//------------------------------// // 26 Consequences // Story: The Line Between Fire and Light // by Stolenalicorn //------------------------------// As soon as the weather was taken care of for the day Rainbow Dash flew to Twilight's castle where she began to make her way to the door to New Guardia Castle. Rarity's investigation of the guest rooms over the last couple days turned up no evidence that any of the ponies had been there. And Mirror Pinkie had neither seen them nor knew they were even coming. Her only option now was to ask someone directly, and James was the one she was most likely to get answers from. Lucca first saw her flying through the castle while she was assessing the next proposed trade of goods between universes. She knew she was here to see James, but James was in no state to see anyone at the moment. The whole situation with his counterpart had hit him hard and Tali had been keeping an eye on him and trying to help him feel better. Which was to say the two got extremely drunk. James, being too heavy to move, had been left in the bar where he collapsed the night before still wearing the Sayian Armor. She dog eared the page she was on and went out to intercept the pegasus as she continued to search. “Rainbow Dash.” Lucca called as she rushed out of James's study. Rainbow Dash came to a sudden stop and turned to face Lucca. She looked less prepared than usual, which meant she was working on something important or interesting. “Hey Lucca, what's up?” She casually asked as she hovered in the air. “Just working. I'm guessing you're here for James?” Lucca knew the answer though she didn't know why. “Yeah, I just wanted to ask him something.” Rainbow Dash knew she could ask Lucca, but she wanted James’s story. “Unfortunately he's not really in any condition to see anyone. I'm sorry, but maybe you could ask me.” Lucca offered, hoping that she wouldn't have to go into detail. She was grateful for the break from the proposal however so she'd happily talk to the pony for a while. “Uhm, sure. But how's James not in a condition to be seen? I mean, I guess he should be wearing something. But I can wait if that's the problem.” Rainbow Dash casually answered. Lucca groaned slightly not knowing if Rainbow Dash was joking or not. “He's not feeling well, and doesn't want anyone seeing him like this.” What Lucca said was certainly true, he felt miserable and if he ate something right now would probably be sick. “Oh, he's sick. I know just what to do!” Rainbow Dash said as she flew off, not giving Lucca any time to try and stop her. “Well, this is my day now.” She muttered as she went back to collect the proposal so she could review it while she waited for the next inevitable interruption. Which came about an hour later as Rainbow Dash returned with all of the girls. Lucca groaned as she watched the group heading for their room. “He's not in there girls.” She called as she walked into the hall. Pinkie Pie had a box of something balanced on her head, likely some kind of pie or cupcakes or something. “Why wouldn't he be there? You said he was sick.” Rainbow Dash said. “No, I said he wasn't feeling well. You remember how you felt after Starlight's control spell was broken?” Lucca asked to the general agreement of the ponies, except Starlight who shuffled awkwardly. “That's how he feels.” “Did someone try to control him?” Twilight asked, seriously concerned. “No, he did this to himself. In his position he sometimes has to do terrible things for the good of others and once he's done he feels terrible. So what he does is he gets drunk and confronts his emotions, of course then he gets hungover.” Lucca felt that was an apt explanation of why James ever gets drunk. He hated the feeling of being drunk but it did help him deal with his emotions, so she never stopped him when he felt he needed to. “Well we'll be quiet.” Rarity said. “But we would still like to see him. If he's still feeling bad about what happened maybe talking will help.” “Why would he feel bad about disposing of a tyrant?” Starlight asked. “Because he wasn't always a tyrant.” Lucca calmly said, giving up on talking them out of it. “He's in the bar, it's just down the hall from the banquet kitchen if you want to talk to him.” The ponies followed Lucca's directions and didn't have to look long to find the bar. James sat on a stool with his head cradled in his hands. The bar was dark, cool, and reeked of liquor. “Hoowee!” Applejack exclaimed as she walked in. “Smells like someone brought in all the spoiled apples instead of the good ones.” “That's whiskey.” James mumbled. “I'm going to clean it up once the room stops spinning. I threw the bottle at the back wall so stay away from there. No reason you should get hurt because of me.” It only took a quick glance to verify James's statement as the wall was discolored with shards of glass stuck in it and a drying pool of amber liquid with a great deal more broken glass on the floor. “What's wrong?” Rainbow Dash asked as she flew towards the hunched over man. “I'll be fine. Just feeling a little lousy.” He answered, not looking up. “I believe she meant what happened that made you feel so bad you did this to yourself just to feel better.” Twilight clarified. “That's specific.” James muttered as he began to relive the experience he had been trying to suppress. “You remember when Starlight broke time before she became our friend?” Starlight hung her head briefly. “Why does every comparison today come back