//------------------------------// // Chapter 40: Troubled // Story: Le Retour // by k12314 //------------------------------// CHAPTER 40 (Listen to this) "Oh.... Where am I?" I remembered going home after the trial, and then having a little celebration, and then going to sleep. "Am I dreaming?" I looked around, and I didn't see anypony at first, but on my second gaze over the room, I saw two ponies, one with his head on a block of wood, the other... A unicorn with an axe. The one with his head on the block looked very familiar. "Dumb-Bell?" He turned his head, and looked at me, smiling like a maniac. "Oh, hey there, killer..." I cocked my eyebrow. "What did you just call me?" His smile widened. "You heard me... You know what this is, right? This is my end. This is what you did to me. How does it feel to know that you're the reason a pony is going to die?" I furrowed my brow, and frowned. "It's... Not bad. I don't care." He let out a laugh, and I was pretty darn surprised. "Oh, but I think you do, Kyle. I'm going to be killed. And how do you know I really did it? Sure, you had all of that evidence, but there's no way to be one-hundred percent sure... For all you know, I could be innocent, and you've killed me." "He's right... Oh man, I can't believe I went through with all of that... I killed him." He chuckled, and I saw the executioner pony move a little bit. "Right. You killed me, and it's too late for you to do anything about it. Congrats, murderer." I tried to move my hands up to my head, but I found that I couldn't move, and when I tried to close my eyes... I couldn't do that either. I saw the executioner raise the axe into the air. Dumb-Bell moved his head into the proper position, and closed his eyes. "Well, I'm done... Goodbye." I felt my eyes widen, and time seemed to slow down, as the axe slowly fell towards his neck... (Stop the music) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "AH!" I sprung up from my sleep. I was covered in sweat, but I felt really cold, and I was breathing heavily. "Kyle, are you OK? I've been trying to wake you for ten minutes now!" Dashie's eyes were wide, and she looked just as scared as I probably did. I cleared my throat, and tried to regulate my breathing. "I'm... I'm fine, I just... Had a really bad nightmare." I shook my head, and let out a sigh. I checked the clock on my nightstand... 5:30am. "I didn't mean to wake you up, Dashie..." She chuckled, and shook her head. "Nah, I needed to get some early morning training in anyways. No problem... Are you sure you're OK? I mean, you're sweating..." I wiped my forehead, and shook my head. "I'm fine, don't worry about me... You know I hate it when I make others worry about me. It makes me feel guilty." She nuzzled my side a little bit, and crawled out of bed. "Alright, well, I'm gonna head out. Try not to let whatever's bothering you get to you too much, OK? I'd hate to see you have a mental breakdown." I chuckled, and nodded. "Alright, I won't go bonkers. I think I'm just gonna sit here and think for a little while..." She closed the door behind her, and I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. I rubbed my face with my hands, and let out a long sigh. "Dumb-Bell is going to die... And it's because of me... But I did save Hoops, who was innocent... But what if Dumb-Bell was innocent too? UGH! I can't stand these conflicting emotions... What do I do...? A part of me says to just deal with it, but another says that this is all my fault... Maybe I shouldn't have just jumped on the case just because I thought Hoops didn't do it because he didn't have the guts... That was a pretty stupid move on my part. I've really gotta start thinking my decisions over more..." I leaned back, and put my hands on my head. "Ugh... I'm an idiot. I am SUCH an idiot..." I climbed out of bed, and cracked my back, and my neck. "I screwed up big-time. I practically killed somepony..." I looked at my hands, and closed my eyes. "Dammit..." I clenched my hands into fists, and I felt them shaking. "DAMMIT! I always fuck everything up! What the hell is wrong with me?! Why can't I do anything right?!" I clasped my hands over my head, and slammed myself against a wall. "FUCK! I... I don't know what the hell I've done. I... Shit..." I fell back down onto the bed, and just sat there, my head hung low, staring at the floor. "I killed him... Dammit. Just... Dammit." I heard the door squeak a bit, and I saw Scoots trying to hide behind the door. I let out another sigh, and beckoned for her to come sit on the bed with me, which she did, albeit a little reluctantly. "Dad... What's wrong?" I pulled her into a hug, and rested my head on her shoulder. "Oh Scoots... I really screwed up... I..." "Dad?" I felt my dam break, and I started bawling my eyes out. "Scoots... I've killed somepony." She let out a small gasp. "No, I don't mean like stabbing them... I got them proven guilty for murder in court. They're getting the death sentence..." Scoots pushed away from me, and just stared at me. "Yeah... But he was a murderer. You did the right thing, Dad." "I don't know... I mean, what if he wasn't guilty?" Scoots giggled, and shook her head. "Come on, really. With your intuition? I doubt that you were wrong... If it makes you feel any better, I'll sit here with you for a little while." I nodded, and hugged her again. "Thanks, kiddo. You really are too good to me." She nuzzled my cheek. "I could say the same for you." And we just sat there for most of the morning, hugging. It made me feel better, yes, but I was still feeling very troubled by the fact that I'd put somepony on death row. "I hope I can get over this... Otherwise, I'll cringe every time I look in the mirror."