We each have enemies in this world,

But from our friends, good Lord protect us!

                                                                                                                   - "Eugene Onegin" by Alexander Pushkin

***

Tea And Smoking Pipes

Silver Dawn was slowly walking through the wasteland, looking around all the time. His ears were perked up, constantly rotating in the manner of locators - an automatic reaction to any foreign sounds, which had developed during the time Silver spent alone in the wilderness. His hooves were hitting the dry ground lightly, gently, as if they were too meek to stomp with all power. His eyes were teary and tired, for he allowed himself to close them only for a second per minute - or was the interval longer? He couldn't recall exactly. He had to be cautious, and he was cautious. His natural careful behaviour synthesized with the bitter lessons the sinister world had taught Silver, making the adventurer obsessed with his safety - an essential obsession in such times.

The surroundings were so familiar, yet strangely new, allowing the black pony to marvel at all the incomprehensible things that met his gaze. The wasteland looked the same as it had remained all the years after the Cataclysm: the lifeless barrens were imposing and silent, the small hills that were scattered all around the place resembled bad tumours on the deceased body of the land once called Equestria. Yet, there were unusual items that the lavender-maned earth pony had never seen since the terrifying Armageddon - the event that mercilessly took the lives of his kin and loved ones but somehow spared his - either knowing that the little black colt was special or simply forgetting about him in its blind wave of destruction. Silver could see debris of a water supply system created using long forgotten technologies. A steely object lying in the distance attracted his attention. As Silver approached the item, he saw it to be a metal stick - it was rather rusty, but judging from the curve of its tip, he could conjecture that it once served as a golf club. The adventurer was utterly excited: his eyes lit with passion, his mouth forming a smile, his ears falling, losing caution - a grave mistake in the lifeless world.

And the lifeless world was not dead, in reality - whilst its inhabitants ceased, the world itself - the ground, the hills, the nature - was seeking blood and death. The ground could easily crack open, swallowing one whole, never letting them emit a shriek of fear, for those who were afraid, or a sigh of alleviation, for those who got so tired of the surrounding misery that they were happy to be devoured by the ominous land.

Silver acted as an archaeologist of old times would act in such a situation. In fact, he was an archeologist. He imagined how ponies played golf at this very place, smiling at the shining sun, chatting happily and enjoying their simple, unperturbed lives, and a blissful smile crawled upon his face, only to fade in a moment, unnoticed and unneeded. Very carefully, he touched the stick with the tip of his hoof, to notice it was solid and quite hard. Trying not to breathe at the club (as if his breath could deplete sturdy steel produced in the old times, earth-pony way), he slowly grabbed the handle with his hooves, cursing himself for not being a unicorn. Suddenly, a magical flash enveloped the metal stick, making Silver let out a rather mare-like yelp and leap aside so quickly that even a renowned sportspony would feel envious. Upon turning round, the earth pony saw a unicorn, who was holding the rusty golf club in his magical grip, the strange, liquid-like spell flowing from the tip of his horn, circumscribing the steel object with transparent, yet somehow visible, glow.

***

The uncorn's white mane and tail refelected the light, shining brighter than the Sun itself. His red coat looked well-groomed and glossy. His eyes were laughing, but by no means derisive - wrinkles in the corners of his eyes were soft and good-natured. A familiar grin crowned the unicorn's face expression.

"Need some help, Silver, pal?" The red unicorn asked, still holding the steely object in his magical grip, but not moving it an inch.

Silver winced in shock and took a few swift absent-minded steps back. He couldn't believe his very eyes: how could Lancy find him here, in... Where exactly am I? Silver suddenly thought, casting a brief galnce around himself. All of this looked so surreal, so artificial...

"You're sleeping, Silver, pal, and this is your dream," the white-maned unicorn gave Silver an unneeded hint.

The black pony realised everything. He wasn't free; he was still in Stealth, probably lying somewhere in his flat, still asleep from the teleportation spell. It was all a dream. Just a dream. A wave of disappointment covered Silver whole, making his high spirits fall to the morose state called reality. Of course, it was it good to be true. It would be preposterous to assume even for a second that he could regain freedom with such ease. In any case, Silver had to make the best of this dream. But first of all, he had to ascertain something - something very important.

"What the hay are you doing in my dream?" Silver asked, his words not half as refined as he had expected them to sound.

