//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - Deathscar // Story: SunLight Sliders: Infinite // by Amber Spark //------------------------------// Sunset and Twilight wandered into the homestead with cautious steps. After all the worlds that the Talisman… TPT. Twilight corrected herself. TPT brought them to, she thought it would be wise to treat every world as a death trap until proven otherwise. Yet, even if she did want to be careful, she found the smell of freshly baked pie impossible to not crave. With all the adventuring she had done, she never had the time to really take in just how hungry she was. Now, it was all that was on her mind. “Applejack, Twilight’s here to see you!” Buttercup shouted up the stairs, still maintaining her warm demeanor. “Twilight?” A rustic southern accent echoed from above. “Just hang around here for a beat, you two. AJ’ll be down in a moment.” “Thank you, Miss Butter,” Twilight said with a small dip of her head. “Ain’t no trouble!” Buttercup headed into the kitchen, but not before speaking once more. “And I love the glasses, Twilight! Makes you look real nice!” “Oh! I…” Twilight raised her hoof, ready to rebut that she had always worn them. But just as swiftly lowered it and gave a soft cough. “Thanks.” “Twilight?” When Twilight turned to the source of the voice, she spotted Applejack, wearing her signature stetson hat. Around her neck hung a small metal ring, which glittered under the sunlight peeking through the windows. But Applejack wasn’t regarding her with the friendly, welcoming stare she expected. Instead, she was staring at her like she had just seen a ghost. “What’re you— I mean…” However, the moment her eyes drifted to Sunset, she fell immediately silent. Her perplexed eyes grew five times their size and she froze. Her jaw quivered, as if she was trying to speak, but the only thing that managed to eek out was silence. Sunset stared back at Applejack with an equally confused stare. “W-why’re you looking at me like that?” Before any of them could continue the conversation, the sound of the doorbell echoed through the room. “Could you get that, AJ?” Buttercup asked from the kitchen. Applejack descended the steps with her eyes locked squarely onto the two of them. Twilight didn’t dare move a muscle, and it seemed neither did Sunset. Though while her own eyes were noticeably filled with fear, Sunset’s gaze was much more hostile. It was almost as if she was ready to pounce at the slightest movement. And Applejack looked ready to do the same. Once she reached the main doors, Applejack cracked the doorknob and swung it open. Just behind the doorway stood a unicorn with a dark blue coat. Braided locks of teal and green fell across her back and down to her shoulder. As she took a few steps in, she kept her cyan eyes locked onto Applejack. “You will not believe how bad the Dawn Star was today, Applejack,” she spoke in a slightly raspy voice. And immediately, Twilight knew something was wrong. She had never seen this mare before, but something about her seemed… familiar. Hauntingly so.  “Lavender was going on and on about her day…” The mare continued to ramble for a few seconds, seemingly oblivious to the gaze Applejack was casting at her. “And don’t even get me started on the Dust Engines! They—” Finally, the mare tore her eyes away from Applejack and, upon noticing Twilight and Sunset, fell deathly silent. The air remained completely devoid of sound for several tense seconds. Even the ticking of the nearby grandfather clock and creak of the wooden furniture seemed to be muted in the moment. Twilight could understand why they were silent, They were probably afraid of the imposters of the friends they knew. Yet, she didn’t understand why Sunset wasn’t speaking. In her mind, this Sunset should be sprouting off questions, and then answers to those questions in an endless barrage of words. But here she stood, as if she had lost her voice. “Skylark! Back from work already?” Buttercup asked in her usual pleasant tone, oblivious to the scene that was playing out in front her. The mare waved back with a smile. And once more, that same unsettling feeling rose up in her heart. The expression on Skylark’s face sent a nagging instinct that she knew this pony. Though she had little time to ponder, as Applejack swiftly trotted forth and snatched her hoof. “Twilight, ya must be hungry travellin’ all this way,” Applejack spat out her words in a flurry. “I’ll bet you’d be up for some apple pie!” “Hey!” Twilight attempted to tear her hoof away, but as soon as she tried, Applejack shot an intense stare at her. She didn’t need Sunset’s empathetic powers to know what she was trying to say. It was the same ‘follow my lead’ stare as the Applejack back at CHS would give. And the thought of pie certainly was a tempting offer. “R-right, I’ll… get some apple pie.” “Sounds great! Skylark? Want any?” Buttercup asked in a cheerful tone. “Maybe later, Buttercup.” Buttercup gave a nod before retreating into the kitchen with Twilight and Applejack. Skylark and Sunset stared at each other. Unblinking. Unwavering. Neither said a word. Neither needed to. For Sunset could see through her like an open window. After all… She was basically staring at a mirror. Through the fancy mane, different colored coat and even higher-pitched voice, Sunset could make out the pony behind those cyan eyes. The exact same shade she would see staring back at her every morning back in her world. Skylark raised her head, giving a knowing smile. Sunset didn’t return the gesture. “You and I need to talk,” Skylark spoke, trotting out of the back door. Sunset didn’t turn to follow her. Not immediately. Instead, her mind raced through a million questions in a second. Most important of them all was whether she could trust