Name: Trixie Lulamoon
Sex: Mare
Race: Unicorn
Age: 21
Date of birth: 1st April 979
Blood type: B-

Why am I telling you this? Good question. It’s all meaningless information. It’s meaningless to me, because I already know who I am. It’s meaningless to the officials up in Canterlot, because as soon as I cross the Equestrian border, they’ll never come across my name in their documents ever again. And it’s meaningless to anypony else, because the only thing ponies need to know about me, is that I am unwelcome in their towns.

It happened sometime last year. You may have heard of it: the incident in Ponyville, regarding an ursa minor. My boasts of being able to defeat an ursa major were revealed as the lies that they were, and ever since that day, I had been unable to perform anywhere, because ponies would laugh at me, and chase me out of their towns before I could even start up my show.

So naturally, I got a little mad. Okay, very mad. But it’s hard to take revenge against an entire Country, y’know? Much easier when the target is just one pony in particular. Twilight Sparkle. The Unicorn that had showed me up, by defeating that accursed ursa minor that ruined my career.

When my desire for revenge first appeared, I heard a voice call out to me. A voice claiming to be able to help me defeat Twilight, and finally regain the respect and admiration that I once had as ‘the Great and Powerful Trixie’.

Go ahead and blame me for what happened next. Tell me I was out of line. That I had no right to do what I did. But let me ask you: have you ever been turned out of practically every town in Equestria? Have you ever been forced to sleep outside, hoping that the Pegasi would take mercy and forgo just one scheduled rainy night? One skill I gain was that I no longer required pillows, because my neck and my head have adjusted so that rocks now feel somewhat comfortable when I lie on them.

So, yeah, I kind of gave in to the alluring power of the Alicorn Amulet. It’s not like I’m happy with what it made me, and I’m glad it’s gone and all… And when Twilight didn’t hand me over to the Princess, and even forgave me for what I did, I had almost regained all of the hope that I had lost over the previous year.

All it took was a single month to shatter those hopes, and remind me why I sought revenge in the first place. If the ursa minor incident had screwed up my career so badly, what do you think the Alicorn Amulet fiasco could have done? Now, ponies really didn’t want me performing in their towns. Some had even taken up arms to keep me away. Pitchforks and torches were my welcome party whenever somepony recognised me!

Now, there are only three places in Equestria where I can still go, provided I’m careful and remain in the shadows: Manehatten, Las Pegasus, and Canterlot. Even then, none of those places will accept me. Nopony will come to my shows, or offer me even a shred of sympathy. I have been cast out of everywhere in this Faustforsaken Country. Hence, I have decided that it would be best to simply leave.

Of course, suicide was an option that presented itself to me, but alas, it seems I truly am as weak and pathetic as everypony claims I am. I can’t even bring myself to just take that one step off of the Manehatten Tower. No matter how easy it would be, I’m too weak, and too stubborn, to end my life…

No! That’s not it! It’s not that I’m too weak, I just simply don’t want to give these ponies the last laugh! Yeah, that’s what it is. I’ll happily leave this Country, and I’ll gladly denounce my Equestrian citizenship, but I am not going to lose my life for the sake of these… these…

I’m not even sure how to describe them. Ponies are such horrible, vile creatures. As proof of that, just look at that stupid holiday that’s coming up: Hearth’s Warming Eve. A day where ponies all across Equestria spread love and kindness. That one day, out of the whole year. And why do they do it? Because they love their fellow ponies? No. Because it’s the right thing to do? Not a chance.

Obligation.

For this one day out of the year, ponies show love and kindness to each other, out of nothing more than a mere sense of obligation. Either they are afraid of the windigos describe in the history books, or they are simply keeping up with tradition, but either way, it’s sickening.

“Hey, you aren’t deserving of any love or respect, but count yourself lucky you caught me on this day. Here, have some kindness, but don’t expect any more tomorrow.”

All I need is one show, just one good show, and I’m confident I can bring myself back! If I can just show these ponies that there’s more to me than those stupid stories they’ve heard… If I can just show them my magic, my illusions, they’ll forget the ursa minor, and the Alicorn Amulet. Just one show… Hearth’s Warming Eve is the perfect chance, because nopony would dare to interrupt a Hearth’s Warming play.

Except, I don’t think I want to anymore. I’ve seen ponies for what they truly are: monsters. Despicable, horrible creatures that shun their own kind, and survive by making sure others suffer in their stead. Like bullies. Ponies are nothing but bullies, who form communities for their own protection. If you don’t belong to a community, you have no right to any happiness. That’s how this Country works.

