Darke Life

"Amber? Are you okay?"

I came out to the balcony, where Amber was sitting dangerously close to the edge. She pulled her jacket a bit tighter and nodded.

"Of course."

"Well... you turned tail pretty quickly when those guys recognized you."

"Yeah, I.... I guess I did."

"Something wrong?" I sat next to her and turned her head to mine. Her ruby eyes were surrounded by tears, and she didn't seem to defend herself against them. She just sat there and let me do anything.

"Trevor, sometimes I wonder."

"Well, every human does, in fact I think every living creature tends to wonder someday." I chuckled, and she narrowed her eyes slightly, then sobbed.

"I don't want to be here."

"I felt the same way when I was in Equestria."

"But... when I was here before, everyone knew me. I wasn't just the crazy girl with her own style or whatever, I was Darke. Darke Amber, the girl in middle school with two names and the red eyes. I... I didn't need to work very hard on anything because I already had everything."

"Everything? Is that what you wanted?"

Amber leaned her head on my shoulder. As we sat there, my mind drifted to the activities we'd done since the ponies became human.

~

Amber had come out of the bank with a stuffed wallet and a black credit card, and when she jumped back into the car, she demanded that we go shopping. Since it was an early day, and she promised to pay for everything, we went to the mall.

Amber had cleared out every store of clothes in orange, black, and red. She picked out at least seven different pairs of shoes, and twenty pairs of stockings and patterned tights. She even offered to buy Crimson and Shadow some clothes.

'Some' was an understatement. She bought them at least a full wardrobe for a year. When we walked past a cupcake shop, Amber dropped her shopping bags and ran inside excitedly, while Crimson shuddered and stayed outside. Amber came back out eating a rainbow-frosted treat with white sprinkles.

From shopping we went to dinner, then my mom came with us for groceries. She was appalled by the amount of money Amber was toting, and even more by the amounts Amber was willing to pay.

But when we got home, Amber was recognized by my neighbor Keith. He called his friends out to see her, and they all made catcalls and whistles until she ran upstairs and set herself on the balcony all alone...

~

"Amber, don't you want everything you could ever ask for?"

"Trevor, I already had everything in Equestria. I had Crimson, Crash, Shadow Coat... nice home, fair amount of money." I scoffed. Fair was a bit under exaggerated. "I... didn't want or need anything else. I had a good life, despite all that I'd ever done."

"I'm sorry you left it all."

"Sweet Celestia, is this all there is?"

"Hm?"

"Is this all to life? Just... endless torment until death? We live to die?"

"I thought you were immortal like Sombra."

"I can be killed, but not my natural forces. And even if someone were to attack me, I usually heal myself. The crystals are my source of eternal life, basically."

"So what's with this death talk?"

"Crimson lost his wings when we passed over. Shadow lost his horn. I lost my crystals, and therefore my immortality." She looked at me. "I... I only realized this now. I don't want to die, but I don't want to live. I just...." Amber sighed and stared at the sky.

"I don't want to have to watch my friends die, make new friends, and watch them die too. I... really don't want Crimson to die. Not now, not never. I stay awake at night realizing that one morning, I won't have him to wake up to. I won't have anyone."

"So why don't you treasure him for as long as he's around?"

"That'll only make the final moment harder, won't it?" Amber looked at me curiously, and a fresh wave of tears ran down her face.

"Amber?"

"Yeah Trevor?"

"It's okay. I promise." She began sobbing, and I pulled her closer and comforted her like a child. "Shhh..." Amber sobbed harder and harder.

"I-I'm so afraid of my friends dying that I've tried to end myself, but... every time I do, I'm brought back. I could never join them in the afterlife. They'll die someday, and I'll be forced to stay alone forever. I'll forever be an outcast since most ponies will fear me, knowing whose daughter I am, and the others would probably be sex-hungry stallions who want nothing more than to use me, then leave."

"What...?"

"It's true. I'm sure that I've met about sixty different stallions in my lifetime, two being Shadow and Crimson, and the rest being arrogant stallions with... urges."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"All I had to do was tell them my name, and they'd go. No harm really done."

Again, I looked down at her. Amber's eyes were still slightly wet, but she had mostly stopped crying. She gulped, like her throat was dry.

"Do you want some water?"

"Yes... please."

I stood and headed inside, sliding down the stairs and into the kitchen. I'd just stepped into the doorway when I fell back to avoid knocking down my sister.

Riley was about fifteen years old, with long curly hair in a shiny orange-red. She had freckles all over and bright blue eyes, but most people remember her by her hair. Half of her head was dyed a swampy green, almost like moss. Riley smiled at me and held out a cookie.

"You wan' one?" She giggled. Oh yeah, did I mention? My sister was a bit retarded. Not in the sense that I called her stupid, but that her eyes sometimes drifted and she had an unmistakeable lisp.

"Oh... I just came to get Amber some water." I took the cookie and gently pressed it to her mouth. She bit it and chewed a bit, then gulped it down.

"Tha' girl ya woke up wit'? She's nice. She was helpin' me wit' bakin' t'ese!" Riley took a larger bite of the cookie, and I laughed.

