Shattered Moonstone

Hecatolite let out a long groan as she sat up in the dark room, stretching to alleviate the slight knot in their back as she rolled out of the bed. She could feel a slight discomfort as she stretched her legs, a feeling that brought dozens of memories to the forefront of her mind bringing a slight smirk to her face as she patted her abdomen.

“Feels like the date went well last night.” She chuckled looking around the dark room, realizing she had woken up well before the morning sun as she strained to see the lump in the bed shifting. “Good for your apple snack, now,” she began searching the floor for their clothes.

A groan caught her attention as Applejack sat up in the bed, he groggily rubbed his face before noticing the empty space next to him. He quickly scanned the room before spotting her. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for my pants.” Hecatolite answered casually as she thought over her skills, annoyed that she had yet to acquire anything that would allow her to see in the dark. 

Applejack rolled to the side and fiddled with something beside his bed before an oil lamp sparked to life, lighting the room in a dull glow finally answering Hecatolite’s question about beast-kin anatomy as she looked over the young man before her.

Hecatolite nodded to herself before continuing to search for her clothing, finding them quickly with the assistance of the light.

“Amethyst?” Applejack cocked his head as he watched Hecatolite shamelessly bend down and scoop her pants off the floor.

“Wrong sister, apple snack.” She said pulling the pants on and smiling at him, “but, yea…. Congratulations.” She walked over and patted him on the shoulder, not knowing exactly what to say in this situation.

His eyes widened in shock as he moved to cover himself with his blanket, “what are you doing.” he hissed, swatting her hand away.

“Uhm, congratulating you for finally you know, woohoo.” She moved a finger in and out of her hand in a vulgar gesture.  

“You weren’t… you weren’t here?” He stammered as even his ears turned red.

“No, no, no. I was in the void, got a little hot in there but nothing I couldn’t handle myself.” She grinned at him, winking before turning to look for the rest of her clothes. “But yea it’s kind of super late… or early… I think it's my turn to drive so, as much as I would like to stay and celebrate with you, I got some stuff I want to do.”

“So what? You’re just going to get up and walk out with her body?”

“Well, that’s just kind of how we do it. Come now, apple snack, you…”

“Applejack,” he snapped, “my name is Applejack.”

“I know.” She said finally locating her shirt not paying attention to the hostility in his voice as she picked the garment up and sniffed it. “ooo cinnamon.”

“And I am supposed to just be ok with this? Me and Amethyst get a few hours, and you just run off with her body the moment we are done? running off with her in tow while she sleeps?”

Hecatolite paused as his words hit her, an anxiety Amethyst had worked hard to push out of her sister slowly creeping back in as she turned to him.

“Off into the night to do god knows what.” He finished as he tied the blanket around his waist.

“Hey that’s… that’s not fair. I’m just going to go home and…”

“You really just don’t care what people are saying about her behind her back, do you? Do you know all the trouble you cause? Not just for Amethyst, but everyone?”

Hecatolite flinched as he stepped closer to her, her hands trembling slightly as she dropped the shirt in her hands. “I… I’m not causing…”

“No, of course you’re not, no one would ever think the great Hecatolite was ever trouble. Everyone likes you too much, don’t they? They have to.” He grit his teeth as he stopped just out of reach of her as she looked at the floor between them.

Hearing him say her name for what seemed like the first time was like a spike in her mind as he looked down on her.

“Everyone is so scared of you that they walk on eggshells around you, but that’s fine, isn’t it? You can do whatever you want, no one ever telling you no, anyone who does you twist around your little finger with your manipulation like that demon that follows you around like a puppy.”

“I didn’t manipulate…”

“Oh I’m sure you didn’t, you just endeared her to yourself by saving her. Instead of using your “all powerful” abilities to do the right thing and send her back where she belongs, you keep her like a pet.” He jabbed a finger towards her, barely brushing her shoulder with it but the force caused her to stumble back. “You run around with Amethyst's body doing whatever you want, toying with the emotions of the people around you without a care for her or anyone else. Well, I for one am tired of it, I lie awake every weekend terrified that you’re going to get her killed with one of your insane ideas. Every time I’m relieved to see my girlfriend alive only to have to watch you skip into town with that careless grin of yours covered in blood, I mean just look what you turned her into.” He gestured at her, her eyes wandering down her body as he did.

If one asked Hecatolite, she would have told you they were in fact attractive. Their body had developed a very toned figure, muscular legs that led up to their fit stomach that never seemed to grow no matter how much they ate. Their arm, though not big, had defined muscles from constantly swinging Amethyst sword, ending in tiny hands that had developed calluses from constant use. She took a deep breath, their small perky breast rising with the action as she spotted what he likely meant.

Though Alexa had healed their side after the fight with their father, the right side of their body was noticeably pink where the new skin had yet to fully recover from the flames. It would be a while until the new skin blended with the rest of their body though it paled in comparison to the scar Amethyst refused to have healed. 

