A Silver Sky: Four Little Ponies

---Chapter 3: Letters---

As she made her way up to her room, Sweetie Belle looked back at her sister.

They're all out to get her...the foal thought. First Fancypants, and now Twilight. But I helped her tonight. She loves me, and she knows she can trust me.

I think I can use that.

There was a large mirror in Sweetie's room, which was affixed to the far wall directly across from the door. It was impossible for Sweetie to enter her room without catching at least a glimpse of her reflection.

On many occasions, especially when she had just spent time with her sister or one of her associates, Sweetie would make a point of avoiding the mirror. She would fling the door open with her eyes closed, and not open them until she had made her way to her bed. Anything to avoid looking at herself.

Tonight, when she entered the room, she felt more ashamed than she had in years. But she walked right up to the mirror, refusing to look away, no matter how much she wanted to.

Sweetie stared at her reflection without blinking. She needed to burn the image in the mirror into her mind.

Because the pony looking back at her was Sweetie Belle, not Rarity.

“I'm not like her...” said Sweetie. “I would have protected her even if...even if I wasn't planning anything...”

She wanted to look away, but stopped herself.

“Sis is only nice to me when she's planning something, so she can get my guard down. But I'm always nice to her! So it's not the same! Just because I need her to trust me more than ever now doesn't mean I'm...it's not the same...”

The pony in the mirror didn't look very convinced.

“I did not just help her get away with it! I know I have to stop her, but not right now! I have to protect her now! If anything happened to sis before Silver came back...I don't know what it would do to Silver. I don't think I can save her like that. She has to see sis for what she is. She has to choose to leave her.”

The mirror pony continued staring at her, mercilessly.

“It's fine! Really! You'll see! You saw what I did with Twilight! Any minute now she'll notice that I...oh no!” Sweetie's rant was stopped dead in its tracks when she realized something she'd forgotten.

“That's right...Twilight teleported...that might have ruined the...and who knows when I'll get another chance!”

The mirror pony looked angry now.

“I can't believe I didn't think of that! Spike told me about the time he and Twilight teleported and he got burned...what if it catches fire and she doesn't even see...ARGH, making plans is so HARD! Sis is so much better at this than I am! If only I were more like he-“

Sweetie Belle stopped herself in mid sentence, horrified at the implication of what she'd just said.

The pony in the mirror looked just as scared. Scared of her.

Sweetie closed her eyes, just for a moment. Then she stepped back, and stared her reflection right in the face.

“I'm doing the right thing,” she said, with resolve. “I am not like her. I'm Sweetie Belle. No one else.”

With that, she turned away from the mirror.

It was true, though: she simply wasn't as good at making up plans as Rarity was. Sweetie contemplated that fact for a moment. She couldn't decide if she liked it or not.

In Golden Oaks library, an owl rested on his perch. Though it was already dark out, the moon was not as high in the sky as Owlowiscious preferred when going on his hunts. In the interim, he had a warm home, a comfortable perch, and an owner who often favored him with pats on the head and treats.

Owlowiscious opened one eye. Something in the air felt different. If the owl possessed the capacity for speech, he would have described it as strange, but not unusual. Though the owl had become quite used to this phenomenon, no matter how many times he experienced it, it would never feel anything but strange.

The air was contorting. The subtle, ambient sounds of the world, which the bird was constantly tuned into, had suddenly stopped. All around him, the air, the sounds, the world itself, was becoming ever so slightly distorted. The strangeness was all converging on one point, right in the middle of the library.

This little corner of the universe was twisting itself in a knot, because someone had asked it to.

This happened all the time in this library, but somehow, Owlowiscious was always the only one to sense the more subtle forces at work. The ponies sometimes reacted with surprise, but they never seemed to notice the strangeness. They never saw the world the way he did.

The owl spread his wings and flew straight up, until he was nearly at the ceiling. He knew what was about to happen.

The distortion pulsed, like a heartbeat, just once. Then it exploded in a bright purple flash, and where there had once been nothing, there was a pony.

