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Rapid smiles lightly as she feels the tension leave him, though she is slightly confused when he takes the flower, even as it glows beautifully. She could feel the nerves... nerves only really matching one instance she could remember, and that flower had played then too. But as Aurora speaks, as he recounts his promises, the beautiful symbols behind them and the different levels of love the two of them share, she can't help but smile, her confusion disappearing as his confidence grows. When he places the flower in her hoof and smiles, her heart leaps, just so happy to see him so overjoyed at his thoughts.

And then, as he starts to talk about the words to match, she holds her breath, as if being too loud would scare away the moment from happening. With only the best conviction and hope, she hears the words.

"Rapid Fire, will you marry me?"

Honestly, it was a question both of them knew the answer to. One that had basically been asked in so many ways, and yet... to hear it spoken. Plainly, not garbled or confused, and with no hesitation, only love behind the words... She'd already been proposed to once in this city, and the memory of it came for just a second, but she let it slip away as she slowly shook her head, too overcome to speak. This was just.... If that was bliss, then the level of joy she felt at this moment held no name...

She looks from the crystal rose to Aurora, still holding her hooves, still looking at her hopefully, the conviction and love of a lifetime behind his gaze... and it was at her. Not near her, not at the world... even with his Sight on, he was only looking at her. She smiles warmly, the beginnings of tears edging her eyes as she leans forward, giving him a loving, tender, and truly momentous kiss, already committing this memory; the stars, the moon, the lake, his mane, the way he shone.... all of it; to her heart forever.

As she pulls away from the kiss, she is finally able to speak the love overflowing from her heart. "Yes. With all my heart and soul, with every fibre of my being, with everything I am and will be... you make me the happiest mare in the world by letting me say yes."

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He had hoped more than anything that she would say yes. He knew she would, but hearing the word actually spoken gave it so much more power. It had all finally been said; not tiptoed around, not hinted at, not just accepted as an eventual inevitability, but actually spoken.

It felt amazing.

simple words like overwhelming, or exhilarating, or unbelievable, or anything else he could think of, none of them could do justice to the happiness he felt at that moment. As she finished speaking, her words added to a very special place in his memory, the place where he kept all of the moments he had spent with her here in Vemn Enox, his smile widened unbearably and he pulled her into a tight hug, holding her close as his heart soared.

He had lost his eyes, suffered terrible pain from his injuries, spent years researching new magic to try to get even the tiniest bit of normalcy back to his life, learned a spell that led to him seeing some of the most horrifying things he wished he couldn't imagine......and yet.......every bit of it was worth it.

For this one moment, for those words, for the feeling he had right now.......he would go through it all again for this.

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There, in his embrace, Rapid smiles, finally truly thinking her life could not possibly get any better. Years underneath the hoof of oppressive parents, of fighting to be allowed to be good. To be happy. Years of fighting for the ability to help ponies, and once she finally got there, a decade hiding her true self in any way, shape, or form from the real world. A decade under the hoof of a society that hadn't accepted her, that wouldn't believe she had any worth, that refused to accept that she had any reason to be. Being gone over for promotions, had all of her accomplishments taken away, all while either hiding herself fully or standing beneath the sword of blackmail, unable to shirk it.

And then she'd come here, tried to do something different, made some dumb choices, nearly lost her job, nearly bound herself to somepony who didn't fully appreciate her, fought and drank and threw herself at danger for the thrill of it, for the hope that it would maybe end her...

And then he'd walked into her life. Quietly, but powerfully, letting her know of a momentous occasion coming up, being there for her friends in their worst times... being there for her in the single darkest moment of her lift... With him she was something, she had worth, she shared her deepest, darkest secrets, sadnesses she had repressed or hidden away from the world, and he didn't just believe in her, didn't just think she was something.

She was a hero. Even losing this tournament, the reason she'd come here... she was a hero in his mind, was always beautiful in his sight, was the center of his world... and somehow, quietly, he'd become the center of hers.

