Night
Octavia’s return to consciousness was slow and painful. Her world drifted in and out of focus, with colors of flashing pain woven in. She would have marveled at how surreal the whole situation was if she hadn’t been in so much agony. As her vision began to clear, she thought about sitting up. Her head felt like it was about to explode, but she had to find out where she was. Slowly, wincing, she raised herself up and almost immediately fell back down as a splitting throb racked her head. Gritting her teeth and groaning, she pulled herself up and stumbled over to a wall, which she collapsed against. Getting accustomed to the pain, she slowly turned her head to observe her surroundings. The floor, walls, and ceiling were polished hardwood, and there were several shelves and racks nearby. She concluded that she was in the Sol’s cargo hold, which- luxurious as it might have been compared to other cargo holds- was not a good thing.
At that moment, the memories began to resurface; talking back to Silky Sunset, getting bucked in the face… the pieces were falling into place now. Octavia got up on her hooves and slowly began walking around the hold. Escape would be stupid. They were isolated on an airship thousands of feet above the ground. There was nowhere to go. Her stomach growled loudly and Octavia almost sank back down again. She’d clearly been out for a great deal of time. Perhaps there was food down here…
As Octavia turned over a few empty crates looking for a snack, she found it interesting that she hadn’t been bound or shackled. For a hostage situation, this was probably the strangest one she’d ever heard of. Being unbounded wasn’t making solitary confinement much more enjoyable, of course, but it was better than nothing.
The door handle clicked suddenly, and Octavia, startled, bolted back to the wall and sat down. Silky Sunset entered the room, looking considerably calmer than she had earlier. She nodded to the pony who followed her.
“You may leave us now,” she said, taking a seat as her companion left, closing the door behind him. Silky stared at Octavia for a few moments as the grey mare glared up at her. Finally, she spoke.
“You probably think I enjoy this, don’t you?”
“What do you think?” Octavia snapped, “none of us want any part of your little cult.”
Silky visibly bristled at the mention of the word “cult,” but controlled her anger.
“You’ve probably wondered by now why you’re unbound.”
“I have,” Octavia answered evenly, “and it’s obvious- there’s nowhere for me to run.”
“Precisely,” Silky said, “and I don’t feel the need to cause any unnecessary suffering, and so long as nopony mutinies, I think a peaceful flight can be arranged.” Noting Octavia’s persistent expression of disgust, Silky went on.
“I’m trying to teach you something, you wealthy little-“ she stopped and composed herself. “I am not a monster, contrary to what most ponies say. I really do care about you and the others, believe it or not.”
“Then why do you insist on holding us here?” Octavia said, “I’m going to be blunt- your cause is long dead. Nightmare Moon is a thing of the past.”
Silky sighed, and for once, Octavia could see something else in her expression: sadness.
“Is that what you really think we’re all about?” she said finally, “you think we wanted to put a tyrant on the throne?” She cracked open the door to the cargo hold, briefly considering her actions, then opened it all the way. “Come with me, cellist. There’s something you need to see.”
Hesitantly, Octavia took a few steps forward, then followed Silky out the door. The two ascended a short flight of stairs and emerged onto the deck, where the moon was now high in the night sky. The celestial body’s soft white light cast an ivory glow across the deck of the ship, and for a brief moment, Octavia almost forgot that she was still, in fact, a hostage.
“This is what your country fought to stop,” Silky said, gesturing to the void of night, “this is peace. Do you hear the commotion of day below you? Of course not- night is true peace. And look at the two of us- a Unicorn and an Earth Pony- how different are we in the dark of night? Our differences are minimal outside of the light of day. Night is truly better for all of us, and you prevented it from being eternal.”
“I agree that night has its place,” Octavia said, “but-“
Silky was building up steam now, and barely even heard Octavia speak. “And look what happened. Your military ruined it for us all. We could have had centuries of peace under Nightmare Moon, but you stopped us. As it stands now, our only option is the use of force to get what we want. So petty.”
