A Serious Matter

Stray Shot:
Early in the morning, before most ponies were out and about beginning their day and mere hours before Stray left Outer Hayven, Sharps hears a knock on his door. He opens it to see a Ranger from Crystal Company, one who was serving as a courier. The courier gives him a letter from Stray, and then scampers off to deliver his next message somewhere else:


"Sharps,

I need you to come meet me at the Smithy as soon as you get this. We need to speak about something important. I have to leave town soon, so please hurry.

-Stray Shot"



Sharps:
Disheveled from getting woke up, Sharps opens the door to find the courier giving him a letter. He didn't get to say hi before they were off to deliver the rest of their letters. They must of been in a hurry, he thinks. Standing there in the door, his tiredness goes away as he read the letter. It sounded urgent.

He leaves immediately, slamming the door behind him to the chagrin of his neighbors. The cold air helped wake him up almost as much as the contents of that letter. Soon he makes it to the Smithy. His head held high, he looks for Stray in the low light of the morning hours.

He stifles a yawn. "Stray? Are you here? I came as soon as I could!"


Stray Shot:
The earth pony finds Stray sitting behind the counter of the Smithy's interior. A coffee brewer was on a table behind the counter, along with a couple of chairs. Stray himself had a mug already, sipping on it while he was going over a checklist for The Silver Lining. When Sharps enters, he looks up. Stray looked tired - very tired - but also wide awake and intense. He wasn't wearing anything except his saddlebags, though his 1911 was holstered against his side.

Stray didn't smile, he looked quite preoccupied, but he did give Sharps a nod and seemed grateful he was here.

"Good mornin', Sharps. Sorry for making you come out this early, but I needed to talk to you about something before I leave town for a bit."

He gestures for Sharps to come around to the employee side of the counter where rifles and hoofguns hung on a pegboard behind it. Stray had already set out a mug and a chair for Sharps, and there was hot coffee in the coffee pot if he wanted it.

"There's a lot that's been goin' on. Please, have a seat."


Sharps:
This couldn't be good. Sharps took note of the pegasai's tired look and of his demeanor most of all. Sharps didn't say anything until he was on the other side of the counter. Usually he would of examined the designs hanging up on the board but today Stray had all of his attention.

Sharps had a couple of questions of his own but he suspected that they would be answered. He stands next to the stallion, his expression anxious to hear what he had to say. "What is it?" Sharps asks. Sounding worried already.


Stray Shot:
He huffs. "What isn't it? Seems like our whole world is setting on fire."

The pegasus sighs, sitting on a small stool. He puts the clipboard with a checklist down and turns to face Sharps. Sharps would be able to see that Stray had apparently taken quite a blow to the jaw. His jaw and cheek was swollen, having turned a bruised purplish color. It looked quite painful. Stray didn’t seem to acknowledge it.

"Spiral. Tea. Dandelion. A lot is going on with them right now. I'm not sure of how much you know, but I think I'd better fill you in anyway." Indeed, he had already learned from his mistake with Dandelion, not telling her what he knew (or rather, deduced) had happened between Tea and Spiral out in the ocean.

"I don't even know where to start, so I'll just lay it all out. A few weeks ago, Tea and Spiral went out to the ocean together. I don't know all the details, but basically, Tea had Spiral promise her to do something... It turned out that 'something' was shooting Tea in the heart, killing her and transferring her complete consciousness to one of her Alexandrite clones. I'm not sure what the point is other than exploring the 'Unknown', but that's what happened."

He studied Sharps' face for a moment for his reaction. He knew Tea and Sharps had been spending some amount of time together, but he didn't know what, if anything, Tea had revealed to Sharps.

"Anyway... It traumatized Spiral, hurt her greatly. That's why she'd been mute. The grief simply overwhelmed her ability to speak. It seemed to be an acute and chronic form of the type of shellshock I've-- and perhaps you've-- experienced during and after... intense... battles. The good news is that she has her voice again since returning from Canterlot." He chuckles mirthlessly,
"Oh, by the way, Tea and Spiral went to Canterlot and spoke with Princess Celestia about the goings on here: Strife, the invasion, Crystal Company, everything."

He waves a hoof dismissively and continues, "Anyway, moving on. The other night, Spiral went and visited Dandelion at that lab in Unity-- the one we all went to recently when she did that X-Ray thing. I wasn' there for the conversation, but to ludicrously understate it, Dandelion was upset with Spiral, thinking that Tea had left her for Spiral... Apparently she found out they went to Canterlot together. Alone."

