The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Mare

The hammock prickled Rainbow’s back.

She snorted like a pig, then tossed onto her side. Try as it might, her awful choice in bedding would not overcome her tenacity. Never!

Just a little tuck of the foreleg, and then she’d have the perfect pillow…

Her head’s full weight rested on that leg. She gasped and shot her head up. Narrowed her eyes on the limb. Where was the overwhelming, dull throb from before? Where was…

“Where’s the brace?” She bent her perfectly fine leg a few times. “The bandages?”

The limb, upon an even closer look, bore not a single scar. Given the memory of holding her left foreleg in her right wing and hobbling back to civilization that way, the presence of scar should have been without any question. Eyes still trained upon her leg, she rolled out of the hammock. The two rosewood stakes, as she had pictured before even laying eye on them, had refused to budge despite her shifting weight.

Grass rustled beneath her hooves. Dark brown in its pallor, yet healthy to the touch. She shuffled along on three legs, as she had become accustomed. Then she paused. The awkward gait of three repulsed every fiber of her being. Teeth clenched, she set her left foreleg down, weight and all upon it.

It felt fine.

Rainbow stared straight ahead. Lips set firmly in a line. Shoulders tense.

A smile bubbled through. A fit of giggles. The pegasus collapsed onto the grass. She rolled onto her back and kicked her legs, all the while giggling like a child.

‘No need to overthink it’, she nil-thought. Her left foreleg felt just right, dream or no dream. Hugs, nuzzles, all sorts of love paid to the limb taken for granted. Free of the tightness of stitches, free of the cumbersome brace.

Free.

She decided to crack open her eyes. The ivory sky set still like a lake, and the smoky clouds bloomed as drops of ink. The gradient appeared familiar despite the color. A true sky with no ceiling. Cool winds chilled her bare body, where only the grass taunted reprieve in the barren plains. The tickle of the blades upon her cheek felt too… irritating to be anything but real.

With that out of the way, she noted the vertical empire up above. Of a murky bronze, metal spires meshed together was well as mismatched teeth yet still remained void of anything but straight, parallel shapes. Her initial nest laid under a small opening in the maw that led to clear skies.

The pony tossed in the grass to take in the quiet plains surrounding her. Miles and miles away stood a massive spire, the only one she could even see. Chances were good that it supported the iron jungle overhead.

The winds made the whole structure sway. Rainbow clenched her teeth, but her gut knew it was in no danger of collapse. In fact, the sound of windchimes flooded the air. Not so silent after all. Windchimes, just like home. No, her first home. Her soul called it home, yet her heart didn’t.

Her wings flared all of a sudden.

“C-can I fly again too?” she whispered. The words fluttered like a ragged breath. She flapped her wings experimentally. Magic flooded her wings, bringing the pins and needles upon the river. Rainbow hissed between her teeth, doubled over with her head to the ground. With intensity, she dug her forehead into the grainy dirt and clenched her temples between her hooves. Rigid wings twitched erratically behind her, as if she surrendered it to a careless doctor who pricked it over and over, never quite hitting the vein.

At last, her wings reclaimed their old warmth. Warmth? Her eyes fluttered. Yet another feeling she took for granted. She sat up and brushed her bangs and forehead clean.

The thrum up above caught her attention again. Nothing left to deliberate. She broke into a gallop for a dozen yards, then kicked off the ground. The last webs of worry untangled from her mane as the air washed through it. The gallop would have been unnecessary!

Rainbow Dash whooped. Looping into roll into dive and into a glide, she flew free. The pegasus kept her distance from the network above at first, content to just stretch her wings. Curiosity nudged her thoughts to the bizarre world around her with time.

Her wings flapped more steadily. The adrenaline faded and her excitement dulled. Her plans for a quadruple aileron held as much excitement as the last bite of a saccharine humdinger of a cupcake.

She gazed all around. Bone skies, a cold sun shining the dry air. Discolored grass opposing a massive colossus of metal. Whoever constructed it made sure the sun wouldn't be blocked enough to bring gloom to the world below.

With trepidation, she at last decided to pump her wings and meet the alien thing. Alien invader by her luck. Invading what, though?

She coasted along one horizontal column. Several others branched from and intersected it at large intervals, taking minutes to find the beat they created with their precise spacing. Engravings left a haze upon the bronze surfaces of the spire. Rainbow whizzed by them without observing them closely.

It took four intervals for the large dishes to become apparent. Like the limb of an octopus, bowls of metal dotted the spires, each funneling into black openings. What lay inside? After a dozen intervals, the need to know overcame her.

