Void Trials 2: Horizon

by Obsi

Shard of the past

“Toasty?”

Shetland rubbed her eyes, forcing away the dreaminess. Yet, the robot was still there, light reflecting from her shiny metal surface and jabbing Shetland’s eyes, forcing her to close them again. The robot spoke, her voice synthesized by hidden speakers behind the solid plate that was her mouth.

“I am sorry, I recognized your jerky movements, whimpers, and general muscle tension as signs of a nightmare and chose to wake you.” She averted her eyes, giving Shetland’s a chance to recover from their bright blue glow. “I am sorry if that was the wrong course of action. Or if this particular instance of muscle spasm was of a positive nature.”

“No, no,” Shetland groaned, sitting up. “It was a nightmare, I’m happy you woke me up.” She flashed a smile. Toasty raised her head and nodded. The light of her eyes dimmed a little, letting Shetland look around without having to blink. Toasty stood just before her bed in a sizeable room fit for an alicorn, as well as some commodities the average colonist wouldn’t have, like a small kitchen, a shower and even a wardrobe. Suddenly, Shetland felt very conscious of her bare chest and pulled up her blanket.

“Do you want to continue sleeping?” Toasty tilted her head.

“Nah, I’ve had enough of sleeping.” Shetland’s back hurt as she sat up, and her hind leg was itching. She felt sticky from sweat and… she smacked her lips, had she been drooling in her sleep? “Ugh.” She groaned loudly. She was in dire need of a shower.

“I am happy to see you in good shape.” Toasty said, drawing her attention again. “I was so worried when I saw it on the news.”

“Yeah… good shape. Does this look like good shape to you?” she grumbled, kicking off her blanket, revealing her scarred side.

To her credit, Toasty did not recoil, but her eyelights lit up and Shetland clenched her jaw as she realized the robot was scanning her. “Cut it out.” she demanded, rolling off the bed.

“Sorry!” Now, Toasty did pull back. “I am so sorry, that was rude.”

Shetland looked back. The robot held one foreleg over the other, her head turned to the ground, the dim eyelights flickering on and off- if this was manipulation, it was masterful. “No, I’m sorry.” Shetland sighed. “I don’t know why I’m so…” She searched for the right word. “So irritable.”

A cold hoof touched her shoulder, sending shivers through Shetland’s body. Despite that, she smiled at Toasty, appreciating the warm gesture, even if it was freezing. And… wet- “Is that water on you?” she wondered, wiping a hoof over Toasty’s back.

“I believe it is.” Toasty admitted. “I just came from the spaceport this morning.” She missed how the mention of the port caused Shetland to grimace. “Apparently, morning dew forms even on moving machines.” Her eyelights contracted and she bobbed her head in a jolly motion.

Shetland took a deep breath, focusing her attention on questioning the robotic mare. Her lips contorted into a smile. “Today, huh? I didn’t even know they allowed new colonists after the incident… in fact…” She gave a questioning glance. “Why are you here? What about your job in the Turing Tart? Why did you leave that-”

However, her stomach, having long since digested yesterday’s delicacies, was unable to bear the mention of the cafè and announced its needs with a loud roar.

“Well, well,” an electronic chuckle escaped from Toasty. “Somepony is hungry~”

“I can wait.” Shetland insisted bravely, even as her eyes shifted to the small kitchen… suddenly, the emptiness of her stomach wasn’t just a small nuisance anymore, but a bottomless hungering hole.

“No, no, I will make you breakfast.” Toasty insisted, running to the kitchen.

“You don’t need to-” Shetland started, but her voice died as Toasty’s head turned to an impossible degree, staring right back at her with glowing red eyes while her hooves searched the cupboards.

“You are not stopping me from making breakfast for you, Shetland Sparkle.” She said, and she must have turned up the volume of her voice, because it shook the taller mare to the bone.

Maybe she also used bass.

“You… really like making breakfast then?” Shetland stammered.

“Yes!” Toasty cheered, her voice and eyes returning to normal. “It is the most important intake of nutrition of the day. It fills one with cheer and strength to take on the day, thus rendering the outlook on tasks and hence, the day, more positive.” She let out a happy sigh, which Shetland felt was a weird sound to hear from a robot. “I love breakfasts.”

“But… you can’t eat it, right?” Shetland asked, raising an eyebrow.

The robot froze for a second. “No, I cannot,” she admitted. “Nonetheless, I enjoy making it. The process of making food-” Her voice was drowned out by loud clattering as she searched through the shelves, her hooves making loud, tinny noises against the appliances.

