4. No Pony is an Island
Dash, Fluttershy, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie.
I looked around at my six close friends as I sat on the sofa. They’d come to visit me and we had already been talking for hours and enjoying the warmth of the fireplace. Outside, snow was still falling. We had all warmed our bellies with spiced cider and s’mores. Twilight and Rarity were able to easily roast the marshmallows to perfection in the fire.
“Dawn, have you thought of my offer to come work for me?” Rarity asked.
“Oh.” I recalled Fluttershy mentioning it in passing. “I’ll consider it, but Fluttershy has plenty of chores right now for Dash and me.”
“Should you two be working so hard with buns in the oven?” Pinkie asked. “Mrs. Cake took time off work—maternity leave. It’s good for the foals.”
“Yeah, Dash, when are ya gonna stop pushin’ yourself and take a break from weather duty?” Applejack asked.
“I’m a little exhausted, but it’s easy, AJ. It’s just snow,” Dash stated. She looked brave, but from where I was sitting, I noticed her wing twitch, a subtle tell I’d learned. Anytime she got nervous she had trouble sitting still. “I could probably handle the wrap-up by myself if I wanted to. Being pregnant is a piece of cake.”
“Ah was thinkin’ how you shouldn’t be workin’ so hard. Ah figure when you two are ready Ah can help ya deliver the foals,” Applejack said.
“Huh?” I looked at her with my head tilted. “You’re trained to deliver foals?”
“Well, Ah helped deliver Apple Bloom.”
Her sister did seem to turn out alright, but for some reason all I could picture was Applejack shouting at me to breathe, and Big Mac saying “eeyup”. I shook my head and tried not to chuckle. “No, I mean, it’s too soon to think about and all…” The conversation so far had managed to avoid sensitive subjects, which I was immensely grateful for, but thinking about the foal wasn’t something I was quite ready to do.
“Well, Ah’ll be helpin’ Dash deliver her’s first. Seems to think she can deliver it in ten seconds flat.”
“Ha, I bet I can do it on my own. How hard can it be?” Dash asked. “Can’t be any harder than a sonic rainboom.”
“Let’s hear ya say that a few hours into labor.” Applejack chuckled and I had to join in, knowing from past experience that women in labor experienced great pain. I stopped laughing and became sober after realizing I would also be going through it too.
“Oh, I thought I’d help, it’d be much easier on Dash and the foal,” Fluttershy stated.
“We’re going to have a doctor there too, right? It’s not as easy or as pleasant as you make it sound…” I trailed off, skirting the edge of the subject. We didn’t know yet whose foal I’d be delivering.
I sighed and looked around, eager to join in on a different conversation. Twilight mentioned something about a discovery and I latched onto it. “What discovery, Twilight?”
She turned from Rarity to face me. “Oh, I was bored and did some organizing and came across a book on quantum mechanics. I did some light reading before bed and have hypothesized a new super-heavy element that hasn’t been discovered yet.”
Rarity smiled at me and shrugged, it was clear this conversation was already headed over our heads. Even if I didn’t understand it, I knew enough to know it’d be interesting and probably involve cool machines. “So, you’re going to build a particle accelerator and prove the existence of it?”
Twilight blinked and took a second to reply, perhaps a bit shocked somepony had a response other than asking her to repeat it in Equestrian. “Yeah… something like that. The magic needed is complex and would take at least a dozen unicorns, but I’ll have plenty of time to plan it out this winter.”
“I thought winter was the time to relax from work and enjoy yourself.”
“Oh, I am having fun. This is just my hobby.” Twilight blushed as she looked around at the others. “I’m still Princess of Friendship after all, and while you were out I sorta got a castle and all…”
I nodded, recalling something to that effect. “Must have been quite the undertaking, castles don’t grow on trees.”
Rarity chuckled. “They did this time. I’ve been busy every week trying to decorate the place and there are still rooms I haven’t gotten to.”
