//------------------------------// // Nije ljubav stvar // Story: L'amore è femmina (Out of Love) // by Ospero //------------------------------// Carousel Boutique, November 3rd, 8.30 pm, six years after the Doubt incident "I just don't know what to do." Rarity had to strain to hear those words over the whistling of the teapot and the patter of the rain against the windows. The teenage dragon opposite her at her dinner table had obviously not wanted her to hear them. She looked at him sternly. "Sorry? I didn't quite catch that, Spikey." He winced, and a guilty look crept onto his face. "I don't want to bother you with this, Rarity." "Of course you do. Why else would you be here, rather than with your marefriend?" Rarity said, eyebrows raised in disbelief. Spike drew a deep breath, then looked her in the eyes. "Have you ever argued with Fancy?" It's as I guessed, then, Rarity thought. "Of course we've had our differences over the years. So you had an argument with Apple Bloom?" "Yeah." Spike seemed to deflate, letting his head sink onto the table. "What was it about, if I may ask?" Rarity took a sip of tea. "She wants us to finally move in together, or for me to move to Sweet Apple Acres at least, and I simply can't do that." The dragon drained his glass of water, seemingly wishing for something stronger. "Twilight still needs me." "And you don't want to decide between your sister and your marefriend, because you're afraid to scare one of them away." Rarity couldn't hide a smile. "Why does that sound familiar?" Spike took a moment to realize what she meant. When he did, memories came flooding back, and he grinned awkwardly. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to pick at old scars." "Spikey, that was six years ago. We both overcame our problems with what happened long ago. Would you be sitting here otherwise, coming to me for advice?" Rarity asked, though she had to admit to herself that she still felt a slight tingle of guilt every time she thought of what had happened. The dragon looked at her with those peculiar green eyes. About two years ago, they had started to change, turning from the round eyes of a baby dragon to the narrower ones of an adult. Spike had complained about headaches for a few days, but had then realized that the new shape also seemed to bring with it a heightened awareness. Every time he looked at Rarity now, she felt scrutinized, as though the dragon was peering into her mind and soul. He only held the gaze for a second or two, then he looked away, dropping that particular topic as he seemed to recognize her discomfort. "What should I do?" Despite all the changes over the last six years, the greater body size - he was almost as massively built as Big Macintosh now -, the new eyes and scales, he sounded like a helpless kid now, even a little scared. "Talk to Apple Bloom, and to Twilight. You will find a way, I'm sure," Rarity said. They were interrupted by the doorbell. Rarity looked up in surprise. "Who can that be at this hour?" She got up and headed out into the showroom. "I'm terribly sorry, but we're closed at the moment," she sang out. "Rarity? Is Spike with you?" the voice of a young mare asked from the other side of the door. Rarity cast a brief glance into the kitchen at Spike, who nodded. "Of course, Apple Bloom. One moment, dear." Rarity unlatched the door, then gasped at the sight before her. The young mare was soaking wet and panting. Spike was at the door in a heartbeat. "AB? Did you just run all the way from Sweet Apple Acres to here?" "Yeah," Apple Bloom gasped out. "I wanted to say ..." "Shh." Spike hugged her, then his face scrunched up in concentration as he very slowly breathed over Apple Bloom's mane and coat, drying her off. "Whatever it is, it can wait." "No. No, it can't." The young mare looked up at the dragon. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things about Twilight." Spike released the hug in surprise. "You are sorry? AB, it's me who needs to apologize. I don't really believe Sweet Apple Acres is an old heap of wood and rust." The two looked at each other, then started to chuckle in unison. "Why were we arguing again?" Spike asked. "We don't have to ..." Suddenly Rarity realized that Apple Bloom's lips were still moving, but that she wasn't hearing anything. A second later, everything went black. *** Rarity opened her eyes. She recognized the place at once, even though she had only been here once, six years ago, and she had tried her level best to forget all about it – a grey, featureless