The Walls Came Tumbling Down

by Dianwei32

The Cost of Kindness (Alternate Ending Part One)

(Author's note: This is an alternate ending for The Walls Came Tumbling Down. Chronologically, this ending picks up at the tail end of Fluttershy's fight with Thunderlane in Chapter nine. As a result the first seven or so paragraphs will be identical to the end of chapter nine, but after that they will be very different. I should note that this alternate ending deserves a Tragedy tag, but you can't tag individual chapters. Without further ado, I present to you...)

The Walls Came Tumbling Down

Alternate Ending: Part One

The Cost of Kindness

One of these days, your kindness is going to cost you something that you’re not willing to pay.

Fluttershy’s concentration broke as Thunderlane fell to the dirt, unconscious. She unhooked her legs from around his neck and ran over to Rainbow. At the same time, Applejack and Applebloom rounded a bend in the road. Both of them froze as they surveyed the scene in front of them.

“Fluttershy! What the hay is goin’- What happened to Dash?” Applejack galloped over to the injured pegasus. She called back to her sister. “AB, ya get in the house right now and stay there until Ah come and get ya.” For once Applebloom obeyed her sister without question.

“Applejack, we don’t have a lot of time.” Fluttershy explained as she surveyed Dash’s injuries. “I need to get Dash to the hospital right now. I need you to grab some rope and tie him up.” Her voice filled with venom as she pointed to Thunderlane’s comatose form. “If you can, I need you to get him to the Ponyville Police Department. They can hold on to him until Dash is taken care of.”

“The police?” Applejack glanced doubtfully towards Thunderlane. “No offense ‘Shy, but Ah’m gonna need a bit more information before I start hogtyin’ random ponies and draggin’ ‘em to the police.”

“He tried to kill Rainbow Dash just now.” Fluttershy spat. She gently picked Dash up, trying her best not to aggravate any of her wounds. At some point, Rainbow had fallen unconscious.

“Did he now?” Applejack’s voice suddenly had a menacing tone. “Ya sure ya want me to take him to the police? Ah got some nice, isolated spots out in the forest where we could dump a body if’n we need to.”

Fluttershy toyed with the idea. After everything he’s done, he certainly deserves it. She thought to herself, but her mind was oddly quiet in response. Ultimately, she shook her head. “No, take him to the police, they’ll deal with him for now.” She took off and hovered a few feet above the ground. “I need to get to the hospital. Once you drop him off go tell everypony what happened.” Without waiting for a response, she accelerated towards the Ponyville Hospital, flying as fast as she could.

*

Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Twilight arrived at the hospital while Dash was in the Operating Room, undergoing treatment for her injuries. They joined Fluttershy in the waiting room. With nothing to do but wait, the adrenaline from earlier in the day finally bled away from Fluttershy. The reality of the situation crashed over her and she broke down crying while her friends tried to reassure her. After two excruciating hours, a unicorn doctor entered the waiting room, his badge read “Doctor Stable.”

“Miss Fluttershy, is it?” The doctor glanced over the assembled friends. “You’re the one that brought Miss Dash in, correct?” Fluttershy only nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Doctor Stable dropped his head slightly. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but... Miss Dash is still in critical condition. We’ve done everything we can for her, all we can do now is wait.”

Time stood still. The silence in the waiting room was deafening. Five pairs of eyes turned to study Fluttershy. Her heart stood still in her chest. Her mind refused to function. The doctors words echoed in her head. Still in critical condition. All we can do now is wait. Tears rose in her eyes as possible scenarios played out in her head, each worse than the last.

“No...” Fluttershy whispered. “She... she’ll be fine.” Her words sounded as if she were trying to convince herself. “Dash has been hurt worse than this and she’s always bounced back.” She tried to smile, but her lower lip quivered.

“Do ya think we could go back and see ‘er, doc?” Applejack removed her hat and held it against her chest. Every member of the assembled friends hung on the doctor’s next words.

“I don’t know...” Doctor Stable held up Dash’s chart and glanced over it. “She’s in bad shape, and I don’t even know if she’s awake. She was unconscious when she got here and we put her under anesthesia for the procedure.” He lowered the chart and looked at Applejack. “To be honest, I don’t know if she’ll wake up at all. She lost a lot of blood from her injuries.”

“W- where is she?” Fluttershy suddenly felt the inexplicable need to see Dash for herself. She could not trust the doctor’s words.

“I’m sorry.” Doctor Stable began. “I can’t allow-”

Fluttershy jumped out of the chair she had been in and grabbed the doctor by the collar of his coat. “I said where is she?” She screamed in his face.

