Alone in the Dark

A dull, thumping pain in your head woke you up. You were still splayed out on the floor. Judging from how high the sun was in the sky, you hadn't slept for long. With a curse and a groan, you pushed yourself off the floor and limped over to the table. The platter and the jug were still on it, so you upended the jug over your head and waited for the last drops of water to fall into your mouth. It left you disappointed, and for a moment you considered chucking the thing out of the window but figured the satisfaction it'd bring wouldn't be worth whatever they'd make you do in return. All in all, you weren't quite sure how you felt about your situation. On one hand, both of the alicorns seemed to care about you on some level, enough to keep you fed and to not hurt you too much. On the other, they both were prone to sudden outbursts of rage. And you definitely deserved to be the target of those outbursts. You did not deserve forgiveness. Despite how a part of your mind kept repeating that it hadn't been your fault. It was true that you had ordered neither the invasion nor the barrage. But it was also true that you hadn't done anything to stop either, even if you could have.

You were lying on the bed, lost in thought, when another sudden tremor shocked you back to the present. For a second you were afraid that the tower you were in would crumble, but rushed to the window nevertheless. What you saw was certainly not what you were expecting. At the very edge of the city, where a wall stood, there was now a row of humongous, translucent green hexagons that looked like the were made of glass, distorting everything behind them. The row went all the way around, as far as you could see at least. Then, as you watched, the row flashed white and another row appeared on top of it. Then another on top of that, and another, and another... Each was inclined towards the center slightly more than the last, and additional rows kept appearing until they formed a hemisphere over the entire city. You stood there dumbfounded, trying and failing to think of an explanation, until you heard the lock click.

The white alicorn looked different this time. There were shadows under her eyes, her head wasn't held quite as high, her hooves moved a touch more sluggishly than usual and the corners of her mouth were drooping. And there was a golden, jeweled crown on her head, accompanied by a chest piece which was also made of gold and had a massive gem set in the middle of it.

“Sit.”

A golden glow surrounded the chair as it scraped itself across the floor until it was right behind you. You glanced at her, and noticed she'd squeezed her eyes shut, before sitting down.

“I was hoping you would show me that your kind feels no regret for what you've done.”

Her voice was far deeper than usual, melancholic and and full of barely contained emotion. You were about to turn to face her when you saw a flash on the outside of the mystical dome above the city. It was followed by a series of flashes. The sound arrived a few seconds later. Boom. Boom. Boom.

“But I have been told what keeps you up at night.”

One of the green hexagons flickered out for half a second. Flash. Flash. On some street behind a building and on a plaza. You saw the plumes of soil and cobblestone and how the windows shattered. How the aftermath looked filled your mind in vivid detail. Shards of glass and roof shingles strewn across the street, homes collapsed onto themselves, fire burning the reminders of who used to live there.

“I only wish we could have met under more...”

Ka-Boom.

“...peaceful circumstances.”

The sound of her metal-clad hooves on stone filled the gaps between the booms. You turned to face her, only to jerk in surprise as she was right next to you. Reflexively, your hands rose to your chest. You froze in terror as she came as close as she could. Her chestpiece bumped on the back of your chair as you closed your eyes. She was going to bite your nose off or skewer one of your eyes with her horn!

The only thing that happened was that something warm and soft pressed itself gently on your shoulder and neck, and then over your upper back. It surprised you. Why? Was she going to whack you across the room in a second, to torture you with uncertainty and shattered expectations? Could it be she was feeling remorseful?

You lifted a hand to be level with your head and slowly brought it closer until it met her neck. You gave it a few gentle, long strokes.

“Forgive me.”

The sound of wood scraping on stone filled the silence between the booms as some force pushed you and the chair to the side. You opened your eyes just in time to see the window swing open. The alicorn took a few steps back, then gathered as much speed as she could in the small room and leaped out of the window. You bolted to your feet and to the window. Smoke was rising from a few spots in the city, but you ignored that. Instead, you looked below. There was a white alicorn flying above the castle, and fire trailed behind her. As you watched, a dark alicorn, trailed by shadow, took off from a balcony and joined her. Fire and Shadow circled each other a few times, then shot off towards the horizon, side by side.