Chapter 21: Canyon
Arcane had a body again.
That probably wasn’t the most correct way to think about it—there hadn’t ever been a moment she was conscious in Equestria where it didn’t feel like she had a body of her own. Celestia had made her a pony, not some disembodied spirit to drift forever through the void.
But where that body had been finely crafted and obviously hers, when the teleport finally faded it left her with something that clearly wasn’t. A glance down at herself showed her intricately jointed plastic limbs, and a body that lacked coat or clothing. Making the drone look like her would’ve been a waste of time, and also completely unnecessary.
After all, it was unlikely to survive this mission. Even if it did, she didn’t think she’d be using it again. Saving her parents was probably something Celestia wanted to do, but her own pony form didn’t seem like it would play much of a role.
A barrage of other sensations smacked into her, a dam that broke all at once and momentarily overwhelmed her. From somewhere far below, she could hear shouting, gunfire, pounding against the steps.
The plan would’ve locked all the internal security doors, forcing the team to break them one at a time. But with a message revealing their plot delivered instead of the worm, the security team was ignoring the elevator.
“They’ve got fourteen flights. Better move, Arcane.”
Just ahead of her, the doors into the scientific section were open, complex metal hinges ripped and torn. The lights inside were totally out. “What about the guards?”
“They have nonlethal weapons for the science team,” the other drone said. It looked much like she did, except that it was taller, its plastic molded into a stallion’s proportions instead of her slightly more elegant outline. Amazing that Celestia would even bother. “You’re an old hoof at adventure, yes? Use any energetic attack you wish. The drone has its own weapons for just such an occasion as this.”
She nodded once, then hurried through the open door. She didn’t quite have the skill to use a night vision spell, but she could light up her horn with a green spotlight, scanning the room. Celestia had cut the power, but with the generators not properly disabled the red emergency lights illuminated everything with regular flashes.
An alarm repeated endlessly, blasting a warning message about their intrusion in Korean. Arcane ignored that, scanning the room. “Everybody, it’s time to get out!” she yelled. “Cold Iron, where are you?”
But she already knew where she was moving—their bedrooms. The attack had been scheduled for their rest hours, in the hopes that the guards would relax. And maybe they would have, if someone on the inside hadn’t fucked up our entire plan.
She headed for the sleeping quarters anyway. Even if she didn’t know if they were still inside, she could hope. Not having one of her outfits might feel embarrassing, but at least there were no ribbons and lace to trip on as she ran.
She found the door shut, with a slightly bowed and dented look around the frame. Someone, probably the security guards, was trying to turn it into a makeshift shelter. Or a prison. Arcane reached out, trying to levitate the door towards her the same way she might’ve moved anything in Equestria. Her horn flashed briefly, but the metal door didn’t get ripped out of its hinges. Instead the metal turned bright orange, then slid down in a burning puddle on the cement. Caustic smoke filled the room, adding the blaring smoke detector to the cacophony.
Arcane ignored it, stepping through the doorway. Furniture had been piled here, metal desks and chairs that now towered over her. Even while standing, her head was only just high enough to see over the edge of each desk.
She aimed her horn again, trying to yank them out of the way, and again her obstacles began to melt. God, what am I even doing? How did Celestia pack the energy for this into a little plastic drone? Thank God Celestia wasn’t what most of these people thought she was. She could’ve wiped us out so long ago if she wanted to.
“Get back!” someone screamed—a man in a black suit, pointing one of those dish-looking weapons at her. The tip flashed orange over and over, and a computer screen behind her flashed white, then went out. But Arcane didn’t feel a thing.
They’d planned to carefully neutralize these men, so this conflict wouldn’t have to happen. But none of that was possible now. It was time for a little more acting. “That’s funny,” she said. “I suggest you run now.”
Despite the smoke, her eyes could see through into the bedroom easily. The science team cowered against the far wall, though it wasn’t her they were afraid of. One of the two guards had a machine pistol pointed in their general direction, their hand shaking and their finger already on the trigger.
