The Twilit Tower

by Fresh Coat

The High Priestess — Chapter VII

Flash slotted the last piece of the timberwolf model in place, the overhead tent light shining brightly on the standing table it was placed upon. A brown-furred pegasus carefully held the model in place with a wing, delicately balanced by two primaries. Once the stiff cardboard was properly stuck to the previously applied glue, Flash released it. After a moment of continued structural integrity, both stallions exhaled their pent-up breaths in relief.

“How exactly did you manage to convince me to do this, Spear?” Flash asked.

Smirking, Spearhead replied, “Because you adore my company so much.”

“Oh no.” Flash shook his head. “No one’s company is good enough to put up with constructing these fussy cardboard standees.”

“Then it’s because you enjoy doing secret projects under the Sergeant’s nose.” Spear’s grin widened, his eyes gaining a mischievous twinkle.

“Yeah, that’s true.” Flash snorted. “Anything to annoy that brown noser.”

“Brown because of his gnarly mane, or because of how far he sticks it up noble plots?”

“Can’t it be both?” Flash suggested.

Spear snickered, playfully jabbing Flash with a wing. Flash jabbed back, a matching grin spreading across his face. Spear retaliated, turning a jab into a light shove. Flash returned the gesture by shoving him with his own shoulder, toppling Spear to the ground.

“Oh, shoot—!” Spearhead exclaimed. Flash laughed. “Oh, it’s on, bud.”

Still laughing, Flash attempted to gallop away but was quickly tackled by the star linepony of the Canterlot Patriots. They ended up sprawled on the dirt with Spear overtop and Flash underneath him.

“I keep telling you. Don’t pick fights with ponies you can’t win against,” Spear lectured through his lighthearted chortles.

“Right, of course. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.” Flash nodded seriously before devolving into a baleful of laughs.

“You better,” Spear teased. He took in their position and then playfully smirked. “You know, this is a pretty good view.”

“Not in the tent, Spear,” Flash chided. “While we’re on base, we have to be more careful.”

“Right, yeah,” Spear agreed.

They stayed like that, Spear looking down on Flash with an odd look in his eyes, his head tilted to one side. Flash matched his head tilt and asked, “What is it?”

“What’s what?” Spear replied, startled out of whatever he was thinking.

“You had a weird look on your face.”

“What? Oh, yeah I guess I did.” Spear looked askance, lost in thought before refocusing on Flash. “Hey, bud. You said we need to be more careful on base, but once we’re gone, do you think—”

A rumbling growl interrupted Spear’s speech. Both stallions turned towards the noise in confusion. They quickly reoriented themselves into standing positions, weary of whatever had made the sound.

“What was—” Flash started.

The roof of the tent was ripped off as the head of a chimera forced itself through the hole, its teeth gnashing together, eyes locked on the two stallions.

It reared back, the hints of fire spewing from the corner of its mouth. Spear wasted no time galloping for the entrance flap, but stopped when he didn’t hear matching hoof falls. Turning back, he saw Flash stuck in place, staring in mute horror at the chimera.

“Flash!” Spear yelled.

Flash couldn’t move. Fear had grabbed hold of his legs and refused to release him. The chimera released its gout of flame, burning through the tent and the model he and Spear had painstakingly assembled. He had enough time to squeeze his eyes shut before the end. When it failed to come, he opened them in surprise.

Taking up his vision was Spear, looking at him with a pained smile. The flames burned his back. The smell of burning flesh assaulted Flash’s nose. The feathers of Spear’s wings fell down into ashy piles in the dirt.

Hot tears pricked the corners of Flash’s eyes as realization began to dawn on him. Spear brushed them away with an undamaged feather, pushing through the searing pain.

Out of the corner of his eye, Flash noticed several guards had arrived, taking the monster’s attention away from Flash and Spear.

But that wasn’t what was important at the moment.

“W-why?” Flash asked.

“Because I—”

---

“—Need you to wake up.”

Flash opened his eyes coming face to face with an odd sight. Nestled across from him under the sheets was a pony. They were covered in brown fur with a pair of large fuzzy wings on their back and a blue mane falling across half their face in a wave. A set of expressive blue eyes stared back, a mischievous glint to them.

