//------------------------------// // Part 17: Ghost of a Chance (Bricklayer and RuinQueenofOblivion) // Story: Poison Whiskey // by The Bricklayer //------------------------------// “Like a million little doorways All the choices we made All the stages we passed through All the roles we played “For so many different directions Our separate paths might have turned With every door that we opened Every bridge that we burned “Somehow we find each other Through all that masquerade Somehow we found each other Somehow we have stayed In a state of grace “I don't believe in destiny Or the guiding hand of fate I don't believe in forever Or love as a mystical state “I don't believe in the stars or the planets Or angels watching from above But I believe there's a ghost of a chance “We can find someone to love And make it last And make it last…” Ghost of a Chance: Rush: Roll the Bones: 1991 Rainbow slowly, almost lifelessly walked through the streets of Ponyville, her wife’s (Could she even call her that now, considering Fluttershy had all but outright said she was filing for a divorce) words from earlier now filling her mind. “Can… Can we be alone for a minute?” Fluttershy asked, and everyone nodded before leaving the two to their privacy. Once Fluttershy and Rainbow were alone together, Flutters gave her wife an icy cold glare. “What were you thinking?” Fluttershy asked. “I… I wasn’t…” Rainbow admitted. “Exactly,” Fluttershy responded. “I… I saw you in the bar fight, and it scared me beyond belief, knowing you could get like that.” “You saw that?!” Rainbow looked mortified, to know that her wife had seen her in such a monstrous state. “Fluttershy, I was drunk! There’s a huge difference between drunk mad and regular mad!” “But it scared me nonetheless. I’m… I’m sorry Rainbow, but I can’t be around you right now…” Fluttershy whispered, tears in her eyes before she gave Rainbow a last glance and left the room. “W-What? Why?” “I’m not so sure in our relationship anymore,” Fluttershy was still stoic, but a part of her voice cracked, as if it signaled her broken heart splitting wider. “Where do we go from here, Rainbow? Tell me.” she asked herself, leaving Rainbow alone to think. And to cry. Rainbow choked back a sob, much as she hated to admit it, her wife was right. She was a danger to herself, and anyone around her. “Celestia damn it Rainbow, you’ve really screwed the pooch this time,” Rainbow thought to herself. “You never were really cut out to be a mother were you, from the moment you left your daughter on that damn doorstep!” With that, Rainbow thought back to so many years before, fourteen to be exact. Yeah, she remembered the date, she always would, and it would probably haunt her till the day she died. That date was the one where she made possibly her greatest mistake. Lightning flashed in the night as a hooded figure in a brown hooded cloak quickly left a sleeping filly with an orange coat and a small purple mane in a basket on an unknown doorstep. The mare’s facial features and a little bit of her mane were illuminated by a stroke of lightning, a brief spot of light blue fur, and a multi-colored mane being shown. As thunder rolled, and the rain poured down like a torrent, the mare retreated to under the archway and shivered as she pulled out a piece of paper from her cloak. “Dear Icy Winds,” Rainbow wrote. “You may not know me, but I have but just one simple request. I… I can’t care for my daughter, and I don’t think I ever will be. My… my father, he was a drunk. Honestly, think me a bitch for saying this, but… or Hell, maybe you’ll understand for all I know, but I’m afraid I’ve got too much of him in me. I already know I inherited his temper, Celestia knows what else I’ll inherit as time goes by. I… I got myself drunk, in a bout of stupidity at a party celebrating my graduation from high school and had a quick moment of fun with a mare in a bathroom stall. How the Hell was I supposed to know I’d end up with a daughter out of that? I… I just don’t trust myself around her, I’ve got too much of my father in me. So please, take care of my little Scootaloo for me. Love her, and hold her in her moments of despair, and cheer her on in her moments of triumph like I never could.” She attached the small, quickly scribbled note to the bundle and quickly ran off into the night, her sprint breaking off into a gallop as she sobbed. Even as the tears rolled down her face, she looked back one last time, and surely enough not even a few minutes later a much younger Icy Winds opened the door. Rainbow would never really know, not till years later, but the mare did see her face with another jagged flash breaking open the sky. Rainbow choked back another sob, and swore silently to herself. “Face it Crash, you earned this…” Rainbow continued to think. “Oh sure, you weren’t aware of that family’s reputation, after all, how