Journeys end in lovers meeting.
William Shakespeare
“I don’t like it…” Twist said, watching a slightly glowing magenta dome surrounding Canterlot.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to die anytime soon,” Silver Spoon said, embracing her. She glared at Scootaloo – the pegasus filly didn’t notice them, lost in her thoughts. Her eyes were fixed on magical obstacle in front of them, her expression as grim as the weather – grey clouds were hanging low above the capital, possibly gathered by the pegasi as some kind of cover.
“Way to go, Scoots,” Silver Spoon muttered. “Who knows, maybe you’ll be able to pierce it with your gaze…”
Scootaloo turned to her, but said nothing. She took a quick look at Twist before turning to Silver again.
“May I talk to you in private for a moment?” she asked.
“We can talk here. Twist and I have no secrets… Nor should have you.”
Scootaloo sighed. “That’s what I want to talk about. Silver, if you’re with Twist only to piss me off, stop it.”
Silver Spoon rolled her eyes, leaning closer to Twist. “Listen, if I were with her only to piss you off, I’d be on the train to Appleloosa now. I don’t like this whole trip, but if Twisty wants to go with you, I’m with her. Even if it means going to the place that soon can be burned to the ground.”
“I didn’t ask for that,” Scootaloo replied.
“But I jutht couldn’t leave you alone,” Twist said. “That’th what friendth are for.”
“Yeah, you’re just too kind…” Scootaloo deadpanned. “Okay, let’s settle this matter: I don’t care about you two being together, but if you hurt Twist…” She stood in front of Silver Spoon, almost nose-to-nose. “…I’ll make your life miserable. Understood?”
“Understood,” Silver Spoon said.
“Good. Now, let’s go.” Scootaloo trotted up the mountain.
They were maybe half of a mile from the dome, when suddenly Silver Spoon heard flapping of the wings somewhere above them. Twist heard it too – she froze in place in the middle of the path, till Silver Spoon pulled her to Scootaloo, hidden behind a large stone. It was a rather poor cover against aerial attacks, but still, it was better than nothing.
A flight of bat ponies – six of them, armed with two 12.7 mm machine guns mounted on their battle saddles – flew above them, turning back in front of the dome. Silver Spoon heard a muffled sound of 40 mm anti-aircraft cannon shooting at them – apparently the bullets fired inside of the magic bubble could leave it, but it was impenetrable from the outside. The flight broke into three pairs, one of them flying directly at them.
Silver Spoon saw Scootaloo shifting her position, shielding Twist and her with her body. The leadpony noticed them, pointing at them to his companion.
Suddenly, they heard a burst of shots and just before Silver Spoon closed her eyes, she saw a blue tracer hitting the bat pony’s neck and leaving on the other side, with large chunks of flesh it tore from it.
Silver Spoon gritted her teeth, suddenly remembering the red puddle on the snow, a bloodied knife in her hoof and the feeling she’d had when she’d killed the soldier – a mix of disgust and twisted fascination, maybe even…
Pleasure?
“Run to the town, kids!” somepony shouted above them. Silver Spoon recognised that voice – it was that pegasus mare they’d met, Cinnamon Swirl. She opened her eyes and looked upwards. Cinnamon Swirl was floating above them, while the violet mare, distinctions on her armour indicating that she was a squadron leader, was chasing the second bat pony. The other four were flying towards them, chased viciously by the bullets from the anti-aircraft cannons.
Silver Spoon darted forward, making sure that Twist was by her side. Scootaloo was running in front of them, spreading her wings as if she wanted to fly. The barrier was only a few yards from them – they could see the guards behind it, ready to open a passage for them.
Few bullets hit the rocks inches from them, ricocheting. Somepony in Canterlot decided to bring on the heavier guns – an 88 mm shell exploded above them, throwing a wave of shrapnel around. Last thing Silver Spoon heard before they ran through the magic shield, was a shriek of a dying bat pony. She turned back to see his body, almost severed in half, hitting the ground.