“Yeah, Ah had to find Granny Smith when she got lost in that darn castle. If her hearin’ weren’t so bad she mighta heard me calling for her.” Applejack chuckled as she shook her head.
“I’ll have to check it out sometime, maybe teach you how to build a moat full of alligators.” I gestured to Fluttershy. “I bet she’s got plenty of them looking for a home.”
“Actually, I do,” Fluttershy said. “Maybe we can talk about that later, Twilight.”
“Dawn, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask, and Applejack’s comment reminded me of it.” Twilight wasn’t smiling and wasn’t making eye contact.
I had a feeling it might not be something good and took a deep breath. “What’s on your mind?”
“There’s something coming up that you need to know about and I haven’t been sure how to tell you. Soarin’s hearing—”
A pit rose from my stomach and I glared at her. “No.” It was all I could muster as a swarm of emotions rose up inside me, all wanting to be acknowledged. My heart raced as I tried to keep a level head. “There was only one thing I didn’t want you asking about today, one thing!”
“Dawn,” Fluttershy said. Her voice was drowned out as Twilight tried to explain herself.
“They need somepony to testify why his bail should be denied, somepony like you,” Twilight stated. “If you don’t go, it’ll likely be approved.”
The emotions coalesced into anger as my memories firmly planted themselves back in the cell, my body being beaten and broken. “Celestia damn it! Have her banish him, what the fuck do they need me for?!”
Dash got up and approached me, likely the only one not afraid to lay a hoof on me to restrain me from doing something stupid. “Calm down, Dawn.”
“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have said anything yet, but it’s this weekend.” Twilight frowned, looking around at the others for some sort of support. “There’s no time to waste.”
I pushed Dash’s hooves away from me. I could feel the sharp pains in my ribs, despite them having healed. I could feel my sore muscles and flanks, despite the bruises vanishing. I tried not to think of the horrible things that happened but it was a losing battle, all because Twilight couldn’t keep her mouth shut.
“I won’t do it! Get out!” I yelled. I jumped up and flew to the stairs, running up to the bedroom and slamming the door.
I made my way to the far corner of the room behind the bed and dresser. I sat there and held my knees, curling up in a ball as I began to cry loudly. Never in my life had I been prepared to face emotions this strong, this uncontrollable.
The worst emotion, the one I was least willing to face right now, was my guilt. Deep down I knew this was all my fault, that I’d brought it upon myself, and I just couldn’t face this fact. I had to bury it, to deny it, to find some proof that it wasn’t true... but I couldn’t. Not yet. I couldn’t face it or beat it. I had to ignore it. I had to be stronger.
I hid my face between my hind legs as the door slowly creaked open. Whoever it was, I didn’t want them seeing me like this, the one time savior of Equestria now a sobbing, broken mare. It would have been preferable for me to have a deep hole to crawl into away from the prying eyes of my friends.
A hoof began gently stroking my back, and instead of speaking, the pony just began to hum a lullaby. I recognized the voice, though she was the last pony I expected to catch singing or humming.
Dash continued to comfort me without a word spoken, letting her hoof caressing my back speak volumes. She continued to hum, until at last I felt calm enough to uncurl myself.
The first thing I did was latch onto her, wrapping my forelegs around her and hugging her tightly. I breathed in the familiar and comforting scent, the one I had known so well. We had shared so much, I knew she understood, I knew she would keep me safe.
I don’t know how long I sat there, but the humming never stopped. It took all my effort to repress the emotions, to push back everything I felt I just wasn’t ready to deal with yet. It was tiring work, but eventually I succeeded.
Dash gave me a simple smile as I looked up at her, waiting for me to speak.
“I’m… I’ll be fine.” I offered a weak smile, barely raising a single corner of my mouth, but it was all I could muster. I didn’t even believe those words myself right now.