There were many parts of her life she'd change, given the option. Not regrets, just stupid decisions or painful memories. Yet, if even changing one of them would cause this moment, in his arms, feeling the love of her fiance, one that truly loved for, cared for, and respected her above all else. One who truly wanted to see her happy, and one whose feelings she returned in full... If changing even the tiniest discomfort caused that not to happen, she would leave it all where it was. Because this... this was more than anypony could dream of in a lifetime.

She pulls him a little closer, burying herself in his mane, his warmth, his everything, just.... there weren't words. Even the strongest she had couldn't explain the concentrated joy in the tears falling from her eyes. "I love you Aurora. I always will... Thank you. Just for existing, even if we'd never met... Thank you."

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Giving her one last tight squeeze, his happiness not fading in the slightest, he leaned back just a bit to lean his forehead against hers. "But we did meet. And I love you as well, always." Aurora gave her a light kiss at the base of her horn before moving one of his hooves up, lifting her head so he could pull her into a long, passionate kiss. Not one of lust, but one filled with the passion and joy she inspired in him.

As the kiss broke, he once again took hold of her hoof, giving it a loving squeeze as a random thought crossed his mind, one that made him chuckle slightly. "I guess now I really will have to take some time off to go see my parents. I can't really just write them letters and never visit anymore now that I'll have a wife and son for them to meet. I alsmost can't wait to see the looks on their faces as they open the letter about this," he says with a quiet laugh.

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Rapid chuckles too. "No, I think it's time you go and see them." She nuzzles against him again. "I always wanted a family. I can't wait to see the look on their face when you walk up to meet them with a changeling and a zebra colt." After a moment, she frowns. "Huh... that's gonna turn heads up North too, isn't it..."

She waves her free hoof dismissively. "Eh, I don't care if ponies know the truth, I'll kick anypony's flank who says one word against any of us. And if anypony gets too nosey that we don't think can handle the truth, we can just chalk it up to changeling genetics being wonky." She then gives his hoof a light squeeze, looking for reassurance. "That makes sense, right?"

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Aurora laughs right along with her, nuzzling gently against her cheek before speaking his thoughts. "The only ones saying anything will be the ones who are jealous that I got my hooves on you first, and now they don't stand a chance."

He returns the squeeze she gave his hoof, hoping to banish the uncertainty he had heard in her voice when she asked her last question. "If Anypony starts getting nosy where they shouldn't be, I'll take care of it. I am paid to control information after all," he says with a smile. "And no matter what happens, I'll be with you and we'll get through it together."

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Rapid nuzzles against him again, laughing lightly. "Nopony stands a chance against you, you handsome devil. Just don't go running off when everypony realizes the lady killer you are." She taps him gently on the nose. "I saw you first."

She sighs after that, letting her mirth simmer back down into the calm, enjoying the feeling of the couple, now engaged, looking over the water in the cool night air. She maintains a warm smile, though, and after a few moments, she talks quietly, squeezing his hoof once more and resting her head on his shoulder. "Of course we'll get through it together. The two of us are unstoppable. And there's nopony I'd rather be unstoppable with. In life, in battle, in love..." She then takes the crystal flower in her hoof, placing it behind her frill "Unstoppably yours, and you mine."

With a gentle kiss, she returns her attention to the cold night air, a warmth growing within her that nothing could hope to cool. They were engaged, on the road to officially spending their entire lives together...

And every moment counts, she thinks as she snuggles up against his chest, listening to his heartbeat and feeling his love flowing into her like blood through her veins. She gives him one more loving look before returning her attention to the night. Especially these ones.

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Aurora wraps his free hoof around her shoulder, pulling her close against him as she leaned on his shoulder. "Don't worry. There's not a single mare in all of the North, or anywhere else in Equestria for that matter that can capture my attention the way that you do. I'm yours and yours alone for as long as you want me, and nothing anypony else has to say will change that."

