//------------------------------// // Burying the Past (Alternate Ending Part Two) // Story: The Walls Came Tumbling Down // by Dianwei32 //------------------------------// The Walls Came Tumbling Down Alternate Ending: Part Two Burying the Past The next day Fluttershy followed the Royal Guard slowly down the stone corridor beneath Canterlot Castle. He led her from the guard post at the entrance to the dungeons down to a room usually reserved for the interrogation of prisoners. “He’s in this room.” The guard motioned with a hoof towards a heavy iron door. “We’ve been instructed by the princess that you are to be allowed as much time as you need with him, alone.” The look in his eyes showed that he did not fully agree with his orders, but he knew better than to question a direct order from Celestia herself. The guard pulled a key from his uniform and deftly maneuvered it into the lock of the door. The lock clicked and he pulled the door open. “Thank you for your help.” Fluttershy nodded grimly to the guard before entering the room. The guard closed the door behind her. The interrogation chamber was plain, with only an iron chandelier hanging from the ceiling to provide light. Thunderlane sat in a chair at the far end of the room, chains holding him in place. “Well well well.” He cracked a cruel smile, revealing a series of wires crossing his teeth to keep his jaw shut in place while it healed. “You were the last pony in Equestria I thought would want to see me.” Thunderlane shifted in the chair, rattling the chains. “This whole thing could almost be romantic... if I wasn’t rotting in a jail cell thanks to you.” He looked over Fluttershy’s shoulder disinterestedly. “So, where’s little Rainbow Crash? Still stuck in the hospital I suppose?” “She’s dead.” Fluttershy tried to keep her voice level. “She died three days ago from a combination of internal bleeding and a collapsed lung.” “Pity.” Thunderlane replied. “Do you even care?” Fluttershy slowly crossed the room, straining to keep her emotions in check. “Rainbow Dash is dead. You killed her. Does that even make a difference to you?” “Why, it makes all the difference in the world, Fluttershy dear.” Thunderlane smirked. “If she was alive, I would just be looking at a charge for attempted ponycide. That would get me seven to ten years in prison, maybe five with good behavior.” He paused and shook his head. “If she’s dead, then I’m looking at a charge for murder. That will get me twenty-five to life, maybe even with no chance for parole.” “You’re a monster.” Fluttershy spat. “Am I?” Thunderlane responded. “I prefer to think that I understand how the world works. It’s a pony-eat-pony world out there. The big eat the small, and the strong crush the weak. Those with power do all they can to keep those without from gaining any power of their own.” Fluttershy turned to leave, but stopped. “I just have one question.” She turned back to face Thunderlane. “Why?” “Why?” He mimicked, faking surprise. “I thought we went over this right before I beat the crap out of your marefriend the other day.” “No.” Fluttershy stepped closer. “Not now, why did you do all of it back in school? What did we do back then to make you hate us so much?” “In school?” Thunderlane was genuinely surprised, but he soon recovered and gave a cruel smile. “Oh, I see... I suppose you’re hoping that there was some tragically poetic reason for what happened back then. Maybe I was secretly in love with you or Rainbow Dash and I couldn’t handle that you had chosen each other over me.” He chuckled darkly. “I’m afraid it’s nothing quite so hopelessly romantic. The simple answer is that I did what I did because I could. I was big and strong, you were small and weak. It was as simple as that.” Fury rose in Fluttershy’s chest. “You bucking son of a-” She stopped and took a deep breath. She looked Thunderlane dead in the eye. “I hope you have a good lawyer, you’re gonna need it.” “Am I?” Thunderlane shot back. He noticed Fluttershy glance off to the side for a moment before looking back. “Oh... I don’t think I will. Rainbow Crash was one of the Elements of Harmony. Celestia can’t risk me being acquitted in a fair trial. I imagine she’ll step in and use her powers of Royal Judiciary Review to take over my case.” No. Fluttershy thought to herself, panicking. This was going to be my revenge... and he’s stealing it from me. “Now