Millennium Novus

Millennium Novus

Act I: Chapter 1:

Daydreams and Disaster

“Miss Sterling! If you would kindly cease staring into space and present the day’s work to me, we could finish here at a reasonable hour, hmm?”

Amber jerked her mind out of her daydreams and turned to the glowering earth pony behind her. “Of course, Mrs. Glory. I was just finishing the embroidery on the piece you gave me.”

“Is that so, eh?” Mrs. Glory sniffed. “Let me take a look.”

Amber pushed her chair to the side, revealing an intricate bracelet inset with a dozen glimmering emeralds. Her boss pulled out an eyepiece and examined her work. “Hmm, hmm. Yes, not bad. You’ve certainly got an eye for this sort of thing, Ambrosia.”

“Thank, you, ma’am,” Amber said.

“I can see why Shelf recommended you. With this quality, you'll be going places.”

“Thank you very much, ma’am.”

The mare sniffed. “Watch yourself, now. Don’t get too cocky.”

“Of course not, ma’am.”

“Hmm. Good, then. You’re dismissed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am. Have a good day.” Amber grabbed her bag and made for the door.

“And cut it with the ‘ma’am’ talk. I feel old enough already!” But the off-white mare didn’t hear her, already out the door, the bell chiming behind her.

Amber trotted down the street, the blistery wind to her back and her eyes on home. Ponies of all description moved about her, an Equine tide that flowed through the city. She walked past an electronics store, the sound of the televisions following her down the street.

“And in other news, tensions are escalating in the South Amareican Republic. The rebels have gained ground in several cities, and Protectorate hopeful Lord Sanguine has increased his pressure to send aid to the embattled leaders.”

“Woo-we, it's at tad blustery today, Buzz, don’t you know?”

“I do indeed. Great day to stay inside with a nice book, if you ask me.”

“Well, safe travels to all who are returning from the holidays! Hope you folks had a great time!”

Amber walked to the subway station, taking the stairs two at a time. Sliding her pass into the gate, she jumped on the subway right before it left. She took a seat by the side, settling down for a bit of a ride.

Five months. It had been five months since they had moved to the city, five months since Amber had sold all of her belongings and rented an apartment on the south side. And five months since she had seen her home. Sky above, it had been hard, but she was finally making something of herself. The vibrations of the train drifted into her thoughts, and a soft fog fell over her vision…

She was walking down a sunlit forest path, a demure Pegasus walking behind. Her mane was styled in an elaborate curl and kept obscuring her vision.

“Are sure about this, Rarity?” the pegasus asked, he voice soft as a summer breeze.

“Of course, my dear Fluttershy,” she heard herself say, tossing her curl with a flick of her head. “These tapestries are a thousand years old, and I’m sure they’re bursting with fabric weaves and ideas that would breathe new life into my work.”

“Well, okay then…” the pegasus, Fluttershy said, although her face was far from sure. “If you sure…”

“Ma’am? Are you okay?”

Ambrosia opened her eyes with a start. “Wha--? What’s going…” Her eyes found a stallion in front of her. “Can I help you?”

The stallion raised his eyebrows. “You were talking in your sleep.”

Amber felt a blush rise to her cheeks. “Oh, I’m—I’m sorry. I must’ve dosed off.”

“You sure you’re alright?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” she said. “Sorry to have bothered you.”

He gave a grunt and sat down. She caught him eyeing her warily and sighed.  At least he seemed to care. She’d been less lucky in the past. She rubbed her forehead. Confusing dream? Check. Strange sense of deja vu? Check. Public embarrasment? She looked around the subway car. The other passengers were looking everywhere but her. Check. Well, at least she only had one more stop to go. She placed a hoof over the bag to her side, feeling the reassuring weight of her belongings inside. No thieves, at least.

The subway car ground to a halt. “Now entering, Carousel Way. Doors open to the right. Have a nice day.”