She collapsed on the ground next to sobbing Twist, panting heavily. A ricocheting bullet had hit her flank, fortunately leaving only a nasty bruise. Scootaloo was the only one standing. However, she also sat, watching the battle behind the dome.
The two pegasi were now chasing the last bat pony, his companions lying on the ground in crimson puddles. Silver Spoon caught herself staring at one of them, who was still twitching violently, despite having a severed wing and a bloody mess of broken bones and torn ligaments in place where his hind leg should be. The squadron leader, flying back after an unsuccessful chase, positioned herself directly above him and fired a quick burst in his head, splashing pieces of his brain and skull around. Only then Silver Spoon turned her gaze away.
She wasn’t sure if it was because of the dome or her injury, but everything around seemed to be bathed in a red haze. She blinked several times, but it only got worse.
The guards who had opened the way for them were now talking to a violet pegasus with a blonde mane, wearing an armour, but with removed battle saddle. He looked at the three fillies and nodded. The guards approached them, levitating their guns.
“Who are you?” one of them asked.
“My name’s Scootaloo, this is Silver Spoon and this is Twist,” said Scootaloo. “We’re from Ponyville and–“
“Shouldn’t you be in Appleloosa?”
“We wanted to stay with our friends here, in Canterlot–“
“Yeah, right… We know your ‘friends’… You came here to spy, huh?” The guard levitated his gun, aiming at Scootaloo’s head.
“Hey!” Twist snapped. “They were shooting at uth!”
“So? Hell, if I wanted to put a spy in Canterlot, I’d do exactly the same – send a reconnaissance group to ‘shoot at the fillies’ and watch them infiltrate the town…”
“We’re not spies!” Scootaloo shouted, spreading her wings. “We want to meet Twilight Sparkle, she knows us.”
“Yeah… You think we’ll take you to her? After that last assassination attempt? You can talk to her in the dungeon if she’d be so kind to go there…”
Silver Spoon approached the guards, smiling a bit nervously. “I’m sure there’s a way to at least let us in the town…” she started. The guard looked at her closer.
“Maybe,” he said reluctantly and pointed at her necklace. “Are these real pearls?”
“Yes,” she said without a shade of doubt in her voice.
“Okay, here’s the deal,” the guard lowered his gun, but she suddenly felt his magical aura around her neck. “You give us the pearls and we’ve never seen you here.”
The pegasus suddenly became strangely interested in his two companions coming back from the fight.
“How about him?” Silver Spoon asked, seeing that Scootaloo was trying to bring her attention to the pegasus, poking her discreetly.
“Don’t worry, he can keep secrets too.”
Silver Spoon undid the chain of her necklace and let the guard levitate it away.
“Have a nice stay,” he said. They trotted away, stopping behind a nearby building.
“I know this guy,” said Scootaloo. “He was in the camp with his brother.”
“So?” Silver Spoon asked. Even after they walked some distance from the magic barrier, her vision was still red-tinted.
“Dunno, I just don’t like it…” Scootaloo leaned from behind the corner, to make sure if the guards weren’t following them.
“It went too eathy…” Twist muttered. She was eyeing the bruise on Silver Spoon’s flank, just below her cutie mark. It wasn’t worse from the other ones she’d acquired during their walk to Canterlot, but Twist shuddered anyway.
“What do you mean?” Silver asked. “I gave them my pearls, they let us go free. That’s how business works.”
“Yeah, but they could arrest us and steal them anyway,” Scootaloo said. “We’re spies for them after all.”
“Exactly.” Twist nodded, looking around. “They might be following uth…”
“Yeah, maybe.” Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. “And what’d they find? We’re not spies.”
Twist and Scootaloo had no answer for that, so they trotted down the street, to Princess Celestia’s palace. The town was almost devoid of life – only sometimes a pony or two would poke their heads from the nooks, only to hide behind the door of some house or shop. Most of the windows were boarded, papers and other trash were scattered on the street.
They stopped again, seeing the group of soldiers in front of some large house with anti-aircraft guns (a big cannon, surrounded by few smaller ones) placed on the roof.
