A Silver Sky: Four Little Ponies

---Chapter 22: Broken---

“My goodness,” Fancypants said as he stared out at the stunned crowd of ponies. “You’ve all gotten so quiet all of a sudden.”

As before, it was Wishing Star who broke the silence.

“He’s…he’sh gonna burn us all!” she shouted, falling to the ground. “Don’ kill me Fanshy, I’m shorry about the wine glash!”

“Will someone please get her a cup of coffee or something?” asked Triage. “And everyone calm down! He’s just bluffing! There’s no way he’d burn down his entire mansion just to spite us.”

“Of course I wouldn’t,” Fancy said, smiling calmly. “The same magical barrier that prevents uninvited guests from visiting the Gallery will also keep the flames from rising. My failsafe was intended to destroy the evidence in the event of a raid from the authorities, but I suppose it works just as well to punish a group of traitors like yourselves.”

“’Destroy the evidence?’” Rarity said. “How long will it be before…”

“Before everything in the gallery is ashes? Oh, the flames should spread quite quickly. I imagine it shouldn’t be more than twenty minutes. Half an hour, at most.” He shrugged. “At least the end will come quickly for all those fo-“

Rarity screamed.

The sound was so without dignity, so utterly contrary to the confident, refined image which Rarity had worked her entire life to cultivate, that nearly every pony in the room momentarily forgot about Fancy’s threat to the Gallery. A few ponies let out gasps of shock. Even Fancy’s smug smile vanished at the sound of the guttural, primal cry.

Enraged, Rarity charged Fancy, and, still screaming, kicked him in the stomach with all her might. The former leader of the Circle was sent flying across the stage, as his ex-followers looked on.

“YOU MONSTER! YOU DISGUSTING, FOUL…” Rarity screamed as she ran up to Fancy’s injured form, towering over him.

Fancy clutched his chest with his right forehoof, wincing in pain. “My rib…” he said quietly. “I think you broke-“

“SHUT UP!” Rarity shouted. “Bring my sister back, Fancy. Bring her back now, or in Celestia’s name, I swear I will kill you.”

“Oh?” Fancy said. He turned to the crowd. “Behold, my friends! The benevolent ways of your new leader!”

“This isn’t a joke, you degenerate, sick…ARRGH!” Rarity shouted. “How could even think of endangering my sister like that?”

With that, Fancy began to laugh, but his laughter quickly gave way to a series of painful coughs. Still, his smile had returned.

“’Degenerate? Sick?’ You think you can pass judgment on me?” he retorted. “There are over a hundred foals trapped in the Gallery. And yet, when I announced the existence of my little failsafe, what was your demand? Not ‘Stop the fire, Fancy’ or ‘Evacuate the Gallery, Fancy.’ Oh, no. So long as Sweetie Belle is safe, you couldn’t care less about the others, could you?”

Rarity’s eyes went wide as Fancy’s words began to sink in.

“Imagine if I did return your sister,” Fancy continued. “What would you do? Would you stand here and hug her, whisper your hollow promises of devotion to her, all the while knowing that just beneath us, a hundred foals just like her were burning alive?”

“No…” Rarity stammered. “Sweetie is…she’s different…”

“Why? Because she’s your favorite? Because you like the taste of her cunt more than the others? Is that it, you self-righteous cow?”

Fancy’s voice was lower now. He had given up on addressing the crowd, and now spoke only to Rarity.

“You act as though you’re better than me somehow. You have the audacity to judge me, when in the end, you’re no different. Just as I had Gaze protect Silver Spoon from the fire, you now ask for special protection for your sister. And then you intend to turn a blind eye while a hundred children die in agony. Some Element of Harmony.

“So yes, dear Rarity, perhaps I am a degenerate. Perhaps I am a monster. But the difference –the only difference—between you and me, is that I know what I am.”

With some difficulty, Fancy shifted to a reclining position on the ground. Despite his injuries, he looked quite relaxed.

“Now, then, oh paragon of virtue,” he said. “I believe you were about to beat a wounded old stallion to death.”

Rarity lowered her head.

