Chapter Forty-Eight - It Takes Time
Cotton slowly walked the perimeter of the castle’s rear gates, Luna keeping pace beside her. She looked out over what had been the battlefield, unmoving griffons everywhere. Off in the distance she saw a group of at least twenty ponies digging a mass grave.
“Aunt Luna… was all this really necessary?”
Luna lowered her head and sighed. “Unfortunately, t’was, dear Cotton. The griffons forced our hooves. Equestria does not instigate battle unless absolutely necessary, but we will not hesitate to defend ourselves in full force. ‘Tis full force or nothing; We believe no enemy shouldst be underestimated.”
Cotton looked out at the field again, silent. After a few moments, she nodded. “I guess I understand.”
As the two of them continued, they heard the sound of scraping armor. Up ahead, one of the griffons rose from in between three other bodies. After a groan, he reached up to his helmet, then removed it and let it drop to the ground. Cotton gasped, then galloped up to him as he collapsed again.
“Steadclaw! Oh sweet aunties, I can’t believe it! You’re… you’re…” She dropped down next to him, turning him over so his face wasn’t buried in the dirt. She looked down at his armored chest, unable to tell if he still drew breath. She tore off his breastplate as fast as she could and looked again; she could see his unmoving chest. She could also see something else.
A hole in his bleeding heart.
Her hooves and ears both dropped, as did a tear from her eye. “You’re not…” After a moment, realization dawned on her, and she looked up at Luna, who simply tilted her head at her. “Aunt Luna, why would you—”
“She didn’t.”
Cotton whipped around, and she found Moondog floating behind her, her forelegs crossed as she wore a sympathetic frown. “You mean…”
Shaking her head, Moondog replied, “No, that isn’t Mom. That’s just your own projection of her.”
Cotton let out a sigh, looking back at the body before her. Then she turned around again and scowled, pointing at Moondog before she started, “Then why would—”
“I didn’t do it, either,” Moondog responded, floating herself down to the ground and actually walking up beside Cotton. “I just got here. This is all you, ‘cuz. You really think I would do this to you? Neither Mom or I even knew; Mom still doesn't. Besides, don’t you remember what I told you last time at your not-so-little family reunion?”
Cotton’s scowl disappeared, replaced by a guilty frown. She nodded and replied, “Yeah. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t’ve—”
Moondog reached over and gave Cotton a tight hug. “Don’t worry about it.” She let go of Cotton and held her at hoof’s length. “Do you…” She glanced at the body over Cotton’s shoulder, then back at her. “…need to talk?”
“Oh. I…” Cotton started. “Well… It’s just…” She sank to her haunches and looked downward. Another tear dripped down her cheek before she continued, “I just didn’t know what to think. I didn’t know what happened. We were just so… right. And then he left. And everything changed.”
Moondog nodded silently, settling down on her own haunches and putting her starry hoof around Cotton’s shoulders.
“And then… and then there he was. On the battlefield. Fighting. He told me he didn’t want to fight. So why would he?” She looked up and searched Moondog’s eyes for answers, but found only unknown constellations. The starry alicorn just tilted her head, prompting Cotton to continue. “I don’t know what to think of him anymore. I’ve been hanging on to him since he left. Since he broke contact. And now he’s…” She looked down again and sniffled. Then she closed her eyes and shook her head. “I need to stop. There’s no point lingering on it anymore. I guess this…” She looked over her shoulder back at the griffon’s body, then turned back and let out a deep sigh. “I guess this is the closure I needed.”
Pulling Cotton into another hug, Moondog said, “I don’t know how this’ll sound, but it’s good to hear you say that.” When Cotton glanced up at her, she continued, “Like you said, you’ve held onto the idea of him for so long. It held you back from so much. It'll take some time, but now you can move on. Move on to other things. Better things. Do you know how many ponies I’ve watched that have dreams about ex-filly or coltfriends? Ex-wives or husbands?”
Cotton silently shook her head.
“Thousands. It’s rare that I see somebody marry a high school sweetheart and live a long, happy marriage. I may only be in my eighties, but I’ve seen enough to know.
"Look, you won't forget about him. You never will. But he doesn't have to be the only one you remember. There’s someone out there for you, Cotton. Trust me.”
Leaning her head on Moondog’s shoulder, Cotton nuzzled into her starry, silky smooth mane. “Mhm. Thanks.”
Moondog broke the hug, then took a hoof and lifted Cotton’s head until they were looking eye to eye. “Anytime, ‘cuz. Now here, I came to tell you something that’ll probably cheer you up.”
Wiping her tears away, Cotton sniffled once and asked, “What?”
Smiling, Moondog answered, “Mom sent me. Your dad’s awake.”
