The Trinity of Moons: Mending Shards

by Cloud Ring

Chapter 22: Division

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Cursory Streak did not push the newcomer to speak further despite the fake Gentle keeping the silence hanging for too long; the alien's head was lowered, it made a supposedly uncertain step in place, telegraphing embarrassment.

Solid Line's cat hissed briefly. The unicorn did not interfere, standing five steps away from Cursory.

The pink one broke the silence first, "Well, since there are no leading questions, and overall you don't want to speak with me," she pouted, and the grudge looked very real, "I will be blunt. You will walk me around your world as you are collecting souls anyway. I will tell you where I want to go, we will put together a route for us all, and... that's it.”

Solid Line raised her hoof, "Why should we agree?"

"Because if you refuse, Gentle Touch will not return to you. Each of your Moons has too many of Their own ponies already, up to the tips of Their horns and more. The Red has only me. It can have Gentle and me. Don't you think it's rude to call a person 'it'? Your language is stupid," the pink one said, irritated.

Cursory Streak felt that there was an amount of twisted truth in it. Almost true, but not entirely, and it was dangerous to hearken it. As it always is with doubles.

White Moon calendars were made around infusions of the Red — ALRI meant ‘after the last infusion of the Red’, and each infusion led to cubic nines of deceased, with much more injured.

And yet the fake was almost saying that the Red actually deserves some kind of sympathy. She is right, in a sense, a thought surfaced for a beat, to be drowned again; the pegasus twitched her ear.

"What if we agree?" Solid went on.

"Then I will accompany you on your journey, I will help you in it, using all the knowledge I have — and I know everything that Gentle knew, don't you worry. I have no connection with Blue Moon as I am not Gentle Touch, but if you find my own light…" the pink one made a short pause.

"It's not difficult,” Solid Line confirmed, “Although if we destroy you, we'll find a way to get Gentle out without your help anyway. As well as to dismantle this minor sanctuary of the Red. This system belongs to me, and I could elevate access rights if need be. Don't think that being the Red's pony makes you invincible. Your master is not safe either, no matter how much you may think otherwise.

"But the game is on, and it's your turn, messenger."

What do you mean, not difficult?! What is 'the game' you're talking about? Where would you get the forbidden light? Cursory Streak wanted to ask Solid Line all three questions at once, and ended up asking none.

"I guess. But, again, I am not really your enemy here! I will help you find all the remaining souls..."

Cursory interrupted, "What do you really want?"

"To live. To rejoice. To enjoy. Two or three dates with you and Solid Line both. To see what you made there in the eons that I sat next to the Red and tried to console it. In general, to have fun. Gentle was a very boring pony. It will be nice to unwind in her memory."

That, by the count — if it was a normal double — was always the last one, third, question for which doubles were bound to answer truthfully, or not answer at all, except they tried to weave their way even then; all the following answers were always, with no exceptions, lies one way or the other.

Still, the next one mattered too much.

Cursory swallowed a lump in her throat, "What happened to her?"

The fake narrowed its eyes, "Let's look to the past. You might have forgotten, but six rounds ago, one pony you knew sat in a bar every fifth cycle. At the beginning of the next phase, when she was still in bed, she convinced herself that this time going to the bar had definitely been the last. And then the time came again, as she still couldn't forget her failure and the ones whom she left and betrayed, so a bottle or a third was the absolution again. Do you remember that pony? She was there, right? After her there was yet another pony who inhaled ‘Guiding Starfall-TX’."

Cursory exhaled sharply, but did not look away. Now it was definitely clear that this was the enemy. A double, like all of them, and every word, although it sounds real, is no more than a gadfly. Let them sound, and they will settle under the skin, and they will itch. Now it will say...

"The third pony, who went in after those two, had to be supported and taken care of by almost the entire station. She had to be fed and looked after at all times. You yourself, the one who lives now, who are you after them? Seventh, fourteenth, twenty sixth? It is important that those Cursorys were. It’s the same about Gentle Touch; she was,” the fake finished, grinning.

Cursory took two steps back, tilted her head and muttered, “Don't remind me, or else...”