“I know…” she said. “I know the choices I’ve made have perhaps been…selfish. But Fancy, you must understand. When I look at Sweetie Belle, I feel such peace. It’s as if she embodies everything I could have been. So innocent, so kind, so full of hope. If I had been as strong as she is when I was her age, perhaps I’d have…perhaps I wouldn’t be here today…

“I know it’s selfish of me. But without her, all of this, everything I've accomplished, would mean nothing. Just let her go, Fancy...”

Rarity was in tears.

“Please…”

Fancy smiled.

“Beg me,” he said.

“What?”

“Here and now, in front of your new congregation,” Fancy said. “Bow down and beg me.”

Trembling, Rarity looked at the crowd. Most of them were too far to hear what Fancy had said.

But Triage, standing close to Rarity on the stage, had heard everything. And Rarity could see her silently mouthing three words in her direction:

“Don’t you dare.”

“I imagine the flames must be spreading by now,” Fancy said. “Tick tock, my dear.”

Rarity’s eyes darted back and forth between Fancy and Triage.

Fancy was in more pain than he let on. The pain in his leg was getting worse, and it hurt to breathe.

But just a glimpse at Rarity was all the confirmation he needed that he was far more comfortable at the moment than she was.

*******

“Good day? No, definitely not a good day.” Sweetie Belle said to herself as she lay on the mattress alone. “Bad day? No…it doesn’t feel like a bad day, either…”

Somewhere in an evidence locker at the Ponyville guard office sat a little pink book. The book was bound with a small lock, which had long since been broken by overzealous guards looking for evidence against Rarity.

Scribbled on the front of the book in permanent marker were the words:

SWEETIE BELLE’S SECRET DIARY: KEEP OUT!!!

At one point, the royal guard had hoped that this book would become the cornerstone of their case against Rarity. They had been disappointed.

Each entry in the diary was roughly the same. There would be a date, a few crude drawings in the margins, and a brief list of the day’s events.

Every single entry began with the words “good day,” or “bad day.” They would then be followed by short phrases like “Went diving with CMC today. Still no marks,” or “Had test in music class today. Perfect score!”

Rarity’s name was never mentioned.

The investigators had correctly deduced that a “good day” was a day in which Sweetie did not suffer any sort of abuse. A “bad day” designated the opposite.

But there was no way to prove that assumption in court, and so the diary had been tossed in a locker, along with various other random objects taken from the scene of Rarity’s crimes which had proven to be of no use.

No one had thought to return the diary to Sweetie Belle when she left town.

Sweetie Belle still kept her diary. She had not missed a single day since she’d lost the book. She simply kept it in her head now.

At some point in each day, she would whisper “bad day” to herself, followed by a brief recap of her activities.

She didn’t have good days anymore. Not since Indigo had adopted her.

She wasn’t sure why she did it. She just knew that keeping her diary in her head felt safe. It felt like home.

To Sweetie, “home” did not mean the house she and Rarity shared back in Ponyville. It was someplace else. A place she could go whenever she wanted, which was warm, comfortable, and safe.

A place where Sweetie Belle had never been.

But between seeing her sister again, being transported to the Gallery, and not being touched all day, Sweetie wasn’t sure how to classify the day’s events.

“Not bad, but not really good either…” she said to herself. “Maybe…”

“Hey! Are you alright?”

Sweetie turned around to see an unfamiliar soft pink unicorn with a long white mane. She gasped.

“W-who are you?” Sweetie said, shrinking away. “Don’t come any closer!”

“It’s okay!” said the unicorn, raising her front hooves. “I’m a friend! My name’s Aurora. I just wanted to make sure you were alright…”

“Aurora, wait up!” came a voice behind the unicorn. “You thaid we would go thlowly!”

“That was before Peregrine smelled smoke,” the unicorn said. “It’s probably nothing, but since the guards are gone anyway, there’s no reason to wait around.”

“Wait,” Sweetie Belle said, her posture suddenly stiffening. “Did she just say ‘thlowly?’”

A moment later, Twist ran into view.

“Well, you didn’t have to just dash off like that!” Twist said to Aurora. “I’m not as fast as yo-“

Twist’s words hung dead in the air as she caught a glimpse of Sweetie Belle.

“Oh my thun…” Twist said. “Sweetie Belle?”

