I climbed up step-by-step and making sure not to slip on the wet stairs. The intense light blinded me after being trapped in the darkness for so long. The rough gravely floor soon changed texture to stone, then marble. Finally, I found myself standing once again in the glorious atrium of the Grand Castle. However, unlike before, I no longer saw this place with awe or beauty. I knew that the golden floors and pillars of jewels have been created from the spoils of war. I couldn't imagine how many millions of ponies have been killed in order to accumulate this much wealth. The wine from the fountain spilled like blood, a never-ending flow of red life.

The guard urged me to move further into a hallway and up another case of stairs. The rooms became even more extravagant: diamond chandeliers hung high from the ceiling on silver chains, the walls were etched in a mosaic of precious jewels, and the windows were cloaked with curtains of finest Equestrian silk.
I continued down the hallway and glimpsed into a room to my left full ponies. They were heavily dressed in regal clothing, the mares in frilly dresses and the stallions in dark suits. They were drunk, drinking cup after cup of wine. The more they became drunk, the more they drank. Their clothes were stained with wine and ripping at the seams. Their bloated bellies of the stallions popped the button off of their suits, and they still gorged themselves on the buffet of the never-ending supply of food served to them. It was a sick sight, how the so-called 'superior' race was truly nothing more than wasted and pathetic beings.
I continued, walking faster and faster. The patterns on the decorated walls fused into a homogeneous swirl of gold and silver. The details were no longer able to be made out. Then I came to a stop. In front of me was a thirty foot bolted door which resembled a vault. In iron, the two words were clearly visible: Grand Council. Beyond this door would be the Grand Council, the protectors and dictators of the unicorn race. The guard called for five other unicorns. With the combined power of their magic, they began to undo the magical bolts. The door opened slowly and an overly radiant light blinded me further as if I were staring into the sun.
I couldn't see anything, but I did feel something for sure. An icy cold breeze billowed out from the doors and froze the sweat on my brow. Moisture in my mouth dried away and left my mouth parched. What in Equestria was happening? My vision returned and I saw what the doors were hiding. Inside were raised pillars of pure white marble which a dozen ponies sat on top of. The floor was made of glass, or possibly ice. The walls and ceilings were laden with mirrors on all sides. I saw myself in its reflection and the infinite reflections within it. The ponies who sat on the pillars were cloaked in pure white hooded robes. I recognized some of them: Emerald and Topaz, for example. They all looked down on me menacingly and eager to pass judgment.

"Madam Berry Punch," a voice boomed, "you have been summoned here on the account of treason."

I was unable to speak because of violent shaking. It could have been because of the temperature, or maybe the fear of those ponies. My lips were shut either way.

"Denial to carry out the King's cause..."
"Refusal to protect the unicorn race..."
"An ally of the enemy…"

The ponies continued to read off the crimes of I've committed.

"She's not all bad, you know."
I recognized that voice of the Doctor.
"She did have fun in my office the other night…"

His reminders sent even more shutters down my spine. I wanted to protest, that I didn't kill that stallion; that it wasn't me and that I didn't want anypony to die. But I knew the facts were all too real to deny; I am a murderer. I would have cried right there if my eyes were able to.

The accusations continued for nearly a half hour. I was sure that they would send me to the gallows. A coincidence, but just maybe fate, allowed me to live one day more.

"However, the worst crime would be to kill a pureblood. The Unicorn King would never allow such a crime."

I couldn't believe what they had said. I would be allowed live.

"However, you have shamed all of unicorn kind."

I half expected for something like this to happen. Nothing in life came without consequences. Before I could brace myself a great purple glow launched me up into the air.

"You no longer deserve the title of a unicorn."

Several beams of magic shot at my horn which was rapidly forced to absorb their energy. My horn instantly heated up and glowed fiery red.

"A shame, really, that a pureblood would be treasonous. You could have been great, powerful, and wealthy."

My head was spinning and I could feel the blood pumping through my brain. This wild energy began to make my horn start cracking. Small fragments of the horn's matter began to decompose into raw energy. The pain was incredible. It was like having my teeth sanded down with a chainsaw. Once the magic had cut down deep enough, it revealed the magical core of white nerves. The beams of magic began sawing directly into the core and the pain caused me to blackout. The last memory was embedded in my mind forever: my head was tilted to its side and from the reflection of the mirror I could see blood draining out of the hole in my forehead and splattering all over the pure white floor. I looked like the ponies in my nightmares, dead.

I woke up. My eyes were closed, but I knew that something was strange. I was warm, covered under heavy blankets similar to the ones of my bed. I didn't want to move; my mind was as tired as my body, and ached. I recognized the familiar smells of rose and mulberry perfume in the air. Was everything just a dream? I opened my eyes.

This was not my home. It was completely different. The rooms were not made of stone, but wooden planks. The blankets covering me were made of wool, not silk. Nothing in the room stood out as extraordinary, instead there was a charm attributed to its simplicity in design. I was a nice change from the excessiveness of the castle.

I heard the creaking of an opening door. I tried to turn my head but pain surged down all my nerves.

A mare walked up to me, "Careful now." A pair of worried light green eyes stared at me. Her cherry red mane was tied up behind her head into a messy tail. I thought it was silly how her mane was so different from the mare-like image I was brought up to know. Her smile made me feel safer for some reason, even though I had no idea where I was.

