Chapter 27
Asylum
Chapter 27
“Princess? Are you there?”
“Yes, Twilight. I am here, but I cannot speak long. The connection grows weaker by the day.”
“That’s fine. I’m just happy to hear your voice again. It’s been so long.”
“Indeed. Every moment with you is precious. We… sustaining our defenses. The magic is holding, and the shadow has slowed its advance. For now.”
“Great! I mean, that’s good, right? Does it mean you’re winning?”
“I am sad to say that it is only… momentary reprieve. I can sense it at work, sniffing at the shield’s edges like a hungry rat, searching for a way in. My sister and I can resist it for a while longer, but its power grows by the day. It is up to you to return the Elements of Harmony to us. Without them… is lost.”
“I know, princess. I have a plan and I’m working my hardest. If I can get this stupid thing off my horn then I can use it to heal my friends, and together we can fight this shadow with the greatest power there is: friendship.”
“Twilight…”
“Princess?”
“Even at this distance I can hear the hesitation in your voice. Tell me what troubles you.”
“Yes. Well, no. I mean… Some of the things I have to do… I know how essential it is to defeat this monster and that I can’t hold back, but sometimes I have to do things. Important things. Vital things. And every time I do them, they become a little easier.”
“You regret that some actions, however distasteful, are necessary.”
“Exactly! Every day I have to struggle to keep myself focused because the doctors are poisoning me with their so-called medicine. My head gets fuzzy and I can’t control my emotions and I lash out. I never thought I could accept it, but I’ve willingly hurt my friends to accomplish my goals. My friends! And even though every one of them would support me if they knew what was at stake, there are times when I think I’m just lying to make myself feel better.”
“You must be strong. Doubt is the weapon of… enemy. If you falter, all is lost.”
“I know, I know. But what if I’m doing the wrong thing, even for the right reasons? I don’t have anyone I can confide in. You’re the only pony I can really talk to, and we’re lucky if we get to speak more than two or three times a week. There are ponies all around me and I’m totally alone.”
“I understand… hard for you, but–”
“Stop saying that! How can you understand? You have others ponies with you, ponies you can talk to and be yourself with. Me? The ponies I thought I knew best are almost strangers to me now, and I have to do horrible things to them or else all of Equestria will suffer! So how can you even begin to understand what I’m going through?”
“I banished my own sister for a thousand years.”
“Oh… Oh, p-princess, I’m so sorry! I… I d-didn’t…”
“Do not apologize, Twilight. Just listen to my words. When I lost Luna, I had never felt more alone in all my years. My dearest sister, my closest friend, was no longer… pony I knew. I had to stop her, for the good of all my little ponies. There was only one option I could take, and it was still the most difficult choice of my entire life. And no matter how… times she forgives me, no matter how often she says that it was the right thing to do, what I did to Luna will haunt me forever. But with Equestria threatened, there was only one path I could take.”
“How can doing the right thing hurt s-so much?”
“You heart will always bear the scars of guilt no matter… your mind says. After all, love is stronger than logic – even for you, my faithful student. Now wipe away your tears and remember that you must be strong… do the right thing, no matter how much it hurts.”
“Yes, princess.”
“You are never alone, Twilight. I… be with you.”
“That. Was. Awesome!”
Twilight winced as Rainbow Dash clapped her on the back. “Really, it was nothing.”
“Dude, you totally wiped the floor with her,” Rainbow continued unabated.
Pinkie dropped the afternoon’s chosen board game down onto the table they’d claimed as their own with a thwack, loud enough to cause Fluttershy to peek at them from her spot by the windows. “Yeah, her face really showed Lightning Dust’s hoof who was boss.” Pinkie giggled, although her eyes lingered on Twilight’s bandages before she busied herself unboxing the new game.
“Okay, she's nnnot a fighter. But she’s still brave enough to try!” The light glinted off Rainbow’s smile, bringing back unwelcome memories of shadows and mirrors. “That feather-brain Lightning Dust ended up in solitary and Fluttershy got some payback, so that’s a win-win in my book!”
Fluttershy ruffled her feathers but said nothing.
Twilight forced herself to grin back up at her. “I’m just glad I could help.”
