//------------------------------// // Ch.19: Mistakes and Mercy // Story: Tapestry: A World Apart // by Star Scraper //------------------------------// Pinkie's ears perked as she heard the door open. She grunted in pain as she sat up in bed. Astilbe walked inside through the rectangle of light. As the door closed again, the room was plunged back into darkness. A sliver of light came in from underneath the door, providing barely enough to see. “C-can I sit next to you?” Astilbe asked as she stopped next to Pinkie's bed, her voice quaking. Pinkie yawned. Her throat was still sharply sore from Twilight's surgery – but by now she was used to it. “Sure,” she sleepily, though happily replied. “Why wouldn't I be able to sleep next to myself?” Astilbe flopped at her hooves, sideways across the bed, then rolled around to the proper orientation next to Pinkie, burying her head under a pillow. “Uhm, I can sit up now!” Pinkie excitedly announced, but quickly changed to a tone of concern and sympathy, “but uh, is something wrong?” An ear pulled back and she cocked her head. “I – I screwed up, Pinkie! I'm – I'm so sorry,” her voice was quiet and heavy, shaky and weak. “Can you ever forgive me?” Worry mingled with Pinkie's sympathy. “...For what?” “For – for keeping a secret from you? Maybe it wasn't my idea, but – but I still did it. I still went along with it. I should've just told her 'no'! Then – then she wouldn't be... And I wouldn't -!” She sniffed, then buried her head in a pillow, unable to face her pink friend. Her voice was muffled by the pillow, but still clear enough to understand. “They killed that pony. Maybe it wasn't Rarity – maybe Rarity got away, I don't know. It was probably her. Twilight thought it was her. And now they're going to kill Twilight, too, and there's nothing we can do about it. It was all my fault for telling her – for – for not just keeping it all a secret! You're all so innocent, so naïve, you really are from Equestria! I shouldn't have -” she stopped, just sobbing into her pillow. “It's – it's all my fault...” Now Pinkie's voice was shaking. “Wha-what do you...? You mean...” She connected it all in her head. But she barely understood the words she said, “They captured Rarity, and Twilight tried to save her – but got captured?” Astilbe just nodded, her face still in the pillow. It took a few seconds for it to sink in – Astilbe came back, Twilight was gone, and Twilight wasn't coming back. And now, neither was Applejack. Pinkie felt her heart start racing. “No, no, we have to go get Applejack – then we can rescue Twilight!” she started turning over to get out of bed, only for unbearable pain to explode from below her naval, her gut, and her throat – the places she'd been shot. She cried out and felt a hoof throw around her back, pulling her away from the edge of the bed. A broken voice cried at her in some cross of a reprimand and plea, “NO! I'm not going to lose you, too! Please, just stay in bed or you'll end up like her!” As the pain echoed through Pinkie's body, the room started spinning around her. She felt like gravity might fling her out of bed entirely, if it weren't for Astilbe's hoof holding her down. “I – you can't go home now, I'm sorry. I screwed up. But I'm not doing that again! I shouldn't have let her go and I'm not letting you go, either! There's – there's a place far away that's safe. You'll – you'll have to go there...” she started to regain some composure. “My friends and I can get Applejack. Then we'll find out how to get you both to Bastion. But Equestria...” Her eyes took on a distant look. “It's gone. It's gone forever, because...” Pinkie could see the fresh wave of tears spring up. “Because I screwed up, and now Equestria is lost forever!” She collapsed back into the pillows, sobbing uncontrollably. Pinkie looked down at her pink friend crying next to her. The pony who had yesterday told them, without losing any composure, that she was sure she'd die horribly one day, was now sobbing uncontrollably. In the middle of all the darkness and chaos that descended around the edge's of Pinkie's dizzy vision, was her sobbing friend. A familiar face, doing a familiar thing. Anger beckoned her. Her mind raced, trying to make sense of the situation and what to do if she couldn't get Applejack or rescue Twilight. Atilbe had kept a terrible secret from her – had let her friend go off without her to die, and now she was helpless in bed to do anything about it. She'd betrayed their trust – but then again, it was Twilight's idea, she said. And she knew Twilight would try to rescue Rarity by herself. She'd said it plainly yesterday. But she hadn't told her when she left. And Astilbe was still the one who betrayed her and allowed her friend to be captured, and now she was powerless to save her. Yet she was also the pony who sheltered her, gave her a bed to lie in, food and drink, and took care of her. At the risk of her own life, she'd nursed her back to health and protected her from a world that wanted to kill her. She was some copy of herself, even. And yet something in her demanded fury at her rescuer – someone to blame for the sudden shock as the world tumbled around her, and her only hope for getting home was now locked in some dungeon awaiting death. And there she sat, crying next to her. She teetered in-between yelling at her and comforting her, the confusion only making the world spin more. Then all at once, she knew what to do. Amid the churning chaos