Solitaire gave way to a guttural screech as she finally threw iron doors open. She spun on her hooves and slammed the doors shut behind her. A resounding thud echoed across the room as six demons struck the once accessible entrance. Her heart, which was currently trying to rip a whole in her chest, began to slow as she slumped against the wall. She glanced quickly around the room. Its colouring was split cleanly down the middle of the circular space: Half of the floor was black and the other white. The same could be said for the walls. Given the curved shape of the enclosure, the overall effect was staggering and disorientating. She shut her eyes tightly behind her gaping black hood as she attempted to regain her bearings.
She had made it. The centre of Cavallor: the Middle Ground. She laughed harshly under her breath as her edged teeth flashed. The citizens of the Universe had always been in awe of Cavallor: the flat planet. She had never cared much for the mysteries of her world. However; now it seemed that the unique shape of her planet would come in handy. She was in the safest place in the Universe: at the centre of the last planet in existence which was slowly crumbling away around the edges. She raised an eyebrow sharply. She was in the safest place in the Universe and her early death was imminent…how ironic.
She stood up, keeping her head bowed beneath her hood. She was about to move to the centre of the room, when she forced herself to look up and froze. She was not alone.
A small, blonde filly was floating at the other end of the room, humming a bright tune across the breeze of her breath. She was clutching a small, golden harp to her chest with a wisp of magic. Solitaire couldn’t understand how she had missed her before. It was as though she had simply been…breathed…into the room. Suddenly, she looked up and met Solitaire’s gaze. She hissed and flinched against the sparkling blue eyes of the small mare, who winked and laughed.
“Oh, hello!” she said, her voice airy and high. Solitaire draw her shoulders back sharply and bared her teeth.
“Who the hell are you?” she asked furiously, her voice burning with fire and poison. The wings topping her opponent’s head fluttered slightly as she giggled.
“Ooh, more funny faces!” She stuck her tongue out and rolled her eyes, then allowed a small ‘tee-hee’ to escape her lips. Solitaire was not amused.
“Just answer the question,” she spat. The blonde eyebrows arched upwards and crinkled as the filly grinned cheerily.
“I’m Sonata! Sonata Dawn.” Solitaire’s eyes narrowed.
“Of course you are.” She lowered her raised fists as she surveyed Dawn warily. It would be better to observe her enemy before attacking. She didn’t look like much, but the Queen of Light was certainly not someone she wanted to fight. At least, not yet…
“I should have known they would bring you here,” she continued, watching as Sonata tilted her head in surprise.
“Really? I had no idea! Aaliyah just told me now that Cavallor is starting to evanesce.” Solitaire’s lip curled as her counterpart chuckled. What kind of sick mind did this child possess? “Silly Aaliyah!” she chided. “She should know that bad things don’t exist! This will all come right eventually, she’ll see.” The Empress of Darkness found herself shaking her head incredulously.
“This kid is either a really good sport, incredibly thick or a sadist,” she thought. Looking at Sonata, she decided to go with ‘incredibly thick.’ She was certainly a rather disturbing young lady. She would be roughly the same age as Solitaire by now - about eight in earth years - but she was still no more than a newborn in her eyes. She was too innocent, too bright and too terrifyingly unscathed by all the pain that life should have rained down upon her by this age.
She watched warily as Sonata unclipped her harp from a small, white strap around her chest. She opened her small, delicate mouth and Solitaire braced herself for an attack. What was she doing?
Then, something happened that she was not expecting. Something terrifying: The Queen of Light began to sing. For a few moments, Solitaire could do nothing but stare. That voice…She despised it. It was doing something to her, something very strange. She felt as though a dazzling light was growing inside her heart, waiting to explode and drag her down to the depths of hell where she belonged. She restrained a scream with difficulty as she flattened her ears against her head and gritted her teeth. What was happening to her?
Without warning, a stream of darkness ripped itself from her horn and slammed into Sonata, cutting off her voice. It pinned her tightly against the gleaming white wall on the opposite side of the room and Solitaire smiled in satisfaction; she had caught her prey. Her sense of complacency began to fade, however, when Sonata started to laugh once again.
“Eep! I’ve never played this game before! How does it work?”
Her voice was cracked and broken against the black magic wrapped around her throat, but it somehow emanated joy and freedom across the room. Solitaire retracted her magic out of pure disbelief and Sonata fell to the floor with an ear-splitting ‘crack’ before jumping to her bare feet once more. She giggled and waved as Solitaire continued to stare at her in shock.