Amber walked down the sunlight street. Around her, the buildings rose tall, sunshades and awnings lending a splash of color to an otherwise grey landscape. She greeted the ponies she knew with a smile and a wave. She stopped for a moment to eye a few rosy apples.

“How much?”

“That’ll be a cap, ma’am.”

“I’ll take it,” she said, flipping a coin into the vendor’s can. She took a bite and turned around…

“Yeah, Bon, sorry but I—oof!”

…and crashed into a mint green unicorn talking on the phone. Amber fell back, breath knocked out of her. The apple she had just bought fell down to the gutter. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry,” she said.

The mint unicorn gave a huff of annoyance. “Watch where you’re going—“ she looked up and spotted Amber. Her eyes got wide. “I—I mean, uh… I gotta go.” She got to her feet and cantered off. “Bon! You’ll never—hold on, I’ll be right over!”

What was that about? Amber thought to herself. She continued on her way, trying to ignore the growing feeling of foreboding washing over her. For a fleeting moment, she thought she had seen recognition in the unicorn’s eyes.

A few minutes later, she arrived at her apartment complex. “Aria!” She called, unlocking the door. “I’m home!” There was a muffled crash from the kitchen, and a moment later an off-white filly with a pink and purple mane rushed into the landing and tackled Amber in a hug.

“Okay, okay, Aria, I missed you too!” she said, pulling the filly off her.

“Amber, Amber! Guess what I did in school today!” Aria said, her squeaky voice rising to an almost inaudible pitch in her excitement. “We were doing addition and Ms. Joyce asked me if I could add these two numbers on the board, but I didn’t know what they were so I was like ‘uh, I need to go to the bathroom,’ and she was like, ‘nice try, Aria, you did that last time,’ so I had to add the numbers and I got really scared and—“

Amber placed a gentle hoof in Aria’s mouth. “My, that sounds like a… wonderful story, Aria, but your sister’s a touch peckish at the moment. How about I change and we go get some birthday food, and we talk about it then?”

“Sure thing, Amber,” Aria said, bouncing down the hall again. Amber heard her singing to herself. She chuckled and walked down the hall and into her own room. With a satisfied groan, Amber scooted her saddlebags off her back and walked into the bathroom. She regarded her reflection with a critical eye.

Amber was a young mare, not quite twenty-four, with a trimmed physique and an angled, striking face. Her horn, freshly filed and polished, gave off a slight gleam. She was of a similar color to her sister, and she wore her purple mane in an efficient ponytail that hung over her left shoulder. She frowned, pulling out the ponytail and letting her hair fall about her face. She took some in her hooves, trying to bunch it so it took the shape of the curl she had worn in her dream. Not bad… but I could never pull it off. She let her hair drop and replaced the ponytail.

“Someday, Amber, the world will know this face,” she said. Her reflection wasn’t so sure. She sighed and left the bathroom. “Aria, are you ready to go?”

“Yeah!” Aria said, running out of her room. Amber noted that her horn was getting a bit long; she was due at the barber’s any day now anyway, so she could get it filed then.

“Get your coat, dear, it’s still a bit nippy out,” she said. Aria groaned, but left and returned a moment later with her brown jacket on. Together, the sisters left the house.

“So, where are we going?” Aria said.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Amber said, pretending to think, “I was just thinking somewhere like, oh, I don’t know… the Gristmill?”

Aria gasped. “Really? You’re the best sister ever!” She jumped on Amber’s back, making the older mare grunt.

“Yes, well, anything for such a wonderful sister,” Amber choked out. “Aria dear, if you would be so kind…”

“Oh, right, sorry,” Aria said, releasing Amber. The pair walked out the door, Amber casting a last look over the rather meager furnishings.

“Someday…” she whispered, closing the door and locking it.

Since they had moved to Hub City, the Gristmill was one of the few places they had found that still cooked food like home. It wasn’t cheap, but Amber had been saving her money and wanted to make Aria’s birthday something special.