“No!” Solid Line wedged in, but Cursory replied only with a hard look; the unicorn added, “She didn’t mean to offend or hurt you.”

But Cursory finished the thought, “Or else, I'll burn you. At least in memory of... the second, third and fourth, as you call them,” Cursory grinned back, ”Because they did not protect themselves. You think you opened my eyes. Every third double of mine reminds me about this. Every third of ones who remind does that in details and colors, assuming the voices and faces of ones that I let down. You might guess how many of them manage to get away with it. You still can feel pain even as you never were anything more than abominable pieces of glass.”

Solid Line walked over and gently touched Cursory’s side with her horn, “Don't be angry, please”

“This creature has perverted my Gentle and acts as if we owe it something. It’s just a double, nothing out of ordinary on top of that. And I still have to not be angry?” Cursory spoke in a tone even and calm, but tongues of blue flame burned on the wing feathers of her half-open wings.

“I just answered your question. It's hard for me otherwise,” Gentle Touch said.

Cursory twitched her ear and swallowed hard again.

It was Gentle's voice. Exactly her own, due to a small delay on all sibilants, too open ‘o’ and too dull ‘r’.

“I don't wish for anything bad. It just happens, and Pink speaks for what she sees. If you have killed one of Moons' kin, how could it be otherwise? I killed ponies myself, you know?.. and maybe more,” Gentle spoke again.

“Are you in captivity there?” Cursory asked incredulously. The flame of her heart flickered, but the blue aura still hung on her wings for three beats more as she waited for an answer. Everything else said she chose to ignore like nonsense which it was.

The flame went out when Gentle, with a familiar quiet and choking laugh, replied, “No. I am ‘there’ of my own free will. And, by the way, if you want to try that accidental intimacy again, I don't mind and can do better now.”

Cursory snorted; the memory of wild lands, snow, fear and that one slice when her habit to act first and speak second had been truly lamentable was too clear.

I see. This is some kind of special double. More crafty, more deep. Better to remain silent.

Her ears and cheeks burned, but this time the White Moon aspect had nothing to do with it.

She could not be angry anymore. Gentle spoke the truth, and Cursory Streak had it heard.

“Are you a shapeshifter?” Solid asked.

“Why would you think so?” the fake responded in the same suave voice, dragging each vowel in an irritating manner.

“Two different accents. Even I can hear it.’ Solid Line provided in her usual neutral tone.

“Not a shifter. And not her jailer either, as reputable Cursory Streak thought. Gentle and I work together, on equal terms, and are friends. So you won't kill us now? Let's talk in more detail?", the fake asked.

Cursory noted that the fake wanted to avoid outright conflict, and was speaking without outright taunts, though there was a subtle tone of sneer in the questions; still, Cursory nodded reluctantly.

“That's good. For clarity, call me Pink Drop,” Pink winked at Cursory.

“And by the way, Gentle really doesn't mind if you’d try again. But she likes Solid better.”

“Not at all! On both counts!” the voice of the Gentle chimed in through Pink’s mouth, somewhat frantic, and Cursory could not resist the facehoof.

Pink moved closer to her, and closer still. It looked up from the bottom and stretched out its hoof. Cursory lingered for six beats, then sighed and accepted it.

“And yet,” she asked, “I heard the voice of Gentle Touch. Real voice. She is alive. Can you get her back?”

Pink stared back at Cursory for a long time, then whispered just for her, “You really care about this minor issue. It's so funny, looking at you of all ponies, but you won’t get the joke, even if I try to explain. I will not.”

And louder, for everypony now, looking at each of them, even at Signal, “Maybe? And I will return your little pony if I'm happy with our little excursion. If she will be willing to. If at least somepony needs her. For now, I don't see the point of it.”

Solid Line intervened, “If you have captured somepony else’s soul, at least have the courage to admit that you did it. And set her free. At least sometimes.”

“And then where do I go?” Pink pouted.

All three of them looked at it, scowling, and Pink muttered, “Okay, okay. So be it.”

Cursory coughed and realized that only after these words she could take a full breath.