The red unicorn chuckled, shaking his head, his short mane slighly swinging, bathing in the vernal breeze that had appeared from nowhere a mere second before.

"Silver, pal, that's the question for you to answer. I'm not Golden Lance - I'm just a part of your subconsciousness," he replied, maintaining a wide grin, which, to Silver's displeasure, was the most realistic thing in his dream, born, no less, due to the troubled sleep from the spell, the black pony assured himself. If one were to juxtapose the real Lancy with the imaginary one, they would come to an astonishing conclusion: they were identical - Silver Dawn's subconsciousness was working wonderfully well.

Silver groaned. Why did his mind always betray him in the most unsuitable manner? Just when he started to reminisce about the glorious life of the past generations, the confounded red unicorn appeared to ruin his wonderful dream, the kind of dream Silver had almost forgotten due to the endless strife between him and the world.

The black pony sighed lamentably. Why can't my subconsciousness be a beautiful mare? He thought, shaking his head. Somehow, the thought lifted his low spirits a little, to the extent of letting out a small chuckle.

The red unicorn before him, on the other hand, laughed loudly. Yet, his laugh still sounded unreal, artificial. Wiping a tear off his eye, he approached Silver and patted him on the back - a gesture that the black pony never appreciated.

"Silver, pal, that's the spirit! A mare... heh, still it seems that, subconsciously, you prefer Lancy over mares..." The unicorn began, smiling slyly and wiggling a brow.

"Just shut up," the black pony interrupted the naughty child of his mind. "Now let's just sit and think..."

Lancy (Silver decided to call the clone by the name, to ease the thinking process) immediately sat down, as obedient as a valet of old times.

"...Why are you here in the first instance?" Silver wondered, knowing there always was a reason for everything - a rather strange conviction, taking into consideration the chaotic randomness of the post-apocalyptic world. Yet, the black adventurer was a stalwart of that theory, despite, or maybe even in spite of his place 'under the Sun', as the ponies of ancient times used to say.

Lancy shrugged, shaking his head in complete lack of understanding.

"I don't know, Silver, pal. Seems like your sunconsciousness wants to tell you something," he speculated, making Silver sit down as well and rub his chin with a hoof.

The black pony started to deduce... something from something, or to be more accurate, nothing from nothing. He had no initial thesis to begin with, and completely no ideas to save him from an approaching wave of overwhelming ignorance, the kind that envelops one when they try to think about something really hard - and completely fail to bring even a tiny piece of order in the discord that rules over their thoughts. Oh, come on! He thought desperately. You are my creation or what? Give me a clue! The black pony mentally roared.

Lancy inhaled and exhaled deeply, seemingly dumbfounded by the black earth's pony temporary idiocy.

"Look around, Silver, pal. Think - what do you see?" He asked Silver, gesticulating with a hoof to make the black pony look around him.

The wasteland seemed comlpetely ordinary, if such an epithet could be used to describe the lifeless world that past generations would have never seen or imagined - even in their worst nightmares. The scorched earth was black and dry - the cracks covered it unevenly, like wrinkles cover the face of an old pony. But wrinkles on the face of an old pony would most likely be warm and welcoming, whilst these gates leading to botomless pits were ominous and sinister, greedy and ready to swallow a heedless traveller. The once prolific soil lost its fertility, resembling a landfill for toxic waste. The hills were rocky, looking more like small mountains somehow put there by an omnipotent, yet completely blind, divine being. The debris and ruins stretching for miles around were mere shadows of the old world - world of true prosperity, happiness and...

"Captivity? Unfreedom?" The red unicorn whispered into Silver's ear, making him turn round quickly.

"How did you..." The black pony began speaking, surprised, his eyes wide open, but then immediately facehoofed. "Of course, it's a dream, after all..." He sighed. "But what do you imply, after all?" He addressed Lancy, expecting an answer.

The red unicorn shrugged again, obviously not inclined to eludicate anything. He lowered his head in disapproval.

"Silver, pal, I'm a creation of your subconscious, nothing more. I only give hints. You have to develop the idea yourself," he explained to the black pony, who resolved to call upon all the resources his brain had.

