//------------------------------//
// A Place to Call Home 
// Story: A Disparate Bond 
// by the7Saviors 
//------------------------------//

As much as the two fillies had dreaded talking about it, in reality It only took a few minutes for Twilight and Starlight to explain what they had seen during their vision.

Once they finished, Aeon leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and hummed in thought. She remained quietly contemplative for a minute or two and the fillies glanced at each other nervously.

Neither of them had any experience in Divination or Foresight or whatever that had been, but they both knew what they had seen wasn't a good sign... and that whatever it was involved them in some way.

Aeon finally opened her eyes and leaned forward with an amused smile. Twilight and Starlight's attention was drawn back to the cobalt mare as she spoke.

"Well now," Aeon began a hint of intrigue in her deep voice, "aside from the death, destruction, and chaos, it seems I was right about the two of you," she chuckled, "the both of you are going to accomplish great things together -- things even I've never seen done before."

"Um..." Twilight began hesitantly, "so... those two shadowy mares... does that mean they're--"

"Those two mares are your potential made manifest in the vision you both shared," Aeon interject before shaking her head in wonder, "the very fact you two even shared that vision speaks volumes of the bond that connects you two together."

"Bond?" Starlight asked, raising an eyebrow, "what are you talking about? What bond? We only just met each other..." she frowned in thought before looking back to Aeon in confusion, "...how long has it been since we were captured and brought here?"

"Irrelevant," Aeon replied, waving a dismissive hoof, "the fact remains that you both are most likely going to be stuck with each other for the rest of your life, so get used to being around one another."

Twilight and Starlight went to question the mare for more information, but Aeon continued on over them.

"More importantly," she said, deliberately drowning out the fillies voices, "this vision, as terrible as it is, isn't something set in stone, though it is the likeliest outcome should you continue on the path you trot now."

"So your saying we're... what? Destined to become the mares in that vision?" Starlight asked in disbelief, "that's... why? I'm not anything like that... that mare," she shuddered in fear and disgust as she thought about those cold cerulean eyes, "she was evil... they both were."

"Sometimes that's just the way the cards fall, Starlight Glimmer," Aeon replied with a shrug, "life can mold you into shapes you'd never expect to take, and what once held true for you may no longer hold true further down the line."

"But... but I don't want to become... that," Twilight whimpered, "I don't want to be evil!"

"Maybe you will, maybe you won't," Aeon replied simply, "but at this point there's no use worrying about it. As I said, that future is not set in stone, more to the point though..."

She lit her horn and in a bright yellow flash of light, a thick notebook appeared along with an inkwell and a dip pen. Without a word, she opened the notebook to a seemingly random page before dipping the pen in the ink and writing something down in the book.

"...You've given me some very interesting things to think about, and with all this in mind, I'm going to begin outlining your studies and training regimen."

"What, already?!" Starlight cried in alarm, "but we don't even know what we're doing yet! We don't know anything!"

"And that'll change once you get settled in," Aeon answered without looking up from her work, "just leave everything to me for now."

"Okay fine," Starlight snapped, "but can you at least tell us where we are? Twilight and I set out to find the city that was supposed to be around where I lived and I'm guessing this was it."

"Probably," Aeon replied distractedly, "this isn't the only bit of civilization out here in the desert. None of them are nearly as big or as fortified as this one, but there are other towns out there, though they're spread pretty thin."

She paused in her writing and gave Starlight a pointed look.

"Also, given that I know... knew your parents, I think it's a safe bet to assume this was the place you were looking for," she dramatically waved a hoof towards the window and the darkness of the night beyond it, "welcome to the Grey Asylum, fillies."

The two fillies followed Aeon's gaze to the window, then back to Aeon when it was clear they wouldn't be seeing anything in the darkness showing through the window.

Aeon didn't seem to care, opting to return to her task at hoof writing in the notebook. For several minutes there was silence save for the quiet scratching of pen on paper. 

