//------------------------------// // 1 - Wanna Wrestle? // Story: An Alicorn's War Crimes // by Mysti Kitty //------------------------------// Lavender woke to sunlight filtering through her window. She squinted, wishing the sun hadn't risen just quite yet. She stretched, flaring out her wings. The cool, hard wood floor soon met her hooves, but it wasn't chilly enough to bother her. She grunted as she continued to stretch, until her joints felt the light ache that made her hum. As she tossed her lavender mane out of her face, the sun caught her eye again. It was a bright day even for winter, but it was a good day. She was ready to start her daily routine once again, with Skybolt. It had been years since she'd found the stallion now. If she counted, she was sure it was twenty, or so... He was old enough to do anything in Equestria now, at least. He'd grown up so fast, too. Time didn't seem real to Lavender. Not average pony time, anyways. But she'd been so careful not to let that affect him. She made sure to remember every holiday, every celebration... even his birthday. She would never admit that she didn't know when Skybolt was born, but sometimes it seemed as though he knew. He seemed to readily accept what was unknown, and he knew that he would never meet his parents. And she had definitely made certain that he never mistook her for his mother. Lavender told him about how beautiful and intelligent his mother was. She told him about how strong and kind his father was... She hadn't known if that mattered. He knew that they were assassinated, of course. She may not have told him the entire truth, but she wanted to stick as close to the truth as possible. They were wealthy and powerful ponies, so an enemy of theirs had seen reason to cut them down. When he was younger, he couldn't understand when Lavender explained that to him. He had spent weeks mourning, asking himself why he was spared. He didn't tell her, to her face, but she'd heard him crying at night. It took weeks of her gentle words and careful, comforting actions, before he had felt any better. Then, he just seemed to accept a lot of things. He had known practically all of his life that she was an Alicorn. Why wouldn't he? She'd found it hardly reasonable to hide it from him. He knew about the war, too. He hadn't learned about the gruesome parts of it until he was old enough, but he knew that a few foolish Alicorns had cost them their race. He was a smart pony; He knew that the invaders shouldn't have tried taking the ponies' land, but he never seemed to blame Lavender for her race's actions. In fact, he seemed to understand when she would be in mourning. She did that now and then. It wasn't very often anymore, but Skybolt had always known to comfort her, especially right after the news of victory was all anypony could talk about. He felt her pain; His family was long gone, too. All they had now were each other. After Lavender had taken him in, the two of them had settled into a cozy cottage in a comfortably-sized town. Skybolt didn't know, but she had made sure they were as far away from his past as they could get. They had lived in this cottage for as long as he could remember. They each had their own rooms, as well as one kitchen, a bathing room, a living room, and an expansive garden behind the house. Skybolt had grown up in this environment. He'd gone to the town's small school with the other colts and fillies. Lavender had debated on home-schooling him, but she was glad she'd sent him to the schoolhouse. He never once mentioned that his guardian was an Alicorn, and he learned far more than she would have ever been able to teach him. Most days when she picked him up from school, he had relayed back so much information that she had learned a considerable amount about this country. Their lives seemed perfect. Lavender always kept Skybolt out of trouble, and he gave her a reason to keep living in this foreign land. She went by Lavender Spring now, as if to tell herself that she was no longer part of a tribe. She wasn't a part of anything outside of being a part of Skybolt's life. And he was happily a part of hers. They were merely known as a pair that had been brought together by war. A pair that needed breakfast. Lavender softly walked her way into the kitchen. She didn't know if Skybolt was up yet. As she made her way into the room, she could see that he wasn't; When he wanted breakfast, he'd make it for the two of them. So she started thinking of things to make. There were a number of things that she knew he'd love... Was today a special day? No, but she liked surprising him. She stepped over to a cabinet and stood on her hind legs, reaching her head up to try to find a bowl. Being an Alicorn in a foreign land meant that she had to pick a race. She'd only known of tall and slender Unicorns, so she chose to appear that way for the townsfolk. Plus, wings were easier to hide than a horn. Even so, when she knew she could do things without magic, she would first attempt not to use it. This time, however, she couldn't see the bowl she was looking for. She stretched as far as she could; She didn't want to have to use her wings if she didn't have to. She craned her long, off-white neck up high, wanting to succeed in her efforts. Realizing too late that she was making things too complicated, she'd caused herself to topple backwards. She let out a squeak, trying to ready her magic or wings or something to stop herself from falling. Thankfully, something did stop her. She found herself on her rump on the floor, but her upper half was leaned up against a familiar figure, his strong