to my mistakes?” She quietly asked. “It's a coincidence, trust me. You're much better than you give yourself credit for.” James said. “Besides, that's where your part of this ends. This has to do with the time line where I destroyed Equestria.” James winced as the group gasped then promptly apologized. “James, you didn't destroy Equestria. You kept us together and kept Equestria safe.” Twilight insisted. “Perhaps you should tell them the whole story and I'll elaborate for both the truth and what must have changed.” James added as he turned his bloodshot eyes her direction. “What must have changed?” Twilight asked, not understanding what James meant. “It'll make sense once we're through.” James said as he closed his eyes and turned back to face the bar again. Hesitantly Twilight began to tell them about what had happened when James had met them all when they were younger. Obviously she only had the information that Rarity and Shining Armor gave her but it was enough to paint the picture. “So I don't see how that helps, though.” She said as she finished. “I thought you disposed of a tyrant.” “I was that tyrant.” James said bluntly. “Things were going the way I predicted and getting worse. I think the first change was that you didn't go back. Either you decided to leave that Equestria as it was, or more likely I used Cadence's magic when I decided my Equestria was worth destroying yours for. Possibly at the table when I was threatening you.” While Twilight told the story Pinkie Pie had moved behind the bar and, with a little instruction from James, began pouring various non-alcoholic drinks for everyone. While the others sat at the bar and listened. “Some years later the ponies abandoned Equestria since all the aide was doing was delaying the inevitable. And once on the station things began to deteriorate. I began to use Cadence's magic more often, and for personal gain. I outright controlled Celestia, especially with how Luna tells it. And that wasn't even the worst of what I was doing. Eventually Luna escaped and came here to ask for help, obviously we couldn't let this version of me continue doing what he was doing so I put a stop to it.” James took a big drink from his glass as he thought about the situation. “Everyone who ever cared about him will never see him again. Whether it was who he was or the magic he used they're suffering from his absence. I did that.” No one there said anything, but they all knew what it meant. Especially after Twilight had told them that in the other time line he had destroyed many of their opponents that they simply defeated. They sat silently as James stared into his orange juice while he both wished for vodka and was glad for it's absence. After a deep breath James began to talk again. “All of you really cared for him, with or without the magic. Even as horrible as he was, they cared for him. I couldn't destroy that. They'll hurt less if they just see me as a monster. Because the truth that he was one too would destroy them.” James was starting to ramble, keeping only a slight presence of mind about who was listening. “As if I haven't already.” James huffed. “But it was the only way I could save them.” He mumbled quietly. Quietly Rainbow Dash leaned over and began hugging him. She had no idea about what she could say, but she knew he needed to be reassured. He wasn't a monster, no matter what he said. Slowly, one by one, each came and hugged him. They knew he didn't want to be who he had to be at times, and they couldn't let him hate himself for it. “That's why you needed spies.” Starlight said. “You needed irrefutable evidence of what he was doing. Because you didn't want to hurt them without knowing there was no other option.” James nodded silently. “Then you didn't have a choice anymore. It was that or he continues to get worse. You only did it to protect them.” Starlight continued, hoping that hearing it would help him feel better. “Those girls must be miserable right now.” James quietly said. “I want to help them, but I can't. They need me to be a monster, and that's what started this whole thing anyway. Me trying to help. … I can't help anyone without screwing it up.” James briefly contemplated throwing the glass at the back wall too, but Pinkie Pie was keeping it filled and the juice was helping his hangover. Twilight couldn't help but feel sad for him. All he wanted to do now was help, but he couldn't bring himself to believe that he could. Or that he should even try. She had to think of something. “I've got it!” Twilight announced, making James wince in pain. “Oh, sorry.” “It's alright.” James muttered, still holding his head. “We can write letters to these versions of ourselves, telling them that James had to do what he did and tell them that things will get better.” She began to explain. James shook his head as he listened to her idea. “No. You can send them a message, but you cannot tell them I'm not a monster. Both because I am, and if they realize that I did this because of what I had become in their world, they'll start to blame themselves. At least this way they can just blame me, they can hate me. I can live with that because it's what they need.” “James …” Rainbow Dash began to protest before James cut her off. “Please!” He said firmly, making himself wince in pain. “Don't talk about me. For their sake, don't destroy their friend.” James listened as a general murmur of agreement came at his request. “Another thing. While a letter is a good idea, perhaps