The pegasus approached one such opening. Slowly hovering, she inched closer…

“That's quite a dangerous place to stick one's face,” I said. I had crept behind the lass once she set her mind to following the spire.

She yelped in surprise. She dove under the spire and appeared up above it in the blink of an eye. Her intense scowl met me.

Those ruby eyes struck me right away. I had not met her face to face until then, and seeing her eyes in person shed much light on her character. I searched the creases in her brow, the spaces between her bared teeth, her powerful chest, and yet…

I could not find the why. Why her heart desired to wake up in such a place.

“What the f— heck are you?” she demanded.

I raised my brow. “Are we not so loose lipped as before?”

“Before? Heh, I sure have met a robot pony before, just like you. Was he your ‘cuz’? Did he tell you all about me?” She gave a fake grin, which tumbled back into the scowl. “No, I haven't. Tell me where the heck I am.”

Rainbow drifted away from me. The cogs that comprised my form's hooves turned at a lazy pace, shifting to exactly match her as she floated along. Her hawk eyes watched my hooves, widening when her gut told her how precise my motions were.

I find that little prank endlessly amusing, so forgive me.

Ever more she eyed me up. My jagged ‘wings’ flexed a bit when her attention turned to them. An arsenal of talons tipped the appendages, a charming sextet. My horn shined next in a lovely display for my guest. She cocked her head when she noticed the silk over my eyes.

That led her attention to my golden skin. Glistening and pure, thanks to the care I  had given it. While the rest of my body boasted the trappings bequeathed to me, my jaw remained exposed. A wide smile graced this face of mine. The smile of any other pony to the surprise of some guests. To the pleasure of most.

I broke into a grin when she relaxed.

“Who are you?” she reiterated. She glanced back down to the bouquet of legs below me. “Did someone trap you here? Can you tell me where here is?”

“An excellent question, Miss Dash,” I replied. Her mouth twitched at the sound of my smooth, meek voice. “And to answer the first, we did meet prior to now, though not in a capacity where I could have heard your preferred vocabulary. I do give thanks to your effort of politeness despite these circumstances.”

She rubbed the back of her head. It's worthy to note how sincerity equinizes a creature. I only wish all equines could rightly claim that they possessed it.

“Heh, thanks. I guess. It took at least two purse beatings before I learned my lesson. Or in AJ’s case, an apple assault.” Rainbow studied the ground below. “It's weird. I wanted to be angry at you, but… I remembered that. I remember AJ telling me not to curse in front of children. And strangers.”

I knew whom she spoke of, obviously. I offered a knowing nod. “Your feelings are normal. I make every effort to make my guests comfortable with a warm welcome.”

A gasp. Between me and her repaired leg did her eyes dart. My horn, to be specific. Then my wings. “A-are you an alicorn? Why haven't I heard of you?”

I ‘tsked’. “So many questions, Miss Dash. I enjoy your company more without them, frankly.” A show of sagging. My wings drooped against my sides. “The more I answer, the sooner you will leave me. It's been a lonely millennia.”

Rainbow waved her forehooves. “H-hey, don't be like that. I wouldn't ditch the guy who saved my life after I got kidnapped by some bodysnatching creep.” She swooped under me with the same motion as before, this time taking a place by my side. Her foreleg snaked around my shoulders with more than a bit of hesitation. “‘Aight. Alright. Um…” She trailed off whilst scrunching her nose.

“I won't ask you to stay here forever, if that's what you're worried about,” I piped up.

“Whoa.” She waved a hoof in my face. “Are you the alicorn of mind reading?”

For my sake, I chuckled. “It's not as severe as you think it is. I promise! It's only the noise in your head I hear, nothing more. I promise it's only intent is lending me the ability to provide the best possible—”

“Slow down, buddy!”

...was I actually nervous about this? I blinked. For my own sake.

“Of course. Apologies.”

“I'm not scared of some stupid mindreading,” she elaborated. “I read some Daring Do about this. You said, what, a millenia?”

Her tight lips wavered not as she watched me. I nodded slowly. “Indeed.”

“This isn't the dark ages anymore.” Her face darkened anyways. “Daring talked to this corrupt sultan who liked to, like, brainwash ponies into being his servants. He said that’s how they used to do it hundreds of years ago, and Daring said what I said.”

We had approached one of the many intervals in this lieu. It dawned on me how slow we’d be moving along, and that we had been at all. I paused my hooves, which seemed to note immediately. The pegasus fluttered down next to me and stood on the spire with impeccable balance. I cocked my head just as the breeze picked up. Rainbow must have noticed the silk upon my eyes lift just a tad, and leaned in closer. To no avail, obviously.