The stallion closes his eyes for a moment and rubs his temples as he thought about what happened next. His ears flickered. A migraine began to come on from his tinnitus. He opens his eyes again and sighs. His voice goes quieter, softer, more sorrowful.

"Dandelion... she was cruel to Spiral in her words and reception. Spiral explained the truth of the matter, but Dandelion wouldn’t believe her. It… it drove Spiral mad for a moment. She pulled out a pistol and was going to kill herself unless Dandelion believed her…”

“Dandelion talked her down from pulling the trigger, but…” He sighs and shakes his head. “Dande went and made some tea for them both to continue their conversation. While she was out, she radioed me, all she said was that there was an emergency in her lab, to come quickly and bring a means of incapacitation.”

The pegasus pauses and shifts where he sat, thinking for a moment. “I suppose I should provide some context. Dandelion and I had experienced a friend committing suicide a couple of years ago. Griff, this griffon we – that I—was friends with. I won’t go into what all happened, but I was forced to shoot Griff when he went mad. Later, he committed suicide. So… Dandelion saw the situation with Spiral as similar, so she summoned me. I came immediately, and as I appeared in the room, Dandelion knocked Spiral out with a spell.”
His ears fold back, he appeared conflicted. “She explained to me what happened as I collected Spiral to bring her home. But then… I apparently overlooked something. Although I intended to, I hadn’t yet told Dandelion that I figured out what happened between Tea and Spiral underwater. She was… quite upset at me for not telling her. She felt betrayed. For a moment, I thought she was going to turn hostile on me.”

“I took Spiral home… She woke up in a rage. I told her what happened, that Dande had knocked her out. That… that put her in even more of a rage. She left her house furious, streaked off into the sky leaving storms in her wake. I tried to follow her, but…” he looks down dejectedly, filled with guilt, “…I was… compromised. She was long gone before I regained my ability to fly.”

Yet again he brings his blue-eyed gaze up to Sharps’ eyes, they were filled with pain and worry. “I don’t know where Spiral went. She left no message, no way to find her, nothing.” He nods towards the clipboard with the checklist. “I’m going to go try to track her down. At least find out if she made it somewhere safe and alive…”

Sigh.
“I know you, Sharps. I know you’ll want to come with me, and normally I’d say yes. But… this time, I think I need to go by myself. I’m not even sure where all I’ll be going. Might be gone awhile… I need you to stay, to watch over things and see if Spiral comes back. And… if you can, please, visit Dandelion. She needs to see a friend. It would appear that things are ruined between her and I, her and Spiral… her and Tea. She’s quite alone right now. I want you to go speak with her, if you would. Try to help her; you have a good heart, you might be able to help her. And… if you do see her, I’d like for you to tell her something for me and give her a letter.”
He takes a breath, it seemed telling all that was quite fatiguing. He sat silent in thought, trying to make sure there was nothing he left out, and studying Sharps' reaction, waiting for his reply and to answer any questions.


Sharps:
Sharps winced when she saw the injury that Stray had taken. He drew breath to acknowledge it but before he could utter a syllable, Stray laid it on him. To say the least, Sharps didn't know how to react. Freezing in place with the initial shock still on his face. It didn't sound right, no way could that be the case. But as Stray continued talking, the more the pieces fell into place. His expression grew colder when he revealed what Tea had done.

What Tea had done to his friend.

How could she? How could she agree to something like that?? He couldn't believe it! Even... even if that fell in line with what he already knew. A pit formed in his stomach. He felt himself go a little numb as this maddening story unfolded. It painted his last interaction with Tea in a new light.

And still he listened.

He opened his mouth again, but shut it at quickly as it opened. He stares at Stray, a mixture of feelings inside of him. Hmm, it didn't seem right going behind a friend's, a partner's back and taking the company in a new direction. Why else had they gone alone? His ears that stood in attention wilted as the story grew worse. A corner of his mouth twitched, what could of that unicorn said to make Spiral go to such lengths? He felt another pang in his heart. His face contorting to match what he felt.

Spiral.... try to kill herself....

Spiral ragefull, Spiral punch her friend in the face. Spiral betrayed. A lot of goddamned betrayal.
He hoped that it was just a bluff, a dark humorless bluff. How long had this been going on for? Another, deeper, pang in the heart. The way Spiral acted when she was mute. Playing it off as something else? Why didn't she tell him? Did she not thing he could help? Would want to help? Did she not trust him? If that was the case then apparently she didn't trust Stray either- yet she would still do this horrible thing for Tea.

Sharps slumps forwards onto the counter, resting his head in his hooves. He didn't even realize that he sat down.

