"Macarena, was that completely necessary?"

"Ah'm… Ah'm sorry your highness but I had no idea she'd agreed to join us! Her bedchambers were the best access point in the buildin' for our spy to sneak in unnoticed. Plus we couldn't exactly leave two Dinin' Armours roamin' the castle could we? The other princes would surely have realized there was a plan in place and woulda foiled it."

My throbbing head struggled to process the words. Highness? Spy? Plan? What a strange dream I must have had! Like there was some kind of uprising…. A shock passed through me and my eyes flew open in a panic as I remembered what had happened.

"Oh, look! She's waking up!" A handsome stallion I remembered as Midnight Colt smiled at me. "Good morning!"

Nearby stood the mare that had bucked me earlier, looking smaller than I remembered. "Eeyup," she placed a hoof behind her yoked neck, "Ah sure am sorry 'bout buckin' y'all earlier. Didn't mean ta hurt a member a the cause, 'specially not a personal friend a Prince Midnight." She held out her hoof to me, a kind and country-girl smile on her face. "The name's Little Macarena, but most folk just call me Lil' Mac."

"Um… I'm Dining Armour. The royal bi-… actually… I'm not quite sure what I am anymore." I cast Midnight a questioning look.

"Why, the new recruit of course! You were the most sensible choice. All castle staff are given basic military training in case of extreme need, but you're the only one who bothers to take the optional refresher courses, so I know you can fight. I know your past and frequent your dreams, so I know you felt guilty not being part of a revolution already, which in turn meant I could be fairly certain you would join us." Midnight seemed proud of himself at this.

Cocking an eyebrow, Lil' Mac raised an interesting question. "Y'all were watching her dreams? Why in tarnation would y'all do somethin' like that?!"

The prince seemed embarrassed and answered her in a defensive tone. "I-It was for the good of the cause!"

"Don't mean y'all have ta visit more 'an a few times!"

"Cut it out!" I exclaimed. "I'm hurt, hungry and confused and you two are standing there arguing about my dreams! Now I don't mean to be rude but I'm sick of being more or less ignored! You two need to shape up and realize what matters at the moment isn't in the past but in the present and that you need to make things better for the future!" I hadn't even noticed that I'd not only stood up but had fully extended my wings and raised a front hoof off the floor in a somewhat girly yet commanding way.

Slowly, a smile spread across the prince's face. "Fantastic!" he practically yelled, "See Mac? I told you she'd be perfect!" He turned to me and I saw his face fall as he trained his eye on my flank. "Y-You don't have a…"

"Cutie mark? No, I don't. I was taken from the orphanage at too young an age to have gained one. So what? Is that going to be problem, soldier?"

I heard my words as if they were an echo. Di… did I just call a prince "soldier?!"

"Well," Mac reasoned, "It could draw some attention ta ya that y'all don't need as the leadin' officer."

"Don't be absurd, it'll be easy enough to fake. I just need some body paints and a simple sword-and-shield design and I can pull it off. Now, how to break it to the soldiers that their commanding officer is going to be a mare…," Midnight stroked his muzzle in contemplation.

"WHAT?!" My voice neared Royal Canterlot Voice volume. "SINCE WHEN DID I AGREE TO BE A COMMANDING OFFICER?! AND WHY SHOULD IT MATTER THAT I'M A MARE?! I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW I CAN TAKE ANY OF YOUR LOUSY SOLDIERS DOWN IN TWO… seconds… flat. What's come over me?"

"Your destiny is taking hold, showing the true colors you never had the chance to know you possessed. Now, on to matters that are actually important…," a slightly deep and very intimidating female voice spoke.

Panicking slightly, I looked around for the owner of that voice, and saw a terrifyingly beautiful unicorn mare step out of the shadows. Her coat was slate grey, and she wore menacing black plated armor from which her haunting black hair flowed, like Midnight's, as if in a non-existent wind. Her eyes seemed to burn into my very soul, their green and red colors striking fear into my heart with poisonous purple gasses spilling from their sides and setting off her red horn.

I shook my head. Fear is just an emotion, I thought, an emotion you're meant to overcome. Feigning boredom, I walked over and extended a hoof calmly. "I'm Dining Armour, but if these two are telling me the truth then most ponies will be calling me their commanding officer around here soon. And you are?"

She smiled, not evilly but genuinely, with pointed, carnivore-like teeth. "I like this one. Not many ponies would willingly approach me. I am Queen Symber of the Crystal Kingdom, though nowadays that dreadful Prince Tempo claims my throne." Never once did her eyes leave me, and even her firm hoofshake was a bit daunting.

Despite my quaking fear I managed to look her in the eye and smile. "Well, we'll just have to fix that won't we? It's a crying shame to see the wrong pony on the throne and I won't stand for it."

What's going on? This is so unlike me… or… or is it? Maybe this is the side of me I kept hidden from everyone… even myself. Cautiously, I let these strange feelings hit home and I felt only two things. Power and relief coursed through my veins in equal measure; I hadn't realized how tired I'd been, hiding my true self my whole life.

Midnight looked at me with sparkling eyes. "See? I told you she was the right pony for the job! Though we need to get her second in command and a sword to keep the stallions off her," here he moved my red bangs away from my aqua eyes, "With a face like that she'll definitely need them."

My newfound self quickly shook my head, sending two tones of red across my face. "This is war, any soldier that can't remember that will find themselves cleaning the bathrooms with a toothbrush," I looked at the stallion pointedly. "Don't think I can't handle myself. Just because I'm a mare doesn't mean I need somepony to protect me."

"Amen ta that, sister!" Lil' Mac exclaimed, now standing right beside me. "Ah think it's about time we got y'all some armor. Those soldiers ain't gonna listen ta ya 'less ya got armor on, trust me."

As I followed the farmpony from the small room I felt uneasy, as if I was being watched, but I brushed the thought aside. If I hadn't, I might have spotted the blue eyes floating in the shadows or heard the distinctly un-pony-like laughter as a ponyoid creature followed my every move.