could you be? You were just a newcomer to Ponyville back then, but you should have broken the cycle and taken in your daughter from the start! Instead, look what happened! Your daughter gets abused, and eventually, it all leads up to your wife running from you…” Rainbow laughed bitterly as she looked at the sky, and the evening clouds seemed to form an image of her father taunting her. “Guess in the end dad, I really am just like you aren’t I? I do break everything I touch…” “Look at me, are you happy now!?!” Rainbow roared to the heavens. “Cause here I am, turning out just like you! Alienated half of my friends, and Hell, even alienated my own wife! To protect and to hold, that’s what marriage was supposed to be like right!?!” She shouted, before lowering her head and muttering to herself bitterly: “...What a joke.” Of course, she then heard a small sobbing sound, and Rainbow looked to her left, and towards a field where she saw a certain filly kicking and punching the ground with her hooves. A scooter lay nearby broken and shattered into two pieces, at the bottom of a hill. Rainbow never claimed to be a genius, but she guessed what probably happened. Scootaloo had probably tried to use that hill as a ramp and actually gain the ability of flight. Instead, all that had happened was that she’d landed on her flank. Stepping behind a tree, Rainbow listened in to what Scootaloo was telling herself. “Oh, let’s face it…” Scootaloo whispered to herself, beginning to sob, as blood dripped from her broken nose from where she’d probably landed. “I’m never going to be able to fly. Icy was right, I really am a sorry excuse for a pegasus…” Rainbow’s eyes narrowed before she let out a small growl. Another thing that was on her head, but this one, she could fix. Cursing Icy’s name, and hoping that wherever she was, she was in a sea of misery, she strode out from behind the tree. This mistake, this screw-up of hers, she could definitely deal with. One step at a time. Speaking of that, Rainbow didn’t know it, or maybe deep down she did, but she was going through her own personal twelve step program. As followed, she’d gone through these steps. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of Faust as we understood Her. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Admitted to Faust, to ourselves, and to another member of pony society the exact nature of our wrongs. But back to Scootaloo, Rainbow knew what had happened and what Icy had done. Start telling somepony that they’d never do something over a long enough period of time, and eventually their mind and body would start to believe that. “Come on Squirt, don’t tell me you really believe that crap do you?” Rainbow asked, as she used her hoof to wipe away the blood. “I mean, think about it, since when has Icy ever been a patron of virtue and intelligence?” Scootaloo laughed a little at that. “I… I suppose not. But… I’m surprised my other mom let you near me, after what you pulled.” she said to Rainbow, glaring at her harshly with Scootaloo’s purplish orbs seemingly gazing into Rainbow’s soul. Rainbow hung her head, in what was either shame or disgust. “So… uh, you heard about that huh?” Rainbow murmured, her mane falling in front of her face as she looked away from her daughter, not even wanting to look at her for the moment. “Yeah, kinda the talk of the whole town right now,” Scootaloo replied, and Rainbow turned back to stare right at her, eyes wide. “How the hell…?” “Listen, I don’t know, one of those mangy reporters from before must have gotten wind of things, heard something from the Prancing Pony, and probably followed you and Auntie Holiday back to Twilight’s house and recorded the whole conversation!” Scootaloo said rapidly. Rainbow muttered something under her breath, namely about finding the Ponyville Tribune and suing for invasion of privacy. Scootaloo was quick to reassure. “Don’t worry mom,” she said. “When Twilight found out about the whole thing, she placed a lawsuit on them, with Rarity being quick to follow. Way I heard it from Sweetie, Twilight’s talking about closing down the whole newspaper if she has her way, and knowing Twilight…” Scootaloo trailed off. “Oh yeah, they’re done for,” Rainbow smirked, before that faded. “Listen kid, I know I’ve never been the best mother, but I’ll be damned if I let one of the few bright spots left in my life now fade away,” she told Scootaloo, placing a hoof on her daughter’s shoulder, and her eyes narrowed in determination. “You will fly, or my name isn’t Rainbow Danger Dash! Now wipe those tears away, you’re going to fly by the end of the month, I Pinkie Promise you, and this is a promise I don’t intend to break!” Rainbow said confidently, and as Scootaloo looked up at her mom, she finally felt for the first time in a long time Rainbow would actually keep her word… Just as Scootaloo and her