//------------------------------// // [==___Driftwood___==] // Story: Hexagons: Part l // by Wand3r3r3 //------------------------------// -------------- The wanderer never looked back behind her after she had entered the twisting trails inside the collection of tall foothills. It was miles west of the grand earthly spire which the posh, capital city of Canterlot was mounted upon. She could still feel a bit of crispness fill the air as the evening came. The sun was setting behind that same grand spire, and a similar source of ironic solace — that intense, fading sunlight around her — was leading her astray. The temperature hadn't been affected yet. Slightly, ever so slightly, she stumbled in her silent pursuit of these two ponies of interest. She knew what she was experiencing this time around, as with everything else that had happened to her during her task so far nearly every night now: she was simply succumbing to the exhaust most ponies would be experiencing. She followed them for miles, walking up a dull dirt trail that kept shifting in its size. In fact, those two ponies were in no better shape, as tired as they were. The sun had just about disappeared, and that meant she was hidden in the darkness. "Rose," the little one started. She sounded very scared; deathly worried. "When--" she paused. "Let's rest. Please? You need to." The weary mare replied, between the occasional breaths, "I hadn't been thinking about that at all. I can't." "Look around, Rosie! We're safe. There's no way anyone will find us!" Much to Rose's distraught and lack of energy, her friend remained as composed as ever. She continuously trotted around her as she walked, and kept telling her that she should do what she'd been asking this whole time: to sit down, take a break, and rest her body. The grown mare would have very well denied herself comfort again, but this time she was forced to stop, as there was no other direction to head into. "See? No one comes up here anymore. There's nothing here," the filly pleaded. "Not anymore." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Life on Vapor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ---Driftwood--- *** ** * Rose eventually took shelter under a short yet aged oak tree, and she was immediately greeted by her energetic partner, pleased as can while snuggling up with her. There was no light to aid her as she assessed the entire area she took the time to study what she was able to. There were some small trails through the tall stretches of grass that huddled up near the upward slopes of the foothills. Few oddly shaped rocks were scattered along the area, which she nearsightedly assessed in the dark night. Up in the far corner reaches of one of the taller hills, to the far right, she believed to have made out the sight of a dark lamp, hanging from a post buried inside the earth. For a second, she wondered if it would get any colder, being up that high. "Someone...used to?" said Rose, announcing her findings afterward. She was shivering now, the cold running right through her. "A deeper trail in these mountains? That sounds pretty exciting." The filly asserted her excitement for the prospect of adventure. "Maybe after you rest, Rosie. Maybe. But trust me, no one would even think of coming here, even if anyone was looking for you." "Aren't you the confident one all of a sudden?" Rose blushed as she chuckled. "Now we're safe, so," the filly said. She was no longer looking around to her left and right. Rose shifted her bottom across the cold dirt, looking to get more comfortable until she laid her upper body against a small patch of dirt, raised into a small lump. It didn't crumble beneath her weight, even as the filly huddled up to her side. Rose tried to relax, listening more closely to her partner than ever. She knew what the little filly wanted the most right now. "I believe you," she said with a small smile. "Of course, you would know better." The smile was definitely genuine, however sarcastic her choice of words seemed. Rose always meant everything she said in her life; she was an honest mare, and much too beautiful, at that. She knew it as her greatest value, and so did her friend. "I love you, little Bloom." "I love you too, sis." The filly meant well, as did her surrogate sibling. Rose was her watcher; her protector. And in a way, the filly watched and protected Rose as best she could. Her physical influence helped her little, but her energy sure was contagious. "In all honesty, dear. . . Without you." Rose paused, looking all around a few more times. She was taking in the scenery as it grew more beautiful with each passing moment spent with the filly. Even though darkness nearly surrounded them, she knew she wasn't alone. "Well, I might have gone crazy long ago." She seemed to stop shivering for a few seconds, scanning her partner's happy face across from her own, more exhausted and painful expression. There were only a few inches between them, but Rose wanted her closer. Before she reached a hoof out for her, the little filly took it upon herself to cuddle up to her as close as she possibly could. Rose gently rested her forehead against the filly's and looked her in the eyes, smiling, until her eyelids started to droop down. "I'll see you in the morning, Bloom." The filly fell asleep with a smile. Rose took a little longer to fall into sleep — nuzzling the filly's cheek until she did — but all with a smile on her face. She tightened her grip around her partner, falling asleep with that same smile. "You're not going anywhere." The wanderer had more than caught up to the scene, having been only a small distance away. She witnessed the heartfelt moment herself and wished that she