//------------------------------// // Old Faces // Story: Little Keys // by Skijarama //------------------------------// “Ah, I never grow tired of this,” Rarity mused in quiet wonder, her eyes lit up with delight and slowly roving this way and that, taking in every last detail of the street around her. “Taking in the sights, the history, the decor. Sometimes I feel as though I could walk down one of these streets forever and never grow tired of it.” Twilight watched her from the side with an amused smile. Rarity’s reactions to big cities and the wonders to be found within had dulled over time—especially after the disaster on the Friendship Express—but her passion for places of ‘culture’ and ‘refinement’ clearly burned as hot as ever. “I don’t know about that, Rarity,” Twilight remarked, looking up at a particularly extravagant store as they passed it by. “I lived in this city for most of my life. Pretty as it is, sometimes it can be a little much, you know?” “Nonsense, dear!” Rarity rebuffed without missing a beat, flashing Twilight a scandalized look. “Why, just look around! This block on its own is practically glowing with artistic mastery! I’m no architect, but I can still see a work of art when I see one! And these buildings are all works of fabulous art!” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’m not saying they aren’t art. But you have to admit, if you surround yourself with nothing but, say, I dunno, paintings all the time, sooner or later you’re going to get sick of looking at them.” Rarity harrumphed indignantly. “Well, that is why they say ‘all things in moderation.’” “If you say so.” A moment passed before the two mares broke down into a quiet fit of amused giggles. They were walking through the streets of one of Canterlot’s many commercial sectors. It was early in the morning, the sun having only just risen an hour ago. Spike and Rainbow were absent, citing the early hour as an excuse to stay back at Twilight’s place and ‘chug coffee.’ Even after all this time and her constant insistence on ‘decent’ wake-up times (meaning anytime after noon, in Twilight’s experience), Rainbow could still be a hoof full to get up in the morning, and Twilight had realized ages ago that Spike was just a lost cause on that front. Twilight couldn’t really blame them, though, a fact that was emphasized when she let out a large and unattractive yawn of her own. This was pretty early to be up and about, even by Twilight’s standards. Not counting all-night study sessions. She was pretty sure they didn’t even have much of an objective out here. Rarity just wanted to see the sights before there was too much traffic. That said, the cool, early morning air and the golden glow of the sunrise did do wonders to put at ease any turbulent thoughts Twilight might have otherwise had. Rarity broke the silence with a polite clearing of her throat. “Ahem. Now, Twilight, I know it’s not my place, but if you don’t mind my asking… have you given any thought to what you’re going to get for Rainbow Dash?” Twilight blinked, slowing to a halt. “Huh? What do you mean?” she asked. Was it a special occasion? Rainbow’s birthday wasn’t this month, so it couldn’t be that, and Hearthswarming was still a long way out. Rarity gave off an exasperated sigh. “Oh, come now, darling. Surely you don’t mean to tell me you’ve forgotten that your anniversary is coming up?” Twilight’s cheeks flushed brightly at that, her eyes bulging in their sockets. “Wha- Rarity!” she exclaimed, looking away. Rarity tittered in amusement, much to Twilight’s dismay. “Ah, so easy. But really, Twilight, you have been thinking it over, have you not?” Twilight turned back to Rarity with a puff of her cheeks. She briefly racked her brain, thinking back over the long and bewildering course of her relationship with the pegasus before giving off a long groan of frustration. “I don’t even know when our anniversary is, Rarity!” she bemoaned, slapping a hoof to her face. “How do you?” “Simple,” Rarity said with a sage nod. “The day you two had your first kiss in the Empire.” “How do you even remember what day that is?! We didn’t have a calendar!” Rarity scoffed. “Oh, please. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t find a way to keep track?” “But… but…” Twilight protested weakly, her cheeks lighting up even more. “But then I died! And we weren’t together for over two years!” “True though as that may be,” Rarity acknowledged slowly. “The fact remains that your love story truly kicked off that day when you reciprocated Dash’s love for you. And so, amnesia-born-hiatus notwithstanding, that day is your anniversary. Unless, of course, you object?” Twilight sighed heavily before taking a deep breath. “No… I don’t object,” she relented after a minute. “But I just… I haven’t actually given much thought to it. Rainbow and I are still kinda feeling things out, you know? The road we walked to get where we are was really long and weird, and neither of us is any good at this.” “Oh, perish that thought!” Rarity said. “Do you think I have forgotten the way you two danced at Shining and Cadance’s wedding?” “It was so awkward!” “And it was also the most precious thing,” Rarity replied, a twinkle in her eye. Twilight groaned, regretting going along with Rarity on this trip, now. She sighed and shook her head a moment later. “Well… in answer to your question, Rarity, no, I haven’t actually been giving much thought to that. I’ve had a lot on my plate.” The twinkle in Rarity’s eyes simmered down with sympathetic understanding. She lifted a hoof and gently pat Twilight on the shoulder. “Of course, I understand. I’ll not shove my nose any further