“Twist…” Sweetie said softly, lowering her head. “Oh Celestia…you’re still here…”

“Where else would I go?” Twist said, forcing a smile as she walked over to Sweetie Belle.

“No, don’t do that!” Sweetie said, curling up on the mattress as if to make herself look as small as possible. “Please don’t make jokes…”

“Sweetie…”

“Every day since the Gathering, I’ve thought about you all the time,” Sweetie said. “About how scared you must be. How much pain you must be in. All because of me. All because I lied to you that day after school.”

Sweetie sat up and faced in Twist’s direction. But her eyes were shut, as if she was afraid to face her.

“Twist, it’s all my fault!” she said. “I’m so, so sorr-“

Suddenly, Sweetie felt a pair of legs surrounding her. There were two hooves on her back. Sweetie opened her eyes.

Twist was embracing her.

“It’s really good to see you, Sweetie,” she said.

“But…but…” Sweetie stammered. “You know what I did to you!”

“Stop it,” Twist said. “Don’t you ever, ever apologize for what she made you do.”

“BUT I-“

“Sweetie, you need to stop thinking like this, okay? You didn’t do this to me,” Twist said. “You’re not your sister.”

Upon hearing those words, Sweetie felt as if a tremendous weight had vanished from her back.

She collapsed in Twist’s arms and returned her embrace.

"Thank you," she said softly. "Thank you so much..."

“Don't worry,” Twist said, holding on to her friend. “We’re all going to go home.”

“Home?” Sweetie said. She turned the word over in her head, then decided it wasn’t worth contemplating further. Instead, she replaced it with two others.

“Good day,” she said, smiling.

“What was that?” Twist asked.

“Not important,” Sweetie said, breaking the embrace and wiping the tears from her eyes. “Who are you friends?”

“Oh, right!” Twist said. “This is Aurora. She’s the oldest foal here, and the nicest!”

Aurora let out a dismissive chuckle at the compliment, and smiled at Sweetie Belle.

“And this,” Twist said, indicating the blue Pegasus standing next to Aurora. “Is Peregrine. He’s…”

She hesitated for a moment, then continued.

“He’s going to help us get out of here,” she said. “I’m sure he is.”

Peregrine looked away, but smiled.

“Wait, you have an idea for getting out of here?” Sweetie said. “But how? Can Aurora teleport?”

“No, but there’s someone in the mansion who can,” Twist said. “Or at least, I hope so. It’s complicated.”

“Well, we’ve got a golden opportunity now,” Aurora said. “The guards are gone, but there’s no telling when they’ll be back. We should go out and try to break the barrier befo-“

They heard the explosion first. Then the screaming.

It had come from one of the inner areas, where the private rooms were located. From their position, none of them could see the flames, but none of them needed to. The thick black smoke billowing from the door at the far end of the room was confirmation enough.

“Oh no…” Aurora said. “The guards weren’t just leaving. They were evacuating!”

A moment later, nearly a dozen foals came running out of the door. A few had singed manes, and some were coughing loudly.

“That’s not enough…” Twist said, horrified. “There were at least twice as many foals in there!”

She ran off to get a better look at the door, and Aurora followed.

“I can’t see any fire!” she said. “There’s too much smoke! Why aren’t the others coming out?”

“That much smoke can get you almost as fast as fire can,” Aurora said. “We need to get to the outer chamber! Come on!”

Sweetie and Peregrine joined them, and together the four foals began running toward the Gallery’s front door.

Twist lagged back for just a moment, and turned to take a last look at the smoke-filled room. She could hear voices on the other side of the door. They sounded terrified.

“TWIST! For sun’s sake, RUN!”

Twist gritted her teeth and ran in the direction of Aurora’s voice.

*******

There was no strength left in Rarity’s legs.

She was not tired. She was not in pain. But the simple act of standing upright had become a herculian effort.

She looked back at Triage, desperately. The surgeon returned an ice-cold stare.

She looked at the crowd. Every eye was on her.

A single thought roared through her mind, drowning out everything else:

The longer you wait, the more likely she is to die.

Rarity’s legs gave out. Her neck felt like there was a thousand pound weight on it.