forelegs outstretched to catch hers and stop her from falling. She blinked, realizing she was fine. She looked up and she was met with Skybolt's amber stare. "Jeez, Springs, be careful," he commented, helping her forward so she could stand. "You've got wings... and a horn. You should use one. Or both, maybe." He snickered. She smirked as she stood up correctly. She began levitating things around onto the table. "I have Earth pony magic as well. I might as well use it occasionally, right?" She turned away from him as she pulled out utensils. "You use it all the time. Our garden, remember?" he replied as he stepped around the table. She squeaked as she felt something softly prod her outer thigh. "That's what this Mark is for, right?" She looked back at the symbol on her fur. It was generally the shape and color of a tomato, but had a slightly lighter form of a curled-up baby foal taking up half of the vegetable's shape. "Why don't you call it a Cutie Mark, like the other ponies do?" She turned her attention back to her task. He stepped around to stand beside her, facing the table. He started helping her prepare their breakfast, but with his hooves rather than magic. "I grew up with your terminology, Springs. So... I'll call it what you call it. Besides, it sounds less... dumb." "Dumb?" She sounded offended. "You find your heritage dumb?" He shook his head, looking over at her. She expected him to get irritated with her tone, but he remained as calm as usual. "Yours is just... so much richer, you know? You tell these stories about all kinds of strange magic, and customs, and traditions... Ponies aren't really quite as interesting as you are." He smiled a little as he focused on their work once more. "I wish I'd have been able to see the Alicorns. But I guess I can just settle for you~" She felt a little embarrassed, perhaps from his flattery. "You're certainly not the worst pony I've ever met, either," she replied. Then she heard him chuckle heartily. "Yeah?" "Yeah." Soon they were finished making their meal, and they shared it in comfortable silence. Some ponies may have wished for more, but the two of them were just content the way they were. Once they had finished, Lavender put away everything fairly quickly. She normally used her magic to clean up after them. Using hooves for that seemed unnecessary. "What do you have planned for today?" Skybolt asked, already hovering in the air next to her. He did that a lot, ever since he'd learned how to fly. "Hmm?" She was walking into the living room. "Oh, not much. The garden doesn't need to be tended too much today, and I'd prefer not to tamper with them too much, so I guess I'm staying inside today. I think I'll read, and maybe check on them later." She sat down on one of the floor cushions. They were all fairly large. She suspected that even if she wasn't an Alicorn, they'd have cushions that big. Skybolt was taller than she was, but she certainly wasn't fully-grown. She wouldn't be, for... quite a while, she assumed. But he had definitely grown as much as he could. She wouldn't complain. It meant for comfier living conditions. She had levitated a book from her bookshelf as she got comfortable, and it was sitting beside her now. Once she was laying in a good reading position, she floated it up to her face, and opened it to begin reading. She had only read a few sentences before she felt a prod at her side. She mentally sighed, but ignored the notion. It wasn't until a few more pokes that she sat her book down. She turned her attention to Skybolt, who was sitting beside her. "Wrestle with me." "What? Again?" She grinned a little. "Every time I ask if you have stallion friends, you just tell me 'no' and move on to pestering me. Why not make some? Stallions like to roughhouse." She glanced at her book for a few moments. "It's most fun with you though, Springs." He scooted closer, a soft smile playing on his muzzle. We've been having this conversation a lot lately... she thought. "Alright, we'll wrestle." She floated the book back to its shelf. The moment it touched the bookshelf, he lunged at her, using his shoulder to butt her onto her side. She was helpless for a heartbeat, but flared her exposed wing to bat him away. He backed off, and she rolled over immediately onto her feet. She smiled just a little wider, and so did he. It's good exercise... and it's sort of fun, she realized. But as she was distracted, Skybolt had rushed over again. He used his shoulder against hers, sort of locking their necks together. She squeaked as he grunted, pushing forward. Her hooves slid a little, but he was pushing her with enough force that her front legs were being lifted off the ground. He was going to push her over backwards! She huffed and opened her wings, using them both to bat at him. He backed off again, and shook his mane. He looked up at her with a determined face and a grin. She decided to be on the offensive this time, and charged at him. At the last second, she veered to the left. She intended to shoulder him to knock him over, but it was more of her side and hind that smacked into him. She felt something snake under her tummy, and within a few heartbeats, she found herself lying on her back on the floor. She was blinking up, dazed, at Skybolt. He stood over her proudly, his hooves on either side of her head. "You used your foreleg to-- Are you seriously that strong now?! How did you lift me that far?!" she exclaimed, catching her breath. He giggled. "I lift a lot of firewood, remember? And it takes a lot of strength to push yourself off the ground to start flying." She frowned and looked