happened and where is my brother?" escaped from her. The questions had already been on the tip of her tongue from the moment she saw Rarity. "Or Auralia and Amaryllis?"

The mare sighed audibly. "Well, I do not know myself. Unfortunately, I have only been able to speak briefly with Auralia. But after what she told me, you had a strong fever. They brought you here to help you."

"Equestria?" Danielle asked, then looked out the window.

"The Crystal Empire," Rarity corrected gently. "Regrettably, you arrived at a very unfavourable moment. A group of humans penetrated and stormed the palace with the aid of some changelings." Danielle's eyes widened. Humans had attacked the Empire together with changelings? Humans? Thiemo had never said anything about them. "They have found you and your brother by a pillar. He had several broken ribs and internal bleeding."

"How is he?!" Immediately, she was on her legs.

"He's better. All he needs now is bed rest. He’s sleeping up in Applejack's room." Danielle did not lose a second. She hurried from the living room to the stairs. She almost stumbled over the second step as it was unusually low, but she managed to ascend. Three doors were in front of her, but only one was open, and she went into the room at the end of the hall.

It was smaller than the bedroom in which she had woken up and was much more sparsely decorated. Simple wallpaper, white and orange stripes, a dressing table of light wood, and a bed of the same material was all that she saw. In the bad lay her brother. A blanket covered his legs, leaving his bandaged upper body free. Cushions were left and right next to his body, preventing him from turning to the side. His hair was matted and almost touched his shoulder, a sure sign that he needed a haircut.

Beside the bed was a small stool and beside it an iron bucket with a fresh cloth. "I just washed him," Danielle heard Rarity say as she entered the room. "I also gave him water. Let's see if he keeps the soup down today."

"Shouldn't he be in the hospital?" Danielle asked, puzzled.

"It is sadly overcrowded. They needed the space for worse cases. Come, let's leave him to his rest." Danielle glanced at Thiemo, then closed the door behind her.

They walked down the aisle and went to the stairs. "How long have we been here?"

"Three days. I was the one to bring you here. I was already on my way when the attack took place." Danielle stopped abruptly. Rarity had not only looked after her brother for three days, but apparently also her. Danielle would have stunk after three days in bed. Plus she would have had to clean up after them as well, as the human body did not adjust simply because they were unconscious.

"Everything all right, dear?" Rarity asked, still smiling.

Amaryllis stared dully at the mass of ponies who had arrived that morning. Thousands alone occupied the large square under the palace, thousands more around the palace. Pegasi had taken advantage of their wings and hovered in the air, something that took not a little effort. Even the lowest steps to the entrances were filled. Everywhere were ponies, along with some changeling, but not a single human being, no signs of the creatures that loomed over them all. She had seen so many in the streets before. Some had waved to her when she'd been out in the streets, friendly with a smile. Not one remained here or in the Empire.

They had betrayed her. No, not all. Thiemo was still there, and now his sister. Two of many, but they were on this planet, though not here. Not that she expected Thiemo to be here—after all, he was seriously injured. Still, Amaryllis wanted nothing more than her beloved by her side, his hand around her neck as he held her and his gentle voice that promised her that everything would be all right.

Even if he were here, such promises would ring hollow. It would never be the same again. She knew it and everyone else. Her aunt was sitting in the front row, the streaks of tears created groves in her fur. Both her grandmother and great aunt were to her right, both visibly dejected. Still, these two had seen countless others come and go. They seemed more composed, but under the overwhelming grief that roiled within them, Amaryllis could not tell what they felt.

For her, it felt like someone had torn her heart out of her chest. She did not want to know how Skyla felt then, or her mother. The mare that had to stand in front of all these ponies with a steel mien, a mask. She had been crying. They all had, as a family. To know that one would never again hear the voice of someone they loved, to never see them again, was an excruciatingly cruel pain.

Like a recurring nightmare, she remembered how she had awoken in her room, only to see Skyla crying on her bed. She remembered the heart-wrenching words that had left her little sister's mouth. Amaryllis remembered the anger that had followed. How she had thrown her bed against the wall. How her cupboard had splintered into a thousand pieces, and how she destroyed the window with her horn.

She took a deep breath. She had to be strong today as well, for her mother and her little sister. Fortunately, no one expected the same from the latter. Skyla clung to her left flank as she sniffed. Amy was about to say something to her sister before she was interrupted by loud trumpets.

Her mother, Princess Cadance, came into view. Like Amaryllis, she did not wear anything: no torque, no diadem, not even a simple braid. Her mane hung low, and her wings were spread. When she began to lower them, the trumpets also fell silent. "My dear subjects, my honoured guests, and my beloved family, thank you all for coming today. It is not a joyous occasion but one of the sorrow that has gathered us. A few days ago, two of my palace guards stormed into my bedroom and reported an attack on the Empire. My thoughts had raced, for how could an enemy have come through our shield? It turned out that they did not. They were already here, among us. They lived as our neighbours, our friends, and even as part of our families. They came here to live in peace, or so they told me. That was a lie. Three days ago, the humans of the Crystal Empire attacked and stormed the castle and stole the Crystal Heart. The shield fell and winter immediately began to take what is lawful of ours. It gave our country to the humans and changelings, some of which I have never seen before. They did not stop at the doors of innocent farmers. Neither did they stop before others of their kind nor before those who were not able to fight, the old, foals, larvae. None.

“Prince Shining Armor served for a long time in the Royal Guard of Equestria. He recognized the danger that was attacking his country. He also knew the solution, and so he acted. He placed his ponies above himself, knowing that you are all the Empire. A country is nothing without its people, for the people is the land. He lived this ideal. He died for this ideal."

Cadance nodded to the two stallions behind her, who opened the curtain from which the princess had entered. Where the Crystal Heart once rested, connected between two crystals on the ground and the castle, there was now a crystal alicorn. The tip of his horn was fused with the crystal that jutted down from the castle, just as did his right hoof with the crystal from the ground, as if all three had been cut from a large crystal. His eyes were closed, tears visible from their corners. The cutie mark on his flank was clearly recognizable.

"Shining Armor sacrificed his life to give us a chance. He knew we would not retrieve the Crystal Heart back in time. Not without major losses, not without losing our harvest. So he became be our shield as he always was." Amaryllis and Skyla both hurried to their mother as her tears started to flow down her cheeks again. "We... I'll miss him so much. Shining was the best father and the best husband a mare could wish for. He left me two wonderful foals and lots of wonderful memories that will accompany me all my life." Cadance sobbed and sighed. "Equestria will help us in this difficult time, just as it has always done. And we will help them. Ti attacked us, an enemy that connects us more than ever."

Even as she pressed her mother’s body tighter against her, Amaryllis could see Celestia nod.

Author's Notes:

Were speeding right into the last 1/3 of the story.

Special thanks to JBL for translating & editing.