//------------------------------// // 06 - A Meeting Of Halves // Story: Solar Sails: Adrift In Canterlot // by Bluecho //------------------------------// Ch. 6 - A Meeting Of Halves “How are you feeling now, Whole?” The modified soldier lifted the teapot provided to the pair, pouring steamy liquid into the mare's cup. She filled her own cup as well. In all that, she kept the mare's face in her immediate line of sight. Whole Heart sniffed, brushing the back of her hoof over her nose. “Better. Thank you, Sarin. For every-” “Stop, please, I know,” said Sarin Miles, extending her hand, palm out, to shush Whole. “You've thanked me enough.” “But I haven't!” said Whole, voice cracking. She paused at the sound, then said more quietly, “You saved me. Saved my life. Kept me from becoming a....a commodity to be sold and traded to rich Griffins.” It was perfectly possible, Whole supposed, that the buyer in question had been a pony residing in the Griffin Kingdom, but that seemed unlikely. Then again, at the moment Whole simply wanted to deny that a fellow pony could be so heartless. And yet, she just got saved from kidnapper/slavers who were very much ponies. Once Whole Heart calmed down, face drenched and salty, guards came over to where she remained in Sarin's arms. They had requested she come to the station with them, so she could give a formal statement. Her aggressors had already been hauled in by that point. At Whole's request, Sarin accompanied her, waiting patiently for the guards to finish their business with the traumatized mare. With nothing to do, Sarin walked Whole to the guard station cafeteria. Sarin seated herself at an adjacent corner to Whole. Close enough if the mare needed a hug, far enough to give her space if she suddenly found any contact objectionable. Either was likely, as far as the Fatae could tell. “So where are you staying?” asked Sarin, scooping sugar into her tea. “Sugar?” “Two lumps please,” said Whole, eying the dish. As Sarin spooned some in Whole's cup, the mare said, “I'm staying at a hotel right now. But I don't know how much longer I'll be able to stay there.” “Why's that?” Sarin asked, lines of concern etching onto her brow. “I've been looking for work in the city,” responded Whole, sighing. “I came down with the hopes of a new start, but the job hunt hasn't been going well. And the hotel is expensive.” “I'm sorry.” “It's just,” began Whole, pushing her teacup around with her hooves, “I came all the way from the Empire, and nothing's going my...” “The Empire?” said Sarin, face lighting up. Had she misheard? “Oh, the Crystal Empire,” clarified Whole, growing slightly confused. “The Crystal Empire, huh?” said Sarin. She'd forgotten, in her stay, that there was in fact an empire of sorts on that planet. And that Whole, a crystal pony, would naturally be from there. Categorical blunder. “Yeah,” said Whole. “Which empire did you think it was?” “Mine.” “What? Yours?” It would need to be explained at some point, though by then Sarin had grown a notch tired of doing so. After giving the rundown to the Princesses – all three she'd met – the process became tedious. That and the existential crisis it would likely invoke in the common pony made Sarin hesitant to reveal her truly extraterrestrial origins. Saying she was from far away, from a foreign country, usually sufficed. But, perhaps Whole Heart deserved the truth. Sarin couldn't say why, but she felt it was necessary. Perhaps it would even help the poor mare, somehow. “Yep,” said Sarin, pausing to mentally order her thoughts. This would take time. “My Empire. The one I come from. The Fatae Empire. This might seem insane, but I'm not from this world...” So Sarin Miles told Whole Heart. Told her about the Fatae, and their Empire that spanned a sizable chunk of the galaxy. Told her of the Modified Soldier program – aka the Psalms Initiative, though Sarin didn't share that factoid. Told of her mission to gather information. Told of the crash, and subsequent time in the wilderness and hiding amongst ponies. And finally, told of her eventual capture and pardon, as well as of her understanding that she was trapped on the planet, perhaps forever. Sarin debated whether to tell of her emotional breakdown, but decided against it. All in all, the explanation took almost an hour. Their tea lay half sipped and cold on the table. “...wow...” said Whole Heart finally, once Sarin had stopped talking. Sarin couldn't honestly tell whether the mare believed it. But nonetheless, Whole said, “So...you can never go home again?” “I don't know about never,” said Sarin, taking a swig of her tea only to scrunch her face at how cold and bitter it tasted. “But for the time being, I'm not going anywhere. The crew of the ship hasn't even returned to imperial space yet, and I can't be sure they'll even send another one. I may never get home.” Sarin sighed. “I'm trying to accept that possibility.” She really was, hard as the process could be. “Why did you leave your Empire?” Whole Heart's sad, sympathetic face