"So... You are trying to tell me... I mean, I am trying to tell me..." Silver Dawn began speculating aloud. "...that the world before the Cataclysm was beautiful but unfree, while the world we live in - the world I lived in before Stealth..." At this point, he cast a side glance at Lancy, who gave him an approving nod, not even slighly looking guilty. But of course- he's not Lancy, he's me - why should he feel guilty, after all? The black pony thought before continuing to weave the thread of his insinuation. "...is deadly but free?"

Lancy nodded approvingly.

"To simplify matters, that's the point," he said, stopping, waiting for Silver to carry on.

"Hmm... Basically, since the old world is dead now, its remnants can be found in Stealth!" Silver exclaimed, proud to come to such a deduction.

Lancy nodded again, smiling, not with his usual grin, but with a warm smile of a father guiding his foal though the depths of his adolescent mind.

"Exactly so. Now, Silver, pal, we've come to the final and, may I say, most important question: what is more important for you - freedom or happiness?" The red unicorn spoke softly, yet firmly, looking straight into the black pony's eyes, drilling him, trying to see his very soul. "Would you prefer freedom in a lifeless world, alone forever, or..." Lancy made a pause, during which Silver loudly gulped, already knowing what the red unicorn will say next. "...live - maybe, only for a year, true - but live in happiness, around other ponies, ponies you like... with Layla..." He finished, fires of mockery beginning their whirlwind-like dance in his eyes.

Silver Dawn gasped in surprise. "How do you... Ah, right. It's a dream. But I don't like her! She made me faint, twice, and offered me to..." He began, only to see the white-maned unicorn raise his brow, inclining his head to his shoulder in an indulgent manner.

"I'm your subconscious, Silver, pal. I know better who you like and who you don't like," Lancy said, his grin once more returning to the red face.

As the lavender-maned earth pony opened his mouth to object, the red unicorn brusquely interrupted him:

"Silver, pal, you are going to wake up now. Before you do, however, look into my eyes," Lancy said, dopping his grin, his face becoming unwontedly serious.

Silver Dawn followed the simple instruction and looked straight into Lancy's eyes. They were shining. They were wise. They were experienced. They were... red.

"How many red-eyed ponies have you seen in your life, Silver? Including those in Stealth?" The white-maned unicorn asked him, keeping the bridge between the two glances, not moving even slightly. "Apart from you and me?"

At this exact moment, Silver realised: no, they were the only two. The ponies before the Cataclysm - his kin and friends, strangers, acquaintances; the ponies in Stealth - those young content colts and fillies; the ponies in the underground city... Nopony had red eyes. Except for him - and Golden Lance. And, though asphyxiating the difference between the two ponies, Lancy's silhouette became blurred by the force of Silver's dreams, now resembling the black earth pony with a lavender mane. The newly created black pony grinned as only Lancy was able to.

We look so similar... How come I haven't noticed it before? Silver thought before waking up with a start, sweat running in rivulets down his face and body, his breath fast, almost asthmatic.

Only a bad dream... It was just a dream... He thought, shaking his head fervently, trying to eradicate any residues left of the  troubled sleep.

The black pony looked around, to see that he was lying on his bead in his room. It seemed that the teleportation spell, despite being rather uncomfortable, was quite precise. He stood up, jumping a few times to fully wake up. Unfortunately, it didn't help: despite just waking up, he still felt extremely sleepy.

Silver approached the window, noticing that although the curtains were open, it was still dark. Upon looking out of the window, he realised it was still (or already?) nighttime. Resigning to his urge to fall asleep once more, he trotted towards the bed, heavily flopping down on the comfortable wooden piece of furniture that at the moment, to him, was the most welcoming item in Equestria, soon drifting into sleep.

***

Waking up in a normal way was all Silver could ask for in the previous few days, and it seemed that his prayers were answered: he awoke normally, not from a magical slumber but from the good old sleep - the kind one drifts into by one's own device, and wakes from it correspondingly. The black pony yawned and rolled in bed, letting out a blissful snort. He remained in a state when one is already awoken, yet still feeling sleepy. Upon opening his eyes, Silver realised he was in his falt, lying in a proper bed, with a pillow and a blanket. The earth pony smiled and closed his eyes. Finally. For the first time in the last twenty years he would sleep in - he would just stay in bed for the whole morning - hay, maybe for the whole day! Now that he didn't need to be on patrol all the time or seek shelter from the dangers of the outside world... just world... he could allow himself to finally experience such a luxury.