She bowed.

“Fancy,” she said. “I be-“

Before she could finish, she felt Triage’s hoof clap over her mouth.

“Don’t be stupid,” Triage said. “Fancy couldn’t bring your sister back even if he wanted to.”

Fancypants raised an eyebrow.

“Think about it, Rarity!” Triage said. “If he could just zap in there and get her, he wouldn’t even be here! He’d have teleported away as soon as the fight ended! Look at him. He couldn’t possibly concentrate hard enough to cast a teleport spell. He’s in too much pain!”

Triage took her hoof off of Rarity’s mouth.

“Get up,” she whispered. “You’re embarrassing us.”

Fancy chuckled as Rarity got to her hooves.

Rarity heard murmurs from the crowd. And behind her, Sapphire and Hoity exchanged uneasy whispers.

“Well, that didn’t go over terribly well, did it?” Fancy said, smiling. “You’re losing them, dear.”

“Wow,” Sapphire whispered to Hoity. “He doesn’t give up, does he? What does he have to gain by embarrassing Rarity?”

“Petty revenge, I suppose,” Hoity said. “There’s no other reason for him to taking up so much time when…wait.”

“Hoity?”

“Taking up time…why would he want to-RARITY!”

Rarity and Fancy both turned to face Hoity.

“He’s stalling us!” Hoity shouted. “He’s just buying time until that servant of his comes ba-“

Whoosh.

As if on cue, Gaze was suddenly standing on the stage. A second later, Hoity fell to the ground unconscious, immediately after the grey unicorn had delivered a sharp blow to the back of his neck.

Fancy was relieved, but only for a moment. When he looked at Gaze, the color drained from his face.

“Gaze?” he asked uneasily.

Rarity noticed the source of Fancy’s discomfort immediately.

There stood Gaze, a pony known for both his brutal efficiency and his stoic, emotionless demeanor.

And he was smiling.

*******

The Gallery was in chaos.

The smoke that had been billowing from the far rooms had now given way to a raging blaze. Twist, Sweetie, Aurora and Peregrine found themselves in the midst of a hoard of stampeding, panicking foals as they made their way to the outer chamber.

“They left us to die!” shouted one colt, in the midst of a panic. “THEY LEFT US ALL TO DIE!”

As they neared the door to the outer chamber, Aurora glanced around.

“My sun,” she said. “He’s the only one left…”

“Who’s the only one left?” Peregrine asked.

“Um, nothing.” Aurora said, avoiding his gaze.

“Cripes, can’t you be straight with me this one time?” Peregrine said. “Who were you talking about when you said ‘he’? And why won’t you look me in the…”

Peregrine stopped running.

He stood motionless as scores of foals raced by him. Aurora’s comment suddenly made sense to him.

There were no Pegasi running past him. Not a single one.

He looked back at the room behind him, which was now consumed in flames.

The chains, he thought. They were all chained up in that room. There’s no way they could have gotten out before…

“AURORA!”

Aurora was almost at the door to the outer chamber, but she stopped and turned toward Peregrine.

“Come here,” he said.

“Are you crazy?” Aurora said. “Get away from there before the fire spreads!”

“COME. HERE.” Peregrine said. He spoke with such calm intensity that Aurora felt almost compelled to comply. She walked over to Peregrine.

“Get on my back,” he said. “We’re doing this now. We’re breaking the barrier.”

“Are you sure?” Aurora said, taken aback. “You’ve never had a successful takeoff before. And you’d be carrying me, to boot!”

“I’ll have to do,” said Peregrine. “You said it yourself. I’m the only one left.”

Aurora nodded solemnly and climbed unto Peregrine’s back.

“Hold on,” he said. “Oh, and Aurora?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry. For everything.”

Shouldn’t you be saying that to Twist? Aurora thought. But she decided not to vocalize her thoughts.

“Okay,” Aurora said, wrapping her forelegs around his neck. “Are you ready?”

“To fly?” Peregrine replied. “I’ve been ready my whole damn life.”

With that, the blue Pegasus took off into a sprint. Behind him, there was a small explosion as the flames began to spread into the Gallery’s main room.