Even Princess Luna, who is still feared throughout all of Equestria, receives nothing but the highest respect, the most comfortable bedding, the warming baths, and the finest cuisine, simply because she belongs to the most powerful community of all: Royalty. Nopony would dare shun her outright, because she happens to have Royal blood in her veins. Me? I’m nopony. I have no family, no connections… nothing.

And so, with my resolve set, I took my first step outside of Equestrian territory. There were five places I could go:

The jungle to the west was a cool climate, but filled with dangerous predators, and poisonous creatures. Also, with no map available to me, I would only get lost in there, so I decided not to take that route.

The desert to the south was vast, and, although it would eventually lead to Saddle Arabia, I had my doubts that I could survive the smouldering heat, and I had no money to purchase any water.

The badlands also rested to the south, but from what I’ve heard, no plants grow there, and as a result, nothing survives there, either.

To the east was the ocean. Now, I am certainly an accomplished swimmer, and I’m sure that I could hijack a boat just fine if I were to use a little cunning. Unfortunately, I’m not much of a navigator, so I would only end up getting lost out at sea.

That really only left me one option: to venture north, into the frozen wastelands, where Celestia only knows what could be waiting for me. Literally; Princess Celestia’s Royal Guard patrol the borders, and prevents anypony from leaving the Country via the north. Something about the northern lands being far too dangerous, and uninhabitable. But, nothing is too dangerous for the Great and Powerful Trixie! And I swear, if I have to spend one more night hiding my face from passing ponies, I will march back to the Everfree Forest and take back that accursed amulet!

“Stupid… icy path,” I said as I ascended the frozen, unstable pathway leading up the Crystal Mountains. Weird name, considering there were no crystals at all to be found on it. This was the one way to get past Princess Celestia’s Royal Guard, as they weren’t patrolling the foot of the mountain at all… Why am I still calling her ‘Princess’? I’ve thrown away my citizenship, and besides, what has she ever done for me? Why does she deserve my respect, when she has lifted not one hoof to help me, her starving subject?

As my thoughts drifted to food, I felt my stomach rumbling, which, when combined with the terribly low climate and oxygen levels found at the top of a mountain, made me realise why Celestia didn’t bother to guard the Crystal Mountains: nopony in their right minds would try to climb this thing!

But then, I had managed to not only reach the top, but also make my way back down the other side. That was proof that I was great and powerful, right? What other pony could have done that other than me? Admittedly, I was mostly running adrenaline right now as my body screamed at me to find shelter from the cold, but even so, I had made it this far. And now, here I was, in the frozen wasteland to the north, in the middle of a blizzard, with the howling of wolves filling the air…

“AAAAAAHHHHHH!” I screamed as I ran across the frozen plains, three frost wolves hot on my tail. Okay, so maybe Equestria wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe the scorning eyes and hateful words of ponies passing me by was just a little better than being chased through a sub-zero land by a pack of ravenous wolves. Maybe.

As my fight-or-flight response pushed me to my very limits, I began to wonder how things would have been if I had never visited Ponyville in the first place. If I had never put on that show, that inspired those two colts to bring an ursa minor into town. If I had never been revealed as a fraud, and had never been reduced to menial work just to buy my next meal.

Why didn’t I just go back to the rock farm? Why didn’t I just go into hiding, change my appearance, and get a job in some remote location? While that may have been okay for most ponies, I refused to do so simply because it would be pointless! The symbol on my flanks shows that I am destined for the stage! It is my passion. What I was born to do. Everypony has a special talent, and their destiny is branded onto them the moment they discover it.

If I were to reject my special talent, and just spend my days doing some job I didn’t even like, then what was the point of even doing it at all? Living for the sake of living? No! That’s not how the Great and Powerful Trixie rolls!

… But then, is there also any point in living when your special talent is something that everypony hates? Where your destiny involves ponies scorning you, and chasing you out of their towns, whenever you simply try to do your job?

Thinking about it that way, maybe I should just… stop running. Let the cold take me. Let the wolves have my flesh. At the very least, I can provide sustenance for those three hungry animals. Who knows? Maybe that was why I was born in the first place.

Stopping in my tracks, I clenched my eyes shut, and waited. Waited for the predators tailing me to pounce, and rip me apart, piece-by-piece. And so ends the legacy of the Great and Powerful Trixie…

“Huh?” I asked as I opened my eyes, and for the first time, I noticed that I wasn’t cold. I wasn’t shivering, and in fact, my body seemed to have been getting warmer. And not just me; the snow all around me seemed to have been melted, and before my eyes, I could see a vast, beautiful field, with many different types of flowers, trees, plants, and critters playing together in peace and quiet. Behind me, the wolves were nowhere in sight. “Where am I?”