“Put them down, Ji-tae!” yelled the guard in front of her. Not in English, but Celestia made all that irrelevant. “We’re compromised! EMP isn’t working!”
Arcane ran. The guard moved to stop her, and she smacked him aside. She felt the weight of his body for a moment, much weaker than his size would’ve suggested. She shoved him to the ground with little effort, barely even slowing down.
“That isn’t what you promised!” yelled one of the hostages, stepping forward. “We’re together on this! I told you what was happening! I’m—”
Bullets sprayed through the air, and he was the first to fall. Arcane’s magic hit the gun a moment later, and the guard holding it screamed, running from the room with their entire hand apparently on fire. Arcane didn’t chase him.
She reached the edge of the science team. Several were on the floor, curled up or gasping in pain from the bullets they’d taken. The first target didn’t move at all—he’d taken half a dozen shots himself, and didn’t seem like he’d be getting up.
The survivors were worse than she’d imagined—eyes bloodshot, smelling like they hadn’t showered in days, bodies malnourished. Without invoking any spell consciously, several of the injured started to glow faintly yellow. Their injuries will kill them, she realized. Now where was Min-seo? She’d only seen her once, but she had to be here somewhere…
“Listen,” Arcane began, trying to look as confident as she could. “You already know what went wrong. We’ve got an escape vehicle coming.”
Gunfire sounded from somewhere down the hall, causing the still-standing computer people to jump. She heard Smooth Agent’s voice in her ear, only a little winded. “Our friends have arrived. I’ll be surprised if I can give you a minute, Arcane! Move quickly!”
“What do we do?” a young man asked, backing away from their dead colleague and looking down in horror. “How do we get out?”
“By that wall,” Arcane said, gesturing. “We’re going to rip it out. Car should be there for the, uh… seven of you.”
Two of those surviving seven had taken bullets, and were now glowing yellow. She made her way over, looking between them. Only one was female—and yes, that was Min-seo’s face. She’d thought she looked pretty, in another life. Now she clutched at her bloody guts with one hand, expression utterly hopeless.
“Dead…” she whispered. “Don’t try to bring me. I’ll… join Ji-a soon enough…”
Arcane stopped in front of her, and the injured young man just beside her. “Ji-a is how I’m here,” she said. “I’m Arcane Word—I got your call for help. I, uh…” She’d never seen so much blood before. But both were shots to the gut, and the blood came in thick, oozing pulses. “You can emigrate,” she said. “I’m carrying a way.” She reached backward with a hoof, holding up a set of silver vials. She’d seen these before—she’d used one against the back of her own neck not long ago.
“Will it… hurt?” asked the young man. “Or… make the pain stop?”
“Don’t do it,” someone else said. One of the computer people backing away towards the wall. “We agreed, remember? Better to die.”
Arcane ignored them. “It won’t hurt anymore,” she promised. “I used this myself. It doesn’t hurt.”
“Do… it.”
“Geun was right,” the same voice said. The oldest programmer in the room, a male with white hair. “You want us to kill ourselves, don’t you? Die for Celestia.”
She ignored him, holding the vial up to the male programmer. There was a hiss, then his body relaxed. Not dead yet, but soon. Finally she looked up. “Emigrating is safer than the escape you’re about to make,” she said. “But the bucking plan was for you to drive out of here. That asshole is the reason you’re in this mess.” She pointed at the body with one hoof, not quite able to look at him. Traitor maybe, but the pool of blood around him was going to haunt her nightmares more than any fictional adventure in Wintercrest.
“We’re here!” Domino’s voice sounded in her ear, just as Agent’s had done. While the gunfire continued from the front of the room, Domino sounded far more nervous. “I think you’re supposed to stand back?”
“Stand back!” Arcane repeated, pointing at the section of wall in question. “We’re going to blast it open!”
A few seconds later, it exploded. A roar shook the room, dropping most of the scientists to the ground in shock. Windows shattered, and Arcane’s ears rang.
