Chasing Ghosts
A Bluebird’s Song
~~~
If you hear me
Throw me a line or strike me down
Do you refuse to even accuse?
Do your worst
Lift this curse
~~~
Chasing Ghosts
“So, this is bad, right?”
Rarity edged her head around the corner of the corridor, to ensure that Rainbow Shine was still seated in the waiting room. Sure enough, the unicorn was perched her corner chair, reading a magazine. Even from this angle, it was obvious that she was nervous. She kept tapping her forehoof rhythmically against the table beside her, shifting in place as she read. Upon closer inspection, a few telltale strands of vivid prismatic mane hung treacherously out from under the tightly-wound headscarf.
Fluttershy nodded, motioning them back around the corner. “I don’t see what else it could be,” she whispered. “Rainbow told me about her. She lived with a pro-unicorn activist for years, and after the way Rainbow’s father treated her, I wouldn’t be surprised if his ideas rubbed off on her.” The canary mare sighed. “Look at how Cloudshine ended up.”
Applejack grimaced. “Ya know, we need ta tell Twilight about this.”
Rarity looked doubtful, edging back up the corridor out of the ochre mare’s earshot, the others in tow. “Are you sure she’d cope with it? After what she asked the princess, I mean…” the unicorn gestured vaguely towards her head. “Do you think she’s… you know, alright?”
It was a valid point. Stress had forced Twilight into a mental breakdown before now. If they presented Dash’s mother as a threat to the comatose pegasus’s already fragile life, it might just push her over the edge. Doubtless, that would make matters worse for all involved. On the other hand, she knew from experience that Twilight only tended to succumb to stress in situations in which it was not warranted. On the whole, she usually dealt with genuine crises rather effectively.
Fluttershy closed her eyes, steeling herself to make the decision. Of course, she did not know what Twilight had asked of the princess, but whatever it was, it made little difference to the current situation. “No, I’m sorry, Rarity. We need to tell her. She’d never forgive us if we held this back from her, particularly if…”
She ground to a halt, hanging her head. Applejack snorted, derisively. “Yeah, and it ain’t like Twilight’s holdin’ anything back from us, is it?” she muttered, sarcastically.
To the surprise of everypony present, Rarity turned angrily on the farm pony. Despite her earlier concerns about Twilight’s mental state, she now rallied in defence of the unicorn. “Have you ever been in love, Applejack?” she demanded, still making an effort to keep her voice low. “I’m not talking about crushes here. Have you ever known a pony who it physically hurts you to be apart from? A pony you’d do anything to protect?”
Applejack blushed at the intensity of the unicorn’s gaze, and lowered her own. “Ah can’t rightly see that’s any concern of yours,” she mumbled, but relented after a moment. “Okay, fine. No… No, I’ve not. Ya’ll happy?”
Rarity sighed, her momentary flare of anger fading. “Look, I’m not saying what Twilight did was right, or well thought-out, but I understand why she did it. Just imagine for a moment that you felt they way she did about somepony, before something dreadful like this happens. You feel so powerless, watching them slip away, and then, one day, you find a spell that allows you to bring them back at the cost of your own life. Can you look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn’t want to use it?”
Applejack avoided Rarity’s eyes. “Ah… Ah don’t honestly know, Rare’.”
“Well,” Rarity’s voice cracked a little. “I do. I understand how Twilight feels. But… she’s sensible. She’ll make the right decision.”
Fluttershy’s expression was one of shock, as the pieces clicked together in her brain, and she realized what Twilight had asked the princess to do.
Rarity turned to look at her, and her eyes widened. “Oh, Fluttershy, I’m so sorry, darling. You didn’t know, did you?”
The pegasus shook her head, mutely, her brain still catching up to understanding what Rarity was implying.
“It’s okay,” the unicorn murmured, reassuringly. “We think that the princess managed to talk her out of it. She’s fine.”
The canary pegasus was gazing at Rarity, and she suddenly seemed to realize why Rarity could empathize with Twilight’s willingness to give up her life for the pony she loved. Her expression of shock changed to one of horror. “Rarity,” she whispered, her eyes shining with moisture, “you’re not saying that you’d…? If…?”
Rarity wished that she had not spoken; she knew that Fluttershy would likely take it badly. Even so, she did not hesitate in her response: “For you? Of course I would, darling. A thousand times.”
