//------------------------------// // 124. Rest and Recovery // Story: Tales of the Oppressed // by Terran34 //------------------------------// Awareness comes back to me a little at a time. The first thing I feel is a cool and damp cloth gently brushing across my forehead. With the pounding headache that I'm feeling right now, it feels really good. I give a soft sigh, slowly opening my eyes. It's difficult; my eyelids feel like lead, but eventually I get them open. My vision is blurry, but as my eyes focus, I can get a basic view of my surroundings. “Oh my...! You're awake,” a soft, gentle voice sounds with surprise. I try to get up, but a hoof firmly pushes me back down. I obediently remain still, as my body still aches. My body feels like it's been wrapped in bandages, if that constricting feeling on my skin is anything to go by. Blinking away the blurriness in my eyes, I turn my head slightly to see a familiar butter yellow pegasus gazing down at me with concern. Fluttershy? What is she doing here? I try to talk, but my throat is sore and dry for some reason, such that it hurts when I try to say something. “Please don't talk. You've been through a lot,” Fluttershy ushers me. She presents a cup of water to my lips. “Here. Drink. Queen Chrysalis is on her way.” I gratefully drink from the cup she's holding up for me. So I haven't been healed yet. That explains why I feel like shit. I can still feel the cuts all over my body stinging, and my broken ribs throbbing. My body is swathed in carefully treated bandages, no doubt to keep the burns on my skin under control. Other than that, I'm wearing a haphazardly stitched sheet of white fabric for a shirt and my old torn pants. “What are you doing here?” I manage to get out once I've drained the cup. My throat feels a little better now. I guess it was dried out from how fucking hot that volcano was. Oh god, that's right. The whole thing with Hawke that went down...did I really save him? Is he here somewhere? “I thought you were left behind in another settlement along with Cadance?” “Um...yes, but the princess suggested we join you all here at Everwinter. She thought that...with the battle and all...you could use another pony to take care of the injured,” Fluttershy explains, going back to brushing my forehead with the cloth. Huh...I guess that makes sense. It's not like Celestia can come all the way here to do the healing herself. That, and Chrysalis doesn't go out of her way to heal anyone other than the ones she actually likes. You know, like me. My next thoughts turn to Rainbow and the others. “I'm glad I came. You're hurt so much...it's hard to look at. Poor Rainbow was so worried...she never left your side.” Wait, is she here now? I turn my head, and sure enough, Rainbow is fast asleep in the bed next to me, having taken a beating herself during the battle. That's good. I'm glad she made it out in one piece. She looks a little cut and bruised, but that's nothing Chrysalis won't fix. She hates Rainbow, but she'll do it if I bat my eyelashes a bit, so to speak. “Stubborn pony,” I grunt. I feel like shit, but I don't think I was in danger of dying...well, actually I was bleeding quite a lot, so I might have. I feel a little guilty for making her worry that much (even though she'll never admit it), but I'm also grateful she stayed here for me. “So I'm back in Everwinter?” “Yes. Applejack and the others brought you back in the airships with the Viceroy,” Fluttershy answers. She takes a moment to dunk the cloth back in a basin of cool water. After wringing it out gently, she returns to keeping my forehead cool. Man, that really feels nice against this fucking headache from hell. Fluttershy shudders a bit. “But...I didn't expect...that other scary human...to be here too.” “So Hawke is here somewhere?” I question her, my thoughts now turning to him. I don't know how the other ponies are going to treat him if I'm not around. None of them know what went down between him and I. For all they know, he's one of our worst enemies who beat the absolute shit out of me the last time we saw him. “Do you know where he is?” “Yes...he...they're keeping him locked up in another building. Commander Iron and Warlord Salamul are both there, guarding him in case he wakes up,” Fluttershy answers. “I heard Princess Celestia is on her way.” “He won't be a problem, I don't think,” I assure her. Fluttershy doesn't look any less scared...not that I blame her. Despite the fact that I think he's willing to listen to me now, he's a terrifying guy. “Anyway, where are the others?” “You mean Applejack and the rest of your friends?” Fluttershy inquires. I nod. No doubt