“The post-operation recovery room.” Doctor Stable sputtered. He pointed a hoof down the hallway he had come from. “That way, second door on the left.” Fluttershy let go of him and sprinted down the hallway. The five ponies left in the room could only stare after her, dumbfounded.

Fluttershy bounded into the recovery room. It was empty except for a lone bed along the far wall. Rainbow Dash lay in the bed, hooked up to several magically powered machines. Her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, giving the illusion that she was only sleeping. Fluttershy cautiously made her way across the room. The extent of Dash’s injuries became apparent as she got closer.

Dash’s left hind leg was elevated and wrapped in a cast. All of the cyan hair on the right side of her chest had been shaved away so the surgeons could operate. A single recently closed incision stretched from just below Rainbow’s shoulder all the way down to her flank. Ribbons of white gauze wound their way around her chest to keep the laceration from being exposed to the open air. A tube hooked around her ears fed pure oxygen through her nose.

Fluttershy felt tears leave warm trails down her cheeks as she stood up and placed her forehooves on the bed next to Dash. She reached up and stroked a hoof along Rainbow’s muzzle. “This is all my fault.” She stated to the empty room. “If I hadn’t been scared... If I had been able to help you... this would never have happened.” She finally lost control of her emotions and sobbed into the sheets of the bed. The only sound in the room was a machine rhythmically beeping in time with Dash’s heart. After a moment, she heard several pairs of hooves quietly enter the room.

“Hey there, ‘Shy...” Applejack laid a hoof on Fluttershy’s back. She looked over Rainbow’s injuries and tried to suppress a shudder. “Ah don’t think ya need to be seein’ this right now. ‘Sides, visitin’ hours are almost over. Ah think we all need to get home and get some sleep.”

“No!” Fluttershy pushed Applejack’s hoof away. “I can’t leave her. Not now.” She turned and looked back at Dash’s still form. “What if she wakes up? I... I have to be here if she does.”

“Fluttershy...” Twilight began. “You heard the doctor. If she does wake up, it won’t be for some time.” She stopped as Applejack put a hoof on her shoulder, shaking her head.

“It’s no use, sugarcube.” Applejack kept her voice low so only Twilight could hear her. “She’s not gonna leave.” They both turned and slowly made their way out of the room.

“Come on, Dashie.” Fluttershy begged, tears streaming down her face. “You have to wake up... you just have to.” She laid her head on the bed and felt the moisture from her eyes slowly pool below her. She could not tell how long she lay there silently crying into the sheets, but eventually she felt movement as Dash’s prone form stirred.

“Dashie?” Fluttershy sat up and roughly dabbed at her damp eyes. For the first time since arriving at the hospital, she allowed herself to feel a shred of hope. Dash stirred again and reached a hoof up to grab at her side the surgeons had operated on.

“Wh- where am I?” Rainbow’s eyes slowly opened, only to close again under the harsh lights of the hospital room. She felt along the gauze covering the sewn-up incision on her side and jumped at a sudden pain. “Ouch... that doesn’t feel good.”

“Oh, Dashie! You’re awake!” Fluttershy went to hug Rainbow but stopped partway, afraid of hurting her. “Thank the Princesses! I was afraid... afraid you would...” Fresh tears threatened to overflow her eyes.

“Heh.” Dash tried to smile, but it turned into a pained grimace. “It’ll take a lot more than... what feels like two or three broken ribs...” She looked down at her cast-encased leg. “and a broken leg to stop me.” Her eyes slid halfway closed. A fresh blood stain pooled in the bandages on her chest.

“I’m so sorry, Dash.” Fluttershy apologized. “I- if I hadn’t been so scared, I could have helped you fight Thunderlane.”

“Don’t... don’t worry about it.” Dash’s breathing grew shallower. “The... important thing is... you’re safe.” Her eyes closed all the way and her head listed slowly to the side.

“Dash?” Fluttershy placed a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder and shook her, but she did not respond. “Dashie?” Fluttershy felt her chest tighten. The machine that tracked Dash’s heart rate began to slow. She let out one final breath and the machine’s beeping was replaced with a constant high-pitched tone. A white earth pony with a red cross cutie mark burst into the room.

“We need a crash cart in here!” Nurse Redheart called out into the hall. A second earth pony nurse with a pink mane and white cross cutie mark pushed a wheeled cart into the room. Doctor Stable rushed into the room and levitated two paddles from the cart while Nurse Redheart started chest compressions on Dash’s unmoving form. Fluttershy backed away from the bed and cowered in the corner while the medical staff attended to Rainbow.