could cry; she knew she wanted to. She had so much agony built up inside of her that needed release, but she couldn't bring herself to weep no matter how hard she tried. "Rose," The name slurred off her lips, as it was one she did not know by heart. "What happened to you?" She fought the urge to visit them, as they were seemingly cemented in their embrace. She simply studied them, wondering what kind of relationship they had, and pondering how the older Rose had come to supposedly need this little one in her life. "You seem...so desperate." The more she looked at them, the more pain and hardship she imagined she had gone through. And the filly remained as cheerful as ever, while Rose struggled so much, seeming so frail. "If I only could," she started again, then sighed. "I don't know you, Rose...but I'd give you a hug, too." _______-------*******------_______ *******-------_______-------******* The moonless, starry sky continued to light up the night for all but restless insects, crickets chirping away in the faraway distance. It was easy to listen to them within the mountainous bowl-like formation, and from the narrow, poorly constructed trails in between the rocky walls. The growing grass all around them also swayed in the few light winds that managed to enter it. The wanderer didn't sleep. She felt as though she needed to torture herself in any way she could endure. "I can't believe how far I've actually come," she whispered, looking up into the dotted skyline. She easily found herself lost: the dark hue in the sky resembled the very depths of the ocean that she stared into the night before. A stronger breeze came in and rattled the leaves on the lone tree, and the cool temperature made her shudder once more. To her own thoughts, she would come to curse her ethereal existence. "This night . . . It's absolutely perfect." Soon, the air was filled with a light mist that gently pampered them, as if on a cue. A certain kind of ecstasy then lured her closer to Rose and her filly friend. She spent the next few hours both resting and writing, sitting down with her back against Rose's body, with the light mist still falling from the sky. She felt like they wouldn't be waking anytime soon, but if one of them ever did for some reason, there was much more at stake now than keeping her presence a secret. This was her chance: she could probably finish her studies if everything went perfectly, as she thought the night would allow. "Little Bloom, huh?" she whispered, followed by a content sigh. Her gaze was fixed on the sleeping filly for an extended minute, already swapping focus from the parchment paper. She spoke to her with a slightly somber tone in a strained, quivering voice, sounding different than the faint voice she always heard escape her mouth. "I really do wonder that...if you saw me, or if you were even able to...if you'd remember me." She reached out to touch her again, though knowing it to be futile. But she felt the little filly's coat this time! She couldn't believe it at all, no; not a bit. She took instantaneous advantage of the surprise, however. "What!? Oh God, Applebloom it is you. . !" This phenomenon benefited her avail amazingly. She used the filly's birth name, just as she remembered, and just as Rose had done. Her spirit was filled with the same kind of ecstasy as before, and if she had a living heart, it would be beating out of her chest. When she glided her hoof to the filly's own chest, there was likewise no heart to feel the beat of, nor were there working lungs: just a cold body of the filly friend she loved. But she believed! Some criteria were met correctly, as Apple Bloom's body was now tangible The wanderer shut her eyes tight, focusing on her contempt for everything except this filly. She quickly found herself wanting to cry, but when she opened her eyes again, there were no tears: she simply was not able to cry. But it was so strange — she knew from her life in a physical body what it was like to cry. It was the very same way she knew how to simulate it in her mind, and with what was left of her soul. It was an almost orgasmic stimulation, and a strange soft purring sound escaped her throat, her mouth barely open. She found solace in petting Applebloom. For full minutes at a time. "You know, some of this doesn't even make sense," she said to her, running her hoof along her body, "I can feel your warmth, just as I did before, but now I can feel you. Us Crystal Ponies aren't supposed to physically feel anything...you and me. Is it in the-" Just before she finished her sentence, Rose started to turn on her back. She draped a foreleg over her chest, her hoof resting near her shoulder like she was locking it over Applebloom's body where she couldn't. The wanderer's eyes were drawn to her; she didn't think to write about what was happening here. Not yet. It had not yet escaped her mind, though. "You don't intend to take Applebloom away from me, do you, Rose?" The mare smiled in her sleep, as if providing an answer. Surely she doubted her judgment to be true, but the intimacy of the situation was spoiled by her cursed conclusions regardless. She gave it her best effort not to instantly misconstrue their relationship, and think that Apple Bloom had forgotten about her. But then again, she forgot; she knew that the memory of her hadn't passed. Her faint voice became even more so. "I know you remember me, Applebloom. And I'm not dead... And neither are you." It was true, Applebloom was a Crystal Pony just as she was; she was truly deceased. She had died, and this wanderer knew exactly how. "Well, we're not gone yet, are we?" Decades ago, she gave her life to save little Applebloom's, despite living in a