“You’re totally on the team now,” said Rainbow as they moved over to the table, only pausing long enough to escort Fluttershy over as well. Unsurprisingly, Fluttershy took the spot furthest from Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Rainbow didn’t seem to notice as she turned back to Twilight, her smile curling into a mischievous grin. “So what’s the big secret you couldn’t show me at lunnnch?”
Even knowing that the question was coming still wasn’t enough to keep Twilight from inwardly cringing. She gave a quick glance around the room. They were too exposed. Low shelves and a corner location weren’t enough to ward off the ears of prowling orderlies. And Rainbow Dash’s boisterous praise hadn’t done them any favors.
“Can’t you just take my word on it that it exists?” she tried one last time, but Rainbow just shook her head.
“Hey, if I’m sticking out my nnneck, I wanna know it’s for a good reason.”
Pinkie looked up from the half-finished board game. “Me too. You don’t wanna keep something this important from your friends. That’s a quick way to lose them.”
“Okay, okay,” Twilight said, her shoulders sagging. “Just… try to control yourselves. This is too important to let slip to anypony, understand? What I have with me is going to change everything around here.”
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie edged forward as Twilight glanced around one final time. The coast was clear. Twilight pulled Smarty Pants from her pocket and dropped the patchwork doll onto the board, the cottony impact sending playing pieces dancing across the table. Smarty Pants flopped over and sagged to one side.
“I’m leaving,” said Rainbow as she stood back up.
“It’s not the doll!” Twilight hissed. “It’s what’s inside the doll.”
“Fluffy stuffing?”
Twilight glared at Pinkie Pie before flipping the doll over to reveal a line of loose stitching running up its back. Holding Smarty Pants down with a hoof, Twilight carefully bit down on one end of the string and tugged, opening up a small vertical hole on the doll's back. With the care of a surgeon she slid her hoof into the incision and removed a small wad of well-folded papers.
She unfurled the documents with care, slightly annoyed that they wouldn’t lay perfectly flat despite using her hoof on the creases. With a huff she rotated the papers and pushed them across the table. “Here. These are official medical reports concerning a unicorn called Wind Song. And they are how we’re going to bring Broadhoof down.”
Rainbow lifted up the papers and lifted them up close to her muzzle, slowly mouthing the words as she scanned the first page. Pinkie Pie tried to read over her shoulder but gave up when Rainbow paused to scowl at her. Rainbow resumed reading as Pinkie Pie sat back down with a huff.
The minutes dragged on. Twilight ground her teeth in irritation, tracking Rainbow’s glacial progress by reading her lips. There was a lack of comprehension in Rainbow’s eyes, but she stubbornly persisted. Resisting the urge to snatch the papers away and just read them aloud, Twilight physically turned away and focused on tracking the orderlies in case one of them noticed Rainbow’s obvious display. She felt a headache brewing.
Thankfully, Twilight wasn’t the only irritated pony. A grimace spread over Rainbow’s face as she tried to bludgeon her way through the dense medical lingo. Annoyance overcame stubbornness and, with a groan, Rainbow dropped the papers back onto the table. “I give up! This is like trying to read an ennn… enncyclopedddia.” She looked at Twilight. “Okay, I believe you. It’s real. So go ahead and translate it so a normal pony like me can understand.”
Before Twilight could shove the papers back inside the eviscerated doll, Pinkie Pie pulled them away, a single steely glance at the other ponies announcing she would look over the papers herself first. Even after making amends, there was still doubt in her soul.
Twilight ignored it for now. She looked to Rainbow. “Everything Doctor Rose is doing is a lie. He is modifying the data to make his treatment seem more effective and revolutionary. But it isn’t doing what he promises, and there are ponies that are suffering because of it. What he’s doing is unethical, immoral, and illegal. What we are going to do is stop him.”
That got their attention. Pinkie stopped reading as Rainbow Dash rocked back on her hooves. Even Fluttershy peeked out from beneath her mane to gawp at Twilight.