The owl returned to his perch. The strangeness in the air was gone. Once again, the world was something an owl could make sense of.

But Twilight Sparkle did not have the luxury of such a simple mind. To her, the world had stopped making sense a few minutes earlier.

“…I failed you both,” she said, seemingly addressing someone who was not there.

And then she collapsed on the floor, and began to sob.

“Why would she HELP her?” Twilight screamed. “Why would she protect her after all she’s done to…”

Twilight’s voice trailed off, and she remained on the floor, crying softly.

Even if she could have told him, Owlowiscious did not possess the capacity to fully understand what was bothering his owner. But to him, this did not matter. All that mattered to him was that his friend was unhappy. The owl flew down from the ceiling and landed in front of her. He turned his head to the side and uttered a small, sympathetic hoot.

Twilight looked up at him, and managed a weak smile. She extended a hoof and began to pet him on the head.

“Oh, Owlowiscious…” she said. “I’m so glad you’re still here. Spike’s gone…and I’ve lost Rarity…and…I think I may have even lost the Princess...I just…don’t know where to go from here…”

Without warning, the owl spread both his wings, causing Twilight to remove her hoof from his head. Instead of flying, however, he simply hopped over to Twilight’s side, and began to peck gently at her stomach.

“Aaah! What the heck are you…” Twilight turned to the owl, to see that he was trying to remove a small fragment of paper that appeared to be stuck to her midsection. Twilight gently shooed him away with her hoof while she pulled the paper off herself.

If Fluttershy had been there, she probably would have mentioned that the owl, being naturally farsighted, probably saw the bright yellow paper as a blur of color standing out against Twilight’s purple coat, and mistook it for food. There had been a time when Fluttershy came by the library almost every day to play with Owlowiscious.

Both the owl and his owner missed those days dearly.

Twilight studied the yellow paper carefully. It was badly singed and looked like it had once been a piece of a larger note. There was writing on one side, though Twilight could not make it out in the dim light. The other side appeared to have some adhesive on the top.

“Could this have been stuck to me when I teleported?” Twilight asked, turning to the owl, who returned a blank stare. “That would explain why it burned up…teleporting can do that. But how could it have gotten on me in the first place...”

Twilight walked under her desk light to get a better look at the note.

“I mean, a sticky note? How could I have gotten a sticky note on my stoma-“ Twilight’s monologue was caught short as the light came in contact with the note. She gasped.

It was written in pink crayon.

“Sweetie Belle…” Twilight said. “When she grabbed my leg, she must have…oh, Celestia, if her sister had seen what she’d done…”

Twilight shook her head, determined not to think about it. Instead, she studied the note closely. It had obviously been written in haste, and the pink crayon did not show up well against the bright yellow paper. Still, she was able to make the remnants of what must have been a larger message:

TERLOT
ELP YOU
OO!

“Canterlot…help you…?” Twilight said. “This can’t be all of it. And that last part makes no sense…the other words must have been burned away…”

Twilight stared down at the note, and began to feel overwhelmed.

“This was her plan…a sticky note written in pink crayon. Even after all this…she’s still just a child…”

Twilight held the note close to her heart and resisted the urge to cry again.

“You poor, brave, little foal…” Twilight said. “I won’t fail you again.”

Twilight Sparkle did not sleep that night. The following afternoon, the library closed early. A sign was placed on the front door, which read, “Sorry! We are reshelving to help serve you better!”

But Twilight was not at the library. She had a plan of her own.

*******

Home?

No, this wasn't home. That had just been a dream. She was still in the Gallery. Why did her cheek hurt?

Twist opened her eyes and looked up. Before she could think, a hoof slapped her across the cheek again. There was a grinning black stallion above her.

She had spent her first night in the Gallery sleeping by Aurora's side. Twist had slept surprisingly well that night. The presence of a new friend made her feel safe.

That feeling was gone now.

“Wha-” Twist said, unable to get her bearings as she was roughly lifted up by unicorn telekinesis. “W..wait! Stop! Help! Aurora, help! Someone's got me!”

