At the same time, Pepper walked towards the door of Fluttershy's cottage. "Why," asked the despondent guardian.

"Very simple. First, if Nightmare Moon is really her friend, she will be so jealous that she will kill us on the spot if I was stupid enough to befriend the child, if not for what I did to her sister. Secondly, I do not know what your plans are once this day is over, but I do not think you are going to stay here for the rest of your life".

Gamine was stunned for a moment after the explanation. "I haven't made any plans yet. But it's true that staying in this world where you killed the local princess is not a wise choice. But then, why did you want to regain control of your body for the day?"

Pepper knocked on the door. "I want to be able to say goodbye to my friend."

"Rainbow Dash? The one who brought Twilight, one of those you said could kill us with their artefacts of power? Do you really think she's still your friend Pepper?" Gamine said, incredulous.

"Handsome is the bearer of the element of Loyalty. She is my friend, no matter what I have done, our friendship remains. That is what loyalty is all about."

Gamine remained speechless before this aberrant naivety. "You killed my mother, and I'll never forgive you."

Fluttershy opened the door, but when she laid her turquoise gaze on Pepper standing in front of her, she was petrified with terror.

"We are not friends, and I am willing to bet you never had any. You can not understand what loyalty is." The unicorn smiled a smile that was meant to be warm towards the Pegasus. "Hello Fluttershy, would you kindly offer me a bowl of soup? I have not eaten in a while."

With all her body trembling, the mare cracked with a tight smile and clung to the exit door. "A bowl of soup, yes, right away Pepper, don't move, I'll bring it right away," she immediately stepped back before making a quick U-turn and retreating into the kitchen. Her idea was simple, open the window at the back of it and run away to warn Twilight. The difficulty lied in doing it quickly, without making too much noise to avoid arousing the suspicions of the murderer.

In front of the door, different animals stood in front of Pepper to prevent her from entering. Angel the rabbit was above the rest of the group, Harry the bear was behind him, several birds on his flanks, and Fuzzy Legs the spider had just finished weaving a web in the door frame. These creatures were trying to make themselves as intimidating as possible by making big eyes at Pepper. The spider would look back at each one of them, most of the time it would stare at Angel, the second in command when Fluttershy wasn't there, when he wasn't forcing her to do his every whims.

"I am only here for a bowl of soup. I did not ask for meatballs. So what do you want?"

In the kitchen, Fluttershy was looking for a way out, but the windows wouldn't open, and getting through, despite the urgency of the situation, was out of the question. The only acceptable solution for the mare was to hide, curled up under the table, close her eyes and wait for the danger to pass. She had only this solution, trying to convince herself that with luck, Pepper would leave sooner or later.

There was a duel of stares between Angel and Pepper, the two opponents camped on their positions with the firm intention of getting their way. The contest ended abruptly as orange wisps appeared from the corner of the mare's eyes, shocking both opponents. And when she turned her gaze to the left, in the direction of the kitchen, she closed her eyes before letting out a worn-out sigh.

"Do something," shouted Gamine.

Pepper cleared her voice. "Fluttershy. Listen to me. Listen to my words. I understand why you are scared of me. If you want to run away, if you want to warn Twilight that I am here, you can walk by me, I will not stop you, I will not hurt you. My word must be of little value to you, but I know how much Handsome cares about you. And you know how much I like her." Her belly growled again. "Please, Fluttershy. I just want some soup."

The element of kindness trembled, curled up on herself, her eyes closed, she didn't dare to look out of fear, but she couldn't turn a deaf ear to Pepper's words. And as she listened to her, she heard and felt it, the lament of this wild beast who just wanted to stop being hungry, even cracking open a word of politeness, something she had never done before. She calmed down, just enough to speak. "I-Is that all?"

"Your animal friends are blocking the front door, I can not get through. If you want to run and tell Twilight, you can go out by the backdoor." She was lying, of course she could've come through if she wanted to, but she wasn't there to hurt anyone, and she wasn't there to imprison Fluttershy. The wisps were gradually fading from her eyes.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Fluttershy looked towards the entrance. "Really? You won't stop me?"

"I would be too busy digging food out of your pantry."

Fluttershy was almost calmed down. "So can I go?"

"All you have to do is ask your animal friends to make room for you, and nothing else will stand between you and Ponyville. Tell them to let me in so I can eat in the meantime."

The Pegasus mustered all her courage, so she closed her eyes and started galloping out. Fuzzy Legs barely had time to clear a passageway, the animals and Pepper moved to make way for her. She ran down the slope to her cottage and stopped there. She was surprised when she turned her head over her shoulder.