“I see. That does lead me to wonder why you’re so… relaxed at the moment,” I said. “Surely anyone would assume that this strange creature lead to their abduction into a strange land.”

Her wings fluttered with annoyance. “Look, I’ll be honest. I don’t trust you that much. And I sure as heck don’t know where we are or how Moondancer is involved. We must be thousands of miles away from Equestria!” Her shout echoed momentarily. Those eyes dug into the silk covering mine. When that echo died her head drooped. “And… and I don’t even know if I’m dreaming or not. Maybe I read too many books. Being bedridden for weeks, dude. It messes with your head big time, ‘specially if you’re like me.”

Was that doubt? I frowned. Even if I could hear her thoughts, I had not been able to reach such a conclusion until she admitted it here. She must have mislead me already. Ever since I first laid ear on her, she must have had more to her. I hummed, for her sake. Silence must have disquieted her strongly.

“My sister is the one who summoned you,” I said. “I am merely the gatekeeper. She commanded you be brought here. The little mirror you looked into was just one of her eyes, and she saw something in you.” A long sigh escaped me. “My only concern is your comfort, Miss Dash. All I can do is to make your stay as pleasant as possible.”

The pegasus entered deep thought. I bit absurd to imagine, yes, but she did. It didn’t take long for her to gasp from the realization. “M-mirror,” she whispered. “On that book. The one that… t-that turned Moondancer into that.” She shot her head up to me. “Your sister. She did something to her!”

I nodded most grave. “She took control of your friend on my watch, I'm deeply sorry to say. I cannot act against her will, for—”

A hoof stomp sent waves of an unpleasant ring through my legs. She snarled at me. “Look here. You tell me where your sister is, and I'll make sure she gets what's coming to her.”

For… somebody's sake, my jaw dropped. This sudden shift shouldn't have been possible. “I cannot say. Not one being in the Fair Kingdom can match her power. All are subject to her will equally, even her fellow avatars like myself.” I waved my hoof along the surrounding spires. “She could destroy every inch of my body with ease.”

A mere snort in response. “I'm gonna go on a limb and say your sister also took the pony Moondancer was worried about.”

I opened and closed my mouth. I must admit that I wanted to wow her with that little hint. The more I thought on it, the better an idea it felt like to let her think of me as a pony.

Back to business. “Indeed. I did happen across the miss. However, my little brother spirited her away before my sister arrived. She must have been one of his. There was a breach a couple of months ago, and my brother would be the only one who'd desire to leave.”

Intently did she listen. Her eyes narrowed a tad when I mentioned more of the family, but she held her tongue until I was done. “Alicorn siblings, huh? Sounds like a mess I don't wanna get into, but...” she muttered. A quick sigh. “Not like this is the first time I got tied up in family drama. I'm guessing I need to rough up your sister a little so I can get out. And I also gotta find your brother and check up on the mystery mare of Moondancer’s.”

I offered a weak smile. “I'm afraid Genie pulled you into a nasty spat here. The Fair Kingdom is as old as your Equestria, so it shouldn't be too different a predicament than you've faced before.”

Some sputtering followed before she remembered who she was talking to.

I prolonged the lull. One by one, the openings on my spires hissed with life. I noted the setting sun a dozen minutes before, so I was ready. It was strange how the motions of the sun affected a pony's mood. The light of a candle could not even compare, yet ponies used such a thing as one little hope in the night. Perhaps the control a pony had over such a small flame offered comfort. With their hoof, it could be snuffed. The sun would forever be out of reach.

The one oddity of my existence, then, was the cutie mark I bore since birth.

Lights sprung to life all over my body. Shadows danced this way and that, became more and more faint until my light solely remained. Gentle, pale and orange did my flames burn, but…

I observed the pegasus who gaped in wonder. She lifted off her hooves and danced the air, drinking it all in. Her magnificent mane flapped in the breeze. The mane I grew to adore. Inspiration struck! How anxious I was! The nearest flame to Rainbow Dash sputtered temporarily, then returned in full force, blazing green. She hovered a little closer to it and oohed in awe.

She looked to the artist — that’s me — and I gave her a painfully wide grin. Another once over all around, then she returned another look with cocked brow.

Same pale white as always. My cheeks flushed. ‘Should I do more?’ my parted lips asked.

Rainbow nodded eagerly. Oh goodness… I shook my head to clear it. How liberating! She wanted me to do better! Did anyone ever give me permission to do such a thing until now?