“We’d better choose another way,” Scootaloo said.
They turned right, hiding in the shadow of arcades. The columns and the walls were covered in posters, mostly depicting Princess Celestia either standing proudly, calling ponies to arms, or shielding little fillies from the attacking bat ponies. There were few newer posters and Scootaloo gave out a surprised shout upon seeing them.
The poster consisted mostly of the picture of Rainbow Dash, clad in a black armour similar to those they’d seen worn by the Celestia’s pegasi. In the background there were two exploding airships above a dam. A one word, written with black capitals, was written on the top of the poster:
REMEMBER.
Scootaloo’s head drooped. Even Silver Spoon felt a jolt of pain in her heart upon seeing that. Her vision became redder.
“So, everypony knows now,” she said. “Apparently, the nation needs a hero…”
Scootaloo said nothing, but after a while she rose her head and trotted forward. Silver Spoon and Twist followed her, unsure what she was going to do. They went down the large, marble stairs and turned left, heading to the one of the main streets of Canterlot. It was blocked with abandoned carts, demolished stands and other rubbish. As they were passing through it, four pegasi flew over their heads.
“Do you think it’th another battle?” Twist asked, watching them as they flew higher, yet still staying under the dome. Their armours were blue and yellow – the Wonderbolts’ colours.
“No, they’re unarmed,” Scootaloo observed. “I think I know what’s going on…” She pointed at the crossing in front of them. It was crowded with ponies marching somewhere, most of them wearing solemn expression. Scootaloo galloped to join them.
“If you know what’s going on, could you explain that to us?” Silver Spoon asked. “Not everypony reads The Wonderbolts Magazine…”
“It’s a funeral…” said Scootaloo, tears in her eyes.
The ponies were crowded around a cart, pulled by a large, white pegasus, and one of the twins Scootaloo remembered from the refugee camp. His brother was walking behind the cart, next to a limping, dust-coloured pegasus mare, covered in bandages. Behind them walked the rest of the squadron – Cinnamon Swirl, Cloudchaser and another wounded mare, very similar to the squadron leader.
On the cart, on a layer of pine branches, lay an oaken coffin – simple but well-crafted, with silver ornaments. Twist embraced Scootaloo who wept upon seeing it. She knew that Rainbow Dash was dead, but seeing this was still a heavy blow for her. Silver Spoon fought not to burst into tears. She thought about another dead pony, who was probably buried quickly, somewhere in the forest, before Luna’s army galloped over her grave.
“Diamond Tiara…” she whispered. Her vision blurred. She remembered the coldness of a knife in her hoof. Too bad she’d left it next to the body. Now she wanted to step up and kill everypony around, till her hunger of vengeance would be satisfied. She felt Twist’s hoof touching her and blinked several times, shaking that feeling off.
Confused, she looked at the crowd and saw another pony walking next to the squadron members. A grey pegasus colt with black mane, was trotting behind Cloudchaser, hiding his face in her shadow.
On the other side of the street, surrounded by a dozen of guards, stood Twilight Sparkle. None of her friends was with her. Silver Spoon looked at her, expecting to see the princess crying, but instead noticed her determined, stiff expression. She started to wonder if she looked the same.
The Wonderbolts flew just above the crowd in a claw four formation. When they passed the cart with a coffin, one of them departed from the formation, flying into the sunset. Silver Spoon wanted to ask Scootaloo if it was another of the pegasi’s customs, but then she noticed that the orange filly wasn’t with them. She looked around and cursed under her breath.
Scootaloo was breaking through the crowd, trying to get to the cart. She was halfway through, when suddenly some hooded pony caught her, pulling her to the nearby nook.
“Twist!” Silver Spoon hissed. “Seems that we’ll have to save her flank again…”
They ran through the crowd, bumping into ponies who started to yell at them. Silver Spoon didn’t care. Her vision started to redden again; she was ready to fight, no matter who the opponent would be.
“Leave her alone, you motherfu–“ she yelled, jumping from behind the corner. She froze and then fell down when Twist bumped into her.
