Author's Note
Translated by online translator and edited by me a little, so If you wanna help me to fix some mistakes — you're welcome.
Same old
It was a day. Double Diamond realized that nothing had changed.
It may seem to someone that these sentences are not related to each other in any way, but this is not so at all: at night the changes seemed even less noticeable, and therefore the feeling of stagnation did not let him go until dawn. Now he began to experience similar feelings in the light of day…
But first things first.
The stallion woke up with the first rays of dawn, which unceremoniously burst into his room through the window and gray curtains. His body begged him to spend at least five extra minutes in bed — even though it was terribly uncomfortable, in the morning even stones can seem like a sweet featherbed. Nevertheless, he got up without delay, made the bed in an exemplary manner, took the necessary water procedures, while being dissatisfied with the fact that he had to spend more time on it than usual - as it turned out, combing an uncut mane is not so easy. Only after this obligatory set of morning rituals was done he allowed himself to show his nose out the door.
It was early morning, the day under the auspices of Celestia had just entered into possession, the night had just changed; the pinkish sun was again indifferently watching the life of a small town lost somewhere in the mountains of Equestrian Patagonia. Well, not exactly a town... more like a village. Or how else can be called a bunch of barracks in the middle of a steppe surrounded by mountains, where instead of earth there was dust on which nothing grows except stunted thorny bushes?
Double Diamond, a stallion the color of the purest snow from untouched mountain peaks without a single spot of color with a mane as snow-white as himself, stood out very much against the background of general withering. When he walked along the only street in the city, where everything — the houses, the landscape, and, it seemed, the atmosphere itself had the color of dust, he felt like an imperishable snowflake in a cold desert. However, there were other, non-cosmetic reasons for this…
All the other ponies had also woken up a long time ago and left their houses; activity was booming, which means that Diamond still really spent a little more time on his mane than he would like. Maybe some of the sleepy ponies stayed at home, but there were clearly not many of them. Even though they no longer practiced morning formations, roll calls, joint exercises and rounds of the "sleepy ones", which means that everyone had the right to stay in the domain of Luna for as long as they wanted, adherence to the old schedule was not so easy to eradicate.
Morning was the time for work. However, if earlier they were all divided into squads, to which supervisors were assigned, and then sent to work for the needs of the village (Only Diamond knew that the reasons were somewhat different), now everyone was doing their own business. Most of the ponies were digging in their gardens, which were now allowed to be set up. Others simply imitated the activity, trying not to look too bored.
"Starlight made them work so that they didn't have time to get bored, so that they didn't have time to think that something was wrong, as if we were marking time in one place. In the end, she believed that working for the common good was the right way to eradicate individualism and selfishness, and with them, any manifestations of inequality," the stallion flashed through his head, contemplating the universal routine. "Now... now they are working on the machine, because they are used to it. Because this way they don't get bored and don't think that we are still marking time. Nothing has changed... nothing at all..."
He shook his head, banishing the sad thoughts. He had a whole night ahead of him for them.
Diamond looked up from the ground and saw two mares talking to each other. They were obviously discussing something interesting and undoubtedly funny, because carefree giggles kept coming to his ears. But most of all he was interested in their smiles. They did not smile as widely as they once did, but these smiles were completely sincere, not feigned and not forced.
Maybe the stallion was wrong after all? Maybe there were some changes after all, he was just paying attention to the wrong things?
"Good morning!" he greeted the mares passing by him in a friendly way and waved his hoof at them, putting on his muzzle his most radiant and, importantly, sincere smile.
The ponies were transformed on his eyes. They froze, and the sweet sincere smiles suddenly turned into the same grimace, the same clumsy attempt to look friendly and cheerful that he had been contemplating in this village for many years.
"Good morning!" they answered in unison, pulling smiles from ear to ear, more like a snarl of hypocrisy. Even the voices themselves seemed to be imbued with the antipode of sincerity.
Double Diamond sighed sorrowfully and wandered on, staring at the ground and not paying attention to anyone or anything.
Well, of course.
It was all about him.
After all, he used to be nothing but the right hoof of Starlight Glimmer — an imperious dictator obsessed with the idea of universal equality. She is the root of all the troubles, she is the cause of the decline that befell their city; she played with the inhabitants of this lovely village as if with dolls, inflicted irreparable trauma on them, because even after such a long time after her exile, every local pony sees her in nightmares. No question about they never managed to completely get rid of the patterns of behavior imposed on her. Damn it, they couldn't even come up with a name for the village! It used to be called "Starlight Village", now it's just "village". The most radical thing they did was demolish her house. They burned it, scattered the ashes and planted a tree in that place, which was supposed to serve as a reminder to all of them that they were different now.
Doesn't sound too rosy, does it? However, he was not only her right hoof, but also her most loyal follower. He considered himself her shadow; he believed that he understood her best of all, always wrote down her speeches and even independently prepared propaganda materials about equality — books, leaflets, pamphlets, articles.
