A Silver Sky: Four Little Ponies

--Chapter 24: Free--

Sweetie Belle had been holding Twist for as long as she could. She didn't want to let go. But she couldn't put it off any longer.

“Twist, we need to get moving.”

“NO! Don’t leave! Please don’t leave!”

“I won’t leave you! I promise. But we need to move to the other side of the room. The fire’s going to be here soon.”

“The…fire?”

Twist let go of Sweetie Belle for the first time in what felt like an eternity. She looked at the door to the inner Gallery. The room was completely consumed in flames.

Twist stared at the fire, paralyzed.

“Will…will it hurt?” she said.

“Twist, please, just run! Everyone else is already bunched up on the other side!”

Sweetie let go of Twist, prompting a terrified cry from her friend. "NO SWEETIE PLEASE DON'T LET GO!"

“Take my hoof, okay? We’ll go to the other side together. That should buy us a few more minutes. Maybe Silver Spoon can send help by then.”

Hesitantly, Twist nodded and touched Sweetie’s hoof. The filly began to run toward the far corner of the room. But then she felt Twist’s hoof slip away from her own.

She turned around to see Twist running toward the cloud of smoke which had already consumed part of the chamber.

“TWIST! What are you doing? Come back!”

“I HAVE TO SAVE HER!” Twist shouted. It was then that Sweetie realized that Twist was running toward Aurora’s body. Before she could call out to her friend, Twist vanished into the cloud of smoke.

For a few terrible seconds, Sweetie stared into the cloud, unsure of what else she could do.

“Please…” she said, knowing no one could hear her. “Please, not her, too…”

A moment later, she heard coughing.

Twist emerged from the smoke, wheezing, her coat blackened with soot. There was a pony lying on her back. It wasn’t Aurora.

Happy Tune, dazed but alive, rolled off Twist’s back as she arrived near Sweetie Belle.

“TWIST!” Sweetie said, hugging her friend again. “Oh, thank goodness! You scared me!”

Twist coughed, and managed a smile.

“I thought you’d gone in there to get Aurora’s body…” Sweetie said. “How did you even know that foal was in there?”

“I didn’t,” Twist said. “I was going in there to get Aurora. I figured at least that way she’d have a chance of getting to go outside, you know? But then I saw Happy lying next to her. I couldn’t carry them both back.”

“So you chose the living pony over the dead one.” Sweetie said.

“I didn’t choose anything,” Twist said, shaking her head. “I just acted. Besides, that’s not Aurora back there.”

Twist turned back for just a moment. She saw the flames spread to where Aurora's body lay.

“Aurora’s not in the Gallery anymore.”

Twist sat and watched the flames for a moment. But only for a moment. She then turned to Happy Tune.

The yellow filly, still lying on the ground, began to cough softly.

“Pretty lights,” Happy whispered. “Didn’t you see them? Take me back…I want to see the pretty lights…”

“No, Happy,” Twist said. “You stay here with us, okay?”

“But the Gallery!” Happy Tune said “It disappeared! I need to go back to the Gallery. There’s ponies waiting for me there. Waiting to touch me and play with me. Don’t make them wait. I need them…need to feel them…”

She rolled over unto her side. “All the patrons went away. Do they not like me anymore?” she said. “I promise I’ll try harder to please them! Whatever they want. Tell them I’ll do anything! Tell them, okay?”

“It’s okay, Happy,” Twist said gently. “You don’t have to do that sort of thing anymore...”

“Noooooo no no no no!” Happy Tune cried, hiding her face with her hooves. “But I need to! I need to! If I don’t please grownups, how will I know if I’m good? If I can’t get them off, then what good am I?

“I need them! I need them right now! My body feels so empty! Twist, please, take me back to them!”

She curled up on the floor and began to cry.

“Take me back…” Happy said. “She’ll hurt me if I don’t please them…”

“Dear sun…” Sweetie Belle whispered. “What happened to her?”

“This place happened,” Twist said sadly.

The flames were spreading rapidly now. Sweetie picked up Happy Tune, who had gone limp, and began to walk to the far corner with Twist.

Twist forced a smile and looked at Sweetie Belle. “It won’t be too bad dying here,” she said. “At least I got to see this horrible place burn.”

Without warning, Sweetie stopped walking. Her eyes went wide

“Sweetie?”

“I…feel something…” Sweetie Belle said. “Something’s coming.”