mother predicted, the Ponyville Tribune was soon to fold after Twilight used all of her royal powers to shut down the news agency. Wasn’t over for them yet, however, as neither she nor Rarity retracted their lawsuits and soon they found themselves using whatever cash they had left to pay damages after a very successful court case. It would later go down as one of the most shameful news incidents in modern Equestrian history. But one reporter, a pure white pegasus going by the name of Swift Wind and the first Discord had made his camera sprout wings would not let his news career go down like this. No, he was furious, and he had a plan. He knew that parties were a regular occurrence in Ponyville, and next time one was celebrated, which was likely sooner than later, he’d slip something more than the usual Apple Cider (Wild Pegasus Whiskey he thought, would be a good choice) into the punch and let Rainbow have a drink of it. That’d show her, after all the drinking she’d been doing he doubted she’d be able to stand it. Yes, his news career would be over, but he’d have the last laugh. Fluttershy’s House: “What the Hell were you thinking!?!” Spitfire roared at Fluttershy’s face. Somehow, in some way, probably via the whole affair with the Tribune reaching Cloudsdale she’d found out about Fluttershy saying she needed some space away from Rainbow. “You’re the Element of Kindness for Celestia’s sake! This… This is anything but kind!” Fluttershy backed up a little from the angry Wonderbolt captain. “I… I thought it would be best…” she whispered out. Spitfire actually laughed sarcastically at that. “For the best? Oh, that’s the funniest thing I heard all day! Did, or did you not hear what Rainbow was saying, because Miss Holiday found it fit to inform me everything that Rainbow said after she found her laying out on the streets!” With that, word for word, Spitfire actually repeated Rainbow’s phrases. “Mommy? Where am I? Where are my friends?” “I wanna ride my little horsey toy…” “Can you lift me up, mommy?” Are you getting the message yet!?!’ Spitfire yelled, nearly screaming at this point. “Your wife is in that kind of state, and you left her alone, saying you needed some damn space! What the flying feather were you thinking!?!” Fluttershy wanted to get some words in, squeaking out: “I… I…” but Spitfire was having none of it. “No, you weren’t thinking at all!” the Wonderbolts Captain snapped, giving Fluttershy a hard sting slap across the face that with her wing that left a noticeable red imprint before her eyes narrowed and seemingly drilled into Fluttershy’s soul. “Tell me, what was your wedding like? What were your vows?” Fluttershy, silently, walked over and picked up a memory crystal that had been placed on a nearby cupboard, alongside various pictures of her and her wife, not limited to one of them kissing on their wedding day, Fluttershy in her dress and Rainbow in her tux. Fluttershy sniffled at the happier times, how could things have all gone so wrong? “Well?” Spitfire asked again, her tone still accusatory. “What were they?” And so Fluttershy let the memory crystal play. Both she, and Rainbow had contributed memories to the thing, so nothing was left out. Rainbow Dash adjusted her jacket a little as she looked out at the gathered ponies in the city hall and shivered a little. It was hard to believe that she was actually here after all this time, she was actually finally getting married to Fluttershy. The usually brash and confident mare didn’t want to admit it but she was nervous. With everything that had happened with her own family, she wasn’t sure if she was going to be a good wife for Fluttershy, Fluttershy and her friends had reassured her more than once, but only Fluttershy really knew why she was so worried. She sighed and shook her head, she loved Fluttershy, and Fluttershy had put up with a lot ever since they had first met and then started dating. She looked over at Scootaloo who was serving as her best mare. The filly gave her a smile and a nod and Rainbow smiled back. Since she was estranged from her parents, Scootaloo was her family… even if she didn’t know the whole truth. She wasn’t going to leave her out of the wedding. Now they were about to take the biggest step of their lives together. She just hoped that she really was ready for it. “Are you alright Rainbow?” A calm voice asked and she looked up to see Celestia looking down at her. “Yeah…” She said and shook her head before she looked back at Scootaloo. “It’s nothing, just, thinking about everything you know?” “Of course, do not worry Rainbow,” Celestia said and gave the mare a reassuring smile. “You are the Element of Loyalty, and Fluttershy loves you very much. You two are going to be just fine, if there are any difficulties I am sure that you can figure them out.” “I hope so,” Rainbow said and sighed as the music began to play