“Your friends are all worried, you know. Twilight’s sorry she brought it up,” Dash explained. “She was gonna come up herself but she didn’t have a helmet.”
I chuckled and felt a little of the tension dissipate. “I don’t recall the last time I tried to hit her working out too well.”
“Huh, I don’t remember that.”
“Didn’t we take a swing at her when she kidnapped us to exorcise the demon from you?” I asked.
“Oh.” Dash chuckled, recalling the event. We’d been whisked away to her basement for experiments in a rather suspicious manner. “Heh, I guess you’re right.”
“You probably expect me to open up to you now, huh?”
Dash squeezed me more firmly into her embrace. “No, Dawn, I expect you to open up when you’re ready… but I won’t lie, you worry me, Dawn. Not wanting to talk about it for a little while is healthy, but when you get that upset at just mentioning it… it makes me think something much worse is wrong that you don’t trust me with.”
I nodded, turning my head until I could hear Dash’s heartbeat with my ear. “I trust you, I just can’t control it.”
“The temper?”
“The emotions, the guilt. It comes on too fast, that’s why… Dash, I can’t, not yet.”
Dash nodded and let me go, helping me to sit up straight with her forelegs. “That’s fine, Dawn. I don’t care if it’s me or Fluttershy or Pound Cake, but when you’re ready, you have to open up to somepony. Not a day goes by we don’t worry.”
“I know, I know… please, just make somepony else go to the hearing, I don’t care who, I just can’t face him yet.”
“Come downstairs, I’ll tell Twilight later and see if she can go in your place. We’ve got guests and you need to say goodbye before they go home.” Dash lifted my chin up to make eye contact and smile.
“I look horrible.” I gestured to my face, which was stained with tears.
Dash glanced around for a moment for a solution, then got up and grabbed the glass of water from the nightstand. She poured it onto her face. “There, now I look horrible too.”
I began to chuckle and it quickly turned to full blown laughter. “You look like you fell face-first in the shower!” Her attempt to make me feel better worked, perhaps better than she hoped as I fell back laughing, stress and worry evaporating with each passing second.
By the time I had settled down, Dash had come back with a more practical solution, a slightly damp towel. She had already cleaned her face and I got up so she could clean mine.
“Thanks, Dash. I needed that.”
“We’re in this together Dawn. I’ll always be there for you, no matter what.” It didn’t take her long to clean me up and toss the towel into the laundry bin.
She draped her wing over me and led me back downstairs. As we entered the living room, I saw all my friends looking at me to see if I was okay. I gave them my best smile as I walked down the final steps of the staircase.
I swallowed the pit in my throat. “I’m fine… the, um, hearing… later okay? It’s been a long day.” I finally reached the couch and fell onto it, scooting forward to rest my head on Fluttershy’s lap.
She blushed and began to fix my mane, which had gotten ruffled while I was upstairs. “Thanks for coming, girls, I think Dawn needs some rest.” Fluttershy looked at Dash. “Can you get the door?”
“Sure thing,” Dash said.
“We’re all very glad you’re okay, Dawn,” Rarity offered. She headed towards the door speaking in hushed tones with Pinkie and Applejack.
Twilight was the last to get up to leave. “I’ll take care of it, don’t worry, Dawn.” Already, she must have thought the same thing I had. I just nodded to her once as she left.
Once the door had closed, I heard Dash walking back over to the larger sofa on which Fluttershy sat and I had laid. “I’m proud of you, Dawn. Everypony was so happy to come see you were okay and… and it’s okay to let your emotions out, we’ll never be mad at you,” Fluttershy stated.
Dash sat down by my flanks and helped tuck my hind legs up onto the sofa, against her side. She then leaned over and began to preen my wings, leaving me safely positioned between the two mares who had taken to watching over me.
“Thanks. You’re both so amazing to me…” I let out a loud yawn as I stretched and got comfortable between them.