“Spear…?” Flash asked groggily, sleep still clambering at his consciousness.

The pony smiled. It was a smile Flash had longed to see. Breaking through the numbness in his heart, he grabbed hold of Spear and pulled him in close, burying his nose in the hardness of his chest. Though uncomfortable, it didn’t matter because Flash had Spear with him and that was all that mattered.

“I missed you,” Flash said through a new bout of tears.

“Don’t blame you. I am smoking hot,” Spear teased.

Punching him on the shoulder, Flash pulled back shooting a hard glare at his target. “Not funny.”

“You just have a bad sense of humour, bud.”

“I have a fantastic sense of humour,” Flash protested. “Your jokes are just terrible.”

“Yeah, sure.” Spear rolled his eyes. “Because playing the Wonderbolt at every party is real funny.”

“They ask me to do that! It's a running gag!”

“Uh huh, sure they do.” Spear nodded his head, a smarmy grin on his face.

Grumbling under his breath, Flash turned onto his other side, pulling his wings and hooves tightly to himself. Spear ensnared Flash with his own wings, drawing him in close. Flash didn’t protest.

“Ah, don’t be like that. I missed you too, very close buddy,” Spear teased.

“You’re getting demoted to an estranged acquaintance at the rate you're going,” Flash retorted.

“I’ll be sure to include it on my business cards.” Spear changed his tone to better match a hoffball announcer. “Spearhead, Royal Guard, and estranged acquaintance of Flash Sentry.”

A snort from Flash was quickly followed by a bevy of laughter from both stallions as they laughed at the ridiculousness of their conversation. They lapsed into a comfortable silence as Flash enjoyed the sensation of being near Spear again. The numb haze that had overtaken him lifted, if only temporarily.

As he lay under the soft fabric of bedsheets with Spear’s wings wrapped around him, his memories from a moment earlier came back to him, a nagging question at the forefront of his mind.

“Why did you take the hit?” Flash asked under his breath, hoping Spear might not hear him.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Spear replied.

“No. I still don’t understand why you did it,” Flash confessed.

“But you heard it, right?” Spear questioned. “What I told you at the end?”

He wanted to forget Spear’s final words, but they came unbidden out of his mouth. “I hate you.”

A short pause. “You remember the showers?” Spear asked.

Flash snorted. “Seriously?” Spear stayed silent. “Of course, I remember the showers.” He flipped back onto his other side, Spear’s wings still wrapped around him. “It’s where we played around since the Sergeant wasn’t allowed in there.”

“Right, because doing that nearly every night for weeks was just ‘playing around’.” Flash blushed intensely at the statement. “And if you were so worried about the Sergeant catching us, what about all those nights you had trouble sleeping and crawled into my bed to cuddle? That sure does scream casual.”

“I-I had nightmares!” Flash protested.

“And you were lucky we had a four-pony tent to ourselves,” Spear retorted. “With how many times you initiated, something you wanted to keep on the down low, it’s a small miracle no one caught on.”

“I was just feeling pent up and…” the protests died on Flash’s lips. “Okay, fine. Maybe I kind of liked you.”

“Hmhm.” Spear nodded knowingly.

“I don’t know why,” Flash grumbled, then quietly, “But you were really important to me.”

“Because you’re not attracted to stallions, right?” Spear teased.

“I got you killed,” Flash whispered. “It was my fault.”

Pressing his nose to Flash’s, Spear replied, “You make some really weird connections, bud.”

Flash frowned, casting his gaze away from Spear, but keeping close.

“The one stallion you liked ended up dead in your place, therefore every future stallion will too,” Spear continued. “You’re mixing up survivor’s guilt with a fatalistic approach to romance. That’s completely bonkers.”

“I-I—” Flash attempted to think of a justification but failed. Instead, he changed the topic. “Well, that’s not the only reason. I punched out the Sergeant after the chimera incident. I can’t control myself!”

“You’re misremembering that incident. He was one hundred percent asking for it,” Spear replied.

“You can’t punch a superior officer,” Flash sternly retorted.

