//------------------------------// // Paedophiliophobia // Story: Prevention // by Mind Matter //------------------------------// Clak Clik Clak Clik Pip had taken Luna’s side without debate; he claimed that Dawn had always used white, leaving him with little choice, but at the same time declined switching to Celestia’s side. Twilight hadn’t pressed the issue, her mind occupied with more important matters. Filling part of it with something mundane like chess would give her some time to think through exactly what the buck had happened just over a minute before. That didn’t mean she was ignoring the game, of course. She was just using it as a pacing mechanism. First things first, Twilight. Organize. One, Pip kissed you. Two, he intended to… Twilight blinked, finding the word difficult. He intended to have sex with you. She shuddered. “Are you alright, Milady? You appear to be uncomfortable.” Pip asked, moving his second pawn forward. The first one had already opened a path for one of his chargers, and he appeared to be trying to free up his second charger the same way. She set a pegasus’ pawn forward, blocking the charger’s movement. “I’m fine, Pip. Just thinking.” “I again apologize for any discomfort I may have caused, Milady.” Twilight nodded. Three, he clearly doesn’t understand the full ramifications of a sexual relationship. He’s only recognizing it as wrong because I got upset. A thought struck her, and she looked at Pip worriedly. “Pip, when did Dawn start… ‘playing’ with you?” “Several months after the Revolution succeeded, Milady.” And you were seven when you killed Luna… Twilight’s mind trailed off. “Dear Celestia, Pip, she’s been sleeping with you since you were just a colt! I mean, you still are a colt, but…” Pip glanced at her oddly. “Apologies, Milady, but we weren’t sleeping during playtime.” Twilight’s mouth pulled back. “It’s a figure of speech, Pip. But that’s still… eugh!” Twilight began rubbing her hoof between her eyes, magicking a charger forward to capture Pip’s second mage. She tsked as her charger was captured by one of his pegasi. “My apologies, Milady. I hasten to point out that I was Raised to adulthood before your Ladyship completed the Revolution, so I am no longer a colt in any manner except chronological.” Well, that could… kind of… justify it. The Raising is supposed to do what he just said. But he should know what sex is, then. ‘Playtime’ implies that he views it as a game, not an intimate act. By Tartarus, Fluttershy said he had a childish worldview. He uses Dawn to justify everything, too! “Good ponies are good and bad ponies are bad because my ruler-lady-pony said so. Non-ponies are evil, same deal.” ‘Raising’ didn’t do anything for him mentally except expand his vocabulary. We don’t really know how far gone Dawn was when she took over; at the start of the Revolution she didn’t seem to remember what necromancy actually did. Maybe the same thing happened with the Raising. Twilight scowled. And it’s not like he’s still seven years old, he’s grown up somewhat, otherwise… well, he doesn’t act like a foal. Thinks, maybe, but he’s able to control himself more than any foal would be able to. Can he really? Raising did something to him, sure: “Restriction of emotional mental processes” or whatever he said. He doesn’t react like a foal because he can’t. He reacted in the forest! And even if that was just a foalish temper tantrum, he got control over himself again easily! The Raising didn’t stop his emotions completely, it just helped him become more mature faster! Like he said it did! Twilight could feel her contradictory voice sigh. Just remember, you’re the one defending the megalomaniac rapist here. But I am you. This is an internal conversation. Both of us are me. And we’re both decidedly off-track, aren’t we? Think about Dawn again. “It’s your turn, Milady.” Pip spoke up. Twilight glanced at him, then down at the board, quickly blocking a route that could have lost her her Princess. She flicked her eyes up at Pip again. “Did Dawn ever tell you why she was ‘playing’ with you, Pip?” “No, Milady. You simply told me about it one night, demonstrated it, and we both enjoyed it. Then we repeated it every night, bar special occasions, for eighteen months.” Twilight blinked, her jaw unhinging mildly. A pawn accidentally slipped to the row beside it, though she quickly corrected the misplacement. “Eighteen months? A year and a half?” “Yes, Milady. You appeared to view it as a form of relaxation, despite its rather strenuous-“ “Okay, okay, hold on, Pip.” Twilight put