“But there’s a catch. Nopony is going to believe what we say, and by the time the authorities could do anything about this, he’ll have covered his tracks. One trip to the furnace and it will just be the word of four crazy ponies against the hospital’s. And I don’t think my word matters much here. That means it is up to us to do this, and do it right.”
Rainbow Dash whistled. “Damn, egghead. You don’t play around, do you?”
“Not when it’s this important.” There was a warmth in Twilight’s chest at the righteous certainty in her declaration, and she couldn’t help but sit up a little straighter.
After skimming over the rest of the papers, Pinkie Pie set them back on the table and slid them over to Twilight. She chewed her lower lip. “Okay. I believe you. And… I don’t want to see ponies getting hurt. I’ll help.”
Twilight smiled before turning to Fluttershy, who had retreated beneath her mane and was engrossed with a spot on the floor. Rainbow wrapped a protective hoof around Fluttershy’s shoulders. Twilight blinked when Fluttershy just barely flinched at the contact. “Hey, I want to get some payback, but you don’t have to drag Fluttershy into this.”
There was a fire in her voice, a shadow of the old Rainbow Dash, and Twilight had to resist sending the wrong message by smiling. “We need her help,” said Twilight as she folded up the papers and slid them back into Smarty Pants. “I have a plan, and it’s going to take all of us to see it through.” She turned back to face Fluttershy directly. “I know this might be scary, but I’m sure you can do this. You’re stronger than anypony else knows.”
Rainbow Dash watched Fluttershy as she continued to stare down at the floor, waiting for something. Fluttershy never moved, but eventually Rainbow gave Twilight a nod. “Okay, she’s in. But if anything bad happens to her…”
“Don’t worry, her part is the simplest of them all.”
Pinkie Pie leaned forward. “Wouldn’t it be a teensy-bit easier to not worry if we knew just what the plan was?”
Twilight coughed, her anxiety about giving them too much warring with the need to keep them compliant. “Okay. I can’t tell you everything right now, but the basic plan is pretty straightforward. I’m going to use the documents to convince two ponies on the staff to join us. Once they see what I have, they’ll go and confront Doctor Rose. While he’s distracted, we get back into his office and secure the papers before he has a chance to destroy them. All we need is one or two full folders and it will be enough to put him away for good.” Amongst other benefits, she silently added, her thoughts drifting to the keys she’d seen on the orderlies’ belts.
Pinkie Pie frowned when she mentioned Doctor Rose’s office, but it was Rainbow Dash who spoke first. “Two more ponies? I thought it was just goinnng to be the four of us. You proved you’re cool… for ann egghead… and you’re vouching for Pinkie Pie, but Fluttershy and I don’t trust the staff.”
“It’s really not important right now,” Twilight said with a forced nonchalance. “I don’t even know if they’ll go with us yet, or when we’ll get a chance to meet. And they’re just the distraction, anyway.”
“I told you, we don’t trust them. Tell us, or we walk.”
“Okay, but please, don’t be upset. The two ponies we need are my caseworker Rarity and…” Twilight winced, “Doctor Applejack.”
A few orderlies glanced up at the impact of Rainbow’s hoof on the table, but when she didn’t lunge over it to try and grab Twilight they soon lost interest. Rainbow pulled Fluttershy in even tighter as she glared across the table, but she said nothing.
“Wow, hey! Look at the time, heheheh,” Pinkie Pie said with a forced grin as she gathered up the ignored board game and began walking backwards. “Time to put this bad-boy back in his place. Gotta be tidy. Cleanliness is next to… uh, that bookshelf. Over there.”
Rainbow didn’t even look up at Pinkie Pie’s vanishing act, all her fury condensed into a single burning stare. When she finally spoke, her voice was a dry whisper. “No.”
“Look,” Twilight began, but she was cut off by a growl from Rainbow Dash.
“Nnno! I’m not ddoing anything if that mud pony is involved. She almost cost Fluttershy her life once, I won’t let her do it again. Wwe’re donne.” Rainbow stood up, but she was halted by one word.
“Wait.”
Both Twilight and Rainbow turned to look at Fluttershy, who let out a meep and ducked down low so only her eyes were above the edge of the table.