“True, but in this case—” Spear stopped himself, putting a wing to his chin in thought. “Actually, you know what. Look over here.”

Spear rotated himself into an upright position. A confused Flash followed suit, Spear resting a wing over his back as he did so. Across from them was a projector screen nestled between folds in the sheets. A large three appeared which counted down to 2 then 1.

In a blink, two ponies appeared on the screen. One was Flash (Flash mentally called him Screen Flash), and the other was a pukish yellow stallion with a greasy brown mane. Sergeant Drill, the other stallion, sneered at Screen Flash who looked livid. The other recruits gathered around them, varying degrees of disgust on their faces.

“What do you mean the chains got loose?!” Screen Flash shouted.

“Exactly what I just said,” Sergeant Drill scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Some lousy recruit didn’t secure the bolts properly and the manticore pulled them out.”

“Why wasn’t it caged?! Actually, follow up, why did you have a manticore on base?!” Screen Flash waved a wing aggressively in Drill’s direction.

“It was for a training exercise. Also, please, Flash. Everyone knows how expensive a cage is and I know how to stake a chain bolt,” Drill replied dismissively.

“You just said a recruit was the one who screwed up the bolts,” Screen Flash accused. “Also, why were we going to fight a manticore for training?! Nothing you’re saying makes any sense!”

“Ugh, do I have to spell everything out for you?” Drill mocked. “You’re all greenhorns with no real combat experience. What better way to get some than an actual threat?” He snorted.

“In a safe environment!” Screen Flash retorted. “You can’t just have us fight a manticore randomly and hope everything will be okay!”

“Well, obviously not since at least you aren’t up to the task. Freezing in place during an actual attack.” Screen Flash stiffened. “And while we’re talking about ponies not up to the task, what was that Spearhead’s deal? What was he thinking rushing back to save you? Obviously, the first thing to do was to secure his own safety, just like myself. Once he was secure, he should have observed the situation and then put out the alert for the guard to intervene. I mean, if you really think about it, it’s both of your—”

Screen Flash punched Drill in the face, toppling him to the ground. Before he could even react, Screen Flash got on top of him and began pummeling his face, blood splattering on his fur.

The assembled guards cheered Screen Flash on from the sides.

“Not my finest moment,” Flash muttered as the screen went black.

“Maybe not, but it was also the only consequence Drill got from the whole thing. Numerous injuries and one dead due to his carelessness, but the worst he got was a scolding from a higher-up that bailed him out,” Spear commented.

“I got kicked out of the unit.”

“And right into Shining’s by his request,” Spear remarked. “Your performance was exemplary and you were one of the best fighters in training.” He snorted. “‘Course, you ended up fixing that lack of real combat expertise pretty quickly with those long hikes with Shining’s unit in the backwoods.”

“The smaller settlements on the fringe tend to get ignored by the guard even when they directly ask for assistance,” Flash explained. “Or, at least, that’s what Shining told me and I’m hard-pressed to disagree. It didn’t sit right with him, how helpless they were to defend themselves and I agreed.”

“As did the Princess,” Spear said. “She wanted new blood in the upper ranks who cared for more than just station. It’s how Shining was promoted to Captain in such a short time with you being pulled along as Vice as the pony that stuck to him through thick and thin.”

“All because I thought he was like—” Spear started laughing. “What’s so funny?” Flash puffed up indignantly.

“You weren’t actually going to say that Shining is like me, were you?” Spear asked between chuckles.

Heat burned Flash’s face. “Well, he is!”

“Oh yeah, sure, bud.” Spear wiped a tear from his eye with a wing. “Come on, let’s deal with that next.”

The cloth overhead stretched upwards as Spear got back onto his hooves, accommodating his height. Flash followed after him with Spear wrapping his wing companionably around him. The blankets before them opened into a tunnel of fabric, the projector screen pulled upwards into the unknown. Though hesitant, Spear gently nudged Flash into the tunnel using his wing as a guide who took the suggestions willingly.

A short trot brought them to a cavernous space engulfed in fabric-made stone. On the pedestal of faux rock stood a replica of Shining Armour, standing proudly with his head held high.

Moving away from Flash, Spear gestured to himself and then the statue with a pointed look.