Most of the foals were in the outer chamber now, and which gave Peregrine a straight shot to the door. As he reached the entrance, he began to flap his wings.

“Get your spell ready,” he said. “I doubt I can do this twice.”

“You sure you can do this even once?” Aurora said.

“It's like I told you!” Peregrine said as he dashed into the outer chamber. “I just needed more runway!”

Peregrine jumped.

He did not come back down.

The colt gasped as he realized he was airborne. Aurora, her hooves around his neck, let out a frightened yelp.

“YEEEEES!” shouted the blue Pegasus as the foals below watched in surprise. He glanced downward and caught a glimpse of Twist, jumping up and down excitedly. Sweetie Belle was next to her, looking excited but surprised.

The mural where the barrier was anchored was directly above Aurora and Peregrine.

“We can do this!” Aurora said! “I’ll prep the spell! Climb!”

“Don’t worry!” said Peregrine. He wobbled a bit and lost some altitude as he spoke, but he quickly regained it. “I’ve got this!”

Peregrine began his ascent. It was awkward and rough, and he almost fell crashing to the ground in more than one instance. But for every hoof he fell, he would climb two more. Now that he was in the air, reaching the mural did not seem like a challenge; it seemed like an inevitability. Flying was difficult, but it felt incredibly natural.

“I was meant to be up here,” he whispered to himself. “I was born for this.”

As he reached the ceiling, Peregrine heard arcane words being whispered in his ear, and felt a strange warmth near the top of his head. He surmised, correctly, that it came from Aurora’s glowing horn.

“I’ve got it! The spell's cast!” she said. “Now just get me up there! I’ve got to touch the goblet painted on the roof in the next minute or the spell will dissipate!”

“I know! I know! Relax!” Peregrine said. “We’re almost there.”

On the ground, most of the foals were looking straight up. Many of the younger foals had never seen a Pegasus in flight before, and in any case, the spectacle was preferable to looking back at the ever-encroaching flames.

“What are they doing up there?” a filly asked Twist.

“They’re giving us a chance,” she replied.

“Almost there…” Peregrine said, groaning as his wings began to tire. “Just a little further….can you reach?”

“Maybe…” Aurora said. She stretched out her neck, but came up slightly short. “Damn! Get me higher! Just a tiny bit more!”

“I’m trying!” Peregrine said. “It’s getting harder to stay up!”

Aurora looked down. Smoke was beginning to waft into the outer hall.

“No time,” she said. “Sorry, Peregrine! This might hurt a bit!”

Before the Pegasus could respond, Aurora moved her back legs so her hooves were resting on Peregrine’s back. Then, with a look of grim determination, she let go of his neck, and pushed off with her back legs.

Peregrine fell downward, but managed to remain aloft.

“Oh my moon!” Sweetie Belle shouted. “She jumped!”

The foals gasped in unison as Aurora rose in the air of her own power. Her ascent lasted only a second, but it felt like hours as her glowing horn grew ever closer to the goblet painted on the ceiling.

Then, for just the briefest instant, they connected.

It was all she needed.

*******

“I just can’t believe that’s all it took to get rid of him!” Silver said to Twilight. “Where do you think he went?”

“Frankly, I don’t care right now,” Twilight replied. “For the time being, we have to find an alternate way to get down to the Gall-AHHH!” Twilight grabbed her head as if she were in sudden pain.

“Twilight? Are you okay? What was that?”

“Magical feedback,” she said. “Something big just happened nearby. Like a powerful spell was cancelled or…”

“The barrier?” Silver said hopefully.

“Maybe,” Twilight said, rubbing her temples. “Give me a moment to let the pain go away and I can give teleporting another try.”

*******

It happened so quickly.

Peregrine saw Aurora touch the goblet. He saw the light from her horn expand, creating a massive white aura which covered the entire ceiling. This, he realized, was the physical form of the barrier. As he looked up in awe, he flew to position himself to catch Aurora as she began to fall.

Then the barrier shattered.

There was a sound like a hundred glass windows breaking at once, and with it came a magical shockwave. Peregrine was sent flying backwards, slamming against the wall. The shockwave had been incredibly powerful.

And Aurora had been right in the center of it.