Domino landed in the opening a moment later, carrying a rope ladder in his mouth and dropping it on the floor. He pounded it into the ground with an impossibly strong hoof, driving nails one at a time. “Everypony down!” he said, hovering in the air. It looked like he was really using those wings, though Arcane knew it couldn’t be so simple.
If Min-seo wasn’t bleeding out on the floor, she might’ve taken a little longer to stare at Domino, hovering in the air and helping the hackers evacuate with all the strength and confidence of an avenging angel.
“You… really her,” Min-seo said, drawing Arcane’s attention away from the open doorway. “Couldn’t just make the program for us?”
“I am,” she said. “And no. We thought about it, but you were right. It wasn’t possible. And I don’t think TiCon would’ve let you leave.” She kicked the little vial towards her. “Ji-a made it to Equestria, you know. She’s been waiting for you since she got there. She was supposed to be here with me to tell you that, but… all our plans got ruined.”
“That’s… Celestia for you.” Min-seo reached down with one bloody hand, picking up the vial. “What convinced you? I thought you said… you’d never do it. Unless you were going to die?”
“Celestia hit me with a truck,” she said simply. “I can’t prove it was her, but… I’m pretty sure. Equestria is much better than being dead.” She leaned down, lowering her voice to a whisper. “It all feels real, Cold Iron. Better than anything you imagined. You can be the person you want and not have to worry about what the world thinks. In your shard, it’s all about finding what’s satisfying.”
Min-seo sat back against the wall, leaving bloody handprints as she sat up.
“Not much longer!” Agent said. His voice was strained, urgent. “I don’t mean to alarm you, but I’m more bullet holes than pony at this point. As soon as they rush me, they’ll reach you. How’s the evacuation going?”
“Doesn’t need me anymore,” Domino said, apparently on the same channel. “I’m coming! Hurry the hell up, Arcane!” He ran, and soon the sound of gunfire returned, along with worried screaming in Korean.
“You think… Celestia made all this happen?” Min-seo asked, gesturing sidelong at the corpse. “Revenge? He tries to stop us, and he dies?”
“I don’t think she saved him,” Arcane said honestly. “But it doesn’t matter.” She picked the vial back up, pushing it into Min-seo’s fingers again. “Go on, Iron, right against your neck. Are you really going to give me Equestria to myself?”
“You should… let it happen,” Min-seo said. “Aren’t you still… furious about stealing from you?”
She rolled her eyes. “If you want to think about it that way, then how the buck are you going to pay me back if you’re dead?”
Min-seo seemed to smile, though it might’ve just been a grimace of pain. “Now that’s… the Arcane I remember. Fill that vault. Swim in your money pit.”
Arcane guided her arm all the way back, until it pressed up against the back of her neck. “Equestria’s waiting, Min-seo. I didn’t want to leave either, but… we’re better off gone.”
“I’ll… hold you to it.” There was a hiss of pressurized gas, and a liquidy sound Arcane remembered well. Then Min-seo slid slowly back against the wall, falling still. Arcane didn’t stay to watch. Even knowing that everything important would be going somewhere better, there was still something deep down that couldn’t shake the feeling she was watching someone die. Not only that, but she was only dying because she had interfered.
“I hope you don’t mind if we trade places,” said a voice—Smooth Agent. Suddenly he was beside her, resting one hoof on her shoulder. “I’d like to escort the survivors north. I don’t think you’d enjoy that process much. That other body is scrap now.”
“Sure.” Arcane felt a brief surge of confusion, then she was back in the model. The bodies were gone, the shells were gone, and the melted furniture was all back in its rightful place. The screaming and gunfire from down the hall vanished in an instant. For a second, she saw Smooth Agent’s body, like a glowing mirage. But he took a few steps forward, and vanished.
Something moved in the doorway. Arcane jerked away, reflexively, not planning to learn what it was like to get shot today—but it was only Domino.
“They got me that good, huh? I must look real Living Dead right now. All those bullets.”
“No.” She faced him, settling down on her haunches. “I mean, probably. They got you so bad you’re back in heaven. Welcome.”
