Chapter 1
Streak
I couldn't stand it. Gallopolis, for all that it was where I was born, wasn't where I felt I belonged. Zebras deferred to me in awe because I was a royal unicorn, unicorns looked down on me because I had zebra blood…and to top it off, I didn't have a cutie mark.
All I could think of to do was run away to try to find what my purpose was supposed to be. I knew it was wrong, but I was going to come back…eventually.
I packed up only essentials in some plain saddlebags. Nothing fancy; no insignia of the kingdom, nothing to remind me of home…this meant that I couldn't bring Jewel-eye. Still, that couldn't be helped. As I finished, I turned to look around my room. "Have I forgotten anything?"
Then my gaze fell on my mirror.
My reflection looked right back at me: a golden-hued unicorn covered with violet zebra stripes. Stripes ran through my tail and Mohawk-style mane, and a stripe even spiraled up my horn! Black hooves and black makeup all around my brown eyes…I would attract attention wherever I went.
That won't do…
I grabbed a jar of makeup and proceeded to paint my entire coat, tail and mane the one color that no self-respecting Gallopolis citizen would be seen as: black. By day, the desert surrounding the kingdom just gets too hot for black to be practical.
Good thing I'm traveling at night.
I gave my coat a few minutes to dry, and then I hefted my saddlebags onto my back and set out.
For the first fifteen minutes, I just chose a direction and walked, dragging my long tail across the sand behind me to erase my hoofprints. I wasn't interested in being followed, thank you very much!
But once those fifteen minutes were up, I shook the sand from my tail and started running.
My name is Princess Sunstreak. The only pony who has ever been able to keep up with me is Prince Sunchaser, my elder brother.
I ran and ran. I ran until night turned into day. I ran until sand turned into grass. I ran until the trees no longer looked familiar. I ran until my lungs burned, my legs ached and my eyes blurred. I ran until I couldn't run any longer and I collapsed.
I'll…I'll just rest…for a minute…then I'll get…get my bearings…
Twilight Sparkle
It started off as a quiet day. I was doing some research, when all of a sudden Rarity came charging through the door. "Twilight! You won't believe what Rainbow Dash found while she was out practicing!"
I followed her out. And then I saw what had her in such a state.
Rainbow Dash was streaked all over in black. And lying on the ground in front of her was a yellow-and-violet striped unicorn! She also had some kind of black dye smeared on her coat and mane, which explains R.D.'s coat.
And…she was unconscious.
We managed to get her to Rarity's place, where the mare was promptly dragged into a bath. Probably about midway through that, she woke up.
That was a splashy situation: she went into a panic. It took Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack to hold her down so that I could try to explain things to her.
"It's okay, it's okay, you're in PonyVille, nobody's going to hurt you, I'm Twilight Sparkle, these are my friends, and we found you unconscious outside town."
After she took a couple of slow deep breaths, she seemed calmer, and my friends could get off of her. Then she spoke. "I'm sorry. I…I'm not used to this much water, and I suppose I overreacted." Her accent was definitely not from around here.
"What's yer name, stranger?" Applejack asked.
"Streak."
"With those garish stripes," Rarity sized her up, "I'm not surprised."
She studied a hoof sadly. "I was often mocked for them in Gallopolis." Then she blinked, as if she'd just said more than she meant to.
"I've read about Gallopolis. It's in the middle of the desert, right? No wonder you're not used to water like what Rarity was using to clean you up. Besides that, though, what's it like there?"
"Well…"