Mouth agape, Rainbow managed to ask, “Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy gave an almost imperceptible nod. “Don’t… go. We… should help…” she spoke haltingly, as if she were struggling to push out each syllable. Like Rainbow Dash, Twilight just stared back at her. “We… have to do this.”
“But Applejack almost got you killed!” Rainbow protested with wavering conviction, the anger draining from her voice even as she tried to keep up a scowl.
It was clear the strain of talking was getting to Fluttershy. A few beads of sweat rolled down brow as she cast nervous glances around her. Twilight didn’t know whether to cheer Fluttershy’s bravery or rage at just what the shadow had done to her friends. She just watched as Fluttershy swallowed her fear and continued speaking. “We… can’t let innocent ponies… get hurt. We have to… protect them.”
The other two waited, but it became clear that was all Fluttershy could muster as she retreated back beneath her mane, pale and shivering. It took another minute before Rainbow Dash finally turned to look back at Twilight. She bore a sharp grimace as she spoke. “Okay. We’ll do it.” Her eyes narrowed. “But if anything goes wrong, I’m blaminnng you.”
Twilight shook her head up and down in acknowledgement, not trusting herself to speak for fear of changing their minds. After that exchange it was clear the meeting was over. Rainbow Dash, her tail swishing from side to side, escorted Fluttershy to their usual place by the windows. Twilight didn’t even risk thanking Fluttershy, contenting herself with having achieved her goal.
I’ll just give her some time to cool off. Don’t need to push anything just yet. Twilight almost shivered herself as her imagination began to run through all the ways an angry and resentful Rainbow Dash could mess up her plans. Still, she managed to let out a bitter laugh. Though considering the plan isn’t much more than a lot of hopeful speculation, maybe that’s not much of an issue.
“Will Rainbow still do it?” Pinkie Pie asked as she returned to the table, one eye on the other two patients as she deposited a board game – a different one, Twilight noted – on the table between them.
“I think so. I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to tell her about Applejack. It’s irrelevant to their respective roles. I mean, I knew saying who I had in mind was going be an issue, but…”
“But you couldn’t lie to her?” Pinkie offered with a weak smile.
Twilight returned it gladly. “Pretty much. You’re my friends, and I’m not going to lie to you about this, even if I should. It’s too important.”
Pinkie busied herself setting up the game, failing to hide her grin. After a moment, Twilight joined in. Unsurprisingly it was another game for foals, this time centered around the construction of some large plastic contraption meant to catch thieving diamond dogs. Twilight found comfort in the easy mechanical motions. It was like sorting a bookshelf or setting a table, and the symmetry of all the pieces pleased her.
“Since you’re not going to lie, will you tell me why you don’t wanna give us the whole plan?”
Twilight nearly dropped one of the pieces. “What do you mean? I told you, it’s to protect you.”
Pinkie Pie looked up from her work. “Remember what you told me? I’m supposed to help keep you from doing bad pony stuff. And not telling us the whole truth is bad pony stuff. And you have to trust me when I say stuff like that cause I’m the Element of Laughing.”
“Laughter,” Twilight corrected automatically. “And the plan, it… well, it’s complicated.”
Pinkie giggled. “Of course it is! You wouldn’t ever consider doing anything this super scary unless you had a hundred-point plan you’d checked and rechecked like a million times. But since we’re supposed to play a part, that means it can’t be too complicated. So either there’s something in the plan you don’t wanna tell us, like Doctor AJ being involved, or…” Pinkie Pie kicked over one of the pieces with a hoof, sending the incomplete machine spinning into life before pulling itself apart, “you’re afraid we’re going to mess it up and you can’t trust us.”
“No, it’s not that...” Twilight began, but her voice trailed away. On the third try she finally found her voice again. “Okay, look. I am worried that something bad will happen outside my control. That’s… I’ve always been anxious about that, all my life. Even back in the real world. But now I don’t even have my magic to fall back on if things go wrong. What if we get into trouble? What am I supposed to do?” She gestured at herself. “Even for a unicorn I’m not that strong. If the worst happens, then what?”
“Then you’ll just have to rely on your friends, silly.”
