“It’s… it’s been denied,” says the first unicorn. Her voice is heavy with hushed disbelief.
The other unicorn simply bows his head sadly.
The pony holding the letter in her magic is quickly passing from disbelief to anger. Look closely and you can see the teeth beginning to grind, the eyes beginning to water. Like her twin, though, she is silent.
The two unicorns don’t move for a good few minutes.
Then, at precisely the same instant, they turn to each other and speak.
“You first.”
“No—”
“Dammit,” the mare growls, “Fine. We fight it. We go to her, in person, and explain. We can convince her. Maybe,—” the last word is spoken by both at the same time.
Without missing a beat, the stallion continues, “—but it’s not about just convincing her. The other rulers need to sign off on it. Princess Twilight is just the first hurdle. It’s Celestia’s laws that prohibit it in the first place,—”
“—I know,” says the mare angrily. “But how can we just give up now? How can we just go on like this? I mean, I…” she pauses. “I know you’re…”
“...tired. Yes. I am. And I know you’re adamant. But can’t you direct that energy elsewhere? We have an answer now.” A pleading tone has entered the stallion’s voice. “Just accept it. Just move on. Don’t let… our destiny poison us.”
They look into each others’ eyes, the light blue mare and the light blue stallion, there in the little cottage. Look at them closely. See their manes of striped grey and black, their deep sapphire eyes, their identical cutie marks of intertwined scrolls.
“You can’t expect me to listen to that,” the mare responds finally. “I know what you’re feeling. Deep down you’re angry, too.”
“And deep down you’re tired of this,” he shoots back. “You remember what they said. Embracing your destiny is scary sometimes but it’s what Harmony wants—”
“Fuck what Harmony wants!” The mare shouts, wheeling around to pace, glaring away from her twin. “This isn’t destiny, it’s a curse! I want my own life and so do you!”
“We’re having the same conversation over again. Getting our own lives was never on the table. This was a last-ditch compromise that I’m not even sure we wanted.”
“I want it,” she growls, “and so you do too. Stop fucking lying to my face when you know it’s more pointless than lying to yourself. No more philosophy. Our mind is made up. You just want to be defeatist about it because you think—”
“—it’ll be easier,” he says wearily. “It will. If we constantly resent each other our life will be hell. If we accept this and move on it might not. Even if it takes a while.”
The mare gazes at him from across the cottage’s little kitchen area. He hasn’t moved. For another few moments, they say nothing. Then both relent.
“Fine. We petition her in person, but if it doesn’t work we move on.”
Both ponies nod. Together they leave the cottage without another glance.
```
```
“I understand your distress,” Princess Twilight begins, after listening for a while.
The twins look at each other for a split second. She doesn’t, of course.
“...but the law is clear. This is forbidden magic. Some would consider it dark magic.”
“Hah,” says Princess Luna from beside her. Twilight shoots her a glance.
“We understand the spell,” the mare says bluntly. “We studied it as far as we could. We thought about trying to cast it ourselves, illegality be damned. We need it, Princess.”
“I don’t think you do,” Twilight insists. “Haven’t your therapy sessions been going well? Doctor Path tells me—”
“Therapy isn’t working,” the twins say together. “We’re too… individualistic,” the stallion continues. “Which is obviously unusual in ponies with our… condition. We’re convinced this is the best option.”
“Art thou truly?” Princess Luna asks. “I sense conflict in you, young one.”
The mare snorts derisively. “There’s a shock,” she says, ignoring her brother’s warning glare. “We’re one mind in two parts. Two souls intertwined. But our instincts are always at odds. We think the same things, feel the same things, but… differently. Always. Of course we’re conflicted; we’re always conflicted. But not deep down. We wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
The stallion nods along with her words, still showing some anxiety at his sister’s bluntness. Princess Luna doesn’t look hurt or reproachful, however; merely thoughtful.
Twilight sighs. “The ‘soulbind’ spell is too big an unknown. There’s no way to study it apart from casting it. And that, as you know, is illegal. It’s technically murder. Even if it weren’t forbidden magic by nature.”
“I have heard all that I must,” says Luna suddenly. “I see no reason not to allow two to become one. One mind, one soul, one body, as a pony should be.”
“It’s—”
“Nay, Twilight, dark magic it isn’t. Nor is it the magic of Chaos. I know enough of both. This is simply… rectification for a mistake of birth.”
“No,” Twilight says forcefully. “These ponies’ births were not a mistake. It’s a wonderful Harmony when two souls are so—”
The mare interrupts by loudly snorting again; the stallion just sighs. Twilight looks at them searchingly. “You’ve said yourselves you’re individualistic. How can you want this?”
They think for a moment.
“We were happy as foals.”
They stare down at the table.
“But now? We can’t be separate, or together. We can’t share our destiny. There’s too much conflict. We drive each other insane, pulling in different directions. But when we’re apart, it hurts. We can’t even live in different houses. It’s like having half a mind. Half a soul. If we were one pony, the suffering would stop. We could finally be an individual. We could be the best of both of us.”
Both ponies bring their eyes up to meet the young alicorn’s.
“We’d finally be free.”
There’s silence in the room.
Luna looks to Twilight.
Twilight takes a breath before she speaks.
