The night was cold and dark and the streets were empty, except for some patrolling guards in the distance. Crystal Note walked down the main streets in a sharp trot, unconcerned if she was seen or not. She had to be about fifteen years by now and her expression was strained by worry that made Luna no longer see her as a filly, but a young mare. At the same time, there was determination burning inside her eyes, along with desperation. A dangerous mixture as Luna was well aware.
Crystal Note made her way to some kind of shop, the only one that still had lights burning inside. She threw open the door and stormed inside without even bothering to knock. She looked around and her eyes fixed on a stallion with a dark blue coat. He was maybe two years older than Crystal Note was and his cutie mark was three berries of different colours, green, yellow and red.
Crystal Note didn’t bother with a greeting and instead called out a demand at him
“I need food, as much as you can give me. And fever medicine. Quick!”
The stallion didn’t move and glanced nervously to the still open door, his ears perked up when he heard the sound of soldiers from the outside
“Harmony, it’s past curfew already. You’ll get us all into trouble.”
Crystal Note glared and shouted at him with more force, no longer a demand but an order instead
“I need food and I need medicine, and you’re going to give it to me NOW!”
She kicked out with her hind legs and threw the door shut with a loud smash.
From the back room, an old stallion walked in with a fearful expression. He took in the sight of the angered mare and his son glaring at each other
“What’s going on here?”
Crystal Note turned towards him and the old stallion backed away as the force of her glare hit him. He could tell from the sound of her voice that she was barely able to restrain herself when she repeated her order for the third time.
The shopkeeper’s son stepped between Crystal Note and his father and shouted at her
“You can’t just come here past curfew and demand things from us. Besides, we don’t have any medicine left to give away, especially for somepony who…”
“Son! Quiet now.”
The stallion interrupted his son before he’d loose himself in anger as well and with a deep sigh addressed the young mare again
“Unfortunately, Sour Berry is right. I’m sorry Crystal Note. We can’t give away supplies anymore, as much as I want to. I’m under investigation from the King himself, I need to lay low for a while or we’ll all be in danger. I hope you understand.”
Luna watched Crystal Note closely and saw her anger grow out of her desperation. She took one step towards the shop owner and stomped her hoof on the ground. Her posture was aggressive and her tail lashed behind her in anger, although her voice was dangerously calm
“I won’t leave until you give me what I asked for.”
The shop owner sighed again and his ears sunk down. Luna saw how much it pained him to be unable to help, but neither Crystal Note nor his own son would notice this in their angry state
“I’m sorry. There is nothing I can do.”
“Nothing you can do? How about you just GIVE ME SOMETHING TO EAT, NOW!”
Crystal Note cried out at the top of her voice. Luna could notice tears gleaming in the corners of her eyes, but the shop owner was too busy looking at the door to notice.
“Please, you need to calm down. I don’t want to draw any attention of the guards.”
Suddenly, Crystal Note grinned in what Luna could only describe as a wicked smile
“That’s a wonderful idea. Why don’t we call the guards and ask them what they think about you disobeying direct orders. My father is a royal advisor, when he needs food it’s as if King Sombra demanded it himself. What do you think they will do to a pony who refuses to follow King Sombra’s commands?”
Both the shop owner and his son grew pale at the mention of King Sombra and even more at the dangerous threat of calling the guards
“You wouldn’t dare that.”
Crystal Note’s sly smile froze and her brows furrowed in anger once more
“I suggest you better not test me, shop owner.”
At this Sour Berry stepped between Crystal Note and his father again, this time he was so close they almost stood muzzle to muzzle. He tried to push her away with his hoof but as soon as he touched her, whatever control Crystal Note still had over her anger fell apart. She turned towards the young stallion and struck her hoof down in one swift motion. Sour Berry didn’t even see it coming until the blow hit his face and he stumbled a step backwards. With an angry shout, Crystal Note pressed on and shoved against him with the full force of her strength. The crystal stallion stood helpless against the power of the angry earth pony and flew backwards. With a sharp gasp, he hit the closest wall and slumped on the floor.
He tried to climb back on his hooves but Crystal Note already stood above him, taller than him and with pure rage in her eyes
“You struggled against me when we were foals. But today you don’t even stand a chance anymore, crystal pony.”
