“You know, you have to start walking again sometime, Sarah.”

I groaned and just fell forward on my face. That was the third time in a day Ardiente told me that- and I know it’s true dammit, I just don’t feel like it.

“I know you just got your body back yesterday, but still, you need to get back on your feet again.” She sighed, “Death said you should be back to normal by now, that is if you were bothering to try walking, but it’ll take even longer if you just lie around all day.”

“Yeah.... Just give me a few hours.” I sat up and finally responded, getting a sigh from Ardiente and Aon Duine.

Speaking of Aon Duine, she just kinda stuck around my room since she woke up- not that I have a problem with it, it’s nice to have her around, if a only a little bit weird, too. I mean, she’s a clone of me, that’s fucking weird no matter how you look at it.

“Fine.” I heard Ardiente say annoy...ed...ly, if that’s a word.

“Tomorrow, though,” she continued, “you’re walking, whether you feel like it or not. I, for the time being, am going to bed.” I forgot, we kind of slept until sundown. Oops.

She walked over gave me a kiss on the cheek, “Good night.”

I couldn't return it before she left, leaving me and Aon Duine alone in the room.

After a few seconds of silence I pointed at the door, and turned to my clone and asked, “Do you think she’s mad at me for being lazy?”

She stared at me for a few seconds with kind of a weird look on her face, like a cross between “how should I know” and “why are you asking me”. At least, it looked like that.

Finally, she shrugged and said, “I... don’t know...? I’ve never really been around people before now, I don’t even know how to interpret human actions as emotion, let alone a... pony, or whatever her kind is.”

I looked at her blankly, then threw my hands up and fell over again, this time backwards, groaning, “Ugh... you even have more common sense, and a... better way of... talking... speaking... something... a better vocabulary than me I guess!” I looked up at her and asked, “Am I just really stupid, or is everyone else really smart?”

“Um... what?” She asked, looking a bit concerned.

“I don’t fucking know....” I sighed, “I just recently started to realize that I’m a complete idiot about almost everything.” I frowned, staring up at the ceiling, “I mean, a conversation with someone that may-or-may-not have been a fucking dream was the first time I ever even thought about anything rationally....”

“Uh... realizing your own intellectual shortcomings is the first step to fixing them...?” She offered weakly.

“....” I stared silently at the ceiling, “You speaking even more like a smart person doesn’t help.”

“Er, sorry...” she mumbled, “didn’t mean to offend....”

Pulling myself up, I sighed, “It’s.. it’s fine, I’m just frustrated as hell right now.” I threw my hands up in the air, “I mean, I’m struggling to walk seeing as I just lost about six hundred pounds of metal from my body, I just found out I have a clone from the facility that survived-” I quickly paused and glanced at her, “no offence, it’s just weird to think anything from there survived, especially someone that’s basically me.”

“Uh, none taken....” She said.

I nodded and continued my rant, “Not only that, but I also learned your name from a dream- it’s Aon Duine right?” She nodded, looking a bit shocked, “Yeah, so I guess that random guy in my head was real!” I slammed my forehead into the foot of the bed, “Not only that, but my... lover, I guess is the right word, and my sister are basically punishing me by sleeping in a different room until I start walking again!” I looked back at Aon Duine again, “No offense. I like your company, but it hurts a bit that they’re avoiding me because I can’t walk!”

I panted heavily, which I now realize is completely fucking unnecessary since I’m dead, but I’m too used to doing it to care.

“I just wish this shit would be over with, and things can go back to... “normal”, I guess.....” I mumbled.

“It would seem you’re having a rough time, Sarah.”

Huh, who said that? And why’d it come from my window?

I turned around and looked at the now open window- speaking of which, if I weren’t dead and numb to most things, I’d probably be cold. It’s like, late November, and I’m pretty sure that, even though I’m pretty damn stupid about most things, I know late November is supposed to be cold.

Wait shit, I got sidetracked. What was I doing?