"Yeah. Amber's really nice. I'm glad she decided to visit." I reached up into the cabinet and grabbed a glass, then turned on the tap water at the sink. Then, my mom rotated my direction as she set off the stove.

"Where are your friends from anyway, sweetie?"

I paused to think. "Well, I think that Crimson and Shadow were from some small little town a bit far from here. But Amber came from somewhere even farther away. Some Empire, I think."

My mom gasped. "Empire?"

"Yeah. I think she was the daughter of the King and some peasant woman." As soon as I spoke, I bit my tongue. No way could I explain where they really came from. The less I said, the better.

"That's funny. I can't think of any Empires existing since 1880." She muttered a bit, then looked back at me. "Don't they have any families? It's not legal for them to be living on their own, and it's a bit strange that no calls have been received from their parents."

Then, I felt a familiar spike in the room. It was that strange feeling I got around the Crystal ponies. I turned, and Amber was in the doorway.

"It was a street named Empire," Amber lied, saving my butt from any more questions, "and I lived with my two families."

"Two families?" My mom rose an eyebrow.

"I was abandoned by my dad, but I was raised with a foster family. Then, my brother came along and he brought my dad too. Said that they needed a place, and they stayed." I saw a glimmer in her eye as she looked up at the ceiling lights. "My mom died giving birth to me. Dad didn't really want me after I took the love of his life."

"Oh my. But... the daughter of a king and peasant? Where did that come from?"

She folded her arms a bit defensively. "My dad's name was Kingsley IV. It was passed down like royalty to all the sons in the bloodline, except my brother. So compared to him, my mom wasn't much special."

My mother looked to me, and I shrugged. "Well... here's your water." Amber took the glass and gently pressed it to her lips. I blushed as I watched her tip her head back gently, closing her eyes as she took a few swallows.

"Thanks, Trev."

"N-No problem."

My mom seemed to feel my nervousness and cleared her throat. "I'll be in my room if you need me." As Amber was still distracted, my mom pushed between us and slipped me a condom under her hand.

Great. Just what I needed right now was my mom misunderstanding. Amber and Crimson were together.

... wait. They weren't. She was still open, and I had a chance. Once Amber set the cup in the sink, I took her hand and pulled her up the stairs.

"Hey, want to just talk in my room? It's too cold outside anyway."

"Oh... sure." I saw her blush as I smiled back at her, and we headed down the hall.

~

I made sure my room was clear before I invited Amber in and locked the door. She laid herself out on the bed and groaned softly, and I saw her body stretch out a bit before relaxing back.

"Holy Luna, it's late..." Amber stared out the window at the rising moon.

"Yeah..." I crawled onto the bed next to her and smiled, then pulled off my shirt and slid it onto the floor. She peered over at me and blushed. I clicked my tongue and smiled. "So..."

"Uhnn?" She could only let out a small whimper as I suddenly grabbed her hands and pressed myself against her, feeling her warm clothes against my bare chest. Amber seemed to acknowledge my body, and her eyes peered down my chest and then back up to me.

"Y-You're pretty... in shape..." I smiled wider and gently pressed my lips to hers.

"Mmm..." She relaxed, and I pulled her up with me. I swung each of her legs over my lap so she was straddling me as we kissed, and she certainly didn't seem to mind...

Suddenly I felt a very shy yet very warm thing poke at my lips, and I pulled Amber closer as her tongue slid to mine. As we gently wrestled our tongues together, I felt the Crystal-pony feeling sharpen, almost enhance. I pulled away long enough to see Amber staring in shock at the door. The handle rattled, and Shadow's and Crimson's voices came from outside.

"Hey! Let us in!"

"Yeah! C'mon!"

Amber climbed off my lap and turned to her shopping bags, pretending to be distracted as she searched for something. I stood and opened the door to see the boys staring in shock at me.

"What? It's my room." I rose an eyebrow.

"But... you're shirtless, and Amber's in here." Crimson narrowed his eyes.

"What's it to you? You two aren't dating. Besides, I was getting ready for bed." Crimson pushed his way into the room and glared at Amber as he pulled off his 'Me Gusta' sweatshirt and his black tank top underneath, and searched for a clean shirt.

Amber didn't look up, but it seemed like she could feel Crimson glaring at her. "It's not very polite to be mannerless to one whose done all she has."

He grumbled, and Amber shooed her hand for us to turn away as she changed.

"Hey. If you want to be a total jerk to me, so be it. But don't get Trevor into this." She swatted Crimson, and he turned, staring at her angrily.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Crimson. Just quit it. I saved your life, many more times than you care to realize, and you still treat me poorly for one little thing."

"You let your dad brainwash you and had us locked in a tower!" Crimson shouted.

"At least I was kind enough to feed you!" She shot back.

"You nearly got us killed!"

Amber's eyes suddenly flashed brighter, and I stepped back in fear. She clenched her fists as she spoke. "I had a plan to let you live the entire time. Don't speak to me like a child, Crimson."

He narrowed his eyes again. "You are a child."

Just as Amber raised her fist to strike him, I jumped forward.

"Wai- AGGGHHHHHHH!!"