Pepper looked at her, her head down to make herself small, a faint smile that was meant to be sad, a look that didn't pay off, behind which hid the monster that she was, so as not to frighten her further. After a moment of silence, she turned her eyes away and entered the cottage without a word.

Fluttershy looked towards Ponyville. she was about to leave but didn't do anything. looking at the cottage, she wondered why Pepper didn't do anything to hold her back.

As Pepper watched over the cauldron heating soup in the kitchen fireplace, she suddenly felt watched and mechanically turned her gaze to the kitchen entrance.

Fluttershy was standing there with only her head sticking out, and when their eyes met she immediately closed her eyes and cowered, but nothing happened. She calmed down, stuck her head back into the doorway and looked at Pepper again. She had fought alongside her friends against the enemies of Equestria. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, and Sombra. Pepper's gaze didn't seem evil to her. Gathering all her courage, she started the conversation. "Pepper, I don't understand, why did you do that to Princess Celestia?"

"Should you not tell Twilight I am here instead?"

"Why do you want me to? She's going to use the elements on you, shouldn't you stop it from happening? Not that I want you to hurt me," she whispered.

"Why did I do this to Celestia?" She looked for a simple analogy. "Imagine two predators fighting over a hunting ground. The one who wins will be the stronger. I did this to be stronger, to defeat those who will sooner or later try to kill me."

"So it wasn't so you could move the sun in your world?"

Pepper opened her eyes, in shock of such absurdity. "No, of course not. Why would you think that?"

"Well, Twilight said Princess Luna told her you said something like that."

For her it was yesterday. "That night I moved the sun to prove I was not lying, when I told her what I did to Celestia."

"I see. I thought you were a good pony, but in reality you were manipulating us."

"This is how I live. I am not Twilight, I do not have artefacts of power that automatically assure me a perfect victory. I am alone, I have always been alone, and if I had stayed here in Equestria, sooner or later I would have been an easy prey to a predator far too powerful for me. And this is something I can not come to terms with."

"What about Rainbow Dash? Do you have any idea how much she has suffered because of what you did?"

Pepper was silent for a moment. "Prince, princess, king, queen, I have seen a lot of those during my travels. And when one dies, another one takes its place. Celestia is replaced by her sister. Maybe Luna will be replaced by Twilight. And so on, that is life."

"But Princess Celestia was our Princess! She was Princess of Equestria for a thousand years! And she surely could have ruled a thousand years longer! You had no right, Pepper! You had no right!"

Pepper shook her head. "Celestia, a princess? Maybe to you." The corner of her lips folded into a mocking smile. "Twilight is a princess in training, yes. Luna is a princess, that is for sure. To me, Celestia was just a weak, old mare."

Fluttershy had tears in her eyes. "Monster! You monster!" With those words she fled in a gallop towards Ponyville.

"Tears and blood, is that all you wish to leave in your wake, Pepper?"

"Come on Gamine, you are the one who said giving them hope is just needlessly prolonging their suffering. I was only telling the truth, just like how you felt you had to tell Luna the truth."

Gamine was silent for a moment. "What do you mean by telling the truth?"

Pepper used a spoon to stir the soup before tasting if it was hot enough. "You did not see Celestia the way I did. And when I said she was just a weak old mare, I meant her soul."

"How could she be weak, Fluttershy just said she could have ruled for a thousand years more! And she was an alicorn, you told me she was the most powerful race of creatures in this kingdom! And you expect me to believe she was weak?!"

Pepper remained calm despite the screams that twisted her nerves. "Stop shouting. I have been feeding on souls since I was able to cast spells. I can look at a disembodied soul and tell what kind of character it belonged to. During absorption I can feel with accuracy the power that is added to mine. Celestia's was weak. I thought she was the most powerful of all the princesses, but it is almost as if her soul was fading. I gained her abilities, but this supposed power was a lie."

"What, are you saying she was somehow dying?"

"I do not know exactly. She was always calm, serene, but her eyes were dull, if not extinguished. The rare times her eyes lit up were when Luna was there. But also when she drank her six o'clock tea. One day at that time I caught her daydreaming, and when she realised I was there, she looked embarrassed, as if I should not have seen that."

"And did it ever occur to you to tell anyone?"

Pepper couldn't take it anymore, her rumbling guts were reaching its limits, not caring if the soup was lukewarm rather than hot, she drank it in one sitting. Once full, she licked her lips. "No predator cares about the mood of their prey, let alone whether orphans will be left behind. So, no, I have never talked about it, and nopony has ever remarked on it," she replied as she put out the fire. She left the cottage. Rainbow Dash's home was straight north from there, but Pepper knew the pegasus wasn't the type to stay in bed, so her best chance of finding her was a confrontation against the six mares. She set off to Ponyville, marching, for she had the day ahead of her and was in no hurry.