Fluttershy blushed crimson for a few seconds, then rushed forwards to embrace the unicorn, her tears spilling over into the fur of her cheeks. “I would too,” she whispered in Rarity’s ear, her voice intense and sincere. “For… for you, I mean,” she clarified, hastily. She knew that her words had sounded clunky and stumbling and utterly unromantic, but it did not matter. She had never before appreciated just how much she meant to Rarity. To feel truly loved and protected was an experience she had never undergone before, and once again the pent-up emotion of a repressed lifetime seemed at risk of bursting forth.
For a few long moments, they held each other tightly. Neither of the pair really wanted to let go.
When they finally did separate, Applejack threw them a look of half-amused resignation. “You two as well, huh?” she asked, smiling slightly.
Fluttershy nodded, blushing scarlet. In truth, she had forgotten that the others were even present, so lost had she been in the moment. “I think so,” she mumbled, not at all unhappy with the idea. She smiled at Rarity, who met her eyes lovingly, leaning across and kissing the pegasus softly on the cheek in a moment of irresistible, instinctual affection. The canary mare’s blush became, if possible, even deeper.
“You guys,” interjected Pinkie, a little teary at the display of affection, but showing a surprising sense of perspective nonetheless. “This is great, but can’t it kind of… wait ‘til later?”
Rarity nodded, snapping out of her unwitting state of Fluttershy-hypnosis. “You’re right, Pinkie. Visiting time’s coming up soon, so we’ve got until then to tell Twilight.”
“Ya’ll are happy with tellin’ her then?” Applejack asked, warningly.
“I think so.” Rarity sighed. “I’ve still got misgivings, but Fluttershy’s right… I just hope she can hold it together.”
Applejack snorted, recalling the lavender unicorn’s previous brushes with stressful situations. “Why do I get the feeling this ain’t gonna end well?”
*
The silence was pressing in from all sides, as Twilight lay alone with her guilt. Once sleep had unfolded her from its drowsy embrace, the guilt was her only company; it gnawed at her, unrelenting.
Her mind threw up image after image of what may have passed, had Celestia agreed. She pictured her own funeral, her friends silent and abandoned, Spike kneeling by the casket, bereft. Rainbow dead-eyed despite her renewed life, blaming herself, knowing that this was the cost of her continuation…
Rainbow, alive and well.
Rainbow, with her life returned to her.
Despite the cost, the picture was an attractive one.
What kind of life would she have, though? You’d haunt her, Twilight. You’d always haunt her.
That was it. Deep down inside her, the last spark of indecision was extinguished.
I’m not going to hurt her like that.
In that moment, she gave up. Suddenly, she was willing to allow blind fate to take its own path. She promised herself, if the worst came to the worst, not to give in to the easy path; not to anaesthetize herself at her lover’s expense.
If she lost Dash, the pain would be nigh-unendurable, but day by day, night by lonely night, she would endure it. For the sake of her friends, for Spike’s sake, she would endure. Most of all, she would endure for Dash’s sake. She would not give in to that selfish impulse that cruelly disguised itself as self-sacrifice.
“If it comes to it, I’ll leave you in peace,” she whispered, as if voicing the words aloud would seal the promise.
If it comes to it. She prayed that it would not.
She felt a sudden, burning desire to confess to somepony, anypony; to rid herself of the sense of guilt that she had even considered taking such a coward’s exit, and abandoning the mare she loved.
What if I said we go together, or not at all? Her earlier, dream-induced thought echoed, mocking her, waving her hypocrisy before her eyes.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. She had half a mind to pretend to be asleep, to attempt to extend her grace period in which to think, but she did not act on the impulse. “Come in,” she called out.
The door swung ajar, and four worried-looking ponies entered the room, Fluttershy leading.
Twilight wanted nothing more than to burst into tears there and then, and admit to everything that she had so coldly planned, but something in her friends’ eyes stopped her. “What’s… what’s wrong?” her voice was weak, but at least it did not tremble too badly.
Fluttershy trotted over to the bed, and Applejack closed the door, after scanning outside with a conspiratorial air.
“Twilight,” Fluttershy said quietly, “it’s about Rainbow.”
An icy dagger seemed to stab through Twilight’s throat, rendering her incapable of speech. Her eyes widened, filling with tears, her heart accelerating. She let out a low groan. Fluttershy gasped, clapping a hoof to her mouth, looking suddenly horrified as she realized the awful ambiguity of what she had said.
“No, no!” she exclaimed. “Rainbow’s still… she’s alright. I… I mean she’s still under, b-but…” Twilight visibly relaxed as the stammering pegasus tried to explain herself.
