Salvation's Twilight

Twilight stood there, gazing at the frozen Alice with her face scrunched up in confusion. "Um, Alice? What are you doing?"

Alice could only manage to stumble out a reply of, “I, uh, that’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen!"

The way that Alice said that didn't sit right with Twi and she moved closer to gently place a hoof on Alice's shoulder, giving a warm smile. "It's just a simple levitation spell. It’s the first thing that unicorn foals learn."

Alice stared at the mare for longer than Twilight would have liked, several thoughts running through her head. "Simple?" she finally asked, her voice quivering. "I can't even move a pebble and you're doing that like it's nothing."

Twilight squeezed the woman's shoulder and shook her own head. "I've been learning all my life, plus I'm an alicorn," she explained, letting go of Alice. Twilight could spot someone she could help, and Alice needed help now. "I'll give you a deal," she said, placing a hoof in Alice's open hand, "I'll help you if you help me."

"You'll help me?" she asked, confused. "With magic?" she followed up, not believing it. "I'm not sure how. I'm useless."

Twilight shook her head. "I don't believe that. After all, you got me out of that crystal!" The mare smiled. "Thank you, by the way," she said, leaning in and giving a quick nuzzle to Alice's cheek.

"What was that?" Alice asked, looking at Twilight like she had grown two heads, which could be possible for all she knew.

"Oh, right. Um, what do minotaur do," the mare muttered, thinking. "Oh yeah, they hug. You could say it's like a hug, but for ponies. Sometimes it's just easier than hugging, especially when carrying things," she explained, nodding to herself.

"Oh, right," Alice said, nodding a little. 'It did feel kind of nice,' she thought to herself. "I assume you want to go home. I don't know how I would even make that happen. If we don't know the gate that the orb you were deposited out of came from, then we can't get you back."

"Gate?" Twi asked, raising a brow, ignoring the part about not being able to get back.

"Uh, so there's lots of different portals scattered around the planet which lead to various worlds. Some fade in and out, others are constant. Most remain for years before they even start to fade. That's where we get most of our tech and scrap from," Alice explained. "Each gate is usually one way though, but we'll find a way."

Twilight had never heard of such a thing, but she had never been on any other planet before either. "When you said the gate that the orb came out of, I assume you have a way of tracking it?"

"Well yeah, with," Alice grunted, reaching over to her clothes that were laid next to the fireplace and pulled over the scanner. "This. It lets me scan items and find out what gate it come out of as well as their material composition, among other things."

Twilight stared at the scanner with thinly veiled excitement. A chance to learn about another world's technology! "Can you show me?!" she asked, eyes wide and almost sparkling.

Alice couldn't help by chuckle. "Alright. I can use it on, uh, my clothes." Alice pulled over her pants and used the scanner, letting it beep and buzz. With a 'ping', then screen showed 'prime' as the gate. "See, when it says prime, it means this world. Anything else and it'll be the gate designation. Which is usually a letter plus a number or two."

"That's so cool!" Twi exclaimed, grinning. She had now moved up to and against Alice, simply watching her use the device.

It was barely less than ten minutes later and when Alice was done explaining the device and all it does, they heard the hustle and bustle from outside pick up as the market patrons crowded in.

"Oh damn," Alice muttered, rising, much to Twilight's annoyance, and began to slide her clothes on. Buttoning up her shirt, Alice peeked outside to see the streets bustling despite it still being early.

Turning back to the mare, she moved in front of her and knelt down. "Look if you help me with my magic problem, I'll do everything in my power to get you home, okay?"

Twilight's smile widened as she heard what was coming out of Alice's mouth and she nodded quickly. "Of course, I'll help you!" she replied, jumping up and giving a tight hug to Alice's neck!

Alice froze for a second until she realised that Twilight wasn't trying to kill her and slowly wrapped her arms around Twilight's barrel. "I'm glad to hear it." Alice pulled away, causing Twilight to momentarily pout, and stood up. "If you didn't know what I was, then I doubt you'll know half of what's out there. The city is a dangerous place, even for those who live here. Follow my lead and do as I do, not as I say. Got it?"

The Alicorn listened and nodded at the end. "Of course!" she replied, giving a salute.