Aurora, who had been sleeping next to Twist, shook her head sadly. The defeated look on her face spoke for her.

I'm sorry. I can't help you.

This is your life now.

“Please,” Twist said to the stallion, as he led her away from Aurora. “Please, I just woke up...”

“I know,” said the stallion. “My friend wanted to stick it in you while you were still asleep, but he lost the coin toss.”

“Your...friend?”

Twist looked ahead, to see another stallion, this one orange, standing next to a raised horizontal metal bar which was bolted to the floor. It was just about as wide as Twist's chest, and came up to the stallion's neck level. Three leather straps hung from the bar.

Twist was lowered unto the bar, her legs dangling over either side. The orange stallion fastened the straps over her: one held her neck down, forcing her to look straight ahead, while the other two held the rest of her body in place.

Twist struggled, but it was no use. The straps were strong enough to hold down a grown Earth Pony, let alone a filly.

Twist couldn't turn around to see behind her, but she could feel her tail being lifted up slowly.

“Welcome to the Gallery, new meat,” said the voice behind her. “My buddy and I, we like to break in the newcomers personally. One of the perks of being a guard here. You keep us happy, you get to eat today. Simple, right?”

“Speaking of which...” said the orange stallion, positioning himself so his member was right in front of Twist's face. “Mouth open, whore.”

Twist thought about resisting. She couldn't stop the other stallion, but she could at least keep her mouth closed. Or even bite the stallion's cock once it was in her mouth. That would show them. She'd make the first strike against her enemies right then and there.

But that thought receded quickly from Twist's mind as she remembered everything she'd been through the previous night. She was so tired, and so many, many ponies had already violated her...

What was two more? What was the point of even fighting it?

Twist opened her mouth. Within a second, the stallion had shoved almost his entire cock inside it, causing her to gag. At the same moment, his friend pushed himself inside Twist's cunt.

Twist's mind raced. A story. She needed a story. Some fantasy to escape into. Anything. Anyplace to be except here.

Nothing came to mind. Between the two stallions and the sudden shock of awakening only a few moments earlier, Twist could barely think.

But slowly, her thoughts converged around one terrifying question:

What if I can't imagine anymore?

What if they've found a way to take that away from me, too?

“Uuuuuh!” moaned the stallion who was using Twist's mouth. “Look up at me, slut. You look a stallion in the eye when he's fucking you, got it?”

Twist did as she was told. Her restraints prevented her from turning her head away, but she could move it slightly upwards.

Without her glasses on, she couldn't see the stallion's face very well. She considered that a blessing.

“Awww, look at you...” said the orange stallion, as he stared into Twist's eyes. “Only the new ones give me that look. So much fear, so much uncertainty. Most of the other ones here, the looks they give me are just boring. Nothing left behind the eyes. But with you new foals, it's different...”

He began thrusting with his full strength, causing Twist to make gagging sounds...

“You've still go so much left in you...fear, and hope, and happiness and sadness...and I get to watch...as it all fades away to nothing.”

The stallion groaned loudly and then came in Twist's mouth. His seed spurted down her throat, and a moment later he had pulled out.

He said nothing to Twist then. He simply turned and walked away. In his mind, she was no longer worth acknowledging. The filly swallowed his seed, scared of what might happen if she obeyed her first instinct and spit it out.

The other stallion wasn't done. In fact, his pace was increasing.

“Holy shit, are you ever tight!” he said. “Even for a new Offering. They usually loosen you up good and hard by the time you end up in here.”

He laughed. “But it looks like you’re the exception. Not sure how an ugly little freak like you even got voted in. What, were the other candidates deformed or something?”

Twist whimpered. She didn't want to listen to what the stallion was saying. She didn't want to be here.

She didn't want to be Twist anymore.

Desperate to mentally escape, Twist began whispering a mantra which had served her well during the Gathering.

“Far away,” she said under her breath. “Far away far away far aw-”

“SHUT THE HELL UP!” the stallion yelled. “No one said you could talk!”

“What differenth does it make?” Twist found herself shouting back. She was surprised at her own defiance. “I can't stop you from touching me...I can't keep you from insulting me...can't you at least let me have this? This one tiny little thing?”