both of her hooves up towards him, magically steadying her now off-balance chair. “You need to stop talking about me and Dawn like we’re the same pony. We aren’t, not yet, alright? You said as much on the way to Canterlot.” “As you say, Milady.” Twilight grimaced. Baby steps, Twilight, don’t get back on that trail until this one’s done… “Every time you’re talking about Dawn, just call her Dawn. Lady Dawn, if you want to.” “As you say, Milady.” Twilight sighed. There was a flurry of movement on the board, and both sides picked up several pawns and a mage each. Twilight stared at the remaining pieces. “Continue then, please. Lady Dawn was ‘playing’ with you, but you don’t know why?” “No, Milady. As I said, it seemed to be a method of relaxation. Y-Lady Dawn appeared to become extremely stressed around eighteen months after the Revolution, given her insistence on play during that period.” “Any idea why?” Twilight could feel her continuing blush deepen. “Did she seem… more irritable? Frantic? Antsy?” “Somewhat, Milady. She was acting unusually for a week, then she visited the doctor, continued her odd behaviour, went back to the doctor, and when she returned the second time she refused to play for several weeks.” Pip flicked an ear back. His voice gained a very mild undercurrent of worry as he slid his remaining charger into check against her Elements of Harmony piece. “She became slightly despondent during that time, appearing to enter into a grief stage similar to her discovery of her parents’ deaths. I attempted to discern the cause, but was rebuffed by both her and the doctor.” Twilight frowned, her ears perking; A weakness? Ill, perhaps? Some sort of terminal disease? Even with healing magic… At Pip’s look, she slid a hoof over the side of the table. He took it, dwarfing her hoof with his. “I’m sure it wasn’t something you could have helped, Pip. If it was, she’d have told you first thing. I have no doubt of that.” “Yes, Milady. As you say.” He took another breath. “After about one month, you- apologies, Lady Dawn began playing again. She also appeared to begin playing with Sir Crimson Lash and Lady Gaia.” “’Appeared to’?” Pip slid his mage on an edge against her Elements. She quickly captured it with Celestia, pulling her Princess back as he set Luna forward. “I am still unsure as to exactly what actions were performed, Milady. Apparently they involved whips, shackles, and saddles, though somehow in a positive manner.” Twilight began choking on the air in her mouth, her blush almost becoming luminescent. She stared at Pip, but all he did was shift a pawn forward. She glanced down at the board. “You’ve got me, Pip.” “Excuse me, Milady?” “Your pawn’s on my only exit. If I take it you capture my Elements with Luna.” “Oh.” The stallion glanced at the board with her. “My apologies, Milady.” “What? Don’t apologize just because you beat me, Pip. It’s just a game.” Pip began rapidly resetting the board. Twilight watched him, ears perking as she heard him muttering softly under his breath. She quickly grabbed the Luna piece, holding it behind her with magic. Pip continued unperturbed, only looking up at her when every other piece was reset. “Pip, what’s wrong?” “You’re holding the Luna, Milady, you can’t win unless we play again and we need to fully reset the board to play again and-“ He cut off as Twilight held up a hoof. “Why do I need to win, Pip?” “You aren’t supposed to lose, Milady. You got angry the last time you lost.” “Dawn got angry.” Twilight corrected. “Yes, Milady, my apologies, Milady.” Pip stood, beginning to walk around the table. Twilight also stood, backing up away from Pip, still holding the chess piece behind her. “Hold it.” Pip stopped. “What happened when Dawn got angry?” The stallion stiffened, only for a moment but long enough for Twilight to notice. “Nothing, Milady.” “Then why the… worry? Fear? Why did you insist we play again?” “I am the First Guard of the Revolution, Milady, I am to keep the Revolution safe and successful and if any harm came to yo- Lady Dawn then the Revolution would falter. Thus, I was supposed to keep Lady Dawn unharmed and as emotionally stable as possible so as to ensure the continued success of the Revolution, Milady.” Twilight continued to stare at the stallion. She walked up to him, bringing the Luna out from behind her. “Would Dawn really be so harmed by learning that she could lose?” “Yes, Milady. I can assure you that Lady Dawn did not like to feel that she had failed in a task, Milady.” “Even a game?” “Even a game, Milady. Please, Milady, may