“Give me one hundred!” Doctor Stable yelled. Nurse Sweetheart rotated a dial on the cart and a low whine filled the room. “Clear!” The doctor shouted. Nurse Redheart stopped her compressions and stepped away. The paddles floated down and laid on Dash’s chest.

Ka-thoom! A dull thud sounded from the pads and Dash’s chest jumped slightly.

“No good.” Doctor Stable shook his head and raised the paddles. “Two hundred, now!” Nurse Sweetheart turned the dial further and the whine filled the room again, higher than before. Once again, the doctor lowered the paddles again. “Clear!”

Ka-THOOM! The same dull thud burst from Dash’s chest as it jumped again.

“Again! Three hundred!” Doctor Stable shouted, raising the paddles. Nurse Sweetheart turned dial further yet again. The whine from the machine on the cart climbed ever higher. The doctor lowered the paddles yet again. “Clear!”

KA-THOOM! The thud rang out and Dash’s body jumped from the bed.

“It’s no use. She’s gone.” Doctor Stable levitated the paddles back onto the cart and turned to look at a clock on the wall. “I’m calling it. Time of death: Eleven twenty.” Nurse Redheart pulled the sheet on the bed over Dash’s head and reached over to turn off the machine that had tracked her heart rate.

Fluttershy had watched the whole ordeal from her position cowering in the corner of the room. She sat frozen against the cold, white wall of the hospital room unable to move. Her mind refused to acknowledge the scene in front of her as Doctor Stable officially pronounced Rainbow Dash dead.

“No...” She whimpered to herself. “No no no no no...” She rose unsteadily to her hooves and warily made her way across the room towards the bed. Nurse Sweetheart packed up the cart and pushed it back out into the hall, followed by Nurse Redheart. For the first time since, entering the room, the doctor noticed Fluttershy’s presence.

“Hold on now, who are you?” Doctor Stable turned to question her. “Oh, miss Fluttershy, how long have you been there?”

“I...” Fluttershy felt fresh tears trailing down her face as she reached the side of the bed. “I’m Rainbow Dash’s marefriend.” She paused to sniff and wipe her nose with a hoof. “I was here when she... when she...” Her voice trailed off as a single sob escaped from her throat.

“Oh...” Doctor Stable moved to place a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “I’m terribly sorry, miss.”

“How?” Fluttershy croaked. She pulled the sheet back down from over Dash’s head. “She... she was fine a minute ago. She was awake. Talking.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what to tell you.” Doctor Stable grabbed Dash’s chart from the end of the bed in a faint aura of magic. “It was likely a combination of things. When she was brought in, she had three broken ribs, a fractured femur, and a collapsed lung. There was also massive internal bleeding.” The doctor let out a sigh and replaced the chart at the end of the bed. “In all honesty, it’s a minor miracle she survived this long. The cause of death was most likely a combination of the collapsed lung and blood loss. Alone, neither would be enough to be fatal, but together they reduced her body’s ability to carry oxygen, eventually killing her.” He finally noticed the fresh blood stain along Dash’s side. “It looks like one of her internal lacerations reopened when she woke up.”

“What about blood transfusions?” Fluttershy suppressed all emotional thought, trying to examine the situation objectively. “If she lost so much blood, couldn’t you just give her more?”

“We did.” Doctor Stable motioned to an empty blood bag hanging nearby with a tube feeding into Dash’s left foreleg. “Unfortunately, her blood type is O Negative. It’s a relatively rare blood type compared to all the others. We exhausted almost our entire supply during the surgery. That was the last bag we had here at the hospital. We sent an emergency courier to the Canterlot hospital for more, but he hasn’t made it back yet.”

“I have to know...” Fluttershy stood back from the bed and locked her gaze on Doctor Stable. “Is there anything that could have been done to save her? Could I have done anything differently that would have kept her alive?”

“I’m sorry, but no.” Doctor Stable dropped his head to stare at the floor. “We... we have grief councilors available if you need to talk to somepony about this.”

“No.” Fluttershy turned back to the bed and reached out to stroke Dash’s face. “I... I just need some time alone right now.” She felt her emotions welling up in her chest, threatening to overwhelm her.