They reached a small building, tucked between two much bigger restaurants. The old-timey sign above the door spelled out in cursive: The Gristmill. Aria jumped ahead, and Amber followed, pushing the door open.

The interior was dimly lit. Booths lined the walls, Normare Rockwell prints decked above them, and classic Equine tunes played over the speakers. The diner was empty except for a trio of stallions sitting in the corner. Amber bought two buffets from the attendant and followed Aria to the serving line. She piled up on hay fries, tofu slabs, and corn. They sat down.

“So,” Amber said, maneuvering her hay fries into a scoop and taking a dainty bite, “how was your day at school?”

“It wuf gweat!” Aria said, her mouth full of food. Amber tried to hide a frown as her sister dug into the plate with all the grace of a starving pony. “Miff Joyfe had evfyone gather ‘round and fing me happy burfday and den we had cake!”

“That’s great, dear,” Amber said. “But… why don’t you swallow before you continue? It’s… difficult to understand you with your mouth full.”

Aria swallowed her food. “Sorry. But anyway, after that we had history! Miss Rosebud was talking to us about the Mark, and I was like ‘I don’t know what that is’, and she was like, ‘well no one does, that’s the point’, and then Cutter was all ‘well that’s dumb why are we learning about it then’, and Miss Rosebud was all—“

Amber continued to eat her food, tuning out her sister. While she did not much approve of the diner’s aesthetic, the food was marvelous and Aria simply adored it. Plus, she had to admit, the attendant wasn’t so bad to look at, either. She sighed, throwing off the last mental bags of the work day. Forget her pet projects, forget the jewelers; this was what it was all about. Just sitting here, relaxing with her sister, ignoring the weight of the world for a few precious hours. If she could only sit here forever…

She shook her head. You’re doing it again, Amber. She couldn’t slack off, not now. Her parents were counting on her, Aria was counting on her. The jewelry industry wasn’t going to revolutionize itself.

She looked at her sister, jabbering away about the trials of the day. Aria’s resilience was impressive. She might have been yanked out of her old school and life, her sister might have to work long hours, but Aria kept up a cheerful face all the same. It was for Amber’s benefit, and she was grateful for it.

Amber raised a hoof, cutting her sister off. “That’s great, dear, but let me get some more food. I’ll be right back.” Aria nodded, and Amber stood and walked back to the buffet table. She grabbed another spoonful of mashed potatoes. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the three stallions stand.

And that was when everything went wrong.

“No, what are you doing? Get off?”

Amber whirled around. The three stallions had surrounded Aria and were pulling her from the booth. She dropped the plate with a clatter. “Aria! Get your hands off her!”

She reached to the table and raised a hoof. One of the ponies cocked his back leg and drove it into her stomach. Amber felt the air whoosh out of her lungs. She fell back, the stallions pulling Aria out of the booth.

“Amber!” Aria shouted, struggling in the grip of the larger stallion. “Amber! Amber!” Amber pushed herself to her feet.

“Stop them!” she shouted to the attendant. He tried to move in front of them, but the leader shoved him to the side. The three stallions burst out of the door.

“Aria!” Amber shouted, running outside. “They’ve got my sister! Somebody stop them!”

But the ponies on the street did nothing, watching with wide eyes as the three stallions muscled Aria towards a waiting van.

I’ve got to do something I’ve got to do something I’ve got to they’re getting away! Amber pushed herself harder, barreling into the stallion in the back. She punched him in the face and dove at the one carrying Aria. Then two strong arms grabbed her from behind and pulled her back. Her attacker flipped her over, slamming her back into the ground. Amber saw stars. She tried to get up again, but the stallion brought his hooves straight into the side of her face.

Darkness swept down to meet her. Dimly, she was aware of someone crying her name. She had to get up… she had to save... the van was leaving….

She embraced the veil of black. What did it matter? Her Aria was gone forever.