a video will help you get your emotions across better. I can give each of you a camera to use to record your message. … And maybe offer Luna some encouragement too, she's just stepped into my position there and I'm betting she'll want all of the support she can get.” “Princess Luna is ruling New Guardia?” Twilight asked astonished. James nodded as he took a quick drink. “Yeah, she's the Regent until Amber or Sara can take over. It's her choice which of them it goes to.” “Once you're feeling better, we'll get those messages ready.” Rainbow Dash said as she let her wing down off James's shoulder. Twilight's eyes went wide as she realized that would happen soon. If he wasn't actually sick it could even be today. She needed time to prepare something to say. “There's a few more things I should let you know about though.” James said as he finished his glass of juice. Pinkie Pie was quick with a refill. *** Luna's omnitool blinked to life as she checked her messages. She'd made it a habit to check messages at least twice a day as change was the norm with New Guardia. There had been a lot of unrest when she came to power here, more than a little stirred up by her sister. But the knowledge that she was only Regent until Sara or Amber were ready to take over settled most of those situations. There were small pockets that were fiercely loyal to Celestia or Lucca, but they were a shrinking minority. Eventually, as Celestia came to learn that Luna would honor the deal that brought them to New Guardia, she began to act as she normally did, if rather cold. Luna couldn't tell if that had been part of James's spell over her sister or if Celesita was worried that she was trying to usurp her power. An alert came in as she was checking her messages, a ship had arrived saying that they had a delivery for her personally. This was certainly odd, but not unexpected. She had received gifts from many foreign powers in congratulation of her new position. However the ships registry that accompanied it told her everything about who it was. The Einherriar held it's position just inside the range of the stations sensors waiting for permission to approach. Luna considered her options as she waited to give approval. Hesitantly she gave them permission to approach to teleportation range, she couldn't allow them to dock. James was likely commanding the vessel himself and for both his sake and the sake of his daughters she would not allow him to enter just yet. She did give him the necessary information to teleport their delivery to Saddlebrook Castle, however. With the delivery complete the Einherriar promptly vanished from their space and back to it's own iteration of New Guardia. Luna inspected the small stack of packages to find that there were packages not only for her, but for Amber, Sara, Lucca, Tali, and most of the ponies that were close to James. Accompanying the package for her was a letter from James. “Regent Luna, I hope things are going well for you in your new position. I understand it's not one you ever expected to have. There are messages enclosed from the counterparts of the recipients, and several messages for you. I hope one day things will be to a point where we can meet again as friends, and I look forward to speaking with you then. Humblest regards, James.” “P.S. I did not review any of the messages as they were likely quite personal. So I can't promise anything about their content. They could just have spent the whole time telling you about how terrible I am for all I know. Well, anyway, I hope you have a good day.” Luna felt conflicted about the messages. She didn't know if she wanted to hear from her counterpart, but she also wanted to know what she had to say. And that there were multiple messages for her was both heartwarming and terrifying. Each data chip was labeled with who it was from. The first she saw was from herself. Hesitantly she began to play it. “Greetings … myself.” Princess Luna awkwardly said from her balcony in the castle. It was evening and the sun would be setting shortly. Her flowing black starlit mane waving in some nonexistent breeze. Canterlot could be seen bustling in the background. A sight Luna had never expected to see again. “I do not know what to say. I am not aware of the circumstances that led to your regency of New Guardia. James and Princess Twilight have filled me in on several details, but James is silent for many specifics. But what I can say is that you unequivocally made the right choice. From the details I have, Equestria was lost and you made a judgment that would best serve it's citizens. And in New Guardia's aid you made the choice that was best for it's people. You fought against something you knew was wrong even without your magic. I do not envy you your position, you've had to make terrible decisions, but you did so thinking only of what was best. I wish you well in your endeavors.” The video ended and Luna was left staring at herself once again seeing Equestria as it had been. There were two more messages she intended to watch this day, one labeled “Celestia.” and one labeled “All of us.” She played the one from her sister first. “Sister.” Celestia said with a genuine smile and not the practiced one she wore so often. She sat in the throne room and from what Luna could see it was actually empty. It was comforting to see Celestia's cutie mark and horn were completely intact. “I am thrilled to hear that you are regent of New Guardia. I know the trust that James