Princesses Sunlight Dawn and Flurry Heart led the rest of the formerly enslaved ponies through Canterlot. They all had some conscious awareness that they were indeed running for their lives, but they kept their composure and retreated in an orderly fashion. They made their way out of the semi-destroyed city and towards the Hoof Step Mountains.
"Come on!" Sunlight yelled to her new companions as they crossed the Manes River and made their way up the slopes of one of the smaller mountains. Within a few hours, they were safely out of trouble and they were able to assess their situation. Sunlight couldn't help but feel very disappointed in herself. She had torn fur out of her sister's coat in the hopes that doing so might save Equestria, but she had failed. I…I failed Equestria, she thought, I…failed…Mom and Dad!
She shed a few tears as she sat down in the middle of a clearing that they had just walked into. Her small mind was throbbing. Her many wounds still ached, and now her legs were inflamed from all the running they had been doing. Her spirit was crushed. Her eyes no longer glowed like they once did. Rather, they were dull in pain. She cried aloud and collapsed.
Flurry quickly rushed to her cousin's side. "Get me some help!" She ordered the nearby ponies, and they quickly came to her aid. They were all former guards of Princess Celestia, and they were trained in life saving situations. So they performed chest compressions on the unconscious filly princess, and attempted to stabilize her condition.
Fairly soon, Sunlight coughed up a bit of blood and came to. She looked around in a bit of a bleary way until she remembered just where she was and how she got there. She sat up and began weeping and wailing all over again. Flurry quickly threw her hooves around her and tried her best to comfort her. "Sh…" she said soothingly, "it's all okay."
"NO, IT'S NOT OK! I FAILED!" Sunlight yelled in heart rending sadness, "I FAILED EQUESTRIA! I FAILED MOMMY AND DADDY! I FAILED YOU!"
"No, you didn't, Sunlight! Stop talking like that!" Flurry said. She hoped to get some sort of response out of her cousin. But when she saw that her attempts were proving to be quite futile, she reared back and slapped Sunlight across the face with a hoof. Sunlight stopped wailing and stared at her cousin in shock.
"You…you hit me!"
"Yes, I did, Sunlight. But it wasn't a hit born out of hatred, it was a hit born out of desperation and necessity. Sunlight, you're putting too much on yourself! It was your first fight!"
"But I'm a princess…"
"And princesses don't always win!" Flurry said as she shook Sunlight. "You've gotta get ahold of yourself! Right now, Equestria needs a leader, and you're it!"
"How can I lead?" Sunlight questioned with a dark look in her eyes. "After everything that's happened in the last 24 hours, how can I lead?! How can anypony look to me for guidance, wisdom, understanding?! How?! You certainly can't, and you shouldn't! I'm nothing! I'm nopony! I'm not even worthy of having these wings!"
With that, she crazily tried to rip her own wings off. Flurry sprang into action and held her crying and distressed cousin's mouth away from her appendages. "I won't let you do this, Sunlight!" She cried, "I'm not gonna let you give up, you hear me?! There are too many ponies depending on you!"
"That's the point!" Sunlight wailed, "I'll only disappoint them!"
"YOU WON'T!" Flurry suddenly screamed. "Get that through your thick head, Sunlight! You won't! Don't you believe the prophecy?!"
Sunlight suddenly stopped short. "Prophecy?" She asked.
Flurry realized that Sunlight had never been told about the prophecy that Zecora had given her when she was born. She looked at her cousin in shock. "You mean…Auntie Twily and Uncle Flash never told you?"
"Told me what?"
"About the prophecy, Sunlight!"
"I mean, I've heard musings about prophetic statements, but nothing's ever been said that was concrete. What do you mean?"
"Zecora gave your mother a prophecy about you. From what I remember about it, it had something to do with you growing up into a wonderful, compassionate, kind, strong, and brave princess. This is your moment, Sunlight Dawn! This is your moment to lead Equestria through these difficult times. Let's go back. You can fight Midnight again, and save our nation! I believe in you…my sister."
Sunlight looked up at her cousin, who seemed to glow with the brightness of the sun. She didn't realize it, but the deep connection she shared with Flurry was at its complete peak. They were both glowing, and they realized that they didn't want to break away from each other. They needed each other. Even though they were only cousins, they loved each other with the same devoted affection real sisters had. Sunlight took a deep breath and steadied her nerves. "All right," she said determinedly, "let's make camp and make a plan."
The next few hours were taken up with everypony doing their part to make their small camp as secure and cozy as they could. Small tents were built out of trees felled by the stronger stallions among the group. The unicorns used their magic to weave together blankets and other such things, and the Pegasi flew through the woods, searching for food. When somepony completed a task, they reported back to Sunlight, who kept careful record of the things they already had and the things they so desperately needed.
When they were finished, Sunlight called a meeting of the small group. "My fellow Equestrians," she said, using the same opening that her mother used for speeches, "we are in a time of crisis. My formerly deceased sister, Midnight Sun, has taken the land for her own devious purposes. At this time, we must consider her the evil ruler of Equestria. She has everypony in her grasp and controls them by instilling them with their worst fears. These include our families and friends. We must take Equestria back city by city, until we can again reach Canterlot and defeat Midnight once and for all. Are there any questions?"
A stallion raised his hoof. "Yes?" Sunlight asked.
"Why can't we just assault Canterlot from the front?"
"Because Midnight will be expecting that. We must commit to doing the unexpected in order to retake Equestria. Now, we must recruit ponies from each of these cities and towns and form our own army. We need a formidable force to attack Canterlot once again."
"Sunlight's right," Flurry said, "now, who's with us?!" With a great cheer, everypony committed themselves to helping take Midnight's regime apart.
Suddenly, Sunlight began screaming. "I DECLARE," She yelled in a princess's rage, "THAT OUR BELOVED HOME SHALL NOT BE DESTROYED AT MY SISTER'S HOOVES! WE WILL SAVE EQUESTRIA! I WILL NOT ACCEPT FAILURE AGAIN!"
Once again, the ponies all cheered and stomped their hooves. Sunlight looked around and smiled. Everypony there was on the exact same page. Everypony there understood what they were fighting for. They weren't just fighting for the future of Equestria, they were fighting for the very future of friendship, family, and the Elements of Harmony.