Shetland shook her head as she felt her eyes closing. She suppressed a yawn. The dream was already growing hazy, but it had left behind more than just bad memories. Her mind was clouded, tiredness slowing her thoughts to a crawl. She raised a hoof, wiping over her damp face. Staring at the hoof, she suddenly grew aware of the soggy covers, the irksome itchy feeling in her fur and the tangy smell of sweat. Her eyes followed Toasty as she sliced bread, hoping dearly that the robot was unable to smell. Having to meet her while lying in bed felt awkward enough.

A gasp escaped Shetland’s lips as she clambered to her hooves. Her leg, previously sleeping numbly, felt like a million ants had been sent through her veins, the tingling feeling crawling through her side. Gritting her teeth, she sucked in air, refusing to make further sound, but the robot had already turned around. Shetland looked away, but even without seeing, she could feel Toasty’s gaze wander over her body towards her large burn marks.

“Dear Twilight.” Toasty whispered. “I only heard you’d been injured, but not how badly!”

“It’s fine.” Shetland blurted out, backing off as Toasty approached her. She didn’t need this right now, and the pity in that voice made it so much worse! She put a hoof down on Toasty’s shoulder, pushing gently. Toasty seemed to get the hint, and took a step back.

“Sorry.” She said. “You probably can’t stand to hear reactions like that anymore, can you?”

“I’ll probably have to get used to it.” Shetland said, her anger crumbling away, replaced by a sinking feeling as she looked over the webway of scars on her flank. Tugging at the corners of her lips, she forced a smile. “Does it at least look cool?”

Toasty’s eyes blinked off and on, the light changing to a soft turquoise. “It is quite eye-catching.” she intoned passively, making Shetland cringe. "I am certain you will have tons of stallions stare at your ass now."

Silence. Then Shetland snickered. “Yeah, you could say that. Though I wouldn’t count my chances that high anyway…”

“With buttcheeks at perfect eye-level? You have got to be kidding me.” Toasty crossed her hooves, looking away, as if sulking.

That was too much. Shetland broke out in braying laughter and after a few moments, the robot joined in. She laughed until her sides hurt and she had to gasp for air. And still, she grinned, as the world seemed brighter, like she’d taken off sunglasses. “Phew. Never thought I’d have that conversation with a robot.” she chuckled, pressing a hoof to her lips.

“Never thought I’d have that conversation with Princess Twilight’s daughter.” Toasty responded, her eyelights blinking, which Shetland realized was a sign of amusement.

A loud growl came from Shetland’s stomach, making both mares jerk back. She threw a greedy look at the kitchen, but priorities shouted in her mind. “Hey, uh, Toasty? Do you mind if I pop in the bathroom real quick?”

“Of course not.” Toasty shook her head. “I’ll have breakfast ready when you are.”

----

It hit her like a wall as she left the bathroom. The scent that playfully tickled her nostrils, that made her legs buckle and her stomach roar. It pulled her like a leash, and she was like a dog to it’s whim. Thankfully, Toasty did not abuse that power. She offered a seat and Shetland unceremoniously slumped into it. “You know what I missed all the time since I moved out?” She asked the robot, who took a seat across from her.

“No.” She tilted her head.

“Comfy chairs.” Shetland grinned, rocking it slightly from side to side. “Living with Ciloa was nice, but I’d prefer not living in a dollhouse.” For a moment, she grinned as Toasty chuckled. Then her eyes widened and she swallowed through her dry throat, closing her eyes as she fought her mind. Not now, she intoned silently. Don’t think about it!

“I assume this is a problem for you fairly often?” The robot asked, oblivious to her inner battle.

“Uh, wha- yeah, yeah, all the time.”

Toasty’s metallic hoof poked the table. Her glowing pupils visibly contracted as she observed Shetland. “Your breakfast is getting cold, Shetland, I advise you not to let that happen. I would be very offended if you did not enjoy my cooking to your maximum capacity.” One pupil fell dark for a moment, acting as a wink.

Shetland breathed a sigh of relief, turning her attention to food. Yeah, food was better than thinking anyway. And oh, was it distracting, if simple. Thin apple slices rounded the plate, acting as a delicious highlight to a dish of baked egg on toast, grilled to a perfect crunchy brown. “I can see how you got your name.” she winked.

Weirdly enough, however, Toasty’s eyes darkened a little, and her hoof tapped the table in an unsteady, impatient rhythm. “I did what I could. Foodstuffs still have little variety, so I have to make do. For one,” She pointed an accusatory hoof at the apple slices. “Far too thin. There is no more juice to the bite, I could have just as well dried them into apple chips. But I cannot use more.”

“Uh… why not?” Shetland stared self-consciously at the few slices that had survived her appetite so far.