And now there was a price to pay for that loyalty.
Yes, they elected him mayor, but could this be considered as respect? Rather, they threw him a job that no one cared about. Seriously, what were his responsibilities? Make sure that houses don't fall apart on the only one street in the city, as well as occasionally lay supply lines for merchants and take orders from local shopkeepers? What nonsense!
With such thoughts and with a hopelessly spoiled mood, he reached Sugar Belle's shop, where rare ponies were already sitting at the tables. Not everyone is used to the fact that now a light pink unicorn with a purple mane could bake something edible.
"Good morning, Double," the shop owner greeted him with a sweet smile. "Thank you for setting up our supply with Ponyville, I now have a lifetime supply of apples here. Oh, I get goosebumps when I think about what I can bake out of all this! Speaking of which, do you want an apple pie? You're entitled to a free portion. Refusals are not accepted."
"Glad to be useful!" he smiled back. "I'll happily taste what you cooked."
"I'm sure you won't regret it!"
Even though they were supposed to be friends, he sensed a certain detachment, a certain coldness in her intonation. Yes, she had a nice conversation with him, she smiled quite sincerely — and for it he was very grateful to her — but she behaved this way with absolutely everyone, even with those whom she saw for the first time in her life. The only difference was that it was with him that she kept a certain distance — she said exactly what was needed to maintain a small talk. However, she could be understood: she was one of the dissenters, and therefore she had to be afraid of Diamond like fire, because it was he who was responsible for identifying the so-called "strays". Perhaps if he had managed to uncover her plans at the time, their relationship would have been ruined hopelessly. In any case, he was grateful to her for being almost at ease with him, and was happy to keep up a conversation about nothing and for nothing.
"I really hope so. How's Night Glider doing? Haven't seen her for a long time."
"As usual, she's in the clouds. Literally. Since the restrictions on flights were lifted, she spends almost all her time in the sky. She seems to have recovered quickly. Other Pegasi are still afraid to fly."
"Yes, I'm glad for her, she's a fine mare," Diamond replied, keeping silent about the fact that the day before he saw the pegasus, seeing him from a sufficiently high altitude, instantly landed on the ground, almost crashing.
"Any news from the outside world?"
"I’ve heard that Equestria has established trade relations with some country of griffons. I asked one of the Ponyville ones to send a couple of caravans to us too."
"Wonderful! I've never seen a griffon. How do you like the pie?"
"Just great, thank you! Will you wrap one for me with you?"
"Of course!"
"Is this really how we've been communicating all this time? It is impossible to comprehend…" he thought.
Then he spent the first half of the day at home. Earlier at this time, he was engaged in the development of event plans and the preparation of "educational materials" — he was one of the few holders of the privilege of working from home, all the other ponies had to work outside at this time. The official reason was that fresh air is good for health. Unofficial, which only he and Starlight knew about — in comfort it's much easier to "deviate from the course". It's much easier to control ponies when they're in your sight.
Now, instead of pieces of paper with propaganda and correction lists, he had to deal with pieces of paper with trade estimates, invoices, applications and other bureaucracy. In fact, it could easily have been done in an hour, even taking into account the fact that he had to plot a trade route from Manehatten on the map, since one of the shops left a request for textiles there. It would seem that he could pay any caravan, since almost all of them pass, if not through Manehatten, then next to it, but lack of sleep did affected him — even if he went to bed at the time when the lights out was set earlier, he did not manage to fall asleep right away. And now, at first, he spent half an hour trying to find Mainhetten on the map, and when he finally thought of turning it over, he could not fill out the papers in any way, because he forgot the letters, because he wanted to sleep, because his thoughts constantly returned to the same thing.
Starlight Glimmer.
Talent and diligence, talent and diligence…
"No, no..."
He pushed all thoughts of her away from him. After all, they had a different life. Yes, nothing, in fact, has changed, but still...
"No, no... not now."
He had all night to think about it. And now he had things to do.
He sat at the papers for lunch, during which the ponies used to take a break for "enlightenment" — Starlight gathered everyone in a circle, and together they discussed literature about equality, or reasoned on the questions posed like "what would you do if your friend lost his way", "why equality is important", "how the command economy contributes to the eradication of individualism," "why collateral damage is inevitable," and so on. However, Diamond did not always attend these meetings, because he was the author of most of the books and manuals used by their leader.
He was released from work only after lunch. He went out of the house again and found the ponies working again — nothing had changed except the position of the sun in the sky.
Now he had to make a small detour, but this time not to incriminate the "parasites", but to check the general condition of the city — whether the walls were askew, whether the brick crumbled, whether the paint peeled off somewhere and everything like that. However, when he walked down the street, the ponies immediately began to violently imitate the activity or ran home.