It was clear Aeon had nothing else to say for the moment, so the two fillies took the opportunity to ruminate on everything the mare had told them. 

Twilight couldn't help but dwell on what she had seen in the vision she and Starlight had shared. She thought back on what Aeon had revealed about her own magical affinity and the spell she had unconsciously used to escape from her home.

It had been a Dark Magic spell, and not only that, but it had apparently been quite a strong one to boot. If her affinity was indeed Dark Magic, then some of the things she had seen in that vision made sense, much to her own horror.

She could never see herself creating such a terrible future, but given where she had ended up, and everything that had happened to both her and Starlight, anything could happen between then and now.

The more Starlight thought about her and Twilight's situation, the more she realized the actual possibility of such a future. She had made a mistake, a terrible mistake that had cost her everything, and Twilight was a victim that wound up in the same unfortunate circumstances.

Given what Aeon had told them about the desert and what she and Twilight had both been through, Starlight could see how growing up in such an environment could possibly change them for the worst. 

Despite her efforts to remain calm and normal on the surface, Starlight was a wreck. She had killed her own parents and best friend in an ill conceived attempt to impress her parents enough that they would finally take her into town with them.

She had thought that maybe if she proved herself useful and talented, she wouldn't have to stay home while they left to do who-knows-what. Maybe she wouldn't have to be alone all the time in that cabin, whiling away her hours with magical study because she literally had nothing better to do.

But her plan had blown up in her face, and the only ponies she had ever known and cared about paid the ultimate price for her failure. It had almost been enough to break her -- and it would have... had Twilight not shown up when she did.

It was only then that Starlight realized that Twilight had actually saved her in a sense. She'd never admit it aloud to anypony, but Aeon had been right, Twilight had been that rock for her to cling to when she had very nearly fallen over the edge.

They both shared the same pain, they had both been left alone, violently torn from their families, they both understood each other. Twilight had been there to comfort Starlight when she was at her lowest point, and in return, Starlight had chosen not to abandon the lavender filly when all was said and done. 

In other words, Starlight realized it was exactly like Aeon had said. Despite not having known each other for very long, they both shared a very real bond -- strong or not.

Starlight blinked and suddenly realized she had been staring at Twilight. Things became awkward when she realized Twilight had been staring right back, and they both looked away, red-faced and embarrassed.

The fact that Aeon had stopped writing at some point and had her head resting on a hoof as she eyed the two with a knowing smirk didn't help matters. The two fillies shifted uncomfortably for a moment before Twilight cleared her throat and addressed Aeon.

"U-Um, so..." she began clumsily, "where... where are we supposed to stay while we're here? You're not gonna put us back in the dungeon... are you?" 

"Of course not," Aeon scoffed, "that was just to test whether or not you had the capability to think outside the box... which reminds me," she looked between the two, "just how did you two escape anyway?"

As Twilight and Starlight told Aeon about the escape attempt she nodded in understanding. After they were finished she turned to Starlight with an acknowledging smile.

"Well it seems you're very good at using what you know to come up with clever solutions to your problems, not surprising given who your mother was," she sighed wistfully, turning her gaze towards the ceiling, "I swear, that mare could get herself out of any situation..."

She shook her head and her smile turned downwards into a frown.

"As clever as you are though, you're also reckless, and like I said before, that can and will get you killed," she chided, "you need to learn to control yourself if you don't want a repeat of what happened to your parents and Sunburst."

Starlight hung her head and scuffed a hoof against the floor, an odd mix of pride, sorrow, and guilt washing over her briefly. Aeon paid her no mind as she turned to Twilight with a frown.

"You on the other hoof, need to learn to unlearn."

Twilight blinked and scrunched up her face in confusion. Aeon rolled her eyes and continued.

"Given what little I know about you, you strike me as a very intelligent and very talented filly when it comes to magic, but you're too cautious," she shook her head once, "caution is all well and good, but it becomes a detriment when used in excess. 