Just under the left side of her ribs was a perfectly round scar, it wasn’t terribly large though it did stand out. It was caused by a simple horned rabbit that had caught her off guard, Amethyst insisted on leaving it as a reminder to never be careless given it was her own fault the nearly fatal injury came about.

“You are going to get her killed because you're too arrogant to realize she is not a monster like you.”

Hecatolite curled in on herself, not even reacting to him anymore as her heart began to pound in her chest. You are causing trouble for her. just like you always thought… She looked up at him as she trembled. “Really…” She barely whispered.

“Don’t look at me with her face,” he looked away as she looked up to him, unable to look at the normally cheerful face of Amethyst looking so… sad. “So many rumors about the “All-faiths” saintess, of how you use her face to drool over other women like a dog in heat, or go out into the woods to worship demons in secret.”

“I.. I should just go.” She sniffled, barely able to wipe her eyes as she tried to push the painful thoughts from her mind. 

“Yea, you should go.” His words caused the damn in her mind to break as she was quickly flooded with all the anxiety she had managed to hold back for so long.

I stole her body from her, of course she would resent me for it. she’s too nice to tell me herself… she thought as the sound of her own heart slammed in her ears, a whispering in the back of her mind causing her throat to tighten as she collapsed. You always cause problems for everyone; this is why the big ones pushed you out of the tribe. You should have just stayed in the egg. It always turns out like this, you’re better off alone. No one ever understands you. you’re just a monster, you’ll always be a monster…

Amethyst awoke to the sun peeking through the window of Applejack's room, letting out a content hum as she stretched realizing she was alone in the bed.

“That's… odd.” She said, realizing she was wearing pants but no shirt but dismissed the thought as the delightful aroma of food filled the air.

She quickly got dressed and went for the door, stopping briefly to feel around her mind for her sister’s presence before heading towards the wonderful smell of breakfast. She found Applejack humming as he cracked a handful of eggs into a pan. “That smells divine, it wouldn’t happen to be for me, would it?” She giggled as he shrugged.

“Depends,” he smirked at her, “what’s in it for me?”

She couldn’t help but blush as she replied, “after last night I think I more than paid for breakfast at least.” She bit her lip as the night before ran through her mind. 

He chuckled, nodding as he spoke, “well, you overpaid for eggs, I’ll have to make pancakes too.”

“If you're making pancakes I'll have to call Hecatolite. She will never forgive me if I eat them without her.” Amethyst giggled, motioning to summon Babylon.

“There’s no need for that.” Applejack quickly grabbed her hand not knowing the skill would work regardless of the hand motion the entire family had the habit of using. 

Amethyst raised an eyebrow at the strange motion, “I know you don’t like her much Applejack but…”

“It’s not that, me and Hecatolite talked this morning and she said we should… have fun today without her. Something about, “celebrating” and all.” He smiled nervously as she put her hand down. “You should go relax while I get breakfast ready, ok?”

Amethyst stepped back as she slowly replied, “Sure...” 

Amethyst went back to his room and sat on the edge of the bed as she pondered his reaction. He never uses Hecatolite’s name… and they talked this morning… that would explain why I woke up with pants on but… Babylon, can you message Hecatolite. Hey, Applejack’s making pancakes, if you want some you better come out quickly.

Hecatolite answered nearly immediately, the reply causing Amethyst's heart to sink as it played in her mind. I’m not hungry.

What? Amethyst knew instantly something was wrong, Hecatolite was always hungry, even the system knew that when it branded her “the devil of gluttony”.

“Babylon, what is Hecatolite doing?” She asked, a fear that her sister might be up to something in the void running rampant through her mind.

With a popping sound, that caused her to attempt to shush the terminal, it appeared. “Hecatolite was attempting to repair the “egg” in the shared soul space, she is now currently “building” a burrow to hide in.” It did not bother informing her that using Babylon in such a manner was only possible because of their shared soul space, if she attempted to ask such a question about anyone else in the world, she would be met with an error. But given Hecatolite was currently technically within Amethyst’s own soul space, Overseer could bend the rules a little in hopes that Amethyst could assist the rapidly deteriorating mental state of her sister.

“Why the hells is she doing that?”

“After speaking to Applejack this morning, Hecatolite fears she is being a burden on those around her and attempted to retreat into the egg. Notice, repairing the egg is not possible without “error’s” assistance as the spell to segregate her soul from yours requires an administrator. Even if “error” attempted to recast the spell now, it would likely fail given the growth of both Hecatolite and Amethyst's souls. Once she realized the futility of pushing the lingering parts of the egg together, she began creating a burrow out of trees from her side of the shared soul space…”

“What did…” she paused, they had agreed to not use the “shared memories” without permission from each other…. But… “Babylon, show me what they spoke about this morning.”