Sour Berry flinched from the hatred in those words and Luna frowned as she watched. She knew she could not intervene and change what would happen, but she tried to find a reason in Crystal Note’s behaviour.
The shop owner jumped in front of his son, now panic and fear in his eyes where moments before had been pity and pain
“Stop! Don’t hurt him. I’ll get you what I can spare, but you need to stop.”
Crystal Note turned around deliberately slow and walked back to the counter. She turned her head to look behind her at the two crystal ponies
“You better not stress my patience any longer.”
Both stallions flinched and the shop owner headed into the back room while his son stumbled back on his hooves. He didn’t move away from the wall but he glared daggers at Crystal Note
“The only food he could spare is our own. You’re forcing us to go hungry so you and your father can have a feast.”
Crystal Note ignored him and kept her eyes on the door, waiting for the stallion to return. Sour Berry huffed in frustration
“I hope you’re proud of yourself.”
Crystal Note closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Sour Berry was too far away but Luna stood close enough to hear her mumble under breath
“Of course you wouldn’t understand.”
The shop owner returned with a few parcels which Crystal Note quickly stuffed into her saddle bags. She frowned when she noticed there was no medicine, but this time she didn’t push on and just went back to the front door. When she was almost out, Luna heard the shop owner calling after her
“I hope your father gets better soon.”
Crystal Note froze in the door for a moment, then she slammed the door shut and started running.
Luna followed her to the street she already knew, still trying to make sense of what she just saw. It made no sense to her why Crystal Note would ever act in such a way, but she could see how desperate she was at this moment.
Luna blinked surprised when the mare passed her home and instead headed to the house next door. Before she could knock, Rose Quartz opened the door and Luna gasped out in shock. The crystal mare was thin, her cheeks hollow and her eyes bloodshot. Her pink mane hung down in messy strands and she tried to smile for her sister but it never reached her eyes.
Crystal Note felt tears building up in her eyes but she swallowed them down and gently pushed Rose Quartz back inside. As soon as the door was locked, she pulled out the parcels of food and handed them to her sister. Rose Quartz gasped in relief and quickly unwrapped some of the food, almost crying when she took a big bite of bread.
While she was gobbling down some food, Luna noticed Crystal Note’s posture slump down in utter defeat. No trace was left of the angry mare who threatened two ponies to get what she wanted, instead Luna now saw a helpless filly who was desperate to help the ponies she loved but unable to do so.
Rose Quartz swallowed the last bite and then took the other parcels of food to the next room. Inside was a bed with their father in it. He wasn’t sleeping, in fact his body was coiled up in pain and like Rose Quartz, he showed signs of hunger and malnourishment. Luna remembered that he was working in the mines and slowly the pieces of the puzzle slipped into places. Sick as he was, there was no way for him to do the heavy work of a miner. No work meant no food for him and his family. Luna knew well enough that his wife had also long passed at this point, leaving him to care for his two daughters by himself.
Crystal Note watched as he picked up some food as well and started chewing slowly and Luna saw the painful expression on her face. From what she’d seen so far, she knew that Crystal Note and her friends had been able to ‘liberate’ some food from King Sombra to spread around those who needed it most. But by now, the inevitable war was fast approaching, the number of soldiers had grown and the King was more wary of the sparks of resistance in his Empire. Just like the shop owner was under investigation, Crystal Note and Rose Quartz would struggle to go unnoticed with their operations against the King and his army.
Crystal Note let out a deep sigh that seemed to sum up all frustration, anger and helplessness. Luna frowned and sighed as well. She couldn’t approve to how Crystal Note had acted in the shop, but she knew how it felt to be so desperate that the only way out seemed to be the most drastic approach.
Rose Quartz looked up at the sigh and walked over to nuzzle her sister
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
Crystal Note shook her head and closed her eyes, not trusting herself to find the right words to ease her family’s worries.
“You’ll feel better if you eat something, Crissy.”
Again she shook her head
“I’ve already had something. You two go ahead.”
Rose Quartz frowned, as did her father. The lie was obvious but in the end, their gnawing hunger won and they split the food between themselves. The sick stallion made sure his daughter would get the better share of what was left. Luna remember what Cadance had told her in her letter and realized that it wouldn’t be long before the two sisters would be confronted with the loss of a loved one once more.
Luna took one last look at the family as the memory faded back into darkness.