I wondered if my brain had been damaged by the icy cold winds, and if this was just a figment of my imagination. But it felt so real… The warmth, and chirping of birds, and gentle breeze that caressed my cheek. And what’s more, the giant, beautiful crystalline structure that I could see in the distance. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, and believe me, I’ve seen some strange things.

Slowly, I moved one hoof in front of the other, and began to move forward. OWCH! It seems that, at some point, I had stepped on a jagged rock whilst running, and while I was so wrapped up in my fears of being eaten alive, I must have not even noticed it.

Carefully, I lifted up my forehoof, and slowly pulled the rock out. Blood poured out of my wound, and stained the grass and I continued to walk down the plains, my hoof stinging every time I put pressure onto it.

As I got closer to the gigantic crystal structure, another view soon presented itself to me: what seemed to be a huge city, easily twice the size of Manehatten, lay before my eyes. It had many structures made of what appeared to be crystals, and the entire place shone and glimmered like something out of a fairytale. There was a strange warmth coming from this city, and it prompted me to investigate.

‘If this is a city that Equestria doesn’t know about,’ I began thinking to myself, ‘Then maybe… maybe news of my failures haven’t reached here yet!’

It was a faint hope, but it was enough to bring a smile to my lips as I picked up my pace towards the city. As I got closer, I saw clouds arranging themselves in the sky, without any Pegasus ponies around to move them. Now that was a strange sight, and I was determined to find out what was going on.

Below the clouds, I caught sight of a couple of Earth Ponies chatting to each other, each one waving their hooves about in the air. They looked like a couple of idiots. That is, until I noticed the glow around their hooves. I slowed my approach, and stared at them as they continued waving their hooves about. Looking back up at the sky, I could see that the clouds were moving with their hooves, and my jaw must have dropped to the ground as I pieced it all together: these Earth Ponies… are performing magic.

“You okay there, miss?” one of the two ponies asked as he approached me. His partner joined him, and I stumbled on my words as I tried to find something. “My goodness! You look terrible!”

That was understatement of the year right there. I haven’t eaten a proper meal in weeks, I’ve been surviving off of lake and river water, I haven’t bathed in a full month, my hat and cape were in tatters, and I can’t even remember the last time I managed to get more than an hour’s sleep at night.

“What happened to you?” the other pony asked, both of them looking at me with worried looks on their faces. That was a good sign; they didn’t seem to recognise me. Maybe I could find somewhere to perform in this city. But first, I would need some information about where exactly I was.

“It’s nothing. Say, could you tell me-”

“This is not nothing!” one of the two ponies, the taller, yellow one, said. He moved the front of my cape aside, and they both gasped at what they saw. Annoyed, I yanked my cape from his hoof, and covered my starved figure up again. “When’s the last time you ate?!”

“… Not important,” I said, “I just want to-”

“Jill, I’m going to take her to the fair! You mind explaining things to our boss?” the shorter, orange one suddenly said.

“Not at all, Jack,” ‘Jill’ said. Okay, ‘Jack’ and ‘Jill’? Really? Whatever, they seemed to be willing to take me to their city, so I didn’t bother saying anything.

“So, what’s your name?” Jack asked as he led me towards one of the streets of the large city, which I noticed was filled with stands and stalls, and ponies running around, laughing together and having fun. It was also then that I noticed just how shiny their coats were. Shiny, and sparkly… “Miss?”

“Oh, uh, Trixie,” I said, cursing myself as soon as I did. Why did I give out my real name? What would that accomplish? If they knew who I was, they’d surely-

“Trixie, eh? That’s a nice name.” I breathed a sigh of relief as we continued walking down the street, and soon, the unmistakable scent of freshly baked apple fritters caught my nose. My stomach rumbled, causing a blush to form on my face as I tried to look innocent. “Eheheh, you must be really hungry,” he said as we both approached the apple fritter stand. “Heya Appletini! How’s business?”

“Great!” the pony at the stand, a green Earth Pony, answered with a smile on her face. “Who’s your friend? Not cheatin’ on the Mrs. now, are you?”

Jack laughed, and once again pulled my cape aside to reveal my starved figure. With a grunt, I aggressively pulled my cape back, and threatened him not to do that again. Though my threat came out pretty weak, what with my throat being so parched.

