A Silver Sky: Four Little Ponies

--Chapter 27: Daybreak--

In the past few months, Twist had grown to understand cruelty.

She had seen so many, many ponies who reveled in the act of harming another. For them, the Gallery was not a place of sexual release. Sex was just another form of violence to them, another way to inflict pain.

After a while, it became easy to tell the cruel patrons from the ones who only wanted sex. There was a certain look, a certain attitude, which cruel ponies exhibited when they were preparing to practice their craft. It was a glint in their eyes, a particular way their voices lowered, a way their lips curled when they smiled.

She was not sure she could describe it in words. But every foal in the Gallery knew that look. Every one of them feared it.

To Twist’s profound surprise, the red unicorn wore no such look on his face.

She had assumed that a pony who had killed so many, who thought nothing of staining his coat with the blood of his victims, must have been yet another sadist. But Twenty was nothing of the sort. His eyes were calm, almost empty, as he raised the scalpel toward Rarity. The grin he had been wearing had vanished. As he prepared to end Rarity’s life, there was a strangely dull expression on his face.

He looked as though he was waiting for something.

The look in Rarity's eyes could not have been more different. She was terrified. In another second, the blade would slash open her throat, and she would die in a state of fear and agony.

Twist was afraid as well. She didn’t want to see another pony die. Not again. Not as long as she lived.

But as Aurora’s face flashed through her head once again, a small realization hit her:

Aurora didn’t end up in the Gallery by accident. She was put in there.

Rarity was whimpering in fear…

Aurora was put in there by someone like her.

Suddenly, the sight of Rarity at Twenty’s mercy did not disturb Twist nearly as much as it had a moment earlier.

Suddenly, she understood those cruel ponies even better.

As soon as she made the connection, she shut her eyes.

I won’t watch, she thought. I hate her, but no pony deserves to die. I won’t let this place change me. I won’t watch!

“STOP!”

Twist opened her eyes.

Silver Spoon was bleeding from her left cheek. There was a small drop of blood on Twenty’s scalpel.

The foal had thrown herself between him and Rarity.

“Stop…please…” Silver said. “Don’t hurt Mi-…don’t hurt Rarity…”

“Silver…” Rarity said. “I knew I could count on you.”

“Please don’t talk like that,” Silver said. “Just because I don’t want you to die, that doesn’t change what I said before.”

“Still,” Rarity said. “I am touched that you would go to such lengths for me.”

“Well, I...that is…” Silver stammered. “When you abandoned me, Sweetie Belle yelled from the carriage that she would always be my friend. I didn’t realize at the time how much that meant to me. But her words have stayed with me since then. They helped me get through a lot of hard times.”

Silver stood up on her hind legs with her back to Rarity. Then she spread her forelegs out, in order to shield as much of Rarity as she could.

She smiled in Sweetie’s direction. “I can’t just stand by and let my friend lose her only sister,” she said.

Silver couldn’t see it, but the expression Rarity gave Sweetie told her that she didn’t quite buy Silver’s explanation.

Twenty shook his head violently. “No, this is all wrong!” he said. “How could you protect someone like her? You’re a foal! She’s one of them! I’m doing this to protect ponies like you, don’t you get that?”

“No,” Silver said. “Killing doesn’t protect anyone. Please, just stop, okay? No one else has to get hurt.”

“This is ridiculous,” Twenty said. “I can just teleport behind you. She’d be dead before you could turn around.”

“Then why haven’t you?” Twist said. “Why didn’t you do that the second she protected her? Why tell her you’re going to do that at all?”

Twenty sneered at Twist. The filly did not move.

“You don’t have it in you,” she said. “You’re not like the Circle members. You don’t want any foals to suffer.”

“Of course I don’t!” Twenty shouted. “Why do you think I’m doing this?”

“All those other ponies you killed were alone, huh?” Twist continued. “You’ve never had to kill someone in front of a foal before.”

Silver narrowed her gaze and moved so her back was pressed up against Rarity.

“You could kill Rarity,” Silver said. “But we’ll see it. All four of us will see a mare die. Is that what you want?”

“You don’t understand!” Twenty said, grabbing his head with his free hoof. “This is my duty. I am a knight of Luna! If I let this monster escape, I’d be letting the Princess down. I can’t…”

Twenty closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I’m wasting time,” he said. “I’ll just teleport Rarity away with me. Then you won’t see anything, and I’ll have served my princess. Yes. A just and fair act, as befits a knight of Equestria.”

Silver turned around and embraced Rarity. But she kept her eyes locked on Twenty.