“I understand.” The doctor turned and headed out of the room. He called back over his shoulder. “If you need anything at all, just let one of the nurses know.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Fluttershy replied. She vaguely heard the door to the room close. “You can’t be gone.” She whispered. “You can’t be. You wouldn’t leave me.” She reached out and placed a hoof on Dash’s cheek. Already Rainbow’s body was growing cool to the touch. “Come back to me, please. Don’t leave me here alone.” Fluttershy laid her head on Dash’s chest, the sound of her heart beat painfully absent.

“Come back to me.” She begged. “I love you.”

*

Two days later

A knock sounded at the door of Fluttershy’s cottage. Angel Bunny hopped to the door and pulled it open. Twilight and Applejack stood on the other side of the threshold, with Pinkie Pie and Rarity behind them.

“Hi, Angel.” Twilight looked past the rabbit into the living room. “Where’s Fluttershy?” Angel pointed to the staircase leading to the bedroom. “Thanks. Come on girls.” The four ponies walked into the house. As she passed Angel, Pinkie Pie pulled a carrot seemingly from thin air and tossed it to him.

“I’ll go get her.” Twilight trotted over to the staircase. “You guys wait here.” She climbed the staircase and made her way into the bedroom. As she entered the room, Twilight saw Fluttershy lying unmoving on the bed. For a brief moment she was terrified that Fluttershy had tried to commit suicide again and had succeeded. However, a gentle rise and fall of her chest assured Twilight that Fluttershy was still among the living.

“Hey there, Fluttershy.” Twilight walked across the room to the edge of the bed opposite her friend. “Everypony is here to see you. We’re all worried about you. Do you want to come down and talk?”

“No.” Fluttershy shot back. “I don’t want to talk, I just want to be alone.”

“Fluttershy...” Twilight reached up and placed her hooves on the bed. “You can’t just lay here forever. We all miss Dash, but she wouldn’t want to see you like this.”

“Well, she’s not here to see me, is she?” Fluttershy’s voice broke, ruining her attempt to sound cruel. New tears rose in her bloodshot eyes as she buried her head in a pillow.

“Please, just come down and talk to us for five minutes.” Twilight levitated a brush with her magic and combed Fluttershy’s disheveled mane. “After that, if you still want us to leave, we will.”

“Fine.” Fluttershy relented. She hopped down from the bed and stretched the stiffness out of her legs and wings. She heaved a deep sigh and followed Twilight out of the room and down the stairs. As she entered the living room, she saw Applejack and Rarity seated on the couch, while Pinkie Pie had flopped down on a bean bag. The normally exuberant party pony was unusually somber. Her mane lacked some of its typical bounce and her eyes appeared bloodshot. Rarity had a hoof across Applejack’s back while she spoke softly in a reassuring tone. Damp tear tracks ran down the farm pony’s cheeks. All three looked up as Twilight and Fluttershy descended the staircase.

“There ya are, ‘Shy.” Applejack wiped a hoof across her eyes and hopped off the couch. “We were all worried sick ‘bout ya.” She trotted over and pulled Fluttershy into a hug. “We ain’t seen ya for two days.”

“I’m fine everypony, really.” Fluttershy reached up and returned the hug halfheartedly.

“No, you’re not, dear.” Rarity got up from the couch as well. “None of us are.” Her hair seemed slightly off from it’s usual coiffure, and mascara ran down from her eyes. “However, sitting alone and crying in your room is not the proper way to deal with... this.” Rarity moved to stand next to Fluttershy. “We all know that you’re taking this the hardest out of all of us, but we need you to know that we’re here for you.” She threw a leg around Fluttershy and nuzzled against her neck. “You don’t have to go through this alone.”

“Thank you, girls.” Fluttershy blushed slightly. “I appreciate it, I really do. I... I just need to be alone for now.” She closed her eyes as a single tear streak down her face.

“I’m sorry, but I do not believe that is the best option.” A new voice sounded from the doorway. “You need your friends now more than ever.” Everypony turned to face the door, only to be confronted with Princess Celestia standing just inside the threshold.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight gasped. She hastened into a quick bow and the rest of the assembled friends rapidly followed suit, except Fluttershy.

“Please, rise everypony.” The princess waved a hoof. “Now is not the time for such formalities.”

“And just where have you been?” Fluttershy spat. “Where were you when Dash was hurt? Where was the almighty Princess when she was dying?” A sudden irrational anger sprang up in her chest.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight stepped back, a look of appalled shock her face.