_A weak "...a-"

"..."

"..."

"...alright." His voice sounded small. His face downcast, small tears in the corners of his eyes. What else could he say? There was a lot more, but Stray was in a hurry. Everyone was, too busy to tell their friend what was going on.

Why would he say something?  What? Feel sorry for himself because of other people's problems? Feel sorry that he was left out? Feel sorry that he couldn't do something sooner? It hit him harder then it aught to have. Or at least he thought so.

No he couldn't mope, that would be selfish. Be strong? Maybe that would be the way. He didn't want to, but he would. Sharps sits there, letting the conflicting emotions of ones own place in the story and of wanting to be the rock for others fight each other.
Anger, confusion, sadness. They all participated in this battle.


Stray Shot:
Stray's expression softened upon seeing Sharps' reaction. No doubt it was a lot to lay onto someone so quickly... Perhaps he should've worded it a bit more tactfully, despite being in a rush.

He leans just a little closer and speaks quietly, "I know Spiral, better than anypony. She's not going to kill herself. I can feel it."

If he had known that Sharps took his news of Tea and Spiral going to speak with Celestia as Tea going behind her partner's back to take the company in a new direction, he would've clarified that that wasn't quite the case. Alas.

The pegasus frowns guiltily. "I understand if you're not happy with me, not having told you any of this yet. For what it's worth, things have just been happening so fast that I haven't even told anyone else. You're the first one I've gone to, because I trust you. I trust you not to let all this out, especially about Spiral's... attempt."

"You're arguably the sanest one out of our little 'cadre'. I need you to be strong. You're still on good terms with everyone; Tea, Dande, and Spiral. They'll all need your friendship to get through this... So even if this damaged things between us-- me not telling you, please... just be their friend."

By this point, Stray had accepted the possibility that this would ruin their friendship, as it did with Dandelion. He looked melancholic, but accepting and determined.

"I apologize for not telling you sooner... I've failed many friends, especially in the last several days..."


Sharps:
He stays silent for a while, letting his mind absorb Stray's words.

"..."

Slowly, Sharps raises his head from the counter and looks to Stray. "That's what's so surprising. I know her as long as you have. I know her well too-." Another pang. "or I thought I did."

He takes a deep breath exhaling loudly. Shaking his head. "No, I'm not 'not happy' with you... Thanks for telling me." He looks back up to Stray, a pained expression on his face. "I doubt that she would of told me." There was some bitterness in his tone. He nods again. "I really do appreciate it. Finding out after this all passes probably would make it worse."

If Sharps had known that Stray feared that this would of ruined their friendship he would of said more. That him telling him was proof of that trust, loyalty, and friendship. That this in fact had strengthened it.

He looks on and out into the distance with a somber neutral expression on his face, occasionally nodding. A small smile flashed on his face at the mention of him being the sanest and still on good terms.

"It's not fair. Not the having all this dumped on me. But not being told sooner. I don't know what I could of done, but it could of been addressed sooner." His voice picked up in intensity. "Doesn't anyone trust me?- I know you do. And happy to know that. But the others? At least Spiral. I've known her the longest and she couldn't tell me that there was something bothering her." He spoke angrily before that was overtaken with sorrow.
"But by the sound of it- fuck it. It was bad. Really bad. And here I am feeling sorry for myself for not being told something that's none of my business."

"..."

"I don't know how to feel. I want to be upset. I want to be sad. But I also want to stop this."

Sharps turns to face Stray again. Looking into his blue eyes with his own orange ones. His face as solid as rock, the corners of his mouth deep in a frown, his brows low. But there was no emptiness in his eyes.They looked as if they were searching for something- anything that told him that Stray was not lying or hiding something.

"..."

After a moment of nothingness. Sharps quickly reaches over to Stray and pulls him into a solid hug. He didn't say anything, but he held the pegasai close for a long while.


Stray Shot:
"I think she would've told you eventually." Stray said quietly. "She trusts you. You were one of the first ponies to show her kindness in this difficult place. It's just been... really difficult for her. It broke her. But it is your business. You saved both mine and Spiral's bacon at one point, and you've fought side by side with her many times. When one of us is in trouble, we're all in trouble... The trick is, helping without making things worse or being forceful. I've learned that backfires badly."

His ears droop. "I can't blame you for feeling left out... with not being told. Hell, they didn't even tell me. I had to figure it out on my own."

The pegasus is taken rather aback when he's suddenly pulled into a hug, but gradually he lifts his wings and hooves and returns the hug solidly, holding it for a while.