“Okay, obviously you don’t look remotely the same in appearance except for the blue mane,” Flash relented. “But your personalities are very similar!”

Folding his wings before him, Spear asked, “How?”

“You both, well, you know?” Flash questioned, waving a wing in a circular motion as he tried to grasp an example. “You both have nice eyes?”

“Eyes are not a personality trait,” Spear deadpanned. “I’m a walking bro-stereotype that flirts with anyone that shows a modicum of interest in me while mister stoic guard here couldn’t paint a simple square to save his life and has a sense of humour drier than a desert.”

“I like his humour,” Flash mumbled.

“Said the one crushing so hard he got a guilt complex.” Spear sighed in exasperation. “Flash, for sun’s sake, you’re not attracted to Shining because he’s like me, you’re attracted to Shining because you’ve both been through Tartarus and high water for years and naturally developed a close bond. That’s not even mentioning that he’s hot and, despite what I said, has a decent personality.”

“B-but, he’s—”

“I am not your exception. You’re just attracted to stallions that you get along with,” Spear stated, his tone suggesting that it was obvious. “You liked being around me, you like being around Shining. It’s pretty obvious based on your track record that you would develop feelings for him outside of friendship.”

“No, I mean, he’s… taken,” Flash finished lamely.

“And?” Spear threw his wings out, staring at Flash with a look that suggested he was being ridiculous.

“And what? I have a crush on my superior officer and a stallion that’s already in a loving relationship,” Flash explained. “That’s so—”

“Perfectly reasonable,” Spear interrupted. “Look, before you start going onto a self-deprecating tangent, have you acted on your crush? Like done something against his consent or tried to sabotage his relationship.”

“No,” Flash muttered, but quickly tried to add, “But—!”

“But nothing!” Spear stomped his hoof releasing an angry snort. “Ponies get crushes all the time, even on ponies that they shouldn’t. It’s natural. It’s how attraction works. The only problem is if you act like an idiot, which you are not. You. Are. Fine.”

“W-well, dad says it’s wrong, so…” Flash trailed off, already realizing the weakness of his argument.

Giving Flash a look of pure pity, he waved a wing toward a wall of the cavern. Three massive photographs popped out of the fabric. One was his brother dressed in his business suit the day he was hired at the bank. The second was his parents together on their wedding day. The last was his sister nuzzling her head between her wife’s hooves, both smiling contentedly.

“Who's your family, Flash?” Spear asked.

“How is this relevant?”

“It’s everything. The most important thing. I’m gonna ask again.” Spear pinned Flash down with a stern look. “Who's your family?”

“It’s…” Flash looked around helplessly, confusion evident on his face as he looked over the photos. “It’s all of them, isn’t it? I don’t understand what you’re trying to ask me here.”

“Are they? Are they really?” Spear pointed an accusatory wing at Lead. “Your brother mocks you every chance he gets. He has no respect for you and never will.” He moved his wing to point at Golden and Stalwart. “Your parents abused you throughout your entire life.”

“They never hit me,” Flash angrily retorted.

“So, breaking your things is better?” Spear angrily replied. “Belittling your accomplishments? Taking away your ability to make your own decisions?”

“The Guard ended up being good for me!”

“Something you found out only after they took away all of your other options,” Spear countered. “Your parents are vile. You’re an independent adult that can live without them in your life. So stop dealing with them.”

“They’re my parents,” Flash choked out.

Spear opened his mouth before closing it with a weary sigh. “Look, Flash, I get it, but you need to come to terms with the fact that they will never live up to that title.”

That single sentence struck a core part of Flash’s being, reverberating through and changing his perspective in ways he hadn’t seen before. It was overwhelming and in an effort to keep the implications at bay, Flash pointed to the last photograph and asked, “What about Swift?”

“What about her?” Spear replied.

“I don’t want to lose her,” Flash pleaded. “She’s… annoying. She fights my battles when she shouldn’t, but it’s still for my sake. I want her in my life. She’s the only one in my family that even cares. She—”

“Then keep her in it.” Spear closed the distance between them and gently clasped Flash’s cheek with his wing. Flash nuzzled into the touch. “My point isn’t that you should break ties with everyone. My point is that you should choose who you want in your life. Not keep them out of obligation.”