Cotton gasped. “Really? Oh, thank you!” She reached over and clutched Moondog again. “I need to go see him!” She scrunched her eyes as tight as she could. After a minute of alternating squeezing her eyes shut and forcefully bobbing her head up and down, she looked up at Moondog, who had jumped up and reclined in the air with a smirk, and asked her with pleading eyes, “Uh… can you wake me up? I’ve never had to force myself out of a dream before…”
Moondog chuckled. “We’ll work on that.” With a mischievous grin, Moondog dropped back to the ground, then spun and bucked Cotton into a pit. With a cry, Cotton fell into blackness.
Ж
Cotton gasped and shot up into a seated position as she awoke. She quickly glanced around her room, from her vanity, to her closet, to the darkened windows. She jumped off the bed and rushed to her door, flinging it open before she galloped down the hallway. “DADDY!”
Some of the hired help pressed themselves against the walls when they heard her, smiling as they watched her fly down the hall. She rushed up to Spike’s doors and swung them open, finding a massive bandage across his side, along with Dr. Cross and Luna standing beside him, and Ember looming over him. “Daddy?”
She heard her father groan, then saw his head lift. “Hm? Cott—”
“Hey, stay down,” Ember said, pushing on his forehead and forcing his head back down to the massive pillow on which he lay. “You’ll ruin the hard work your doctor did.”
Spike growled. “Yes, Mom.”
Luna chuckled, then turned to Cotton and smiled. “We see thou hast received Our message from Our daughter.”
Cotton nodded her head rapidly. “Uh-huh.” She ran up to Luna and gave her a hug. “Thanks for sending her.”
“Thou art quite welcome.”
Then she moved to Dr. Cross, giving him a hug as well. “Thank you, Doctor. Thank you thank you thank you.”
The doctor chuckled. “Of course, my dear.”
Cotton craned her head up to look at Ember. “Hey, Ember! When did you get here?”
Ember smirked. “Hey, kid. Not long ago. There were some nasty storms out over the ocean; it took me much longer to get here than it normally would. Looks like you all took care of those birdbrains before I could make it here. Glad you did, it would’ve gotten ugly.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Waving her claw, Ember said, “Don’t ask, it’s a long story.” She pointed the Bloodstone Scepter at Cotton and repeated, “I mean it. Don’t ask.”
Cotton flinched. “Woah, okay, I won’t.”
Ember smirked. “Smart girl.”
As Cotton looked back at Luna and cocked a brow, the princess answered her unasked question. “Last We heard, Our sister was in the recovery ward, speaking with our Mares and Stallions in Uniform. We have learned that Discord is there as well, receiving a ‘stern talking-to.’”
Cotton nodded, then rushed through Ember’s legs and flew toward Spike’s muzzle. He tilted his head sideways toward her and smiled as she glided up to him and clutched his snout. “Oh Daddy, thank goodness you’re okay. How do you feel?”
Spike snorted as one of her stray feathers almost got sucked into his nostril. Then he let out a deep sigh. “I’m happy to see you, too, sweetie. It hurts, but I’ll be alright. I just need to rest for a while so I can heal. That’ll take some time.” Then he lifted his eyebrows. “I heard you and Discord made a great pair of medics.”
Letting go of his snout and hovering down to the floor, Cotton giggled. “Mhm.”
“Well then, maybe we shouldn’t completely bar him from matters of warfare.” He smirked. “As long as he’s partnered with you.”
Cotton shrugged. “I guess.” After a brief moment of silence, Cotton’s eyebrows tilted up as she smiled and kissed the top of his snout. Closing her eyes, she leaned her cheek against him. “Thank you for coming back, Daddy. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
Spike let out a deep breath through his nostrils, smiling and closing his own eyes as he felt his daughter’s warmth against his snout. “Don’t you worry, sweetie. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here as long as you need me.”
Still smiling, Cotton sniffled once. “Thank you, Daddy.”
Letting out a little snort, Spike then said, “Cotton, while we’re talking about one needing the other, I need you to help me with something.”
Cotton leaned back from him and asked, “You need me to help take care of you? Of course I will!”
“Well, that too, but—” He smirked. “—what I really need is some of those topaz and amethyst butter cookies you make. When do you think I could get a batch?” he asked, looking injured. This wasn’t a difficult feat.
Cotton giggled again and reached for his snout, giving him another hug. “Right now!” She turned and flew back through Ember’s legs, then past Luna and Dr. Cross and straight out of Spike’s room. She let out a sigh as she frowned, but then she shook her head and donned a smile.
Luna and Dr. Cross both laughed as they approached Spike. “Thou art incorrigible, Sir Spike.”
Spike chuckled as well. “What? I’m an injured soldier, too, y’know!”
Ember smirked from behind them as she crossed her arms. “You better plan on sharing those. They sound amazing.”
“Then you can talk to her. I want my own batch,” Spike responded, smirking back at her before sticking his tongue out.
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I hope Discord doesn't get it too bad. Or at least an acknowledgement for caring about his friends kinda thing. I think even if it was cataclysmic, I feel it really shows how much he's changed since being Mr. Aloof SadisticPants.