“Because apples, as well as most fruit for that matter, still can only be grown in greenhouses, which there are a limited number of. Unlike hay or grains. I was informed of such restrictions at my arrival.” Even without having an expression, Shetland could feel the sheer annoyance radiating from her companion. A few slices still lined her plate as she realized what that meant.

“So the only reason I got apples is because my mom’s a princess?” she asked, deep folds shifting on her forehead.

Toasty nodded and Shetland fought hard to keep from grimacing. One thing was clear, she needed a change of topic, pronto. Fortunately, there was something she’d been meaning to ask for a while.

“What are you doing here?”

The robot tilted her head, confused by both the question and the change of topic.

“Up here in the colony.” Shetland clarified. “You had a job in the Turing Tart, why are you suddenly here? What happened?”

A clang came from Toasty’s hooves as she tapped them together. “It happened before your departure. Did you not hear?” she asked, the volume of her voice turned down.

Shetland uncomfortably scratched her mane. “N-no, I didn’t really watch the news very much then.” Or ever. She’d actually avoided any sort of news at the time, in case it covered her and her mother, as they liked to do that when they had nothing better to report on.

“The Turing Tart was vandalized.” she paused, just long enough for Shetland ‘s jaw to drop.

“W-wha-?”

“Five ponies, young adolescents, came into the building. At first they seemed okay, but when I turned my back to bring their orders, they suddenly began tearing up the place. I wanted to stop them, but then… one shot me with a taser gun.” She averted her gaze, not meeting Shetland’s outraged look. “It only fried my systems temporarily.”

Shetland nodded. Robots were built with that weakness, so law enforcement had ‘harmless’ methods of containing them. Yet the thought of using one on Toasty-

“They chased away our customers, broke our furniture- only property damage, I wasn’t really harmed.” she assured Shetland. “But I was only able to watch as they did, feeling impossibly… I think the closest organic concept would be ‘dizzy’. I was already regaining control over my limbs when law enforcement finally arrived.”

“Oh, Toasty…” Shetland said through gritted teeth, torn between feeling sorry for the robot and seething rage at her tormentors.

“That is not the final straw, though.” Toasty mercilessly continued, her gaze centered on her own hooves, which, if she was an organic, would have certainly shaken from anger. “One of the officers passed it off as simple property damage. Me being assaulted was property damage.” Another robotic sigh escaped her. “His partner immediately corrected him and even called a mechanic to check on my functionality, yet it does not feel like it was enough.”

Shetland stammered, unable to find the right words. But it wasn’t necessary, as Toasty continued, ranting as much to herself as to the earth pony.

“I’d always tried to think positively. After all, Equestria is by far the most accepting country for our kind, most simply closed borders for us after the Grinding Wars. But… I…” she sighed as she got up on her hooves, took Shetland’s empty plate and walked to the sink. "I wanted a better chance. This is new. The percentage of robots on Horizon is the highest anywhere outside of Hiroshimare. And that blasted hellscape aside, I wanted to be where I can be… finally, equal.”

“I’m sorry, Toasty…” Shetland mumbled, but the robot interrupted her.

“No, I should not have dropped this on you. Celestia knows you have more to worry about than most of us.”

After a long, quiet pause, Shetland nickered. “I still wanna break their noses.”

“I was tempted myself.” Toasty chuckled her odd staccato. Now that she expected it, Shetland found it almost endearingly strange. Still, her mind was spiraling. She’d always known the Turing Tart as a fun place to drop by, she could almost be called a regular. It was one thing to hear bad news about some unfamiliar place, but entirely different so close to home.

“I’d always felt safe in the Turing Tart.” Shetland mumbled, a faint chuckle seemingly coming from far away. “Remember how I always used to come for breakfast when I was mad at mom?”

“Oh, yes. I listened to many stories. It is a shame you told me to delete them afterwards, I would have loved to use them for gossip. But that’s the reason you did, wasn’t it?”

“That would have been the last thing I needed…” she sighed.

“What you needed was support, Shetland. A friend in need and all that.” Toasty chuckled, only stopping as Shetland’s cutlery clattered to the floor. Then the robot’s eyelights widened as Shetland slammed a hoof to her forehead, leaving a sizeable mark. Her eyes were closed, as if to force something out. “Shetland!” Toasty reached out, but just as suddenly as it had started, it was over. The large earth pony sunk, hooves flopping on the table, then head into the hooves. “S-Shetland?” Toasty asked again. “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned-”

“I need a drink.” Came the shaky answer from the sunken body.

“A drink?”

The whole body rose with a deep breath. “Yes.”

“Right after breakfast?” Toasty asked, startled.