Alice didn't know if she was taking it seriously or not but decided to go for it. "We'll find something to eat and then some information. The enforcers raided my place, no doubt looking for the magic that you released when you shattered. They'll have the orb you were in, so we'll want that back. We have to find out where they went, and I know just the person to ask."

Twilight followed along as best she could, assuming that Enforcers were the guards in the city.

"I doubt they'll know we're here, considering the night has passed. So, I can safely say they can't track magic as they're not breaking the door down right now. I didn't keep anything could let them track me. I think we're in the clear." Alice moved to the door and opened it slightly, letting the noise from outside reach Twilight's ears.

"Is it always this loud?!" she asked, her ears flicking down.

"You'll get used to it," Alice replied, giving an apologetic look as she opened the door wider. "We'll find somewhere quiet to eat, okay?"

The pair made their way out and down the street, towards the promise of food. Alice, on the one hand was feeling quite excited about the situation now. Sure, she had lost her home, but having someone who not only wielded the power of the divine, but could teach her, more than made up for that.

Twilight kept close to Alice, practically brushing up against her hips as they wandered through the back alleys. Compared to some of the denizens that Twilight was seeing, Alice seemed like the best person she could have ended up with.

With each new sound that she heard, her ears flicked down as the fur on the back of her neck rose. She felt on edge but couldn’t help herself as she stared at a thick and heavy set Reltoid laid back upon a mountain of fluffy pillows. The thing was suckling at long glass pipe, which was connected to a bubbling, frothing cauldron.

With a quick and sharp garbled grunt, the Reltoid waved one of its hands at the mare, causing her to scamper back in line with Alice, her head down low now in case of any more problems.

“Alice, how much longer?” Twi asked, looking up at her guide.

“Not long now, Twilight,” Alice replied, moving around some passer-by and moving into what looked to be a dingy little hole in the wall. “Here we are,” she mumbled, moving inside and keeping the door open for the mare to follow her through.

Alice looked around for the counter, finding the place to be relatively empty compared to the outside and started to make her way towards it.

The inside of the diner was dimly lit, with only the glass door providing illumination from the outside. From above, a few lights hung, giving life to the otherwise drab room. The counter was on the far side, where several people were queued to wait for their food. Chairs and tables littered the place haphazardly, adding a maze-like quality which only the most chaotic would appreciate. The pair, however, did not.

Squeezing her way around the patrons already dining, Alice and Twilight eventually reached the counter and stood in line. It took a second, but Twilight noticed a few people making glancing in her direction and shuffled against Alice.

“Why are they looking at me?” she asked, staring up at the woman.

Looking around, Alice rolled her eyes and started to explain as the line moved forward. “They’ve not seen a quadruped before.”

Twilight seemed satisfied with that and tried her best to ignore them as she waited in line with Alice. Finally, the pair reached the service desk and Alice pulled out the bag of coins. The server was a rather perky, young female Dalma which couldn’t help but smile. Dalma’s were roughly the size of an average human, but with polka-dot, leathery skin, used to inject venom from microscopic needles which they can retract. They have several tentacles slicked back from the top of their head, which flick to-and-fro.

“Hi there, what can I get you?” She asked, looking between Alice and Twilight. “Aw, your pet looks so cute!” the girl continued, causing Alice to look down to Twilight with a chuckle.

“She’s,” Alice said, letting out another little laugh. “She’s not a pet.”

“Oh-”

“No, I’m not,” Twi interjected, cutting the Dalma off as she huffed and shook her head.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t know,” the server said, giving Twilight an apologetic look. “I shouldn’t have assumed, please forgive me!” The server bowed her head.

“Hey, it’s okay, mistakes happen,” Alice said, waving her up.

“Yeah, no harm done, really!” Twi added, noticing that a few more of the patrons had noticed what had happened, but slowly went back to eating their food. “Can we order some food though?” she asked, hearing her stomach grumble.

“Oh, right, of course,” the server replied. “What would you like?”

Alice ordered for herself and then stopped, unsure. “Twilight, what do you eat?” she asked, looking down at the mare as she began to place a few coins on the counter.

Twilight, happy to explain something, finally, smiled and stated, “Us ponies can eat anything from vegetables to hay. We have a predominantly non-meat diet, but Alicorns can digest a small amount, if needed.” With that, she nodded quite matter-of-factly, then returned the look.

“Right,” Alice mumbled, then turned back to the server, “She can have a salad.”