they took their fair share of injuries themselves. “They weren't hurt that badly. I helped patch them up, and now they're in your house, preparing a meal. I told them I'd send you to them when you were healed.” “Yeah, that would be nice. I could use a meal before I pay a visit to Hawke,” I muse, suddenly realizing how hungry I am. “Of course, I can't go anywhere until that freaky bug bitch gets her tail over here.” “That 'freaky bug bitch,' as you so eloquently put it, will take as long as she pleases, if you don't mind.” I freeze, mortified, as Chrysalis steps into the room at the exact wrong moment, looking none too pleased at the way I just referred to her. Fluttershy yelps and promptly dives under the bed where Chrysalis can't see her. Chrysalis ignores her, instead staring pointedly at me. “In fact, unless you change your tone right this instant, I think I'll take my healing magic somewhere else.” “You've gotta be fucking kidding....” I curse, realizing that she's got the upper hoof here. For the first time in my life, my vulgar words are coming back to bite me in the ass. Maybe I should cut back on the cursing. Chrysalis's lips curl into a smug smirk, because she knows she has all the power in this situation. “Alright, fine. I'm sorry, okay?” “Mm...that's not good enough,” Chrysalis responds, infuriating me even further. “I think you should be a little more complimentary. Unless you'd rather stay in this infirmary for another day or so until Celestia gets here.” “You little...!” I start to say, but her eyes narrow, such that I cut off and sigh in frustration. I groan and rub my forehead, before finally looking back at Chrysalis. Every fiber of my being wants to die before saying this, but it's either this or sit around completely unable to move. “Okay, fine. Please heal me, oh most esteemed Queen Chrysalis, she who is more beautiful and intelligent than Celestia.” Chrysalis beams, enjoying the praise despite the fact that she knows I'm lying through my teeth. “That's much better. You see, was that so hard?” she gloats, approaching me. She lowers her head, touching her horn to my arm. I shift uncomfortably, feeling her mane against my arm. “Now hold still.” Her horn starts to glow, and I do my best not to squirm as her healing magic works its way through my body. My ribs reconnect and fuse, my skin knits together beneath the bandages, and my burns are soothed. It doesn't feel as warm and comforting as Celestia's does...but instead like a curtain of insects are crawling across my skin. When she's finished, Chrysalis steps back, giving me room to move. I take off the cloth from my forehead and place it on the end table next to my bed. Thus freed, I leap out of the bed and land on my feet. There. As disconcerting as her healing spell is, I'm back at full strength. I take a quick moment to stretch my arms and legs out. “Thanks. Think you can touch up Rainbow, too?” I ask, knowing full well that Chrysalis is going to be annoyed. Sure enough, Chrysalis scoffs. The glare she gives the sleeping Rainbow clearly says what she thinks about that request. “Ugh. It was already a stretch for me to heal her the first time. Now you want me to do it again?” Chrysalis grumbles. She turns back to me with a defiant expression. “No. She can suffer for all I care.” “Oh, don't be petty. Just fucking heal her, please. It'll take you less than a second,” I snap at her, annoyed. “I think not. That's less than a second that I could be using doing something other than healing the pony I hate,” Chrysalis hisses stubbornly. God, this is annoying. “Now, I do believe I'm done here. I think I want to take a look at this other human.” “Yeah, good luck getting past Iron and Salamul,” I remind her. I don't know how the two of them would fare against her if the two of them tried to keep her out, but I think they'd stand a chance with the strange weapons they have. “Tell you what. Heal Rainbow, and I'll go with you after I eat dinner. I've been meaning to talk to him anyway.” “Fine, for the love of...I don't want to heal her,” Chrysalis relents with bad grace, turning to the sleeping pony on the bed. Her horn lights up with magic, and Rainbow's bruises and cuts quickly heal. Chrysalis soon finishes and moves away hastily. “She wasn't even that hurt that badly. You really have become a bleeding heart. It's really off-putting. I think I liked you better when you were dark.” “That's just too damn bad,” I retort. Even though she's trying to insult me, I actually feel good about myself, hearing her tell me that she doesn't like me as much anymore. She's a sadistic motherfucker, so if she can't relate to me anymore, that's