Appletini simply gasped in horror at my bony figure, and quickly offered a tray of six apple fritters to me. “Here ya go, sugarcube! On the house.”

I gave her a sceptical look. Nopony gives things away from free, so I knew that something had to be up. “Really? I can just take these?” I asked. She nodded quickly, that smile still on her face. “At no cost?” Another nod. “And you won’t demand payment later?”

With a groan, she practically shoved the tray into my forehooves. “Just eat ‘em already! I won’t stand for nopony goin’ hungry in my district!”

“District?” I asked as I sniffed the fritters. By Faust did they smell good. I levitated one into the air, and popped it into my mouth. Even in my weakened state, I could still do magic. A sign that it was my specialty, as well as my Cutie Mark, of course.

“That’s right,” she said. “This here’s the 47th district, an’ the best on of ‘em all, if’n you ask me.”

I guessed that ‘districts’ were kind of like streets or something. “How many districts are there?”

“Fifty two,” she answered. “The 47th is the poorest, but that don’t mean we’re down in the dumps or nothin’… Wait, how do you not know all this?”

“And how are you doing that?” Jack asked, pointing at the tray of fritters in my hoof. He had an incredulous look on his face, and I looked between him and the fritters to try and determine what he meant. “Your hooves aren’t glowing… How are you using magic?”

I suddenly remembered the display of magic I witnessed from Jack and Jill earlier, and then it hit me: every pony I had seen thus far in this city was an Earth Pony. Not a single Unicorn or Pegasus among them. I wondered if all of them could perform magic like that.

Seeing that Appletini had joined Jack in staring at me in shock and awe (which also prompted a smile to form on my face), I reached up for my hat with my free forehoof, and pull it off to reveal my horn, coated with my faint purple aura.

“A-A Unicorn?!” Jack exclaimed, and suddenly, it seemed that everypony in the entire street was swarming me. I dropped the tray on the floor, though there were no longer any fritters on it, so it didn’t really matter, and I began demanding the ponies crowding me to give me some space, feeling like I was going to suffocate if they didn’t.

“Okay, everypony! Settle down already!” a voice called out, and the crowd parted so that a tall blue Earth Pony could get through. “Terribly sorry, miss. We don’t get many Equestrians around here… Well, none, actually. I’m afraid everypony simply got excited.”

“I’m not an Equestrian,” was my immediate, cold response. I had no intention of being lumped together with them anymore, hence I left that Country in the first place.

“You’re not?” he asked with a puzzled look on his face. “Then where’re ya from? And what’re ya doing all the way out here?”

“… I’m not from anywhere, and I’m here purely by accident.” I looked around, examining the ponies around me. They all that amazing sparkling quality to their coats. “What kind of ponies are you, exactly?”

“You don’t know?” the blue one asked, and I shook my head. “We’re Crystal Ponies.”

Oh, right, of course. Silly me. How could I not have known that? “I’m sorry, you’re what?”

“You’ve never heard of a Crystal Pony before?” I shook my head again. “I see… Well then, how ‘bout I give you the grand tour?”

“Um, sure… As long as it doesn’t take too long.”

“Great! First of all, allow me to introduce myself! The name’s Azure Eminence, an’ I’m the mayor of the 47th district!” He offered his hoof to me, and I slowly extended my own to his.

“Trixie Lulamoon,” I said, cringing at how raspy my voice was as I spoke. “I’m sorry, but do you think I could get a glass of water?”

“Water? Don’t think so!” Here it comes. I knew they were just playing nice earlier. There isn’t a single place in this world, it seems, that will actually accept me… “This here’s the Crystal Fair! If you’re gonna drink something, it should be some refreshing crystal nectar! Brewed right here in our very own district!”

“… That sounds alcoholic.” He nodded enthusiastically, and called over a green Crystal Pony carrying a tray of what I assumed to be the ‘crystal nectar’. I had heard that drinking alcohol when you’re hungry is a bad idea, so I assumed that drinking it when you’re starving was even worse… But then, when I thought back on everything I’ve endured this past year, the idea of a drink sounded far too appealing to pass up. “Um… Cheers, I guess.”

I downed the whole drink in one go, and much to my surprise, it was the most refreshing beverage I had ever tasted. Although, something didn’t quite feel right… I didn’t feel any different, but that’s just it. Shouldn’t I have at least gotten a little drunk off of that?

“What d’ya think?” Azure asked me, to which I wasn’t sure how to respond. “Even though it’s alcoholic, ya can’t get drunk off of it! That’s the magic of the Crystal Empire for ya!”