there’s only one question left.” Thunderlane continued, reveling in Fluttershy’s panic. “There’s no doubt that the princess will find me guilty, but what will the sentence be? Life in prison? The death penalty, maybe?” He adopted a look of mock thoughtfulness. “Hmm... I don’t imagine that it will be the death penalty. After what I’ve done to you, I bet you want me to suffer, so life in prison it is. That’s really why you came down here to see me, isn’t it? You wanted to take away any last shred of hope I had at tasting free air again, but I took that away from you too.” You’re not getting away that easily. Fluttershy felt the anger in her chest die away, replaced with a cruel hatred. She slowly walked around the chair Thunderlane was chained to and lifted her forehooves up onto the chair’s back. She smirked as Thunderlane tried in vain to angle his head around to follow her movements. “You talk about power and strength like you know what they are.” Fluttershy ran a hoof along Thunderlane’s jaw, causing him to jump slightly She leaned down and whispered in his ear. “You know nothing, Thunderlane. You have a foal’s notion of what it means to be powerful.” “What are you-” Thunderlane began. “Shut up.” Fluttershy stood up and smacked his broken jaw, eliciting a moan of pain. She continued as though he had not interrupted her. “I have true power.” She placed hoof on either side of his head. “I could snap your neck like a twig right now. I could kill you in cold blood while you sit chained down like a dog.” She leaned back down and whispered again. “I could murder you, and nopony would bat an eye at it. I could walk out that door and nopony would try and stop me. That is true power.” She paused and let the silence hang in the air. “Oh, what’s this now?” Fluttershy slid a hoof down Thunderlane’s neck and rested it on the carotid artery. She felt his pulse beat quickly as he tried to pull away from her touch. “Why, your heart is racing, Thunderlane. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of poor, weak, little Fluttercry.” “Y- you w- wouldn’t kill me.” Thunderlane stammered. “Wouldn’t I?” Fluttershy stood up and grabbed Thunderlane’s mane in her hoof. She pulled down on it, forcing his head up so she could meet his eyes. “You took the one thing I loved most in this world from me.” She growled. “Why shouldn’t I do the same to you?” She shoved his head forward roughly before continuing. “It’s just a shame that you don’t have a marefriend of your own I could visit. Then you would truly know the pain you’ve inflicted on me.” She saw Thunderlane’s muscles tense up. “Well well well.” Fluttershy mimicked his traditional greeting. “Don’t tell me you found some half-wit mare who’s stupid enough to put up with you?” She gave a short, humorless laugh. “Hah. Oh, this is just too perfect.” “You leave them out of this!” Thunderlane yelled, an edge of fear in his voice. “Them?” Fluttershy repeated. “So not just a marefriend? A wife perhaps, and a foal?” She lowered herself from the back of the chair and slowly walked around to face Thunderlane. “How did you ever find a mare willing to marry you?” “Please, don’t hurt them.” Thunderlane begged. “They’re not a part of this. This was between you, Dash and me. They don’t even know about what went on back then.” “Shut up.” Fluttershy reached out and slapped him across the jaw, drawing out a whimper of pain. “This stopped being just between you and me when you killed Rainbow Dash.” She leaned back and examined her hoof as though she were bored. “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to them, as long as you do something for me.” “Anything!” Thunderlane strained against his bonds. “I’ll do anything! Just don’t hurt them.” “You only need to do one thing.” Fluttershy locked eyes with Thunderlane and poured all the pain and misery of the last fifteen years into giving him The Stare. “Suffer. You’re going to prison. Forever. You’ll never see the light of day again. You may even never see your wife and child again. All you need to do is sit in that cell and rot.” Thunderlane cringed away from her, but couldn’t bring himself to break eye contact. “I’m sick of looking at you.” Fluttershy turned and made her way back to the iron door of the chamber. Before she opened it, she looked back over her shoulder. Thunderlane sat slumped in the chair, utterly defeated. She watched for a moment