Nova pushed the jagged shard of mirror away. The motion had no enthusiasm behind it, but it did at least make it harder to see her own reflection. She shifted in a vain attempt to get comfortable. The dusty ground beneath her made a poor substitute for the wonderful softness Patchwork had shared before. As much as she craved all the delights out there, all the wonderful sensations, she knew inside she would never deserve them again.
The flickering firelight she could never hide from, that seeped through closed eyelids, was just another reminder of the truth. She was a monster.
Her fetlock pressed into her eyes, even this did nothing to make the fire go away. It still brushed against her, still felt so right even as it whispered to her about all it had burnt, trying to stoke her anger for all those she wanted to burn. It just felt so good, that blaze that started inside her and erupted.
The bad pony that wanted to hurt the little one, The bad pony that should have been burnt. Anger and fear bubbled and burned in her twisting gut. The Sun mare had stopped her, the Sun mare, was the worst pony, even worse than Nova was.
Feral delight at burning bright warred with the frozen talons of disgust and self loathing. Her hoof slammed into her head. Her senses spun for a moment, but the savage blow did nothing to make the things inside go away.
She looked up at the remembering spot. Was there a forgetting spot? Was there somewhere she could slam her head into to make the things in her head go away?
She tried a few spots, but all it did was hurt and leave a trail of blood dripping down her face. She screwed her eyes closed, but it did not help. She could see the flames, her flames, as they hungrily devoured Gift. The wonderful pony that gave herself to her, turned almost completely to ash.
It did not make sense. Attack the bad pony. Then the worse Bad pony, Sun mare, got in the way, then Gift was there. Then Gift was nothing but burnt meat and ash. She growled, whether at the chain of events that made no sense, or just the thought of the Sun mare or herself, she did not know.
“Bad Nova.” She slammed her head into the ground. It did not help her forget either, not even after a few dozen tests.
Sensations from outside brushed against her. They called her. A part of her wanted to purr, to relish them, to lap up every instant of experience she could claim. Instead, she frantically pushed up onto her hooves and galloped. Her hated flames lit the way as she fled deeper into the darkness away from the broken mirror and her remembering spot.
Guilt gnawed at her. She was at the door again. She should not be here, she should stay far, far away, but The Good Monster was singing again. Tears streamed off as she curled up and held herself. The soft sounds and soothing voice made everything go away. She closed her eyes and let herself sleep.
There was talking again. Nova’s ears twitched, and it did not take long to notice one of the voices. The Apple mare was here? She looked up, was the Apple mare moving here like Not Gift did?
Patchwork's voice introduced her. Despite being a monster, Nova still wanted to be a good filly. She tapped out the code to say hello back. She did not want to be a bad filly as well as a monster.
More voices joined in. Bad Monster, Good Monster, Not Gift.
Nova found herself growling. They were talking about the evil Sun mare. About forgiving her. Nova backed away from the door so her thrashing mane could not reach it.
The conversation moved on to food. Whatever Zapapple and Elderflower sandwich was, she wanted to have one. Gnawing a fragment of the mirror made a poor replacement for a tasty sandwich.
Words crept in through a haze of pleasure and aching need.
“Nova, stay, please.”
“I forgive you”
“I love you.”
Nova purred in deep satisfaction as her eyes lazily opened from a wonderful dream. A dream of Gift being alright, of warmth and love. Of all the squirmy feelings that built up inside and made her feel so good.
She stared at the empty space between her forelegs, the space that she wanted, needed to be filled by a pony to hold. She looked around at the bones and mirror shards that lay scattered about her flame-scorched prison.
She curled up and desperately tried to find her way back to that dream. Anything to no longer be here… alone. She wanted her Gift. She wanted to be held by the Shiny pony and be told everything would be ok.
As if answering her, the sweet notes of the Good Monster’s song took everything away, and the cold bite of loneliness faded under the fuzzy blanket of nothingness. Nova desperately snuggled under it as if her life depended on it.
Nova woke. Nothing felt different, but somehow everything did, it made no sense. The scent of ash and heat still dominated her nose. She looked over her body, it was the same aged scarred mess she had been getting used to. She turned her search outwards to her soundings. The same flame damaged walls and floor as always. The pile of bones was right where she left it, the shattered remains of the exploded mirror still littered the floor, most of them where they had fallen.
