Are You Ready?

by Dirty Bit

Chapter 25

Dr. Facilier found himself in a dark abyss, laying on his back as he stared up at the pitch black atmosphere around him. He did not know how he got here, nor did he care, but he felt out of place ever since he remembered being full of fear earlier.

It was as peaceful as it was forboding, and the Shadowcolt was getting used to the silence and solitude. The sight of his surroundings reminded him of how Celestia had saved him from his eternal suffering. But the question was why? She was aware of what he had done in the past, and yet she chose to help the Shadowcolt out in exchange for redemption for his crimes. The thought continued nagging at his brain as he waded about in the dark.

He couldn't fathom why exactly she felt like giving an unfortunate soul like him a second chance in life, knowing he had done many folks wrong in his previous life and enjoyed it, and what he had to do in order to make up for it was ludicrous for his standards. While he enjoyed the new life bestowed upon him, gotten used to his crazy form, and viewed what his new more-than-crazy world had to offer to him, he couldn't help but wonder why he would want to stay here if it meant having to learn some morals that he found cheesy and meaningless, save for laughter. Every villain needs a good laugh once in a while to relieve stress and feel good, right? As for magic, it was what he had strived for all his life back then, and was lucky enough to have some borrowed powers from his 'friends'. Perhaps he does have a lot to learn about the term 'Friendship is Magic'.

Knowing his current predicament, all he could do was think, and he was lucky to think so well around here. Nothing reached him as he continuously thought to himself; No sights, no sounds, no hindrances to be found here. He thought about many things: His new life...who he was spending it with...his new friends and enemies...and what he had to do in order to get away from his former 'friends' completely. The motivation for learning new things was invigorating for him to be a free man, but he didn't want to abandon what he had learned in his previous life.

His new life was one thing, but giving up his old ways meant giving up his mind entirely for freedom, and he did not want to give up being the Shadowcolt just to become another addition to the slowly building herd. He didn't enjoy having to be open to other ponies constantly just so he could learn a lesson he probably wouldn't even consider later on in his life, and he couldn't really reveal what he had done before unless he had a backup plan for a new start.

While he enjoyed thinking to himself, what he had been through earlier was maddening for his mind, not even comprehending on how 'The Song' chose to play while he portayed no bad emotion whatsoever back then. That very moment back then raised a slew of questions for himself, and felt only one logical conclusion could be met by this happening. He couldn't take the stillness anymore despite the time he was spending by himself, and wanted to see if there was a way out of this place.

His entire being felt heavy when he wanted to move, unable to budge even the slightest inch he desired. The Shadowcolt couldn't even move his lips to talk to himself if he wanted to 'Am I dead again? Did my friends decide to pull me back in after havin' their fun?' He couldn't even move his head as he laid motionless like a statue forgotten in time, and could only think more to himself after hearing his unanswered question echo in the darkness.

The only perk to laying motionless in the middle of a dark abyss was that the song wasn't playing at all, but he was led to believe that he did indeed die again. There was nothing he can do but think until he forgets what actually mattered to him, but then he heard faint talking.

"...-'s okay-...-ust need t-...-est mo-...-n't kno-...-ope he-...-nk you for-..."

'That voice...it's Fluttershy's...But who's she talkin' to??'

"...-ot sure wh-...-edheart-...-isapoi-...-owing up-...-'ll hel-...-n't worr-..."

'That sounded like Twi...prolly' wants me to see her again...' If his lips could move, he would chuckle or at least smile, but all he could do now is listen to the chopped sentences of the two familiar mares as he laid in the abyss.

He wished he could sleep, but he didn't feel tired at all, but then he saw a faint flicker of light in the distance from his sight. The Shadowcolt thought he was being tricked at first, but then the light sparked again with a brighter flash. A few seconds had past after the second flash, and then there appeared a final, more brillaint flash than the last one. This one began to envelop the once-black abyss and tore away every shread or darkness in sight. Once the light had reached Dr. Facilier, the heaviness in his body had ceased as he felt like he was being lifted into the air, able to move himself. The light was warm and comforting, but at the same time if began to grow to intense for him, boring at his eyes as he clenched them shut.