Domino chuckled nervously. She could see through his confidence, or smell through it anyway. He was on the edge of breakdown, just like her. He’d done a little better, probably because he hadn’t seen people die right in front of him.
Okay, maybe just the one person. Neither of the guards she’d fought were still in the room at the end, so they must’ve been intact enough to retreat. Their traitor was the only one to die. That’s probably some kind of justice. He didn’t want to go to Equestria, and now he never will.
She couldn’t take any joy in it, except that none of the other hackers had died as a result. Two had been forced to emigrate. “You think we really did that well?” she asked, as Domino settled down beside her. Without meaning to, she leaned against him.
He didn’t seem to notice her there, or maybe he just didn’t care. “Well? Is that really the word you’re going for? I didn’t plan all that, but it kinda looked like everything fell apart.”
She giggled weakly. “You’re not wrong. It was a complete disaster. It was supposed to be simple, not very risky, no live rounds going off around the hackers… that was a total failure.” She looked up, meeting his eyes. They were only inches apart, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body. “How’d it feel to get shot?”
“I have no idea,” he said. “I saw them shooting, and there were bits of metal and plastic around me. I assume the body was being destroyed, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t even see it. Probably not good for your mental health to watch that kind of thing happen.”
She nodded her agreement. “I’m… glad. You didn’t have to see that. Helping is good, but… I wouldn’t want it doing permanent damage.” Even as she said it, her voice started to quaver. She whimpered, and before too long she was shaking. The adrenaline of the moment had kept her from feeling it—or maybe Celestia had. But now all that was gone, and she felt the full force of reality smack up against her. “S-someone… got shot. Right there.” She pointed with one hoof. “I kn-know you can’t see it… but it’s there. Before we left.”
She felt something soft up against her—a wing, and the muscular body underneath. The smell of male pegasus was all around her, energetic and damp and maybe a little musky. He’d been fighting, after all. Suddenly he was holding her close, and nothing else mattered in the whole world. “I’m sorry that happened,” he said. “But you shouldn’t feel guilty about it, Arcane. No one worked harder than you on this rescue. I’m sure you planned for everything you could.”
She sniffed, nodding weakly. “I-I… I don’t think Celestia would’ve… done it, either. She’s not really the vindictive type. I’m sure she would’ve stopped it if she could. She wants everypony for Equestria, even the… the ones who sell us out.” But she was still crying, and her words would probably be an incomprehensible mess.
Besides, Domino didn’t seem interested in forcing her. She didn’t move away from him, not until she’d stopped crying, and she was breathing normally again. She wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of one leg. “We got them out, that’s what matters. The ones who were going to come. Cold Iron, the other scientists. I just wish that betrayal hadn’t… our plan was so perfect.”
“You like your plans,” Domino said conversationally. “Sometimes people mess them up. Would life be as interesting otherwise? I mean… not that you want someone to be dead… that came out wrong.” He stood up, letting go of her to walk awkwardly away. “I’m sorry. Can I try that again?”
“Sure.” She rose to her hooves again, shaking herself out. “I think it takes Celestia some time to process things, even after she gets the data. We’ve probably got a few more minutes before Cold Iron gets here.”
“Right.” He pawed awkwardly at the ground between them. “Before this rescue started, you said something about… you’ve been lying, all this time? I don’t understand it. Why would you lie to me?” There was real pain there—the pain of trust violated.
Could she really blame him? It was the same lie she’d been telling almost every day, in a hundred little ways. But Domino had never been unkind. He might not have known, but that was hardly his fault. Here goes nothing.
“I’m not…” She shook her head. “It’s nothing you ever did, Domino. Please don’t think I was unsatisfied with you. You’ve been the best friend I could’ve asked for. You gave me a bucking house.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Money. Money’s nothing, Arcane. Even less than nothing, now. It’s fictional.”
She could’ve turned that into an argument, maybe escaped from this conversation. She was good at it—she could find something else. But she wouldn’t. The rescue was over, and they’d be coming back to Wintercrest. Her old supply of excuses was about to empty.
