Rimworld: Colony is Magic

by Anotherrandom

Chapter Six and a Half: Unbroken

The graves sat by the fields of green, three wooden crosses overlooking the setting sun.

They had no name to give them or home to return them to. King still tried writing an epitaph for them. A simple thing. It was the least they could do for them now.

And alien tears will fill for them.

Pity’s long broken urn,

For their mourners will be outcast men,

And outcasts always mourn.

“I found out what they were planning,” Knight's words were somber yet underlined by seething anger. “The left behind animals the slaves were bound to? Mortar shells on them. Nearly blew us all to bits.“

Twilight remained motionless, staring at the scene and what laid beyond it.

A look of shock on the bald giant, a man holding a bleeding wound, calling for help, for his mother. A flash of red. Streaks of white and gold.

All her life, they taught her that violence is bad. That it's never the answer. That hurting others destroys you from the inside.

Princess herself told her that taking a life leaves a mark on you, one that cannot ever be fully washed away, like a heavy chain one must carry for the rest of their lives.

Then why did she feel nothing for them? No guilt for those she killed, no wanting forgiveness for her crimes.

No, that's a lie. She felt something.

Hate.

The slavers, the woman leading them, the cruelty of their actions. The disregard for anything that makes a pony good.

She wanted to hurt them. Hurt them as much as possible. Make them squirm in pain. Beat them to a pulp and continue beating them until they finally stop living. Shouldn't let them go, should have just-

What was wrong with her? That wasn't her. She wasn’t a murderer!

Bile rising in her throat. Quivering, tears streaming from her eye yet again, crying for things lost that she would never get back.

A girl with a sad face. The fate others choose for her. A sacrificial lamb, for a chance at revenge. A piece of property, not a being with hopes and dreams.

Twilight continued standing there. It was getting late. Others left her, with her thoughts swirling like dark clouds in her head.

Foot steps next to her, heavy with mechanical sounds, sitting down with a heavy sigh.

“I failed them,” she said. The scenery was beautiful. Stunning. Sunset vibrant with colors, from orange to purple, mirroring her fur, the first two moons appearing. Last speckles of light landing on the graves. “I failed.”

Sun Glory's helmet and hat were absent. His face was pale. His sunken features were so tired, the unbreakable iron behind his features gone. Mechanical hand was placed on her shoulder as he sat down next to her.

Silence, trying to comfort her with his touch.

But it hurt. The silence a dagger plunged into her.

It was almost serene; the wind picking up, stars showing one by one, the sun dipping behind the horizon.

“Why are you so calm?!” she shrieked, “Scream at me! Yell! Please!” she backed down, wavering. “Please, I don't want to feel like this anymore…”

Dawn hummed, sounding like a gentle lullaby.

Breath in. Breath out.

“Why were you trying to save them?” he asked. “You risked your life, your only chance at seeing your home again, for some strangers. Why?”

His voice was clear, a question he knew the answer to.

Twilight shuddered.

“Because I - because it was the right thing to do.”

He nodded. "Sometimes, we do things that are insane. Illogical. Harmful to us. Even when we know that they are. Sometimes, we have to do them. Charge into the fire, stand against the many, be the only one to stand. Because if you do not, you risk a fate worse than mere death. You risk becoming a person who you don't want to be. A person you hate.”

A pause, the crosses standing in front of them like judges, weighting their sentence.

“There is hardly a feeling worse than looking into the mirror and being disgusted with what you see. You did what you had to do to be able to live with yourself. I cannot be angry at you for that. You have a heart of gold, Twilight. Don't let them take it from you.”

“B-but it was so stupid! I endangered all of you! And not they are dead! Because of me!”

Twilight ears were against her skull, tail between her legs. But Sun Glory stayed.

“Oh, don't get me wrong. It was an incredibly rash decision and resulted in a tragedy. And I hope you will think before you do something so dangerous ever again. But I'm not mad at you for trying. Not for that, never for that.”

“Still, it doesn't matter. They. Are. Dead,” Twilight said, but Sun Glory only laughed.

“That's the funny thing, isn't it? Mattering. Meaning. Trying. So long, I thought I didn't have any,” there was bitterness, longing in his voice. “Twilight, the truth is, this galaxy is a cruel and cold place. People die like flies and nobody bats an eye. And in the end, we all fail. Again and again and again. And you want to know how you make those failures matter? Despite the pain? Despite the suffering?”

Twilight listened. The iron and steel returned to him. Hiding behind the serene smile, behind the cloudy eyes, there was a burning fire.

“You get back up,” he stated simply.

“As the word takes from you, as it rips and tears, and as you fail, you claw your way back up. You yell: “Not yet, cruel world!” When you are plunged into an abyss, to the darkest place, the answer is not to lie down and die, it's to spit in its ugly face: “Not yet! Not yet!

“Rage, my friend. Rage against the dark, against the dying of the light. Stand and fight.

“And at the end of the day, you have to believe that your sacrifice, that fight, wasn't meaningless. That, after all the pain, someone will be there to pick up the torch, and maybe, just maybe, you made the world a little brighter place.

“So you can sit here, freeze to death. Or get up, learn from your mistakes and face the cruelty of this world with your head held high once more.”

She still sat there, unconvinced to move.

“I also made pancakes.”

Her tummy rumbled.

…Pancakes sounded divine right now. “Okay…”

Pancakes always worked.

He watched her go, a smile on his face, waiting until she was out of sight.

Sun Glory collapsed to the ground, vomit mixed with blood, smelling horrible. Lilith's words echoing in his mind.

---

“The cellular degradation is advancing faster than I thought t-there “ his friend choked on her words. “t-there will be a total collapse of the i-in - your o-organs are g-going to-”

“How much time do I have left?”

“Days, weeks at most -my god…Sun Glory I'm so sorry, I can't…”

---

Grab Dawn, continue. Move.

The moon and the stars shone from above, gaze lingered on the graves, sitting peacefully there.

“No, not yet.”

Author's Note:

Poem by Oscar Wilde.

Hopefully, this didn't come across as too preachy.

I do have some questions for you all - speaking to you, a person crazy actually read this thing. 

1) Do you think that my writing got any better? In what areas is it still lacking?

2) Do you have any special requests as to what would you like to see in the future? I do have plans, but I already found a way to squeeze some in. As long as it isn't anything too crazy, it should be possible. 

Comments

[Kota10]

Psychopath + bloodlust colonist

[Anotherrandom]

11282367
Ah, a classic

[herobrins mom]

ok...JUST found this story..have not even read any of the chapters yet..and i already like it just cause of what it is..i have NEVER heard of or thought there was a story with rimworld and mlp...and cause of that i ALREADY LOVE this!

..gona go read the chapters now.

[Anotherrandom]

11282835
Well, now I hope it won't disappoint.

[Riojoriginal]

First, just found this story. Love the concept of it.
Second, your writing did improve, and only spotted like, 1 maybe 2 spelling error/missing word. You doing great.
Third, maybe a suggestion: I find just funny and a bit confusing to the events of a random animal on the map just suddenly taming itself. I wonder how the colonists would react when just a random animal waiting on their front door.