Alas, the cruel reality had other plans in mind for the lavender-maned adventurer. A loud knock at the door made Silver shift uncomfortably and sit up in bed. Another knock - a louder one - made him let out a deprecating groan and stand up, stretching his limbs. Making conjectures about who that could be, the black pony trotted towards the door, trying to open it. However, despite him pulling the door handle with decent strength, the door refused to open, remaining shut. The key! Where the hay is it? He thought, vainly trying to recollect the events of the previous day. The knocking recommenced, now supported by a familiar male voice:

"Silver, pal, it's me! Wake up, you sleepy-head!"

Silver sighed. The cupboard! He suddenly remebered.

"Coming, Lancy!" He shouted addressing the door, galloping towards the cupboard. After he had opened the cupboard and retrieved the key from it, Silver trotted towards the door again, now determined to open it for sure.

As soon as the door opened, the energetic red unicorn galloped into Silver's room, like a whirlwind, like a vigorous hurricane which would easily swallow anything that would stand in its way. He looked around and then cheerfully came up to the black earth pony, grinning in the usual way.

"I see you like your new flat, Silver, pal?" He asked the lavender-maned pony, patting him on the back in a friendly manner.

Just like in that dream... A thought flew through the black pony's head, quickly departing, yet leaving an ulterior trail in Silver's mind - a trail that compelled him to look straight into Lancy's eyes.

They were shining. They were wise. They were experienced. They were... red.

"Something wrong, Silver, pal?" Lancy asked, seemingly not noticing the black adventurer's shock.

Silver Dawn slowly shook his head.

"No..." he said quietly. "Everything's all right, Lancy..." Silver still couldn't believe his dream to be true - not only true but so accurate, so precise...

The red unicorn stomped a hoof on the ground in a good-natured manner and, making a circle around Silver, energetically galloped in the direction of the door.

"Come on, Silver, pal! We still have so much to see!" He shouted, vanishing the next instant.

Well, at least I'm getting used to it now... Silver Dawn thought indifferently. He shrugged, sighed and left the room, this time making sure he had the key with himself.

***

Stealth met the ponies with rain. It had been such a long time since Siver saw rain that he froze in place, looking at the sky that was covered with clouds, trickles of water falling on the stone road, forming small puddles and streamlets. To the black pony, they seemed like cities with a vast infrastructure, with roads connecting them - just like the old world, world of true prosperity, happiness and... unfreedom? Silver shook his head. The dream still refused to leave his mind, clinging to it with all might. He had to ask Lancy. Even if it would stupid - still, having a mocking answer was better than haing no answer at all. So many questions, so many decisions, so few answers... Silver thought. Life was so easier when he was... alone?

The black pony's thoughtfulness was interrupted by a sudden weight of a hoof on his shoulder. Snapping from his speculations, Silver saw Lancy pointing at a small stone building with a hoof.

"Silver, pal, I know rain's a rare occasion 'round here, but unless you want to get soaking wet, let's go there and wait till it's over!" He said, taking the hoof off the black pony's shoulder and swiftly disappearing behing the door of the mentioned building.

Silver watched the rain fall onto the ground, then observed a drop of water crawl down his neck, vanishing into his coat. He felt slighly cold and, depite the urge to admire the natural phenomenon one more minute, walked towards the one-storey building at a slow pace, casting a glance at his future shelter. Shelter... over the events that had occured to him, he forgot the word 'shelter', and, with it, the need to find a shelter each time he went to sleep in the wilderness.

The building looked by no means welcoming: its wooden door was cracked and lopsided and the windows were dirty and greasy. Silver's parents had always called such buildings 'shanties for equivocal entertainment'. The black pony braced himself and entered the dubious structure.

To his surprise, the stairsway lead him down, not up. Carefully descending the stairs, he found himself in a rather small room - more of a basement, to his mind. Off in the distance, he saw a bar counter, with a unicorn behind it cleaning a lustreless glass with his magic. The whole place was crowded with ponies sitting at tables, either in company, chatting and drinking some light yellow liquid from tankards, or loners, sipping a darker liquid from their glasses, silently, persistently, with utmost concentration. As Silver was scrutinizing the room, he saw Lancy waving a hoof from a table in the corner, trying to catch his attention. The black pony visibly nodded and trotted to the table, sitting on a dirty stool after a moment of squeamish hesitation.