a good thing. “Now get out of here so I can get Fluttershy out from under the bed. I'll meet you wherever Hawke is after I eat.” “It isn't my fault the pony has no backbone,” Chrysalis grunts, referring to Fluttershy. I know better, bitch. She's a strong pony when she needs to be. Besides, I wouldn't blame anybody for being scared of Chrysalis. “I'm leaving now. Don't take too long, or I'll come to fetch you.” Once Chrysalis is gone, I peek under my bed to see the hiding Fluttershy. “You can come out now, she's gone,” I assure her. Fluttershy nods timidly and gets out from under the bed, looking a little sheepish. “Sorry about that. I swear, she's more trouble than she's worth sometimes.” “It's okay...I guess I can't blame her,” Fluttershy responds, dusting herself off. And as usual, Fluttershy is being too nice, despite the fact that she'd been scared enough to hide from Chrysalis. “Now, I should tend to Rain...wait, Seth!” In the middle of her sentence, I grab the basin of cool water from the floor. Disregarding Fluttershy's calls, I promptly upend the vessel over Rainbow. “Waaah! Bleh...pfeh!” Rainbow sputters, lurching out of the bed and spitting out jets of water. She's completely soaked now, as is her bed. She shakes herself vigorously, sending water every which way. She doesn't even need to ask to know what happened to her. She gives me a disbelieving stare, ignoring the fact that I'm laughing hard at the noises she just made. “Of course. It would be you. No, we get out of one of the toughest battles of our lives, and what happens? You empty a bucket of water on my face the second you wake up. You blasted...c'mere!” Rainbow launches herself at me without any warning. She closes her hooves around my chest and bears me to the ground, the two of us rolling over the floor and laughing together. Fluttershy smiles at our antics, already moving to clean up the mess I made. At this point, I'm just happy that the both of us are okay. “Now, you two should really be careful...” Fluttershy tries to tell us. She continues heedlessly as the two of us knock one of the beds over behind her, the structure hitting the floor with a loud crash. She proceeds to duck as an end table flies over her head. As if nothing had happened, she keeps talking. “I wouldn't want you two to get hurt again. If you would please settle...down?” Fluttershy trails off when she sees me dripping and annoyed, having just had my head dunked into a basin of water. Rainbow and I gaze innocently back at Fluttershy, the former's hoof still tangled in the back of my hair. “Oh...you two,” Fluttershy emits with a giggle. She thoughtfully places a folded towel on my head. “Thanks,” I deadpan, shoving Rainbow off of me. I use the towel to quickly dry my face and hair. “Is there a comb around here? I'd like to brush my hair so I don't look like an idiot in front of my team. Of course, that wouldn't even be necessary if Rainbow here hadn't dunked my head in a bucket!” Rainbow sticks her tongue out at me shamelessly. “Hey, not my fault you can't take what you dish out,” she teases. I scowl, and then gratefully accept the brush Fluttershy brings to me a few moments later. With it, I get my hair looking relatively normal again. I'd like to use a blowdryer, but we don't get any luxuries in the middle of a war. I wince as my stomach growls again. I place a hand on it and gesture to Rainbow. “Whatever. Come on, let's go eat. I'm starving,” I urge her. I notice some clothes hanging from a hook near the door, consisting mostly of just lengths of thick fabric meant for wintry weather. I shrug and grab them, wrapping them around my body. As I do so, I remember Fluttershy. “You coming, Fluttershy?” “Oh, thank you for offering, but I should really stay here and attend to the other patients,” Fluttershy responds regretfully. I look around, raising an eyebrow. Other patients? Are there even...wait, of course there are. There were others out there besides just us. I guess they're just not in this room. Fluttershy looks down sadly. “I'm sorry. Go on ahead. I'm not that hungry anyway.” “Nah, don't worry about it. You do what you gotta do,” I tell her, accepting that explanation. Seconds later, I hear Fluttershy's stomach let out a telltale growl as well. She immediately turns a light shade of red and claps a hoof to her belly. There's a silence as both Rainbow and I give her deadpan stares. “Okay, come with us,” Rainbow states flatly, her tone clearly letting us know she isn't going to brook any argument. “But...I should...” Fluttershy tries to protest, tapping the tips of her two front hooves together uncertainly. She yelps with surprise as