When he shielded himself from the light with his forelegs, he noticed something creep into his sight while his eyes were closed. It was Princess Luna approaching Dr. Facilier with a serious stare and stopped when she was close enough for him to see her full figure. She then called out to him with a solemn tone of voice:

"...Remember, doctor...Learn your place..."

Luna, along with the light, faded quickly as they appeared as there was nothing but blackness again. This time, however, he knew his eyes were closed as they shakingly opened up to a blurry image. The image was all green, yellow, and purple, but when his sight returned to him, he noticed Fluttershy with Twilight Sparkle talking to each other while unaware of him watching.

He sighed, happy to realize that it was only a dream, but then moaned weakly as he felt pain all over his body. The Shadowcolt remembered that he had spent his time running away from that horrible song for the longest time until touching base at Fluttershy's cottage. From that point, he didn't have any other memory of what had happened after he was out cold.

The two mares, upon hearing the doctor's moan, turned to him in shock after hearing him. Fluttershy trotted over to his side "Dr. Facilier! Oh, thank Celestia you're okay...You really scared me back there..." She nuzzled her coltfriend while he laid on the couch "I was able to knock out that horrible fever of yours, but you seemed to have been so tired after all that running..."

Twilight took a step forward and looked at Dr. Facilier with slight worry "I heard you screaming outside the other day and wanted to know what happened. You were running so fast, and I thought I caught a glimpse of Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo chasing you. I figured you were playing with them for a minute to keep them occupied, so I went back inside to continue with my studies. But then when I visited Fluttershy today, she was tending to you like one of her favorite animals!" Fluttershy gave a wry smile "Oh it was-" She then gave a cute yawn "-it was nothing..."

Dr. Facilier looked at the timid mare and noticed her eyes were bleary despite her warm little smile. Was she tending to him the whole night without sleeping a wink? This mare really was the Element of Kindness, and for once in his time here, the doctor was happy to pair himself up with her. He wanted to move, but he didn't want to exert his body and feel more pain than he already has to deal with, so instead, he took a refreshing breath of air and spoke.

"I'm grateful for your kindness, Shy...
Ya really know how to help a guy."

Fluttershy gave another small grin as she elicited another yawn "I better get some rest...It was a good thing I let you sleep while feeding the other animals. Try not to hurt yourself if you ever decide to get up, Dr. Facilier..." She trotted up to her bedroom, where she would enjoy a good nap to put an end to her sleep deprivation.

He expected Twilight to leave, but instead she levitated a stool with her magic and set it down at her side, plopping herself onto it as she looked at the Shadowcolt with a smile "You're so lucky to have a mare like Fluttershy help you out like this, Dr. Facilier. You really scared her back there, you know?" She then had a look of pity "And upon noticing your condition, looks like you'll have to call off work today so you can properly recover. Good to know we didn't have to take you back to the clinic that day." She chuckled at her own joke, whereas Dr. Facilier, regaining his old personality, wanted to sneer at the bookworm's pathetic display of comedy. All he could do was speak while his limbs took their sweet time to heal.

"It's a drag to know I'll have to skip work,
But restin' here really has its perks."

Twilight nodded to the Shadowcolt's optimism "That's the spirit! Maybe your first day of work was hectic...Either that or you really enjoyed running yesterday. Speaking of running, I have a question for you, if you would be so kind to answer." As if it were bad enough he woke up in pain, now he has to try and think of a lie to whatever she had to say "I heard about that race of yours with Rainbow Dash. She came by to me a couple of days ago with Fluttershy and tried to see if you were plotting anything 'sinister'..." She deadpanned at that last word, remembering how brash and pretentious her cyan friend can be sometimes "Do you mind telling me what actually happened back there?"

Dr. Facilier stared at Twilight with the best poker face he could muster in his condition the moment she asked that question. He shifted his eyes left and right, then faked his pain's intensity by moaning.

"Ooh~, how my body aches so bad!
This is the worst pain I've ever had!"