plain stretching endlessly in all directions. The Spaces Between. She saw a speck in the distance that was approaching at great speed, until it came to a halt only a few feet away from her. Rarity shook her head and blinked once or twice, unsure of what she was seeing. It was a pony - an alicorn, to be precise, with a dark grey coat and an open eye for a cutie mark. But it looked like no other pony Rarity had ever seen or heard of. It lacked a mane and tail, and its eyes were deep pits of dark purple, with no visible pupils or irises. Its wings looked draconic, nothing at all like the delicate feathery wings of a pegasus, and its front hooves seemed strangely segmented, almost like fingers or talons. Around its neck, it bore a necklace similar to her own Element of Generosity, but made of dull black metal and not set with a gemstone. The alicorn looked at her, and then something strange happened. Welcome to the Spaces Between, Element of Generosity. It was a male voice, deep and resonant, but Rarity hadn't seen the alicorn move his lips or heard a sound. She simply remembered that he had spoken. "Who are you, and why am I here?" she asked, not quite able to keep a tremor out of her voice. My name is Warden Grey. Again, they seemed to skip the part where he spoke, jumping directly to her memory of him just having done so. I am the keeper of the Spaces Between. "The keeper? Then why didn't you show up the last time?" Rarity asked. Warden's head lowered by a fraction of an inch. Doubt - isolated me, for lack of a better word. It kept me from doing my duty, and that is my greatest shame in all those millennia. Rarity's head swam. "Did you say 'millennia'?" Yes. The purple eyes looked down on her, and she suddenly felt the weight of time in them. I was picked to stand watch over the Seven Gates of Darkness, to ensure that nothing ever managed to crack those boundaries from either side, and until the Doubt incident six years ago, I fulfilled that duty. "Who picked you?" Rarity asked, awestruck. The Three Tribes, and their dragon and griffon allies, needed a guardian to make sure that nothing ever escaped the Seven Gates, and that no one would ever try to break them from outside. I am a creature of magic, the last great project the Five Allies undertook before the alliance fractured. The sadness in Warden's voice at the last sentence was almost unbearable. Something dawned on Rarity, and her eyes widened in horror. "Does that mean you have been alone here for five thousand years?" I was never alone. I had my prisoner for company, and though I am grateful you prevented its escape, the last six years have truly been lonely. The alicorn waved its right front hoof - or paw -, and seven golden discs rose from the ground behind him. But that is not the matter at hand, Element of Generosity. Look and see. Do you notice something? The disc furthest to the left was only too familiar to Rarity, particularly the pit at the bottom of the six-pointed star engraved on it. The other six discs looked similar, all except for the last one on the right. There were no pits or indentations upon it - in fact, its surface was completely pristine, a flat expanse of gold. She pointed to it. "What happened to that one?" Nothing at all. It has always looked like this. I know the six prisoners behind the other discs. Warden began to list off names as he pointed to the discs, going from left to right. Regret - where Doubt now resides as well -, Fear, Hatred, Selfishness, Cruelty, and Loneliness. His gaze came to a rest on the seventh disc. Yet no one knows who or what this disc holds. It was here when the Five Allies arrived to forge the other six gates, and they used its magic as a blueprint. In all the many years I have been here, this gate has never moved, never trembled, and I have never heard anything from behind it. "Why are you telling me all this, Warden? Why am I here?" Rarity's voice was now shaking. You need to know about this, Element of Generosity. You and the Element of Magic are the only ones out of the Harmony circle I can speak to. “Why just the two of us?” Rarity was beginning to feel frustrated – every answer Warden gave her seemed to raise a new question. Because the two of you are the Elements of Harmony bound to neither day nor night, but to the twilight that bridges them. You are bound to transition, and so am I, albeit in a different way. “So why do I need to know all this? These prisons have held for five thousand years, after all,” Rarity said. The Dawn of the Seventh