“Sarah? Are th- are you alright?” Huh? Oh, right! Pony in window- Luna! That’s her name. Princess Celestia’s sister or, er, something like that.

I shook my head violently and blinked, “Yeah, yeah I’m... well, as fine as I can be, anyway. Why’d you ask?”

“Because,” she said as she stepped in through the window, “you spent a good minute and a half staring at me after I gained your attention.”

“Oohhh... well, I’m just a bit out of it is all.” I scratched the side of my head and shrugged, “I’m trying to get used to walking without a metal-coated skeleton, after having a weird dream that I’m pretty sure was real, which also happened after probably one of the biggest contradictions of my life happened,” I paused and looked at Aon Duine, “again, no offense-”

“Again, none taken....” She mumbled.

“-which happened after my soul was pulled out and put into a body that made me freak the fuck out on a level I’m not used to and- hey, yeah, maybe I’m not so okay.” I fell back on my ass and grabbed my head, “Too much is going on right now, my head can’t keep up....”

There was a bit of a loooong fucking pause, after which Luna finally said, “You seem... stressed, to put it lightly.”

“Really?” I said sarcastically, “I couldn’t tell.”

“I... apologize, that was a rather inconsiderate statement, after that short tirade of yours.” She started to bow her head, “I-”

“Gah, no!” I groaned, “Just- it’s fine, alright?” I fell over on my side and muttered, “It's true anyway, I’m stressed as Hell right now....”

“Well...” Luna asked, “would you like to talk about it?”

I sat there for a few seconds before sitting up and shrugging, “Fine... not in here though, I’m starting to go stir crazy in here.” She started to walk to the door, but I stopped her, “Not anywhere else in the house either; everyone else is asleep. I already feel like shit for bothering everyone because I can’t walk,” I admitted, “I’d rather not add to that by waking them up because I fell down the fucking stairs of something.”

“How about the roof?” Luna asked after a pause.

... Huh?

“The... roof?” I asked, clearly very fucking confused. Seriously who talks on a roof?

        I blew out a puff of smoke and flicked the ashes from the end of my cigarette, sighing. Turns out the roof is actually not a bad place to talk. It’s quiet, peaceful, there’s not a big chance some fucker will come and interrupt, and it gives you a nice view of the night sky.

I’m gonna guess that last fact was why Luna wanted to talk here. Yeah, turns out she’s the “Princess of the night” or something.

Speaking of Luna though, I pretty much told her everything that’d happened, which took almost a fucking hour to do. I even kept things as short as I could and it took that long, did that much shit really happen? Jesus....

“So, if I am correct,” Luna said, interrupting my thoughts, “this right here...” she gestured to Aon Duine, who had come with us, “is your clone... from the facility you told us about when we first met...?”

I nodded, taking another drag from the cigarette, “Yep. Trust me, it’s fucking up my mind to, because I thought all of the clones there were either too mutilated or dead to get out. No-” I started to apologize to Aon Duine, but she cut me off.

“I know,” she said, sighing, “you don’t have to apologize. I realize this is a rather... strange situation; it is for me as well. I’m talking to the woman who I was cloned from, after all.”

“Yeah....” I sighed- which seemed to be the only thing I’d done the past few days -and laid back on the roof.

“It looks nice out tonight.” I said after a few minutes of silence.

“It does....” Aon Duine said, then shivered, “It’s starting to get cold though.”

 “Really?” I raised an eyebrow, “It doesn’t seem that cold to me.”

“I would imagine being dead would have something to do with that.” Luna said, “Well, that and your... uh... unique aversion to pain that you’ve acquired over the course of your life....”

I stared blankly up at the sky and flicked the remains of my cigarette away. Finally, I said, “You know, if it weren’t for the fact that scientists talk smart- and pretty much everyone else too, compared to me -I probably would not have understood that last part.”

“I’m... sure that you’re smarter than that, Sarah.” Luna said with... concern, I guess?