“You’ll have to take me, too,” she said. “And I won’t look away.”

Twenty stomped the ground with his hoof. “Fine,” he said. “Then watch.”

He vanished, appearing an instant later on Rarity’s other side. He raised his scalpel.

Rarity let out a small whimper.

“Is this what your Princess would want?” Silver cried out, with desperation in her voice. “Is this how you serve her? By killing mares in front of children?”

Despite herself, Rarity could not take her eyes off the scalpel. Her eyes watched it fearfully as it hovered in the air, inches from her face.

Twenty could bring that scalpel down on her anytime he wished.

And yet, he had not.

Rarity managed to take her eyes off the scalpel for a moment and focused on Twenty’s face.

There was profound uncertainty written on it.

Silver was getting to him. Rarity tried her best not to smile.

“I understand how it feels,” Silver said. “You and me are a lot alike. We both just want to follow someone greater than ourselves. Someone we adore. We just want to hear her say she’s proud of us, that we’ve done a good job serving her.”

Diamond Tiara looked down at her hooves.

Was this how she felt about me? she thought.

“And sometimes that’s a beautiful thing,” Silver continued. “Servitude can be wonderful, but it can also be a trap. It can turn us into someone we never wanted to be.

“Sometimes you just have to let go. You just have to stop.”

Rarity watched as the scalpel shook in the air.

“Just let go,” Silver Spoon said. She cast a glance at Sweetie Belle, who stood staring at her sister, trembling with fear. “Enough foals have cried because of Rarity. Please don’t add two more.”

Rarity watched as the scalpel dropped to the ground.

“Do you…” Twenty said. “Do you think she’ll be ashamed of me?”

Before Silver could answer, he vanished. The teleport occurred in a flash of light, with none of his usual subtlety.

“That’s funny,” Silver said. She let go of Rarity, but turned to face her as she spoke. “He’s usually a lot less flashy when he leaves a room.”

“Perhaps he decided it wasn’t worth the effort anymore,” Rarity said. Now she finally allowed herself a smile.

Imagine, she thought to herself. Less than a year ago, this filly was content with living in a filthy basement, waiting for me to destroy her for my own amusement. Now she frees captured children and faces down royal knights without flinching.

A little rabbit wandered into my garden one day. I played with it for a time, then threw it out.

And now a lion has returned in its place.

“Silver Spoon,” Rarity said, gently patting the foal’s mane. “Thank you so much. I am more than proud of you. I am in your debt.”

Silver quickly turned her back to Rarity.

“I…I told you,” she said. “I did it for Sweetie Belle, not you.”

Sweetie could see that Silver was fighting back tears.

*******

The world was so much bigger now.

The Gallery was not an exceptionally large place. It consisted of a few large open areas, the baths, some restrooms, and the private rooms reserved by favored patrons. It was a tiny world all its own, cramped and crowded in the best of circumstances.

Peregrine had spent half his life there.

Only now, upon finally being freed, had he realized how small that world had been. Until then, he hadn’t realized the extent to which he had been confined.

The Gallery was a horrible place, certainly, but there was a strangely comforting predictability to it. He knew every corner of his world. Every last inch, from which couches were softest to the best places to hide, was intimately known to him. He had no autonomy there, of course, and nothing to look forward to but brief moments of rest between bouts of humiliation and suffering. But at least he knew his surroundings. At least he knew what to expect.

All that had changed now.

As Twilight Sparkle led the cluster of foals through the long, winding hallways of Fancy’s mansion, Peregrine found himself feeling completely overwhelmed. She was trying her best to hide it, but Peregrine could tell that Twilight had no idea where she was going. The group was lost.

In the Gallery, Peregrine had forgotten that it was possible to even get lost.

The vastness of this new world terrified him. The mansion alone was several times larger and more complex than the Gallery had been. He didn’t even want to think about what happened when they got outside.

It had been so comforting at first. Looking out the window, counting the stars with Twist. It felt freeing. It felt right.

Then Sweetie Belle had vanished, as suddenly as she had appeared. Twist had gone to look for her, promising she would meet up with them later.

But what if she didn’t? The mansion was so big, the world even more so. How could any two ponies hope to find each other in such vastness?

Peregrine thought about flying above the group, to get a better look at his surroundings. Perhaps the world wouldn’t seem so large from higher up.

Or maybe it would seem even larger.

For the second time in his life, Peregrine spread his wings and flew. As he rose above the throng of foals, he felt none of the exhilaration he had during his first flight. And the world did not seem larger or smaller.