Shetland shot up, her eyes shooting an angry glare at the robot. “YES! I can still decide that myself, can’t I?” Her hoof slammed on the table. “I just want to spend one bucking day without-” She shook her head. “I-” but she failed to say another sentence, instead opting to once again shake her head and leave for the door. With only a moment of hesitation, during which she looked worriedly after the earth pony, Toasty got up and followed.

--------------------

Storming out the sliding door, Shetland quickly found herself lost, cursing the lack of attention she’d paid to the way yesterday. Two glass tunnels connected the building to the rest of the colony… She scratched her head, trying to recall a map she’d been shown at a briefing back on Equus. It seemed it had been outdated, however, as she could have sworn there was only one way from here.

Deep in thought, she missed the opening door behind her, but then the sound of Toasty’s servos, just before her voice, came to Shetland’s ears.

“Do you need help?”

“No, I can do this myself.” Shetland said. “One of these leads to the general dorms, the other towards science labs, which is the way...” she bit her lip, closely watching Toasty for any indication, but of course there was no expression to read. Her voice jumping, she pointed at the leftmost tunnel. “There?”

“No.”

“ALRIGHT, lead the way.” Shetland snarled, before closing her eyes. They hurt, but she kept them closed for several seconds, trying to calm her simmering anger. She wouldn’t lash out at Toasty, she didn’t deserve it. Instead, she briskly followed the robot, not speaking up. Instead, she looked around. The glass walls were badly smudged, so, with a frustrated sigh, she turned to the ceiling. It hit her as a pleasant surprise that it was easily high enough for her to walk upright, maybe even enough for an alicorn without stubbing her horn. Along the ceiling ran several pipes from which she could hear a faint noise, like a leaf blower. She came upon stickers marking the pipes as air, water, electricity and gas- Shetland lost interest, instead focusing on the ground, and the ground seemed to taunt her back by making every one of her hoofsteps (and especially Toasty’s) way too loud. When they got closer, Shetland noticed a whole group passing by, their hooves emitting a marching band on the clangorous metal floor. She looked up: there’d only been ponies moving one at a time before, passing by on their lonesome and always staring up at her, always with curiosity and a bit of caution, a look she’d grown seriously sick of. Shaking her head, she trudged on, leaving them behind, but soon they met more, seemingly a gathering of them near the exits to the outer street. And suddenly, she realized how many robots were among them. She’d barely seen them in Horizon yet, and only in isolated cases. That struck her as strange, hadn’t Toasty said there were alot of robots? Where’d they been before? Had she simply not noticed them?

Toasty sped up, leading Shetland around the crowd she mustered. They were at least forty, with a few normal ponies scattered among them. The sound of clanking and whirring servos filled the room, almost overshadowing the silent discussions all over. Shetland tried to listen in, but failed to distinguish a full sentence. However, she did find the tone to be angry, oppressive even. Hooves scraped at the ground, voices were raised, some calling out to her. Shetland’s ears fell back, she didn’t want to know what they wanted, instead she lowered her head towards Toasty’s ears and whispered. “What’s going on here?”

“I’ll tell you somewhere quieter.” Toasty answered, leading Shetland back into the tunnel they came from.

“Where are we going?” Shetland immediately asked, looking back. They could have just pushed past the crowd to the exit, but Toasty only stopped midway into the tunnel.

“Emergency exit.” she said, flipping open a box hanging on a wall, which contained a set of valves.

“This is far from an emergency-”

“Consider it your introduction.” Toasty interrupted her, before tapping the glass with her hoof. Here, the glass seemed to be cleaned more often, and so Shetland saw that she was pointing at the Horse Horizon, just across the street. Turning back, her glowing eyes prickled in Shetland’s. “Can you hold your breath for roughly a minute and thirty seconds?" She asked, causing Shetland’s jaw to drop.

“You can’t be serious-”

Toasty turned the valves, and Shetland took a deep breath.

-----------

Sweet, sweet air entered her lungs in greedy breaths while Toasty locked the door behind them. The place was almost empty, with only the innkeeper and a few passed-out guests, at least one of them Shetland recognized as a scientist who engaged in the the tug-of-war game last night. In truth, she was surprised that the place was opened at all “Toasty,” she gasped. “What the heck?”

“We arrived safe and sound, did we not?”

“You made me go outside. Without a mask!”

“The air is not dangerous, it simply-”

“Doesn’t sustain me, I know!” Shetland said, her heart and breath slowly normalizing. “But that still wasn’t safe! Or-or logical.” Raising her hoof slightly, she banged it against Toasty’s head, producing a loud clank. “Robot! Logic, remember, what you’re all about?”

Toasty pulled back, swiping Shetland’s hoof away. “I kept you away from the crowd,” her gaze drilled into the ground. “I did not expect them to gather this early.”