away, her face flushing lightly. "I know that... I'm out of practice for flying, okay?" She looked up at him once again. "And anyway... You win. So now what do you do?" He lifted a hoof to his mouth as he thought about it. He may have actually been thinking, as he didn't respond for several long heartbeats. "Mmm... I want... Huh." He shrugged, putting his hoof back down. "I don't know what I want." He backed off, stepping to her side as he allowed her to get up. "I just wanted to win~" He watched her with a gleam in his eyes. She giggled, sitting up. "Are you feeling alright? You've been acting like this lately. Well, you're always like... Ah. I mean. Oh, I'm not sure what I mean." She shook her head. "I'm getting too old." She laid down on her tummy, placing her legs in front of her chest. "You honestly look like you're only twenty-something," he replied, doing the same beside her. He stretched out his wings, one of them drooping over her smaller frame. "How old are you really? And how old does that translate to pony years?" She studied him, tracing her eyes along his ears, his mane, down to his strong jaw, and to his wide shoulders... He certainly had grown, and she found herself looking away after staring. "I've lost track at this point, Skybolt... You know that better than I do." "I guess so..." He trailed off, and the pair returned to their previous state of quiet. Lavender blinked up at him, wondering what could be on his mind. But he was looking at something else. She'd learned at some point that males wouldn't always share what was on their minds. He normally told her everything, but there were some things, very few things, that he wouldn't speak of. I won't make you share anything, Skybolt... After all, I've got my secrets too. I just worry... Her thoughts evaporated as he laid his head down on her forelegs. It was a common spot of his. She smiled softly, and nuzzled the top of his head. She inhaled, and his gentle, familiar scent washed over her. She smiled softly. It was so easy to just lie near him and merely exist. She rested the weight of her head on the top of his, feeling his soft mane under her chin. She heard him exhale slowly, and imagined that he was feeling just as content. Living with Skybolt may not have been the easiest journey, but she certainly wouldn't trade it for anything. Would I...? Her thoughts started churning again. She'd been down this road before, but she couldn't help it sometimes. Would I still be with my family...? I could have grown up with my tribe... I could have gotten a different Mark. What was my destiny before all of this? She remembered the details of the war reports, and her thoughts turned to a more sour note. No... My family was murdered. My parents, what few friends I had, and I bet Season was killed too... She grimaced as she saw the stallion's face in her mind. But what if they weren't? I would have had a foal by now. A foal... of my own... A mate, even perhaps? He may have stomped on my heart, but maybe he could have changed... Would I give all that up, for Skybolt? Another content sigh came from the Pegasus, and she felt his wing tighten around her ever so slightly. I don't think I'll ever be given the choice... Do I want to have to make that choice? She imagined his eyes were closed, as he was in his relaxed state. She slid her eyelids shut, beginning to breathe deeply as well. Today would be a calm day. A relaxed day. ...No, I don't. "Oh, Divines help us..." "Which ones?" "All of them!" Lavender responded a little exasperatedly. "We need all the blessings we can get this year... My poor garden..." She stepped past a few of her big potted plants, examining the rooted vegetables that were struggling to stay alive. Skybolt flapped his wings beside her, studying the plants in the column to their left as he stayed aloft. "Can't your magic keep them safe?" She shook her head, though he didn't see it. "I don't like tampering with the seasons... It would upset the balance. It's not in my right, even as... strong as I am. Remember those stories your teacher told you, about Unicorns that tried too hard to make everything go the way they wanted?" "...Oh. Right." He realized that she was correct. Upsetting the balance could very well kill ponies. At least, as far as they knew. He wouldn't want to risk her safety either way. "Sorry." "It's alright." "...Hey Springs. Why did you choose gardening?" He landed delicately on the ground beside her, looking at her. She blinked as she realized that no one had ever asked that question. She looked over at him, and for several heartbeats she didn't have an answer. If he didn't know any better, he'd assume she wasn't going to give him an answer. Just as he opened his mouth to respond, he saw remorse flicker in her magenta eyes. Then she smiled a little, sadly, and continued her slow walk through the garden. "I thought perhaps that helping life was my calling. I wasn't doing too bad of a job with you, so I thought that perhaps helping things like plants and other creatures would be best." She glanced up and down a frozen tomato plant. "...Growing life is what I got my Mark for. I'm not quite that good at the healing part... But I can grow and hopefully help guide life, just a little bit." Skybolt stayed quiet for several moments, walking beside her and silently glancing over the other plants. His voice came quietly. "...You guided mine just fine." She looked at him, and he looked back, offering a soft smile. She couldn't help but smile back, and she looked ahead as they walked. "But I've probably said that a million times. Nopony is perfect." "Yeah..."