I was quickly falling asleep and was truly exhausted from the long day. I could hear Dash and Fluttershy talking, but I wasn’t registering their words. It was like a gentle background noise, heard but without meaning, as I slowly drifted to sleep.
“Was she okay, Dash?” Fluttershy asked.
“Yeah, just still struggling to come to terms with what happened,” She replied. “I wish there was something to do, but maybe she’s right. Dawn’s different than us, maybe we do just need to give her space.”
“We can’t let her ignore it forever, but I can’t bear to see her in pain.” Fluttershy sighed and continued to gently stroke my mane.
Dash continued her gentle preening in the places she could reach, the sensations helping push me closer to sleep. “She’ll get there, and when she’s ready to talk, we’ll both be here for her.”
My mind began to wander until my body finally switched off for the night and I fell asleep. The gentle background noise of that ongoing conversation lulled me deeper and deeper until I reached a blissful, dreamless sleep.
Stats
Page generated in 0.05 seconds
Total duration
922 users online
1,743,378 hits today, 2,139,894 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
FIRST!!! And, nice cherpter. Ert wers gerd. Verery gerd. Lerked.
Why are these chapters so short!?
I almost want to see Dawn go to the hearing, just so she can testify, and see Soarin's ass locked in jail for a long fuckin' time. However, I'm pretty sure she would just try to strangle him and his lawyer when they showed up. Hopefully she has Phoenix Wright on her side.
impressive this chapter is just perfect.
the betel dawn has raging in side is starting to really show it's self.
This story (doh3) is going to get really good and just grow to amaze every one with time.
kind of makes me wonder ware this is going to end up.
doh4?
harts fire
I'm always so hype when I see a new chapter here. I like Dawn, and I feel really bad for him, I don't get why he'd be needed to testify or whatever though. Maybe I just don't comprehend how the hearing would work, but I like the banishing idea Dawn had proposed.
Jeez, every chapter you write makes me more depressed, but at the same time even more hooked on it.
And I though those who work in medical professions first lesson that they were taught was to value life...especially unborn life...I've heard quite a few stories about police raids on abortion centers (not sure if illegal or not too) or something...we aren't exactly happy with that concept.
5395581
OBJECTION!
Witness should use this garrote to choke the defendant.
SUSTAINED!
5395597
Well there are buns in the oven so "Dash of Humanity 4: Terrible Two's" is a real possibility. Before long it'll be the Brady Bunch.
5395578
So that I can release more of them? And because it's slice of life, not scoop of life?
5395602
He doesn't have to so much as having the victim at the hearing pretty much gaurantees the judge would deny bail. No one wants to look a victim in the eye and grant the defendant bail.
Now, if Equestria has some variation of "right to face accuser" than Dawn will have to go to the actual trial. Unless he calls in a favor with the boss to get Soarin sent to outer-space. Who knows. :)
5395606
My work here is (almost) complete.
I cant wait for the next chapter
5395619 The chapter's in your other stories were longer?
I'm just waiting for someone to go out and rescue Soarin. Cause this would be over too quick if someone didn't.
5395647
They fluctuate a lot, but DoH2 seemed to hover around 4k. Still, the plan is multiple updates a month, if not a week.
Instead of going to the trial, Twilight could whip up some magic spell similar to Skype so that Dawn doesn't have to be there, yet still be able to testify. Of course, seeing Soarin will bring up every emotion under the sun, so the spell may need to be tweaked so she never has to see or hear him. Twilight could relay what he says to keep Dawn happy (To a point) and still be able to give Soarin the judgement he deserves.
I honestly keep forgetting that Dawn has a body that is functionally female now. Complete with all the emotional and spiritual... highs and lows that come with it. That is why I still refer to him as, well, him. It is a real conundrum. And why it makes it weird for me to see them call him "her."
KBO.
I am very curious as to how the court system of Equestria works in the author's story. In a magical society, it would be more appropriate to use magic spells to force a suspect to tell the truth. Saves time, money, and reasonably eliminates chance of convicting an innocent suspect.