“You think you can mouth off to me, whore?” the stallion yelled. He then reached over and put his free hoof over Twist's mouth. Filled with a newfound determination, the filly began screaming over his hoof.

The screams just seemed to excite him more. He picked up his pace, thrusting even harder into her. Then, with an angry shout, he came in Twist's cunt.

After waiting a moment to catch his breath, the stallion let go of Twist's mouth, pulled out, and began to walk away, leaving Twist restrained to the bar.

“Wait!” she said. “I still can't move!”

The stallion stopped, looked back at Twist, and smiled.

“I know,” he said.

He looked around. Most of the Gallery was already awake thanks to Twist's screams, but many were pretending to still be asleep. The guard sneered.

“LOOK LIVELY, YOU LITTLE SHITS!” he shouted, and the various foals of the Gallery began standing up. “Get up and get your asses to the baths. Oh, and I want you all to meet our latest exhibit!”

He gestured toward Twist, who shut her eyes.

“She's on display from now until whenever I feel like letting her go. Anyone caught sneaking her food or trying to help her get loose will be spending the week as a statue. Got it?”

Twist heard murmurs of agreement, and then the clamor of dozens of hooves getting up and making their way out of the room.

And then she heard nothing.

Twist opened her eyes. At first she thought she couldn't see a single pony anywhere.

Then she realized she was wrong. In the corner of her field of vision, she could see the same filly she had seen the previous night. The one who had been completely restrained against a pillar, accompanied by a sign that read, “Torture me.”

They had left her like that the entire night.

Twist's mind raced. How long had that filly been bound up there? What if they left her there forever?

“That's what he meant by 'spending a week as a statute.'”

The voice belonged to a colt. It sounded a bit familiar, though Twist couldn't quite place it.

Twist wanted to turn around, but the straps would not budge. The voice had come from directly behind her.

“You were looking at Cranberry, weren't you? She's been up there for five days now. Two more and she'll get to come down. Of course, she's been standing in one spot for so long, it'll be a while before her legs recover. And some ponies never get over the deprivation. She's not just blindfolded, you know. They put a deafness charm on her. She can't hear anything. All she can do is feel what they do to her.”

“W...why?” Twist asked.

“She's new,” said the colt. “Second newest foal, now that you're here. And it shows. No one who'd been here more than a few days would have tried to start a riot. Dumb bitch was all 'oh, we outnumber them! We can take on the guards! Let's go guys, freedom!' What a complete idiot.”

Twist grimaced. She didn't like this colt.

“But she wath right,” Twist said. “There's more foals than guardth here, right? Why don't we fight back?”

The colt laughed. “First off, what would be the point? We're a hundred feet underground, remember? And the only way out is to teleport, when none of us can even use magic. The unicorns are all either too young, or never had the chance to learn. So what point is there in breaking out of here? We'd just be stuck in the outer chamber. Oh boy, we get to be trapped in a different room forever! What fun!”

“We could at least try...” Twist said, but her tone lacked resolve.

“No, we couldn't,” said the colt. “Because if you resist, you end up like Cranberry over there. And the guards here are all former Royal Guardsponies. Damn powerful with offensive spells. Just one of them has got the firepower to take a dozen of us down at once if he has to. Most of them got kicked out of the Royal Guard on corruption charges or just got lured away by Fancy offering them the job. For a certain kind of pony, it's got some serious perks. But I guess you figured that out already, huh?”

“That's not funny!” Twist said. “How can you laugh about that? Haven't they hurt you, too?”

“Oh, lots of times,” said the colt, “And I can either laugh about it, or cry about it like you and your girlfriend Aurora. Let's see, which is more fun? Oh, right, the one where I don’t act like a sad little weakling. Think I'll stick with that.”

As he spoke, the colt walked into Twist's field of view. She recognized him as the sarcastic blue Pegasus from the previous night.

“Parachute!” Twist exclaimed.