is at hand. She remembered him suddenly speaking in a chorus of five voices. Four have shown themselves, but eight will need to stand at the Dawn. Thus spoke Stargazer the Wise at the breaking of the Alliance. Warden closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, they were pools of inky blackness punctuated by white pinpoints of light resembling stars. Out of the ashes of the Elements of Community, Virtue, Power and Discipline, Unity will rise, yet it will only form one half of the Eight. The Four That Are Hidden will be pulled into the light by the Four Revealed and the Six That Endured. “What does this mean?” Even as Rarity was saying the words, she noticed the grey turning to black around her. The last words she remembered hearing from Warden were tinged with pity. Farewell, Element of Generosity. We shall meet again, sooner than either of us would like. *** “Rarity? Rarity, speak to me!” She slowly came to, realizing that she was lying on the floor of the boutique. She scrambled to her hooves and shook her head to clear her mind. Spike and Apple Bloom were staring at her with alarm on their faces. “What happened to you?” the dragon asked. Rarity dropped onto one of the sofas. “I had a vision of the Spaces Between.” Spike and Apple Bloom looked at each other. “Did it get to you?” Apple Bloom asked. “What?” For a moment, Rarity wasn't sure what the other mare wanted, then it dawned on her. “Oh, no, it didn't have anything to do with Doubt. That thing still seems to be imprisoned safely. No, I spoke to the keeper of the Spaces.” “Keeper?” Spike asked, confused. “What keeper?” Rarity filled them in on what she had seen and heard. When she was finished, silence persisted for a few seconds before Spike spoke up. “I need to go see if Twilight is okay.” “Twilight?” The non sequitur confused Rarity. “Why do you think ...” She broke off as she realized what the dragon meant. “She might have had a similar vision.” “Oh goodness.” Spike and Rarity turned to Apple Bloom, who was wearing an expression of dawning horror. “Scootaloo.” Rarity didn't understand at first. Spike, on the other hand, seemed to grasp what Apple Bloom meant. “Dear Celestia. If a vision struck her while she was airborne ...” Now Rarity got it. “She's a twilight element too.” ** At the same time, several miles to the north of Ponyville The Great Northern Mountains were a beautiful place in autumn, their lower slopes covered in trees that bore a riot of different colours. Yet the rain pouring down today seemed to wash out the reds and oranges, leaving only a uniform yellowish-brown mass clinging to the hills, the peaks behind almost invisible through the veil of water. It was quiet, except for the patter of the rain on the leaves. A sudden screech broke the silence, followed by a crunch as talons found their target. The talons' owner smiled, as much as she was able to. Still got it, she thought as she began devouring the hare she'd caught. She did legitimately enjoy fruit and vegetables, but she couldn't deny her needs as a carnivore indefinitely, and six months had passed since her last hunt. When she was done, Gilda carefully pulled the feathers on her head back into position, then worked over her wings with the same precision. Flying in this weather was dangerous enough without risking anything. As if on cue, the clouds suddenly parted to the west, revealing the very last rays of the setting sun. The mountains lay outside the weather ponies' jurisdiction, and for once, that proved beneficial. As Gilda turned eastwards to check her flight path home, her eyes fell on the most magnificent rainbow imaginable – a perfect half circle stretching almost to the ground on both sides. Manufactured rainbows somehow never quite caught the beauty of the ones found in untamed wilds. Gilda had never before seen a rainbow this beautiful. That's not quite true, and you know it, a little voice in the back of the griffon's head said. It's only the second most beautiful rainbow you have seen. Gilda sighed. Over seven years had passed since she had last seen that pegasus, and the pain was still there. She had tried to run away, back to the griffon lands, but it hadn't lasted. One year ago, Gilda had returned to Equestria, though she had intentionally chosen the corner of the ponies' realm furthest removed from Ponyville. And what use is that? I still think about her. About what I destroyed. Gilda dug her talons into the ground in frustration. “I loved her.” She rarely admitted that last part, even to herself. Yes, you