The other unicorns in the chamber wore the same expression. There was powerful magic in the air.

The air began crackling with purple sparks. A moment later, there was a flash of light. The assembled foals gasped.

The pony who appeared before them wore a look of calm determination. Even though there was a raging inferno right behind her, she did not flinch or express any sort of fear. She turned and stood calmly before the blaze.

Some of the newer residents of the Gallery knew of this pony. A few had dreamed of meeting her, or growing up to be like her. The vanquisher of Discord. The redeemer of the Moon Princess. The faithful student.

Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic.

They watched as a purple light erupted from her horn, and a massive barrier was erected between the outer chamber and the flames.

“Oh, my sun,” whispered Peregrine. “She’s pushing the fire back.”

The barrier was transparent, so to the foals could watch as the fire continued to burn, but did not spread. Another burst of light from Twilight’s horn caused the remaining smoke outside the barrier to vanish.

The purple unicorn turned away from her work and addressed the crowd of foals. There was a gentle smile on her lips.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” she said. “I’ve come to take you all home.”

*******

Upper Crust had never been a pony who enjoyed living quietly.

It seemed to her that there was no point in having wealth if one did not flaunt it. She had long since concluded that a humble, simple life was the refuge of those who could not afford to live extravagantly. She was famous in Canterlot society for her decadent parties, in which she always made some announcement or arrived in some outfit which captured the attention of the room. Wherever she went, whatever she did, she made it her mission to stand out, and make sure everyone present would go home with her name on their lips.

Tonight, Upper Crust found herself doing everything she could to blend into the crowd.

As Gaze appeared before them, pointing to Fancy’s corpse as if it were some sort of trophy, Upper Crust could already tell that he wasn’t going to stop there. She had been standing just to the left of the grey unicorn when he appeared, and as he began to speak, she slowly began to walk backward, keeping her head down to make herself appear small as she tried to vanish into the crowd of ponies which had parted when Gaze appeared.

“Who wants to be number two?”

Upper Crust let out an involuntary whimper.

Gaze’s ears twitched at the sound.

“Hello, there,” he said, as he turned in her direction. “Oh, I remember you.”

Upper Crust continued backing away. Normally, when threatened by a rival, she would stand her ground, and respond with a sarcastic jibe or, in a pinch, a “Don’t you know who I am?” But she had never been threatened quite like this.

“I was there that night at the Gathering, you know. Fancy made sure I observed everything. Part of my job. And I saw you,” the grey unicorn said. “The way you humiliated that poor foal with the glasses. Do you remember? She asked you why you had spit on her. And do you remember what you said?”

“I…” Upper Crust said, trying to look anywhere but at her accuser “I don’t…”

“I remember,” the grey unicorn said. “You said you did it because, and this is a quote, ‘there’s no one here to stop me.’ I don’t forget stuff like that, see. Photographic memory. Helped me get this job. I guess I should have felt angry, hearing that. But I didn’t. I feel angry now, though. And sad, and kind of giddy, and even a bit scared. I’m feeling SO MUCH right now! How about you? How do you feel?”

Upper Crust, still backing away, moved her lips, but no words came out.

“Sorry, what was that?” Gaze said. “You’ll have to speak up!”

“I…” Upper Crust’s voice was cracking. The refined, self-assured society mare dropped to the ground and began to cry. “PLEASE DON’T KILL ME! I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY!”

“Shhhhh, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Gaze said. “It’s going to be fine. I just want to correct one tiny little mistake you made, that’s all.”

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“When you said there was no one who could stop you,” he said. “You forgot about someone.”

“Please! Just let me go!” Upper Crust wailed. “I didn’t even notice you were there!”

“Oh, no, I don’t mean myself," he said. “I was talking about you. You could have stopped yourself from hurting her. You could have shown her some kindness, or at least left her alone. But you didn’t. You made your choice.”

“It's true. I did," Upper Crust said. “I made a terrible choice. But you don’t have to be like me! You can still make the right decision! Killing me won’t undo what I did!”

Gaze was silent for a moment. Then he frowned, and nodded sadly. “You’re right,” he said.

Gaze vanished before Upper Crust’s eyes.

Upper Crust sighed in relief. But then she felt a pair of hooves closing around her neck. She heard the beginning of a snap.