Silver Dawn carefully looked around. The whole place didn't seem hospitable to him, yet he resolved to hide his disgust.

"Say, Lancy, what is this place?" He asked the white-maned unicorn, who simply chuckled.

"It's a pub, Silver, pal. Ponies come here to drink," Lancy replied simply.

Can't they drink at home? Silver thought, but decided to conceal his ignorance.

The unicorn behind the bar counter examined the room with a listless look. However, upon seeing two new faces, he smiled and lazily walked towards the table Lancy and Silver were sitting at.

"Hey, Lancy!" He exclaimed, shaking the red hoof.

"Hey, Barney!" Lancy replied in the same tone, grinning as always.

"Who's that with ya?" The bartender asked, nodding his head towards Silver - a gesture that didn't please the earth pony at all.

"Silver Dawn. Nice to meet you," The lavender-maned adventurer outstripped the red unicorn. He shook the bartender's hoof with hidden disdain and a visible fake smile.

The bartender was a big brown stallion. He wasn't ugly, but one couldn't call him beautiful either. His mane and tail were grey - a normal type of pony. Silver looked into his eyes. Green. Of course. Not red... The black pony thought automatically. He emerged to reality upon hearing the bartender's voice:

"So what'cha want, pals? Lancy, ya get the usual, right?"

Silver saw Lancy nod and considered what to order. He hadn't drunk anything but water over the past twenty years, which was his only choice, but he could still remember the taste of a wonderful treat his parents had always supplied him with - black tea.

"I'll have a cup of tea, please," the black pony said with dignity, maybe even bombastically.

The brown unicorn barked (Silver understood it to be a chuckle), then roared with laughter.

"Har! Ya made me laugh, pal! Dunno if we have this kinda stuff here, but Ah'll try ta fin' it," he said, trotting away towards the corner, laughing to himself.

Silver Dawn raised a brow questioningly, looking at Lancy, who let out a mild chukle.

"What's wrong with me having tea, Lancy?" He asked in complete lack of understanding.

The red unicorn shook his head indulgently, patting Silver on the shoulder.

"Silver, pal... pub is a place where ponies drink alcohol," he said with a fatherly smile, which, however, was instantly replaced with his usual grin.

The black pony got lost in thought for a moment. Alcohol... That's the kind of beverage his father used to consume during winter evenings... As Silver was only four when the Cataclysm destroyed Equestria - the old Equestria - he had never drunk alcohol in his entire life.

"Sorry, Lancy, I'm an... abstainer," the earth pony replied, remembering the right word to described ponies who didn't drink on principle. His face resembled tranquillity and confidence, and Lancy even dropped his head in approval.

"Good. I respect ponies with principles," he said, when the bartender came up to their table, magically carrying a glass of dark liquid that he put before Lancy and a cup of black tea that he put - almost dropped - before Silver.

"Seems like you managed to find some tea in this place of yours," the black pony said with a fake smile a small nod.

Barney clearly wanted to say something but instead simply shook his head and left the two ponies, returning to his place behind the counter.

Lancy nodded to Silver, as if never had happened.

"So, Silver, pal, how's it going?" He asked the black earth pony, sipping his drink with content.

The eyes. Come on. Ask him, a voice in Silver's head demanded immediate action, which was instantly rejected by the cold hoof of logic. The adventurer decided to start the conversation from another end, asking a question that was still of interest to him.

"In general, everything's all right. Say, Lancy..." The black pony began, taking a gulp of local tea. It tasted terrible - but it was not water, after all.

"Yes, Silver, pal?" Lancy said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Could you tell me anything about the underground city - you know, the one full of copper, steel and steam?" Silver wondered, expecting a deployed answer.

However, such an answer never came from the red unicorn's mouth. Instead, Lancy turned pale, whispering to himself:

"No, not you too... Silver, pal..." He shook his head sadly.

"Huh? What's the matter, Lancy?" Silver asked, surprised by the unicorn's unexpected reaction.

Lancy looked straight into Silver's eyes. They are red, like mine, the black pony thoughts again, rather stupidly and bluntly, mechanically. Just like in my dream. The unicorn put a comforting hoof on the black pony's shoulder, before beginning to speak again:

"Silver, pal... This may sound strange... Hay, this will sound strange but... You are insane."