//------------------------------// // Shattered Memories // Story: Darkness' Embrace // by Tricondon //------------------------------// Chapter 6 Shattered Memories Captain Pie tapped her hoof against the ground impatiently. She was still fuming over being embarrassed in front of the community earlier, and by her own subordinate, no less. The Unicorn they had captured looked nearly identical to that vile tyrant Twilight Sparkle, and even shared the same name. However, there were a few things Pinkamena was forced to agree on, albeit reluctantly. Reports of Twilight’s capture said her fighting skills were amateurish, as if she’d never been in a real fight. She used only a single basic offensive spell, a simple beam of energy that knocked opponents away, but did no lasting damage. She wore neither her bespelled armour, nor carried a weapon. And to top it all off, she begged for her life, insisting she was innocent. Pinkamena frowned, her anger forgotten as she mulled everything over. She balanced a quill pen on her hoof, idly tossing it in the air as she leaned over the desk, trying to puzzle through it all. “Purple Unicorn. Mane’s the same. Name’s the same. Can’t fight. Expects mercy from us.” Pinkamena slammed her hooves on the desk, upsetting the files atop it. “It doesn’t add up! None of it does!” A knock at the door snapped the Captain from her thoughts, and she sighed, taking a moment to calm down a little before speaking up. “Yes? Come in.” Pinkamena’s bad mood came back in full force once the door opened, showing that sniveling busybody, Commander Derpy, or whatever her name was; Captain Pie was never all that good with names. She glared at the wall-eyed Pegasus as she entered, her gaze shifting to the Unicorn trailing behind her. As Pinkamena looked at the Unicorn, she felt her features soften. Twilight, if that was even her real name, looked absolutely sullen. She stared at the ground, unable or unwilling to look up. Twilight walked to the center of the room, dragging her feet along the ground listlessly. Once there, she simply slumped over, sitting on her haunches. She wrapped her tail around her legs, hugging it closely. Eyeing her, the pink pony seemed to think her purple fur was just a touch duller than it was an hour ago. Somewhere, deep inside her, Pinkamena felt sorry for the mare. She wasn’t exactly sure why, but something inside her was urging her to go hug Twilight. Cheer her up. Make her happy. Turn that sad frown upside-down. Pinkamena shook her head, unsure where these bizarre thoughts were coming from. The Commander’s voice broke the Captain out of her thoughts. “Sir!” Ditzy gave a salute. “I have the prisoner with me. Miss Rarity believes she poses no threat to us, and I share her opinion.” “When I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you, Commander.” The Captain growled as she walked over to Twilight, pacing around the Unicorn and coming to stop in front of her. “Look at me, Unicorn.” Twilight didn’t move. “I said look at me!” Slowly, half-heartedly, Twilight raised her head. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she gazed past Pinkamena, not staring at anything in particular. Every movement she made seemed deliberate, lackluster. That irritating voice chirped in Pinkamena’s ear again: Hug her, tell her everything’s going to be ok. The pink pony shook her head slightly. “What is your name?” The Unicorn made no movement to answer. Sighing, Pinkamena took a different tack. “Where were you born?” Again, the lavender Unicorn stayed silent. Pinkamena could feel a headache coming on. “Why did you kill…?” “I didn’t kill anypony!” Twilight finally spoke up, her voice harsh. Flames danced in her eyes, her sorrow fueling her rage. The moment passed quickly, however, as Twilight fell silent again, mumbling to herself. “I didn’t kill her…couldn’t be me…why would I ever?” The Unicorn rocked on her haunches slightly, staring at the ground. Confused, Pinkamena turned to Ditzy, who shook her head and moved closer, whispering into her Captain’s ear. “She’s been like this ever since she saw Fluttershy’s memorial. She’s taking it pretty hard.” Pinkamena frowned, turning her attention back to Twilight. Regret? Denial? Temporary madness? Any of those excuses could explain the Unicorn’s actions two years ago, but why manifest now? “Is it true?” Twilight’s voice startled both Ditzy and Pinkamena, both of whom turned to look at the pitiable Unicorn. No one spoke for a time, so Twilight opted to speak again. “Is it true? Did I really kill Fluttershy? Am...am I a murderer?” The pink pony stared at the Unicorn before her. The mane was the same, down to the pink highlights, and she was almost certain her fur was the exact same shade of lavender. Yet there was still something off about her. Try as she might, Pinkamena simply couldn’t match the sad excuse for a pony in front of her to the one she remembered fighting two years prior. “A purple Unicorn killed Fluttershy. She and you look very much alike. That can’t be coincidence. Out of the corner of her eye, Pinkamena caught Ditzy shooting her a dirty look. She sighed before continuing. “It might have been another Unicorn. It might not have been. You still insist your name is Twilight Sparkle?” The Unicorn nodded. “So did the Unicorn that destroyed Ponyville.” Twilight looked back at the ground, pawing at it absent-mindedly. She seemed to be lost in thought, though Pinkamena couldn’t be sure. The silence dragged out uncomfortably long, and Pinkamena grew more and more restless. “Where can I find her?” The question shocked Pinkamena, who took a moment to register what the Unicorn had asked. “Wait, what? Why would you want to know that?” The pink pony asked incredulously. Twilight stared straight ahead, her eyes flashing dangerously. “So I can stop her from tarnishing my good name. So I can exact my revenge for Fluttershy.” Twilight spoke calmly, in a low voice. Her eye twitched slightly as she spoke, and it was obvious even to Captain Pie that the Unicorn was not thinking rationally. Her conscience urged her to intervene, and Pinkamena stepped forward, easily placing herself between Twilight and the door. “Are you crazy? You’d never get within a hundred feet of her! We’re talking about a Unicorn that never goes anywhere without her own personal guards, sworn to protect her to their deaths. If she’s not in her personal chambers, she’s wearing her protective armour, created, bespelled, and given to her by the Queen. And