and saw a single tear streak down his muzzle and fall to splatter on the chains holding him to the chair. A sick, twisted sense of pleasure spread through her chest at the sight. There sat the stallion who had made her life a living hell for fifteen years, and she had reduced him to a broken shell in less than fifteen minutes. Fluttershy pushed the iron door open and made her way out of the dungeons, a cruel smile dancing on her lips. * Three days later Fluttershy dabbed a hoofkerchief across her eyes as the carriage slowed to a halt. She shared the carriage with Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity. Pinkie Pie had left early to oversee final preparations for the event. The stallion who had been pulling the carriage opened the door and let in the afternoon sun. After her eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, Fluttershy stepped out onto the grass and marveled at where she was. The Canterlot Royal Cemetery. An odd name, considering all of the royalty are immortal. Fluttershy thought to herself. The cemetery did not actually contain any royal residents. Those buried there were some of the greatest ponies to ever walk Equestria. Names like Starswirl the Bearded, Emily Nickerson, Friedrich Neightzsche and Shetlandspeare dotted the tombstones around the picturesque garden. A long discussion had progressed over the past few days about where Rainbow Dash would be buried. Since Cloudsdale was a floating cloud city, it did not have a cemetery. All but a few pegasi opted to be cremated. Twilight suggested the Ponyville Cemetery, but Fluttershy had wanted to lay Dash to rest outside her cottage near the Everfree Forest. They argued back and forth for several hours before Spike interrupted with a letter from Princess Celestia. The princess offered to have Dash buried in the Canterlot Royal Cemetery in recognition for her efforts as a two-time savior of Equestria. Everypony had been wary when Pinkie Pie requested, or rather demanded, to plan Rainbow’s funeral. As they stepped out of the carriage, any doubts Fluttershy, Twilight, Applejack or Rarity may have had vanished. Seven rows of chairs formed concentric half circles, each row a different color that formed a rainbow. At the center of the semicircles was Rainbow Dash’s casket, with an accompanying podium for ponies to speak from. The casket was a black darker than ink, emblazoned with Dash’s cutie mark on the lid. A few ponies already sat among the chairs, but most of them remained empty for the moment. “Hello, everypony.” Pinkie Pie walked over from speaking with Princess Luna. Her appearance was a far cry from her usual chaotic demeanor. She wore a simple black dress, just like the rest of her friends. Her hair had deflated to merely wavy, and Pinkie had is pulled back in a simple braid. She smiled, but her bloodshot eyes betrayed her peaceful exterior. “Pinkie... this is...” Twilight’s mouth worked open and closed as she searched for words. “It’s perfect.” Fluttershy finished the thought. “Thank you.” Pinkie nodded her head. “You should probably take your seats. Front row, center. The rest of the guests will be arriving soon.” She gestured a hoof in the direction of the rainbow of seats. Her eyes passed over the casket and the happy mask slipped for a moment. Her friends glimpsed a deep pain etched on Pinkie’s face, but she quickly reset her smile and moved on to greet other new arrivals. Applejack, Rarity, Twilight and Fluttershy made their way to the violet row of seats at the front and found placards with their names on the four chairs in the middle. They all sat and did their best to avoid looking at the casket for the time being. Within minutes the rest of the seats filled in, and still more ponies arrived. By the time the service began a crowd of dozens stood beyond the arranged seats. Hushed chatter died away completely as Princess Celestia stepped up to the podium. “Mares and gentlecolts. We are here today to honor Rainbow Dash.” Celestia began. “She was the Element of Loyalty, but more important than that she was a dear friend to all who met her.” Abruptly, she looked away for a moment before stepping away from the podium. She flared her horn, and a large vase full of pristine white roses appeared next to the casket. The princess grasped one with a hoof and laid it on the lid. She retreated back to Princess Luna’s side, tilting her