around her, she was a familiar pony, doing a familiar thing she'd seen her friends do, and she'd responded the same way every time. She'd decided what to do a long time ago, when she had done it so often that it'd become a habit. She did what she'd always done for her crying friends. She knew what mattered to her most even as everything around her fell apart. She patted her friend's back, and the room stopped spinning, and once again, the darkness that surrounded her was nothing more than an ill-lit room. Astilbe looked back up at her. “Y-you aren't mad at me?” Pinkie pursed her lips, and despite the sore pains that jabbed at her as she moved, she hugged Astilbe without answering with a word. She felt a hoof reach around her back and return the hug. “Thanks, Pinkie. I... I know it's what Rarity and Twilight would've wanted. I don't know how she meant to get you two home, but I know she meant to. I'll – I'll see if there's anything we can do, but... There won't be, Pinkie. She's gone. I'm so sorry!” She lost control of her breathing again. Pinkie felt her body jerk in her hooves with every sob. She remembered how wide-eyed and excited this pony had been as they'd told her about Equestria and Celestia, how she had revered Twilight's magic in awe – and now that was all gone. Despite the painful stabs across her body, she just patted her friend's back, and assured her, “I – I know we'll find a way. Even if we don't see it now, we've always found a way to pull through, and we'll do it this time, too!” As Twilight hung, her mind swam in a dark abyss. Part of her weight was held up by the sloped concrete wall she laid across, but the rest hung from sore, swollen hooves in metal shackles anchored directly into the wall. There was nothing to do but to think and listen, and the guards were expert at staying silent, so there was little to listen for. She had decided the encounter with the robed unicorn had happened. Her hooves had felt better for awhile, and her body felt refreshed. Her stomach grew only more painfully hungry, but she was no longer so terribly thirsty. In the hours that followed, though, she sank back into the depths of her mind, finally resting in something between sleep and wakefulness in her exhaustion. She felt a fresh spark of life when she heard distant hoofsteps – this time, shoes and boots – it sounded like a guard change, except a pair of heels and rolling wheels were mixed in. She winced at the sound, remembering her interrogator from before. But the wheels were different – it sounded much heavier, like a freight dolly instead of a cart. The Rainbow Dash voice came in from far away. “Summit Guard, you're temporarily relieved of this watch. Standby for further orders just outside the bunker behind me. This event is not happening, you are not to speak of this to anyone.” She heard bootsteps as guards moved around. Normally they confirm when they're given orders, don't they? Where's the 'yes m'am'? Two more sets of boots and a set of heels approached her, before she felt hooves reach up and remove her blindfold, but not her gag. As with when the unicorn had removed it, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust, and a few blinks before they were focused enough to see at all. Despite her bleary vision, she immediately recognized – the pony who had Rainbow's voice was Rainbow. Though she'd bleached her hair to a uniform light blue and styled it, she still recognized her face, eyes and what of her body wasn't hidden by her navy dress. A pegasus stood behind and on each side of her. The blue pegasus stallion to her right was well-decorated. She recognized him as a face from the Wonderbolts in Equestria, but couldn't place the name. Between the two guards, they rolled a plain metal box – it was just large enough to carry a body. She started shaking, again painfully aware of the rope loosely around her neck, remembering what it felt like when the pony with Dash's voice had tightened it. I – already!? Are you here to – did they drag Rarity out to the gallows in her coffin like this, or are you just going to - !? No, I just – I had just decided not to give up! Give me more time – something will happen! I'll get rescued, I'll find a way out! She cried out into her gag. “Alright, unicorn,” Rainbow's lookalike started, “you get the special privilege of living. If you cooperate with us, we'll even make your life reasonably livable if we're satisfied with your cooperation.” She gasped and tears came to her eyes. It felt too good to be true – after all they'd done to her, why the sudden change? Did they tell Rarity this before they had her executed? Why did you bring the coffin, then? She continued, “just remember no matter how bad it may seem, if we don't like what you do, we can make it a lot worse. Would be really unpleasant to have your wings hacksawed off, wouldn't it? But that's foal's play compared to what else we can do. And also remember if you play well, we'll reward you with some nice little accommodations. So you game for something a little more interesting, or do you want to hang there until they come to drag you out to be publicly tortured and executed in ways you can't – and don't want to imagine? Just a nod will do. Or, of course, you could shake your head and we'll leave you for them to come back and have you tortured to death to the pleasure of a jeering crowd in something way worse than our little session earlier.” The pegasus looked up at her