He leans comfortably against the back of the bench, the warmth of Rapid, his fiance and the pony he loved most in the world, fending off the chill of the night. He let the sounds of the crickets and frogs wash over him, the rustling of the forest around them and the gentle light of the moon completing the picture as he leaned his head against Rapid's and sat enjoying the moment, thoughts of everything that had happened to them already, and everything that awaited them in the future playing through his mind.

A content smile drifted onto his muzzle as he sat and watched the night pass.

With the tournament finally coming to a close, Aurora and Rapid decided that they wanted to see a bit more of the area around Vemn Enox before they left, and today that brought them to the mountains around the city overlooking the deep canyon that was one of the defining features of the changeling lands. They packed a lunch and headed out into the wilderness to enjoy the last bits of their vacation.

"Hmmmm.......you know, I think this may be the first time I've climbed a mountain just for entertainment," Aurora said with a smirk as he followed Rapid. "Maybe they'll join picnics on my list of things that I've come to enjoy more than I thought I would."

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Rapid made her way up the mountainside steadily, doing her best to pick out a path she was sure Aurora could follow. In all honesty, he was climbing amazingly for a blind pony. "Well, I'll admit, I don't normally climb mountains much on the path. Though I did climb a sheer cliff a couple times on chases... But those were at least interesting." She shrugs as she goes along. "Not the biggest fan of hiking, oddly. I mean, gardens are amazing and nature is stunning and all, but out in the wilds eventually I'm gonna run into a timberwolf or something and then I'm gonna have to kill it and then I'll feel bad about it for a while... just easier to avoid it if I can."

She stops at a flat rock for a bit, looking out over what they'd climbed so far, and smiles as she takes in the gorgeous view. The forest, the city, the little winding trail... it's all framed so nicely it's as if nature was created by a painter. Gonna have to show him the view once we're done with this. "Granted, I suppose I'm not gonna get much time to avoid hikes up North, am I? Not enough city to patrol."

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Aurora chuckles a bit as he moves to stand next to Rapid. "Nope, you're gonna be spending a lot of time hiking, whether you want to or not. There's a lot of tiny logging and mining villages around the area that we have to keep an eye on. About the only things that would count as actual cities are Stalliongrad and Cloudsdale, so you're gonna be in the woods a lot."

As he stands next to her, he lets what he can see of the view occupy a bit more of his attention. Most of it is beyond his Sight, but standing there on that rock, it made it almost look like he was standing on the edge of the world. The solid ground beneath him, behind him, and the sheer cliff reaching down into the void that was all he could see in front of him. It wasn't quite the same thing that Rapid could see, but it was still rather unique in its own right.

He could tell that Rapid was enjoying what she could see from her posture as she stood looking out over the cliff, so rather than interrupt her, he stood quietly next to her and let her enjoy it for a bit longer. They weren't in a hurry after all, so why not?

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Rapid sighs, turning towards her love and gently nuzzling against him before going back to the path. "Oh well. At least the company won't be too bad between hikes. And I do like the woods and the snow, though everypony seems to think I'll get sick of them, at least from the way they talk about 'em."

Looking at the path, she's actually a bit surprised at the progress the two of them had made. They're most of the way up the mountain, and she can already see a small cave just a little bit down from the top that looks like a perfect spot to stop and eat their lunch. Slightly modifying her path to head towards that, she once more sets off at a pace she knows Aurora can match with ease. As long as they made it back before night it would be fine, and if they didn't... well, another night camping wouldn't hurt too badly...

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As Aurora continued up the mountain following Rapid, he made sure to keep his attention on his surroundings. Both to make sure he didn't trip, as well as to keep track of any sights that he would find interesting. At the moment, his interest had been captured by the figure of the changeling walking up the path in front of him. Sometimes only being able to see just far enough to get around had its perks.

After a bit farther, they reached a small cave in the mountain where Rapid stopped. He couldn't see the end of it, but there wasn't anything wrong with it that he could see from the outside, so even if there was anything in there he would have plenty of warning before it got to them. "Are we trading mountain climbing for cave exploring?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow and a smile as he stood next to her on the flat ground in front of the entrance.