head so that her flowing mane covered her eyes. At that point, other ponies made their way to the casket to pay their respects, a few even stepped up to the podium to share their feelings or a story. Spitfire talked about Dash’s determination when she had led the Ponyville pegasi in forming a tornado to get water to Cloudsdale. Soarin’ spoke about when Rainbow caught the falling statue at the Grand Galloping Gala. The mayor of Ponyville recounted Dash’s acts of heroism that had led to the arrival of the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well. Applejack talked about the Iron Pony competition she had with Rainbow. Rarity told the story of how Dash saved her life and those of the Wonderbolts during the Best Young Flier’s Competition. Twilight talked about when Rainbow was stuck in the hospital and discovered her love of reading, along with the fracas that followed. Finally, Pinkie Pie made her way to the front. By now the casket was blanketed in white roses, along with three red ones from Applejack, Twilight and Rarity. Pinkie placed a fourth red rose and stepped up to the podium. She told story after story, complete with hoof gestures and sound effects. She was still subdued by typical Pinkie Pie standards, but she regained some of her spark as she regaled the crowd with tales about Rainbow Dash. Everypony present had tears in their eyes, but they also had smiles on their faces. Even Fluttershy could not help but smile as Pinkie told the story of Dash racing to rescue Soarin’s pie at the Gala. When Pinkie finally sat down, Fluttershy stood up and walked towards the casket. She knew she would never be able to speak in front of such a large crowd, especially not after the performance Pinkie just gave, but she still needed to pay her respects. She needed to say goodbye. As Fluttershy approached the casket, Princess Celestia stepped forward and flared her horn to life. A flash lit the air, leaving behind a special rose hovering in the air. The stem and leaves of the rose were solid emerald, while the petals were made of ruby. A gold filigree traced the edges of each ruby petal. Fluttershy took the rose carefully in her hoof and looked up at the princess with tear-filled eyes. Celestia simply nodded slightly, tears welling up in her own eyes. Fluttershy gently laid the rose on the casket. “I’m so sorry, Dashie.” She whispered. “I love you.” Fluttershy returned to her seat and the assembled ponies began to slowly disperse. An errant thought pulled at Fluttershy’s mind, but she refused to acknowledge it. She stared at the casket as though hoping that Dash might pop out and claim that this was all an elaborate prank. She could imagine Pinkie rolling on the floor laughing at it all. Pinkie Pie. The errant thought forced its way to the front of Fluttershy’s mind. Something was wrong with Pinkie’s whole demeanor. Even in past tragedies Pinkie had never lost her very essence the way she had now. It was Pinkie’s firm belief that any problem, no matter how grave, could be solved with laughter and a party of sufficient size. A possible answer formed itself in Fluttershy’s mind. No... that can’t be it. It just can’t be. She looked around for Pinkie, who was standing near the casket with her head bowed. Fluttershy made her way over to stand next to Pinkie. When Pinkie finally looked up, Fluttershy caught another brief sight of the gnawing pain on her face before she replaced it with a friendly smile. “Hey there, Fluttershy.” Pinkie broke the silence. “Pinkie...” Fluttershy tried to find a way to put words to the thoughts running rampant in her head. “I... I need to ask you something.” Pinkie Pie did not respond, she merely looked on expectantly. Fluttershy gathered her courage and blurted out her thought. “Did... did you love Rainbow Dash?” “Of course I did, I love all my friends.” Pinkie replied mechanically. She pointedly avoided meeting Fluttershy’s gaze. “You know that’s not what I meant.” Fluttershy pressed on, determined to find the truth. “Did you... love her, as more than a friend?” Pinkie Pie sighed and turned to meet Fluttershy’s eyes. Her own eyes were overflowing with tears. “Yes, I did.” “You...” Fluttershy stepped back. She felt as though her entire world was about to crumble around her. “You never...” “Of course not.” Pinkie looked away. “I could tell that Dashie loved you, even if she tried not to. I could