“And if my friends can’t do it?” Twilight’s retort held more bite than she’d intended, but she didn’t back down. “This is too important. I love you all like you wouldn’t believe, but this world is so different. And with all of Equestria depending on what I do – what we do – I fear that I haven’t done enough. There are already too many risks and unknowns that I’m worried that everything could go wrong. And I can’t let that happen.”
With a gentle smile, Pinkie Pie reached out a hoof and rubbed Twilight’s own. “Twilight, you can trust us. I mean, you have to trust us. It’s not like you’re going to summon a bunch of police officers to storm Doctor Rose’s offices with you.” She paused. “Right?”
Twilight rolled her eyes but laughed despite herself. “Yes, my brother isn’t going to come riding to the rescue. I mean, maybe if I had more time I could come up with something better, something more certain, but I don’t have that luxury anymore.” The humor faded from her face. “I don’t have the time to come up with anything better. And that makes me nervous. So I’m sorry if my keeping things from you seems dishonest, but with so much chaos in my life it’s my way of keeping something under my control.”
The two of them shared a mutual silence as a distracted Twilight began rebuilding the demolished toy between them. She pursed her lips together in a thin smile. “I guess that’s makes me sound like a bit of a jerk, huh?”
“Nope! It just makes you normal,” Pinkie stated cheerfully.
“Really?”
“Abso-really-utely. We’re not exactly free to do what we want here,” she said, a wide sweep of her arm taking in the white and green tiled walls around them. “Every long-timer here has ways to cope with being told what to do and where to go all day, every day. I try to plan fun things for my friends, Fluttershy is responsible for her birds, and Rainbow Dash…” Pinkie rubbed her chin. “Well, I’d guess she just breaks the rules.”
“The difference being that if your party gets canceled then all of Equestria doesn’t get destroyed.”
Pinkie Pie pouted, though there was a twinkle in her eye. “Parties are important too…”
Rubbing the side of her head against the faint headache she felt brewing there, Twilight let out a long sigh. She’s right. You should tell them the rest of the plan. The risk isn’t that great, and they’ll be more loyal if they know everything. Planting both her hooves on the table, Twilight sat back up with a firm and commanding expression chiseled into her face. “Okay, I’ll tell you everything. But this is entirely Pinkie Swear worthy. Understood? No matter what, you can’t let anypony else know a single thing I’m about to tell you.”
A shadow passed over Pinkie’s face. “Okay, just… no bad pony stuff, right?”
“We will be breaking the rules and doing something very dangerous, but it’s to help ponies who need us most.” Twilight smirked. “That doesn’t sound like something a bad pony would do to me.”
“Me neither,” said Pinkie Pie, almost sighing in relief before she snapped to attention and quickly recited her Pinkie Promise pledge, eye-polk and all. Despite the stress creeping up her spine, Twilight found herself smiling again. Finished, Pinkie Pie stared at Twilight with rapt attention, bringing back memories from Twilight’s foalhood of presentations delivered in front of the class.
“This plan is… well, okay, it’s not simple. There are plenty of variables I can’t control. The first is what day this is supposed to happen. Likely it will be this Friday, but that depends on Rarity and Applejack’s schedule. Second, I don’t know what time the meeting is, so if I can’t tell you girls before the meeting, then the whole thing fails right away. And third, I don’t know what your schedules will be like, so I don’t even know how busy you’ll be at the time, meaning if you can’t be where I need you at the right time, we also fail. Three really big ‘if’s that can mess the whole thing up, and we haven’t even started doing anything yet.” Twilight paused to take a few deep breaths, straightening out the list in her head. The headache wasn’t going away anytime soon.
“Okay. So, step one is to get my papers into the hooves of Applejack and Rarity. I’m certain once they see what it says they’ll try to confront Doctor Rose immediately: Applejack is too headstrong to sit around and Rarity has personal reasons to act against a doctor mistreating patients.” She pointed at Pinkie Pie. “This is where you come in. You’ll use your privileges as a trusted patient to loiter around the conference area until my meeting ends, because what happens to me after that meeting is uncontrolled variable number four. The two most likely outcomes are them summoning an orderly to take me back to my room, or escorting me themselves before they go see Doctor Rose. In either case, I’ll need you to pick the lock and get me out of whichever room I’m in.”