did. It is time to make amends for what you did, Gilda of Clan Boldfeather. She whirled around and found herself beak-to-muzzle with a strange-looking pony. Her talons unsheathed instinctively, and she growled. “Who are you?” The grey alicorn looked at her with deep purple eyes without irises or pupils. I am the guardian of the Seventh, and you will have to stand by the Elements if they are to bear witness to the Dawn. Strangely, the alicorn's mouth didn't seem to move – Gilda simply remembered hearing his words. “Stop speaking in riddles, nag. What do you want from me?” Gilda spat. “I'm not in the mood for this kind of pseudo-profound nonsense.” The pony's eyes shifted from purple to a deep, iridescent shade of orange. Return to Ponyville, Gilda. There, and only there, will you be able to claim your birthright. Gilda had to admit she was a little scared of this weird alicorn, but a Boldfeather never showed fear or regret – it was ingrained into their culture, ever since the old days. She growled again, deeper and more threatening this time. “What birthright would a griffon find in a city of ponies?” she asked, automatically lapsing into the more elaborate form of the High Speech. I cannot say. But you have walked in shadows for seven years. It is time for you to finally return to the light. The alicorn's eyes flashed with orange light. You are the First of the Four That Are Hidden, Gilda of Boldfeather, and you will be the guide for the other three. With that, he faded away. A few seconds later, nothing was left to show that he had even been there. Now that she had no witnesses, Gilda sat on the ground, lost in thought. What in the name of the Three Clans was that about? She didn't know, but she knew one thing – the alicorn was right. She had wasted the last seven years of her life pining after a lost love. It was time for her to step out of that memory and back into the real world. It's time for me to get over Rainbow Dash, Gilda thought as she felt a strange fire in her chest. It's time for me to be myself again, if I ever even was myself before. She took wing, into the setting sun, towards her place of shame, her place of loss. My place of redemption. ** Rainbow Dash's house, that night, 2.30 am “Nooooo!” Rainbow Dash rarely remembered her dreams. She knew that they were mostly pleasant, but that was about it. She had never really thought about them. The one that had prompted her to wake screaming in the middle of the night just now was different. She still didn't really remember any details, but it had been very unpleasant, and it had involved her deepest fear – the loss of her wings. She stumbled into her kitchen and poured herself a glass of water, waiting for the nightmare to fade as her dreams usually did, but to no avail - while the exact happenings of the dream did fade away, the feeling it had evoked in her remained as powerful as when it had woken her. Rainbow Dash had no idea how long she sat there, but she must have dozed off, for she was jolted out of her sleep by the ring of the doorbell. She glanced at the clock. Five a.m.? Who in the hay can that be at this uncelestial hour? She stumbled to the door. “Hello? Who's there?” No answer came, except for a soft thud, like … Like a flier's body dropping onto a cloud. Rainbow Dash opened the door a crack and peered outside. What she saw made her bite back another scream. Lying on the clouds immediately outside her house was a very familiar griffon. By the sweat drenching her coat and feathers, Gilda must have flown all night, only to fall unconscious at Rainbow's door. As the pegasus stood there pondering what to do, Gilda opened one eye and looked at her. “Hi, RD,” she said, quieter than Rainbow had ever heard her. “G? What in the world happened to you?” They hadn't met in over seven years, and now the griffon almost got herself killed getting to her? “There's something I need to tell you.” Gilda's voice was growing even quieter. “It's important.” She beckoned the pegasus to come closer. Rainbow Dash leaned in to pick up the whisper now coming from Gilda's beak. “I'm sorry. For everything I did last time.” With that, the griffon seemed to have exhausted her last reserves – she dropped back onto the cloud, unconscious. Rainbow Dash's mind was racing, filled with a thousand questions, but one thought stood out above all others. She needs help. Right now. As the pegasus took off toward Ponyville Hospital, she kept muttering the same words, over and over, like a mantra. “Hang on, G. You'll be fine.”