“My name's Peregrine,” he said, frowning. “Geez, you're so stupid! Why would a Pegasus pony even need a parachute?”

“If he doesn't know how to fly,” Twist answered reflexively.

Peregrine scowled. “Oh, you think that's funny? You think you can laugh at me just because I never learned?”

His smug, relaxed tone had vanished instantly. Twist shuddered. Peregrine looked like he was about to hit her.

“I was really young when they put me in here!” he said. “You think that's a joke? You little bitch!”

“What? No! I didn't know-”

“Don't play dumb! All the Pegasi here are chained down! All except me! Don't pretend you didn't notice!”

“I really didn't!” Twist said, as Peregrine walked out of sight again. “Listen, I know you don't like me, but can't we try to get along? Down here we need all the friendth we can get!”

Twist gasped as she felt a hoof roughly rub her flank.

“There aren't any friends down here, you idiot,” Peregrine said. “All that ever happens down here is that ponies hurt other ponies. Let me show you...”

Twist felt her tail being pulled up again.

“Stop!” she cried, “I'll yell for the guard!”

“You really think they'd care? They hate you already!” said Peregrine. Twist winced as she felt his member rubbing against her cunt.

“Besides, you know what's going to happen to me today?” Peregrine said. “The same damn thing that happens every day. Someone's going to force me to do things with them. They're gonna fuck me, hurt me, and then toss me aside. And do you know why?”

“Stop it...please stop it...” Twist whimpered.

“Listen to yourself. Begging me. It's shit like that! THAT'S why!” Peregrine said, as he thrust himself into Twist. The filly screamed.

“It's because they're strong, and we're weak. But not right now, oh no. Right now, I'm the strong one. You feel that, don't you? Me filling you? Me using you? I'm in control here! Me! And no one else can force themselves on me! Not now!”

Twist felt something on her back. Small wet drops of moisture were falling from above her.

“Right now, I'm the strong one!” he said. His voice had begun cracking. “I'm not weak! I'm not just someone's plaything! Right now, I'm in control! You hear me Twist?”

Peregrine's voice sounded shaky. Twist tried to focus on it; it helped in her attempt to ignore everything else that was happening.

“You hear me?” he said, “Who's in control now, Twist? Who's strong? Who?”

Peregrine didn't sound aroused anymore. He sounded desperate.

Twist could feel more droplets on her back. She knew what was going on now.

She almost felt sorry for him. But not quite.

“Who's the strong one here? ANSWER ME!” Peregrine yelled.

“None of us are,” said Twist. “None of us.”

Peregrine's pace began to slow.

“Maybe...” Twist said, collecting her thoughts. “Maybe you should stop pretending you aren't hurting. I mean, I think I get it. I juth want to run away, too...I want to pretend I'm not here. That's what makes me weak. And you...I think you're pretending, too...”

A lot of things were coming together in Twist's mind as she spoke. She felt as though she was speaking involuntarily, her voice merely a conduit for her thoughts.

“Maybe, instead of laughing at other ponies or trying to hurt them, you should just admit it. To be able to admit that you're sad, or that you're scared, or lonely...maybe that's what being strong is.”

Peregrine was completely motionless now.

He pulled out of Twist and walked around to her front. He moved his face toward her until it was just an inch from her own. He sniffled again.

“Don't you ever tell anyone about this, you hear me? Or I'll...I'll fucking mess you up...,” he said. “Shit. My face probably looks ridiculous right now.”

“I'm farsighted,” Twist said. “I can't see your face.”

“Whatever,” he said. “I better get to the baths before they notice I'm missing. And I mean it! Don't you tell anyone, you hear me?”

He walked away, leaving Twist still bound.

It was morning in the Gallery. Before long the Red Door would open, and any members or guests of the Circle would be free to enter. Twist was positioned so she would be one of the first things they would see.

The filly closed her eyes.

She was at sea, on a beautiful ship, exploring uncharted lands, far, far away from Canterlot.

Twist smiled.

They couldn't take it away after all.

*******

Spike’s Hill, as Twilight had taken to calling it, was an excellent place to observe the schoolhouse from. Before he had left, the young dragon often sat there at the end of the school day, awaiting the bell, and the arrival of Twist.