places in you will be well rewarded. I am sorry about how much it cost you, but you are more than your magic. I do not know how my counterpart feels about this, but if she is anything like myself I know that she is proud of you, even if she does not say it. Just as I am proud of you. I understand how busy you must be at this moment. So I will keep my message short. I love you sister. No matter what.” Luna had to wait to compose herself as she got ready to watch the third message for her. She was sure who it was from, but after Celestia's message she had to wait. In the last few weeks she had so greatly wished for her sister to even speak to her, Twilight had to act as liaison for them. She watched the last few seconds of Celestia's video again. It had been a long time since she had heard those words in a way she could fully trust. It hurt so much but she was happy. The last video was exactly who she thought it would be. The ponies from Ponyville, though there was only one Twilight Sparkle, and Starlight Glimmer was an adult. It was several minutes of each of them cheering her on, the overwhelming positivity of the video making her smile, and even quietly laugh at points. They were so much the same, yet so completely different from the ponies she had known. With the last message she knew she couldn't keep the rest secret until the time was right. Because the time was right right now. Princess Luna personally gave out the messages that evening, even traveling into Truce from Saddlebrook as most of the recipients lived close to New Guardia Castle. *** Applejack didn't understand what it meant when she saw the message was labeled as being from herself. She had been the first to venture back out after James had died, she had responsibilities and nothing, not even her own pain, was going to keep her from doing her work. She watched herself on the screen talking to her from her old bedroom in Sweet Apple Acres. “Look, I know what you're doin'.” Applejack's tone was confrontational, as if she were genuinely angry at the one she was talking to. “You're going on fighting forward as if nothing's changed, but it has. The circumstances of our lives are different, but we aren't. You need to be honest about this to yourself too.” Her tone softened as she continued to speak. “You lost somepony important to you and it hurts, but you aren't alone. There's Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and your friends too. Talk to them, you can't let this eat you up inside. It's gonna feel a lot worse before it get's better, but it will get better.” Applejack took a moment to breath and think about what she wanted to say next. With a nod she began to talk again. “Now, yer probably blaming James for this. But don't. I can't say why he did it, but I know he had to do it and he's been beatin' himself up over it. He told me not to talk about it, to just let him be a monster to you. But that's not James. That's not the man who I'm friends with, just like I know there was more to the man who stood by you since you were a filly. No matter what happened, they're not monsters, they're our friends. He could be one of yours too, if you gave him the chance.” The Applejack in the message sat silently for another minute nodding occasionally before the message ended. *** Pinkie Pie barely managed to get the message started. She had no idea what it could possibly be about, she just heard that it was from herself. She really didn't feel like watching it, she didn't feel like anything. Her oldest friend was gone for good, and with him went her desire to smile. She carefully held onto the silk flower he had given her when they had first met, it's blue was faded now with how long she had been wearing it and even though she hadn't worn it in years she kept it safe. It was special to her. She half listened as she heard herself telling jokes, and she never saw all the faces being made at her. Pinkie then started talking about her life since she knew it had been drastically different than hers. But something Pinkie Pie said caught her attention. “You know, you had something I never did. I mean, James and I are friends but you were special to him. He saw you like he saw Amber or Sara. And I'm sure you gave him just as much happiness as he gave you. That's something nopony can take away. Now go out there and help everypony else remember just how good it feels to smile!” Pinkie Pie laughed as her message ended. Pinkie stared at the screen frozen on her smiling face for minutes as she thought about the last thing her counterpart had told her. It sounded like something James would tell her when she was sad. She turned the silk flower over in her hooves. James had given her many other silk flowers since the first one had faded, but now it was time to bring it back. Just so she could remind everyone how much James had cared. *** Fluttershy barely heard her message from herself. The real highlight was Discord, as he talked Fluttershy began to feel like he wasn't just talking to a camera. “I know this is a video, but I am talking to you Fluttershy. You could at least say something when I ask you a question. I swear, your association with James has made you quite rude.” He said as he looked right at her. “Oh, it's alright Discord.” Fluttershy said behind him. “The Discord she knows doesn't have his magic, so I don't think she was expecting to actually talk to you.” “Really?” Discord said as he turned to look at his Fluttershy. “That must be terrible.” He