Fluttershy galloped across the room towards Celestia. As she reached the princess, she rose up on her hind legs and began beating her hooves against Celestia’s chest. “Where we you when she needed you?” Fluttershy cried as hot tears stung at her eyes. “You’re supposed to protect us. Where were you when Dash was dying?” Slowly her hoof strikes became slower and less forceful. Celestia simply stood still and bore the attack stoically. Eventually, Fluttershy grabbed onto the golden necklace Celestia wore as her legs gave out beneath her. She hung from the necklace sobbing uncontrollably, her sudden burst of anger dissipated as quickly as it arose.

“I... I’m sorry, princess.” Fluttershy choked out between sobs. She nestled into Celestia’s chest as she cried.

“It’s quite alright, dear.” Celestia wrapped a foreleg around Fluttershy to comfort her. “Losing a loved one is a heartache I hoped that none of you would have to face for quite some time.” She stared off into the distance, a faraway look in her eyes. “It is a pain I would not wish on my worst enemy.”

“No!” Fluttershy pushed herself away from Celestia. Her face contorted in a mixture of sorrow and anger. “Don’t you dare pretend you know what I’m going through! Don’t you dare think that you know what I’m feeling!” Once again, her emotions overpowered her and Fluttershy fell to the floor crying. A stunned silence filled the room, broken only by the occasional sob. Nopony dared to be the first to speak after Fluttershy’s outburst.

“I have lived for tens of thousands of years.” Princess Celestia lowered herself to the ground. “Do you truly believe that in all that time I have never come to love another?” The ethereal glow emanating from the princess dimmed and her shimmering mane fell to rest along her neck and back. “Unfortunately, I know all too well what you are feeling right now.”

Celestia let her eyes fall to the floor as she continued. “You feel as though life is no longer worth living now that Rainbow Dash is gone. You feel as though your heart is tearing itself apart. You feel that there is a hole in your very being that will forever go unfilled. Every breath you take reminds you that Rainbow was taken from us far too early. You both dread and long for the arrival of the night, for dreams allow you an all too brief reunion with her, but the morning brings fresh pain as it reminds you that Rainbow is no longer with us.” Tears rose in Celestia’s eyes as she finished, but she quickly banished them and reasserted her usual regal demeanor. Twilight, Applejack and Rarity could only stare in awed silence. They felt as though they were trespassing on an intimate moment between Fluttershy and Celestia. Nopony noticed as Pinkie Pie quietly made her way out the back door, fresh tears overflowing from her eyes.

“I’m so sorry for yelling at you.” Fluttershy choked out between sobs. She lowered her head to rest on her hooves as a fresh round of tears poured down her cheeks. “It just hurts so much.”

“I know.” Celestia’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I also know that my words will not help, but you need to know that it will get better with time.” She reached out a gold-shod hoof to lift Fluttershy’s head, locking her eyes with Fluttershy’s own bloodshot ones. “Time heals all wounds, my dear.”

A wave of uncertainty and worry passed over Fluttershy’s features. “Does that mean I’ll forget about Dash?” She asked warily.

“Of course not.” Celestia gave her best motherly smile. “You will always have your memories of her. Nothing will change that.”

“We’re here for you as well, darling.” Rarity finally broke the silence among the three other ponies in the room. She trotted over and laid down next to Fluttershy, laying a hoof across her back. “We will do our absolute best to help you in any way we can.”

“Yer darn right we will.” Applejack confirmed. She and Twilight trotted over and piled onto Rarity and Fluttershy, pulling them into a group hug.

“Thanks, girls. That means a lot.” Fluttershy gave a weak smile.

Celestia smiled warmly at the group of friends as they tried to gently extricate themselves from a tangled pile of limbs. Her smile faded as she set to her true purpose for visiting the cottage. “Fluttershy, there is one more thing I needed to speak to you about. I had not intended to discuss this in front of everypony, but I imagine you would simply tell them later regardless.” She crossed her forehooves and took up a regal posture. “It is in regards to Thunderlane.”

“Thunderlane.” Fluttershy spat the name as if it were poisonous. “What about that sorry sack of horseapples?” Twilight, Applejack and Rarity stared in horror at Fluttershy’s unusual use of foul language.

“It is in regards to his trial and punishment.” Celestia continued, nonplussed. “Typically, he would be given a trail before a judge, with a jury to determine his guilt or innocence.” She paused for a moment. “However, in... extreme circumstances I can step in directly and supercede the traditional court trial. In this case, I alone would decide his innocence or guilt and pass down a sentence in the event that I find him guilty.”

“I don’t understand...” Fluttershy tilted her head to the side. “Why tell me all of this? Isn’t it your decision?”