“Silver? Twist? What are y’all doin’ here?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I was just trying to tell you…” Scootaloo said, her forelegs wrapped around her friend’s neck. She was jumping up and down around Apple Bloom, soon joined by Twist. Silver Spoon got up, wiped her glasses and stared at them with a bitter expression.
“What happened to ya?” Apple Bloom asked. “When Firefly told us that ya’re alive, Sweetie and Ah almost went crazy…”
“It doesn’t matter, what happened to you? And where’s Sweetie? And why didn’t you go to Twilight?”
“Well, Sweetie is… how to say that… Well, y’all have to see it yerself. She can’t really show up in public, ya know.”
Scootaloo nodded.
“And about Twilight…” Apple Bloom looked around and whispered, “Ya know, it’s not the best place. We’d better go to our hideout.”
“Now?” There was a sadness in Scootaloo’s voice. She looked at Apple Bloom, then at the crowd. The cart with Rainbow Dash’s body was almost gone.
“Ya’d better go now,” said Apple Bloom. “It ain’t safe here…”
“What do you mean?”
“Ah’ll tell y’all later.” Apple Bloom trotted to the dead end, behind the trash bin. Scootaloo took a final glance at the crowd, sighed and turned her head away.
“Wait,” Silver Spoon said, when they caught up with her. “It’s a sewer!”
“Don’t worry, it’s only a cover,” Apple Bloom explained, lifting the hatch and walking down the iron ladder. Scootaloo and Twist followed her reluctantly. Silver Spoon took a deep breath and went down, wincing at the smell.
When they all were down, Apple Bloom took her cloak off, revealing that she also got a cutie mark when they were apart. It was a spanner crossed with a hammer. Scootaloo opened her mouth to ask, but Apple Bloom looked at her, silencing her.
“Now to the left…” she ordered. For some time they were walking in almost complete darkness, guided by the filly’s voice. Soon they left the sewers – the foul smell disappeared and they could feel that the walls weren’t made of bricks anymore, but rather of solid, a bit moist rock. Soon they could see something more, courtesy of the crystals in the walls, shining with a pale, inner light.
Their hoofsteps echoed through the large cave. Apple Bloom guided them through a narrow passage and stopped in front of the wall.
“So, what now?” Scootaloo asked, “It’s a dead end.”
Apple Bloom said nothing, instead taking some small crystal from the pocket of her cloak and placing it on the wall. They heard the rattling of the sprockets behind the wall and soon the rock moved to the side. Behind it, sat a brown donkey smoking a cigarette.
“Hello, devotchka,” he said to Apple Bloom. Then he looked at Scootaloo, Silver Spoon and Twist.
“Yer droogs?” he asked.
“Yes. Girls, this is Scrap Yard. He helped me to get to Canterlot. Scrap Yard, where’s Sweetie?”
“On the level two, with Wrench and bolnoy little devotchka.”
Suddenly, Apple Bloom cursed under her breath.
“Derpy’s gonna kill us…” she muttered, rushing into the cave. Scootaloo and her companions looked at the donkey dumbfounded.
“What’s going on?” Silver Spoon asked.
“Derpy had to fly with a message to Manehattan,” Scrap Yard explained, “And she left her malenky devotchka here with Apple Bloom, who doesn’t think ptitsa like Wrench is a good companion for a filly…”
“Why?” Twist asked.
“Ya’ll see…” Scrap Yard laughed.
They trotted down the corridor.
“What is this place?” Scootaloo asked, looking around. There were numerous caves there, often fully furnished, complete with doors, beds, and carpets on the floors.
“Dunno, some kind of bunker?” Silver Spoon also looked around. “I don’t like it…”
“They’re thpieth…” Twist muttered.
“Why do you think so, Twisty?”
“They thent Derpy with a methage to Manehattan. Firefly ith probably thomewhere here, preparing to let the Moon Army into the town through thothe caveth.”