changed to an anxious one. “Me?” “Yes,” said Sarin. “Are you feeling up to sharing? It's okay if you aren't.” The crystal mare thought a moment, looking down at the table. Reciprocity. “No,” she said. “You told me all about your past. It's only fair if I talk about mine.” She inhaled, exhaled. “What do you know about the Crystal Empire?” “I've heard a bit,” said Sarin, scratching her head. “Not a lot though. Only that it's far to the North, is the home of the crystal ponies, and that it wasn't there a couple years ago.” “Kind of right,” said Whole. “We were a great state a thousand years ago. I remember things used to be simpler then.” “Wait, you remember?” Sarin suddenly realized she had no right to be skeptical, given the unbelievable yarn she spun only minutes before. “I mean, go on.” “We were cursed by King Sombra,” explained Whole Heart, looking troubled. “It left us locked in time for a millennium until just recently. Once we got out, we rejoined the world...and after a while, I decided to join it by leaving the Empire. I...couldn't stay there anymore...” “Why?” Shifting in her chair sideways, Whole allowed the modified soldier a better view of her body. She gestured to her midsection. “My Flaw. Surely you noticed.” Indeed Sarin had. But given the general unusual nature of the crystal ponies, she hadn't thought much of it. Plus, she'd had other things on her mind, like making sure the mare was alright. Thinking about it, Sarin suddenly considered their talk might not be helping at that point. “I did...I assumed most or many had such things. Is it unusual?” Whole nodded. “Not just unusual. Statistically almost impossible.” “Why's that?” “Because a Flaw like this,” Whole pointed, “a deep internal fracture...almost no one sees this kind of thing. Because most foals who are born with it...don't last long.” Sarin shifted uncomfortably. “Oh...” “My mother actually thought I was a miracle baby,” Whole said, smiling warmly at the thought. “That I was born alive was amazing enough. That I lasted out of foalhood was more amazing still.” Her smile dropped. “But my mom was also very protective of me. No doctors could guess at how long or even if I could survive long term, so mom was very overprotective. Didn't let me out of the house to play. Afraid that tripping or falling off a high place would be just the event that would cause me to split in two along that fault. “And since I never got out to exercise...” Whole examined her chubby body, “Combined with the health problems my fracture produced, I ended up being fat. And no one wanted to hang out with the fat girl.” She sighed, throat tightening. “Or...at least I thought that was the entire story...” “There's more?” said Sarin, worried. Whole nodded. “One day, I asked one of the fillies my age what I could do to stop being such a loser.” The mare rubbed her nose, sniffling. “And she said...she said, 'Doesn't matter if you stopped being fat, Whole Heart. My parents told me not to associate with you. Said you might shatter at any moment, and we shouldn't get involved.' That's what she said.” Whole's eyes began to water. “That's what she said...” “Whole, I'm sorry!” Sarin said, reaching a hand out to touch the mare. While the crystal pony permitted the contact, she raised her voice, “And she was right! No one wants to get attached to the filly who could drop dead any day. No one wanted to hang out with the sickly, fat, doomed, fractured girl! I was always by myself. And when my mother died, I really didn't have anyone!” Tears began to form, threatening to spill out. Sarin stood up and crouched close, hugging Whole. As the fresh tears fell down, Whole Heart reciprocated the hug. “Thank you Sarin.” The modified soldier broke off, returning to her seat. “So what finally made you leave?” “The curse being lifted.” “Why's that?” Whole wiped a tear away. “When we first got back, King Sombra still had power. His curse was still in effect. While that happened, we were...reduced. Couldn't remember our old lives or a time when we were happy. Didn't shine or glimmer. We looked like regular ponies, but duller.” Then surprisingly, Whole smiled. “And I was glad, believe it or not. Because for the first time in my life, I looked like everyone else. When the Crystal Fair went on, I could have fun with everypony without being singled out. I didn't feel lonely. “But then the curse was lifted completely, and we returned to normal,” said Whole, her nervous smile dropping. “Which was good of course, because we weren't cursed...but bad because everything went back to normal. Including me.” By this point Whole was dehydrated, so she slammed back her teacup, taking the bitter liquid in. “I tried to go back to living, but I just couldn't. I had tasted what it was like not to be singled out, to not be different...to not be lonely. I just couldn't keep living like that.” She sniffed, eyes fixed sadly on the table. She looked up. “So I left.” Sarin stared at the pony. She felt like crying too. She felt that way because of how close the