And therefore never send for whom the bell tolls, because it tolls for thee.
Good chapter!
5395853 If there were spells that forced ponies to tell the truth, that power would be horribly abused by unicorns. That spell would destroy friendships because you think you would want to know the truth, but then you hear it.
Considering some of the friends Dawn has, Soarin should feel safer in prison.
But thinking things through, and proportional retaliation are concepts that are wasted on him.
Oh god, if Soarin gets out... They already have two witnesses he can't get out... Right?
Nice chapter, but there's a very minor thing you may want to edit. You wrote Ms. Cake instead of Mrs. Cake.
5396061
Freaking out about going to the hearing seems like a natural first reaction of shock, but he has time to think about it (and whatever happens, I wouldn't let him skip the trial. Eventually he's gonna switch to ass-kicking mode and go on a rampage, Archer style. Okay, maybe not Archer style... maybe just a limited-rampage.)
Anyway, glad the Dash/Dawn interatction is still strong. I do often worry the first person perspective limits the available character interaction as I can never really show what others are thinking. Hopefully Dawn/Fluttershy relationship can develop soon too.
5395853
5395884
The Alchemist's Heart had that kind of spell. In that story, using the spell meant going in the victim's head and literally re-living the rape with them, which traumatized the unicorns who cast the spell on the protagonist... not to mention scored the protagonist major brownie points with Shining Armor, so there was no point even going to trial at that point.
Sadly, no magical mind reading here. It'd spoil half the fun, and Dawn's already got the deck stacked in his favor.
Loved the chapter, and yeah pregnancy can't be helping those emotions a ton. It would be an interesting twist if someone else murdered Soarin and made it look like Dawn did it, I mean one hell of a motive, the means, they'd just have to fill a window for opportunity.
5396198
Hmm.... that would be quite a plot twist. Dawn thrown in jail for Soarin's murder. Dawn's feathers found at the scene... Fluttershy crying and swearing Dawn was with her the whole weekend... Dash off somewhere bashing skulls in to find the real killer...
Sorta reminds me of The Fugitive meets the A-Team.... or maybe it's just reminding me of Alchemist's Heart where the rape victim winds up in jail to try and dispose of the key witness.
Man, you still don't disappoint. This series is still amazing. I get the feeling when this one ends, it's officially ended...
However I hope I'm wrong again just like the last one. Either way, great chapter, nice portrayal of emotions and can't wait to continue reading your work.
5396290 Something like that would be cool to see but I haven't been disappointed with any of the story so far so I'll just eagerly await whatever you have planned. Though I'd love to see like some sort of epic showdown in which someone (namely Soarin) fights well but gets beaten straight to the moon. And speaking of crying, I've got some hearts to break in a story or two of mine.
(Something rare for me but all that more effective when I do I think)
Gotta love how some of the first comments look more like a keyboard vomited in the text entry box than the English language.
I must actually applaud the emotions being shown. They are a bit overblown at first blush, but when one recalls that Don is a primarily male mind that is now trapped in a body that is not only female, but saturated in PREGNANCY hormones as well...
Male minds in female bodies are traumatic enough as the body just feels wrong. Add in hormones the brain isn't wired for and things really get rough. Add in a pregnancy that can't be terminated, and is potentially a product of rape, and you end up with an estrogen molotov cocktail. Don being unstable is quite accurate. It's almost as if he's under Stress after some kind of Trauma that is creating some Disorder; a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Oh, wait, that's a thing that exists.
5396290 I swear to God, if Soarin makes it out of prision I will kill him! I've got it all planned out too.
5396598
Hypnotising Kaiden? I can't think of any other method where you could claim credit.
5396197
how aboug a spell that would work like dream walking? Just observing, or how the memories were shown in the astral plane in S3 EP.13
5395815
when did don become female? I've yet to read this yet...