Yes, another life, of course…
After another slam of the door behind him, he could not stand it and, before reaching the end of the street, turned around and went home again.
Skis were extension of himself.
The wind was hitting him in the muzzle with terrible force, but it gave him immense pleasure. It seemed that his own mane could barely keep up with him as he cut through the endless snowy sea, conquered one slope after another, and nothing could stop him — he knew that he was no longer expected at home. Nevertheless, his eyes, which were not watering at all from the wind (he was wearing protective glasses), had dried up tears for a long time and were only looking for a new goal, a new slope, a new obstacle. He had already forgotten the thrill of conquering new heights and new places, and now it was time to remember long-forgotten sensations: delight, butterflies in his stomach, incomparable lightness in his whole body and soul. And also belonging. Undoubtedly, he belonged to this place, upon his name is Double Diamond, and his cutie mark — three blue snowflakes — announced with its appearance that skiing, snow and freedom are his constant companions, his destiny, his whole life.
A steep high slope without a single obstacle caught his eye. The catch was that the slope ended with a narrow path, beyond which a deep abyss was. Any other pony would have been scared, but when it came to skiing, Double Diamond didn't know the word "danger", he only knew the word "challenge".
He changed his trajectory and raced towards the slope at an angle of thirty degrees. If everything goes according to plan, he will drive straight along the slope and effectively finish the race on the trail.
Already at the very edge, he silently offered a prayer to Celestia — he was not afraid, but he liked to think that the good goddess rejoiced at his success.
The world turned almost ninety degrees, but the stallion stood firmly on his hooves, cutting through the snow surface. The slope was shaking — an avalanche was coming down, and he was its surfer. It was like flying, goosebumps of incomparable pleasure passed through his body. If adrenaline is a drug, then he was definitely an addict.
All joy abruptly evaporated when something pink loomed right ahead... a stone?
Disappointment, bewilderment, fright... horror... it's not a stone, it's... a pony! A live pony!
Terror gave way to determination. There were fractions of seconds to think, but it was enough to make the only right decision for him.
He turned sharply. The world spun around; balance was lost, and with it — a chance for a perfect outcome.
For a moment he saw a blue sky without a single cloud, and then — the darkness into which he was rapidly falling.
"Celestia!" was all he had time to think before madness finally overwhelmed his mind.
When he landed, he didn't feel any pain or the slightest discomfort — except that his side hurt a little after he fell down the slope.
It was scary to open eyes. He didn't know where he would end up — in hell or in heaven, and whether it would hurt him. What if he was lying at the very bottom of the abyss, shattered into pieces, and now he was experiencing his last seconds of life. If so, then he definitely wouldn't want to see what happened to him…
"Hey, I know you're alive!" a mare's voice rang out above him and definitely could not belong to an inhabitant of hell. "Get up! Don't wait for me to start poking you with a stick."
He slowly opened his eyes and once again made sure that he was at least not in hell. He saw a young mare, as if she had recently graduated from school. Her short purple mane with a turquoise strand was very elegantly combined with the pink color of the pony itself. A pair of saddlebags were slung over her back. An angry ocean seemed to be raging in the blue eyes.
"Am I... alive?"
"Alive?! Of course you're alive, I just saved you, damn you! Have you decided to kill us all?! If you got tired of living, you could immediately jump into the cliff, and not rush at ME! Unlike you, I have PLANS, and by the way... you caused an avalanche. How do you suggest I go further now?! Should I put a saddle on you?!"
In any other situation, he would have snapped back. After all, if at the last moment he had not made the decision to prevent a collision at the cost of his own life, they would both have already been lying at the bottom of the abyss. However, he didn't want to argue at all, and it wasn't even the thunderous tone of the angry mare, or the fact that just a moment ago he was so close to death. He just somehow... didn't want to argue with Her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to put your life in danger. I thought there was no one here."
"And this is a reason to block roads? What the hay were you thinking?"
The mare snorted angrily and turned away, giving the stallion the opportunity to contemplate her flank, on which there was a sign in the form of a purple-white star with two multicolored ribbons. A symbol of magic?
"Sorry, I..."
"No, don't," she interrupted him in a much calmer tone, sighing dejectedly. "After all, it's all your cutie mark's fault." She turned back to face him.
"My cutie mark?"
"Exactly! Three snowflakes. Let me guess... you're really good when it comes to skiing, aren't you?"
"Yes," the stallion was slightly embarrassed. He knew that he had practically no equal in skiing, but it seemed to him somewhat vulgar to admit his own merits out loud. "But how is it..."
"Perhaps you think that few ponies can compete with you?" The mare started circling him like a predator circling a prey.
"Well, maybe. Although I have often met worthy rivals, and..."
"Admit it: in fact, it seems to you that you have no equal."
"What? Are you even listening to me? I didn't say that!"