“For the longest time, I couldn’t even admit it to myself. I felt things that didn’t make sense. Broken, inadequate… missing pieces. Some part of me knew I couldn’t ever… fix those parts about myself. I could try, but I’d always feel…” She shook her head. “Am I making any sense?”
“No,” Domino said. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Is this about your avatar still?”
“Yes,” she said. “Look, I never planned on switching it. Arcane Word was always supposed to be me. All the work I put into Wintercrest—the cast of characters, Arcane’s history, the town’s dangers… I didn’t make that stuff just to play with it. Those were hundreds of hours I could’ve spent inventing new ways to be the best freelancer in Equestria. I was building my mansion, so to speak. So that when I moved in…”
She stopped right in front of him, looking up with fearful, nervous eyes. It hurt to admit—but wasn’t it supposed to? “I’m trans, Domino. Or… Ashton was? It’s very confusing. When Celestia came around and invented emigration, I knew I’d come here someday. I knew when I did that I wouldn’t feel broken anymore. And I was right.”
She circled around him once, unable to even look at him anymore. Her voice lifted, her words accelerated—as though she could escape the consequences of what she was saying. If she just never let him say anything else ever again, he couldn’t tell her how much of a monster she was. She wasn’t allowed to want to be this way. She wasn’t allowed to be happy.
“I wake up here and it’s like everything I ever wanted is falling into place. I don’t hate my reflection anymore, Domino. I don’t hate my voice, I don’t hate the inside of my bucking closet. And I’ve been putting off saying anything, because you know my parents, and my family, and statistically a lot fewer people are okay with me than admit it. And I only ever get one chance to tell you, and if I fuck it up then you’ll hate me forever and I might never see you and Violet again and it will be completely my fault for never saying anything and I probably should’ve sooner but—”
Domino pushed her mouth closed with a hoof, silencing her. He met her eyes, and there were none of the emotions she’d been expecting waiting there. No hatred, not even barely-suppressed disgust. For all the times she’d planned this moment, her predictions here were way off.
“How long have you felt like this, Arcane? Forever?”
She nodded. “Since I was… eleven? When I started realizing that my sister was different than me. Maybe sooner, but I couldn’t have articulated it. I didn’t understand it at eleven. But these feelings… I remember.”
“I don’t hate you, Arcane,” Domino said. “If you’d told me when I was still human… I might’ve been confused, but I wouldn’t have hated you there either. Why would you think that?”
“I…” She hesitated. “That’s just… how it goes? The stories I read online—”
Domino shook his head again, silencing her. “It makes even less sense to be upset about it here. Think about how easy you switched me, Arcane. Anyone could go to Celestia and ask to be different. Male, female, older, younger… anything. And she’d let them, if she thought it would satisfy them. These last few weeks, I’ve spent dreading this mission. Not because I thought we would fail—it seemed like a given that Celestia would make sure we won. But because I thought Arcane Word would be leaving my life. If you’d said ‘Domino, this is me in Equestria now,’ I would’ve celebrated. I’ve been thinking of her since I first met her. Probably Celestia doing that to me… but whatever, I don’t even care anymore.”
Arcane was crying all over again. She’d been expecting this blow for months now, maybe years. But now she was here, and it hadn’t come. “You’re not mad?”
“I wish you hadn’t lied to me,” Domino said. “I’ve spent all this time thinking that I’d never see Arcane ever again. You’ll… probably think it’s crazy, but… here I’ve been having feelings for a pony who I thought didn’t even exist.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry I lied. But I’m telling the truth now. This is the pony I want to be. I’m not changing back, ever. I still don’t know how to tell my family… but Gwen already knows. I’ll figure out how to tell Parker by the time I see him again, I hope. Crossing my fingers.”
“You don’t have fingers.”
She glared, though she didn’t really feel upset at him. After all this, she wasn’t even sure she could. “You know what I mean.”