Octavia snapped herself out of her state of calm, glaring at Silky. “You know, for a moment there I thought you might have been a noble pony. Flawed, yes, but noble. Now, though, I can see what you really are. You’re no different from what you wish to overthrow. You’re not afraid to resort to violence. In fact, now you see it as the only option. It’s disgusting, and I don’t want any part of this!”
For a brief moment, Silky only stared at Octavia, completely dumbfounded. Then she began to tremble, her brow furrowing and a grimace spreading across her face. “You snake,” she growled, “I thought maybe I could show you the truth, but no matter what I do, you reject what I say.”
“I reject it because it’s wrong!” Octavia cried out, “kidnapping innocent ponies is not the first step in changing the nation!”
She wasn’t even listening anymore. Silky could feel her new self rising to the surface, pushing away the kinder side she’d just tried to show. She never tried to stop it- being angry had never felt this good before.
“I tried convince you,” she said again, “but you didn’t listen. You never do. You just go on blindly accepting the world as it is. You don’t try to change it, you don’t question it, you just continue on like the brainless automaton you and your friends here are, and… you know what? I’ll tell you the truth right now. Everyone on this airship is nothing more than a- a meat shield to me! If the Aviators show up again, I’ll execute every one of you without hesitation.”
“I’d love to see you try,” Octavia shot back, “you’re such an incompetent leader you think you have to prove yourself to your own hostages. I will never side with you, and I can never excuse the things your organization has done to further its goals. If you have a problem with that, then just throw me over the ledge right now!”
Sunset glowered at Octavia, eye twitching with rage. “Guards,” she snarled, “Escort this cellist back to solitary. I want her out of my sight right now.”
From behind, two stallions took hold of Octavia and forced her away, but just before she disappeared below deck, Octavia faced her captor one more time.
“I knew you wouldn’t do it,” she said finally. Then the hatch closed and she was gone, leaving Silky alone on the deck with only the moon and stars as company.
…
Once the door was shut and her captors were gone, Octavia buried her face in her hooves. The tears were flowing freely now, unrestricted by the need to show strength in the face of adversity. Her captor had tried to be kind, to show her the brighter side of her organization, and she had returned the favor by breaking her down. It was so uncharacteristic, so…
“So mean,” she said aloud between sobs. She hadn’t directed such venom-laced words at another pony since she’d left her home, and using them again after all this time hurt. But as terrible as it had been, she’d found out what she had to. She was in no danger of execution, and when it came down to it, as long as Silky was in charge, nopony else on the airship was in danger, either. There was a strategy to her actions, and it was cruel but effective. With her self-confidence lowered, Silky could be emotionally compromised more easily, and if there was any chance of taking control of the situation, this was the way to do it. She was doing the right thing, Octavia knew, but Celestia as her witness, it definitely didn’t feel like the right thing.
…
Silky Sunset absently stared at the airship’s control wheel, resting her hooves on it in reflection. Only moments ago, she’d exploded at her hostage, and while at the time it had felt immensely satisfying, now it just left a pit in her stomach. She was the leader of the Awakening; such things weren’t supposed to happen to her. Guiltily, Sunset had to admit to herself that she felt weak and incompetent, and the cellist had called her out on it. If things were going to improve, she’d need to shape up.
“Ma’am, we’re ready to launch,” a Pegasus said, entering the ship’s bridge and saluting. Sunset nodded.
“You are cleared to launch. Bring the target back alive, but if retrieval is impossible, find any indication of where the site is. Do not, under any circumstances, allow yourself to be caught by the authorities.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the pony said, nodding.
“May the night guard you,” Sunset added as the pony left the room. Sunset watched as he and two others, all wearing stolen Aviator gear, dove off the deck of the Sol towards Baltimare below. Sunset had utter confidence in the team’s ability to succeed- they had been hoof-picked for this operation. Still, one thing nagged at her. Thus far, this operation had gone almost unsettlingly well, and as experience had taught her, no course of action was destined to be perfect. Something was bound to happen, and she only hoped that when it did, she would finally have the courage to do what may be necessary.