"You don't have to, your cutie mark speaks for you. It couldn't have been any other way. You were just an ordinary colt. Loved to play, had some hobbies, talents, inclinations, desires... you probably had friends, at least one. The whole world was opened to you, you had so many opportunities. And then you got this mark… this stigma. And there you are. Your fate was immediately determined, someone pulled your lottery ticket for you. And then you start... standing out. You put yourself above others, and someone does not put you in anything. Now your life is connected with skiing, and you allow yourself what no one else would allow, you allow yourself to neglect safety and common sense, because "you know better", because you are so "special". Just like now.
"I just didn't know that there was someone there, my cutie mark has nothing to do with it!"
"Are you saying that if you had any other cutie mark, you would act more carefully?"
"Тo! Yes... maybe? Argh, you're perverting my words!"
"Do you think if I had another cutie mark, I would be able to do this?"
"To do wha…"
He did not have time to finish, when suddenly a pink glow enveloped him, and the earth literally went out from under his hooves and turned out to be too far away from him.
"M-magic..." he muttered, trying to keep his composure. "After all, your c-cutiemark m-means m-magic…"
"A matter of interpretations." The filly brought the stallion back to the ground; his legs were still shaking. "I like to think it's about talent and diligence. If you have certain talents, they need to be developed so that they do not fade away like a lone star. It just so happened that I did have some talents for magic, but I never attributed them to my cutie mark. I preferred to improve them on my own, and my lessons led to the result that you now had the opportunity to observe.
"See? Cutie marks aren't that bad."
"Oh, you're wrong. Despite all my strong-willed efforts and work on myself, it makes me somewhat... arrogant. Sometimes I find myself taking my magic for granted, like a lucky ticket. Sometimes I forget how much work my results cost me. Let alone a society that is ready to judge you by the cutie mark alone. Have you ever been to Canterlot?"
"No, but I've heard of it. That's where the princess lives!"
"That's right, she lives, and also runs an academy for gifted unicorns. I wanted to get there myself at one time, but when I saw how some foals were not even given a chance to pass the exam because their cutie mark was not related to magic..." her voice regained its menacing intonation. "These idiots in the capital think that since they were so lucky at birth, it gives them the right to look down on us. And this infection... this inequality, this boasting of own "exclusivity"... all of this has suddenly become the norm. Therefore, you may be separated from your only best friend because he was lucky to get a cutie mark earlier than you! After all, he has such a unique one, for sure he will have a successful future, not like you, a second-class pony! You are no longer his match, what kind of friendship can there be between you now! Leave behind the years of friendship as if they never existed! Welcome to class society!
Double Diamond was silent. Her words awakened memories in him — now he no longer knew anything about his past, but then it made itself felt quite painfully.
The silence went on and on, only the cold wind whistled, ruffling their manes and occasionally stirring flashes of snow.
"You can take my skis." Diamond finally spoke up. "It will be much easier for you to walk through the snow with them. Consider it compensation."
"Compensation you say..." she looked at the skis, which he had already managed to take off. "Ha! You know, you'd better keep them, but thanks for the idea. What if…"
A pink glow enveloped her horn, followed by a flash, and in the next moment, thin skis were on her hooves, woven from the same pink material that had just covered the horn.
"And after that you still complain about the cutie marks?"
"Remember what I told you: talent and diligence. I have achieved everything with my own efforts. I understand that not every unicorn can do that, let alone the rest of the ponies, but... I still have to think about it."
"Where are you going?" he asked, and then, when he realized the possible tactlessness of his question, he added, shuffling his hoof on the ground. "Maybe I can walk you because I'm... well, you know... well-oriented in the mountains."
"To be honest, I'm not sure." She sighed. "I just wanted to find a place to take a break from all these selfish ponies. No one seems to understand how destructive imaginary exclusivity is. No one understands me."
"Well, you're wrong about that." Diamond caught up with the unicorn. "I understand you. I have a rather difficult situation… it's a long time to explain."
The mare smiled mysteriously and levitated her saddlebags onto the stallion's back. They seemed surprisingly heavy to him.
"Wonderful, there will be something to listen to on the way. But you carry the bags. Compensation, you know."
They set off together over a huge layer of snow that had fallen from the slope. The cold sun was high in the sky, foreshadowing a long but easy journey.
"By the way, what's your name? I would like to know the name of the person with whom I have to share the road."
"Double Diamond. But you can call me just Double. Or just Diamond. But not Die, pleace.
To his surprise, the stranger laughed at his not the smartest joke, for which he had already become ashamed. Her laugh was so clear, light and melodious that he wanted to make her laugh again.
"Nice to meet you, Diamond. Something tells me that you are a real Diamond, and it's not even that you're white. My name is Starlight. Starlight Glimmer."
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
He woke up.
He abruptly raised his head from the table, startling a pile of papers.
The room was dark, only the moonlight, in which dust motes danced, filtered through the narrow windows.