I have the Princess?” “What? Oh, right…” She dropped the small figure into Pip’s hoof. Her eyes watched him turn as her mind covered the new information. Dawn was a sore loser. Enough to get an unconscious reaction out of Pip, which means a really sore loser. Didn’t like failure, he said. Neither do I, but I’m no-oh dear Faust “PIP!” The last word was a strangled shriek. The stallion spun instantly, his head darting around to scan the room. “Milady?” “Your… your cutie mark…” Pip looked at her. “What about my cutie mark, Milady?” Pip twisted himself, glancing at his brown-and-cream flank. Twilight stared at it as well, her eyes registering something his eye apparently didn’t. “You don’t have one.” She stated. Pip twisted back to face her, blinking. “I am aware, Milady. None of the Risen Guards manifested a cutie mark.” Somewhere in Twilight’s mind, a dam broke. “None of the Risen Guards manifested a cutie mark.” “Risen Guards are simply ponies that grew up very quickly.” “…they are granted the physiology and mental capacity of an adult pony…” “Orphan foals were often encouraged to enter Risen training…” “The vast majority of Risen Guards were inducted and Raised between the ages of eight and thirteen…” "That is usually where I stay the night, Milady, unless you have Lady Gaia, Sir Crimson Lash, Pet, and/or one of the trainees bedded.” One of the trainees, between eight and thirteen years of age. “..faithfully and unquestioningly serve…” Some sick part of Twilight’s brain put the scene forward. Herself, probably dressed up in finery stolen from Celestia’s quarters. A foal, ordered up to her chambers for ‘special training’. The door locked, Twilight out on the bed, facing the confused young pony. Her voice, gently commanding. Come now, let me show you a special game. The scene was whisked away into mist as Twilight’s head pitched forward, her stomach’s contents spilling out onto the floor. Pip was immediately mobile, grabbing her shoulders and bringing her onto her side, away from her mess. She began blinking as a strange ringing filled her ears, Pip’s face somehow blank and concerned simultaneously. She heard him say something, but it was drowned out and far away. She closed her eyes, and darkness overtook her. When Twilight awoke, her head was pounding. She opened her eyes, quickly squeezing them closed again as the pulse of her skull caused every line of light to shine like the sun. She opened her mouth, trying to call for Spike, but managed only a small gurgling moan. The motion of her throat, however, apparently gave her stomach cause to protest; she lurched forward with a retch, quickly slapping her hooves to her mouth and trying to scramble out of the bed. She felt something round and metal be pressed to her chest, quickly raising to just under her chin as she retched again. “It is unhealthy to attempt to prevent vomiting, Milady. I would suggest-“ Hurk “-nevermind, Milady.” Pip pulled the bucket away as Twilight leaned back, placing it on the floor. She placed her foreleg over her eyes, trying to block as much light as possible. She groaned as Pip gently lifted it up, only for him to replace it with a cooled, wet cloth. She mumbled what she hoped were words appreciatively, the darkness lending itself to stop her head from pounding, letting her slip into unconsciousness again. “…nd as I told you, she’s suffering from the flu, though she’s been hit with it a little harder than most of the ponies I’ve seen. What she needs is rest.” Twilight moaned as words punctured her comfortable sleep. The pounding head was gone, as was the feeling of stomach acid boiling in the back of her throat, but it had been replaced with every part of her body aching. She curled in on herself, trying to shrink away from the noise and dull pain. “To my awareness, Nurse Redheart, you have access to healing magics that could aid her Ladyship in recovering from this illness. Per the Hippogriffic Oath, you are obligated to provide her with any aid available capable of lessening or ending her suffering. Combining those two leads me to claim that by refusing to heal her you are in violation of the Hippogriffic Oath and thus are to be stripped of your status as a medical pony.” “Listen, buster, I don’t care what you think or what you claim, but if you threaten my job again, we’re going to have a problem.” “I would not need to ‘threaten your job’ if you were to perform the actions that your job nec-“ “Pip, shut up.” Twilight groaned, turning her head and opening her eyes. The stallion-shaped blur nodded at her and stepped