The pair sat down in a corner booth and waited for their food, with Twilight moving around so she could face the room, her wings ruffling a little out of agitation.

“You okay?” Alice asked, raising a brow. “There’s no weapons allowed down here.”

The mare glanced to Alice, then back to the room for a second, then down to the table. “I’ll be fine. I’m just,” she took a second and sighed, “I feel as if this is a dream still. That I’ll blink and it’ll all be over, and I’ll wake up in my bed.”

Alice nodded as she listened, then leaned on the table. “You and me both,” she said, brushing her fingers through her hair. “But, if we’re to get through this, you have to trust me. It’s not always safe in the city, okay?”

Twi looked as if she was about to say something but closed her mouth instead, nodding. “Okay.”

“Great. Now that we have some time to waste, I guess you could tell me about yourself; Do you remember how you came to be, all, you know, crystally?” the Human asked, a hint of concern still evident. “If it’s not too painful, of course.”

Twilight smiled at that, feeling that the human cared. “I remember most of the day, but I,” she began to recount, unable to stop a slightly painful giggle, “I had a party near the end. Pinkie Pie just couldn’t help herself and set up a surprise birthday party for my twenty first.” Twi shook her head and grinned. “Applejack brought some of her alcohol and I may have, maybe had a little too much to drink.”

Alice simply sat there, listening to the mare with the barest hint of a smile on the edges of her lips. ‘I assume they’re her friends,’ she thought, leaning back once their food had arrived.

“I was stumbling back to my room and there was a silver orb floating in my lab. I just couldn’t help myself,” Twi continued, eyes dropping down to her salad. “I do some stupid stuff when I’m drunk, but this really takes the cake,” she groaned, giving a half-hearted laugh.

Alice scooted over and placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. Though she didn’t know what to say, she wanted to do something to try and reassure her new companion.

Twilight tensed up at the contact, but quickly relaxed. Looking over at the woman, she leaned up and nuzzled under her chin, making sure her horn didn’t cut the Human. “Thank you, Alice,” she whispered.

“Don’t mention it. I’ve seen a lot of displaced people not survive in the City. I’d hate myself if I didn’t help, even if it is to help myself.”

The mare stopped for a second and sat back in the booth, using a hoof to hold the fork to begin eating. She knew that it was a basic agreement between them, and Alice was only doing it to get some training. ‘She’s nice though,’ Twi thought, munching on her food. A peaceful silence sat between them as they ate, until Twi placed her fork down and turned to Alice. “What about you? Surely saving mare’s in distress isn’t the only thing you do?” Twi joked, the corners of her lips curling up.

“Me? Oh, not much really,” Alice replied, waving her hand nonchalantly as she stopped eating, pushing her place away. “I was born here in the Burroughs, then started working in the factory when I turned six. Don’t really know anything else. Once I changed,” she said, taking a glance around, “I found that I could charge the tech that people found. Most of it was junk, but sometimes something useful was found and I’d be able to eat that evening."

Twilight was shocked. Silently, she leaned up and wrapped her legs around Alice and hugged her, extending her fluffy wings out to wrap around her as well.

Alice, on the other hand, didn't know what to make of this. Sure, it was nice, but it was a regular thing here and nothing to make a big deal out of. Still, the hug was a welcome change and she found herself sliding her arms around the mare, returning the gesture. "Thanks, Twilight," she whispered, closing her eyes and noticing the mare smelled lightly of lavender.

Pulling away, Twilight smiled and sat back down. She brushed her mane back and finished off the rest of her salad quickly. "Thank you for the food, Alice. Where are we going after this?"

“Well, we’ll have to go and see one of the members of the people that run this place. They are tasked with keeping track of the Enforcers. I’m sure they’re having a field day with what happened.”

"Is the cut from the raid?" Twi asked, bringing her hoof up and gesturing to the cut above Alice’s brow.

Leaning back a little from the hoof, Alice let out a chuckle. “Nah, it's from when I helped to break the crystal, a beam of light shot through my roof after the crystal shattered, hitting me. Thankfully I got us away before the soldiers found us though.” She slid out of the booth and waved her hand. “Come on, we best make our way over there quickly. I’m expecting this to be a strange day.”