without your consent, but just know that I am always willing to lend a hoof in such matters should you need one.” Twilight put on a warm smile at that, her blush dying down while her own anxieties evaporated somewhat. “Thanks, Rarity,” she said before a somewhat evil thought came into her mind, one she did not mind indulging in at all. “You know, It’s kind of ironic that you’re the one offering to give me romantic advice.” Rarity tilted her head. “How so?” Twilight put on a small, predatory little grin. “Because between the two of us, I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who’s actually been in a relationship.” Rarity stared at Twilight for a good long moment, her expression unreadable. Then her cheeks began to light up red, and her eyes narrowed in irritation. “...How dare you,” she stated simply and concisely. Twilight snickered apologetically. “Heh heh… please don’t hurt me.” “I shall leave that to your better half, darling.” “Ooooh, enticing!” Midnight chirped. Twilight ignored her. Twilight swallowed heavily but did not otherwise say anything. Instead, she allowed her mind to wander. It felt strange to her to think of the day she had first kissed Rainbow as their anniversary. Romance had been one of the last things on her mind at the time. At the moment, she had expressed that love less because the time felt right and more because she was afraid she wouldn’t get another chance. Rainbow had been about to step headlong into Sombra’s embrace to talk him down, after all. Most ponies wouldn’t have been able to pull that off, and given how emotionally unstable Rainbow had been at the time… But to be honest, what other landmarks did she really have to go off of? When Rainbow confessed her feelings in Hollow Shades? Twilight cringed at that. That had been during one of the hardest times of her life. The only other time would be when she had gotten her memories back, but that was only a few months ago now, and… “My love life is weird” Twilight declared internally for the umpteenth time, shaking her head. She decided to put thoughts of her romance with Rainbow aside for the moment as the duo rounded a corner. They came out onto a wide thoroughfare, a line of evergreen trees running down the middle to lend some much-appreciated green to the mountain city. There were more ponies out and about now, starting to go about their business. Some few still shot Twilight glances as she passed, and she did her level best to ignore them. Rarity suddenly came to a stop about halfway down the avenue, her eyes locking onto a window display and lighting up with delight. “Oh my! Twilight, are you seeing these?!” she asked excitedly, pointing. Twilight looked. The display was for a boutique, that much was obvious, and the dresses on display were of a very high quality indeed. They varied from Rarity’s stylistically but were all the same very nice to look at. Twilight glanced sideways at Rarity with a small smile. “They’re very nice.” “That they are, that they are,” Rarity said quietly, her eyes tracing over the stitching with the eye of an expert. “And very well made, as well. Whoever runs this store, they clearly have a talent for this.” Rarity took a deep breath and let it out in a long, longing sigh. “If you’ll permit me a moment of selfishness, I’m actually a touch jealous.” Twilight blinked in surprise, glancing sideways at Rarity. “Jealous? You don’t even know them.” “True,” Rarity conceded before turning and gesturing widely around them. “But what I do know is that they are running their boutique in Canterlot. To be capable of running a successful business here is a mark of status that, I confess, I have long dreamed of achieving.” Twilight nodded along slowly. “I see…” “One day,” Rarity began excitedly, lifting a hoof as if to draw in the air. “One day, I will open my own boutique in Canterlot. It’s been one of my dreams since I was a little filly, and I haven’t abandoned that dream in all the years since.” Twilight gave Rarity an encouraging smile. “You have always been pretty in love with this city, haven’t you?” she asked. “Why, of course, I have! I used to want to live here!” Rarity exclaimed with a wave of her hoof. Twilight quirked a brow. “Used to? What changed?” Rarity turned to her with a sage smile. “Why, I became friends with all of you in Ponyville, of course.” Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but the words caught in her throat. A moment passed before her heart warmed up in response, and she nodded. However, before she could say anything, a high-pitched yelp cut through the air. Twilight jumped in surprise at the sudden exclamation, turning to look. Across the street, a butter-colored unicorn mare wearing a ratty grey sweater was lying face-down on the street. There was a carry-out box on the ground, split open from the fall, and its contents, presumably the mare’s breakfast, scattered across the ground. “Oh my goodness!” Rarity exclaimed, already cantering for the fallen mare’s side. Twilight was hot on her heels. “Excuse me, miss? Are you alright?” The mare groaned in both pain and frustration before pulling her face up from the ground. A pair of black, thick-rimmed glasses fell from her face, broken in half with the lenses cracked. She didn’t even look at Rarity as she approached. “I’m fine,” she stated bluntly. Twilight hesitated as they reached the mare’s side. Now that she was closer, Twilight was hit by the sudden realization that this mare was exceedingly familiar. She had met this pony before, she just couldn’t quite remember where… “Oh my goodness! Your glasses!” Rarity exclaimed, looking down at the destroyed frames. “Can you