Sonata started to trot towards her counterpart, but found herself blocked by two long tendrils of shadows.
“Tell me,” Solitaire hissed softly. “What was that?”
“What was what?” Sonata asked, her wings pointing slightly upwards in mild interest.
“That attack. The one that almost killed me just now.” The darkness inched closer when Sonata didn’t respond, her face etched with bewilderment. “What did you do, Dawn?”
“I…I did nothing,” Sonata said, crinkling her nose. “I was just singing and then you started playing around with your magic and…”
“The singing,” Solitaire spat, cutting her off. “What does it do?” Sonata pouted slightly. It was the first vaguely negative expression Solitaire had ever seen cross her features.
“What does it do?” she asked. “It doesn’t do anything but make people happy! You should be happy too!” Solitaire glared at her, then screeched under her breath and whirled around to face the wall, breathing hard. After a few seconds, she spun back around to face Sonata.
“Well, kid…I think it’s about time you figured out that I can’t be happy. And if you even dare to try that ridiculous stunt of yours again, I swear to the heavens…I will kill you.” Sonata giggled.
“Kill? Whassat?”
“It means I will end your life and you will never see your people again. You will no longer exist. You will no longer feel. You will no longer be happy. You will be dead.”
She felt a strong sense of satisfaction as Sonata’s smile finally faded. However, her pleasure was mixed with something she couldn’t quite place. Was it…was it guilt? She growled under her breath and forced the thought away. She couldn’t afford to lose her cool now.
“You…you want to kill me?” Sonata’s face crumpled. “But why would you want to do that? I…I thought you liked me.” For the first time in a long while, Solitaire was genuinely amused.
“Why would I like you? I’ve known you for less than an hour.” Her teeth glinted in the non-existent light. “Besides, I don’t even have to kill you. The Universe is going to do it all on its own. Even as we speak, Cavallor is evanescing and in a few hours, it’s going to take you and I along with it. Your own home is going to kill you, Blondie. Not me.”
The tiniest of tears leaked out of Sonata’s left eye and she wiped it away with a small, tendril of gold mist. She stared at it for a few seconds, completely perplexed as the tears began to stream down her face.
“Wh-What is this?” Solitaire sighed in irritation.
“It’s called crying, hotshot.” Sonata laughed, but this time, her voice shattered and became high-pitched towards the end of the diminished notes.
“Don’t be silly. C-crying doesn’t exist.” Her eyes were red and she sniffed as Sonata bent slightly forward so that she was at eye-level with her counterpart.
“Welcome to the real world, Dawn.” Sonata froze and Solitaire tilted her head to one side. Every part of the Queen before her suddenly seemed broken. Her face, her eyes, her blood, her soul…
She began to pace around the room. “I used to cry a lot,” she said casually. “But then it stopped…probably because I got used to it.”
“Used to what?” Sonata asked tearfully. Solitaire waved a hand dismissively.
“Crying. Life. What it throws at you.” The light in her heart seemed to glow brighter and she clawed at her chest in pain. “Let me tell you something Dawn. What you’re having to deal with now is something I’ve had to deal with every single day of my life. You created people who love you, who adore you, who would do anything for you. I created people who want to make sure I never live to see tomorrow, no matter what the circumstances of today. It wasn’t my intention, I assure you. But they turned out that way because I created them in my image. I am completely, entirely and purely repulsive…Milady,” she added mockingly. Sonata put her hooves to her mouth and Solitaire looked on in mild interest as her tears formed glimmering bracelets around her forelegs. “So quit your whining because what you’re going through right now is nothing.”
The crying, instead of ceasing, grew louder. Sonata began to bawl, her voice shifting discordantly between light and dark, soft and loud, high and deep. Solitaire simply rolled her eyes.
“Oh, come on, it isn’t that bad. You’re just going to die. It’s not as bad as starving out on the streets for the rest of your life.”
“I-I’m not crying b-because of th-th-th-that,” Sonata howled. Solitaire raised an eyebrow.
“Oh?”
Sonata’s voice began to grow steadier as she spoke.
“I’m crying because…because I can’t stand seeing someone as sad as you…H-how can you possibly be so broken that you find joy in hurting another person? But most of all, I’m crying because THERE’S NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT!” she screeched.
Solitaire took a step back, stunned. This girl was sad on someone else’s behalf…on her behalf? Then she shook her head and her composure slid neatly back into place.
“If you were telling the truth, I would be sorry.”
“I am telling the truth!” Solitaire stared at her for a few seconds longer, then lowered her gaze.