Rainbow grabs her shoulders and steadily hauls her out the door with us. “Rainbow!” “You've been working ever since the battle began. I'm pretty sure no one will blame you if you take a food break,” Rainbow reasons as the three of us leave the building and step into the snow. Fluttershy stammers incoherently as she tries to form a meaningful protest. She looks up at us with uncertain eyes...only to see both Rainbow and I smiling back at her. “Come on. You've been taking care of us all this whole time. It's high time you come and take care of yourself,” I tell her reassuringly. Fluttershy blinks with what looks to be shock, and then she nods meekly. “Okay,” Fluttershy relents, giving the building one last guilty look before following us. She shouldn't feel that bad though. I mean, if anyone was in dire need of her help, she'd be there right now instead of looking over me. I look up at the sky, noticing the fresh snowflakes falling from the cloudy skies. Even though it seems like all of our lives have been put on hold because of this damn war, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy one another's company. I walk up the steps leading to basically what we've started referring to as our house. I can see smoke rising from the fireplace, and a mouthwatering aroma reaches my nostrils. Wow, that smells like stir fry. A vegetarian stir fry of course, but that doesn't mean it won't be delicious. I open the door and stride unsuspectingly into the house...and then my vision is suddenly comprised completely of the brightest pink. I let out a startled cry as my arms are suddenly filled with by a happily giggling Pinkie Pie. “Sethie! You're here you're here!” she squeals excitedly. Still in shock, I try to keep my balance, but I end up falling backwards onto my ass. “I feel like I haven't seen you in forever, even though I totally did a few weeks ago, but then you got hurt and I was worried but now you're fine and here and I'm sooo glad you could make it because I...!” “Pinkie!” I yell, cutting across her stream of babble before it can get much worse. Pinkie closes her mouth with a snap when she remembers who she's talking to. She looks down at how she knocked me over again and looks at me in momentary horror, as if scared I'm going to yell at her. “Yes...yes, nice to see you too...but give a guy some warning. You seem to have this fixation with knocking me over.” “Oh, you're not mad?” Pinkie asks me in surprise, stepping off of me. She offers a hoof to help me up, which I accept. “Nah. Just hungry,” I reply, brushing pony fur off of my chest. Pinkie immediately becomes all smiles again, bouncing around me with barely contained excitement. It's only now that I notice the others sitting at the table nearby. They're all watching us, smiling. Well, except for Pterax, but with those teeth he's got, I have no idea what face he's making. “So why are you here? Did you come with Fluttershy?” “Yup yup! I was going to throw a 'we're halfway there' party, but the princess said I shouldn't, so I came here to make sure Fluttershy kept smiling!” Pinkie explains in her own ridiculous way. Fluttershy walks in the room beside Rainbow and I, looking happy at Pinkie's explanation. She then leans in closer, poking my leg with a forehoof. “And now that I'm here, I'm going to make the rest of you smile!” “You don't even need to try, sugarcube!” Applejack calls from where she's standing at the stove, grinning broadly. I shake my head as Pinkie whoops. In the end, that explained practically nothing. Heh, it doesn't matter that we're in the middle of a war that could end with Equestria being annihilated. She's still the same. That's actually a little reassuring, in some weird way. “Now c'mon over everyone! Dinner's about done!” With the addition of Pinkie and Fluttershy, I join my team at the table for a succulent stir fry meal. The food tastes a lot better than the typical military rations that we've been using. According to Applejack, Mist had a store of food for herself back when she was the general here. Now that she's on our side, the food in storage has been distributed to the rest of us. So basically, we can have one meal of luxury. “Speaking of Mist,” I comment, changing the subject away from Pinkie's discussion on the expert naming convention of a particular kind of cake. I don't know, halfway through I stopped paying attention. However, at my words, the conversation ceases, recognizing the change in subject. “Where is she now?” “With the bad guy, no doubt,” Rainbow remarks, looking none too happy about that. “She's been with him the whole time.” “I still can't believe you took him down,” Pterax