"Remember what to tell Dawn?" I asked.
"Yes, Onyx, I'm not stupid." said Sapphire glumly. "Talking about it won't take any of my anxiety away."
"Then get your flank over here." I said. "Hate to do this, but it's the only way." She trotted over to me and grabbed my sheet off of my bed. I balled it up and shoved it in her mouth. I grabbed her right wing roughly, catching her eye.
"Dm umf!" she grunted through the gag. I twisted it slowly, seeing as she squirmed in pain, I twisted her wing fast and heard a faint *snap* come from her wing. I winced at the nauseating sound.
"Hmmmmmm!" she groaned.
"Sorry, Sparks." I said, ripping the gag out of her mouth. "This is the only way to guarantee your stay."
"Hah…. huh… Ow. You said you were going to count to three!" she exclaimed.
"Well, I lied. You'll be okay though, right?" I asked, going to the door. "Remember: You crashed through my window with a broken wing. You're parents are dead and you don't remember how. You don't know where you are. The only thing you are sure of is that your name is Sapphire Sparks. Got it?"
"Yeah…yeah. Got it." she panted. I leaned out of the doorway and yelled.
"Dawn! I found somepony up here! She's hurt!" I called.
"What?! Are you serious?" she asked. I heard her running up the stairs. "If this is a joke, you're going to be in trouble!" She burst in through the door, her coat so bright orange that it hurt my eyes if I looked for too long. Not that I liked staring at her. Her mane was bright, neon green, very cheery and very annoying.
"Why would I lie about something so insignificant?" I asked.
"Oh my stars!" she exclaimed, rushing over to Sapphire. "What happened to you?"
"I-I don't know. I don't remember." said Sapphire, tears welling up. Wow, she was a good actress.
"Where are your parents?" asked Dawn.
"They're… gone. Dead." sobbed Sapphire.
"How terrible! What happened to them?"
"I can't… remember. I don't know, but please, help me."
"Do you have a name?"
"S-sapphire. Sapphire Sparks. Who are you?"
"I'm Morning Dawn. I run this orphanage."
"Orphanage! You mean there's dead ponies here?!" cried Sapphire, running backwards.
"No dear, that would be a morgue." said Dawn. "An orphanage is a place for little fillies and colts that no longer have parents."
"Ooooh. Am I going to be staying here?" she asked quietly.
"Uh, well…the thing is, we don't really have space here. I'm afraid I'll have to have you transferred to another orphanage."
"But my wing! Do you really think I can be shipped off with a broken wing?"
"No… I guess not. Somepony is going to have to double up with you…" began Dawn.
"She can stay with me." I said. "I mean, if she has to."
"What?" asked Dawn. "Are you volunteering to do something nice for somepony else?"
"I don't want to, but if it will get you out of my room faster, then so be it."
"You realize that you two will have to live in the same space, share a spot at the table, split school supplies and… you're going to have to share a bed."
"Fine, fine, fine." I said, waving her off. "Of course."
"Oh! That's what this is about!" gasped Dawn. "In that case, I'll have to keep an eye on you two. Remember, head-to-hoof in that bed, you mischievous colt, you."
"What?! You really think this is about that?!" I asked, outraged.
"Not that I need to be the center of attention, but can somepony please do something about my wing?" said Sapphire, drawing attention back to her. Dawn grabbed Sapphire up and carried her downstairs.
"Clean up your room, Onyx! You have a new roommate who needs a clean room."
"Please die." I muttered to myself. "Sapphire isn't too bad. Maybe she wasn't as big of an accident as I originally thought."
"Onyx! Come down here and help me bandage up your filly-friend's wing!" called Dawn. I ignored her and sat down on my bed. I grabbed my book and cast a spell upon it. The title changed from Book of Shadow Magic to Celestia's Fairy Tale Collection.
"Why did that fail so miserably?" I asked myself. "We cast that spell perfectly, the crystal was immaculately cut and should have received the spell perfectly. Granted, Mother probably wouldn't have liked being crystal very much, but We would have figured something out. Why have We failed? Are We really that incompetent?" I began to breathe raggedly and tremble uncontrollably.
"Onyx? Are you alright?" asked Sapphire from the doorway. She approached me and sat on the bed by my side. "What happened?"
"We failed! I've failed. I'm stupid and Mother is better off without me!" I cried out in sorrow. "Why did she even waste the time and magic on me?"
"Calm down, Onyx. Why do you keep saying we?" she asked, her coat shining a deep sapphire blue. What was wrong with her body?