“Oh, well. Guess I’m just as bad at self-control as you are,” Twenty said as Upper Crust’s body fell to the ground. He chuckled to himself.

“RUN! HE’S CRAZY!” screamed Wishing Star as she stumbled toward the door to the grand hall. Her screams jerked several of her fellows out of the state of shock they were in, and they began to run toward the door en masse.

“You cowards!” shouted Sapphire Shores from the stage. “Just rush him! There's one of him and fifty of us!"

Her words were drowned out by screams of panic from the crowd of Circle members as they began to run for the door. Gaze, for his part, did not give chase. Instead, he focused his attention at the ponies standing on the stage.

“Quite a set of pipes on you, Sapphire,” he said. “How about I make you number three?”

Sapphire stamped the ground with her right forehoof, and locked eyes with the grey unicorn. She did her best to conceal her sprain.

“You think I’m afraid of a damn butler? Come and get me, Gaze!” she said.

Gaze sneered and appeared in front of Sapphire, swiftly kicking her in the stomach before she could react.

“MY NAME…” he said as he hit Sapphire in the face. “…IS TWENTY!”

With a last, brutal kick, he sent Sapphire flying off the stage. She landed on the carpet below, wounded but alive.

Twenty turned to leap down after her. But before he could, he felt something small and sharp touching his neck. Out of the corner of his eye, Twenty saw Triage, with her horn glowing.

“That pinch you’re feeling is my favorite scalpel,” Triage said. “And in case you don’t know your anatomy, it’s pressed up against one of your major arteries. All I have to do is make one tiny cut, and you’ll bleed out in seconds.”

“I could just teleport away,” Twenty said.

“I never mastered teleport spells myself,” Triage said, “But it wasn’t for lack of trying. If I remember right, you automatically take anything you’re touching with you. Well, my scalpel’s touching you. It goes where you go now. And besides, if I hear anything that even resembles a whoosh, I’ll make my incision.”

“I’ll just vanish out of your range. You’ll never cut me fast enough,” Twenty said.

“Kid, I’m the greatest surgeon alive,” Triage countered. She was wearing an aggressive grin. “You sure you want to risk it?”

Twenty sighed, and let out a small chuckle. “I guess you’ve got me dead to rights,” he said. “Hey, is that the same scalpel you used to disfigure that poor silver filly?”

“I’ve always got it on me. It’s a good luck charm. But don’t worry,” said Triage with a smirk. “I’ve sterilized it since then.”

“Enough,” said Rarity. “Your little rampage is over, Gaze. Or Twenty, or whatever your name is. Most of the Circle has fled the room. I imagine some will stay in the mansion for a while to help themselves to some of Fancy’s belongings, but it doesn’t matter. Whatever you hoped to accomplish, you’ve failed.”

“You,” Twenty said as he locked eyes with Rarity. “After Fancy, you’re the worst of them all. The way you ruined that silver foal’s mind, actually made her ask to be abused. It was one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen. And believe me, that’s saying something.”

“Silver Spoon’s devotion is indeed a remarkable thing,” Rarity said.

“And now I bet you think you’re going to find her here in the mansion, waltz out of here with her, and finish destroying her life, don’t you? You disgusting, sick-“

“SAPPHIRE! HOITY! Get out. And take the other members with you.” Rarity said, without breaking eye contact with Twenty. “Triage. Keep that scalpel on him.”

Sapphire got to her hooves, with considerable difficulty. “You’re sending us away? What the hell? What if he runs?”

“Then he dies,” Triage said, poking Twenty’s neck with the scalpel for emphasis. “But seriously, Rarity, why would you-“

“You made me leader. That means nothing if you’re not willing to follow orders,” Rarity said. “I assure you, I do this for the good of the Circle. Now leave.”

Hoity, having only regained consciousness minutes earlier, was in no condition to argue. He walked out the door without a word.

“You’d better know what you’re doing, Rarity,” said Sapphire, as she limped away, followed by the few Circle members remaining in the room.

Rarity looked Twenty right in the eyes.

“Just the three of us now,” she said. “So here is my offer. You say you want me dead. How badly do you want that, Twenty?”

“Enough jokes. Just fucking end it,” he said. “Cut my throat. I’m not afraid to die.”

“You’re not?” Rarity said. “That’s interesting. Because in all honesty, I am.