Now Spike was gone, and Twist had not been seen in days. But Twilight’s purpose on the hill was quite similar to Spike’s: she was waiting for a filly.

She had cast a simple spell to enhance her hearing so she could listen in on anything being said near the schoolhouse. It felt a bit intrusive, but Twilight decided it was a necessary evil.

The bell rang, and Sweetie Belle was among the first to walk out of the schoolhouse. Twilight stood. This was her chance. She could intercept Sweetie before she got home, and ask her directly about the message before Rarity…

“…Rarity?”

Rarity walked out of the schoolhouse behind her sister, smiling jovially as she conversed with Cheerliee.

Twilight was aghast. Why did she have to be there today? Sweetie usually walked home by herself, since the boutique stayed open well past school hours. And why was Rarity’s saddlebag full of books?

“…well, I think these should be all the materials you’ll need,” Cheerilee was saying to Rarity. “Are you sure you won’t reconsider? I’ve never had a student pulled out for homeschooling before. I’m worried Sweetie will miss her friends…”

“Oh, please don’t concern yourself, Cheerilee,” Rarity said. “This is just temporary, until things settle down with my work.”

“Well, it certainly must be exciting getting to travel all around Equestria to promote a new fashion line! I’m sure little Sweetie Belle will have the time of her life,” Cheerilee said, giving the filly a gentle pat on the head. “Just don’t forget to keep up with your studies, okay?”

“I won’t…” Sweetie said quietly.

“Well, now that that’s settled,” Rarity said, “Come along Sweetie. We need to…pack.”

Rarity began walking away. But Sweetie Belle lingered behind, just for a moment, and turned back to look at her teacher.

“Goodbye, Miss Cheerilee,” she said. “Thank you for teaching me so well.”

Cheerilee smiled. “Oh, Sweetie, please don’t say goodbye. I know it seems like the end of the world, but you’ll be back here before you know it!”

“Yeah…” Sweetie said, “I’m sure…”

The filly turned and began slowly walking toward her sister.

Twilight kicked the ground in frustration. There was no way she could ask Sweetie about the note with her sister there. Perhaps if she tried to distract Rarity somehow...maybe she could…what was that smell?

Brimstone. Out of nowhere, the air smelled distinctly of brimstone. But there was something else. Not a scent, or anything else which could be perceived with the conventional senses. There was something in the air which could be inwardly sensed by any pony, but only consciously recognized by a unicorn.

Magic. The air was full of magic. And it was coalescing around Twilight.

Before Twilight’s eyes, a light brown trail of smoke, tinged with green flames, flew down from the sky.

The smoke and the flames swirled together, coalescing into a brief but blinding flash of light. Twilight reflexively shut her eyes.

When she opened them again, a small scroll lay at her hooves. And Cheerilee, though still standing in front of the schoolhouse, was looking right at her.

“TWILIGHT! HELLO!” she shouted. “What was that flash just now? Practicing your magic?”

Twilight quickly scanned the area for Rarity, but she was nowhere to be seen. The same flash which had drawn Cheerilee’s attention had probably sent her running, with Sweetie in tow.

Twilight looked down at the scroll.

Oh, Spike, she thought. Why did it have to be now?

She sighed, and put the scroll in her saddlebag for later. For the sake of keeping up appearances, Twilight began to run down the hill to greet Cheerilee.

She tried her best to smile.

The first letter reminded Twilight of the letter she had written to her parents on her first day at Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns. It was a typical first-day-of-camp plea for emancipation: Spike wrote of homesickness, complained of feeling nervous around the other dragons, and begged for rescue with all the urgency of a captured prisoner of war. Twilight knew it couldn’t possibly be as serious as her friend was making it out to be, but part of her still wanted to rush to his side and “save” him. Anything to bring him back.

The second letter arrived a day later. Its tone was slightly more upbeat. Spike was still nervous and still unsure if he wanted to stay, but he mentioned feeling more at ease once he had talked more with the other young dragons.