“Crystal Empire? Is that where I am right now?”

“Sure is,” Appletini said, offering me another tray of apple fritters. Not about to pass up free food when my stomach was still rumbling, I accept the treat and once again used my magic to levitate them. This stirred up the crowd around me, which, in turn, brought back familiar feelings from my old life as a travelling magician.

“Is that really so entertaining?” I asked, though I couldn’t help the smile forming on my face as the ponies around me regarded me with awe. “You guys can do magic too, right?”

“Well, yeah,” Appletini said. “But only magic that matches our Cutie Marks.” Appletini showed off her Cutie Mark, which was a martini glass with an apple slice in. That explains the name, at least. “Ponies like Jack, whose special talents involve the weather, can use weather magic. Ponies like me, whose special talents are cooking, can use magic to help with that.”

“What about ponies whose special talents are magic?” I asked out of curiosity. “Do those exist in your ‘Crystal Empire’?”

“They do,” Azure said, reaching for one of the fritters on my tray, but pulling his hoof back when Appletini slapped it away. “But they’re pretty rare, and hard ta come by. Here in district 47, we have two like that, but they’re both still foals.”

“And they’re always at each other’s throats,” Jack said with a laugh, joined in by some of the ponies around him. “What about you, Trixie?” he asked. “What’s your talent?”

With a proud grin, I moved to shift my cape aside, when I remembered how filthy I was underneath it. Instead, I settled with placing my hoof on my chest and posing theatrically. “My talent is illusionary and enchantment magic. More specifically, using such magic in the theatrical arts.”

“So you’re a showmare?” Azure asked, with a face as if he had just reached some grand realisation. “I see. That explains the outfit.”

“… Yes. I am, or was, a travelling magician. I travelled all over the land, performing my shows in various towns and villages.”

“So what happened?” Azure asked, intrigued by the story. He wasn’t the only one; all around me, ponies were moving in closer so that they could hear the rest of my story.

“… I’d rather not say.” With disappointed faces, my captive audience pulled back and let out collective ‘awww’s. “… Instead, how about I give you an example of one of my shows?”

The crowd perked up at that, and began cheering and making way for me to perform for them. I looked around at all the ponies watching her. All of the expectant looks pointed my way, waiting for me to do something amazing to wow them.

Clearing my throat, I nervously began to gather magic into my horn. It had been a while since I had last performed, so perhaps starting with something small and simple was in order. Conjuring up some energy into my horn, I tried to start off with a spell to create illusionary flowers…

“Whuh?” As my vision faded to black, the sounds of the ponies around me slowly began to die out, and the last thing I felt before passing out was a strange warmth surrounding my body…

Waking up in a familiar town, I looked around to try and get some idea as to where exactly I was.

“What’s the matter, ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie?” a voice called out behind me, but when I turned to look, nopony was there.

“Awww, can’t even stand on your own four hooves?”

“Where’s all that ‘amazing magic’ you were bragging about?”

“Defeated an ursa major? Hah! You couldn’t even defeat a baby!”

“Get out of our town! We don’t want no stinking con-artists here!”

“Get lost!”

“Liar!”

“Fake!”

“Go back to magic kindergarten!”

“HAHAHAHAHAH!”

As the sounds of angry voices and mocking laughter filled my ears, I tried to shut my eyes and make it all just go away. I brought my hooves up to my throat… but they stopped. My eyes shot open, and I immediately came face-to-face with her. Twilight Sparkle!

“Trixie…” she said, a malicious grin appearing on her face. “Enjoy your new life. It’s all your deserve.”

I was about to question her, when suddenly, I was plunged into a vast, cold wasteland, filled with nothing but rocks. Mountains and mountains of rocks, with no path in sight. I was trapped, and the only contact with the outside was a pickaxe that suddenly appeared before my eyes, with a note:

Start digging, or die. Either is fine. Your life is over now.

I felt tears streaming down my face, and I quickly got up and tried to blast my way out of this area. But it was no good; my magic wouldn’t work, and even if I got out what would be waiting for me out there? More laughter? More ridicule? I can’t… I can’t face that anymore… I just want it all to go away… All of it… All of it…

“JUST GO AWAY!” I screamed as I bolted up out of my bed, covering my ears to prevent the scornful cries of the ponies around me from reaching me… “Huh?”

I looked around, and noticed two things that were off. First, this wasn’t my room. Second, I wasn’t alone. Sitting beside me, looking positively startled, was a familiar looking Earth Pony, staring at me as if she had just seen a ghost.