and the door opened as Sweetie Belle and Fluttershy started down the aisle. Rainbow Dash smiled a little when she saw the yellow mare make her way down the aisle. She was wearing a beautiful dress marked with flowers, gems, and pink butterflies. Rainbow smiled, she looked beautiful in the dress, Rarity had really gone all out on it. Fluttershy smiled as she took her spot across from Rainbow at the altar and smiled at her. Rainbow smiled back as they looked back at Celestia and nodded. “One of the greatest things we can experience is friendship,” Celestia said. “But more than that is when friendship blooms and flourishes into something more. We are here to celebrate one such occasion, when two ponies want to take that next step, and spend the rest of their lives together in matrimony.” Rainbow smiled as she looked into Fluttershy’s blue-green eyes and smiled as she took her soon to be wife’s hooves. “Now, these two have prepared their own vows, if you will,” Celestia said with a smile as she gestured to Rainbow Dash. “Fluttershy…” Rainbow said as she smiled. “We’ve known each other ever since we were fillies, I’ve always been there for you, and you’ve always been there for me when I needed you. You help me be a better pony and not always as reckless as I used to be. I’m glad that I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you, and I love you, for everything you’ve done. Now, let’s face that future together, as a family.” She smiled as she looked at Scootaloo and took the ring carefully. She gently slipped it over one of Fluttershy’s feathers and nodded to her. “With this, I thee wed.” “Fluttershy, would you like to say something?” Celestia said and gave the shy pony a nod. “Rainbow Dash, you’ve always been the best friend I could ask for,” she said softly before she spoke a little louder. “You’ve always been loyal and kind, but more than that you’ve helped me become more than who I was before. You helped me come out of my shell and be a better pony because you knew that deep down that’s who I am. Rainbow, you’re everything I could ask for in a wife. I love you, and I want to face the future with you, together.” She took the ring from Sweetie Belle and gently slipped it over Rainbow Dash’s feather. “These two have shown their love for one another,” Celestia said with a smile. “If anypony here doubts their love and their bond with one another, speak now or forever hold your peace.” A silence fell over the gathered ponies as Rainbow looked nervous for a moment. She shot Zephyr Breeze a look, but he had pretty much been resigned to the fact that he had no chance with her. Thank Celestia for that. “Then with the power invested in me as the ruler of Equestria,” Celestia said with a broad smile. “I pronounce you married, you may kiss one another.” Rainbow smiled and then was surprised when Fluttershy pulled her in close and kissed her deeply on the lips. Rainbow closed her eyes and kissed back, just enjoying the moment as they shared their first kiss as a married couple. Rainbow barely noticed the flash as Photo Finish took their picture, she didn’t want to think about the world around her. Right now, there was just her and Fluttershy, and that’s all that mattered. After the whole thing was over, Spitfire sighed and flopped down on Fluttershy’s couch. Honestly, the butter-colored mare couldn’t really tell what was going through the Captain’s head, or if she was even angrier or just sad. It was quite possibly a mix of the two, maybe. “You… You don’t have to shout at me,” Fluttershy whispered, tears streaming down her face. “I… I know I broke my vows. I didn’t cheat, no… I did something far worse than that. I abandoned Rainbow when she needed me the most…” “You… You were scared, weren’t you?” Spitfire asked softly, catching Fluttershy off-guard. She’d been expecting the mare to shout, scream or yell at her. “I… I can’t say I blame you. If I saw my wife or husband in a drunken rage, punching or kicking everything in sight, I’d be a bit scared as well. Terrified even.” Fluttershy gaped. Spitfire, the implacable Captain of the Wonderbolts admitting she actually had fears? “What, you think I’m this implacable mare, not scared of anything?” Spitfire asked, taking a sip of her coffee. “Hardly, we all have our fears. I’ll tell you this, remember when Rainbow had to perform a Sonic Rainboom to rescue me, Misty and Soarin after your friend Rarity knocked us all unconscious with her frailing hooves? I… I honestly thought I was going to die then. I really did, end of the line for me. What I’m saying is… everyone’s afraid of something so I don’t blame you for what you did. Doesn’t excuse your actions, but I don’t blame you.” With that, Spitfire opened the door and took her leave. Fluttershy meanwhile, still thought back to her wedding day, and when nightfall came, could do nothing but cry herself to sleep.