Apparently, he fell asleep at work again and woke up only at night. Recently, this has started to happen with such enviable regularity that it has become a very unpleasant habit.
KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!
Double Diamond hurried to the door. He was not expecting guests, and it was too late for appeals at this time of day, but he knew perfectly well who his midnight guest was. There could be no other options.
He opened the unlocked door. There was living evidence on the threshold that Starlight Glimmer's regime was not at all as ambiguous as he sometimes reasoned, shutting himself off from the rest of the ponies. A living testimony of unbridled cruelty.
"Hello," the light gray-blue unicorn with a blue mane spoke from the threshold; his horn was enveloped in a pale pink shimmer, a lamp levitated next to it. "S-sorry, it's so late, I just... well..." he stopped, fixed his eyes on the ground and laid back his ears.
However, words were not required. Double Diamond understood everything perfectly.
Nightmares.
"Sure, buddy, come on in. You know you can come to me anytime. Would you like an apple pie?"
The stallion just shook his head, not looking up.
Party Favor. A victim of terror, a holiday organizer, a true friend and a phenomenon.
He was one of the last to arrive in the town. He didn't tell anyone why he came and why he suddenly decided to join them — even Starlight herself couldn't get this information out of him. It is only known that he used to live in Manehatten. Perhaps because of this understatement Starlight has always treated him harshly. Double Diamond had to punish him more often than all the other residents of the town combined. In total, he had been locked up alone for so long that it was scary to even count. So Diamond couldn't figure out how, after all these horrors, he could become his best friend.
While they were walking together to the second floor, the snow-white stallion suddenly felt a pang of guilt: everything remained the same at his home. He was supposed to be the one who would give all the ponies the right example of how to live on, how to show their individuality, but at the same time he didn't even bother to change those terrible gray curtains that everyone once hung. Let alone the fact that he did not hang a single picture, did not change his uncomfortable bed, prickly blanket and pillow, which over the years turned into a flat pancake. He has done absolutely nothing to change this place in any way, as if he…
It was as if he was waiting for Her to return.
No, no, that's out of the question, he quickly shook his head. This cannot be allowed to happen again. At least for the sake of Party.
Here is Party, a paradigm example. On the same day when the mane six helped them get rid of the oppression of the mad dictator, he decorated the whole city with colored ribbons and other festive paraphernalia (having spent all the reserves of the organizing committee in which he was a member). Then it seemed to them that everything was about to get better.
It was he who first proposed to demolish the house of their former leader, it was the unicorn who first took out all the books, posters, leaflets about equality that had accumulated there from his dwelling, arranged everything there to his liking — for example, he installed a karaoke system in his basement and filled all the free space with toys and other party paraphernalia (Double Diamond even allocated for this funds from the city budget, thinking that this can be considered as ‘rehabilitation’).
Instead of living a new life according to the old rules, he seems to have gone out of his way to distinguish himself and somehow brighten up the everyday life. The ever-cheerful unicorn constantly came up with new festivals for them, did not allow someone's birthday to remain without a party. He often liked to just hand out cupcakes to the townsponies, taking away Sugar Belle's work (however, she didn't mind — Party Favor was also her friend) and generally amused the ponies in every possible way.
But then why was everything so sad today? Did he…
"You didn't leave your house again today?"
"Yeah. Sorry for that…"
Damn it… I thought he was getting better.
Diamond made a bed for both of them — he had long ago saved a colored blanket and a comfortable pillow for the unicorn. For some reason, the very idea of a stallion sleeping on the same bedding that they all had to sleep on once seemed to him damn wrong.
Maybe he looked happy during the day, but at night all his demons made themselves felt.
Double Diamond couldn't bear to see him like this. It simply shouldn't be like that! He was supposed to be cheerful and charge the mood of other ponies, but something broke in him.
And it was entirely his, Diamond's, fault...
"Do you want us to read something before going to bed?"
"Yeah. If you don't mind. You probably want to sleep…"
"After a good story before going to bed you sleep better, don't you?"
"Yeah, you're right, of course. I will be very happy to read something with you."
"Great, I've just got a book lying around somewhere…"
The white stallion took a book with a worn cover from the shelf. It was one of the books from Princess Twilight's own library. After her departure, she ordered to bring several boxes of books from her personal library to the town, since there was no library in the town. All the literature was now stored in the basement of his house — probably that's why these books were taken so rarely.
Settling himself comfortably in bed, side by side with Party Favore, he began to read aloud.
"What is the most difficult thing in the narrative? The end? Perhaps. But no. The most difficult thing is the beginning. After all, your whole story, its whole course, depends on how you start.
That's why I always skip the beginning and write from the end or from the middle. But not this time.
Who am I? Well, for you, I'm just a Lonely Mare ..."
...
"That's how this story ends, and whether it's good or bad — judge for yourself. But I sincerely hope that someday Celestia will forgive us all.