"Where am I?"

She took her hooves and placed them on my head. She tugged on my head, or more specifically, something wrapped around it. In her hooves was a bandage, soaked in blood - my blood. She proceeded to clean my wound right before applying a new bandage. This is when I noticed a bucket of bloodied bandages sitting beside the bed. What happened?

"Dearie, you've been through a lot."

I had no idea what happened. All I remembered was that room and my horn. My horn! I tried to feel around for my horn, but there was nothing there.
"Where am I?"

"We were lucky to find you in time," she said, as she got up to the curtains. She pulled them open and I could see outside. A forest of pink blossom trees were scattered over the dark green hills. I saw an abundance of bunnies and squirrels, something that I've never been able to see before in the closed walls of the kingdom. They taught us that the outside world was disorderly and dangerous, but the wild nature looked so beautiful.
"You were stranded out in the middle of the forest at night. When the others and I found you we doubted that you would make it."

They must have abandoned me. Killing a pureblood was a crime, so they threw me out for the beasts to kill me.

"But, when we brought you back to Dodge Junction, here, the doctors fixed you back up as best they could."

She looked at my head and repeated, "as best as they could."

I still didn't understand. Didn't the Other Ponies want to kill us unicorns? "Why did you save me?"

She laughed at my question as if it were a joke. "Dear, every other pony has their head stuck in this war. The ponies here at Dodge keep out of this whole nonsense. We work together, grow together, and most importantly live together."

I thought about those words. What did it mean to 'live'? Not just existing as a pony, but living life? I've been unhappy my whole life living the predetermined life of a pureblood ever since birth. But now, it was over?
I saw a pegasus and unicorn pass by the window, side-by-side, working together.

The mare could see the surprise in my eyes and laughed again. "Everypony here loves and tolerates each other. Nopony is better than another."

I could feel my life changing, taking a turn for the better. Escaping from the purebloods was the best thing that happened to me. There would be no more war. No more death. No more hate. I imagined my future life in this haven, full of smiles and joy. In fact, there has never been so much hope in my life before. It was a new beginning!

I stared further out into the scenery. It looked like a garden, full of life.

A few months passed and I slowly recovered, both physically and mentally. I helped Ms. Jubilee, the mare who rescued me, on the cherry orchards. It was a good life, even though it strained my muscles. I was happy to work because it gave me a sense of accomplishment in my life. Every morning, lunch, and supper everypony in the little town would come together and share the harvest. I learned a lot about the other ponies and their tragic stories. Everypony here was affected by the war, and they only came together to escape it like me. Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi alike from either side of the war saw the pointless war. We were both happy and sad, that nopony else could see the truth and enjoy peace.

I owned my own little garden which I grew colorful flowers in. Daisies were my favorite; I just loved how they innocently danced in the breeze. Only last month did I start growing grapes. Ever since Ms. Jubilee let me try wine for the first time, I knew that this is what I wanted to do in my life. I also grew several species of berries, which I hoped to mix in with the grapes for a nice kick. It strange, how some ingredients which would seem to not taste good at all together create the best flavor.
Through batches and testing of my harvest, I created the perfect wine. It was sweet, but at the same time a little sour. It had overall a very happy body, but left the aftertaste of sadness. The texture was smooth, unlike the rougher and distasteful wine that I've had before. This is how I earned my cutie mark! Wine was the elixir which brought some cheer to everypony around me; I knew that it was good.

It was in my mid-adolescence when everything changed.

"Everypony! They're coming!" shouted the mailpony. We knew that she was much too early to be delivering us our packages. Her eyes were wild in frenzy as she tried to explain to Ms. Jubilee her story.

But before we were able to understand her warning, a cannon shell exploded beside us. From the west stood the army of gold plated unicorns with their jewel studded cannons. I looked to the east and there were fleets of pegasi bombers, carrying explosives of different shapes and sizes. Our little village was trapped between this war, and I knew that it was impossible to escape the inevitable. When I recovered from the aftershock of the last wave of cannons, I saw that the land was slowly being torn apart. The fragile trees were ripped to shreds by the unicorns' magic, hacking away at the branches and roots. The pegasi' threw down their bombs and caused the trees to blaze afire. Ponies around me scattered away looking for shelter, but even the houses had collapsed. Dirt craters from the explosives littered the previous landscape. Dirt mixed with the streams, turning it into a torrent of mud. Then the blood. Ponies around me screamed as their ligaments were ripped off by magic or shrapnel by the cannons. They could do nothing, not even run. There was nowhere to run. Both belligerents advanced closer, completely enclosing our village. Unicorns drove their iron tipped horns into the pegasi' chests, mouths, and eyes. In retaliation, the pegasi released their volley of napalm, covering both my friends and the unicorns. I knew from their screams that they burned both slowly and painfully. Their bodies burned into ashes, and those ashes burned. The smallest critters were lucky enough to escape into their burrows, but most of the others were accidentally trampled under the iron hooves of both unicorn and pegasus.

I had to escape. I backed away, but tripped and fell down into a small crater. I landed on the body of a unicorn, his body still warm from life. But before I could run, a corpse of a pegasus fell on top of me. I was stuck between these two dead ponies, powerless to escape. I looked up at the world around burning into nothingness, like the hope I had of a new life.