expectantly. They – with what they did to Rarity... What choice do I have? They're in total control of me right now, either way, so why do they even ask? But if they're promising life – I'll have a much harder time escaping if I'm dead... But... She looked at the coffin-like box and tried asking what it was for, but her speech was incomprehensible through the gag. Even if they could make out her words, they completely ignored her attempt to speak. After a few moments, she slowly and reluctantly nodded. Afraid to agree to anything they offered, but knowing it made little difference, anyways. “Good,” the governor replied, then one of the pegasi escorts lifted the lid off the box. Inside were thick wool blankets and a towel bundled with something inside. He opened the towel, revealing some biscuits, a medicine bottle and a pouch of some liquid, while the governor pulled Twilight's gag down. “Not a word, we're not here to answer questions. We're going to sneak you out in that box. I've overseen the logistics of it myself, and the guards here know better than to ask questions when the Royal Guard carries something through. You're going to spend up to two to three days in there, though it'll pass quickly with something we'll give you.” It was oddly easy not to talk. In such a strange situation the questions were too many to choose from, and talking felt like crossing some barrier she was as restrained behind as she was bound to the wall. The governor took the medicine bottle and put two pills in Twilight's mouth, then pressed the spout of the water pouch against her lips. Make days in that coffin pass quickly? But then I can't - Her mind raced to try to think of some way she could find a way to escape from inside the box. "Drink," the governor harshly commanded, giving the rope around her neck a small tug. She drank, swallowing the pills. The governor removed the bottle and put a biscuit up to the prisoner's mouth. “Eat. You may not have another chance for days.” Her starving stomach made her wolf it down as it was fed to her. The governor fed her more than a few large ones, until there was nothing left. It was bland and tasteless, but it was food. She then put the spout of the water bag into Twilight's mouth again. They didn't have to compel her to drink all of it this time. When she finally did, they replaced her gag. “If you need to relieve yourself, now's the time,” the governor tapped a bucket left underneath the prisoner. Twilight shook her head. Thank Celestia I don't feel like it right now. But I wish being embarrassed was even something I could bother to worry about at this point. The mare guard took the cloth towel the food had been in, put it up to Twilight's waist, and tied it on her, diapering her with it. The alicorn looked at the governor again. “Try not to use it. Bowels can wait days, but bladders can't and wet blankets would make you freeze to death, so try not to die on us.” Sometimes, you don't need to speak to be able to ask a question. I just wish I would've thought of something more useful to ask... Freeze to death? Where are they taking me, anyways? Why not just throw me in some proper cell!? Why all this ridiculous, excessive nonsense all the time!? She groaned, then tensed as the mare guard reached to the rope around her neck. The loop started pulling up, but instead of tightening enough to choke her, she instead heard some metal wheel spin, then the rope fall loose as the guard took it off of her entirely. But just as she breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed, the guard reached for her restraints. Twilight yalped as her sensitive, swollen hind hooves were grabbed and handled. They were again excessive – the pegasus stallion always held her against the wall, even though they only freed one back leg, then strapped her back legs together, and only then released her other back leg from the metal restraint. Then they did the same for her forelegs, then strapped them to her body, the whole time not letting her make even the slightest move under her own power. The governor commented as they finished, “We know about all your tricks and enchantments. We don't intend to give you any chance to use any of them.” They lifted her, and placed her in the coffin-sized box. The wool blankets were warm and incredibly soft, a celestial comfort after lying against concrete and hanging from her hooves for so long. Even the belted canvas straps that bound her were a welcome relief from the metal. And yet, her heart raced as she anticipated the moment they'd close the coffin's lid over her again. Rainbow Dash's doppleganger stepped over her, speaking quietly. “Oh, calm down, alicorn, we're not killing you. This is the best possible thing that could happen to you. You might even get your life back. Just keep quiet in that box and you might just survive. And one more thing, between you and me...” she leaned down and whispered in her ear, “That body you found wasn't your friend. She might still be alive out there. So be quiet in the box, survive all this, and who knows, maybe you'll even get to see that unicorn again.” Twilight's body stiffened, her heart froze, and her eyes widened. Rarity... is alive!? Then the blankets wrapped over on top of her, and the box was closed. Tears welled in her eyes for an entirely different reason now, and she did her best to stay quiet. She was so excited, so relieved, she didn't even consider that the governor might have lied about anything.