“But why?” Shetland’s eyebrow reached new heights as she probed the robot. “What’s this about?” After a few moments, she added with gritted teeth: “If you don’t tell me, I’m marching right back to ask them.”

Toasty’s look shot up. “Do not. It would be unwise- I don’t think you’d want to hear-”

Shetland’s hoof stomped and she pierced the robot’s eyes with her glare, not caring how much her own eyes hurt in the brightness.

“They are here to see your mother…” Toasty started, and Shetland immediately felt her need for knowledge drop. But Toasty had made too big of a deal about it and if she thought mentioning that would stop her from asking, well, she was wrong!

“Go on.” Shetland grumbled. Her leg had begun to itch irritatingly, so she sat down on a chair, which gave off a long, agonized creak.

The lights of Toasty’s eyes dimmed, allowing Shetland’s a chance to recover. “Have you been filled in about the effects of the… attack?”

Shetland’s breath stopped, then she let it wheeze out. Unwanted thoughts dashed through her brain like cockroaches from a rolled-up newspaper. “No,” she admitted. Twilight had refused to talk about it and to be honest, Shetland had also preferred to avoid the topic, only giving a brief overview of her own part, barring… details.

Her throat was dry. She peeked over to the innkeeper, silently wanting Toasty to stop, but the robot simply continued:

“After you fought off the invading hyenas, a very brave thing to do, I might add,” she said warmly, hoping to lighten the mood. Instead, Shetland’s face fell. It was as if Toasty’s words got mangled in her ears, warping, twisting into a much louder noise she couldn’t understand- She shook her head, tearing her way back into the present where she stared at Toasty, who was already finishing her sentence. “-defenses considered too weak to repel a similar attack.”

Shetland nodded, even though she barely remembered what it was even about. Her breath went in bursts and as she raised a hoof to flick her mane out of her face, it was damp. Had… she not dried herself after the shower? She looked up, but the question was swallowed by Toasty’s continuation.

“We’ve had a small increase in Voidmarines since then, as well as updated security policies. For one, unknown ships now require an immediate call to arms as a reaction. However, not all ponies were satisfied with this. Mayn had been defenseless at the paws of their attackers and wished for the option of self-defense. As such, ownership and education for firearms has been granted to all willing ponies for the time being.”

The stress Toasty had put on the last part did not escape Shetland’s ears. “Isn’t that a good thing?” She asked, wondering what the problem was.

“Shetland.” Toasty said quietly. “The crowd we passed was largely formed of robots.”

“What has- oh…” she muttered as it dawned on her.

“This is why they gathered to protest.” A sigh came from her. “I would be there too if I was not with you. Not that I wish to own a firearm,” she stressed, her hoof loudly tapping the ground. “But-”

“You want to have the option, too.” Shetland muttered.

“I want to have left this kind of thing behind.” Toasty confirmed.

“Mom might help you.” Shetland suggested. “She’s got a soft heart for your kind.”

“If she is allowed to. With so many closely watching the leeway we are given…” A shark screech came from the robots neck as she shook her head. “I need an oiling.” she commented evenly.

“So does my throat…” Shetland groaned, lurching to the bar as her leg itched deep within. All that heavy stuff had only increased her desire for a break, just a few hours without all this… “One hard cider.” she ordered with a look to the innkeeper, a rust-colored pegasus.

His voice was leathered with a rough country accent. “Hold on there, miss, ah need yer name first, fer ID reasons.”

Shetland let out a gruff, annoyed grunt. Usually, her sheer size was enough to convince anyone she was of age. “Shetland Sparkle.” she grumbled. And of course, the pegasus’s eyes widened at the name, a reaction she saw annoyingly often.

“Sparkle?” he repeated, looking down at what Shetland assumed had to be a small screen under his bar. “Huh, checks out, Shetland Sparkle, nineteen-” he paused, looking up at her, stuttering. “Ah guess ah should’ve realized raight away, yer bein’ the only giant in the colony.”

She rubbed her forehead with a hoof. Even if he was joking casually, she didn’t want to have a conversation right now! “Just give me the cider, alright?”

“W-well…” He stammered. “Thing is, a-ah can’t really give it to ya. Yer not on the list a ponies ah can serve.”

A bang came from the bar as Shetlands hoof slipped and fell onto it. Against her better judgement, she could feel the anger rising up in herself. “What?” She asked, her voice quiet. “I’ve been drinking for years now, I’m of age!”

“W-well,” The innkeeper looked like he wanted to be anywhere but right here. “Up here, ya need an official allowance from a princess that yer trusted with liquor.”

Silence swept into the room, the only noise coming from Toasty as her eyes shifted nervously. Shetland felt herself shake, this impossible contrivance throwing oil into her burning stomach. Her hooves shaking as much as her voice, she forced out words, channeling all her willpower to control her volume. “Do I have to go to my mom, so she can confirm that I am, in fact, an adult?”

