Chapter 10: Kill the other.
The colt was alone; a first in what, six, seven years?
He was a stallion now, aged 18. He felt nothing different besides the curiosity urge to open a book and read it.
His mind was calm. The pony removed his helmet, scratched the corners of his eyes and looked around. He heard what was the occasional rat scattering and scurrying away, grabbing what flesh and food it could find and run away from the danger it saw. The Pegasus watched, with some amusement I might add, a small white mouse that scurried into the light that his suit gave off. It searched, frantic, for food. It turned left then right, and then moved a couple inches before repeating. Cautious but ready.
There was nothing wrong with being afraid, but it bugged him. He was fine with working against his will like in the Factory, but being afraid all the time; being on edge, constantly looking over your shoulder to make sure you weren't being followed, even with another entity like Beta or Delta watching over you. It was exhausting, both on the soul, on the mind and on the body. Eventually-
"Eventually, you give up."
"I know that."
Physically, he was alone, except for the rats. Mentally though…
"You couldn't keep your mouth shut, couldn't you?"
"It's not my fault that I'm so damn curious."
"But it is! It's our fault!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Are you?"
"No."
"Why did you apologize then!?"
"What did you want me to say? Fuck you, I wanna do what I wanna do?!"
"No…"
"Exactly, so I apologized."
"It didn't really do anything."
He sighed. "Fuck you."
"That's not nice."
"That was the point."
He talked, and talked, and talked, and talked, and talked. He talked until there was absolutely nothing to talk about; he talked until his mind was blank and numb then talked some more.
Beta had teleported in silently upon one of the giant bookshelves and watched his friend talk to himself. He never judged him, but never really had an opinion on him either. He used what he got, never complained, always aiming at her.
He knew that Alpha wasn't in any danger and used the time to check his armor for any dents or scratches. He removed his helmet, and scratched his ear. Picking up the helmet, he turned it around and examined it.
"It suits you."
Beta looked down at the pair of glowing blue eyes. "I was what, eleven, when I made the helmet?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"I'm not, I'm asking myself."
The ghost and stallion stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak. A rat scurried by and both turned to look at the bottle rolling on the floor.
"What?"
"I thought it would look evil."
Alpha looked back at Beta.
"Ok…?"
"Does it?"
"Does it what?"
Beta slipped the helmet back on and looked at Alpha. "Does it look evil?"
"I've never been afraid of you, so I don't know."
Beta walked down the vertical side of the bookshelf. "Why?"
"We both know why. I told you in the factory after you shattered that mirror."
"You remember that?"
"How could I forget?"
Screams echoed throughout the library. Both cloaked themselves.
"What part of your suit is vulnerable? What part can be considered as StarGazers heel?" Alpha whispered.
Besides the sound of hooves walking on the floor above them, silence was the only thing Alpha heard.
"The wings, the wings are its StarGazer's heel!"
The hooves began to skip. A deep thud reverberated throughout.
"It's her."
"No shit."
The face of the mare slowly eased into view, her neon gravity-defying mane glowing. The Rainbow liquid stained her white muzzle. The steel-colored Estefani pulsated with light as it absorbed the newfound energy.
"I got a lesson for the both of you, my subjects…" her smooth voice pierced the silence. It almost seemed to be…calm. The smell of cedar and paper burning upstairs filled her nostrils.
One colt slowly, cautiously, retreated into the darkness. The other, however, faced his fear.
"Fine." Alpha said. "Teach us." He took off in a sprint, charging her.
His heart began to beat faster and faster as he charged his opponent, who had turned to face him. He hopped slightly into the air and hit the ground with the smooth metallic armor underneath his hoof. Skidding across the ground, Alpha lifted his left protected wing up into the air. With a sharp jab into the floor, he whipped around, the wing already past fatal velocity. She countered, spinning as well.
The two mythical metallic wings struck, sparking when they hit.
Uneven Strength. Unmeasurable Power. Both with the same goal.
Kill the other.