back, while the more defined mare-shaped blur stepped towards her. The vibrations punctuated the general aching of her body. She blinked, and the mare-blur took the form of Nurse Redheart. “Twilight, dear, how are you feeling?” Twilight felt a hoof across her head. She took several slight breaths in and out. “…hurty.” The purple unicorn replied. Redheart blinked. “Everything feels bruised.” “Oh, good, you’re already there.” Redheart moved her hoof down, gently laying it across Twilight’s throat. “Well, you slept through the worst of it, and you’re in the tail end right now. I’d suggest sleeping again, but I’m not sure how tired you’d be after nineteen hours.” “Ninteen-“ Twilight tried to sit up, pushing away Redheart’s foreleg easily. She immediately fell back into a sitting position, the ironically-named lightheadedness dragging her head down like an anvil. The motion only served to worsen the pain in her upper regions, and she began to groan again. Redheart tsked, and she turned to Pip. “She needs rest, and you aren’t helping me check her over by getting in my way. Go, now.” “I-“ “I have some catmint tea leaves in the kitchen, Pip. Could you go make me some?” Twilight said. Pip turned to her and quickly nodded. “As you say, Milady.” He glanced at Redheart again before jumping down to the ground floor, walking out of Twilight’s bedroom and gently shutting the door. Redheart sighed, pressing her hoof to Twilight’s chest. “I’m not sure what you two have going on, but I promise that you could do better.” Twilight blinked at the nurse a few times before she responded. “We aren’t together.” “Tell him that. He’s hanging off of you like a puppy, dragged me here when you ‘slept for too long’, as he put it. Either you two are in some sort of relationship or he’s seriously out of it.” “Oh, no…” Twilight brought a hoof to her head. “I’m so sorry…” “Oh please, it’s not your fault. He’s a wall when it comes to you, though; I tried telling him that, a), I can’t heal you from the flu because it’d mess with your immune system, and b), I’m an earth pony and thus can’t do magic, and he didn’t even seem to hear me!” The mare glanced at the bedridden unicorn. “Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to go off like that.” Twilight shook her head. “He’s not good at hearing things he doesn’t like.” Her entire body shuddered momentarily before settling down again. “My friends, Applejack and Rarity, have you seem them?” “No, I haven’t. As I was telling ‘Pip’ there, it’s just the flu, or a flu-like sickness. We’ve had about three ponies brought in with severe effects from it, but your friends probably got the normal stretch of vomit-sleep-ache like almost everypony else, and as such didn’t need to go to the hospital. You seem to be suffering a little worse, but I imagine that’s just because of stress.” Redheart winked at Twilight. “I heard Princess Celestia paid you a visit?” “Oh. Yeah, she was just… checking in on things. Nothing that threatens the world or anything.” Twilight stared at the nurse. “Am I supposed to be seeing flashing lights?” “Try blinking.” Twilight stared at her for another moment before the suggestion registered. She closed her eyes, opening them again after a few seconds. “Feel better?” “Yeah, thanks.” Twilight blinked again, yawning. “I’m actually still kind of tired…” Redheart pulled back her hoof, snorting. “Good. Go back to sleep after the tea. I’ll make sure Spike knows you’re going to recover.” Redheart turned, walking down towards the door. She didn’t blink when it swung open an inch from her face, nor when Pip walked in without acknowledging her. Twilight watched the stallion as he moved to beside her bed, remembering to close her eyes every so often. She took the tea and downed it quickly, giving him back the cup while still staring at him. “Is something wrong, Milady?” “Yes, Pip, something is.” She sighed, flicking her eyes to stare at the ceiling. “Did you… did you kidnap Nurse Redheart?” “No, Milady. She was walking past the library, apparently off duty, and I notified her of your condition. Apparently my insistence gave her reason to check on you, though she claimed afterwards that you were undergoing the normal process for the sickness you appear to be suffering from.” “Okay then.” Twilight yawned again. The pain began ebbing out, replaced with an odd dullness in her extremities; not pain, but simple numbness. Better than the bruise-feeling, Twilight thought, before her mind reminded her of the other thing she was worried about. “Pip, you’re probably not going to like