“Not necessarily!” Toasty interjected. Shetland felt the cold touch of the hoof on her side. “What about Princess Luna?”

“Oh, yes!” The pegasus exclaimed, jumping at the opportunity to mollify his angry (and very large) customer. “Princess Luna arrived last night, Ah’m surprised ye haven’t seen her yet, bein’ royal as well.”

“I’m not-” Shetland said loudly, but then she let out a breath, closing her eyes for a moment as she fought back the fire coursing through her veins. “Princess Luna, where is she? Can I talk to her?” she asked.

“Well…” The innkeeper scratched his head nervously. “Ah think she’s where all the robots’re at.”

“Uh oh.”

Shetland sighed. “Then let’s pass by them.”

Toasty’s eyes shifted to the pegasus, searching for help, but either he couldn’t read her expression, or he didn’t know a convincing reason either.

---

Robots and ponies streamed out of the building when Shetland and Toasty arrived, and they had to stand aside to let them pass, much to Shetland’s chagrin. Her patience had been worn down. Still more left in their direction, but now they were few enough for them to pass by, even if Shetland felt like she was in the middle of a bunny stampede. With bigger, clankier bunnies- It crossed her mind that this was a really bad analogy, but she didn’t ponder where that old saying came from. Instead, she looked over her shoulder, relieved to find Toasty still behind her. She’d been afraid that the robot’s small stature would have her lost in the crowd. The entrance was a thin hallway, leading up to doors on either side. On her way, a loud voice came from the side, where a unicorn loudly argued with a robot pony.

“That is how it is.” The robot intoned sadly. “We will have to wait and see.”

“But she has the power up here!” The unicorn heatedly argued. “If Luna said yes, they’d be hard-pressed to fight her on it.”

“She did not say no.”

“But what does she have to ask Celestia for? Why does she care about tensions? And with who? Hyenas? They attacked us, we shouldn’t give a single horseapple about their opinions!”

“Shhh. Quiet, Spark, we are not alone.” The robot warned, causing the unicorn to turn around and gasp.

“Is it…” he whispered, craning his neck, stammering. “Are you the Sparkle?”

The what? Shetland halted, looking him over. She was positive she’d never seen him before. “What do you mean?”

“There’s only one earth pony that large…” he mumbled to himself before he exclaimed. “Are you the Voidmarine who fought off the attack single-hoofedly?”

Shetland took a step back. “I… kinda? N-not really!” she corrected herself. To her chagrin, a smile erupted on the stallion’s face.

“That’s. So. Awesome.” he whispered, awestruck. “It’s so great I actually get to meet you. I’m Sparks. You...” He looked to the ground, his voice carrying a somber tone. “I was there, too.”

Shetland felt the need for this meeting to end. Thinking about it was rattling on doors she’d been trying to keep closed all day. Yet, how would she just pass him? She didn’t know what to say and brushing past him would be more rude than she liked. She looked to Toasty, who seemed to take the hint.

“Listen, Sparks, we wanted to meet Princess Luna.” she jumped in, disrupting Sparks who had seemed just about to start rambling.

“O-oh, right, right.” he said, stepping aside. But before they could get past him, he blurted out. “But you should have seen her! All hope was lost, we thought they were gonna shoot us any moment, and then she burst in, all giant-like, and smashed the hyenas away! Just like that, she saved everypony!”

Shetland froze. Not only because she remembered it differently, but because of his words. Something in her awoke, locked away in the deepest part of her mind. And the noise of it's rattling was like the background of an old radio losing connection. Her ears dropped and her mouth felt impossibly dry as her mouth formed the words. “I didn’t save anypony.”

“What?” Sparks’ confused answer arrived quietly in her ears. “Yes, you did, you saved me, and everypony else-”

“Shetland Sparkle? Is that you?” A new voice emerged, tearing away the noise attacking her. It was graceful, yet it also carried power. Princess Luna stood at the door, squinting her eyes at Shetland. She stood tall, even more so than Twilight, her horn barely an inch from scratching the ceiling. A large Stetson sat on her head, a hole at the front cut out, fitting her horn. She stepped closer, her eyes examining Shetland up and down as she let out a whistle. “You’ve grown, young lady. Why, when we last met, you were only a few inches taller than your peers.”

“I think I was at least a head taller, actually.” Shetland said, her lips curving into a smile, though not without effort. “I was twelve last time we met, right?”

Luna nodded. “Alas, business up here forced me away from Equestria for longer than I had wished. And with the recent… dilemma, I’m afraid I will not see my sister for a year, still.” She shook her head. “But I should not burden you with this, it is thanks to you that it did not become worse.”