even with all that, she rarely ventures outside to begin with. She prefers to spend most of her time indoors, talking and planning with the Queen. And even before you could get close enough to her, you’d have to fight your way past the legion of guards protecting both her and the Queen, and their slaves.” Pinkamena huffed, the long spiel winding her. Twilight looked down, the shock of Pinkamena’s words finally beginning to sink in. The fire in the Unicorn’s eyes slowly died, and she slumped over once more. Pinkamena felt a twang of guilt as she watched the lavender pony simply sit there, her listless manner returning. Commander Ditzy trotted over and gently ran a hoof along Twilight’s back. She flinched from the physical contact, but made no other movements. Ditzy turned to look at her Captain, frowning tersely. Pinkamena quickly looked down at the ground, avoiding the Pegasus’ gaze and becoming fascinated with her own hooves. As the door slammed shut behind them, Pinkamena was left alone with her thoughts once more. Twilight kept her head low, allowing Ditzy to lead her through the streets of the make-shift town. If they can even be called streets, Ditzy thought wryly. In truth, they were little more than well-worn dirt paths that cut between officer’s tents. A few ponies insisted on naming them all the same; the names were only adhered to by any ponies that were not fighting, the ones that stayed within the ‘city’ all the time; the doctors and nurses, armor-crafters, weapon-makers, and farmers. They claimed it made the town easier to navigate, but Ditzy didn’t see how. Perhaps for Earth Ponies it helped, but as a Pegasus, she preferred to fly, remembering the lay of the land; a task made impossible in this heavily forested villa. Ditzy sighed, closing her eyes; for a fleeting moment, she could feel the sun’s warmth on her back, the rush of the wind blowing her mane back as she flew through Ponyville, the sound of tinkling laughter rising from the ground… No. Ditzy forced her eyes open, blinking away a tear that had pushed itself out. She glanced behind herself, making sure Twilight was still following her. The Unicorn seemed, for lack of a better term, crushed. She dragged her hooves, barely lifting them off the ground. She would be very easy to track, even for a novice hunter. Twilight only glanced up every so often to ensure she was still tailing Ditzy. Ditzy caught her eye once, and was dismayed; the Unicorn seemed so distant, so withdrawn. If she took notice of Ditzy’s comforting smile, she gave no outward appearance. It wasn’t long before they had reached Ditzy’s quarters. They walked in, Ditzy shutting the door behind them. She motioned to the back room, and Twilight slowly ambled her way in. Ditzy paused a moment to take off her armor and helmet, placing them on an old dressmaker’s mannequin. Her armor removed, Ditzy took another moment to stretch her wings and shake out her mane. The armor was made for a Pegasus, so her wings were left unencumbered and free, allowing her as much agility as when it was off; all the same, there was undoubtedly a larger sense of freedom just from having the armor off. Ditzy thought about it, but couldn’t fathom why she felt better with her armor off. This was war; shouldn’t she feel safer with the armor on? Shaking her head, Ditzy headed into the back room after Twilight. She nearly bumped into the lavender Unicorn, whom had stopped in the middle of the (admittedly small) bedroom. She had lifted her head, and was glancing around in what might be called confusion, though her expression still bore the sign of depression. “One bed.” Twilight mumbled, though Ditzy had to strain both her ears and her mind in order to comprehend the jumble of sounds. “No couch.” “Oh, yes. You can sleep in my bed tonight, Twilight. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve slept on the ground.” Ditzy smiled, not entirely forcing herself. “Not right. Not mine.” More mumbles, her words blending into each other. “You need a decent sleep more than I do, Twilight.” Ditzy lowered her voice, talking in soothing tones. “I won’t be sleeping for a while yet, anyways. I’ve got reports to sift through, got to…” Ditzy stopped, not sure if she should mention how many ponies had died in the last week. Just seeing Fluttershy’s grave had made her near-catatonic; hearing any more might send the poor thing over the edge. Ditzy cleared her throat. “Got to rearrange troops to account for injured ponies. I’ll be busy for a few hours still.” Twilight nodded slowly, though Ditzy wasn’t sure if she fully understood. A nudge from Ditzy’s snout urged Twilight forward, and the purple pony finally crawled into bed, falling asleep as soon as she lay down. With a wistful sigh, Ditzy fluttered over, pulling the blanket over Twilight and tucking her in. The gray Pegasus hovered above Twilight, watching her as she slept. Twilight moaned and fidgeted in her sleep, twitching sporadically; whatever was plaguing her mind was plaguing her dreams as well. Ditzy eventually left the room, silently closing the door behind her. She flitted over to her desk and landed behind it, reading over a number of reports one of her subordinates had brought over earlier. The usual problems came up in a few of them; they had lost another twelve ponies in the last two days. Ditzy sighed as she pulled out her list of squad members, and delved into them, figuring out the best way to rearrange the members to give the greatest advantages. Then after that, there was dealing with food rations, and reminders to check up on those select few in the infirmary. The hours ticked by slowly as Ditzy arranged and rearranged her troops, until finally she came to a decision she liked. She filed the new group standing away, to be given out at the next meeting, and yawned. She shook her head lightly and headed into the back room, remembering only after she opened the door that Twilight was still using it. Silently, Ditzy poked her head through the door, straining to see Twilight in the dim light. As it was, only her horn was visible, poking out over the top of the pillow. Twilight mumbled in her sleep again, and Ditzy realized that she smiling. A sense of nostalgia flowed over her again, and she found herself thinking back a few years. The memories came back, and tears welled up in her eyes. Ditzy turned to look at Twilight’s horn; the dim light glinted off it. She blinked away a tear, whispering into the darkness. “Dinky...where are you?”