joins, referring to Hawke. I shrug. It was probably one of the hardest fights of my life. “He was supposed to be top notch. Like, of the type only our queen could handle.” “Ah'm just glad everythin' turned out alright,” Applejack expresses gratefully. She looks at me with concern. “Ah thought you might kill him. Which leads me to ask: what happened in there? Nopony knows a thing cuz you two have been conked out since the battle ended.” Well, I didn't really want to talk about this right now, especially in front of everyone, but I suppose it should be done sooner rather than later. I know Rainbow particularly won't be happy. I look around, noticing that all of them look as curious as Applejack is, including Pterax and Trixie. I set down my drink and sigh. “It was tough. He's every bit as good as I am. The whole battle, I couldn't get even a single hit on him without taking one myself,” I admit. “But you kicked his butt in the end, right? Because now we have him!” Rainbow exclaims with triumph. “I bet Princess Celestia's gonna banish him right to Tartarus.” “Oh, I hope not...that place sounds awful,” Fluttershy protests weakly. I raise a brow. I've heard them use Tartarus as an expletive before, but never thought it was an actual place. “Trixie doesn't even know who this Hawke is,” Trixie comments with a shrug. “I wouldn't say that. We could have just as easily taken each other out. It was that close,” I stress, responding to Rainbow's words. If Hawke had moved his fist a little to the left, he'd have hit me in the face too, and I'd have fallen into the magma with him. I still shudder to think about how close to death I was. “But basically...Hawke is really similar to me.” “What? No he's not! He's evil!” Rainbow protests hotly. “He's not even close to being as awesome as you!” “How so, Seth?” Applejack addresses me directly, ignoring Rainbow. “He's like...hm, how to explain this...” I muse aloud. “He's like...what I might have been if I never met Rainbow.” “No, he's n...wait what?” Rainbow pauses in the middle of her pre-prepared protest and cocks her head. “Wait, but then he'd be...or...I'm confused.” “You're talking like you understand him,” Swift surmises accurately. That's close, but not really right. I don't understand his particular circumstances that caused him to hate humanity, but I understand the way he was and is thinking. Swift notices I don't deny her, and then she freezes. “Wait, you didn't talk him into surrendering too, did you?” I notice the other members of my team who were there to see Mist join us are now looking at me accusingly. I raise my hands up innocently. “Oh no...well, not quite. We still beat the shit out of each other. I just told him to keep living. I don't know what he's going to do next,” I admit. Rainbow in particular gives me an unreadable expression. “What? I wasn't going to let the last human other than me...especially one that thinks like I used to...just kill himself. I hate him, but that doesn't mean I'd just let him die.” Rainbow looks like she's going to protest further, but then her jaw drops when she realizes what I just said. Her eyes slowly widen, and then her expression turns into a happy smile. At first I don't understand her expression, but then I realize I pretty much just said the very same things that Rainbow said to me, way back when at the cliff. Holy shit, this pony...this one fucking technicolor pony...has changed my entire outlook on life. Suddenly, the moment is thoroughly ruined by the sound of two cannons firing confetti and streamers into the air from behind the table. Pinkie throws up her two front hooves, holding a pennant in each one. One of them has my face on it, and the other has Hawke's. “Whee! We're gonna have a human party to celebrate having two humans on the same team! I'll bring the cake, and you and him can learn to be best friends!” “Wait, are you serious?” I respond, a little shocked that Pinkie is so willing to forgive Hawke just like that. “You'd really throw a party for Hawke of all people? Don't you remember what he was going to do to us?” Pinkie sets down the pennants. There's a smile on her face, but her eyes are uncharacteristically serious. “Don't be silly. Of course I'd throw him a party! If he thinks like you did, then if anyone needs a smile, it's him!” she asserts. I blink, dumbfounded by her logic. “Aaand...that's not all. He's never actually hurt any of us.” “He hurt me. Nearly bashed my face in, if you remember,” I point out. However, I recognize that she has a point. Hawke has never really hurt anypony seriously, as far as I remember. I don't know how many humans he's killed, but as for ponies, he's