Despite the friendly tone, Shetland flinched. Luna surveyed her worriedly, then she examined Sparks, Toasty and the other robot. “Maybe we should continue our discourse away from prying eyes.” she suggested.

“Toasty is with me.” she turned, shoving the robotic mare closer.

“Your highness!” Toasty lowered her head. “I am honored to meet you.”

“A friend?” Luna gifted Toasty a smile as she turned and stepped through the door. “Please, call me Luna, friend of little Sparkle.”

Shetland ignored the nickname, an involuntary shudder going through her as she followed the pair. Her eyes drifted over the seating, forming a semi-circle around a podium just big enough for maybe 10 ponies. Or 4 alicorns, maybe. She shook from memories of a similar, although bigger room- That thought was brushed aside, however, as she caught sight of a purple alicorn, levitating a stack of papers. A sigh escaped her. She was just doomed to run into everything she tried to avoid today, wasn’t she? Still, she was here now, no turning back. With that thought, she stepped down, just as Twilight raised her head and met her eyes with a look of surprise.

“Hello, Shetty. I, uh, didn’t expect you here.” she said, her eyes drifting around, as if searching for something.

“Hey, mom.” Shetland muttered. “I wanted to meet Luna again.”

“That’s great to hear, you two haven’t had a chance to catch up in years.” Twilight smiled, placing her paperstack on the ground. “And your friend? Uh… Tart Bunch?”

“Toasty Crunch.” Shetland corrected. “She was… more of an acquaintance, really.”

The alicorn’s smile faltered a little. “It’s… still nice to meet her, right?”

“Mhm.” Shetland nodded. Then a frown spread over her visage. “Mom? Did you forget to review my data? Cause the stallion in Horse Horizon just told me I couldn’t get a drink.”

When it faltered before, Twilight’s smile now fell away completely, replaced by a stern, worried look. “Shetty, it’s…” She glanced at the clock. “It’s just after noon. Isn’t it a little early to-”

But Shetland interrupted her, speaking through clenched teeth. “That would be my choice, wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t think you should be drinking in your condition, Shetty!”

“My condition?” she growled. “I’m fine, mom.”

“Horseshit! You’re not fine!” Twilight shouted, startling everyone with her outburst. Even Shetland staggered for a moment. “I can see you suffer, Shetty.” Twilight said. “You just came from the hospital where you didn’t speak for weeks, random things make you lock up and I have to drag you back in your room, and now you want to drink yourself into unconsciousness at noon? Don’t you even dare tell me you’re fine, Shetty! Everypony can see that you’re. Not. Fine!”

“Twilight!” The warning shout came from Luna, who sailed towards them with open wings and regarded Twilight with a stern look. Shetland shivered as her ears tried to reject the wounds her mother’s words had cut into them. “You don’t know…”

Twilight took a deep breath, regarding Shetland with a look of no more sternness, just sadness. “Shetty, few ponies would be fine after what you went through.” she said quietly. “When I heard what happened- Shetland, I was worried I had lost you. And…” Her voice trembled. “When I learned that you would survive, I have never felt that relieved before. And I will not lose you now!” she stomped her hoof.

Hot pressure built up in Shetland’s eyes. Words eluded her lips, but thankfully, Luna spoke up for her.

“I understand your fear, Twilight, but hath you not almost lost her one time because you did not let her make her own choices?” she asked, causing Twilight to gasp and shoot an angry glare at Luna. But the blue alicorn continued without even a blink. “I believe as long as somepony watches her, Shetland should be allowed to order alcohol.”

Twilight’s glare softened. “That should be doable. Shetland.” She turned to face her. “You can drink, as long as Toasty or one of us is by your side. But when we say stop, you have to listen. Is this okay for you?”

“So what?” Shetland growled. “Toasty is my babysitter now?”

“Shetty... “ Twilight sighed. “Yes, I want her to watch over you. Is that so bad?”

Shetland bit her lip, her eyes drilling into the ground. “Fine.”

“Good.” Twilight’s eyes darted to the paperstack. “Good…” she whispered, before raising her voice again. “Shetty, I am sending you to another settlement.”

“What?” Her head jerked back up. She had just found a place she could be relatively comfortable in and now she’d have to go?

“There’s....” Twilight rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “Luna, could you please?”

“Sure.” Luna ruffled her wings. “We’ll soon be getting visitors. A group of hyena investigators were sent up here to, well, investigate.”

Suddenly, her guts felt like they were made of stone. “Hyenas?” Shetland asked, her voice like ice. “From the Great Khan?”

Luna nodded.