Tap, tap, Tap tap. The sounds came from above. Nova looked up before she realised that the ongoing message was asking her to look up. There, attached to the ceiling by a thin grey thread, was something made of wood.
Nova coiled her rear legs under her and leapt up, snatching the new thing in her sharp maw. Her hooves clopped heavily on the ground when she landed. The leg she had bitten to try to see if that would make her forget hurt, but that did not matter. “Something new.” She mumbled out through her occupied mouth.
She lowered her neck and dropped the thing on the floor. It took a few minutes just looking at it before she realised what it was. The little hoof mirror was not as good as the larger one Patchwork had gifted her. It was colder and made of grey ash-coloured wood. Gazing into the wooden object, Nova could not quite see why it was called a mirror. It showed neither her own face nor elsewhere.
“Nova, you can hear me, correct?” The beautiful voice of Good Monster asked from above.
‘Yes’, Nova tapped out, still turning the Not Mirror this way and that. It did have all sorts of marks on it, they were too ordered, too patterned to be bite marks, so no pony had tried to eat it. It did not look too unappetising, maybe she could eat it?
“Now, all you need to do is place the largest fragment of the broken mirror you can find in the middle.”
Oh… it's missing a bit? The thought felt strange in her head, but she knew she was right. She eagerly bounded over to the pile of shards. One by one, she lifted them from the heap and placed them on the ground, rearranging them so the small ones were on one side and the larger ones on the other.
It took a while, and there was more than a little blood on the floor by the time she was done, but she did not care, she was doing something and nopony was getting hurt.
The puzzle solved, she lifted the largest shard. It was a little bigger than her head. The scarred white mare it reflected still shocked her, when had she gotten so big, so old. She doubted she would fit under the bed if she really needed to hide now.
She held the mirror frame next to the reflective shard. She held them together and compared them. The shard was too large, it was bigger than the frame. Well, she was not going to be defeated by a bit of mirror.
As soon as the shard touched the wood it melted, the liquid mirror flowed from Nova’s hoof and rippled like the lake Shiny jumped into. Only, there was no splash. The ripples stilled and Nova's own face vanished from the mirror. Nova lifted a hoof just to check if her head was still there. That assured, she looked through the mirror. The smiling face of the Good Monster looked out of it, the world of wood and books around her almost made Nova flinch, everything there would burn at the slightest brush of her incendiary tail. She crawled back a bit, so far that there was no chance of her mane even touching the surface. Book burning was bad.
“There you are, Nova.” The happiness in the Good Monster’s tone made no sense, but it made Nova feel a little happy.
The Good Monster’s eyes flicked up, and Nova glanced behind herself. There was nopony there.
“Grey, as always, your work is perfect.”
“Grey?” Where had she heard that name before? Nova looked to the remembering spot. Maybe the answer would be there?
The view in the mirror spun nauseating, and then a different face looked in. She looked like Patchwork, but all grey with a longer horn. The new mare nodded.
“Grey.”
The mare held up a bit of paper. It took a few seconds before Nova realised the squiggles and marks on it meant something. “Writing?” She whispered a small bit of joy at the discovery stirred inside her.
Two times, you have spoken my name, Sister.
Sister? Nova blinked, she had a sister? “Sister!” Nova pounced at the mirror, and caught it between her forehooves. She pressed her muzzle against the surface and locked eyes with her sister.
The out-of-sight Good Monster let out a little laugh. A bit of anger stirred in Nova, but most of her felt happy, she had a sister, and Good Monster's laugh had sounded happy after all.
“So this is what you have been working on?” A new voice, her own voice said? No, something was different about it.
Nova pulled her head back a bit and moved it from side to side to get a better look around the wooden room “Patchwork?”
“Yes, Nova.”
There was the chiming sound that made Nova want to feel something in her horn and many things in the view changed. Things rotated and moved, things glowed and changed. Nauseousness stirred in her gut, so Nova looked away.
“There, much better.” The Good Monster said.
Nova opened one eye to be careful, and nothing else made her feel sick, so she opened the second.