“Thank Celestia,” whispered the purple unicorn. “What… what about Rainbow, then?”
Rarity walked up beside Fluttershy, resting a comforting hoof on her back. Fluttershy nodded in relief, still inaudibly stuttering a little, and stepped backwards, recognizing the opportunity to pass on the baton, and seizing on it gratefully.
“Twilight, dear,” Rarity began, deliberately keeping her voice as gentle as possible. “We were in the waiting room just now, and Fluttershy… well, she recognized one of the other ponies.”
Twilight sat up a little, intrigued despite herself. “Really?”
Rarity nodded. “Yes. The thing is, Twilight, it was…” she paused for a moment, and apparently came to the conclusion that there was no way to couch a name in euphemism. “It was Dash’s mother, Rainbow Shine.”
The lavender unicorn sat bolt upright, staring at Rarity in blank surprise. “Is she still there?”
Fluttershy nodded, edging back over to the bed. “They’re not letting visitors into Rainbow’s room right now, our best guess is that she’s waiting to be let in. I don’t think she knows we’ve got anything to do with Rainbow, though.”
“That’s good.” Twilight closed her eyes for a moment. “What do you think she’s here for?”
Rarity shook her head. “We don’t know, darling, but we can’t trust her. We… we think she might be here to hurt Rainbow.”
The lavender mare kicked off the suddenly-repressive duvet, and got to her hooves, feeling a little of her strength returned to her, the haze of fatigue beginning to lift.
“Twilight?” Rarity asked, her eyes nervously following the unicorn as she walked over to the window of her room, lifting the venetian blinds with a flick of magic, letting the afternoon sun stream over her coat.
“You’re probably right. I’d guess she’s not here for anything good.” Twilight’s mind was turning the situation over, examining it from all possible angles. She remembered all that Dash had told her, all of the pieces of her past that had lain disparate and shattered. The picture was nearly complete. Rainbow Shine was a loose end, and here was their chance to tie it up. Or perhaps cut it.
When she turned around to face the others, a small, dangerous smile was playing across her lips. Her guilt and her fear for Dash’s fate were momentarily sidelined, as she gave herself up to the allure of a puzzle. Rarity need not have feared; her intellect was quite intact. “We have the advantage,” she said, quietly. “We know she’s here, but she doesn’t know about us. For once, we can play things out the way we want them.”
“Do you think… Sunset?” Pinkie piped up, her eyes wide and fearful.
Twilight shook her head. “Unlikely, I’d say. It’s possible, of course, but I’d guess that she’s acting alone. Dash’s father was bad enough, then she lived with another unicorn for years, filling her head with his anti-pegasus rhetoric. Besides, Sunset can’t communicate out of prison anymore.”
“They orchestrated the record attempt pretty darn well if ya ask me,” pointed out Applejack.
“No, they didn’t. That’s the key,” replied Twilight. “Dash was slipped a Draught of Foolishness at the record attempt, but that wasn’t Sunset’s plan. That was Dusk Tempest and his vendetta against Celestia. Remember when he died, what they found in his blood? Sunset had bought large supplies of Foolishness from Root Blacksap, and they trusted Dusk. It would have been all too easy for him to get his hooves on some, when he could use Sergeant Quintus to communicate out of jail. He made the arrangements, then used a potion and doctored his own memory, that way Celestia didn’t find out about his plans for the record when she… interrogated him.” She winced a little at the euphemism, but pressed on. “Anyway, Sunset found out that he’d taken them for a ride, so they coerced Quintus into poisoning him. That put Celestia onto the trail of the dungeon guards, so she rotated the entire unit. Then, Quintus tried to kill Rainbow, and died in the attempt. Don’t you see? Sunset are in the dungeons, with no way of communicating with each other, or the outside world. Dusk’s dead, Quintus is dead, and my research is safe in the Canterlot archive.”
She smiled at the assembled ponies, who all seemed one step behind, still processing the convoluted web of names and events that Twilight had woven for them. “Sunset are finished, and I think that Rainbow Shine might just be the last piece in this whole mess. She won’t put up a fight if she’s sensible.” Her smile suddenly faded, and she gritted her teeth. “After that, all we can do is hope.”
Her heart was beating with excitement, her fear pushed aside. I feel good, I feel in control. Why do I feel good? I have no right to.
You know why. The high before the fall. Those moments when you forget everything bottled up inside you… those are always the moments when all of those things are closest to escaping.