tell that you cared for her, even if you wouldn’t dare to call it love.” She turned and pulled Fluttershy into a tight hug. “How could I possibly think of coming between two of my bestest friends? I knew you two would be perfect for each other, so I just sat on the sideline and cheered you on.” “Oh, Pinkie...” Fluttershy returned the hug. She felt fresh tears steak down her cheeks. She was not sure how she could still produce tears with how much she had been crying the past few days. “I’m so sorry. You never got to tell her.” “It’s okay.” Pinkie pulled away. The pain from before was still etched on her face, but it had lessened. “In the end, you two found each other, even if you only had a few days together.” “Here y’all are.” Applejack walked over, followed closely by Twilight and Rarity. Her eyes drifted over the casket and her face fell slightly. “We were just gonna see ‘bout headin’ over to Dash’s house, start sortin’ through some o’ her stuff. We understand if you don’t wanna come, ‘Shy.” “No...” Fluttershy wiped a hoof across her eyes. She took a deep breath. “I can’t just avoid anything that would remind me of her. I’ll come with you.” She laid a hoof on the casket. “Goodbye, Dashie.” With that, the five ponies left the cemetery and took Twilight’s hot air balloon up to Rainbow Dash’s cloud home above Ponyville. After a quick application of the cloud-walking spell, they hopped out of the balloon and walked up to the front door. The door opened when Twilight tried the handle, apparently Dash felt no need to lock it when she went out. The group headed into the spacious cloud mansion and spread out in search of the master bedroom. “It’s down here, y’all.” Applejack called from down one of the seemingly endless corridors. After a few minutes of shouting back and forth, everypony found their way into the bedroom. “I feel like we should have brought breadcrumbs to find our way back out.” Twilight joked as she entered the room. She took a moment to look around the room. Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy were already busy looking through drawers and various scattered boxes. Twilight’s eyes were drawn to the bed. It was massive, big enough to fit five ponies, ten if personal space was not an issue. It seemed like an unnecessary extravagance to her, but then again the one thing Dash had taken most seriously was sleeping. Twilight shook her head and got to work sorting through boxes. They all worked in relative silence, occasionally broken by a soft sob from Fluttershy. “Ya really don’t need to be here if’n ya don’t wanna, ‘Shy.” Applejack pulled open a drawer of Dash’s dresser. “We can go through all this and let ya-” Her words died in her throat. Rarity took a break from magically sifting through a pile of what was mostly discarded fast food containers to see what had startled Applejack. She trotted across the room and looked over the farm pony’s shoulder. Rarity drew in a sharp breath and quickly glanced over to Fluttershy, who was busy sorting through Dash’s Wonderbolts memorabilia. She magically tapped Twilight on the shoulder and beckoned her over. Twilight joined Rarity and Applejack at the dresser. “Oh, sweet Celestia, no.” Twilight burst out. This finally grabbed Fluttershy’s attention. She turned to see everypony gathered around Dash’s dresser staring at something. “W- what is it, Twilight?” Fluttershy took a step towards the dresser. “It’s nothin’. Nothin’ at all!” Applejack quickly hid something behind her back. “Applejack!” Rarity chided. “She needs to see this. Now give it here.” She flared her horn to life and tried to grab the object. “Ah don’t think so.” Applejack reached up and flicked Rarity’s horn with a hoof, interrupting the magic. “She’s not in a fit state to be seein’ this. It’s too soon.” “Applejack.” Fluttershy’s voice was soft but insistent. She fixed Applejack with The Stare. “Show me. Now.” Applejack swallowed and slowly brought her hoof out from behind her back. The object she held was a small black box, closed in the front with a latch. “That’s it?” Fluttershy arched an eyebrow. “What could possibly be inside that box that is so scary?” Applejack did not respond. She simply reached out a hoof, flicked the latch open and pulled back the lid of the box. Inside was a gold ring the size of a pony’s foreleg set with a single brilliant diamond. “That’s...” Fluttershy recoiled as