“The truth is, I am quite frightened of death, Twenty,” Rarity said. “Life holds so many wonderful pleasures, so many things to enjoy and indulge in. I can’t imagine giving that up. And while I'm not convinced there is an afterlife, I hold no illusions about what awaits me if there is one. The divine hymns are quite explicit about what happens to the soul of a pony who commits the sort of transgressions I have.

"I want you to know that. I want you to know that if you kill me, I will not die easily. My life will end in a state of utter terror.”

Triage cast a bewildered look at Rarity. She ignored it. She continued to speak to Twenty, in an utterly calm, detached voice.

“I’m telling you this, because I am under the impression that you want me to suffer. I want you to know how great my suffering will be if I die at your hooves.”

“Why?” Twenty said.

“Because it will help sweeten my offer,” she said. “Save my sister, Twenty. Go to the Gallery, right now, and rescue her from that fire. Please. Do this for me, and I will let you kill me.”

“WHAT?” said Triage. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”

“Death would be a gift compared to a life without her,” Rarity said. “All I ask is that you save her. That you allow me ten minutes with her to say goodbye. And that you make sure that she and Silver Spoon return to Ponyville safely. Do this, and I will order Triage to drop the scalpel. I will put up no resistance. Refuse, and I will order her to kill you.”

“How do you know I won’t just kill you both when she drops that scalpel?” Twenty said.

“Because you’re a Silent Knight,” Rarity said.

Twenty gritted his teeth. “How did you-“

“One doesn’t make friends with Twilight Sparkle without learning all manner of obscure Equestrian lore,” Rarity said. “I realized it as soon as I saw you drop your facade. You had been under deep cover all this time. No wonder your mind is in such a state.

“And the Princess doesn’t pick just anyone to be a Silent Knight,” Rarity continued. “If she chose you, it means you’re an honorable stallion. Someone who believes in justice and truth. Someone who would never break an oath, not even one made to a pony he despises.

“Besides,” Rarity concluded. “If you refuse, you would essentially be allowing an innocent foal to burn to death. Is that what you want, Twenty? To stand by and do nothing while children suffer, yet again?”

Twenty kept his eyes fixed on Rarity. It took everything Rarity had not to look away. She had never seen so much hatred in another pony’s eyes before.

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll save your sister.”

“Thank you,” Rarity said softly. “Triage, put down the scalpel.”

“No! Hell, no!” Triage said “I noticed your little deal didn’t include safety for the Circle. Once he’s done with you, he’ll come after us!”

“That is unfortunate, but my first concern must lie with my family,” Rarity said.

“You two-faced bitch!” Triage said. “We saved you from prison! We gave you all this power! I thought you understood loyalty, Rarity. I thought you knew who your friends were.”

“It’s amazing, the sort of clarity one finds when she realizes her life is at an end,” Rarity said quietly. “Believe me, Triage, I know exactly who my friends are.”

In her mind, she saw a letter being consumed by flames, with the word “LOVE” written in bright pink.

Triage stared at Rarity, seething.

“I won’t let you do this!” she said. “I’ll just kill him here and no-“

Taking advantage of Triage’s distraction, Twenty vanished.

“DAMMIT!” Triage yelled. “Look what you’ve done! I can’t believe you sold us all out!”

“Calm down, Triage,” Rarity said. “I have no intention of letting that maniac harm me or any other Circle member.”

Triage blinked. “Then what was that all about?”

“That was about getting my sister back,” Rarity said. She raised a hoof and indicated one of the few tables in the room which had not been knocked over during the melee. “I want you to hide under there. Keep your scalpel prepared. Once I’ve confirmed Sweetie’s safety, and Twenty returns to kill me, you’re to make good on your promise and slit the idiot’s throat.”

Triage sighed. “I should have known you had something up your sleeve. But I’m not sure he’ll let me sneak up on him again,” she said. “You’re taking a huge risk here, Rarity.”

“I have no objection to putting my own life in danger if the situation warrants it,” Rarity said matter-of-factly. “But not hers. Never hers.”

*******

In an unassuming area at the end of a hallway, deep in Fancy’s mansion, a table began to shake. A vase fell off the table and shattered. A nearby painting fell off the wall, its near-priceless frame breaking in two upon impact.

A mass teleport spell has a way of destabilizing things around it.

There was a massive burst of light, and forty foals appeared in the room, along with Twilight Sparkle.

For a moment, no one said a word.