Twilight, startled by the Shadowcolt's fake cries of pain, craned her neck back as her ears folded "Oh...maybe you shouldn't move so much. You, as a doctor, should know that worn nerves tend to react very badly when moved. Just lay perfectly still and let your body have its well deserved rest." He didn't even move at all, but he was happy that she bought his ruse and ignored her question. Dr. Facilier then smacked his dry lips, wanting something to drink for being out so long and running so much beforehoof.

"Twilight, dear, could you be so kind
As to getting me a drink, if you don't mind?"

The lavender bookworm remembered how much the doctor had slept and then nodded with a smile "Sure thing, doctor! Wait here while I get you some juice. Please try not to move your body while you wait..." She trotted into Fluttershy's kitchen, leaving the Shadowcolt to look around at every animal leering at his presence. He was too weak to leer back, and he only sighed as he nestled his head onto the pillow, waiting for his juice.

A few minutes later, Twilight returned with a tall glass of orange juice for Dr. Facilier, levitating it with her magic "Seeing as how you can't really move at the moment, how about I feed you the juice? It's the least I can do since Fluttershy's asleep at the moment." Despite being in pain, the Shadowcolt felt like a king knowing others are doing things for him. He nodded with a smile as he gangerly sipped the glass of juice levitated to his lips, savoring the flavor as his thirst was quenched.

When the glass was empty, Twilight set it on an endtable and turned to Dr. Facilier with a firm expression "You know what I don't get, doctor? Why would Rainbow Dash think that you were sinister just because she lost a simple race? It was just nothing but a match between friends and she flips out over the results!" She sighs and looks down "I'd figure she'd learn her lesson after her time with Applejack in the Running of the Leaves last year. I mean, it's not like they cheated themselves and got worked up over it." She then looks up at the Shadowcolt with a smile "I'm sure she'll get over it soon. Maybe you two might be the best of friends!" If her lies were cats, Dr. Facilier would be the litter. What he had just heard would be the biggest set of bullcrap since the time he received a boquet of Poison Joke as a peace offering. He just sighed and played along with her words.

"Oh, I'm very much sure of Rainbow Dash's behavior.
But it's to be expected from one of Equestria's savoirs."

Twilight beamed at Dr. Facilier's lie and grinned "I'm so glad you understand my point, Doctor. She's probably thinking of a way to approach you better."The lavender mare could never be more right at that last sentence.

Meanwhile, in Pinkie Pie's room, Rainbow Dash stomped a hoof on the ground as she turned to her team "Okay! Since our first plan didn't exactly work, thanks to a little 'problem'..." she added the last word with gritted teeth and a glare at the CMC, who looked away innocently as she focused her attention on them "We're gonna have to try it again, but with a different method!"

Applejack raised an eyebrow "What do ya have in mind, Dash? We can't really do th' same trick twice! He'll know we're th' one's doin' it and prolly' turn t' Fluttershy for help again!" Rainbow Dash cursed under her breath "That's right...That creep's probably gonna hide behind her a lot since they're coltfriend and marefriend now. Darn it! We'll have to distract Fluttershy if we're gonna make this plan work again!" Sweetie Belle looked at the cyan pegasus in worry "But what if she knows? She'll hate us for doing this!" Rainbow looks at the unicorn filly "That's why we're DISTRACTING her! We just need to get her somewhere quiet so she won't be able to know what's going on! And YOU'RE the right mare for the job, Pinkie!"

Pinkie nodded "You can count on me, Dashie! If I can distract Dr. Fa-silly-a to get a party going, I can distract Fluttershy to make our plan work!" Rainbow Dash nodded at her friend with a smile and a look of determination "That's why you're awesome, Pinkie Pie!" She turns to the rest of the team "Okay! We all know what to do, so let's get to it!" Sweetie Belle fidgets her hooves "I have a bad feeling about this..." She says to herself.

A bell could be heard downstairs, causing Pinkie to perk up her ears and grin "Cookies are done! Be right back!" She zips out of her room and heads down to the kitchen. Rainbow Dash stares at the doorway, then turns to the team with a smile "Okay...First, cookies, THEN the plan!" Scootaloo smirks "I'm okay with this..." Applejack could only sigh and facehoof at Rainbow's intention span.