though the box would attack her. “That’s...” Her voice broke. “An engagement ring.” Applejack finished for her. “She... I... When?” Fluttershy could not wrap her mind around the idea. Any way she looked at it, it seemed ludicrous at best. “There’s a receipt in here.” Twilight broke in and levitated a piece of paper from the box and scanned over it. “According to this, she went out and bought it the morning after your date. She must have come back and dropped it off before coming to Rarity’s.” “No no no no no...” Fluttershy pressed her hooves to her head. She let out an inarticulate cry of pain as the reality of the situation hit home. After one date, Rainbow Dash had intended to propose to Fluttershy. She collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Rarity, Applejack and Twilight stood fixed to the spot, unable to move and comfort her. They could only listen to Fluttershy’s pained crying as life threw yet another insurmountable torment at her feet. * Later that day Fluttershy wandered blindly towards her cottage. Celestia’s sun had dipped halfway below the horizon, setting the few clouds in the sky on fire. After hours of crying, screaming, and comforting, Fluttershy had finally convinced Twilight, Applejack and Rarity that she would be fine spending the night alone. Surprisingly, Pinkie Pie had been supportive of Fluttershy during the entire argument, even after hearing about the events at Dash’s home. When Applejack told her about the engagement ring, Pinkie gave Fluttershy a look that somehow conveyed both unrestrained joy and unfathomable sadness, along with an all-too-understanding glint. Fluttershy reached her house just as the sun finally fell below the horizon, revealing the moon and stars for all to see. She barely noticed them as she opened her front door and trudged through. Angel Bunny did not so much as stir in his sleep as she crossed the living room into the kitchen. Fluttershy placed her forehooves under the table and flipped it up against the wall in a sudden fit of rage. She reached down and ripped up the floorboard, pulling out the bottle of Old Thunderhead. With no glass after she broke it during her last drinking escapade, Fluttershy was forced to drink straight from the bottle. She pressed the opening to he lips and tilted her head back. She chugged as much as she could before she began violently coughing. She threw the mostly empty bottle against the wall, shattering it just like the glass had shattered. “I can’t do this anymore...” Fluttershy muttered to the empty room. She stepped over to the counter and pulled open a drawer full of knives. She clumsily grabbed for one, her empty stomach allowed the alcohol to affect her more quickly. She picked up particularly shiny knife, drawn to it by the reflection of the moon on the blade. It was stainless steel, an eight inch blade, razor sharp. “Perfect.” Fluttershy turned to leave the kitchen and made her way up to her bedroom. She fell down on the bed and returned to examining the knife. She turned it over in her hooves as she ran over her plan in her head. Not much of a plan. She thought to herself. Cut wrist, repeat, wait for death. She gripped the knife with one hoof and hovered it over her other wrist. “I could have handled Dash being gone.” Fluttershy did not know who she was talking to, herself most likely. “I could have. I even could have lived knowing Pinkie was in love with Dash because she set it aside so that I could be with her.” Hot tears stung at her eyes, blurring her sight. “I can’t live with knowing that Dash was going to propose. That’s just too much...” She screwed her eyes shut and pulled the hoof holding the knife down. It did not hurt as much as she thought it would. Fluttershy opened an eye to make sure she had in fact cut deep enough to hit the vein. A rapidly spreading pool of blood answered her. She quickly moved the knife over to her other hoof and repeated the process on the other foreleg. Fluttershy let her head fall back on the pillows. Her vision was swimming due to the alcohol and now rapid blood loss. Her eyelids felt heavy. She let them slide closed. Even behind the darkness of her eyelids, Fluttershy saw the edges of her vision turn black. Her breathing slowed. She thought she could faintly hear Dash’s voice calling her. A small smile tugged at her lips. For once, Fluttershy went willingly into the blackness.