Chill ran down Scootaloo’s spine. Since the meeting with the Sun Army’s soldiers she’d lost any delusions about both Luna and Celestia’s intentions, but still it all felt wrong. And Apple Bloom was apparently helping them…
Lost in their thoughts, they entered another chamber. Suddenly, they were almost deafened by a high-pitched voice.
“…and den I told ‘em to take dat pipe and shove ‘t right up–“
“Wrench, what I told ya about telling stories to Dinky?” Apple Bloom asked, piercing a skinny, pale-yellowish filly with her gaze.
Wrench rolled her eyes. “Nuffin’ ‘bout stealin’,” she recited, “Nuffin’ ‘bout war. Nuffin’ ‘bout fu–“
Apple Bloom cleared her throat. Silver Spoon’s gaze focused on a laughing filly sitting next to them.
“Oh, Dinky…” Twist exclaimed.
Dinky Hooves was sitting in a wheelchair, her hind legs hanging limply from it. Her lower body was still covered in bandages, but despite that she was laughing at the story Wrench was telling. Silver Spoon shivered, her vision becoming a bit red around the edges. Whoever did that to that filly deserved to die.
Suddenly, Silver Spoon almost chuckled. She knew exactly when it happened. The day the bombs, dropped by the two pegasi fell on them, killing Ms. Cheerilee and many of their classmates.
The day Diamond Tiara died, shielding Silver Spoon with her own body.
The most ironic thing was that they just attended the funeral of one of those pegasi. Scootaloo looked at Silver Spoon unsurely, seeing her shaking her head.
“Hello,” Dinky said to them. “How are you?”
“Fine,” Silver Spoon muttered through gritted teeth.
“I’m sorry, but could somepony explain me what’s this place and what’s going on?” Scootaloo asked.
“Dat’s da Sanctuary,” Wrench said, “A shelter for as many ponies as possible. Firefly built it, waitin’ for da battle dat’ll end Equestria as we know ‘t. And, since der’s a fuckin’ shitstorm up dere–”
“Language, Wrench…” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Dinky already started to pick that up from ya…”
“Because Wrench is funny!” Dinky exclaimed. “She told me a story about funny mushrooms and rats–“
“Ya know, ya’d bett’r not tell AB ‘bout it…” Wrench said quickly.
“I still don’t get it.” Scootaloo waved her hoof. “You’re, like, sitting here in those caves, waiting for the end of the world?”
“That’s the purpose, even though the end of the world is unlikely,” she heard the voice behind her back. Even though it sounded artificial, there was something familiar about it.
Scootaloo spun and suddenly froze upon seeing the filly who’d entered the room. “What the fuck?” she asked flatly, ignoring Apple Bloom’s hissing.
“It is the second most common reaction of ponies seeing me for the first time, preceded only by ‘Oh, Sweetie, what happened to you?’.” Sweetie Belle stated, her artificial eye focusing on Scootaloo. “Judging by your expression, the answer ‘Discord did it’ won’t be satisfactory.”
Scootaloo opened her mouth, only to close it a second later. Sweetie Belle approached her, pneumatic actuators in her hind legs hissing and clanking. Scootaloo noticed that she was now the only of them without a cutie mark.
“Glad to see you alive.” Her voice didn’t exactly convey emotions, yet Scootaloo couldn’t help but hug her, tears falling from her eyes. The metallic casing was surprisingly warm and Scootaloo had nothing against staying there with her forever.
“So, you’re finally here.” Yet again, the similarity between Rainbow Dash and Firefly’s voices hit Scootaloo, causing her to hug Sweetie Belle tighter, crying for all the things she’d been through.
“So, you’re Firefly, right?” Silver Spoon asked, staring at the pegasus coldly. Firefly’s expression remained calm.
“I guess you have lots of questions,” she spoke, sitting among them. Apple Bloom and Wicked Wrench sat on both sides of Dinky’s wheelchair like two guards protecting somepony important. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sat on next to Apple Bloom, while Silver Spoon, still eyeing Firefly like an entrapped animal looks at the hunters, sat as far away from Wrench as she could, next to Twist who didn’t seem to care about her friend’s nervousness, staring at Firefly with an interested expression.