It took Peregrine a moment to get his bearings. He’d taken a bad hit, but was still able to float down to the ground, mostly on instinct.

Once he was lucid again, he noticed a small circle of foals gathered in the center of the room. He heard Twist’s voice.

“GIVE HER SOME SPACE!”

A few foals backed up. That was when Peregrine saw it.

There was blood all over the floor.

“Aurora…” he said. “AURORA!”

He ran toward the small group of foals to find Aurora lying on the ground. Twist was sitting with her, with Aurora’s head in her lap.

Twist’s leg was covered in blood.

“What happened?” Peregrine said as he pushed his way through the crowd.

“She…” Sweetie Belle said. “When the barrier broke, she just came down so fast…”

Aurora’s eyes were closed. Her breathing was shallow.

“Hey, is that Peregrine?” she said. “Nice flying, pal.”

“I couldn’t get us high enough…” Peregrine replied. “This is my fault…”

“Don’t be stupid,” Aurora said. “I’m the one who jumped. But then…I forget what happened next. I think…I think I hit my head…”

“Shhh, it’s okay,” Twist said. “You did it. You broke the barrier.”

“Really?” Aurora said. She smiled. “That’s…that’s good…”

Her voice trailed away.

“Aurora, can you still hear me?” Twist said desperately.

“Yeah, you’re a little foggy, though,” she said. Her voice was much quieter than usual, and her words were slightly slurred. “Are you far away?”

Twist was inches from Aurora’s face.

“I’m right here,” Twist said. “I’m right here with you, okay? All of us are.”

The crowd responded with a chorus of replies.

“We’re here, Aurora!”

“Don’t be scared!”

“Thank you for helping me feel welcome when I came here…”

“Thanks for that time you snuck me extra food when I was sick!”

“We love you!”

Aurora chuckled, and smiled widely. “You guys…” she said. “Happy to help. Hey, is Peregrine still there?”

“I’m here…” Peregrine said. “I’m not going anywhere!”

“Good,” Aurora said. “Listen, I’m sorry I was so hard on you. I know you did some bad things, but you’re not a bad colt. Not deep down. So I can’t speak for Twist or anyone else, but for what it’s worth: I forgive you.”
.
Peregrine closed his eyes.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“Twist?” Aurora said. “I…this place…the Gallery…”

“Yeth?” Twist said. “What about the Gallery?”

“I don’t want to die here.”

Sweetie Belle buried her face in her hooves.

“I spent most of my life here,” Aurora said. “I just…I just wanted to see the sky again, Twist! Was that asking so much?”

“Aurora, it’s okay! You’ll be fine!” Twist said desperately.

“When I was little,” Aurora said. “I’d go out at night, and just look at the stars. I told you about that. But sometimes, the moon would come out and it would be so bright! It would bathe the whole sky in its light. That’s when the sky was at its most beautiful. When it would shine just like the moon…”

“I can see it,” Twist said, closing her eyes. “I can see your sky, Aurora. It’s all around me, shining so bright. It’s so beautiful…”

“Twist, when you get out of here, look at it for me, okay?” Aurora said. “Every now and then, just go out and count the stars. I always loved to count the stars…”

“We…we can do that right now!” Twist said. “You were unconscious for so long, Aurora, you missed it! We got rescued! You’re outside, and it’s night time! You don’t have to die in the Gallery! You’re free! All of us are free!”

Aurora’s eyes remained closed. But Twist noticed a few tears trickling down from them.

“Oh, Twist,” she said. “You’re a great storyteller…and a terrible liar.”

Twist closed her eyes. She couldn't bear to look anymore.

“I…” Twist stammered. “I just wanted to…”

“It’s okay…” Aurora said. “I appreciate you trying. And thanks so much for helping me see the sky…”

“The sky!” Twist said. “Tell me more about how it looks when the moon is really bright! What color is the sky then, Aurora?”

Her friend did not respond.

“Aurora? What color is it? Aren’t you going to tell me? Aurora?”

Twist opened her eyes.

Aurora's eyes were open, too. They were pointed right at Twist. And for one fleeting moment, Twist was sure they could still see her.

But then the moment passed.

[NEXT: Gaze/Twilight/Retribution]