A lone purple ear pressed against the door of Sunspot’s house. The blinds had been drawn and the doors bolted – something the neighbors said was far from strange even when the home’s owner was in. The unicorn mare outside could make out the faintest of conversation inside, hoping to gain some insight or simply delay her eventual entrance to the home.
“They’ve almost got the radio antenna in Hoofswell built. Seems a little odd though since the only other one in the whole country was built out of spare parts.” The familiar sound of rustling papers could be heard, calming the eavesdropper slightly. She must be reading a letter. “Oh, looks like the runway extensions to that old Wonderbolt training yard in Canterlot are done too. Now they need some aircraft…” The door to the house suddenly opened, causing the mare leaning on it to fall in and land on Sunspot with a shriek. Sunspot did not seem dazed.
“I have got to find new ways of meeting ponies. I mean, the whole ‘catching’ thing is just worn out by now.” A light giggle responded from farther in the house as Evanescence came into the front room. When she saw the newcomer, she immediately galloped up and grabbed her.
“Twilight!” She yelled, delivering a monstrous hug before realizing the icy stare of her marefriend and putting her friend down. “I haven’t seen you since I came to Canterlot, what brings you here? I mean, I know you’re Celestia’s student and all but why did you come here?”
Sunspot raised an eyebrow at the name. Personal student to the sun goddess, and twice-over savior of the country (as she knew from the ceremonies and memorial windows in the castle), and she knew Evanescence? The purple mare stood slightly shrunken, as if afraid to be seen. An odd posture for such a supposedly awesome figure, but in the end even heroes are just normal ponies most of the time.
“Well, I…” Twilight started, gathering her nerve. “I’ve been reading a lot… I mean even more than usual… about what a pony should do when something traumatic happens in their lives.” Evanescence’s smile faded. “I’ve gotten better with my friend’s help, but I don’t think that I’m fine yet. All the books say that I need to confront whatever caused the trauma.”
The conversation seemed deeply personal, and Sunspot couldn’t help but feel like she was missing some rather important parts. Looking to Evanescence for what to do and getting no response at all, she decided to quietly slip out of the room.
“The way I see it, the hydra is long since dead so there’s no way to confront it about this. Sonority has left the country, and… as much as I don’t blame you, you’re the only one left for me to try to ‘confront’ in any sort of meaningful way.”
Evanescence heaved a deep sigh, then invited Twilight to sit by the fireplace. It was still summer, but her body hadn’t acclimated to the cool Equestrian climate yet, and the fire was almost always lit.
“This isn’t the first time Sonority’s ‘quick thinking’ and ‘decisive action’ have gotten someone else hurt.” Evanescence stared into the flames, remembering years before. “The same things that make him such an asset to the military make him a terrible pony. I know I shouldn’t speak ill of my sister’s husband, but… Well I’m sure you’ve heard how he acted when they left and I stayed.” Twilight nodded, unsure how deeply damaged their relationship was. “My sister loves Sonority, just as much as she loves me. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that she does, given how completely different we are, but she always stands by him and I know she doesn’t love me any less.” Evanescence rose from her seat, taken to pace the room. Twilight’s eyes stayed on her. “I’m not saying they’re perfect. In fact, a few years ago, I was almost certain that they’d get a divorce.” She stopped facing the wall, and muttered “… or kill each other. Whichever is easier.” Despite the fireplace and the mid-summer’s heat, Twilight felt a chill run down her spine.
“What happened?” She was hoping to be more eloquent, but it was the only question that came to mind. The books had been very explicit about saying what you think in these situations.
“Well, Sonority was out on a military training exercise. They were always training back then, like they expected some huge war to break out, but the country’s been united for hundreds of years. We simply didn’t have any enemies back then. Anyway, he was on a training mission leading a squad of six soldiers through the woods when they were attacked by a bear.” Twilight thought back to the bear Fluttershy had befriended, but was forced to assume that creatures in Hearth were a little more aggressive. “He only had a split second to make any kind of decision. The whole squad was armed with wooden weapons, but one of the colts in the group had a small knife he kept with him, just to use as a tool. Sonority ordered him to distract the bear while the rest escaped.” Evanescence again took a seat by the fire, electing to fiddle with her hooves instead of pacing the room. “Shadow… at least that’s what everypony I knew called him. He was Sonority’s only real friend in the group. He thought the world of that poor guy, but even he couldn’t fight a bear.” Evanescence looked up, for the first time looking Twilight in the eye. “Shadow died in the woods, alone. Sonority blamed himself for a long time, and the more ponies tried to console him the more he lashed out. I can’t say I ever saw him hit my sister, but I know he did. She should have left him then. If she had, we wouldn’t be in this mess. We would have never gone into the woods that night, and no hydra would be fertilizing the trees for a mile and a half.” Twilight’s stomach knotted up at the image, but she swallowed the feeling and tried to respond.
“If that creature hadn’t been stopped, it would have destroyed every attempt your ponies and mine make to communicate. You heard its speech as much as I did, and you know it’s true. I just wish there could have been a less… violent… solution.” Twilight got up, walking over to the other mare and placing a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m not about to defend him, and it sounds like Sonority was a bad pony long before he came here. But he recovered from Shadow’s death. He will recover from your ‘betrayal’, and both of us will recover from what happened while he was here.” Evanescence smiled.
“I hope you’re right. And I hope my sister can stand up to him now that I’m not there. There is only one thing that I’m really sure of these days…” She got up, throwing off Twilight’s touch and slamming her hoof into the wooden floor. “If he hurts her, I’ll hurt him.”