Skylark. However, her rational mind soon kicked in. She had survived countless dimensions, survived situations no one could even dream of. If Skylark were to make a wrong move... She’ll only have herself to blame. With that worry out of the way, Sunset headed past the kitchen where Twilight now sat. Soft laughter resonated from within. Noise that caused Sunset to give an irritated growl before swiftly shutting it out from her mind. We could be stuck here forever, and you’re still laughing. She shook her head in disgust. As immature as the rest of you, I see. Soft wind soared past Sunset’s face, throwing her mane into her eyes. With an angered grunt and a swing of her hoof, she swung it away. Skylark had led her to the edge of the wheat fields, overlooking an almost endless expense of fresh golden crops and, in the distance, countless apple trees. “I know you probably have a lot of questions for me, so feel free to ask away,” Skylark said, hopping onto a nearby fence. “Let’s start with the most obvious, who are you?” Skylark snickered, stoking the flame of impatience in Sunset. “You already know the answer to that.” “I want to hear you say it.” Skylark’s mouth rose into a smirk. “I’d rather you see it.” Suddenly, a small, bright red orb appeared at the edge of her horn. Bit by bit, the color from her coat melted away, revealing the amber fur Sunset expected to see. Her mane soon followed, with the interwoven teal and green locks giving way to crimson and yellow respectively. Once the transformation was fully complete, Skylark stared back at Sunset with a soft smile. “There.” Sunset scanned her eyes up and down Skylark’s form. “Do you always wear the disguise?” “To be honest, I’ve worn it for so long that this…” Skylark gestured to her sun-shaped cutie mark. “Feels like the disguise instead.” “Why wear it at all? Aren’t you proud to be a Sunset?” “...Are you?” A small gust rustled the wheat, keeping Sunset’s silence company. “I don’t do this because I have a choice, you know. Things happened and…” Skylark rubbed her hooves softly together. “And I couldn’t be Sunset any longer. I couldn’t wake up every morning and see that face staring back at me without…” She lowered her head and drew a breath. “Nevermind. I won’t go into that.” “Does Applejack know?” Skylark nodded. “She knows everything.” Lifting her hoof, she tapped the ring around her neck. “More than everything. I think she might know me better than I know me.” She giggled. Though it wasn’t filled with mirth or joy; each laugh was heavy with pain. “You know, for a pony that is speaking to herself, you’re unusually calm.” “Well, you stop being confused after the… fifth time?” Skylark shot Sunset a smile. “Can I ask you a few questions, Sunset?” “Can I say no?” “Of course. You wouldn’t be the first.” Sunset didn’t reply. “Where are you going? What’s your goal right now?” “Nothing,” Sunset answered, quick. “That’s a lie,” Skylark rebutted, quicker. Of course the only pony who can be faster than me is myself. Sunset scoffed at the irony. She sighed and gazed out at the golden green vistas in front of her. “Find a Twilight that won’t abandon me on a place to die? That’d be a great start.” “That Twilight with you. Who is she?” “Someone I met on accident. Activated the Talisman and sent us through space and time.” “Heh,” Skylark grinned. “There’s always a Twilight. There’s always a Sunset. There’s always a Talisman.” “At least it starts out that way,” Sunset muttered with a shattered tone. Memories of the past started to flood her mind. She could hear the shouting, the pleading. The tears on her face and the sand beneath her feet. Before the scene could manifest any clearer, she slammed them back into the deep recesses of her mind where they belonged. “Can I see it?” “What?” “The Talisman.” Sunset didn’t budge. She tightened her grip on the device and met Skylark’s soft gaze with a daggered one of her own. “Please.” “Don’t try anything stupid,” warned Sunset in a grave tone. She lifted the device and placed it softly into Skylark’s hoof. Almost immediately, Skylark started to giggle. She traced its form with her hoof, occasionally flipping it open and then close with surprising dexterity. “It’s been so long…” Suddenly, Sunset eyes popped open in realization. “Skylark, where’s your Twilight?” Skylark clasped the Talisman closed and didn’t speak. “...Don’t tell me she—” “She’s fine,” Skylark answered in the most dismissive tone Sunset had heard her speak in yet. Placing the device squarely on her hoof, she covered it with the other and brought it close to her chest. “We had a falling out. She and I… let’s just say we’re not in each other’s lives anymore.” “Wait, but Sunsets and Twilights are supposed to be friends. Or lovers. Or partners.” “Or in this case, enemies.” Skylark passed the device back to Sunset, who swiftly snatched it from her hoof and was about to put it away, when suddenly, it started to radiate a brilliant purple light. “W-what?” remarked Sunset in stunned disbelief. She lifted it in front of her eyes to ensure it wasn’t a trick of the eye. “It’s… charged?” Skylark shot her a wide smile. “You’re welcome. And before you leave, Sunset. Word of advice: Don’t go down this path.” “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Sunset turned away from Skylark and prepared to rush off to retrieve Twilight. Skylark continued staring off into the distance. “What then?” “What?” “When she finds out you can’t control the Talisman. That you can’t guarantee you can get her home. What then?” “How did you know tha—” “Answer me.” For the first time, Sunset didn’t have an answer. But she didn’t care. She didn’t need to give one. She galloped towards the house, barely managing to hear Skylark’s voice call out once more. “And be sure to grab some apple pie before you leave.”