//------------------------------// // Jun.-Jul. 20 - When The End Came To Town 5.2 // Story: RoMS' Extravaganza // by RoMS //------------------------------// Luster brought her cold cup of tea to her lips and sipped its content. “That was bleak,” she said.  “It was,” Mare said, departing a warm hug with Pinkie. Scars remained, despite all the time and healing. “So… Uhm, the town started packing and leaving after the Wall showed up?” “Yes,” Cheerilee said. “Parents sent their kids to other towns and cities, they usually followed soon after. Ponyville, back then, was depopulating faster than you would think…” She glanced at Mare, “or hoped.” “Not a day passed between new departures, news of bankruptcy, or just empty houses,” Mare added, working her jaw before continuing, “Friendships took a dive following the events. And the whole town fractured.” Luster mulled over it. Friendship was important, that’s what Teacher Twilight taught her. The lifeblood of Ponykind. But she also knew that a town ought to have inhabitants to be called a proper town, and hearing Mare mention the town’s coffer, it wasn’t a long stretch to imagine that beyond the social fabric ripping apart, the town’s financial health also plunged. “You mentioned being alone in bed,” Luster pointed out, a hoof in Cheerilee’s direction across the table. “You broke up back then?” Cheerilee chuckled. Somberly.  “Yes, we’d broken up then. But it’s the past.” “She fired you?” Mare coughed in her hoof. “I didn’t.” “You kinda did,” Cheerilee countered, an eyebrow raised while Pinkie made herself small in between the two arguing spouses. Mare took a deep breath, and held it in. It came out a long sigh. “Alright, yes. Yes.” She shook her head and crooked over, like her spine had deflated. She lifted her chin and crossed glances with Luster. “A lot of stuff went wrong and a lot of stuff we couldn’t afford. With no money to cover the school and since there was no kids left in town, I cut it back.” She turned to Cheerilee and extended a hoof, which was received with kindness. Cheerilee held it in between both of hers. “I still hate myself about it.” “I’m glad it’s behind us now,” Cheerilee confessed. “Water has passed under the bridge.” “Yes.”  “If I recall correctly,” Pinkie started, “not all kids had left when you fired Cheerilee here.” “Pinkie,” Mare hushed under her breath as Cheerilee retracted her hoof, crossing her legs. “Come on, don’t–” “No, it’s true,” Pinkie chirped, her tail wiggling from left to right under her flank. “It’s when Diamond Tia–” “I don’t want… We don’t want to talk about it, Pinkie,” Cheerilee said, her tone acerbic. “It’s going to be hard, not gonna lie,” Pinkie giggled, grabbing her tail. “She’s here.” “Who, Diamond?” Mare sputtered. “No, one of the gang!” “Who’s Diamond?” Luster asked, a hoof raised as if it would earn everypony’s attention. The doorbell rang. “I’m not so rusty after all,” Pinkie said, a celebrating smile stretching her cheek. She sprung from her cushion and trotted off to the hallway, shrilling, “I’m coming!” “You were expecting somepony?” Luster asked, leaning forward. Cheerilee and Mare shared a look, and Mare answered for them both. “No?” Laughter and cheers filled the hallway, followed by two sets of hooves, one imparting Pinkie’s happy staccato and another, measured and strong — a stride with heft. Luster wasn’t ready for who came through the door. A white mane with bleach pink streaks. A silver necklace with a single pearl in a plain locket. An immaculate cream coat that shone even in the subdued light of the living room. And the subtle fragrance of lavender. Luster knew that mare. A singer. An artist. A Canterlot socialite. Very much like her sister. Sweetie Belle. “Hi, everypony!” the young mare greeted, waiving a hoof. “I was just passing by to say hello. Pinkie Pie dragged me in.” “Dragged you?” Pinkie pestered. “Come on, you know you can’t escape from tea and biscuits with a bunch of old mares.” Luster caught Mare raising her hoof at that. “Old mares?” Sweetie Belle feigned surprise. “I only see a ground of fine ladies here.” Then her eyes met Luster’s and her eyebrows knitted. A wide smile followed “Isn’t it Luster Dawn?” She ran to her to shake her hoof. “What are you doing here so far from your tower? I thought you were pretty much like Twilight in her teens. A recluse!” Luster pinched her lips. Well, yes, but no… She wasn’t a recluse. Maybe? She sighed in defeat. She definitely was. She wouldn’t be doing internal monologue and pester constantly about being in Ponyville otherwise. But still! Ponyville was boring, and that story was boring. “I think Twilight punished Luster by sending her here,” Mare said, and Luster couldn’t agree more. “Punished?” Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, and waved her mane. Her smile faded when she met Luster’s eyes, and her shrug. “Come on, what is she having you on?”  “The Wall,” Cheerilee said. And a shadow cast on Sweetie Belle’s face. “Oh.”  “Twilight asked me to come here to get some… eh.” She didn’t know what to make of Twilight’s request, “witness accounts? Testimonies? I don’t really know.” “We were about to talk about the incident,” Pinkie mentioned, and the shadow darkened on Sweetie Belle’s face. “Can I have a seat at the table?” “Sure,” said Cheerilee who pushed both Pinkie and Mare to leave some space for the newcomer.  Luster now faced them four. In order: Sweetie Belle, Cheerilee, Mare, Pinkie. All with their jaws worked into a thin like, gritted teeth hidden behind closed lips and somber features. She was expecting the antithesis of levity, Mare clearing her throat, or Sweetie Belle sighing — oh, how her olive green eyes hung low, her coat contrasting with the deep read of the sofa. But instead, Sweetie Belle laughed. A hearty laughter that made the three other mare turn, eyebrows cocked. But it wasn’t a happy laugh, and Luster caught Pinkie cringing as she faced it. “I have nothing,” Sweetie said. She noticed the staring. “No, really. I have nothing, I never really asked what happened during the incident! You” She pointed at her close neighbours “were still there.” “And you weren’t?” Luster asked, teetering forward with crinkled eyes as her mind raced to get the implication. “Wait… You went inside that thi– the Wall?” Sweetie Belle turned to Cheerilee who sat closest to her.  “Can the teacher cover for the student one last time.” Cheerilee’s eyes glistened and her deep breath echoed in the otherwise silent living room. She nodded. “Okay.”