this…” “Not like what, Milady?” Twilight took in a breath. “What Dawn did to you, that whole ‘playing in bed’ thing? It’s called sex.” Pip blinked. “Anything else, Milady?” “Pip, sex is… do you know what sex is?” “An action between two ponies in order to cause mutual pleasure or for procreative purposes.” “…Right.” Twilight sighed. “And do you know who is supposed to have sex, Pip?” “Two ponies who love each other, Milady. Though there apparently exists an occupation known as prostitution, or colloquially ‘whorsing,’ that trades sexual acts for monetary gain.” Dammit, Dawn, what the buck was wrong with you? “Yeah, that’s right. Two ponies who love each other. But those ponies have to be adults, Pip. Willing participants who understand what is going on.” “Correct, Milady.” “So what Dawn did, with you and the… the others? That’s called…” Again, Twilight’s mind stuck. She took several tries at the word before finally managing it. “It’s called rape, Pip.” “No.” Twilight blinked at the stallion’s solid voice and tone. She looked at his eye, and found herself for the first time seeing irritation or anger, directed at her, underneath his covering. “Yes, it is, Pip-“ “No it is not, Milady. Rape is a horrible, deplorable act, with those found to have committed it being treated like the monsters they are before they are granted the privilege of death.” Pip took in a breath. “You- Dawn is not a monster, Milady. She did not rape me, and she did not rape my unRaised compatriots.” “Do you know what rape is, Pip?!” Twilight asked, pushing herself up to meet his stare levelly. “Rape is any time, any time, where somepony has sex with somepony else, and one of them isn’t old enough, or smart enough, or, or where one of them is just not able to understand or doesn’t want to do it. Did you know that what w-you were doing when you and Dawn were playing was sex, Pip?” “…no, Milady.” “There you go, then. Dawn was raping you, because you didn’t understand what was going on. I don’t even know if you can understand what was going on…” Twilight brought her hoof between her eyes, rubbing between them in the way that somehow made her less frustrated. “And the ‘trainees’? Dear Faust, I don’t even want to know how many of them there were…” Pip sat, staring down at the shape of Twilight’s body under the covers. “…Milady, I believe that you are mistaken.” “No, I’m not, Pip. I-Dawn raped you, and Dawn raped those poor foals, and she did… she did something to you that makes you not able to realize how horrible a pony she was.” “No, Milady.” “Pip-“ “No, Milady, Dawn did not rape the trainees. I am still attempting to determine whether the actions that we performed could be classified as non-consensual sexual acts, but I am fully confident that none of the foals brought in to sleep with y-Dawn were raped.” “Pip, you said that Dawn had ‘bedded’ them, and you just said that Dawn slept with them! What am I supposed to take from that?” “That Dawn slept with them. She brought them onto her bed, wrapped her body around theirs in a maternal gesture, and allowed them to fall asleep with her in that position. I was present for every time that event occurred, and I swear to you, Milady, that I was the only Risen Guard, pre- or post- Raising, that Lady Dawn ever played with in the manner that is apparently so morally objectionable.” Twilight felt a slimy weight lift off of her shoulders at Pip’s words. What she – what Dawn – had done to him still had to be dealt with, but the knowledge that she hadn’t actually done anything to the foals burned up a good deal of the newly-developed loathing she had gained for Dawn; by extension, she realized that she didn’t need to caution herself around younger ponies moments before realizing that her subconscious had already began planning for foal-avoidance. Not that it would matter terribly; most rapists are power hungry rather than actually attracted to their victims, and Dawn fits that bill well. Twilight shuddered a bit at the fact that she actually knew that, and that she could so readily bring it up in defense of herself despite her ever-fogging mind. She wasn’t feeling pain anywhere anymore, and had become even drowsier. “Milady?” Pip asked. Twilight shook her head, yawning. “I need to think about some things, Pip. You can-“ another yawn, and her vision blurred, “-just… don’t worry about me…” “As you say, Milady.” Pip walked up to the bed, standing and watching for a moment before sitting and laying his head across Twilight’s chest. She mumbled a half-hearted protest before sleep overtook her.