I shrugged, “Probably, but the the last week was filled with mental breakdowns and shit like that, so I’m not really thinking straight.” I frowned and added, “Well, I never really thought straight, but I’m thinking less straight now, I guess.”

“Well... I suppose....” She trailed off, and we kinda just stopped talking. That is until another voice broke the silence. A very calm, monotone, creepy as fuck voice.

“It would seem you and I are having similar problems, Sarah.” Sira said from my left. I looked over, kind of surprised at her sudden appearance.

“How long have you been there?” I asked.

“Since before you arrived up here.” She shrugged and stared up at the sky, “I’ve come here every night since my arrival; I don’t sleep that often.”

Actually paying attention for once, I noticed she had dark, heavy bags under her eyes, and she looked just... worn out and tired as Hell.

“Why do you not sleep, miss...?” Luna asked her.

Sira looked over at her, making Luna noticeably shiver, and said, “My name is Sira Molante. I do not sleep to...” her wings twitched slightly, “to avoid the nightmares that I have.”

“Nightmares?” Aon Duine asked.

“Yes,” Sira nodded, “ever since my childhood I’ve been plagued by severe nightmares every night that I sleep. They’re... disturbing, to say the least. I’d rather not talk about them, as they’re enough to keep me awake for almost two weeks at a time.”

“Is... is that healthy?” No Luna, probably not.

“It’s not,” Sira replied, “but it keeps me as sane as I can be.”

“Right....” I sighed, and reached into my pocket, offering a cigarette, “Want one? They calm me down.” I mean yeah, she’s completely emotionless all the time, but it’s obvious she’s stressed about... something.

She stared at it then shrugged, scooting closer so that she could grab one. She put it in her mouth, and I reached for my lighter, but stopped when I saw what she was doing. I immediately felt like smacking myself in the forehead as I remembered that she had a god damn fire Sentiment power.

A small black flame lit on her finger, which she used to light the cigarette. She blew out a mouthful of smoke and sighed.

“I didn’t expect that to help,” she said, “it’s rather hard to calm myself, even with the... obvious lack of emotion.”

I scratched the back of my head before lighting another cigarette for myself. I offered one to Luna and Aon Duine, but they declined.

“Sorry it doesn’t help, I guess.” Good God I fucking suck at conversations; that’s the best I could come up with? I suck at being nice, for that matter.

Sira paused and stared at me for a second, then tilted her head to the side and said, “You know... that’s one of the few times someone’s apologized to me, aside from Death anyway. It’s... unexpected, especially given your past.”

“Trust me, I’m surprised too.” I then blinked and asked, “Wait... how’d you know about my past?”

“Death told me.” She said simply, “I would assume just to show me that I wasn’t alone in what I suffered through before I died. Really that’s probably why I was assigned to you in the first place.”

Well that’s just... confusing. She went through something similar to me? Shit... I’d really hoped no one went through something like that, but....

“I can see the confusion in your eyes,” she said, cutting off my thoughts, “and no, it wasn’t identical. What I experienced was much less compared to what you had gone through, but we lived under similar fears and circumstances.”

“What... what happened to you?” I asked, but quickly added, “If you don’t mind telling me, anyway.” I know firsthand that it is not fun talking about that shit. I may talk about it pretty easily, but it still hurts when I have to remember it.

She stayed silent for a moment, then said, “Because you are giving me the option, I will withhold that information for now. I may have nearly all of my emotions shut away, but the nausea and fear of reliving those events is still too strong at the moment. I only just died, after all, and what I suffered lasted until my death.”

I nodded, tossing away the rest of my cigarette, “That’s fine... I understand where you’re coming from, even if I just blurt out what happened to me on without thinking about it. Most of the time, anyway.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking straight ahead, “it’s kind of you to give me the freedom of choice, when so few ever have.”

I silently scoffed, thinking ‘Yeah, “kind” is definitely a word to describe me.’ I pulled my knees up to my chest and folded my arms over them, resting my chin on my forearms. ‘I got a long fucking way to go before I can consider myself “nice”.’