Meanwhile, it's time for me to tell this story again. After all, what else should I do?
What is the most difficult thing in the narrative? The end? Perhaps. But no. The most difficult thing is the beginning. After all, the whole story, its whole course depends on how you start your story. That's why I always skip the beginning and write from the middle of the story, but not this time. Not now.
Who am I? Well, for you, I'm just a Lonely Mare...".
Double Diamond closed the book and sighed — he always felt a little sad when good stories like this ended.
"Well, how do you like it?"
The stallion turned to his friend, but he was already snoring hard, covered with a blanket.
Well, my friend. I hope you enjoyed it and you won't have nightmares today.
He put down the book, turn off the lamp and perched next to his friend. It seemed to him that the sleep suited Party very well: he was relaxed and had a soft smile on his muzzle. His lush curly mane did not lose its shape, even when he slept with his hooves under his cheek. The fur seemed to become brighter, or else the caring moonlight just fell through the curtains such way.
Diamond carefully ran a hoof over the sleeping pony's mane, causing him to twitch his ears in a funny way. Sleeping serene Party Favor seemed to him no less cute than in moments of the most violent fun.
He liked spending time with this cute unicorn — not only because he was not afraid of the white stallion at all and offered him his most sincere friendship, but also because in his company he did not have thoughts about Starlight; in his presence he could not even admit the thought that so often gnawed at him alone: 'what if we all made a terrible mistake?' No. There could be no mistake. What they were doing was extremely monstrous — and here it is, the peacefully dormant result of this monstrosity.
No, instead of thoughts about Starlight he had completely different ones. For example, how amazing it is to find such a friend. And it's not even that he crippled his psyche with the same enviable tenacity as his ex (??) friend Starlight. The most surprising thing for him was that, after all, he disliked Party Favorite literally from the first minute of acquaintance, he always considered him just a narrow-minded buffoon who could not understand the seriousness of the mission assigned to them.
He closed his eyes and plunged into his night visions — and these were definitely not dreams, because after them he 'woke up' completely tired.
***
The meager scattering of stars had not yet had time to leave the sky after mother-night, but the sun had barely risen on the horizon and was already reflected in the numerous windows of huge skyscrapers that towered monumentally in this stone jungle called Manehatten. That was the morning here.
"Damned wheel!" Double Diamond swore softly, circling around the packed van.
He deliberately waited out the night under one of the street awnings instead of spending the night in a motel (he spent the money intended for the motel on an additional portion of ink for the machine, because propaganda never dozed). According to his plan, he had to get up early in the morning and leave the city without further delay until all the ponies were out on the street — when the ponies woke up and went about their business, the city was literally crowded. Now all his plans were going down the drain because of some broken wheel!
The stallion snorted angrily and started digging in the van. He knew perfectly well that the wheels were by no means included in the shopping list, but he desperately hoped that somewhere under the ink and bags of supplies there was a spare tire along with tools. After all, he had no other choice — the morning was too early, the workshops would not open soon, and he did not want to push through all these hectic ponies and endless traffic jams in the approaching rush hour. He had never liked Manehatten, but with the streets as empty as they are now, he liked it a little more.
Suddenly Diamond felt something touching his flank.
"Ah!" He jumped out of the van like a bullet and collided with a gray-blue blue-maned unicorn with a strange smile. His gaze was fixed on the white stallion's flank.
"Your cutiemark is cool! I like it!"
"Um... thanks?"
Where did he come from? There wasn't a soul on the street... suspicious.
Double Diamond looked at the pony from the hooves to the tip of the tail. Perfectly groomed coat, clean, obviously carefully laid curly mane and combed tail, obviously an expensive watch on the foreleg, a light pink hoodie — and in general it could be concluded that he was quite pleasant in appearance, so it was unlikely that it was a robber or another homeless person.
The silence obviously dragged on, and the smiling pony did not move.
"Do you need something?" Diamond finally asked.
"Yes! Take me with you!"
"What?"
"To the town where everyone is equal! You're from there, right? Must be from there! I was told that you all have "equal" cutiemarks there. I also stand for equality, look!"
The unicorn magically took out a piece of paper with a marker from his pocket, daubed the "equal" sign on it and glued it on top of his cutie mark, which was a kind of animal made of balloons surrounded by confetti.
It doesn't work that way, idiot! Thought the white one. Aloud he said:
"But how did you find out about us?"
"Well, I heard the merchants talking about your town. They said that you guys are strange, but you seem to be happy. And they also said that everyone is equal there and you live in the same houses, and that you are terribly smiling and friendly!
"Listen," he barely restrained himself from adding "colt", because the pony looked young enough, "I don't think I can take you with me."
"You can’t? But why?" His muzzle took on a sad expression.
Because you look like you have place to return.