Looking over the photos, Flash took in the entirety of his family. His brother’s slander, his parents’ hate, and his sister’s awakward love. He was tied to them whether he wanted it or not, but the idea of deciding whether he should allow that connection to have any meaningful presence in his life resonated with him.

It left him with a lot to think about.

“I’ll think about it,” Flash relented.

“That's all I want you to do.” Spear jerked his head towards the other side of the cavern. “Come on. Let’s take a walk.”

Flash nestled himself under Spear’s wing and they trotted side by side deeper into the fabric cavern. As they walked, the ceiling slowly climbed further and further away from them into darkness. The soft sheets underhoof transitioned into the hardwood of the dollhouse’s floors.

As Flash stepped off the last of the fabric he felt Spear pull away from him. He stopped and looked back to see Spear stuck on the last bit of fabric before it fully turned into wood.

“You aren’t really him, are you?” Flash asked.

“I’m a version of him. From your memories with some of the gaps filled by you yourself.” Spear shot him a beaming smile. “Mulberry can’t physically reach you, but they can send someone else from afar. Even if it's just a construct made by your own subconscious.”

“I’m not ready to move on.” He took a heavy breath. “No, that’s wrong. I don’t want to move on.”

A heavy silence filled the space between them. It was broken by Spear. “Do you remember the time you spent between your recruitment into Shining’s unit and getting kicked out of Sergeant Drill’s?” He asked.

“I just holed up in my old bedroom,” Flash admitted, numbness beginning to prick at the edges of his mind. “Crying and sleeping and not doing much of anything. I ate what my parents made me eat, and spent the rest of my interactions with them arguing and yelling and screaming. I just…” he choked on his words, a sob escaping his throat as tears pricked the corners of his eyes. “You weren’t there. You never would be and it was my fault. Why do I get to go on without ever being punished for that? How can I live a normal life knowing you’ll never get that chance?”

The fabric sheets rustled. A single length of cloth slithered toward Flash. Spear stomped his hoof down, stopping the strand in its tracks. “I’m going to tell you something important,” Spear said.

“I know what you’re going to say.” Flash shook his head, closing his eyes shut. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“That’s why you need to. You’ve been hurting—”

“Not enough,” Flash sobbed out.

“—and you need to stop being the one causing it. You need to stop locking yourself in your room. Stop seeing ponies that make you miserable. Stop being in agony over events out of your control. Because you forgot what Spear told you. The reason he saved you.”

“No, I didn’t!” Flash shouted, staring down Spear on the verge of breaking down. “He hated me! He said—”

“I love you,” Spear intoned, a perfect match to his last words. “He said, I love you, Flash.”

His final words. The smell of burning flesh. The ashy feathers. Spear collapsing into Flash’s hooves. The disbelief roaring through his mind. The desperate calls of his name. The anger at the chimera. At his Sergeant. At himself.

A single helpless question of why burning at the forefront of his thoughts.

“I love you too,” Flash cried out, the floodgates open on his tears. “I love you and I hate you because now I have to go on without you.” He looked at the fake Spear, the illusion falling apart before his eyes. The ponyquinn revealing itself to him. “Can I pretend? Just for a little while longer?” Flash begged.

The fake opened its wings to him. Flash charged into the embrace, nestling his head into its chest. For just a moment, Flash could hear a heartbeat, feel the softness of Spear’s over-conditioned fur, and smell the crumbs of his favourite snack coating his chest. He could trick himself into believing that Spear was with him, that he would always be.

When he pulled back, Spear was gone along with the bedsheets that had entrapped him. Only darkness remained in every direction and a single wooden door.

Flash wiped the tears from his eyes with a wing and smiled into the darkness. The numbness was gone, a heavy weight lifted from his heart.

He trotted to the door, placing a hoof on the handle. He took a deep breath, savouring the momentary quiet before his life, his real life, once more reasserted itself. More ready than he had ever been before, Flash opened the door.

Comments

[Oreng Pingvin]

Жаль... И это очень жалит. you are doing a good job