“Are you alright, Sarah?” Aon Duine asked, “You seem kind of... well, you were already stressed but... um....”

I shrugged, “Honestly? I’m not alright. At all. In about a month I got a bunch of Wraiths dropped on me- after becoming one myself -I found out I have a sister, and then got that sister back after she was dead for all my life, I snapped at Michael for something that probably isn’t even relevant to him, I found that not only was one of my clones alive, she’s right here too, and to top it all off, I realized something last night. Something I’m completely unsure of, and it’s making me even more stressed than I was before.”

“Would this happen to relate to that dream you had last night?” Luna asked suddenly.

I froze and turned to her with slight shock, “Uh... yeah... how’d you know about that?”

She rubbed the back of her head with a hoof, “I... may have the ability to view and enter the dreams of those within Equestria. I witnessed your and tried to enter, realizing how large of a strain it was placing on your mind, but I was blocked by... something. I only caught a glimpse of that “Ultimatum” character that you encountered, but I could not hear what you said to each other.”

“Hm, well....” I sighed, “I’m really just realizing that I freely and casually admitted that I love Ardiente. While I’m not really against loving her I’m just... confused. I’ve never really loved anyone before and it’s just... weird being able to say it so easily about someone.”

“Do you love her?” Sira asked. Seriously, she’s not the one I was expecting to say anything; even she said that she’s emotionless.

Without thinking, I answered almost immediately, “Yes, I do.”

She shrugged, “Then there’s no problem.”

“Well I know that,” I huffed, “I just feel weird about... love in general. No one really ever loved me before, and I never loved anyone as far as I can remember, so it’s just different, is all.”

She gave me a pat on the back and sighed, “You’ll get past it.”

“Right....” I trailed off and stared into the sky, before I remembered something. I turned to Luna and asked, “So... what did you come here for anyway? I mean, I’m glad that you came and all but... you’re a Princess and all that. A Princess of the night specifically. And it’s night. Aren’t you busy or... something?”

She stared at me for a second, clearly confused, before she seemed to realize something. Blushing slightly, her horn lit up with a blue light, and she levitated a small package from a bag at her side- which I had completely not noticed -and she floated it over to me. I took it and stared back at her, confused.

“I had almost forgotten,” she said, embarrassed, “but I was supposed to send these to you, to be given to your friend Ardiente. She requested a few books from the Canterlot archives, and after hearing where they were going, I took the opportunity to come talk to you.”

I looked down at the package, then up at her, nodding, “Thanks... I’ll make sure she gets them.”

“Thank you.” She bowed her head slightly, “I must be off now; as you asked, I am rather busy, and I must return to work.”

“Alright,” I returned the bow, “I’ll... see you around then.”

She smiled and turned, about to leave, but paused for a second. She turned back and grinned sheepishly.

“Apologies, but I almost forgot something else....” Her horn glowed again, and a small, folded piece of paper was removed from one of her bags. She handed it to me with her magic saying, “It’s an invitation to my niece’s wedding; it’s in five days, and it’s a rather large event being held in Canterlot.”

I stared at it for a few seconds and shrugged, “I don’t know if I’ll make it but... I’ll consider it.”

She smiled, “I hope to see you there.”

With that she kicked off from the roof and flew off, back in the direction I guessed Canterlot was in. The three of us kind of just sat there in silence afterwards.

“So...” I asked, “you guys just want to stay out here for a little bit?”

Sira shrugged, “Alright.”

Aon Duine did the same, “I don’t really mind....”

“Alright, we’ll do that.” I laid down on the roof, and the two eventually did the same on either side of me.

After maybe... an hour of us staring up at the sky in silence, I spoke up.

“This is nice.” Was all I said.

“Yeah....” Aon Duine sighed.

“I suppose.” Sira said.

And that’s... really all that happened for probably the next few hours or so, until the sun started to rise.