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Rapid looks at Aurora with a slight smirk, bumping against him lightly with her side. "No, we aren't going exploring quite yet. Doesn't seem a very deep cave anyway, there's a cave in before the light even cuts out." She waives the cave off before turning around, once more looking at the magnificent view, though this time from near the top of the mountain. To say it was breathtaking would be an overstatement, especially after the arena she'd faced Ferris in, but the brisk air and the beautiful scene below was still amazing nonetheless. "No, this lovely little precipice is where we're gonna eat."

She pulled the packed lunch off of her back, unfolding the blanket and placing out the little sealed containers around it. It wasn't exactly the fanciest set up, but it got the job done, and what's more, it put her and her sandwich, a special order from the castle kitchens that she knew just by smell would make the average pony's stomach churn, in a spot that kept Aurora from experiencing even the subtlest whiff. After that was done, she sat down, getting a slight tingle to run through her as her stomach touches the rock. It didn't even hardly show yet, but already her belly was a bit sensitive to touch. A sign of the foal growing within that Rapid could at least enjoy herself.

Smiling, she showcases the display with a sweep of her hooves. "Dig in."

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Aurora smiled as he sat next to Rapid, admiring the scenery around him as he relaxed, a light breeze ruffling his mane and cooling the heat of the midday sun as it shone down and warmed his dark coat. A quick survey of the meal showed that, though simple, Rapid had taken a great deal of care in preparing it.

He leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek before reaching out with his magic to pick up one of the sandwiches.

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Rapid unwraps her sandwich, wasabi, ketchup, mustard, and chocolate sauce covering the most savory BLT ever built, with a ruby toothpick holding it together.... The fact that she could actually get that kind of meal and service from the castle still amazed her, especially with the tournament basically over...

She takes a bite, letting out a quiet "Mmmmm" before looking at the view again. It really is amazing... She leans over, letting her head lean lightly against Aurora's. And I never would have seen it without him. "You know, sometimes I really wish you could see what I could in the moment. The valley is stunning."

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Aurora smirks silently to himself. "Maybe so, but even in the dreamscape I've yet to see any sight that could rival what I see every time you sit near me like this." He knew it was terribly cheesy, but he just couldn't help himself. With a slight chuckle at how ridiculous he must have sounded, he turned and gave Rapid a light kiss on the top of her head as she leaned against him.

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Rapid clutches at her heart playfully, a pained smile coming over her face. "Oh, geez, that one hurt!" She falls over onto his front legs, reaching up at the air with a hoof. "Oh! Why did you have to be so... cheesy?" Her hoof moved to his cheek running it caringly over his face and taking in overly dramatic rasping breaths. "Aurora... why...?" She then pulls his head down a little, lifting up to meet it in a loving kiss. "Why do I have to love it so much?" She stays where she is, grabbing her sandwich and pulling it to her to take another bite, doing her best to make sure its interesting smell gets swept away in the breeze before messing with him.

She didn't want anything to mess with this moment.

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Aurora laughed in amusement as Rapid fell across his legs. "Hey, everypony has their bad habits, and that's one of mine," he says with a smile as he lightly taps her on the nose with a hoof. "Besides, those cheesy lines seem to be working in my favor so far, so I don't see why I should stop."

Still smiling, he reaches out with his magic to pick up his sandwich, taking a bite as Rapid continued to lay across his legs.

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Rapid just smiles warmly. "Yeah, well, it's only because you're the only pony I know that can say something that cheesy and really mean it." She nuzzles against his chest lightly, sighing contentedly. "I love you Au-"

A loud rumbling, followed by the ground to her side bursting open cut off Rapid's words as a large diamond dog appeared from the mountain, a menacing, evilly gleeful look in his eyes. Rapid leaped to her hooves as three more dogs appeared, to on either side, and one behind Aurora, which grabbed Aurora in a headlock before placing her claw to his throat. "Your money or your life!"

The one in front of Rapid slowly crept forward, his face sly. "Let's start with that pretty little flower you have there, changeling."