“What is this place?” Silver Spoon asked.
“It’s a part of the large system of caves beneath the Canterlot. There used to be a gems mine here, owned by my father, but now it’s my sanctuary.” Firefly’s voice changed into the more ephemeric tone she used when speaking in public.
“Sanctuary?” Silver Spoon asked. “Like, it’s some kind of sect? You’re going to gas everypony here, like these guys in Neighpon?”
Wicked Wrench looked at Silver Spoon with disdain, but Firefly was still calm.
“It’s not a sect. I created it to protect ponies when the time comes. As you can see,” she pointed at the ceiling, “The time almost came.”
“Tho, you’re not princeth Luna’th thpy?” Twist asked.
“Of course not!” Firefly exclaimed, “Though, many ponies get that impression. Even Princess Celestia herself thinks so, and that’s why we all had to move here already. You see, we maintain contact with our brothers and sisters in Manehattan, and that’s probably the cause.”
“Yeah…” Silver Spoon muttered.
“Celestia sent guards to arrest me, but I was warned by one of the ponies living in her palace and managed to move everypony here.” Firefly continued. “There’s enough place for everypony to live, we have food, water from underground river, we even have a library, thanks to our little librarian…”
Dinky’s eyes lit when she smiled. Once more Silver Spoon looked at her and thought about what she’d do to ponies who hurt her.
“How long are you going to stay here?” Scootaloo asked.
“Till the battle is over and the princesses will be gone,” Firefly stated firmly.
“What if there’ll be no battle? And why do you think they’ll be gone?”
“If they’ll still rule, we’ll leave this place anyway. We waited for so long, we can wait some more.”
“So, that’s your plan?” Scootaloo snapped, standing up. “Just wait and see what happens?”
“It’s the only right thing to do, Scootaloo. Something bad is happening in Princess Celestia’s palace.”
Sweetie Belle’s artificial eye faded slightly, her head drooped. If somepony wondered whether she had any feelings beneath her cybernetic form, they’d get rid of doubts immediately.
“Rarity disappeared,” she said, her voice sounding like something in the machinery keeping her alive was broken. “They said that she went crazy and tried to kill Twilight.”
Firefly nodded. “Rarity was often a guest in my house.” she said. “She was really happy when she found out that Sweetie is alive. It was her who told me about Celestia trying to arrest me.”
“And you, of course, had nothing to do with that?” Silver Spoon asked. “She just conveniently went nuts and tried to kill her friend, without any help?”
Sweetie Belle stood up and approached her, her both eyes, normal and cybernetic, burning with rage.
“Don’t you dare talking like that about my sister!” she shouted, aiming her horn at her.
“Chill out, Sweetie…” Apple Bloom muttered, pulling her away. Twist caught Silver Spoon, who made a move as if she wanted to tackle Sweetie.
“I’m thorry for her.” She said. “Thilver ith jutht tired, she doethn’t think clearly…”
“I know when I think clearly!” Silver Spoon snapped.
Firefly shook her head. She looked in Scootaloo’s eyes and noticed that they were filled with tears. The filly was sitting in the middle of the room, not caring about her friends’ argument.
“I guess we all could use some rest.” Firefly said finally. “Wrench, why don’t you show our new guests their rooms?”
“Sure thing!” Wrench saluted. They trotted out of the room and went through the narrow corridor with doors on the both sides. Fluorescent crystals were the only source of light, their dim light enlarging their shadows, creating an eerie atmosphere.
“So, I guess ya two’d like to live together, huh?” Wrench asked Silver Spoon and Twist when they stopped in front of one of the doors. Seeing their confused look, she smirked. “Oh, c’mon… My coltfriend is a donkey; I haveta be good’t recognizin’ feelings…”
Twist’s face was now of the same colour as her mane. Silver Spoon also felt that she was blushing. Her vision was still red-tinted. The feelings overcoming her found a new target – the skinny, pale-yellow mare covered in engine grease. If she had a knife… She looked at Twist and calmed down a bit.