prosperous time — when life was good to everyone. But then, how did Applebloom die..? Before Sombra; before the blizzards; before the dreaded Shackles arrived and all came to ruin. That was the first time Sweetie Belle died. "Only death is the end." She remembered, for the reason was right, and for all intents and purposes, a just cause as well. She had been through such heartache without a heart, and such horror without any fear. She remembered promising her two best friends that she would die for them if she had to, in the new age they had been unfairly thrust into. Sweetie Belle was the only hope for the memory of the Crystal Ponies to live on. It was an enormous weight that encumbered her, where she felt like it was her the only purpose she could serve in her sequential life. And every passing night, it made her want to weep; the sadness inside what was left of her soul. So, reminding herself of her mission, she went ahead and provided an addendum to the last thing she wrote: [=====] However, correlating against the fact that Crystal Ponies have no way to remember one another, even if they were family in their first lives, some can form a special, instantaneous bond with one another. It is one that creates a spark between the two, one that makes them absolutely inseparable; one that just...makes them family. The emotions that were present charged each studied sentence Sweetie wrote, and it had quickly become a personal affair. She took another appreciative look at Applebloom, seemingly trapped inside Rose's embrace. Personally, I don't understand how death would divide two lifelong friends' timelines. It's like she doesn't know me anymore. There's a reason for this, but I can't fathom... How can an Earth Pony like her even like me? Like me . . . Dead like me. I can't have her suffer another death as well. Then she'll be doomed to live forever in a perpetual hell. Just like me I must be different. I must be some exception to the Crystal Pony's genealogy. I've died twice, but I can still feel connected to this pony, where she can't do the same for me, and she's only living her second life. Might I have been misled this whole time? What have I missed, I wonder. . . Was I chosen by a high power to educate this ignorant world? Rose must know how we still exist. Maybe. Maybe this all isn't futile. [=====] Sweetie Belle saw that a few lone clouds were gliding across the misty sky, even without moonlight passing through them. The stars aided in their presence. Her glistening, sorrowful eyes then fell upon a hidden trail, a path visible behind some more strange-looking rocks, and she was urged to investigate. Sure enough, there was the sight of a fairly wide trail that came from below, which must have been an alternate path to take, and led further up the hills. "Rose noticed this path up the mountain. I'm not sure if Apple Bloom was defensive about it or not, but there's probably something up there." She looked back at Rose and Apple Bloom, all but shuffling in their sleep. "Maybe they're so close, their dreams are connected, too," she crudely kid. She stepped through some thick bushes with smaller perhaps broken rocks on the ground within them and looked down the trail, where she could have come from. Then she looked back at the path where she followed the two ponies up. "No one's coming up, but someone could still come down, and they might see them as a threat. I just have to make sure." Again, she looked back at the ponies, but for the last time. "Maybe I can save you this time. . .my little Bloom. Do something for you, maybe. Anything." Roughly about a quarter-mile ahead and sloping slightly upward, she made a left turn along the curvature of the hill and disappeared from sight. Still, no one could see her, as she was a Crystal Pony hidden in the shadows of the night. And so she hurried on, now focused on the fantasy of Apple Bloom noticing her actions, and ultimately noticing her. Further on, she saw more signs of traffic along the path; more lamp posts buried in the cliffs, more flat areas aside from the trail big enough to rest on; big enough for a carriage to be out of the way of others, even. Sweetie Belle wondered what all this was about, if it was about anything at all, at this time. It all had an abandoned look to it, yet she noticed that the trail itself was not overgrown like a few portions before. The fires within the lamps were far extinguished, but one of the seven-sided lamps had one broken side, missing of glass. She looked inside of it to see only a small bundle of ashes inside, which a precise wind took away, sending shivers up her spine. She suspected everything and nearly anything as she continued on the cliffs between the hills. ______-------*******------_______ *******-------_______-------******* Apple Bloom awoke to a very strange vision as she slept. She opened her eyes to see the very same sights around her as when she fell asleep with Rose, who still had her eyes shut with the same, perhaps bigger smile across her face. She smiled back at her, thinking about kissing her on her muzzle. But something felt wrong to her. The vacant air was still cold, she could feel that much, but she felt like she was being monitored. She easily escaped from Rose's loving embrace and stood up, scanning the area once again and quickly noticing the hidden path that Sweetie made her way through. "Someone's here," she said, her lips soon quivering. She, too, would be willing to abandon the comfort of a loved one in order to protect them. "I'll shove them off the cliff to keep them from finding out." With that, she left Rose to snooze all alone, who would be unbeknownst to the history that would be written soon enough.