"What?" I asked. "Am I using the Royal We again?"
"Royal We?" she asked. "What's that?"
"It's a dialect used by royals in Canterlot. I don't use it very often, only when I talk about… her." I said, staring out of the window wistfully. "How's your wing?"
"Ms. Dawn patched me up. Explain to me again why you had to break my wing?"
"If you weren't injured, Dawn would've transferred you to another orphanage. As much as I hate to admit it, I need you around until I figure out who you really are. Then I have to figure out what went wrong. Until then, you are to stick close to me."
"Okay." she said, moving in close to me. She pressed her side against mine. "Stick close to you I shall" Mocking my Royal dialect.
"Get off of me, you dink." I said pushing her off. Her coat became a bright, sunny yellow.
"I figured it out!" she exclaimed. "I understand my coat color!"
"What is it? It's been bugging me!"
"I change color depending on your feelings!"
"I don't get it."
"I didn't at first either, because it changes depending on your inner emotions. I'll always know how you're feeling on the inside because my coat will change to reflect that."
"No it doesn't."
"It totally does!" she shouted in excitement. "Look, you want to laugh right now! I'm yellow because you're happy on the inside! You just don't want to show it."
"Shut up, Sparks." I smirked, smacking her in the face with a pillow.
"Go ahead, hit me again! You're just proving me right." chuckled Sapphire.
"Whatever, Sparks." I snickered. "Haha; you're a riot, Sapphire."
"See? You're laughing!"
"Enough Sparks." I said. "I need to perform some spells on you to find out how We… I screwed up so bad."
"Alright, will it hurt?"
"Let's just get started." I said, closing my eyes. My horn was illuminated in red light, and her body was hoisted off the ground. Red and black smoke swirled around her, picking up speed with each second.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" she screamed. I pointed horn at the door, magically soundproofing it.
"Sorry, Sapphire. I need to scan you." I said, sucking the smoke back into my horn.
"Waaaaaaaaah!" she sobbed. Tears flowed down her face steadily. "Please! Stop! I can't take it!"
"I'm sorry, I have to do this." I said,
"You… said… it… wouldn't… hurt." she said through gritted teeth.
"I never said that. I intentionally ignored your question because I didn't think you'd like the answer."
"Stop it. Please."
"I'm al-most… done!" I said, releasing her. "Sweet Celestia! (Bad choice of words) No wonder I failed. I'm nowhere near strong enough for that."
"Why did you do that?" sobbed Sapphire.
"I had to see what went wrong. It seems my magic wasn't strong enough to bring Mother back. I wasn't able to get her consciousness into that crystal body. I still don't completely understand where you came from, but I guess it doesn't matter."
"Onyx, that hurt a lot." said Sapphire.
"Yeah, scanning every molecule that makes you does tend to do that to somepony."
"Onyx, I don't think you understand. It hurts to move." she said
"I didn't mean to hurt you...that much."
"What do you mean 'that much'? Forget it."
"You know, I'm technically your father but, don't you dare start calling me 'daddy'." I said sarcastically.
"Never in a thousand years" she said.
"A thousand years, huh? Wonder what I'll be doing in a thousand years." I said.
"You'd probably be dead." said Sapphire sullenly.
"You miss the wings? I'm an Alicorn. I don't age fast."
"And I'm made of crystal. So I don't age normally either."
"So, you're saying that I'll be stuck with you for all of eternity?" I asked.
"Yep."
"What are you planning to do during all that time?" She thought it over for a second.
"Be with you."
"What?" I said, blushing.
"I want to help you any way I can, as long as you don't intentionally hurt me again."
"Oh, uh, okay, yeah."
"Onyx! Sapphire! It's time for supper!" called Dawn interrupting our experiment.
"Wipe your face, Sapphire. It's time to eat." We trotted downstairs, where I took my usual spot in the corner of the dining room. I brought Sapphire over to my area, where we began to eat the small meal of hay and flowers that Dawn was able to provide for us. We ate quickly and ran back upstairs, tired from today's activities.
"Are we really sharing a bed?" asked Sapphire.
"Hahahahaha! No." I answered, lying down in my bed.
"Okay." she said, curling up into a ball on the floor. "Goodnight." I watched as her coat became a gloomy blue.
"Get up here." I said. "Remember what Dawn said: Head to hoof." She stood up and jumped in my bed.
"No cuddling?" she asked.
"WHAT?! No…I…" I shrieked as Sapphires coat turned fuchsia in color.
"I was joking, you silly filly" she said grinning.