“In that case I…” she coughed. “I’m sorry.” She gagged and gasped in pain as the light in her soul grew brighter. She couldn’t believe she had just said that…Sonata gave her a watery smile.
“Thank you.” Solitaire offered her a slight, upward tilt of her eyebrows, but otherwise, didn’t respond. Sonata wiped her glittering eyes.
“Please…please let me sing for you.” Solitaire’s hard eyes narrowed.
“That’s where I draw the line.” Sonata climbed shakily to her feet and a sharp, shattered grin spread itself over her features.
“I’m gonna sing for you,” she sang. Quickly, Solitaire flattened her ears over her head.
“No,” she growled. Sonata unclipped her harp with a small ray of magic, then giggled as she shot a stream of shimmering magic towards her counterpart’s head. Solitaire’s eyes widened and she attempted to dive out of the way. The haze missed her head and instead wound itself beneath her hood. Sonata chuckled.
“Right on target!” she cried. Solitaire frowned. She had been aiming for the hood? Then the Light Queen lightly whipped the hood from her face and for a few seconds, Solitaire’s heart stopped beating.
Her features revealed, Solitaire turned to face Sonata and stared her directly in the eye. Sonata took a small step back and her white wings went limp, falling over her ears.
“Oh my heavens,” she whispered. Solitaire stared her cooly in the eye.
“There’s a reason I hide my face, you know. You’ve always been too scared to look into the eyes of darkness, Sonata Dawn. Now you’ve met the gaze of its master. So tell me, child…are you afraid? Because you should be.” Sonata raised a trembling hand to her mouth.
“You’re…you’re so beautiful.” Solitaire’s eyes widened and her pupils dilated.
“What?” she hissed.
“You’re beautiful,” Sonata repeated softly.
She spoke the truth. Solitaire suddenly seemed to represent all the things Sonata had always loved. Her coat was entirely black. It was as though the starry night in all its glory had been injected into her veins - the same night that Sonata would stare into every evening before she slept. The ink that had written the tales of her childhood formed the spiderwebs across the whites of her icy eyes. Her perfect, minuscule fangs were twin crescent moons hanging against her star-spangled face and her long mane seemed to defy gravity now that it had been released from the constraints of her hood. It flicked out to one side, ending in a twisted, jagged curl. A pair of slender, pointed ears - much like those of a bat’s - extended from the shadows caressing her skull.
Sonata shook her head and the tears began to flow once more as Solitaire continued to glare at her in discomfort.
“Why would you lie to me?” she asked, her eyes narrowed.
“I’m not lying, I just…” she trailed off helplessly. “I just can’t help it anymore,” she whispered. “I have to sing.”
“NO!” Solitaire tried to stop her again, but it was too late. Sonata had begun to play her harp as she opened her mouth to sing…and this time, Solitaire found herself unable to stop listening. She was trapped in terrifying elation. She hated this feeling, this vulnerability, this…openness. She retched. This happiness.
“Please,” she croaked. “Stop.” Sonata’s voice began to fade and Solitaire glanced up, breathing hard. Sonata’s gentle gaze met her own and she hurriedly turned her head to the ceiling, sweeping a hoof through her mane. “Why are you doing this?” she asked, her voice splintering against her fangs. Sonata looked down and Solitaire heard the breaths of moving fabric as she slumped against the wall.
“I’m just so…sad. My world is going to disappear. My subjects and my life are going to leave me. I’m going to be all alone.” She desperately tried to meet Solitaire’s gaze, but her counterpart was still staring up at the ceiling. “You’ll be all alone too.” Solitaire shrugged and lowered her gaze from the ceiling.
“Well, at least we’ll be too dead to care,” she said. Sonata looked up and Solitaire cringed as she gave her the biggest, brightest, most broken smile she had ever seen.
“I guess you’re right.” Then her face fell again. “But I think the worst part is,” she said, “I c-can’t do anything about it…” Her face crumpled but she didn’t cry.
“There is always something you can do,” Solitaire said quietly. Sonata tilted her head and Solitaire forced herself to meet her gaze once more, staring her down. “There is always something to fight for and if there isn’t, you might as well die.” Sonata’s jaw dropped ever so slightly and Solitaire spoke again, her voice rising with every word. “So tell me, Dawn. Are you going to just lie down and allow everything to be taken from you? Or are you going to fight? Are you going to stand up and fight for what you believe in?” Sonata climbed slowly to her hooves, then tilted her head to one side. Her wings gave a small, dejected flap.