This caused Pinkie Pie to fidget in her seat, her hooves idly playing with her straight mane. “But if this happens during the day, the hospital is going to be pretty busy. What if I get caught?”
“That’s variable…” Twilight did some quick calculations. “Thirty five. With everything else going on, you’ll just have to be careful and not get caught. If you do, we fail.” Pinkie Pie paled, but Twilight continued on. “Now, once I’m out of the room, the two of us will make our way to the administrative wing. Since Fluttershy knows all the hiding places in the hospital, we’ll use her to give us the unused room closest to Doctor Rose’s office. And if anyone asks, you’re just bringing me to see him for a session.”
“I guess I can do that,” Pinkie Pie said, clearly uncomfortable with the deception. She glanced over at the two pegasi by the window. “But I don’t think Fluttershy can do much sneaking around the hospital.”
Twilight shook away the memory of a protesting Fluttershy trying to sneak her way out of Ponyville during Trixie’s second rampage. “She doesn’t have to be there. She’ll just tell us where the room is before the meeting. In fact, it’s probably better for all involved if she just stays where she’s supposed to be. We only need Rainbow Dash there to begin.”
“That’s… also going to be difficult,” Pinkie said. “I mean, she’s a known troublemaker. They’re not gonna let her wander around alone.”
“And that’s why you’ll escort her to the room before you meet with me. You can tell anyone who asks that you’re bringing her to see Doctor Rose for a disciplinary hearing. They’ll buy that. And then all we need is Rainbow Dash to sit tight until you can get me there as well. And once we’re all there, then…” Twilight trailed off.
“Then?” Pinkie Pie leaned forward. “Then what?”
“Then I don’t know. It’s unknown variable number five: is Doctor Rose in his office? If he is, then we can’t make a move without being caught, and we’ll have to wait. If he isn’t, then we can slip inside, you can unlock his safe, and we can grab as many files as we can. Then we just…” Pinkie Pie had raised one of her hooves like she was waiting to be called on. “Uh, yes?”
“I don’t know how to open his safe,” said Pinkie Pie. “I taught myself how to open the doors since they were keeping me out of the kitchen, but that’s the only thing I know how to unlock.”
Twilight gave a wry grin. “Don’t worry, I expected as much. Whether or not you can open the safe is variable number six. When we’re in there you can try, but hopefully he’ll have left a bunch of files on his desk like last time and we can just grab those.”
It wasn’t the answer she was hoping for, but Pinkie Pie seemed satisfied enough. Still, Twilight couldn’t help but sigh again. “So that’s six major unknowns, not including number seven – whether we can get back out without being caught – or number eight – if they’ll believe any of the folders we give them. All of which have to work in our favor or else the whole thing fails. And that doesn’t include the dozens of other, smaller variables that could make it all much more difficult. So you can see why I’ve been a little nervous about talking about the details. It’s not a very encouraging picture.”
“Yeah. I don’t even think I have any jokes that can make things sound better,” Pinkie Pie admitted. “But at least… well, this is all something really good and important, right? We’re trying to be good ponies, and that’s worth taking a risk for.”
“Knowing that the incredibly risky thing you’re doing is also really important doesn’t really make it much easier,” Twilight said. “But we have to do the right thing, no matter how much it hurts. And it’s the best chance we have of getting what we need.”
“But I have a question.”
“What’s that?”
“Why is Rainbow Dash there?”
Twilight froze. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re giving Doctor AJ and Rarity the papers, I’m there to escort you to the room and undo the door locks, and Fluttershy knows all the best hiding places in the hospital. But why is Rainbow Dash there?”
Shrugging her shoulders in the most nonchalant way she could, Twilight looked Pinkie Pie in the eyes and said, “She’s the lookout. We don’t want a repeat of last time, and we’ll need somepony on the outside if we’re to keep from being seen.”
Pinkie Pie let out a long ‘oh’ of understanding, and Twilight couldn’t help but take a bitter sense of pride in how smoothly she’d sold the explanation to Pinkie Pie. The last thing she needed was Pinkie Pie sniffing out another half-truth. It doesn’t matter how much it hurts, she reminded herself. It’s all for the greater good.