The third letter took two days to arrive. It was mostly an account of a hike Spike and his classmates had taken to the top of a volcanic peak.

The fourth letter did not arrive for five days. The fifth took a week. With each letter, Spike seemed more and more happy, and more and more at home.

And with every letter, the pride Twilight felt at her friend’s accomplishments was being slowly overtaken by a powerful sense of loss.

After he had been gone three weeks, Twilight wrote to Spike for the first time. She told him everything: the confrontation with Rarity, her failed attempt to intercept Sweetie at school (though Twilight left out the fact that Spike’s letter had blown her cover) and the fact that since that day, Carousel Boutique had been closed, and neither Rarity nor Sweetie had been seen in Ponyville.

She shared happy news as well. She told Spike about the progress she was making in creating a spell that would reassemble Sweetie Belle’s note. She told him about Pinkie Pie’s successful delivery of Lyra and Bon Bon’s twin colts, and what a joy it had been to help her friend through a difficult time.

The letter was not an especially long one, but Twilight spent hours composing it, revising passages again and again. It needed to be perfect. The letter meant a lot to her. It was more than a chance to talk one of her oldest friends. It felt like a lifeline.

“The Red Continent?” Derpy had said when Twilight gave her the letter. Her eyes focused on the letter for a moment, then snapped back into their usual positions. “That’s really, extra SUPER far! Waaaaaaaaay off of my route, anyway. I think there’s a Pegasus relay set up for mail going there, but gee, it’s going to take like four or five weeks to deliver!”

“I don’t care how long it takes, as long as it gets there,” Twilight had responded. “This letter is really important, Derpy.”

“Don’t you worry, Miss Twilight!” said Derpy, offering a cheerful salute as she stuffed the letter in her mailbag. “The Royal Equestrian Mail Service never fails!” Derpy knocked over Twilight’s mailbox as she flew away.

The letter’s journey to the Red Continent was uneventful. It passed through the hooves of twenty different Pegasi, stationed in mail offices from Ponyville to Equestria’s western coast, before it made its journey across the sea to the ancestral land of the dragons.

By the time Spike received Twilight’s letter, it had been two months since he had last seen his friend.

And while the letter made its way to him, far away in the city of Canterlot, rumors began to spread about a strange little filly who had taken up residence in one of Deadweight Alley’s more inhospitable areas.

Before long, the story of Scarflank had traveled between more ponies than Twilight’s letter could ever have ever hoped to.

One of those ponies was called Gaze.

*******

It was a particularly windy evening in Deadweight Alley. Silver Spoon’s narrow alleyway provided some shelter from the wind, but the newspaper she had taken to using as a blanket had long since blown away.

Tonight, the voice was quiet, and no one had come to the alley to use her. Silver felt like she should be thankful for the respite. Instead, she just felt lonely. The filly tried to sleep as best she could, shivering in the cold wind.

And then the wind was gone. And so was the cold. And the hard ground suddenly felt so soft, almost like a bed…

Silver felt a blanket come to rest over her back. It enveloped her gently, making the filly feel more comfortable than she had in months.

Such a beautiful dream, she thought to herself.

It was then that she felt a hoof running softly over her mane. It seemed someone had come to her alley after all. Reluctantly, Silver began to open her eyes.

Whoever it is, I’ll get them off quickly, she thought. Maybe that way I can come back to this drea-

But it wasn’t a dream. Silver’s eyes were wide open now. And it was still warm.

She was indoors, lying on a beautiful bed, with pink silk sheets and lace curtains. She was in a large room filled with dolls and toys. Even her room back in the Silver family mansion paled in comparison.

It was the sort of room any little filly would have adored.

A small realization hit Silver then. Some part of her was surprised to remember that she was still a child.

Silver was so taken aback by the room, that for a moment she had forgotten the hoof which had been on her mane. But then it began moving again, this time gently stroking her flank.

She looked up. Fancypants returned her gaze, and smiled.

“Welcome home,” he said.

[NEXT: Night terrors/Silver’s choice/Knock knock]