story hit. “I understand.” “What?” said Whole, frown turning into a scowl. “How? How could you possibly understand what I've gone through?” “Because of what I didn't tell you about my life,” said Sarin, calmly. “I never told you what Fatae look like.” The scowl dropped from Whole's face, and she just looked confused. “What they look like? But I can see you...” “And what you see,” Sarin said, splaying hands outward to indicate her whole form, “is not representative of my species. The pale skin, the white hair, the blotches of color everywhere. The ears that look like they've been chewed on...none of them are things Fatae are supposed to have.” She rubbed the blue rings around her eyes. “All of this was the side effects of the process that made us living weapons. All the G7s have such unnatural traits.” Whole Heart was stunned. She couldn't believe it. “Really? You aren't just lying to make me feel better?” Preposterous. Stupid. Sarin laughed. “I wish I was,” she said, shaking her head. “I wish I could say that I'm normal for my species, that I fit in. But I'm a G7; I can never fit in. Everyone stares when we come around, because we look so strange...and because they distrust us.” “Distrust you?” Might as well go all the way. “Your people, the crystal ponies,” Sarin began. “They look at you and feel pity. When the Fatae look at me, they feel fear. Not just because we work for the government, but because Modified Soldiers haven't had the best public relations.” An enormous understatement. Sarin thought of the G6s. She shuddered involuntarily. “What's wrong?” Whole said, noticing Sarin's reaction. “Is it that bad?” Sarin nodded. “And I can't even take comfort with my own kind, because I don't have any other G7s my age. I was created individually to fill a vacancy. Every other G7 is a decade or more older than me.” Her eyes began to water; she suppressed the urge to cry. “I know what you're going through, Whole Heart.” She looked up at the pony. “Because I've also gone my entire life not knowing friends.” For a while, Whole Heart merely stared at the Fatae. It just didn't seem possible. It had to be a lie. A deception concocted by an admittedly well-meaning alien to dull Whole's emotions. An attempt to cheat...at something...It couldn't be true. Whole Heart didn't have anyone who really understood. No one ever had. Yet every time Whole looked at the alien, the supposition seemed wrong. The way the soldier held herself when she talked about her isolation. The subtle twitches of her face. The way her voice quivered. How her bright yellow eyes glistened in the fading light of the station. Whole Heart wasn't an expert on reading ponies – and therefore had even less expertise trying to read a Fatae – but the signs didn't agree with what her expectations demanded. Maybe Sarin was lying about being from space. But wherever she came from, Sarin firmly believed her own story, especially when it came to her outcast nature. Whether she came from an obscure part of the world or another entirely...Sarin wasn't lying about that. Whole Heart started crying harder. Abandoning her chair, she rushed over and hugged Sarin. It was difficult because her feet still hurt. But she clung to the soldier all the same. Whole felt the alien – or whatever she was – return the hug. The woman smelt of sweat and tears (probably Whole's own), and an unfamiliar musk. After a minute or so, a voice came out from nearby. “Hey you two. I don't mean to interrupt, but the cafeteria is closing soon.” Embarrassed, the two disengaged. Sarin scratched her head. Whole chuckled. Sarin was the first to speak. “...so what happens now?” “...I don't know...” said Whole Heart, face drooping. “I'm still jobless and almost out of money. I got saved – thank you by the way – but I'm back where I started at the beginning of the day.” “Do you have any plans?” asked Sarin. “Aside from you, I don't know anypony in this town,” said Whole Heart. “If there was some help, some in I could exploit, I could move forward. But...” Whole frowned. “At this point, I might as well go back to the Crystal Empire. There's no more I can do on my own.” Sarin contemplated those words. She felt like she had the opposite problem. She had every opportunity, every advantage afforded to her. Friendly ponies seemed to line up to offer aid. But she still needed to personally find that elusive purpose. If she couldn't, all her efforts were wasted. Well no, she thought, correcting herself. I accomplished one thing good. I saved Whole Heart from slavery. If I hadn't been there, who knows where she might be now? The more Sarin considered this point, the more she found herself liking it. The more she felt good about what she did. Not just as a moral good, but because it felt natural. Fighting against wrongs. Defending the weak. It's basically what she, as a soldier, was designed and trained to do. Why couldn't she just do that? Why can't I just do that? “...I have an idea,” Sarin said finally. “You're asking for what now?” Princess Celestia said.