Also woof, started out strong, but I'll be hoping Cotton pulls through alright. And Spike. Poor dragon needs himself some goshdarn cookies, pronto!
So, that settles it. Steadclaw is dead. Can't say I'm a fan of the way it was treated, again. I must again admit this seemed to only serve as shock value, and to show anyone can die in war. He was built up so much, and then he just was tossed to the side in a borderline insulting way. Yeah, sorry Level, but not really a massive fan of this arc.
still like some real closure with steadclaw.
9662217
Yeah, I''m beginning to lose interest as well, thanks to how badly handled this entire affair was.
Also not a fan of closure being done through a dream. Overall, it just feels like the character was written off without much fanfare. No reasoning given, not even a hollow offered explanation as to why. The letters stopped so abruptly that it leaves the feeling that something else was going on and now it seems that the entire everything is going to be swept into a shallow grave. Eh, the story's not done yet so maybe there's more to come with it... but it's a surprisingly cold tonal shift for the story.
Poor Steadclaw. It's been months since the breakup and even more since the parting, so it's not entirely a surprise that he could be dropped so suddenly.
But it still feels cold. She hasn't asked about him, she hasn't done anything, Discord was RIGHT THERE and she didn't beg a favor, and Discord didn't even bother to save his life much less actually prevent harm/rescue him.
Interesting chapter... but yeah the Steadclaw thing still feels a bit hollow and unsatisfying.
But I'll keep reading, it's a good story over-all ;3
Y'know, some proper closure regarding Steadclaw would at least be nice. A random sighting of someone who LOOKS like him being stabbed and killed is unreliable at best, it just absolutely REEKS of 'hey they're not actually dead, it was a fakeout HUEH~!' which is not something you really want, whether it is a fakeout or not, it spoils the intended mood pretty severely.
I can tell you from miles away that that wasn't actually Steadclaw, and if it was, that's just a shallow, improper way of handling things and overall detracts from the quality of the story.
... I've been waiting since his letters stopped for a nice Cotton and Steadclaw reunion to heal what I thought was the one mood drop from this story I otherwise loved. If this is how it's seriously being handled, I hate it. If this is some bait and switch thing, I'm still not a fan but it at least gives me hope. It's just been a very frustrating wait and I sincerely hope this is not how it's being handled. This is the closure she needed? Zero questions answered? No. Hell no. She should not feel closure from this and I sure as hell don't.
9662911
I agree on some of this. There is no closure here, no answers, unless we are talking about implied answers from previous chapters.
I hate to dogpile, but putting aside the very not-Equestrian war stuff, the thing with Steadclaw is kind of a dealbreaker for me. From the beginning, it was almost a given that nothing was going to stick on the Equestrian side, and the Griffon side was only interesting because of Steadclaw. As it stands, this is currently the most boring, unsatisfying conclusion I can conceive for this arc. Even if it somehow ends up being some kind of fake out, I think that'd only make it worse.
9662911
Yeah. I ranted about that when it happened. You don't build up a character. Especially one, that the fans love and get emotionally attached to; Just all the sudden drop him from the story; string the reader's along by showing the impact it has on MC; Get our anticipations up on seeing what happened; then pull that.
And be like "Welp! There's closure there!" And MoonDog's and Cotton being like "Yay! Closure!" Hell no! Anyone who has lost loved ones; or has seen someone they die, do so before their eyes. They aren't going to get over it that fast. Fuck! They're messes for a long time afterwards.
And how it was handled just ... it seriously pisses me off. There's no closure, there's no answers, there's no nothing. Except. "Here's someone, all of you were interested in, and loved. And now he's killed off Game of Throne's Style. Who doesn't love GoT?" *Points to me*.
Honestly hoping for a bait and switch. Will still be a bit livid. But honestly, nowhere near as much as randomly killing off a fan favorite after getting our hopes and anticipations up.
Thank you, for this chapter! Good luck to Discord.
Let's make it 1300 likes! I made it a round number!
9662224 Yeah, it's obvious the author didn't know what they wanted to do with the character, so they decided to use him to go, 'Oh, I just killed off a fan favourite character out of hand after building up a whole arc around him to show how cruel and pointless war is, how edgy and cool I am!' After all, if it's good enough for George RR Martin and JK Rowling, it's good enough for them.
A shame, because the rest of this story, like the Tantibus ones has been pretty good. I disagree with the big jump back when we went from first day of school to leaving, but otherwise it's a well written story.
9682485
I don’t know. I’d like to think that it’s not impossible for it to all be over yet. I’m fairly sure the author had at least this much planned out for quite a while, but I don’t think we’ve heard the last of it. There really... isn’t closure. Not without understanding what really happened and why. This seems out of his character, so I can’t really call it closure without seeing how he got to the point where he joined the war
9712541
Most def.