"I don't know what's going on anymore, Sharps. I'm not sure anything will ever be right again. It's all falling apart..."


Sharps:
Sharps still held on, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile briefly when Stray returned the hug. His ears pinning against his head in guilt, that was the hurt talking. Stray's words help ease the bitterness and anger. "I-I know." He takes a deep breath. "It's just... it's just a lot. I didn't mean that about Spiral..."

He holds on, letting his mind sort things out. He wasn't calm, how could he be? But he does get his bitterness and anger out of the way for now. "I don't think we ever know." He says, some bitterness making it's way there. Emotions aside, that was sort of true though, wasn't it? "We'll make it work. We-We'll help them out in any way we can. Make something new out of it."

Eventually Sharps breaks the hug. He grips the bridge of his snout. "I'll... do what I can. I just want everyone to be okay."


Stray Shot:
Stray hugs back, then he leans back and sighs. "Right... well... thank you, Sharps. I'm at least glad that we're still good... or at least relatively." The pegasus casts a glance to the clock on the wall and frowns. "I'm scheduled to leave here shortly. Think I'd better finish packing up and go."


Sharps:
Sharps gives Stray a reassuring smile. "Yeah, we're still good."

He follows his gaze to the clock, pursing his lips as Stay talks. "Alright, I won't take any more of your time. Where are you going by the way?"


Stray Shot:
Stray hops off the stool and takes a few steps towards the door, before stopping. He didn't face Sharps as he thought for a few moments. He didn't exactly want ponies following him, but it wasn't really a secret either. Plus, he trusted Sharps.

"First place I'm gonna look is Cloudsdale. Keep that under your hat too, okay?" He asks, looking back to him.


Sharps:
Sharps tilts his head slightly as Stray stopped in hid tracks. He briefly wondered what Stray was deliberating about and thought for a moment that he wouldn't get an answer.

When he does get an answer, the stallion give Stray a nod the moves his hoof over his mouth. Other than that he looked as serious as Stray. "My lips are sealed." And thoughts, he thinks.

"I take it that you're going to ask her dad if he knows something?" He lets that hang for a moment before continuing. "I don't know why you want to keep it a secret but I will."


Stray Shot:
Stray nods. "Yup, he's exactly who I'm goin' to talk to. Hopefully he can point me in the right direction."

He heads for the door and opens it, waiting a moment to see if Sharps was gonna leave or stay to speak with some of the employees who were getting ready to work the sales floor (one, a light-blue unicorn mare, had just walked in and was in the back room.)

"I just don't want to get too many people knowin' somethin's wrong." He whispers, "This is a sensitive situation. Call me paranoid, but I like to keep my cards close to my chest."


Sharps:
Sharps stood after saying his piece and follows Stray to the door. He was still stocked up on ammo and had what armor he needed. Watching the employees enter for their shift Sharps notices Stray lean in, just enough for Sharps to notice.

He didn't completely like that, thinking that Spiral's friends, like Six, should at least know something's up. But he wasn't about to break his word.

"Fair enough. Oh! One more thing~" Sharps says as they walk out. He stops in his tracks and turns to Stray, a forced half smile on his face and genuine concern and friendship him his eyes.

"Remember, you don't need to do this on your own."


Stray Shot:
Stray looks over to Sharps as they step outside. Sharps was so genuine... it was as if one could see his soul by looking into his eyes.

He didn't really feel like smiling, but a weak, sad one did appear and it was genuine. "I won't be able to do it on my own. It's gonna take friends like you. I don't have that many left around here." He says.

"I have to get goin' before I have to cancel and reopen another flight plan. If you hear of or see Spiral returning, please tell someone in Crystal Company so they can let me know."

He takes a couple more steps forward, then stops, looking back towards Sharps again. "And Sharps? Thanks. I'm glad to have a friend like you. And... here's somethin' for your troubles."

The pegasus spreads his wings and takes to the air, flying off towards the airfield. But when Sharps would look down again, he'd see five platinum bits where Stray had been standing.

Sharps:
Stray's choice of words didn't fill Sharps with confidence. He keeps up his half smile, trying to keep their spirits up.

He nods to him. A dry chuckle. "You'll be the first to know~" He pauses for a moment as he gets his thoughts together. "O-ne more thing~"

Whoosh

"...oh."
The smile drops entirely and despite just waking up he looked like he's been up all week. He shakes his head with a heavy sigh. Then, pursing his lips he swipes the bits and stomps off. Mumbling to himself that this was just a 'rough patch' something he felt Stray needed to hear.

With no true destination in mind he heads towards the outskirts. He needed some time to think.
~