stayed mostly out of their way. Even when Rainbow was getting in his way, he just knocked her out so she couldn't interfere. “Of course I remember, silly! I was there!” Pinkie reminds me, poking my nose from across the table with her hoof. “But if you told him to hang in there, then you must have forgiven him a little. And if you can forgive him, why shouldn't I?” I gaze at Pinkie, floored by that response. She really finds it that easy to forgive what was...and may still be...one of Equestria's greatest enemies? All because I understand him now? I can't help but smile. Pinkie...as annoying as you can be...you've more depth there than meets than eye. Why I didn't see that so early on is... Pinkie suddenly gasps incredibly loudly, and then she squeals equally as loud, standing up on the table and pointing at me emphatically with her hoof. Everyone in the room is taken by surprise at her suddenly exclamation as well, considering they're all staring at her. “I did it! I did it I did it I did it...!” Pinkie starts bouncing around the table, repeating that phrase over and over again until I manage to grab her by the shoulders and keep her in one place. “Pinkie, calm down! You did what?” I demand. “Made you smile!” Pinkie proclaims. The way she's beaming at me, you'd think she just won the lottery or something. “A real one this time! I mean, I know you're always smiling with Rainbow because she's your marefriend and stuff but this time it was all me! I have kept my Pinkie promise to myself!” “Wha...I mean I guess you did, but is it really that big of a deal?” I finally manage to say, blinking. Applejack is chuckling from her seat, as is Rainbow and Fluttershy. Pinkie looks at me as if I just told her that parties were stupid. “That big of a...,” Pinkie stammers incredulously. Before I can stop her, she yanks my face forward, her hooves resting on my cheeks. She brings her face up close to mine. “YES!” I splutter when she releases me, and then I can't help but laugh at the whole situation along with Applejack, Rainbow, and Fluttershy. Swift is rolling her eyes at the whole exchange, while Trixie and Pterax are just watching blankly. “Sheesh, alright,” I say, sitting back in my seat. I sip from my drink and watch Pinkie proceed to celebrate for several more seconds. “Gee, better throw another party.” “Ohmigosh, you're right! The two human party can come later; first, I need to throw an I made Seth smile party!” Pinkie exclaims the second I realize my mistake. I groan and let my head fall to the table's surface as Pinkie starts rapidly listing aloud the types of supplies that she'd bring to such a party. Sooner or later I'll learn to keep my dumb mouth shut. After that, it isn't long before I finish my meal. I lean back, satisfied. Unfortunately, I know it can't last. Now that I'm done, I have someplace to be. I stand up from the table and stretch, wishing I could stay longer. “Okay, I should be leaving now. There's something I have to do,” I tell the others reluctantly. Fluttershy nods; she already knows what I'm going to do. “Wait where are you going?” Rainbow demands. I think she'd been asleep when Chrysalis came around, so she didn't hear any of that. “I've got to go see Hawke. I'm the one that brought him in, so I should be present when Celestia gets here,” I explain. Applejack and Swift nod understandingly at that. “Besides...somebody needs to be there to keep Chrysalis from getting her hooves all over him.” “Yuck,” Rainbow agrees, sticking her tongue out in disgust. I wonder if she's referring to Chrysalis or Hawke with that statement. She starts to get out of her chair. “Should I come too?” “No. This is something I should do on my own. I'm the only one that was there in the volcano with him, after all,” I tell her. Rainbow looks put out, but sits back down. “Stay here. I'll let you all know what happens when I get back.” “Good luck, sugarcube,” Applejack calls to me as I leave the room. Okay, back out into the cold again. I've really got to thank whoever made these thick clothes I'm wearing. They don't fit me of course, but that just means I can wrap them tighter around me. I step out into the snow, shivering at the change in temperature. Okay, I don't know where Hawke's being kept, but I'm guessing it's in the same place Mist was kept before she was brought in to talk to Celestia. I'll head there first. I don't get very far before I hear Rainbow call my name behind me. Goddammit, I told her to stay behind. She reaches me just as I turn around to tell her exactly that. “What? I told you I have to do this on my own.” “It's not about that. It's about what you said during dinner,” Rainbow