Rapid glares at the diamond dog, letting him take just one more step forward before taking a quick step in and launching her hoof into his groin, her eyes glowing as he fell back clutching at his crotch. "Do you have any idea who you just jumped? I'm a Royal Guard, and let me tell you." She turned on the Diamond Dog holding Aurora, her eyes glowing brighter as a cold fury runs through her body. "Nobody touches the flower."

Rapid rushes forward, launching at the hostage taking dog when a loud CRACK pierces the air. She looks into the cave to see the rubble cleared, another two dogs there, both with guns, one of which had a muzzle trailing smoke. It took Rapid only a moment to realize what happened, and then it was too late. She feels the chitin in her chest shatter, pain leaping through her body...

Her kick fails and she flies past the dog, thumping against the floor and tumbling into a motionless heap a little ways into the cave.

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As the diamond dogs jump out of the ground and grab hold of him, Aurora silently curses the fact that his Sight can't see through solid objects. But as angry at himself as he was for getting surprised and captured, he didn't let that distract him from what he needed to do. The dogs were tough, but even so they would be no match for two trained soldiers as long as him and Rapid played their cards right. He waited patiently. As soon as Rapid attacked, he'd act as well, watching Rapid's back as she did what she did best.

But things don't always work out the way we plan.

As Rapid made her move, jumping forward in a powerful kick, a loud bang sounded from behind him and Rapid stumbled, jagged black cracks appearing in the patterns of magic on her chest. She fell to the ground, the power she had been channeling fading as the black lines on her carapace began slowly spreading.

For a moment, Aurora simply stood in shock, still held by the diamond dog. His mind just couldn't process what he had seen.....what he was still seeing…..all in perfect detail, his mind constantly aware of every bit of it. The dark depths of his mind, the parts where he kept the memories he had taken locked away, wanted him to destroy them, to break them and find comfort in their pain. But he resisted, just like Rapid would want him to.

After that moment though, his mind begins processing one thing: the sound of laughter. Cold, mocking laughter.

He had heard that sound before. He had felt the smug satisfaction, the thrill of destruction, the sense of power at ending the life of another. He had lived every vile, disgusting emotion the diamond dogs were feeling in that moment; in the moment they took the two most precious things in his life away from him.....

He hated those dogs. He hated the sound of their laughter. He hated the fact that they enjoyed what they had done. And he hated the fact that he was still just standing there doing nothing to stop them. This time, when the dark parts of his mind told him to hurt them, to break them, he didn't resist. He would never feel the comfort of her chitin sliding softly against his fur again. He would never get the chance to hold their son in his arms. But he could still make them regret what they had done. He could still find that last bit of comfort in making them suffer.

He quickly gathered magic into his horn while the dogs were distracted, and then released it into a small shield around his horn that quickly expanded to cover his body, throwing the diamond dog off of him and keeping all of them away from him while he worked. He began rearranging the latent magic in the area into the shapes and patterns he wanted. Thick lines of red and green began to extend out from the edge of his glowing blue shield.

The diamond dogs tried to break through, but he poured more and more magic into his defenses, thwarting their attacks. It didn’t matter how much of his energy he expended on this; he would live, and they would die in the most painful way he could imagine. After extending the two-toned whips of latent energy out to a good thirty feet, he fed his magic through them, making the magic burst into flames; flames of living, hungry magic.

The dogs looked on in shock as the six tentacles writhed in the air around the shield. One of them tried to sneak away, but his escape attempt was cut short as a whip of fire lashed out in the blink of an eye, wrapping around his leg and hauling him off the ground. The fire of the whip burned into the dog’s leg, his screams mixing with the smells of burnt fur and blood to bring the beginnings of a twisted smile to Aurora’s face.

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Rapid is motionless, her eyes unseeing, her breath almost stopped, barely a flicker of life in her form. But there is a flicker, and it is working at maximum speed, trying to keep itself from going out. It alights in the brain, kicking the world into slow motion as it diagnoses what it sees.

