Audacious
by Auramane
Sequel to "Eidolon"
Twilight lay alone on the cold stone ground. Her breathing was ragged. She didn’t know how longs she had been lying there.
Everything hurt.
Thrown through the door. Fire burning in the hearth. Warm.
She shivered, her mane in disarray about her head. This wasn’t her usual cell. It was darker, somehow. She squeezed her eyes shut, biting her lip. Her back felt like it was on fire, lines of pain running across it in every direction.
Half-lidded green eyes. Familiar. A smirk.
Hissing in pain, she pushed herself to her feet. Her legs throbbed, and the pain in her back reached new heights. Scabs that had just started to form cracked, causing new blood to trickle out. She shook on her feet but remained standing. Her eyes cracked open and looked around the room, squinting in the darkness. It was completely bare, save for a small wooden pallet and a blanket.
Flickering shadows. Hunger. Lying down. A bed.
She hobbled over to the small pallet and collapsed onto it. It was rough. It creaked and groaned beneath her. She didn’t care about that.
Crumpled sheets. Laboured breathing. Disgust.
She feebly pulled the blankets over herself, shivering once again in the frigid air. She panted loudly, fighting to stay conscious. Her eyelids were heavy.
Bitter. Detached. Mechanical.
She trembled beneath the blanket, teeth clenched and eyes wide open. Anything to stay awake.
Fake.
She didn’t regret what she had done. She wasn’t glad she had done it either. She was numb. Numb from the pain. Numb from the encounters. Her eyelids were becoming heavier. She shook her head, trying to wake herself up.
Long. Longer than usual. Tiring. Panting breaths. Sweat.
It was probably a mistake. She didn’t even know how she had got here. She had been delirious with pain when the guards had left her here.
Anger. Hopelessness. Despair.
She was so tired.
A bite.
Just as her eyes were fluttering closed, a piercing, bright light shone through them. She started, and then hissed, first in surprise, then in pain from the sudden movement. She was there. Again.
The failure.
Screaming. A metallic taste. Red. Flying. A wall. Pain.
The two stared at each other from across the confines of the cell. The Spectre glowed brightly with a strange light, her expression one of immeasurable sadness.
“Oh, Twilight...” she murmured.
Twilight didn’t respond immediately. Silence hung between them.
Guards grabbing her. Yelling. Threats. Screaming. Green eyes. Betrayal.
“I thought I told you to leave,” whispered Twilight, still lying curled up under her sheet.
The Spectre’s ears flattened to her head and she shuffled her hooves. After a moment’s pause, she slowly replied, “Twilight, I... I couldn’t leave you here alone.”
She snorted. “Could have fooled me.”
The Spectre winced. “You were angry at me. I thought that if you knew, you wo—“
“I would what? Shout at you some more? Oh, give me a break, you are dead!” Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After a few seconds of silence, she opened them again, and stared directly into the Spectre’s eyes. “So you didn’t leave. You stayed and watched me fall.” She paused. “Just like you I guess. Though a little slower, I suppose.”
Pain. Crying. Begging. Bargaining. Red.
The Spectre grit its teeth and looked down to the ground. Pushed herself off of the pallet and rose shakily to her hooves before continuing. “What, are you thinking that I’ll rise up and defeat the evil queen or something?” She laughed hollowly. “Sorry to get your hopes up.”
Slicing. Bruising. Slapping. Sobbing.
“I’m done,” she said, her voice empty. “I did what I did because I thought she might kill me. I’m as done as I can be. So why aren’t you?”
The Spectre said nothing, but simply winced, averting its eyes from Twilight’s abused form.
“Why are you still here?”
“Twilight, please—“
“Why are you still here?”
Being dragged through the halls. Handled roughly. Scraping against the floor.
The Spectre stood stock still, her lips pursed. It stared at Twilight, and she stared back. After
what felt like hours, it bowed its head, seeking to escape from Twilight’s gaze. “I thought... I hoped...”
“Hoped?” asked Twilight. “What, was I right? You thought I was going to lead some kind of rebellion or something? I mean, I suppose I did just hurt her, but I did that so she would kill me. I’m not fighting to free everyone.”
At the mention of killing, the Spectre flinched again. Twilight giggled. “What? Shocked? I don’t blame you, I probably would be too. No way to tell, but I’m at least ninety-five percent sure that I’ve snapped at this point and you’re just a hallucination.”
Rattling keys. Creaking hinges.
She stomped her hoof against the ground, her eyes watering in pain. “I just... don’t want to be here anymore...”
Twilight opened her mouth again as if to continue, but no sound came out. She looked around helplessly for a few seconds before she simply slumped back down onto her pallet.
The Spectre stepped forward, making for Twilight. It had taken two steps when she had suddenly looked up at it. Her eyes, filled with anger, with pain, with helplessness. It paused, biting its lip. Slowly, it hung its head and turned away from Twilight.
Twilight did nothing, simply stayed slumped on her makeshift bed.
Being thrown inside. Crashing against the unforgiving stone. The door locking behind her.
Still facing away from her, the Spectre spoke again. “She won’t... she won’t kill you.”
Twilight looked up at it slowly. “What?”
“She won’t,” continued the the Spectre. “She can’t. She’s... obsessed with you, Twilight. I don’t think she can let you go.”
Twilight sat up straighter, wincing in pain. “Stop!” she called out weakly. “What are you saying?”
“Goodbye, Twilight,” whispered the Spectre. It turned back to her and smiled wryly, its eyes filled with sadness. “You’ve been so brave...”
And then she was gone.
Alone.