Yes, the duties of Double Diamond, in addition to trading with other cities, included bringing new residents to their town. Starlight trusted him enough to let him guide himself about where to look for ponies ready for a new life. Usually he was looking for those who had nowhere else to go — homeless, drug addicts, debtors and others who had no place in society, who were not expected at home. He liked to think that by doing so he was giving them a chance for a new life in the society of the future. He helped them find their way to Starlight, and she gave them an idea worth living for, and with the idea — a new home, new friends. A new life.
But this pony didn't look like he needed a new life. It looked like he was fine in the old one. Most likely, it was another silver-spooner who was looking for adventures on his flank.
"We are equal in absolutely everything, including in material means. If you have bits, you will have to hand them over to the needs of our town. And you definitely won't be allowed to wear what you're wearing. Not all of our friends can afford it, so how are you better than them?"
"I don't have any bits with me, but..." Pony suddenly pulled off his hoodie along with his watch and threw them aside. "...but if it's better for my future friends, then I don't need it anymore."
Damn Discord, he's a pushy one...
"Listen…"
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" the unicorn jumped several times on the spot. "And I can also do this! Look, look!"
The stallion took out an inflatable balloon from somewhere (perhaps from his mane), his hooves moved at the speed of light and after a few seconds he held a wheel in his hooves. Balloon wheel?..
"How did you…"
Diamond didn't have time to finish — this mischievous pony was operating if not with the second-cosmic velocity, then with the first one for sure. In a matter of minutes, he managed to unscrew the broken wheel and, with the help of a huge amount of duct tape, put an inflatable one in its place.
"Ta-dah!" The pony spread his forelegs joyfully, and then jumped up again on the spot; his muzzle was beaming with happiness.
"So what did you do? It's not even a real wheel. How this gonna help me?"
"Just try it!"
"It's crazy…"
The unicorn nudged the van with a hoof, and it... moved! The balloon wheel rotated in exactly the same way as its wooden relatives.
"See? I can be useful! Just take me with you!"
"Why would you come with me? You seem to have your own house," Double Diamond answered him, harnessing himself to the yoke. "And you are not deprived of abilities. We are all equal, you will have to part with your cutiemark forever, do you understand that?"
"Well, that's fine! If that's the price of equality, then I'm all for it! Just take me with you. You don't have to feed me a lot, I can last all day on one cupcake... okay, maybe two. But if you are against cupcakes, then ok! Please give me a chance!"
The white-haired pony wandered down the street, dragging the van behind him and trying not to pay attention to the annoying unicorn.
Scrolling through the memories of their first meeting now, Double Diamond wondered — why did he dislike Party Favor so much? Yes, he was a nuisance, energy was flowing out of him, but after all, all the other ponies he found — all these drug addicts, homeless, orphans, losers, prostitutes, lonely travelers with an existential crisis — they were much worse.
Is it possible that by his alienation and neglect he showed... mercy? Maybe even then, somewhere in the depths of his soul, he suspected that what they were doing together with Starlight was disgusting? Did he, without realizing it, want to save this innocent creature from a terrible fate? Did he really want to give him a chance?
Then why didn't he give the others a chance?..
"Please!" The unicorn rushed to the ground in front of Double Diamond; his well-groomed fur was covered with dust. "I-I have nowhere else to go! I was told that no one needs me anymore! I'll do anything for my new friends! I will try hard, really, really! Just... take me with you, please!"
The situation was getting more and more awkward. Diamond didn't need to be worshiped by ponies — it was more down Starlight’s alley.
Well, Celestia is a witness — he tried to give him a chance.
"Okay, okay, you can come with me, but get up!"
"Hooray!" The unicorn jumped up on all four of his legs. "Thank you thank you thank you! You're the best! My name is Party Favor, but if such names are forbidden in your town, you can give me any name. What's your name? Wait, wait, don't tell me, I'll guess for myself. You're cute, handsome, fluffy... and also white, yes... you have a very serious muzzle... wow, you're driving a whole van alone, you're also strong. So-o, your name is… Snow Beauty? Strong Ice? Ah! Ah! Beauty Favor! Or…"
"Double Diamond. My name is Double Diamond."
"Wow, what a cool name! You must be a ski expert, right? I'm barely holding on even on simple slopes, and I'm afraid to approach the double-diamonded ones at all…"
It stabbed the stallion to the heart.
Skis.
He didn't remember his past life, but it was definitely connected with skis. He remembered his first meeting with Starlight, remembered how much he enjoyed skiing…
No, he has a completely different life now. He is neither better nor worse than others.
"Listen," the stallion stopped abruptly. "I don't understand at all what you're happy about. No one has accepted you anywhere yet. If your parents come for you, we will give you away without a twinge of conscience. If you whine a lot, we'll kick you out. If you talk a lot out of business, we'll kick you out. In any case, Starlight will have the last word. Starlight always knows best."
In response to this terrifying speech, the unicorn only broke into another warm smile.