“I guess we’ll live together…” she said quietly and opened the door. When Twist and her trotted inside, she slammed it a bit stronger that she should, causing the crystals’ light to flicker.
“Blimey… Where did ya get dat obnoxious ‘lil fuck?” Wrench blinked in confusion.
“Well, that obnoxious little fuck saved my life,” Scootaloo replied, ignoring Apple Bloom who made a move as if she wanted to cover Dinky’s ears.
“What she did? She beat somepony with dat stick she carries ‘round in ‘er ass?”
Scootaloo sighed. “I’d rather not talk about that. Ask Twist or Silver.”
“Well, as ya wish…”
They walked down the corridor.
***
The room was small but comfortable. They almost couldn’t notice that they were in an underground cave. There was even a shower on the opposite side of the corridor, so they jumped into an occasion to take a bath. There was hot water there, heated by geothermal energy, but Silver Spoon spent most of the time cooling herself with ice-cold shower, till the last trace of red disappeared from her vision.
Now they were back in the room, Twist lying down on a sofa, while Silver Spoon sat on the floor next to it, brushing her mane.
“Can you help me?” she asked. “I haven’t braided my mane for ages…”
“Of courthe, Thilver.” Twist sat down and separated her friend’s hair into three strands.
“Silver. Not that I’m mocking you, but…” She waved her hoof around. “With everything that’s happening we may not have time for anything…” She pointed a bruise on her flank. If a bat pony aimed a little better, she’d be dead, just like in Twist’s dreams.
“Don’t worry, Silver, everything will be all right… We’re thafe here.” Twist replied half-heartedly. She was now halfway through Silver’s mane.
“Yeah, maybe… But what’ll happen later? I’m having… dunno how to say it…”
“Dreamth?” Twist shuddered and almost released Silver Spoon’s mane from her grasp.
“Worse. Since they were shooting at us… Like something possessed me. I… I just wanted to get a knife and… and kill everypony. Guards, Firefly, even that dirty bag of bones who apparently is our nanny.”
Twist fastened Silver Spoon’s braid with a scrunchie. She decided to let her friend talk.
“I… I can only calm down when I look at you…” Silver’s voice was emotionless, but it faltered suddenly. She sat on a sofa next to Twist. “But what if it stops working? What if I hurt you?”
Twist hugged her. “Oh, Silver…” she whispered. “I know you’d… you’d never hurt me.”
“See? You’re hesitating. I’m controlling myself now… B-but what if I lose control? I already killed once… And it’s like something wanted me to do that again…”
“But you were thaving Thcootaloo’th life… And I… I could kill that other guy too…” Twist shivered, embracing Silver Spoon closer.
“Yes, but… You weren’t enjoying it. You just kicked him, right? And you regret it. I… I stabbed the guy in the back with cold blood, and I was happy to see him dying, to see the light fading in his eyes… I don’t feel guilty. Just… hungry for more…”
She freed herself from Twist’s embrace. “I’m sorry, but we can’t be together… I’m too dangerous and… honestly… I don’t deserve to be with you. I’ll go back to Canterlot and–”
“Oh, come on, Silver… You’re not going anywhere. We’ll th… survive this together.”
Silver Spoon froze when Twist hugged her again, but soon she relaxed. She sunk her face in the mass of red, curly hair, smelling of peppermint. She closed her eyes, trying to forget. There was no war, no soldiers, just the two of them, in this room, on this sofa, two fillies lost in the cruel world, but still having each other. Their lips locked. Silver Spoon looked into Twist’s eyes and saw a long unseen spark. Shining among the memories of their march to Canterlot, it was there – a glint of hope.
Silver Spoon smiled faintly. Still holding one another in tight embrace, they lay down on the sofa. Their lips parted and she saw a sheepish smile on Twist’s face. Her glasses were a little off and she was blushing heavily. The cause of it became obvious when Silver felt her hoof on the inner side of her thigh.
“Oh, you…” she laughed, leaning to kiss her again.