The world is dark, wet, and cramped, filled with immeasurable pain. The chitin on her chest is open, the skin beneath raw, weak, stinging in the air. But that is nothing compared to the torment slowly tearing its way through her muscles, cell by cell, ripping them apart molecule by molecule. Each instant of pain impacts her overloaded brain as it searches her body with her magic, seeking out the issue.

There, just beneath the chitin, traveling quickly through her body, a small chunk of lead. She watches it, wondering why it is there, why it hurts so much as, around her, feelings come in. Ruthless joy, immense sorrow, fear, and finally, hatred, but they come to her as if light from the sun, miles away. She remembers the bang, the gun... She can tell that this will kill her, if left alone, but it is not her she is worried about. She looks at its path, where it is headed... straight into her womb, where her most precious gift sat, snug, warm, unknowing of the danger approaching it. Suddenly, adrenaline pours into her every muscle.

This must be stopped.

Pain is ignored, the body focused on, but its connection forgotten as heat washes over it. Intense heat that could have been air for all the effect it had. Magic runs from each of Rapid's muscles, pooling around the bullet, forming a barrier. It shatters, and behind it forms another, and another, and another. Hundreds of tiny strips of magic, each taking a little energy from the slow-motion bullet, each shattering adding more pain, more bleeding... but not stopping the bullet.

She remembers her training, the wonderful stallion she's left outside herself and the words he told her. The image of magic. Moonlight shines upon the bullet, grazing past her stomach, centimeters from a whole new mortal wound... Vines reach out from every corner of her body, grasping, sliding.... one catches, then another, then a ball, all pulling on the tiny bit of metal. They put everything into it.... and the bullet stops.

But the pain does not. It does not belong, she is bleeding... and her heart is stopping, her lungs not working... it must be fixed. Rage surrounded her, love flowing through it, empowering her, boosting her magic... She'd use it. She had to survive. Aurora already missed her... she couldn't allow that to continue.

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AS the three remaining dogs stop, their heads turning to see what had happened to their screaming companion, Aurora lets the shield drop. He was never very good at offensive magic, so he would need all the power he could muster for this. They wouldn't get away. They wouldn't live through what he had planned for them.

The whip around the dog held in the air began to move, sliding along the leg it held, wrapping the dog more and more into its burning grasp. The creature's skin charred, licks of flame beginning to travel up its leg as more and more of it was consumed by Aurora's magic.

Of the three that remained, two tried to run as the first had. They made it about as far as he had too. Two more whips shot out, one grabbing a dog around the waist, the other wrapping around the second dog's shoulder and chest, pulling them off the ground to join their already screaming companion.

The last dog used the distraction provided by the other two to lunge at Aurora, digging his powerful claws into the unicorn's side, his jaws coming forward to clamp down on and snap the pony's neck. Unfortunately for the dog, all he met with his teeth was another one of the conjured fire whips. It wrapped itself around the dog's head and neck, one of the loops threading through the creature's open mouth like a gag, muffling his frantic screams.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack and another pain shot through his front left leg. With a growl, he flung the four remaining fire whips off to his side, into the darkness beyond his Sight as he felt with his magic for whatever had shot him; had shot his beloved Rapid Fire. He could hear them frantically trying to escape the fate of the others, but they had waited too long. One tendril, and then another touched onto flesh and fur, calling the other two towards them as the new captives were brought out to join the rest.

Aurora watched with a smile as the magic began to consume more and more of the monster's bodies. The pain in his side and leg meant nothing. He honestly couldn't even feel it. All he knew was that these dogs had taken something irreplaceable from him, had left a hole in his heart that he would never be able to heal. No mere physical wound, no matter how crippling, would ever be able to compare to the pain of what had just been taken from him.

He would make them pay, make them suffer, and he would enjoy every moment of it. He knew how. He had watched countless times as ponies committed unspeakable sins. And he knew what it felt like to enjoy it. He had been denied the chance at true happiness, so he would take the twisted joy of their pain instead. It was a cheap replacement, one that would never be able to block out the memories of what could have been, but it was all he had left.....