turned back to talk to the Fluttershy watching the message. “Speaking of which, where am I? I would have thought you'd be having your Tuesday tea. Or is it not Tuesday?” Discord rolled his eyes until they spun, eventually stopping on a pair of cherries. “James certainly can make these things irritating.” He grumbled. “Look, Fluttershy told me he was like a father to you, but you're my friend. And that means a lot more than you think. And if the version of me you know doesn't have his magic, all he's got is you. I know James was important to you, but you're still there. Don't let his absence change who you are, because then who would you be?” Fluttershy smiled at the draconiquis as he spoke. “See, there's the Fluttershy we all love!” Discord announced happily. “Oh, and you did have something recorded, but I think this is much better, don't you?” Fluttershy laughed at the message. “It was nice to talk to you again.” Fluttershy answered. “I'll go find Discord and we can all have some tea.” “Ohh, goody.” Discord happily said as the Fluttershy behind him giggled. “What will we be having?” *** Twilight looked to the parcel given to her. It was clearly marked for her from her princess counterpart. Though when she asked she heard that her counterpart had gotten one similarly addressed. Clearly the message was from another universe, but how had she gotten the message there. With a sigh she started the video. Her Alicorn counterpart sat in her library as she spoke. Twilight didn't want to admit it, but she was envious of the castle, the library, and of course her status as a princess. She watched as her alicorn self looked awkwardly into the camera and began to recite a well rehearsed speech, including points on forgiveness. It was loaded with general condolences and platitudes and felt more than a little lifeless. She even heard Spike start to snore at one point in the video. She smiled as her lecture ended and Spike spoke up. “That's it Twilight?” He said from off camera. “Just talk to yourself like this was another lecture Princess Celestia asked you to give some students?” “Spi-i-i-ike.” She said out of the corner of her mouth. “The camera is still recording.” “This was supposed to be personal. That sounded like you don't know anything about her, and she's you!” He countered. “I just told her what I thought would be right to hear.” She whispered harshly. “Do you talk to yourself like that in the mirror?” He asked pointedly. “Ugh,” Twilight moaned as her smile dropped away. “I hope James can cut this out. I mean, what can I say to her? I have no idea what she's going through! She lost somepony who was like a second father to her, I can't even begin to imagine what that feels like. I can't just say cheer up things will get better. I have to offer her something that she can use to cope with her loss.” “Wasn't that the point of the speech you just gave her?” Spike asked flatly. “Yes, but it was worded to encourage her to seek the help of her friends and family. And I'm not sure she even wants to hear from me. You saw how much she hated me when we met!” “Twilight, she's not the pony you met. James explained this, there's even another Princess Twilight there who was probably the first to fall to that magic. The situation is totally different.” Spike urged. “As for how she feels, how would you feel to find out Princess Celestia had died?” Twilight balked for a moment before laughing awkwardly. “Like that would ever happen.” She said dismissively. “She probably thought the same thing about James. He was as big an influence on her life as Celestia was on yours.” Spike argued. Twilight could see it just as the video cut out. Her Alicorn counterpart had started to tear up, clearly she had thought about the scenario. She might just understand a little more than she thought. As she looked back to the screen she noticed that the scenery was completely different, it was clearly still in the castle judging by the crystal walls, though she had no idea what room it could be. The image jostled as it was set on an uneven surface, adjusted several times and finally came to a rest at an angle. Spike jogged out in front of the camera and stood roughly in the center of the frame. “I know this was supposed to be from Twilight, but I had to tell you myself that I'm sorry about what happened. And what I know about James is that he didn't do this without weighing all his options. He can be as neurotic as you at times. But you probably already knew that.” Spike stopped talking for a moment and rubbed the back of his head. “I guess what I want to say is that we support you. Not just the versions of us that you know, but all of us here in Ponyvile too. … I, uh, guess that's it.” As Spike finished talking the video ended and Twilight was left looking at the slanted dragon and thinking about the atonal message. *** The CMCs had just watched their younger selves gush on and on about how cool it was that they were sending a message to themselves, not just in the future but in another world too. And listened to themselves explain what they were doing, and asking questions about what their counterparts were like. Each of them also had an individual message that they opted to watch in private. Sweetie Belle had taken to her room in the house she shared with her sister to watch her message. She could hear Rarity crying in her room and wondered if it had to do with her message or if this was like the crying that had come off and on for several days now. The video started and she found herself looking at Rarity sitting in her Ponyville boutique with an elaborate backdrop. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes at the sight before Rarity began to talk. “I imagine you've already seen the message from yourselves. None of us were willing to tell them what happened. I don't know just how well you were acquainted with James, but it seems he was an important part of my life and as such must have been part of yours too. I hope you're taking this well, though I understand if you are angry. Probably hurt and confused too.” “I really hope that I can be there for you, but I'm probably in pretty bad shape myself. In times like this we have to rely on each other, and I now that I can count on my baby sister when things are tough. Especially as the wonderful pony I know she will grow to be. As hard as this may be, I know we can make it through … together.” Rarity smiled as the video ended and Sweetie Belle listened to her sister crying in the other room. She stood up to go see Rarity and as she walked past the mirror she caught a glimpse of her reflection. She couldn't remember why she had changed her hair so much. Seeing her natural hair color on her younger self reminded her how Rarity had reacted when she wanted to change it, and how much she actually missed it now. She shook her head as she left her room and went to see her sister. *** Scootaloo sat in the dark as she looked at the message for her. She hadn't tried to play it yet, she didn't know if she even wanted to. She wore a brave face for Rainbow Dash, but she felt Pops’ absence just as keenly. It was a surprise for her when she saw Rainbow Dash sitting in her home in Ponyville when the video started. “Heya Scoot!” Rainbow Dash was oddly upbeat but she let the message continue. It was actually nice for her to see Rainbow Dash in a good mood, even if it was only a recording from another universe. “I don't know what James was to you in your world. But I know what he is to you here. The big guy can't help but like you, and you sure were happy about having him as your brother when you thought we were going to get married. As weird as he is, he's family to both of us.” Scootaloo stood slack jawed as she listened to the message. Were things really so different there? Though the Rainbow Dash she knew had moved in with Pops at the first opportunity it was more that she was part of the family and not anything like marriage. “You've done so much for my James I can only imagine how much more you did for yours. He seems to look at things like he's an outsider that just doesn't belong, but you and I can sometimes drag him in and let him know he's welcome. You let him know how awesome he was so he could be that awesome. Just like you do for me. And I'm betting you did that on more than a few occasions for your James too.” “Don't hold back about how you feel now that he's gone. But don't forget the good times either. I know that your James would want you to keep smiling, especially since he's gone.” Rainbow Dash smiled at her as the video ended. *** Apple Bloom looked at her sister sitting in her old room as the message for her played. Applejack started by saying how proud she was of her, telling her about all of the good work she did in her world. But her tone shifted when she began talking about their parents. Apple Bloom had heard a lot of these stories before. It was when Applejack teared up that she payed attention. Applejack never openly cried even that much. She stopped to compose herself before she continued, it was then that Apple Bloom understood why she was starting to cry. She was talking about their parents deaths. Apple Bloom was transfixed on the screen and listened to her sister carefully. She had never heard anyone talk about it before, she just knew that they were gone. The two sat in silence for a while, if not for Applejack moving she would have thought the video had ended. “Could you go check on Big Mac for me.” Applejack added after a minute of silence. “He's probably just as broken up about this as we are and I'd bet I'm still acting like nothing's changed. He really needs somepony right now. He needs you Apple Bloom.” Applejack gave a weak smile as the video ended and Apple Bloom was left alone as she tried to think about how she could help her family. *** The closest to leaving her room Rainbow Dash had done for more than a week was when her parents would visit her she would open the door for them. While her parents were trying to cheer her up encouragement didn't help any. She felt hollow with Pops gone. She wouldn't see the girls she called her sisters. Not even Scootaloo could coax anything from the devastated mare. How were Amber and Sara coping so well with this? He was their father. She stared at the parcel Princess Luna had brought to her the other day. Supposedly it contained a message from herself, but she didn't want to hear it. She put the parcel on her dresser and went back to her sulking, not knowing how she was going to go on. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Pops impaled on the arm of some impostor. She could still taste the iron that quickly filled her lungs as she screamed. The sickeningly wet thud he made as he hit the ground. And that the impostor had taken his body so there was nothing to even have a funeral with. She hated him, she hated the monster that took Pops from her. And one day she was going to pay him back for her pain.