“Normally, yes.” Celestia nodded slightly. “However, since it was Rainbow Dash who was killed in the attack, I am offering you the choice. If you wish it, I will step in and take over Thunderlane’s trial myself. If not, he will be given a traditional court trial.”

“I... I get to choose?” Fluttershy’s eyes shot open. She chewed on her bottom lip as she considered the issue. “With all due respect princess, that doesn’t seem entirely fair. Letting me choose when Dash was my marefriend... what would everypony say about that?”

“The only ponies who would ever know that it was you who made the decision and not me are the six of us in this room.” Celestia passed her gaze over the four other ponies in the room, but did not point out Pinkie’s mysterious absence. “To everypony else, it would appear as though I decided to oversee the trial of my own accord, likely because the victim in the case was one of the Elements of Harmony.”

“Even so, it still doesn’t seem fair.” Fluttershy lowered her eyes to the floor. She pawed at the wooden planks nervously.

“As I am sure you have learned, life is rarely fair.” Celestia countered. “It is true that having me oversee his trial would assure a guilty verdict, but do you truly want to risk a court finding him not guilty after he murdered Rainbow Dash in cold blood?” Traces of anger filtered into her voice as the princess presented her argument.

“Buck no.” A flash of hatred passed over Fluttershy’s features as she thought about Thunderlane walking out of court a free pony. “In regards to his punishment... I suppose it would be too much to ask that he take a long walk off a short pier wearing cement horseshoes?”

“An oddly specific request.” Celestia seemed undisturbed by Fluttershy’s sudden penchant for violence. “However, the death penalty would not be unheard of as a punishment for murder. An alternative sentence would be life in prison without the chance for parole.”

“Life in prison...” Fluttershy mulled the idea over in her head. “Day after day, year after year of knowing that he’ll never taste free air again.” A wicked grin pulled at the corners of her lips. “I think I like that.”

“Very well.” Celestia rose from her position on the floor. Her ethereal glow and flowing mane returned to their normal forms. “Now, if you will excuse me, I must return to Canterlot. Twilight, I-” She stopped as she turned to see Twilight and Rarity arguing animatedly behind a bubble of purple magic through which no sound escaped. The princess reached out with a hoof and knocked on the bubble to get their attention.

Twilight dissolved the magical field with a flare of her horn. “Hehe... sorry about that.” She laughed weakly. “It’s just that when you two started talking about secretly circumventing the courts and deciding Thunderlane’s fate here and now, I thought it would be best if the three of us retained some plausible deniability.”

“Oh come now, Twilight.” Rarity countered. “Who is going to question the decision of the princess? You heard her, we would be the only ones who knew.”

“I believe Twilight is correct.” Celestia raised a hoof to cut off Twilight’s response. “There will almost certainly be some ponies who feel that my intervening in so personal a case is inappropriate. After all, the victim is one of the Elements of Harmony and a close friend of my personal protegé. The less you know, the better off you will be.”

“Um... Princess Celestia?” Fluttershy stood from her place on the floor and stretched her legs. “There is one more thing I wanted to ask you.” She paused to gather her courage. “I want to talk to Thunderlane before the trial.”

Four pairs of eyebrows shot upwards. “Are you sure about this?” Celestia asked. “I would imagine that seeing him would be very difficult for you.”

“I’m sure.” Fluttershy nodded determinedly. “I need to get some answers from him before...” She glanced over at her friends. “Before the trial.”

“Very well.” The princess turned towards the door. “He is being held in solitary confinement in the Canterlot Dungeon. I will inform the guards of your visit and they will arrange for you to see him.”

“Thank you, Princess.” Fluttershy dropped her gaze to the floor. “For everything.”

Comments

[Dianwei32]

Surprise! Yay for alternate endings!

[fabianguzman18]

1047607 yes yes yes finally some one finally told of celestia yes yes and its true she's supposed to protect all the ponies and yet where was she probably having incest with luna

[lillytheomegawolf]

Is this how you actualy wanted it to end in the first place?
You seem to have put a lot more effort into this verison...

[JetstreamGW]

1048906 ... There's something wrong with your brain.

[Wintercall]

2591926 It's luna. Who wouldn't want too? She's only a mare.

[RaylanKrios]

One of these days, your kindness is going to cost you something that you’re not willing to pay.

I don't know why exactly but that line is amazing

[There At The Close]

3997462 true true.
i loved/hated this ending.
for some reason im attracted to sad/tragety flutterdash fics, and i dont know why

[WolfLover]

Forget about Bic Mac i would love to kill Thunderlane myself and then bring him back for an even more painful death.