“Are you going to tell them as well?” Pinkie asked, turning to look back over her shoulder to where Rainbow and Fluttershy were seated. Like usual, Fluttershy seemed content to sit and stare at the outside world while Rainbow Dash discussed the Wonderbolts with her. About the only time she moved at all was whenever a bird swooped past the window, but she always seemed a little sadder afterwards.
“I think I have to, now. Rainbow looks like she’s calmed enough that I don’t have to worry about her breaking my jaw or, you know, throwing hot soup in my face.” That earned a giggle from Pinkie Pie. “How about you set up the game while I go talk to them? We might just get to play once before dinner.”
Pinkie Pie jumped to attention – quite literally – and set to work rebuilding the plastic trap while Twilight strode away from the table. Her playful smile vanished. Say what you need to to keep Rainbow happy, Twilight told herself as she tried to collect her thoughts. She turned to watch an orderly pull a protesting patient behind him. The arcane dampener weighed heavier on her horn as her eyes were drawn inexorably to the jangling ring of keys hanging from his belt. You need her more than the others can know.
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Great! I thought I was going to go crazy(er) waiting.
ABOUT DAMN TIME!
Yay!
It has been long time coming, but things are about to heat up here. twilight has to convince two more ponies and they would be hardest to convince.
also twilight gets stress headaches like no one's business.
hmmm. she showed them the papers but not the key.
A new Asylum! That chapter was easier to get through than a lot of other ones were. Emotionally, that is.
Few typos, though.
doll's
Extra space there.
pegasi
Other than that, great chapter! I look forward to more!
IT'S ALIVE AND STILL KICKING STUPENDIOUSLY!!!
I think I read this before, then lost my place/motivation to read it.
Gg.
FINALLY!
And a cliffhanger?! Why?!
Please don't make us wait...
It is great credit to you, Author, that I still remember what was going on in this story a year ago.
Twilight. Even if this world is fake and you get back to your Equestria, I'm worried for you. There'll always be that lingering thought . . . "What if I'm dreaming"
7194025 I always miss extra spaces.
... Pegasuses. Wow how did I not see that.
One of the only stories I come back to after leaving the fandom. Thank you for writing and updating!
The insanity! It's crawled back into the light! Burn it with fire!
Achievements unlocked!
[Solitary Confinement]: Come back after not playing for a good while. (10 Asylum points)
[Payday]: Make the plan of attack with your friends. (10 Asylum points)
[No Soapbox For You]: Resist the urge to skip Rainbow Dash's reading. (5 Asylum points)
Wow, by "this weekend" I didn't think you meant so soon. Had half thought this was dead.
Good to see Twilight at least second-guessing her manipulations, necessary or not.
Woah, I thought this was dead! Now it's back!
Everytime I read a chapter of this... I always get the sense that it's going to end like Requiem for a Dream...
Just my luck, right when I found this story he started updating again.
Fantastic!
Yay, plotting~
Wow, it's like Daemon is trying to get ahead of the sneaking feeling that this plan can't possibly work by telling us outright that this plan can't possibly work
It's good to see this is still going, and now it's beginning to look like we actually are in the final act of the story. Best of luck trying to wrap this bad boy up.
Eye-polk?
And after more than a year of absence, the story makes its return!
Ah, and so it ends, seemingly so soon. Well... I do have other things I need to get done. I certainly enjoyed this, though! Your return has not disappointed me. :)
Why IS Rainbow Dash there?
Huzzah!
And we're back!
This scheme... feels like this is going to end... badly... I'm as concerned as Twilight is.
(With the added concern that whie I'm 99.99% certain that Twilight is in an alternate dimension or whatnot, there's still that 0.01% chance that once the nullifier comes off, something is going to go very wrong....)
I've actually had a psychotic breakdown and been put back in the hospital and then got back out, was put on medication, and had time to start going off my meds waiting for this chapter. None of the above related to waiting for this chapter, obviously, it's just been that long. Totally worth it.