The view looked out over a table with the lounging forms of ponies beyond it. Patchwork, Good Monster and Gift with a horn. Nova stared at the new pony, the horn looked better than the empty space Gift had, but feathers could do such wonderful things.
“ Hi there, Nova. I’m sorry I have been so busy I couldn’t come by and talk to you much.” Not Gift said.
Nova opened her mouth to say something then paused. She looked back and forth between all the faces before she was sure one was missing. “Sister?”
Good Monster's kind eyes looked sad as she spoke. “Grey is trapped like you are, just in a different cage.”
“Sun mare,” Nova growled, her flames surging bright. This just meant there was one more reason why Sunmare was the worst pony.
“Yes,” Patchwork answered, her eyes unhappy but nowhere near as much as they should be.
“Gift?”
Not Gift came into frame. “She’s doing her duties outside. But she is glad you are doing better. She really enjoyed the time she spent with you.”
Nova’s flames dimmed to almost embers. Nova’s voice was so quiet she almost did not hear herself. “She’s alright?”
“Yes, don’t you remember the time you spent with her?” Not Gift asked.
With some of the crushing guilt gone, a quiet purr rumbled in Nova’s chest. Her mind drifted to that time in the dark place. That time when Gift had finally given herself in all the best ways.
Motion snapped her attention back. Good Monster shared out cups of steaming liquid and sandwiches. Nova's eyes followed them. Hunger twisted its sharp claws in her gut, she was so hungry. She looked round at the unused mirror shards, at the well-gnawed bones, she even contemplated her own foreleg before a wonderful warm scent reached her nose.
There on the floor, right in front of the small mirror, sat a steaming cup of liquid and a small plate with a sandwich. She stared in disbelief at them as her nose pulled her muzzle closer to them. Her body had no choice but to follow.
“I’m sorry we can’t set you free yet… we are still trying to work out how.” Patchwork said.
Nova’s heart whiplashed between her long-accepted despair and hope. She looked to the now empty plate and teacup. The second and third new things she had gained today.
“More tea?” Good Monster asked.
Nova nodded so hard her neck almost hurt.
“Now, put your cup in front of the mirror.”
With a hoof, Nova slid it into place.
The view in the mirror tilted, and the teapot floated closer as more of the wide-open space of the wooden room came into view. Their mirror must be looking up. The teapot came into view, and it poured its liquid. The steam of sweet-smelling tea arced through the air and into the cup. Everything about how the liquid moved was wrong, but who cared? She got something nice to drink.
“Now, put your plate there.”
Nova eagerly complied.
A massive heap of sandwiches, a slice of cake and a hoof full of berries dropped onto the plate.
Nova licked her sharp teeth and lowered her muzzle to the feast.
“Save the cake for last, trust me.” Patchwork said.
She eyed the cake. She wanted to eat it now, it smelled so good, but the other things smelled almost as good, and Patchwork was a good pony. Nova looked up, at how the others were sitting, how they slowly raised each thing to their mouths and did not lower their muzzles into the food.
‘Watch your table manners’ the half-remembered voice of a mare she did not remember chided her. Nova studied Patchwork carefully and shifted to sit just like her. Carefully, she lifted a sandwich by hoof and took small bites of it instead of just chomping down on it.
Smarty Pants would have liked this tea party. Nova thought with a pang of sadness.
The leg screwed into place. Nova lifted her creation right side up. She looked over her little table with a proud smile. She propped the mirror just right so the table on the other side looked level with hers.
With exacting care, she placed her plate and teacup just so on the table. Her smile spread wider, she shifted from side to side and made a happy squee. She was ready for the next tea party.
The Good Monster settled down on the other side of the Mirror. Like Patchwork, she had both wings and a horn. Silver glows placed a pair of not teacups down on the table. Nova’s eyes tracked them, and she blinked. Cups come in different shapes? Does that mean they have different things in them?
The glow pushed one of the cups through the mirror, and as soon as it slid onto Nova's table, a rich and sweet scent filled the cage.
Nova leaned down and sniffed it. “Chocolate,” she purred. The feeling of the cold being chased away by the drink’s warmth floated up from her memories.
The chocolate looked different than the tea, thicker, darker and with white things floating on the top.