One flame after another sprung colorful leaks. The wash of chromatic light fanned out from that single green flame and flooded the ground below. Miles and miles of ground, to the far reaches of my being. It hardly took a thought to will all the colors into being, despite my nerves.

I didn’t know I had it in me.

The sun had set at last. The brilliance of my candles came out entirely against the dark skies above. Stare and stare.

I… I couldn’t. But mother said I had to. I would never. She looked so thrilled. She whooped and cheered for me. Her little twirls around me, the bright colors reflected in her eye, her little tics. So real. And I would be alone, like always.

Bubbles invaded the air. My eyes screwed shut, yet they wouldn’t go away. Things became blurry then. The light blooms, the bubbles, they hung all around. Earth shifted below me. Hooves whirred. One of them drew near. No, I drew near to it. A candle per guest. The rules.

My march ended when I could just barely reach out and hug the little bubble. I peered to see what lay within. The frustrating reflection dominated the surface though. The grass below, my spires in the air, and this face. This soft, disarming face.

I hated it. Soon, she'd see past my presence. Hope into repulsion. Kindness into animal rage. A wolf speared in the ribs, not a gentle and real pony.

I wanted to cast her away. I barely overcame the temptation to do it while I was repairing her. My dishonesty was too thick already. Everything was wr—

“Hey!”

My head tilted, smooth and relaxed. I wept in the back of my throat. “Apologies,” I muttered. A little smile. For my sake.

A frown betrayed her disbelief. “You spaced out super hard. What gives?”

Despite myself… nay. I shrunk wholly because of myself. How mother raised me. Excuses were spare. “I just haven't been able to cut loose with my candles in so long, Rainbow.” I eyed her flank. Rather fetching, her mark. “It’s what my cutie mark tells me to do, but I cannot act without reason. You were the reason for all of this,” I said, bowing my head a little.

A pleasant, smoky scent filled the air. Burning lumber. Rainbow's favorite. It mattered not to the mare. She swooped to my side and observed my hip. Flank? I'm not clear on the term. My late brother would know.

A simple candelabra adorned me, three strong. The object was in a tilt which let the flames look akin to paintbrushes. The pegasus tapped her chin whilst making her judgements. I stayed my ears. I wanted to converse as a real pony with her for these last moments.

“Without reason? The hay does that mean?” she piped up. “If one pony tells another to not use their special talent, then they're the one being unreasonable.”

“My mother.” My wings twitched. “To perform as the gatekeeper of the Fair Kingdom, I cannot be selfish. I must be forced to put others ahead of me, so I may provide the best example to our subjects when they awaken in my domain.

“You are special to me, Rainbow. I tell you all of this because I do not feel right keeping you in the dark. My sister abducted you on my watch. In the interest of our mother, to do justice to her will, I must put aside compliance to my elder and offer you these truths.”

I opened my eyes once more. The pony stared me down. Did I confuse her? Or, even worse, did she understand?

The corner of her mouth twitched. “There’s something else, isn’t there? You want something from me.” My breath hitched. She shook  her head at me. “No, that’s not it. You were told to do something with me, weren’t you? And you don’t wanna, but you will because you’re scared.”

I dared to listen. I felt a foal peeking into a shouting match between adults. She… my presence was fading. But why? I haven’t said anything wrong! Am I acting strange? Can she tell how I’m feeling?

Rainbow snorted. I cursed myself, to not even have the guts to lie to her effectively.

“Okay, freaky guy, just spill it. I can take it. You’re lucky it’s me, Rainbow Dash, you’re backstabbing here.”

“I-I’m not—”

She stomped. It hurt.

“I know you’re not! I can smell it, though. You’ve been dancing around it. What did your sister tell you to do?” She snickered in the most plastic fashion. “Think of it as getting it off your chest.”

I lifted my wing, causing her to inch back. Her eyes darted about my. She saw me for what I am. The wing touched at my blindfold idly. “I already disobeyed sister once. No, it's not her I'm afraid of crossing.”

I could remember it clear as day. The color of mother's aura. A deep, deep purple. The world all around shifted to match. Rainbow grunted as she looked around, then took to the skies. She dipped below me, away from my candles.

“Are we gonna do it this way?!” she barked.

I simply wished to die. To forget all this and go back to being a good son. A good puppet, unfeeling.

Her caution remained firm, but she noticed, like she would always.

“Tell me your name! If you want any chance of growing a backbone, then tell me!”

My name?

“It's just you and me up here.”