"Oki-doki! You won't regret it. It looks like we have a long way to go. Shall we sing a song? Come on, I'll start, and you pick up! Ninety-nine bottles of milk on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of milk! Take one down, pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of milk on the wall!.."
He did not listen further — some strange sound similar to sob reached his ears.
Someone was crying…
Crying?
No, it wasn't in his memories, it was…
***
Party Favor!
Double Diamond opened his eyes. A heartbreaking sight met his gaze.
The light-gray unicorn, shrouded in moonlight, curled up and, clutching the blanket, quietly cried with tightly squeezed eyes, periodically sobbing.
"Hey, are you all right?.."
There was no response.
Then he gently shook him with one hoof.
The unicorn abruptly lifted his head from the pillow and opened his eyes from which tears were still pouring. He blinked rapidly and tried to focus his lost gaze on something, but to no avail.
The white-coated stallion did what seemed to him the only right thing at that moment. He hugged his crying friend with both arms, hugging him as tightly as possible. Party immediately buried his muzzle into the fluffy snow-white chest, making it wet from the incessant flow of tears. As soon as this happened, the unicorn completely lost control of himself — he began to shudder with sobs and clung tightly to Diamond with his own hooves, but the earthpony did not loosen his grip. He slowly stroked his friend's back, paying special attention to the delicate neck.
Party was so warm, almost hot. Maybe he was sick? Or were all the ponies so warm up close?
And he also was so... soft, like a toy. He wondered if he could fall asleep lying on Party Favor? Surely, this would be the best sleep of his life.
It's funny that even at that moment his mane smelled of all kinds of sweets, especially cupcakes and custard. It was as if it was actually made of cotton candy. Maybe that was the secret of always having the perfect shape?..
After a while, the unicorn finally calmed down, but Diamond did not even think of removing him from himself.
He didn't want his friend to feel in danger again.
He had had to wake him up from nightmares before, but he had never seen him crying.
What have he and Starlight done…
Party Favor distanced himself a little, so the white stallion had to free him from the shackles of his caring embrace. Then the unicorn slightly extended his hoof, and Diamond without further ado covered it with his one.
"I dreamed," unexpectedly for both of them Party spoke in a higher tone than usual, his voice trembling noticeably, "that She locked me up again. It was dark there. I tried to bear it, but I was too scared and sad... and lonely… I heard you guys having fun. You, Sugar, Night, Feather... I tried to call you all, but..." his voice faltered.
Diamond held his breath, not daring to move. All he could do was squeeze his friend's hoof tighter.
This was the first time he had ever told anyone the contents of his nightmares.
"I really tried to keep it together and be good, but I completely lost track of time, I was so scared and lonely… I couldn't help myself and... everyone started laughing at me there, outside the door. I thought that no one needed me, that I would stay there forever, in the basement, that She would never forgive me again…"
"Hey, it's just a nightmare, remember?"
"But they’re so real! And they’re so often repeated. You know..." Party switched to a whisper. "Sometimes it seems to me that everything around me is not really real, that it's all just a dream. And what if in fact... and what if those nightmares are actually reality, and I'm dreaming now? What if the Princess didn't save us, and She's still in charge? What if you don't love me again? What if... I’m still in that dark room?.."
‘What if you don't love me again?’
Of course. It was foolish to expect that such a sensitive stallion would not have recognized his neglect during all those terrible years.
It was obvious, it was inevitable, but... but why did these words cause such pain in his chest?
"Listen to me attentively," Diamond squeezed his friend's hoof with all his strength, looking intently into his eyes. "You are not sleeping. Everything that is happening to you now is reality. I am real. Can you feel me squeezing your hoof? Do you think I could do that in a dream? Come on, squeeze mine too. Yes, that's it. Feel it? There, on the street, the tree we planted grows. Me, Sugar, Night are your friends. And we will never let anyone hurt you. Do you hear? Never! She won't get to you, and you and I will throw so many parties that Canterlot will envy! Well, we'll also do something in Canterlot, and in Cloudsdale, and in Crystal Empire. And may Princess Luna kick my ass if I'm lying. Do you believe me?"
They looked into each other's eyes for a while. Party's eyes were glistening with tears and... they were so beautiful. Blue as the sky over the mountains.
Finally, Favor unclenched his friend's hoof and smiled.
"It's impossible not to believe you. Maybe we should go skiing tomorrow? Something tells me that tomorrow will be a wonderful weather."
Refusal was impossible.
"Of course," Diamond smiled back. "I'll give you my spare ones."
Party rolled over on his side, with his back to the white-haired stallion, and then perched closer to him.
Double immediately understood everything.
He snuggled up to the warm pony and hugged him with one arm, which the unicorn immediately wrapped around with both hooves.
"Good night, Diamy. And thank you. For everything."
"Good night."
Luna accepted both of them into her kingdom.