Twi slid out of the booth as well and nodded as she followed Alice out of the diner. “Of course. Lead the way.” Twilight could feel her remorse bubble up from below. She had hurt her new friend even before she had known her. ‘I’m a horrible pony,’ Twi thought, looking at the human. ‘I’ll try my best to make sure this is as easy as possible for her. Nopony deserves this to happen to them.’

After this, Alice guided Twilight across the street and through a heavy steel gate. Holding the gate open for Twi, she smiled down at the pony, then continued on. The majority of the city was practically a maze, and this was no exception. Every so often, the pair would come across a home, or business that was built into the foundations of the third level. As usual, there was plenty of trash strewn about, as well as refuse from various trash-shoots from the higher level.

Twilight yelped as one of the shoots let out a bag of rotten fish-heads, which split open upon contact with the wall. Retching, she quickened her pace as she looked a little green around the gills.

“You’ll get used to it, trust me,” Alice said, looking down and giving the pony’s head a little pat. The human, despite only knowing her for the morning, was beginning to like the pony. Not only did she seem smart, but the girl was definitely cute. “We can try to find some,” she tried to find the word, “Less trashy places to wander through.”

The mare nodded, groaning and sticking a tongue out. “Yes please.”

Despite the detour through some less used alleys, the pair still seemed to make reasonable time. Although the sky was hidden most of the time, the lights which hung overhead dimmed and brightened in time with the sky, letting Alice know that it was roughly past noon.

Opening another gate, they moved past and were greeted with a large and busy nightclub. The outside was covered in neon signs of various languages, many of which promised fun. ‘Yeah, real fun here,’ Alice said under her breath. She took a knee and turned to Twilight. “I want you to let me do all the talking in here. They know me, and I can still pull a few favours if I need to. But, I’ll be completely honest, there’s gangsters in there and not the good kind.”

The mare grew nervous now. “Are you sure we have to talk to him? Can’t we get the information anywhere else that isn’t so,” Twi stopped and simply waved at the whole thing.

“Unfortunately, he’s the only one with the tech that can listen in and access the Enforcer’s database. We’ll be able to find where they’ve taken that orb you dropped out of and hopefully find you a way back.”

Biting her lower lip, Twi finally relented and nodded. “If you think it’s the only way, then I cannot stop you. But, let me help at least. Surely they would listen to reason?” She asked, letting her horn start to glow that soft lavender. “And if not, then this will help you.”

Instantly, Alice felt a warm pulse make its way over her body and a translucent, luminous shimmer follow it. She could feel a light pressure over her entire body but didn’t feel any resistance to movement. “What did you do?” she asked, astonishment on her face. She didn’t know if she should be regarding Twilight as a divine yet, but she had her suspicions.

That magic left Twilight panting rather heavily, and she placed a hoof against her temple. “That, that was harder than I expected,” she groaned, shaking her head to stay awake.

Alice took a hold of the mare’s back to hold her steady. “Are you okay?”

Waving a hoof, Twi nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. This world doesn’t have much ambient magic, so I’ve had to use my own. I’ll take a bit to recharge. Don’t worry too much. Thank you, though.”

Alice didn’t know enough about magic to know if she was telling the truth but nodded and backed off. “What did you do though?”

“I cast a protective layer on you. If we’re meeting with gangsters, I’ve found that it’s always best to be prepared, even if it might now always be needed,” she explained, smiling up at her as she pulled back her hoof and kicked Alice’s shin. As soon as Twilight’s hoof hit, Alice’s leg shimmered, instantly stopping the hoof. “See. You’re prepared now.”

“What about you? They’ll probably have guns, you know that, right?” Alice asked, staring at the nightclub, hearing music from within. She knew there wouldn’t be any patrons inside, but that just meant they would be an easier target.

“What are guns?” Twi asked, curious, but hesitant. “As an Alicorn, my body is naturally resistant to most physical attacks,” She went to explain. “I was knocked through a mountain and barely felt anything, though, I was hopped up on other princess’s magic. Still, I’m sure I can withstand anything these gangsters can wield.”

Alice blinked, unable to process what that would even look like, but sighed when she realised she wouldn’t win. “Fine, but you stay behind me. I won’t have you hurt, even if you are strong.”

‘Didn’t she hear a thing I just said?!’ Twi internally grumbled. “Sure. You know best here.”

Nodding, Alice rose up and took a breath to calm herself and made her way towards the nightclub’s doors.