“And you’re sending me away?” Shetland burst out. “When you’re investigating with them? I have a right to be part of this!”

“I’m trying to protect you, Shetland.” Twilight said, meeting Shetland’s glare with her own. “You’re not in a condition to handle delicate diplomacy.”

“There shouldn’t BE diplomacy! They attacked us and you’re letting them go around and try and hide the evidence?!”

“We have no proof of that!” Twilight said, raising her voice to shout over Shetland’s.

“NO PROOF?” Shetland practically screamed now. “So you think a bunch of lowly criminals just somehow got a hold of two spaceships, one of them filled with military grade battle drones? Yeah, of course, that was just lying around in an old garage? They HAD to have been sent by them!”

“We don’t know that.” Twilight said. “And we’re not going to throw out accusations until we do. If you want us to find out the truth, you better stay away from this!”

“I… deserve to know.” Shetland growled quietly. “I have to know that we can bring justice to whoever was responsible.”

“You will not get justice by pointing your hoof-” Twilight stopped as Luna’s wing spread over her shoulder and she took a deep breath, motioning a hoof to her chest and then away as she let it go. Her eyes opened and her glare transformed into compassion. “Shetty, this isn’t about what exactly the hyenas did, is it? It’s about your friends.”

It was as if she’d taken a hammer and smashed it against Shetland’s nose. She stared back at the alicorn, shivering, unable to formulate a comeback. The pressure in her eyes finally gave in, releasing two wet lines over her cheeks. She wanted out, she wanted Twilight to stop speaking, but she couldn’t look away, couldn’t shut her ears as her mother spoke again.

“I wish I could have known them better.” Twilight said. “They must have been wonderful ponies.”

“You could have known them.” Shetland forced out between hiccups. “J-just like Toasty.”

Sorrow filled Twilight’s face as she stepped over, gently touching Shetland’s shoulder with a wing and biting her lip as the earth pony jerked away. “That was one of my biggest mistakes, Shetty.” She bent her knees, lowering herself so that she could see in her daughter’s eyes. “But I know how it feels to lose a friend. Believe me.”

At those words, Shetland shoved her hooves in her direction, forcing the alicorn away. Twilight took a step back and had to wipe her own eyes with her forehoof. “I’m allowing you to stay, if you want. Just, please, stay away from the hyenas without me, alright?”

Shetland nodded, turning her back to them. Tears streamed down her face, and the way the others stared, like she was hairless in a hut of yaks! A cold hoof took her own, and the synthetic voice of Toasty offered escape. “Come on, Shetland. Let’s go home.”

---

Her eyes had dried, yet her vision was still blurred and she was forced to blink. The soft covers of her bed barely registered, and neither did her surrounding room. She opened her stinging eyes again and her hoof brushed over the pages. Carefully, afraid to stain the paper, she looked over the photos and a nostalgic smile played on her lips. Press, at the front, his hoof interlocked with Ciloa’s, their grins just as wide as in Shetland’s memories. Her hoof brushed over the photo, taken just a few days before they’d departed. They all looked peaceful, simply happy to be alive… an uncontrollable sob escaped her and she pounded a hoof into her mattress. It wasn’t fair! She glared at her own form, grinning into the camera, completely oblivious of what was about to happen, what would rip this moment apart. Her own, dumb, happy smile… a feeling like the opposite of a deja-vu struck her, like she both remembered and didn’t remember feeling that way. She couldn’t place her hoof, it was like staring at a changeling pretending to be her, yet she remembered that moment. With a frustrated groan, she frantically shook her head, slamming the book shut.

Something touched her neck, causing her to snap around, eyes to eyes with Toasty standing upright on the bed. “Would you care to show me?” The robot asked softly, nudging the book with a hoof. Shetland’s first reflex was to pull back, but a look in Toasty’s eyes convinced her otherwise. After all… she had known them too. Shetland shivered as Toasty leaned into her side, yet she ignored both the cold of her chassis and her uncomfortable weight. Instead, Shetland cracked the book open and placed it between them. She took a deep breath, preparing to meet the storm once more. Her eyes drifted to her nightdesk, her empty nightdesk-

“Here.” Toasty whispered, a swishing noise accompanying her words as she offered up the bottle of hard cider.

Shetland swallowed as she took the bottle, the cold surface burning against her coat and with a breathy voice, she simply said “Thanks” before she uncorked and took a deep swig from the hard cider.

Author's Note:

Super special thanks to my editor, Kildeez, who worked super hard to edit this in time.

Also, thanks to everyone who leaves a comment, it's really encouraging and fills me up on the fuel I require to get up and do this

Comments

[Skulljack17]

So much to get over, so few chances to heal. At least a friend from far away back home is here now, to lend support in such a trying time.