I have never been more excited to get a notification that a story updated! I'm so glad this is back, and it's great to see the plot is only thickening. Can't wait to see how this all goes through, but I'm having a bad feeling about their plan
Yay! a new chapter!
Somehow, when I was reading the first part of the chapter I could only think of "The binding of Isaac"
my thought process when i came to read this:
'oh look! a new chapter! hmmm... i forget, how long has it been since the last one... oh, here we go, what? only in march? huh... though it had been longe- wait... 2015! ...alright then...'
I really hope Twilight gets a break. At least long enough to give the other proof to the others before the next bad thing comes barreling down on her.
7194651
Noooezzz! Don't jinx it. She's already having Murphy's Law aiming at her with it's sniper scope.
One thing that sticks out about Twi's beliefs about the encroaching darkness is, if it already has her, and just has her trapped in this hopeless dream, why does it matter if she takes her medicine? Why would it have any effect? And why put her in a situation where she can win if she is captive? Trapped in the dreamworld with her friends so close by.
Even taking that into account I'm not sure which version of Equestria is true yet, it is MLP so there is a narrative form to the world, meaning that problems are capable of getting solved by the Elements of Harmony. Is that part of the rules of this universe or a symptom of Twi's schizophrenia? Evidently the answer is coming soon, or is it?
7194600
For the Punchening I suspect. Sometimes you need rough mares ready to do bad things to make a plan come together.
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I really hope Twilight isn't dreaming/ actually insane :(
Yay it's back! I've been dying to see this story progress and I hope you'll keep at least a reasonable number of updates per month
I'm so happy this story is back!!!
7195394 SAME! XD
The new chapter felt so short.
Its alive!! Woohooo!!
Thank you for this delivery. Glad to see you're still working on it; keep it up, please. And may the entrails of your enemies soon decorate your trophy wall.
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7194600 I think I can guess, but let's wait and see.
can't wait see that dr to burn!
7194917 It matters if she takes her medicine, because the medicine will affect her mind if she takes it.
Christ, it's been longer than a damn year between chapters!
7197227
But she believes she is actually trapped in this magical darkness and that this world is an illusion. In that case, it shouldn't matter if she takes them as the pills aren't real, and if so can't have any effect that this world couldn't force on her anyway. Basically, it is a flaw in her arguement that this world isn't real. One could argue the placebo effect causing those side effects I guess.
7197312 The thing that I first intended to write was stupid and I realised it, but didn't realise that it all hanged on that argument that was incorrect. Anyways, you're right in that it's a logical flaw in her story. Perhaps Twilight doesn't believe herself as much as she lets on.
And placebos don't work if you don't believe they will. Twilight doesn't think this place is real and therefore shouldn't feel anything from the medicine.
Yes.
Yes.
YEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!
7197312
If this is an illusion, it can summon up walls to keep Twilight in, a magic dampener to stop her magic, and restraints to keep her pinned to the bed. Given that, there should be no reason any medicine it makes wouldn't effect Twilight. If this is an illusion, it's real to Twilight as long as she's under its influence, so there's no particular reason the medicine working should be a deal-breaker.
The illusion is trying to convince Twilight she's insane, so giving her working medicine is another step to that. Just inducing the effects wouldn't do that.
7197829
Possibly, but I thought that the Illusion's goal isn't to make her think she's insane, it already has her and is trying to finish taking over Equestria. Making her think she's insane and accept her new reality is unusually spiteful for what has so far seemed like a force of nature. Though I suspect that there is an intelligence behind the darkness, which might explain the steps it is taking to mess with Twilight. More is going on than we know I'm almost sure. I honestly am not sure which reality is true yet. Just gathering points to help me figure out what is going on.
7197959
Celestia said as much in chapter 13. It's trying to break Twilight since it can't overwrite her mind. So yes, it's both trying to take over Equestria and break Twilight. Plus, given how everything in this world seems to exist to grind Twilight down, I found it very malicious.
Gotta admit, every time I see this update I brace myself for an emotional roller coaster. That I still remember where everything left off over a year after the last chapter is testament to how good it is.
I'm bracing myself for a Bad End where Twilight really is delusional and seriously hurts herself or her friends after getting the suppressor off.