"Sometimes you need to be reckless -- to unlearn what you know so that you can innovate and find new solutions to problems you otherwise couldn't overcome."

"So... in other words," Twilight surmised, "I need to be a little more like Starlight, and Starlight needs to be a little more like me?"

"Exactly," Aeon answered with a nod of satisfaction, "you two were practically made for each other," she leaned forward, lowered her eyelids, and spoke her next words in a breathy whisper, "perhaps in more ways than one."

Both fillies blushed furiously, sputtering and glaring indignantly at the laughing mare sitting across from them. After a few minutes of oddly childish giggling from the cobalt mare, Aeon regained her composure and a business like frown once again adorned her features.

"Anyway, I think that's enough for now," she turned to the window for a moment before looking back to the two fillies, "you're both probably as tired as I am, so we're gonna call it a night here."

She stood up from her chair and trotted around the desk, motioning for the fillies to follow her as she made her way back to the entrance.

"You asked where you and Starlight will be staying, right?" she asked, giving Twilight a questioning look. Twilight nodded and Aeon nodded in return before facing the path ahead, as she spoke, "rather than tell you, I'll just show you instead."

The trio made their way out of Aeon's office and back into the large library. The mare led the fillies past all the bookshelves and towards the staircase at the opposite end of the room.

The two bemused fillies followed her down the spiraling staircase to the lower floor where the staircase became a stairwell. A large and thick stone pillar replaced the open space of the library above. 

The path grew a bit narrower and the stairwell steeper, the stairwell itself being broken up by the doors placed along the central pillar at regular intervals.

"This is the area where all the scholarly types stay during the night. You didn't see any of them because I don't allow anypony in the library after curfew, so they're all probably cooped up in their rooms doing who-knows-what."

"You have a curfew on how long ponies can stay in the library?" Twilight asked incredulously, "why?"

"Reasons," Aeon replied shortly before stopping in front of one of the many doors, "anyway, this is where you two will be staying."

Twilight and Starlight eyed the plain wooden door with curiosity before turning back to Aeon. Aeon pushed the door open and stepped inside without any fanfare, the fillies following right behind her.

They looked around the rather large room and were a bit disappointed at what they saw.

The room itself, while large, was almost completely barren. There were a few bookshelves against the curved stone wall here and there, but they were all empty. A large, but plain looking bed rested against the far wall to the left of the entrance and a small desk with a single chair was placed near another end of the room.

Another magically lit chandelier was placed overhead, but other then the empty shelves, large bed, and desk with a chair, there was nothing else in the room.

Twilight and Starlight turned to Aeon with curious raised of their brow. Aeon merely frowned in annoyance and shook her head.

"Don't look at me like that," she said, trotting back to the entrance, "you girls are basically living here for free, so I don't want to hear any complaints about the crappy condition of your room, it's the best I could on short notice."

She yawned and rubbed the back of her neck before trotting outside the door. She turned to look at the fillies over her shoulder.

"Burning Comet will be here tomorrow morning to give you two a tour of the Grey Asylum, so be ready for that."

With that, she trotted the rest of the way out and shut the door behind her, leaving the two fillies alone. They both turned to each other with bemused frowns.

"I wasn't complaining," Twilight stated, "were you?"

Starlight simply shrugged and trotted over to the bed.

"It's better than nothing at any rate," she replied, hopping onto the bed and making herself comfortable, "at least we have somewhere to stay."

Twilight nodded and followed Starlight's example, hopping onto the bed and curling up on the other end opposite the light pink filly.

"If you think about it, we've been pretty lucky so far," Twilight mused aloud, "in fact, if what Aeon said was true about the desert, we've been really lucky."

Starlight scoffed and closed her eyes as she pulled the blanket over her. She rolled over onto her side, facing away from Twilight, and opened her eyes again -- a troubled frown crossing her face.

"Yeah, maybe... or maybe we have the worst luck in the world."