5396787Read it and you'll find out what happened.
5396197
We're not talking about reliving a situation spell, we're talking about lie-detection or truth compelling. But I imagine that would make things too easy for Dawn in your story so I can see why it wouldn't be used.
5395884
Spells, like many things, can be regulated and restricted to certain use. Take the elements of harmony, for example. Celestia didn't let the mane six carry those around 24/7. She kept them in her personal safe until they were actually needed. I can imagine at truth-spell being restricted to use by a ministry of justice for questioning suspects or court-battles.
Another awesome chapter
Reread the previous two stories as a refresher on DoH history, still loving every word of it.
5396656 no, I'm just letting it be known to our wonderful author that I'm going to kill Soarin if he gets his bail. I hope that I can find the correct mortal plane in the multiverse to end Soarin, but hopefully Kaidan will show me where I need to go. (If Soarin is executed, I would like to submit my username as the name as the executioner, just a thought. Or maybe judge if Celestia is not overseer/judge.)
5397814
You should write a side story where you (or Dawn goes insane), kidnaps Soarin, and tortures him to death. Then, everybody wins.
I'm still tempted to re-write DoH2 from Soarin's perspective to make him the victim, but I don't think people could process such a contradiction.
5398026
That sounds like a good challenge for you. You should do it. I assume you have ideas as soarin's backstory...(?)
5396434
Also, if you look at dash's actions in this story, she is already showing signs of being a mother.
I would like to say that since I have been reading this story, none of Soarin's actions were called for whatsoever, and thus I sincerely hope that he does see the business end of the executioners axe. I would not be able to participate in the jury for this case as I do know that my opinions would be biased against the defendant and as such in my opinion a summary sentence of one thousand years WITHIN THE SUN would not be enough to absolve his soul of the corruption that he has willingly submitted himself to
To ever consider such a crime to ever be absolved from his soul is beyond comprehension, for only a true monster can believe that such actions are for the good of the many.
5398026 Ok, I might try it. Just watched Stargate, so that helps give me a possible method for abduc... I mean borrowing him from his planet without really intending to bring him back... alive... maybe hang his corpse on a crucifix upsidedown and force, I mean "ask without taking no for an answer," a unicorn to place a spell on it so he doesn't rot. Eh, I think about it as I go.
Just a heads up though, my writing quality is poorly lacking in some aspects, but i'll need to wait til you release the trial, if Dawn attends. Man I feel so sorry for that poor guy...
And just because I can, have a
5399058 I agree, But I'm hoping that I could do the honors. I have a nice axe at my house that I made with my forge and I feel like it needs some Love and respect but i'd be willing to lend it to the Executioner ;)
Soarin better get big jail time. Or banishment to the sun for a decade longer than his mortal life.
5399403
I vote they take his weapon away from him...with a rusty spoon
redemption arc for Soarin:
Soarin gets treatment for his psychosis
(despite the jury judging him sane, no sane individual follows the logic he monologued about. Seriously "somebody has caused me and my girlfriend to break up, therefore I must kidnap and torture them until they admit it! Oh shit, this isn't working, I'd better flip their gender and rape them."
That train left the tracks quite a ways back.)
And, after he's been fixed, he gets a chance to make things right, and through many trials, finally earns forgiveness; it's a textbook redemption arc, but in this case, the person has something in his past that actually merits a little bit of angst.
5395619 pls, make this a thing.
5395884 if it were truly abused by the unicorns, they'd get used to the truth pretty damned fast, or they'd stop using it.
Dawww
5400349
With the way dawn is reacting to the trial, I don't think this would be easy to do. You have at least six characters who despise him, at least two who would kill him, and one who is so afraid of him, she can't even think of the possibility of being in the same room without having a full blown panic attack.
5403057
Maybe the mane six, Dawn, Celestia, and Luna, can go Office Space on Soarin as if he were a printer O.o