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Within Rapid's form, a small ball of magic forms around the bullet, slowly, carefully, pulling it out the same path it had come in. Behind it muscles are soothed, knitted back together, the blood dissolved and the residual magic joining in with what remained. As the bullet is slowly moved, a spark travels over Rapid's chest, circling the heart, shocking it and forcing it to keep beating. It is tired, it wishes to rest, and the magic refuses to let it. More love, more rage, more fear wash over her, and she takes the positive, channeling it into her as her reserves drain, stretching arteries to connect once more before little licks of green seal them good as new.

Her heart is going, but her lungs are not, still stalled in the shock. As the bullet passes, she releases a tiny bit of magic, which slides into her lungs, shocking them to life. She is forced to watch every heartbeat, every breath, and feel the sting of the moving bullet, along with the soothing of the wounds closing. But eventually she lets her grip go on her vital organs, wishing for the best...

They continue on their own. She coughs, gasping for air, clutching at the ground as her mind removes itself from the internal, focusing on the cave around her, a red light and great heat bathing it. She pushes herself up, still feeling the lead traveling out of her system, and turns to see the horror before her.

The six diamond dogs scream in agony, skin and fur ablaze, eyes wild, all clinging onto life because they were forced to, not because they wished to. And holding them, Aurora, a twisted grin on his face, blood down his side, on his leg.... and so much pain and sadness coming off of him. Rapid is speechless, never having seen him like this... she wouldn't have thought it possible. This must be Tartarus, not life... but her beating heart proves otherwise, as does the sting of air on her slowly closing chitin... But it does nothing to mask the stinging fear in her heart.

"Aurora! Stop!" She runs to his side, wrapping him in her arms in an embrace as close as she could possibly manage, pressing her heart to his side, even as his fur brushes painfully against her skin. She doesn't care, whimpering to him to stop. "I'm alive! I'm fine. Nobody has died here... please keep it this way."

Magic snakes off of her and onto him, beginning to close his wounds, the one on his leg, the ones on his sides... Beneath her, the bullet falls from her skin, plinking against the stone, her chitin closing up clean over it, like it never happened. His wounds close too, but her magic fades, her reserves gone. The claw marks remain, marring his perfect nightshade fur... She doesn't even realize her magic is gone, all of her energy going to stop the rage in Aurora's heart. "Please... You don't need to be a monster... I love you Aurora... so stay my Aurora..."

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Aurora sees another form run from the cave in his direction. He almost lashes out with one of the whips that isn't needed to keep the dogs pinned, but stops himself at the last second when it dawns on him that the creature running at him is on four legs, not two. The creature runs forward and pulls him into a hug, speaking to him in a voice that he had thought he would never hear again.

His mind stops. His magic stops. All he can see is the form at his side, all he can hear is the sound of her voice, all he can feel is the soft caress of her chitin against his fur. It was wonderful. He feels a wave of unbearable relief wash over him, and the urge to pull her into a tight embrace is almost more than he can bear.

He wants to hold her close, to let all of his fear and pain and hate wash away in the warmth of her touch. But he can't. As he reaches out to her, he hears the sound of the diamond dogs' anguished moaning, and he stops, unable to finish the movement and pull her tight against him.

He can still hear the laughter, his own laughter, as they burned. He couldn't see any line between where his own emotions ended and those of the monsters he helped to sentence began. He couldn't say that he was different anymore, that he was different from all those creatures he hunted. The cruel pleasure, the joy found in bringing pain to another: it wasn't just a memory any more. It was his memory.

He couldn't complete the movement, his hoof hesitating and left hovering awkwardly in the air. She was wonderful. Even now she was caring, and kind, and loving. Even after nearly dying she was standing here at his side, trying to get him to think clearly again. He always knew that he was weak, and here was the proof. When she had been dying, injured, and in need of help, he had been too lost in his own selfish thoughts to do anything for her, and yet she had immediately rushed to his side when she had come back from the brink.

He was no different than the dogs that had put her there in the first place.