Then a green filly looked in disbelief at the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

“A window,” she said. “A window! Look, you guys! You can see so much...”

She was trembling. “Six years down there…I’d forgotten…” she said. “I’d forgotten how it looked…”

“How what looked?” Twilight asked.

“The world,” said the filly, crying tears of joy.

All at once, the foals began running toward the nearby window. Thankfully, it was huge, allowing all of them a chance to look outside.

“A tree! Oh my gosh, a tree!”

“Is that a bunny running across the lawn? He’s so cute!”

“The moon doesn’t have Nightmare Moon’s face on it anymore! When did that happen?”

Twilight beamed as she watched the foals joyously chatter about the endless wonders they saw outside the window. She had never seen a happier group of children.

Twist hugged Twilight. “Thank you so much, Mith Twilight,” she said. “You and Silver Spoon are real heroeth.”

Twilight blushed. “Stop it,” she said. “Speaking of Silver Spoon, where is she? I asked her to wait here.”

“Maybe she’s in the bathroom or something?” Twist said, shrugging.

“I guess. Anyway, I’d better go back down there and get Sweetie Belle and the others. Forty ponies in one teleport is the most I’ve ever done, but if I push I think I can get the rest in one trip. Keep an eye on this bunch until I get back, okay?”

“Sure thing, Miss Twilight,” Twist said. Twilight winked at her, and then vanished in a flash of light.

Twist slowly walked up to the window and looked upwards.

“One…two…three…”

“What are you doing, Twist?” Peregrine asked.

“I’m counting stars,” she said.

“…oh,” Peregrine said sadly. “Um…can I help?”

“I think she’d like that,” Twist said.

The two foals looked up at the twinkling lights in the sky and counted them one by one.

*******

The mood in the outer chamber was considerably brighter when Twilight reappeared.

“Hey, everyone!” she said, “Sorry to keep you all waiting!”

“No worries, Twilight,” said Sweetie Belle. “It was actually kind of fun! We got to see the fire burn itself out!”

Sure enough, there was nothing left of the fire on the other side of the barrier. All that was left were the charred, ruined remains of the Gallery.

“Why’d it do that, anyway?” asked a foal.

“The barrier I created was airtight,” Twilight said, in her practiced wise-librarian voice. “Once the fire burned through its remaining oxygen, there was nothing it could do but die out.”

The remaining foals gathered around Twilight in a cluster, as the first group had done. One of them carried Happy Tune on his back. She no longer put up any resistance, but simply lay quietly on her side.

“Ready, everyone?” Twilight said. “Let’s get out of this terrible place.”

The flash of light which accompanied Twilight’s arrival in the mansion was even brighter than the previous one. But this group of foals could not have acted more differently. Seeing their friends clustered around the window, the group erupted in cheers, and excited chatter filled the air.

Through the clamor, it was impossible to hear the gentle sound of whooshing wind.

“Sweetie! Sweetie!” Twist said, running toward the crowd. “Did you get to thee the fire burn out?”

She scanned the group, but Sweetie Belle was nowhere to be found.

“Sweetie? Twilight, did you forget Sweetie Belle?”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight said. “Sweetie was right next to me when we teleported. I cast the spell to specifically take every pony in the room back with me. Sweetie has to have come with us.”

“Well, she’s not here now,” Twist said. “Where could she have gone?”

*******

Triage lay hidden underneath the table. The tablecloth was intentionally pulled over to one side to obscure her from view.

Rarity knew she was there. But for all intents and purposes, Rarity was alone in the grand hall.

She would have been happy for the respite, were it not for the unbearableness of waiting.

“Come back to me, my love,” she whispered. “Please, please, be safe.”

She heard the door begin to creak as it slowly opened.

Under the table, Triage readied her scalpel, and peaked out from under the tablecloth to confirm that Twenty had returned.

But the pony who entered the room was not Twenty. It was a foal. Triage did not recognize her.

“Who are you?” Rarity asked, as a small white filly entered the room.

“Miss Rarity?” asked the foal. “Don’t you remember me?”

Rarity gasped as Fancy’s magical illusion melted away before her eyes. The spell could be broken by recognition. And there was no other filly who spoke Rarity’s name with such reverence.

“Silver Spoon,” Rarity said.

“At last…” the silver filly said. “I’ve finally found you again.”

[NEXT: Rarity and Silver Spoon]