“Why are you helping me?” she asked softly. Solitaire froze, then shook her head of her emotions.
“Does it matter?” she snapped. The truth was, she didn’t know. Quite honestly, she didn’t want to know. Sonata’s eyes flickered uncertainly to the sides of her eyes.
“I…I’m going to fight,” she said, though her voice was uncertain.
“I didn’t hear that,” Solitaire said, her features twitching in agitation. Sonata’s teeth clenched.
“I’m going to fight.”
“Are you going to fight?” Solitaire asked again, her eyes glinting sharply.
“I’m going to fight!”
“ARE YOU GOING TO FIGHT?”
“I’M GOING TO FIGHT!” Solitaire threw her head into the air, pacing furiously around the dark side of the room.
“THAT’S IT! GET ANGRY! DO YOU FEEL THAT BURNING IN YOUR VEINS? DO YOU FEEL THAT FIRE?”
“I FEEL IT!” Sonata yelled happily. “AND I LOVE IT!” Solitaire smiled in satisfaction, her work complete.
She stopped at the line dividing black and white and the skin around her eyes became jagged as she glared Sonata in the eye.
“Good…So tell me, Blondie…what are you going to fight for?” Sonata closed her eyes and a smile spread over her face.
“I’m going to fight for my friend…and for my friendship with her,” she said serenely. Solitaire raised a cold eyebrow.
“Friends only exist in story books. And a singular friendship? You’re very strange, kid, you know that?” she shook her head. “Alright then. Who’s friendship are you fighting for?” She gagged as the word friendship poisoned her tongue. Sonata opened her eyes and a sunny curl floated across her face as her frame tensed.
“Yours.”
Solitaire’s throat seemed to close as she heard a rush of fabric and Sonata met her at the centre of the room. Her normally laser-sharp reactions became dulled as the Queen’s smile lit up the air around her. Then, without giving her any time to react, Sonata Dawn threw her forelegs around the Empress of Darkness in a tight embrace…and the light in Solitaire’s heart exploded.
“No…no this isn’t right,” she gasped, for once at a loss for words. “I…” She felt her own hooves wrapping around Sonata. She tried to tear them away, but she felt as though an invisible force was preventing her from doing so. She howled in pain as the light began to savage her spirit. “This is so, incredibly wrong.” Sonata buried her head into Solitaire’s knife-like shoulder and she hissed as she felt the girl’s breath against her fur.
“I want to be your friend, Solitaire Dusk…and I want you to be mine. I love you. I love you with all my heart and all my soul. And you will be my friend, no matter what.” She looked up and gifted Solitaire with that same smile that she both loved and couldn’t stand. “That’s what I’m going to fight for.”
“THAT’S what you want to fight for?” Solitaire screamed. “That’s nothing worth fighting for!”
“But it is,” Sonata said simply. Solitaire lifted her head in agony. She could feel sweat coating her night-spread skin.
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME, DAWN?”
“I loved you. That’s all,” she replied, her eyes glistening with unspilled tears.
“But why?” Solitaire whispered. She was broken. The corner of Sonata’s mouth twitched.
“A number of reasons. You’re brave, passionate and fiery. You inspire some kind of dark pride in me that I can’t explain…and I’m addicted to it. I’m addicted to purpose.” Solitaire flinched as Sonata lifted her head and met her gaze. But mostly…it’s because no one’s ever loved you before…and I wanted to be the first."
Solitaire’s face contorted, her features shifting through an infinity of emotions before the tears finally started to run down her face.
“I…|…” She coughed, repulsed by the words she was about to say. Then, she found that she couldn’t hold them back any longer. “I love you too!” she howled, clutching Sonata close to her. Sonata began to cry once more.
“Why?” she asked softly, tears falling down her face. Solitaire laughed, and the sound sounded so wrong, yet so wondrously right at the same time. A sound filled with both light and dark.
“A number of reasons…you’re kind and gentle,” While she spoke, she didn’t notice as Sonata’s mane and eyes began to change colour, becoming a shade of vibrantly dark pink. “You inspire some kind of light in me that I can’t explain. And I’m addicted to it. I’m addicted to happiness. But mostly…it’s because I’ve never loved anyone before…and I wanted you to be the first.”
Sonata stared at her for a few seconds. Then, her tears brushed Solitaire’s face as the two young mares sank to the floor in a silent exchange of black and white. Neither of them noticed as their hair and skins, their hearts and lungs and their blood and souls…began to colour.
They stayed that way for a while, alone in the centre of their world.