see?” The mare hesitated, her ears drooping. “...I’ll manage,” she deflected quietly before hauling herself back to her hooves. “Hang on, I think I can fix them,” Twilight said, putting aside her familiarity for the moment and lifting the broken glasses in her magic. She squinted at them, running the numbers in her head. The frames were cracked, but not broken outright. The snap on the nosepiece was a straight, clean line; easily mendable with the right spell. Taking a breath, Twilight began to pour magic into the accessory. The sound of scratching glass and bending plastic was drowned out by the thrum of her magic. The cracks gradually began to mend themselves, though there were still visible seams in the lenses where they had once been. Then, with one last pulse, the broken gap was sealed shut, leaving the glasses repaired, though the marks of the breaks were still visible. Twilight smiled and passed the glasses to the mare. “Here you go. You’ll still want to get them replaced, I think, but that should hold you over.” The mare took the glasses in her own pale pink magical aura and brought them down onto her face. A moment later she looked up at Twilight. “Thanks. I appreciate… it…” The mare trailed off as she beheld Twilight’s face, and it was now that Twilight recognized her. The sweater and mane had thrown her off at first, but there was no mistaking that face now that she saw it. “Moondancer?!” Twilight exclaimed in surprise, taking a step back. Rarity blinked, turning to Twilight curiously. “Twilight, do you know this lady?” she asked curiously. Twilight nodded slowly. “Er, yeah. We were classmates in Celestia’s school,” she said before the corners of her lips pulled up into a warm, friendly smile. “Wow! It’s been a long time, Moondancer! How’ve you been?” she asked, holding out a hoof to help her old friend up. Only, Moondancer didn’t take her hoof. She stared into Twilight’s face for several long seconds, the color steadily draining from her face. A feeling of unease began to grow in Twilight’s heart. Moondancer didn’t look happy in the slightest. She looked afraid. “Y-you…” Moondancer choked out, slowly rising to her hooves without taking Twilight’s. “W-what are you doing here?!” Twilight tilted her head. “H-huh?” Moondancer adjusted her glasses, her ears folding back defensively. “Y-you’re supposed to be banished! W-what are you doing here?! What do you want?!” Twilight took a step back, hurt and confused. “Moondancer, I… I just…” Suddenly, Rarity was between them. “Is there a problem?” she asked in a stern tone. “My friend here just repaired your glasses for you. The polite thing to do is say ‘thank you’.” Moondancer cringed back before a look of absolute fury crossed her features. “Thank you? THANK YOU?!” she bellowed before shoving Rarity back. “Rarity!” Twilight exclaimed, reaching out to steady the other unicorn as she stumbled back. Moondancer went on, her voice rising to a furious shout. “You expect me to thank her?! After everything she did?! After all the ponies she’s hurt?! After what she’s done to me?! No!” It was like she had been punched in the gut. Twilight shied away from Moondancer’s tirade, her ears drooping and her heart constricting in her chest. “Moondancer? What did I...” she choked in barely even a whisper. Moondancer stomped a hoof. “You don’t even remember, do you?! Oh, but of course, you don’t! I never meant a thing to you, did I?! I was NEVER worth remembering! Not even when it was MY TURN TO FORGET!” A heavy silence followed that last sentence, and an impossible weight settled onto Twilight’s shoulders in response. Her breath caught in her throat, Moondancer’s final words echoing in her mind over and over again. “My turn. My Turn. My Turn.” “That is enough,” Rarity stated firmly, stepping forward to place herself between them again. Moondancer scowled at her, her breath coming in heaving gasps as her fury began to subside. She then cast her eyes about and withered on the spot. Twilight realized a moment later that they were being watched. The ponies that had been peacefully going about their days around them had stopped what they were doing and were now looking on with equal parts pity and disgust. Curiously, there were two who were rather closer than Twilight would have expected. A mare and a stallion, the latter holding up a leg to hold the former back. Moondancer let off a quiet huff before turning her back on the two and stalking away. Rarity watched her go for several seconds before heaving a long, tired-sounding sigh. She then turned back to Twilight. Her wrath vanished in an instant, replaced with concern. “Are you alright, Twilight?” Twilight didn’t answer, but she didn’t need to. She wasn’t alright. Because she did remember. She remembered Moondancer being one of her friends when she was younger. She remembered spending long days studying with her and their other friends in her parent’s home, matching wits with Moondancer wherever they could. She remembered Moondancer’s remarkably keen observations about how the population would take the revelation of Rainbow Dash’s adoption. But more than all of that, Twilight remembered the night she had Fallen. She remembered very few of the faces she had stolen memories from, most of them blending together in a mindless blur of panic, terror, and desperate, futile pleading. But from that cacophony of sorrow and fear, one face finally began to emerge from the swirl. Moondancer’s. “My turn. My turn. My turn.” There was no denying it. Twilight fell to her haunches with a withering exhale of shame and guilt as the reality settled onto her shaking shoulders. Moondancer had been one of her victims.