No, wait… Not an Earth Pony. These are ‘Crystal Ponies’, if I remember correctly.

“Oh, my,” Appletini said, bending down to pick an apple up off of the floor. Did she drop it when I startled her? More importantly, where was this place, and why was I here? “That… must have been some dream you had there…”

“… Where am I?”

“Not to worry, Trixie. You’re in my home. I brought you here after you passed out.”

“I passed out? And you brought me here?”

“Well, I took you to the hospital first, but they said that you were simply exhausted, and so I brought you here. I could hardly leave you with Jack or Azure… A pretty mare like you in such a vulnerable state? Those two would turn into wolves the moment I left the room.”

“… How long have I been out?” I asked, not caring if I came across as rude or impatient. I was impatient, and I had no intention of being in this mare’s debt any longer. I just wanted to get my answers, and then leave, as quickly as-“AGH! My eyes!”

“Oh, sorry!” Appletini said as she smiled at me. She had just opened the curtains by the window, and my eyes were suddenly exposed to the morning sun outside… Wait, morning sun? “You’ve been out since yesterday afternoon. To be honest, I was beginning to worry. I was afraid you would never wake up.”

I climbed out of bed, against Appletini’s wishes that I stay still for a bit, and slowly walked over to the window. I sniffed a few times, and had to hold back a few sneezes as I walked. It was then that I noticed my stuffy nose, and my sore throat. “I must have caught a cold from climbing the mountains,” I said to myself, and then I cringed at how raspy my voice sounded.

I looked outside the window, and was almost in awe at the beautiful sight outside. I didn’t really pay much attention yesterday, but now I could see why this place was called the Crystal Empire; everything really did seem to be made out of crystals. Even the ponies! Well, except for the two walking down the street, wearing…

“EEP!” I shouted, ducking down beneath the window as quickly as I could. What were two members of the Royal Guard doing here?!

“Trixie?” Appletini asked, kneeling down beside me. “Is something wrong?”

“T-Those two ponies, wearing the armour…”

“Oh, Equestria’s Royal Guard. I’ll admit, it’s a rare sight… They must be delivering a message to the Princess. Still, they usually go through the 1st district, not the 47th.”

“I can’t let them see me!” I said, covering my head with my hooves. Faust I must have looked pathetic. “Please… Please don’t tell them that I’m here!”

Appletini wrapped a foreleg around my shoulders, and gently asked me to calm down. I didn’t, though. Having another pony getting close to me was even more discomforting, and she seemed to get the hint when my trembling only increased.

“I won’t, but… D’you mind if I ask why?” Appletini said as she pulled away, her voice gentle yet firm. “I mean, that’s the police of our neighbouring Country, y’know? I think, if I’m gonna hide you here, I at least deserve an explanation as to why.”

“… I… I crossed the border illegally,” I said, fearing gripping my throat as I spoke. “T-They’re going to send me back… They’re going to drag me back into that Country, but I can’t go back there! I WON’T GO BACK!”

Appletini quickly shushed me, and asked me to calm down, gently stroking my mane as she did. It… felt kind of nice, but I still didn’t want to drop my guard around her just yet.

“Why not?” Appletini asked. “Why can’t you go back?”

I looked up into her eyes, my own vision blurred by my tears, and I did the one thing I had hoped I would never have to do in my entire life: I begged her. I begged her to not send me back. I begged her to stay here, in this ‘Crystal Empire’. I never told her why, I just didn’t want to go back there. Not to that place. Not ever to Equestria! Even Tartarus would be better than living there!

With a sigh, Appletini silenced me by placing a hoof to my mouth, and then pulled me into a gentle embrace. “Alright,” she said. “You don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to. And I won’t let them take you against your will, either.”

I never asked her why. I never questioned her reason for helping me, a complete stranger, who never offered any reasons for my own wishes not to go back. Instead, I simply showed my appreciation for the rest of the morning, by letting out all of my tears into her shoulder. Until I was done, she never left my side, or uttered a single word. She just held me, as I released more tears than I realised I still had left.

When I was done, she suggested I spend the rest of the day resting up, and getting over my cold. I accept the offer, but I refused to fall asleep. Sleep was where the nightmares were, waiting for me so that they could tear my psyche apart piece-by-piece. I did whatever it took to stay awake. Cards, dominoes, biting into my forelegs… but it was no use. The need for my brain to recharge overpowered me, and that night, as predicted, the nightmares once again plagued my mind.