“Try some.” Good Monster suggested. That seemed like a very good idea.
Nova lapped at the dark liquid, her tongue danced with joy at the flavour. Both hooves trapped the cup in place as she fished out one of the white things. It tasted sweet, it was kind of fluffy and soft. It was nice, so it did not matter what it was.
“Do you like your hot chocolate?”
Nova looked up and nodded, her tongue reaching out to try and claim any of the deliciousness that clung to her muzzle.
The Good Monster smiled. “I have a present for you.”
Nova’s ears perked up, “A present?”
Good Monster reached under her wing and pulled something small out. Nova looked at the little pony, the little being of soft cloth and fabric. They weren't Smarty Pants, but maybe they were related. “Would you like some tea?”
“Yes please.” It answered as the little pony trotted over and hopped through the mirror.
There was no word she could think of for how she felt as she looked down at the small pony that stood on the table. Nova barely noticed as the Good Monster pushed a tiny plate with an equally tiny cup atop it.
“We’re going to be good friends.” The little pony said.
Nova smiled and pulled her new friend's softness to her.
“Now, if you excuse me, I have to rest for a bit. You two have fun.” Good Monster said as her magic pushed a small teapot and a pile of biscuits through the mirror.
Nova lay contently, her new friend curled up between her forelegs. The mane glowed softly. She looked at her treasures lined up neatly next to the wall. Three cups, each a different shape, one very small. Two plates, a book of pictures, a ball that would keep trying to run away until you asked it to come back, and a stack of blocks with marks on them currently stacked in the shape of a fort just the right size for her new friend to hide in.
“Nova?” Patchwork’s voice was wrong, it was colder than it should have been.
“Patchwork.” Nova said as she looked through the mirror. The view though it was moving as if Patchwork was walking and holding the mirror next to her. A thought came to her. “Would you like some tea?”
Patchwork stopped moving and smiled. “I would love to, but there are things I have to do first.” The smile faded and became something harder, something cold. “Nova, I need your help.”
“Nova is a good filly, and Patchwork is nice… How can Nova help?”
“There are things that want to hurt my friends, our family and those under our protection.”
Nova thought about it. There really was not anything to think about. Bad Ponies should be stopped. It was simple, it was what should happen, but for some reason, she shivered. Her new tiny friend nuzzled her. “It will be alright,” Tiny said.
“Let me show you.” Patchwork said as she moved to the door.
Outside was the dark and stormy place Nova had fought the Bad Monster. The view moved this way and that. The Bad Monster waited up ahead, her eyes focused downwards through the floor.
“Are you sure this is a good idea, Twilight?”
Patchwork nodded. “This is the best way.”
The mirror tilted down, through the floor, there was another Patchwork and other ponies. Some of them were ponies she recognised.
“Will you help me keep our friends safe?” Patchwork asked.
Despite the confusion at what she was seeing, there was no hesitation in her answer. “Yes.”
“Then lend me your fire.”
Ice shot through Nova’s spine. “But…”
Tiny’s small hooves wrapped around Nova’s neck. “It will be ok,” she cooed.
The view changed, presenting Patchwork’s hard gaze in full. “There is nopony in range that could be hurt. There are only things that will hunt, kill and torture.” Her expression softened. “Nova, please trust me. With your help we can save hundreds if not thousands.”
They were very big numbers.
“Please, help her.” Tiny pleaded.
Nova looked down at her small friend. At the utter devotion and faith in those button eyes. She nodded and rose to her hooves. Ever so carefully, she moved all her treasures further away and set Tiny next to them.
“Thank you.” Patchwork said.
Motes of flames flickered off Nova’s mane. They danced for a moment, then flowed through the mirror. The fire swirled around Patchwork before they melded into her. The few motes turned into a swarm, and then an endless stream.
The view moved a little as the glow that held it became dark. Patchwork walked forward and sunk into the ground. The second Patchwork below’s mane flicked into flames as she walked towards the railing and the huge drop below.
A joy, a need, rose in Nova’s heart. A purr rumbled in her chest as she grinned. She did not know why she was grinning, but something was going to be good. Her mane and tail trashed and blazed as the world around her faded, and the outside world embraced her senses.
“Burn.” She purred, and everything became fire.