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Rapid smiles, a relieved sigh running through her as the dogs are dropped. She feels the confusion, the residual hate, the love... and the fear. Aurora is scared, looking at her now, something holding him back... And Rapid knew what. However, here, with the burned dogs around them, this was not the time. Instead, she smiles again, moving his hoof to her face with hers and giving him a gentle kiss. "Aurora, I'll be okay. We'll be okay. I was very nearly dead, but you must remember: I am invincible. I will do everything in my power to protect you and make you happy, even if I'm protecting you from yourself."

She then looks at the horrifying sight of the burned dogs, their charred fur and flesh clinging to their agonized forms, filling the air with a foul, and yet, to her nose, strangely delicious scent... the very thought of it makes her nearly wretch, but she carries on, looking at the mercifully unconscious forms, then back to the still shaken unicorn standing before her. "Aurora, we're going to have to move fast, and you're going to have to be strong for just a little longer, okay? We need to get these six into the safety of the cave, then get back to the city as fast as possible, and I need your help." She reaches down, as carefully as she can, and picks up one of the dogs, carrying it in a little bit into the cave. Here they'd be sheltered from the elements a little, and, if she rushed back to town, maybe she could send paramedics in time.

They were criminals, they'd nearly killed her, but they were lives, and a life, no matter how shadowed from the light, was a precious thing. These six were no exception.

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Aurora feels her lean in and give him a quick kiss, but he can't bring himself to respond to it. He's not alone anymore. The darkness and the fear and the hate, they're not just scars left over from his battles anymore. They're him, and he is one of them.

He wants so desperately to fall into her arms and feel the relief of having her back, the joy of knowing that he would still get to spend time with her and see their foal grow. But he can't. He's no different from the ponies whose memories he had taken.

He had intentionally let those dogs suffer. He had hurt them, terrified them, tried to kill them, and he had enjoyed every moment of it. Every scream of agony had been the sweetest music in his ears, every terrified twitch as they tried to run was more entertaining than most eloquent story. And the thought of being able to end their lives was almost intoxicating.

When he moved to embrace her, to kiss her, he wasn't just moving his own body. He was the murderer, the rapist, the pedophile, the sadist, the monster; he was all of the ponies whose memories he had taken. He was all of the ponies who had let themselves fall into the darkness....like he had. He couldn't lay a hoof on her. As she helped the first diamond dog into the cave, he couldn't help but stare. Her every move and action only made her shine brighter. But where that brightness once brought him comfort, giving him the strength to stand at her side, now it only burned, proving more and more how weak and wretched he truly was.

He tried to help with his magic, but he couldn't even get his horn to light. He could still feel it faintly inside him, but it was out of reach, just like everything else he wanted back. Instead, he moved to one and started dragging him over to the cave with his forehooves.

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It took many minutes, much too long for her liking, but eventually the six dogs were in the cave, laying peacefully, if painfully, out of the elements. As soon as the last one is put in place, Rapid walks up to Aurora, feeling the growing fear, the hatred in himself... Something had happened, something much worse than going a little too far... She wishes she could look into his eyes, could see whatever was going on there, and that he could see hers, shining with a love that never left them, even with her concern edging it. Instead, she'd have to tell him how she felt.

"Aurora, we're going to get through this, alright? And we're going to do it together. You're in a dark place... probably one I can't even fathom, but you pulled me from mine and, if you'll let me, I'll do everything in my power to pull you from yours." She placed a hoof on his shoulder, kissing him once more, tenderly, with all the care she could muster behind it. "Your problems are not your own. They are ours, remember? And we'll get through them, I promise."

Before he can say anything, she lifts him onto her back, his weight not nearly so simple to move under without her magic. However, she can tell he is shaken, and, honestly, she is too. But this was not the place for it. They had to be strong for just a little longer. "I'm taking us back to the castle," Rapid says, doing her best not to let her worry creep into her voice. "Whatever you do, whatever you're thinking, if you want to share it, I am here for you. I will always be here for you." With that she moves as fast as she can back down the mountain to the path, ready for the long run to the city.