Little brother… he gave us real names. He didn't want to be just a-another…

My name is Tal.

“And it's my duty to make sure no one leaves here. Leaves the Kingdom. Leaves me.”

For the first time, I saw her run away.

My legs shattered their bindings. The array of monstrous limbs upon my back lashed out after her, the impossibly fast pegasus. Caught in my web.

Dizzying turns into frightening dives. She weaved around my candles and spires, wasting all that time yet still keeping out of reach. I crashed through all the obstructions as if they didn't exist. With that metal, I grew and grew.

She turned frantic. I reached out for her beautiful tail with my fiendish claws. Unraveled cogs sharpened to a fine point, they shrieked against each other with a shower of sparks each swipe I made.

She made picture perfect turns at first. However, they became sloppy. Wide and unprepared. Her route became more predictable.

I curse that frailty of a mortal. I could not be a better flyer than her, but she'd eventually lose all her strength. Her focus. At last, her wing clipped a spire. The pegasus tumbled downwards. My chance. My wings pumped with newly granted strength—

My head. It twisted backwards.

The sky suddenly filled my view. Now I sunk helplessly. My wings flapped, useless, behind me. Up above, the snarling mare watched me like a hawk. A trickle of blood ran down her hind hoof, her cracked hoof. The tightness in my shoulders… did she dislocate my wings? My wings? How?

How?

Her face paled as I watched her. My blindfold was gone. I grinned wildly at the mare.

“Perfect! Sublime!” I screeched to her. I screeched and screeched. The little pony cowered from me. Understandable. My subjects are nothing before me.

My spires unraveled like yarn, pulled from every direction around Rainbow. Quicker than the flick of a hoof, they speared through my body to stop my descent. My tendrils pulled me closer to my lovely pegasus, peeling away as the next set took told of me. I leered down at the pony with my crooked head, my wild eyes. She met my eyes that one last time, damp eyes.

My spires coiled around her.

Nowhere left to go.

Once more, I reach out to her. She pulled away from my claws until the wall met her back. Pleas died on her lips. A hair’s width away did my reach cease. Right over her heart.

“Tal.”

My shoulders raised as I gasped for a breath.

“Stop.”

Claws trembled.

“You're better than this.”

Up above, upon her pedestal, she dug her blade in. The kneeling pony gasped. Coughed. Pathetic sputtering. A choking foal.

She made it look so easy. Like she was caressing his chest. Her hoof traced upwards in a flush of blood. The poor thing couldn't help but grasp her arm for support. Comfort? Likely.

Sister smiled to him. Like a ball thrown, she casted the agonized thing off her blade. Something snagged the blade halfway. The wet crunch harmonized with his cries of pain.

I blinked for the first time in my life. I wasn't sure how long a blink was to last. I heard Sister clicked her tongue, as if to chide her foal. The stallion wildly pulled and kicked at her arm, but the snag refused to budge.

Her eyes rolled, fixing upon me. Her smile grew. I watched her lips as she told me…

Schlick.

Just like that.

I felt her beating heart. The unbreakable heart I had come to admire.

The pegasus paled in the face. Sweat drenched her. I cocked my head. Gave it a pull.

She wheezed, gagged and swallowed whatever it was back down.

A light squeeze. Her head seemed to want to roll back. Her eyes fluttered, unfocused. As soon as I let go, she came back to her senses. Well, as much as she held onto.

I slipped my thumb down to press her bone. It gave way readily. Her hind legs kicked lazily a moment after the snap.

“It always gets easier.”

She hacked up blood.

I pretended to see her from twenty minutes ago.

“But I'm better than her.”

I had bit into a crisp apple once. I would liken that experience to ripping a pony's heart out.

I caught her with one hand, and held the precious thing in another. My spires unknit and drifted away from us as I descended back to the earth.

Her little hammock. Just like she dreamt. I gently set her back into it. Brushed her bangs aside. She looked so peaceful. I held her heart up next to her face with my bloody claws. All mine.

It twitched. Just strong enough — it slipped out of my grasp. One inch due to my surprise. I caught it before it fell further.

The disgustingly still air flowed once more. The lifeless pony swayed in the hammock. Scraps of my monstrous form peeled away and clattered to the ground. My mahogany magic scooped the heart up.

For a little moment, two ponies enjoyed the summer's night air.

I picked up a scrap with my mouth. Gently, I slid it into her wound. The metal melted to her warmth and filled the gaping hole. With a twist, my magic solidified it, leaving a bronze plate etched with a swirl on her chest.

With no more to do — to say — I took to the air.