His friends were simply further away.

Now that he didn’t feel emotionally charged from flying, Peregrine’s mind focused on the physical sensations of the act. The speed at which his wings flapped. The rush of the air as he ascended.

There was also a feeling he was not experiencing, but which his mind nonetheless kept reminding him of: the weight of Aurora on his back. He had never flown unencumbered before. Without realizing it, Peregrine had already ascended higher on this flight than he ever had on his first. Without another pony on his back, he was finally able to explore his full potential.
But he missed that weight. And he wanted it back.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I couldn’t fly high enough.”

Below him, Twilight Sparkle kept casting glances back at the small herd of foals, making sure she didn’t lose any as they walked along.

“I think the exit is this way,” she announced, not for the first time. “I wasn’t actually allowed in this part of the mansion before, so I had trouble getting my bearings. But don’t worry, I-“

“DAYLIGHT!”

Twilight turned to see over a dozen foals breaking off from the group and making for the windows. It was not difficult to see why.

It was still nighttime. But outside, it was as bright as the dawn.

“What the hell?” Peregrine said, landing next to Twilight. “I thought you said it was almost midnight.”

“It is,” Twilight said.

“Then why is it so bright out?” Peregrine replied. “What does it mean?”

“It means she’s here,” Twilight said. “And she’s angry.”

As she beheld the midnight dawn, Twilight recalled an ancient Equestrian hymn:

Our nation shall thrive, for our Princess’s wisdom is as old as the stars.
Our citizens shall rejoice, for our Princess’s love is as boundless as the sky.
Our enemies shall tremble, for our Princess’s wrath burns as hot as her sun.

*******

A few minutes earlier, Celestia stood on the grounds of the mansion, looking over at the mansion. She had stood there for fifteen minutes, counting down the seconds in her head.

Now she whispered a name, and with a flash of light, the pony it belonged to appeared before her.

“Twenty-Twenty,” Celestia said. “Your time is up.”

Twenty did not bow. He stood before Celestia with no air of reverence, no deference to his ruler. He wore an expression of anger.

“Celestia,” he said.

“I gave you a chance, Twenty,” she said. “You had every opportunity to surrender yourself. Yet I see from the disgraceful state of your coat that you chose instead to use your final moments to compound your treason.”

“I am not the traitor here,” Twenty replied. “I’m not the one who spent the last thousand years letting foals suffer.”

“I will not be drawn into a petty debate with you,” Celestia said. “You are no longer a knight of Equestria. You are nothing but a common murderer.”

“My final tally was ten, in case you were wondering,” Twenty said. “I had hoped to kill at least twice as many of your Circle friends. For irony’s sake, if nothing else.”

“Those perverts are not my friends,” Celestia said, as she slowly walked toward Twenty. “No one hates them more than I do. But they serve a purpose. They are a necessary evil.”

“Evil is never necessary,” Twenty said. He wore a look of resolve.

“Such a naive little child,” Celestia said, with pity in her voice. “But then, I suppose that’s what you all are, in the end.”

Twenty was forced to shut his eyes as the light of the sun began to emanate from Celestia’s horn.

It had begun.

“Since the First Day, the land of Equestria has depended on six elements for its very survival. We cannot survive if each pony does not hold these principals within her heart. Your actions today constitute an abandonment of the element of Loyalty.” The words Celestia spoke were centuries old, and she mused to herself that she had spoken them far too many times. “You stand before your Princess as a traitor to your vows and your nation. There can be only one penalty.”

Twenty felt Celestia’s hoof touch his forehead. It did not feel hot, but he knew that was about to change.

“Before I administer your punishment, is there anything you wish to say?”

“When you see your sister,” Twenty said. “Tell her I hope I served her well. Tell her I only wanted to make her proud.”

By tradition, the sentence was to be carried out as soon as the traitor finished his final statement. Celestia had never broken that tradition.

But it was, after all, a custom she herself had started. It was hers to break if she wished.

“I will tell her. You have my word,” she said. “All of this….it was for her, wasn’t it?“

“Yes,” Twenty said. “I did it all for her.”

“So did I,” Celestia replied.

Her hoof began to grow hotter. Her horn began glowing brighter.

And for just a second, two tiny suns shone from Celestia’s eyes.

“Why is it bright outside?” Twist said as she looked out the window of the grand hall. “It’s like the sun came out.”

“She did,” Rarity said. “Sweetie, we have to leave now. That light can only mean one thing.”