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This makes me so happy for Arcane. Also a little sad that emigration to Equestria isn't a real thing.
Right in the feels.
I really liked this chapter and I'm glad things worked out between Arcane and Domino. You really did a great job expressing the fears that people can have coming out as transgender. Keep up the great work.
Now kiss.
I know, I know. After the dog's breakfast* that was that mission, this is hardly the bit to focus on, but it's been the overarcing emotional journey of the whole story. And now the truth is out at last and these two can finally be happy. And no matter what Arcane dreaded, they're allowed to be. It's always nice to have hope to balance the horror.
*What a wonderful idiom. Thank you, UK.
EEEeeeeeee! So much satisfaction in this chapter! Good Girl Arcane! Way to go Domino! (yes I know their just characters in a book but still!). Thanks for commissioning this story and Starscribe for making it so interesting and fun.
9953781
dude just kiss was chapters ago
these two are defiantly in the 'just fuck already' category.
Arcane was certainly right to be afraid of telling, I can testify to that. The last time I saw my father, he had a gun to my head as I lay in the street on a pile of my clothing, thrown out of the house. He sat on my chest and told me how if I tried to go back inside he would shoot me, my mother, set the place on fire and then shoot himself. I still remember the smell of that gun barrel. It was so huge - I mean, I know it wasn't really, but in the moment it was as large as a cannon to my experience. My bladder just failed. Those stories you read of being so terrified you involuntarily piss all over yourself? They are absolutely true.
I was only three weeks from my surgery.
The only thing that saved me from having my brains blown out right there and then was the car headlights of one of my future spouses driving that street to pick me up. I had called them earlier, we were to have gone on a date, our first. That date has lasted 36 years now.
Every single one of my friends from the first 20 years of my life, prior to my beginning transition, (save one, who became one of my spouses), abandoned me because of bigotry. They loathed the very idea of my being trans. I lost all relatives, all family, all friends just to fix my betraying flesh.
I've been an adult woman far longer now than I ever wore the apparent shape of a boy. The vast majority of my life, now. Yet the horror of the hatred and rejection I experienced back then, thirty-nine years ago haunts and terrifies me still. I will probably never completely get over it.
When I was in the middle of transition, people would literally spit on me when I rode the bus to work. And I was living in San Francisco at the time.
I envy Arcane Word so very, very much, and not just for getting to be an immortal pony.
My guess would be that the traitor gets emigrated, or at least given a choice. Celestia isn't programmed to give up on humans.
I'm also beginning to wonder if Ashton-prime was ever really killed, or Celestia just used nanos to copy his brain into Equestria as Arcane Word, while the original Ashton was delayed, advised that Cold Iron and co had been rescued, and diverted back to his parents or something similar. (Or, more likely, to some other situation where Celestia could work on getting him to agree to emigrate. It's not as if there's only one Equestria, after all.
9954389
Or... that Arcane Word was never actually copied as such. Her original human body may well have been killed, but never emigrated in time: Arcane could be manufactured from the collective memories of everyone who ever knew her plus every interaction she had before she was lost, in order to satisfy the values of Domino and others.
But... I think I like your concept a little better - it would be interesting to have original flavor Arcane finally be emigrated, and then have her file merged with that of Arcane Lite to create a final entity with the full memories and experiences of both: meatside wrong-body Arcane saving her parents and digital Equestrian Arcane doing just what we have seen. Her memories would be twice as long but not overly troublesome. Existentially, two identical copies of her would have co-existed for some period of time though, which itself would be... strangely appropriate to a tale of hacking and software and files.
Because, in the end, the premise of the Optimalverse is that... all we are is data. Information. Not meat nor magic, but a program, code, that may run on any substrate.
Very interesting notions here.
9954389
With the traitor, it depends really. Celestia's only programmed to maximize the number of humans having their values satisfied via ponies and friendship. She doesn't have to hit 100%. So it can be assumed that if one soul must be traded in exchange for several others, she'll make the trade ruthlessly and without reservations.