assures me. She coughs nervously and looks up at me. “About Hawke and how you didn't want him to die.” “Oh. Okay, I guess I can take a moment,” I say, kneeling down. Honestly, I should have expected her to want to talk to me about that. “I meant what I said though.” “That's what I'm talking about. Ugh, this is going to sound really sappy, but...you sound so different now,” Rainbow tells me. “It's like...you look at things completely different from when I saved you on the cliff.” “That's because I do. If it hadn't been for you, I meant have ended up like Hawke,” I tell her, choosing to respond to her seriously rather than tease her about her sappiness comment. “I couldn't let the only human other than me to do the same thing.” “And there, that's it! I don't like Hawke at all, but I never thought you would...ugh, I don't even know what I want to say!” Rainbow groans in frustration, rubbing at her head with her hooves. I think I get what she's trying to say though. “I think I understand. I've used the lessons you've taught me to save the life of another,” I supply for her. Rainbow looks up and nods. “That's right. You've come so far since then...it's a little mind blowing to think about the person you used to be,” Rainbow exhibits. She presses her muzzle against my cheek affectionately...a gesture that I return by running a hand through her mane. “And now you're the man I lo...gah, that's so cheesy! How do ponies say this stuff?” I snort with laughter, finding it hilarious how she cut off her sentence before she even finished it. “Do I need to say it for you?” I tease her, earning a nudge for my efforts. Once I steady myself, I gently grasp her cheeks and kiss her briefly. “You changed my life and saved me from myself. I love you, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow blushes furiously, but smiles despite herself. She kisses me back. “You know, I feel like I need to go get some crackers to go with this cheese,” she whispers, and I promptly burst out laughing. Well, the moment's passed. The final battle is coming soon, so I'm glad I had a chance to say that, in case things take a turn for the worse. “But seriously, keep complimenting me. I'm starting to feel really good about myself.” “Please, like you need my help to do that,” I retort, earning another nudge. I stand up, getting ready to move. “Anyway, you should probably go back inside to the others. The sooner I go deal with Hawke, the sooner I can come back and chill with you all before we have to march on the empire.” “Oh yeah, that's coming soon, isn't it?” Rainbow responds. I nod, feeling apprehensive about the battle to come. If I thought fighting Chrysalis or Hawke was hard, Sombra is going to make all of that look like a cakewalk. “Alright, I'll head in. Don't take too long, or I'll come in there and get you.” “I'll keep that in mind. Be back soon,” I tell her with a wry grin. With that, Rainbow turns back to the house, and I continue walking down the street. Before I even get halfway there, Chrysalis alights on the street right next to me, her wings making barely any noise apart from a faint buzzing. I almost jump out of my skin at her sudden appearance, but I do my best not to show it. “Took you long enough. I was starting to think you were being distracted by that accursed rainbow pony,” she complains, clicking her tongue. The way she said that lets me know exactly what context she was referring to, causing me to wince. “Don't be stupid. Like we'd do that in the middle of a war,” I snap viciously at her. Chrysalis shrugs, taking my insult in stride. “What are you talking about? That's the best time to do it. You never know when your last day is going to be,” Chrysalis responds nonchalantly. “Right...changing the subject now,” I tell her uncomfortably, wanting nothing to do with this particular topic. Chrysalis snickers at my discomfort. “We're almost there. Any changes since the last time we spoke?” “Yes, in fact. He's awake, for one, and speaking with that other general,” Chrysalis informs me. Oh, Hawke's awake now. I guess it's a good thing that he's not blasting his way out of the building. “I left an agent to keep an eye on them. It's not smart to leave two enemy prisoners... even more so with generals...in the same room together unsupervised.” “I don't think there'll be a problem,” I assure her despite the uncertainty I'm feeling. Chrysalis hums, but doesn't object. Together, the two of us approach the building where Hawke is being guarded by both Iron and Salamul. I convinced Hawke to keep living...but I have no clue what he's going to do now. The only way to find out is to talk to him myself.