“Sis," Sweetie said, digging her hoof nervously into the ground. "I don’t know if I should go with you…“

“We can't afford to hesitate, Sweetie. I am still a fugitive, and you are still legally a member of the Dream family,” Rarity said. “If we don’t escape now, neither of us will ever be free.”

Free? Sweetie thought. I’ve never been free in my life.

She stood her ground, wearing a defiant expression.

“Sister,” Rarity said gently. “The only thing that has made the last few weeks bearable was the thought of being reunited with you. Without you, I have nothing. Please, don’t abandon me. Not now…”

“Sis, I love you. You know I do…” Sweetie said. “But-“

There was a light.

Every pony in the grand hall watched as a magnificent, blinding light came out of nowhere and engulfed them.

In the halls of the mansion, Twilight tried to cry out as the same light engulfed her.

“She’s gone!” a foal cried out, as Twilight’s form flashed and then vanished before their eyes.

But she was not the only one.

The light faded after an instant, and Peregrine blinked for a moment and got his bearings. There was something wet and soft under his hooves. He looked down.

Grass.

For the first time in years, he was outside.

He took a deep breath. The air tasted strange. Had it always been like this?

“What have you done?!”

He heard Twilight’s voice, and looked up.

But it was not Twilight who caught Peregrine’s eye.

There before him was Princess Celestia herself. She was standing next to a smoldering pile of ashes.

The light radiating from her horn was now rapidly fading, and the false day was quickly turning back into night.

“Twilight, have you forgotten your manners?” Celestia said, ignoring Peregrine. “You are in the presence of royalty.”

What does she mean? Peregrine thought. Is she supposed to bow or somethi-OH MY GOSH, I’M NOT BOWING!

Peregrine dropped to the ground, as low as he could. After a few seconds, he tentatively looked up.

Twilight still wasn’t bowing.

But five other ponies were.

One of them was Twist. Another was a silver foal with a spoon on her flank. This, Peregrine realized, must have been Silver Spoon, the unseen mastermind of the escape plan. It was good to know that she was real. In his darker moments, a part of Peregrine had always worried that Twist had imagined her.

The third was Sweetie Belle. He did not recognize the fourth. Was she royalty as well? Her cutie mark seemed to be some sort of crown.

Then he saw the mare who was with them. A white unicorn with three blue diamonds for her cutie mark.

Twist had told Peregrine about her many times, and always with venom dripping from her voice.

So that’s Rarity, he thought. She doesn’t look nearly as scary as Twist made her out to be.

“Princess, what is the meaning of this?” Twilight said. “Why have you brought the seven of us here?”

“Seven?” Celestia said. Then, for the first time, she looked in Peregrine’s direction. “Ah, of course. I meant to only teleport you and Rarity here, but such long-range spells can be unwieldy. It is not uncommon for it to catch other nearby ponies in its range.”

“I am getting really sick of being accidentally teleported places with this mare,” said Diamond Tiara, casting a hateful glance at Rarity.

“Well, Princess, I’m sorry to be the one to tell you,” Twilight said. “But your precious Circle has lost all its slaves. I just emptied out the Gallery.”

“I see,” Celestia said. “I am sorry that you could not see reason, Twilight. I brought you here so I could make one final attempt to help you see sense.”

“And what of me?” Rarity said. “Why am I here? Are you going to have me locked up again?”

“I have had second thoughts about your incarceration,” Celestia said. “It occurred to me only this evening: what if the Circle were led by a pony whom I could communicate with directly? A pony who was already known to me? And who would be sent to prison for the rest of her life if she ever disobeyed my commands?”

Twilight’s eyes went wide with horror. “You mean you’re going to let her-“

“Silence,” Celestia said. “You can still be of service to your nation, Rarity. This doesn’t have to be the end for you.”

Rarity stood and faced the Princess.

“I don’t understand…” she said. “Why would you want to help the Circle?”

“SPEAK NOT ANOTHER WORD, MONSTER.”

A loud, unmistakable voice echoed through the grounds of the mansion. At the sound, every pony turned their head to the sky.

“What the…how is she doing that?” Silver Spoon asked.

“It is called the Royal Canterlot Voice,” said Rarity.

Above them, leaves were whirring and spinning unnaturally in the air. Something was creating a powerful wind.

Peregrine was the first one who saw the figure rise up from behind the tall buildings of the city.

“Oh my sun…she wasn’t lying…” he whispered to himself. “Twist really was friends with a dragon…”

The ponies stood speechless as Styngian flew toward the mansion grounds.

And beside him, flying toward Celestia with terrifying speed, was the Princess of the Night.

[NEXT: Confrontation]