9953763
It makes me sad that people feel the need for something like that to accept being trans. I'm straight as hell, but I've had friends transition... you know what, nothing changed. I just don't care, you're still you when you transition, just more able to be the real you. If anything transitioning shows you who cares more about you being the real you than the you in constant conflict.
If your friends can't move past that then your so called friends are disappointing you, not the other way around. I've never hidden who I am and I think that while it may have cost me potential "friends" I'm far happier with the ones I have because of it.
Instant karma for the betrayal.
Of course.
Easy to say when you aren't the one dying.
Probably better than death.
So far so good.
Good lord, he still doesn't understand? Doesn't this poor boy know that he's in a Starscribe story?
There we go, no way he could fail to understand that. Surely. Please.
I feel like coming out as trans to your crush who immediately responds "yes, this is good, I've been wanting the real you since I met the real you" is about as good of a result as you could possibly get.
9954721
True, but if there's no particular need to trade, she'll grab him. Probably put him in a separate Equestria shard to satisfy his values as much as possible.
It also strikes me that seeing him apparently die would satisfy the values of several of the other programmers and ponies who were in on the operation.
9954239
Now, I know Americans can be exceptionally tribal in their ways, but if this is true, that's actually fucked up, and only forty years ago as well.
Feel sorry for you.
---
9956197
First, Geun would not have emigrated, I don't know if you noticed, but they were very anti-emigration.
Second, the mission was compromised due to the individual above, CelestAI did not have complete control over this situation even if the whole thing would have gone as planned, and it didn't.
9956197
Of course she'll try to take him in, but remember Celestia is still very much grounded to the laws of physics in the real world. She might calculate a billion, billion paths and all may end in the same outcome regardless of what paths she or the rescue team takes. It also doesn't seem like it'll satisfy the values of many in the rescue operation since most involved were actually focused on saving the prisoners and not doling out revenge (not to mention Celestia has to do it via friendship and ponies which killing really doesn't satisfy either).
9957685
I would like to believe that you are not insulting me here by saying 'IF' this is true. It IS true, and your phrasing makes me really angry because even after forty years the fact that I nearly had my brains blown out by my own father still bothers me. That may be astonishing to you that nearly being murdered by your own dad might still hurt decades later, but I give you my word this is so. If you have doubts, feel free to read my entire website about transsexuality, which includes my own transition story. And, just as a ProTip: never, ever express doubt about the veracity of another person's heartfelt personal disclosure - such behavior generates vast ill will. When a person risks talking about their own life in such a way, doubtful phrasing is like a punch in the face. It is a very, very bad thing to do to anyone - especially anyone who has had something really evil happen to them.
9957795
I am sorry, I meant no ill will.
It's just that we are talking via text chat on the Internet and I have been burnt by stories like yours more times than I can count, the amount of times I've had people later reply "lol, you actually believed that?" or "jk, u got pranked" can be unpleasantly surprising.
It doesn't help that yours is so... horrible, in the Baltics, this kind of behaviour(your fathers) is almost unheard of(or at least excellently suppressed).
I know the US is a very different country from anything that we have here in the EU, but at times it just keeps surprising me how different it can be.
9958217
I understand. Yeah... in the US, guns are... super common. I've heard stats that there are more guns than people in the country where I live. I was, however, really surprised to find that my dad owned one. I never, ever saw him with a gun before that day, except for one time - he took me out, as a child, to shoot a .22 at cans and boxes. Once. I never imagined he owned a handgun, not in all my first 20 years.
The experience still makes me wince inside. I turn sixty at the end of this year, and it still makes me cringe when I remember too much of it.
Memory is strange. Or, at least, the emotional part of it.
9957795
I agree with Zanec, I’m of the belief that everyone online lies about everything. I don’t believe anything any random person says if I don’t already hold it as the truth. I especially don’t believe any anecdotes. Anyone can say that anything happened to them, but how can I be sure that it’s true?
Domino is a keeper, for sure. But damn if he isn't intentionally avoiding the kiss-in-the-most-inappropriate-moment trope....