Rarity nudged Applejack, whispering something to her and jerking her head in Twilight’s direction. The farm pony gulped, and took a step forwards, obviously steeling herself for a confession. “Twi’,” she said, quietly. “Ah need to tell ya something... Ah think we all need to get this out in the open if we’re gonna work well together.”
“What is it?” Twilight had a horrible feeling that she knew what the mare was going to say.
The orange mare broke eye contact, scuffing her hoof on the tiled floor with a squeaking sound. “Ah… Ah kinda overheard some of what ya’ll asked the princess to do. Ah didn’t mean to, ya’ll weren’t bein’ all that quiet, is all.”
Rarity nodded. “We don’t mean to pry, it’s just that if you’re considering taking a step like that, then we feel you ought to talk with your friends about it. Sometimes being a good friend means stepping in before somepony makes a decision that might do more harm than good.”
Applejack shrunk back a little, as if expecting Twilight to shout at her for being nosy.
Instead, the opposite happened. All of the fight went out of the unicorn; the determination in her eyes died in one stroke, as if snuffed out, and she sank to the floor, weeping openly. She made no effort to wipe her eyes, letting the droplets of moisture splash down onto the sterile chequerboard floor.
They know…This is it, she thought, they’re never going to forgive me. They’d be right not to.
“I’m… I’m s-so sorry,” she choked. “What m-must you think of me? I’m not w-worth having as a friend.”
She was gazing at the floor, her blurred liquid vision shimmering. She did not hear her friends approach, and the first thing she knew of their response was when four pairs of hooves embraced her, their owners encircling her protectively, holding her tightly on the tear-stained floor. She looked up, crying harder than ever. It was not just guilt now; all of the pent-up emotion from the last few days was pouring out of her. The pain, the tiredness, the look in the eyes of that wolf, the moment before she snapped its neck. The snake’s convulsions, its blood running into her eyes, the dirty iron stink filling her nose… Most of all, she wept for the numbing, crippling fear for the life of the mare she loved, the fear that she had tried to hard not to acknowledge for the fear that it might consume her entirely.
“Twilight, don’t be such a silly,” Pinkie chided gently, smiling at her with sympathetically watering eyes, her forelegs soft and comforting around Twilight’s neck. “We understand; we all understand. Love’s a stupid, messy, scary thing, and it makes you want to do stupid, messy, scary things sometimes.”
“I couldn’t have put it better myself, darling,” added Rarity, giving the purple mare a squeeze. “I don’t think any the less of you for this.”
The others nodded in concurrence, maintaining their embrace.
“I… I’ve decided, anyway,” Twilight whispered, her voice cracking. “The princess told me that if Rainbow slips away, it’s because her mind gave up; because her mind wanted peace. I don’t care how much it hurts me, but if she makes that decision, I’ll leave her in peace. I know things like this are always worst for the one left behind, but I can take that. For her.” She sighed. “If I used that spell, I wouldn’t be doing it out of kindness. It would be the most selfish thing I could ever do.” She sighed, the last of the well of tears falling from her eyelashes. “That’s the worst type of selfishness. The sort that pretends it’s kind, because it’s too painful to face up to.”
She turned her head to the right, in the scrum of ponies, and met Applejack’s eyes. The farm-pony’s mane was free; her hat had apparently gone missing somewhere in the group hug’s enactment, but she smiled nevertheless, her eyes twinkling. “Ah’m mighty proud of you, sugarcube,” she said, her voice full of simple, honest sincerity.
“Now,” Twilight wiped away the last of her tears, and looked around at her friends, at the ponies to whom she owed so much, “what do we do about Rainbow Shine?”
*
The plan, in the end, was a simple one. There was little point in approaching Dash’s mother in the waiting room. After all, a mother visiting her daughter in hospital was nothing to call the guards about, and she would be easily capable of bluffing her way past any attention they drew to her. Princess Celestia would be back in the palace by now, so contacting her at short notice without Spike’s help was impossible.
Ultimately, they decided to lie in wait until visiting time came around at three in the afternoon, and then to discreetly follow Rainbow Shine. This wing of the hospital was quiet at the moment, being situated at a comfortable distance from the main entrance. With luck, they would be able to accost her on her own, in one of the hospital’s many corridors, preferably near Dash’s room. Once she was safely secured and subdued, they planned to bundle her, preferably unconscious, into Twilight’s room. The door latched from the inside, and it would be an easy matter to keep her under guard. Twilight intended to establish a magic suppression field within the room to prevent Rainbow Shine from assaulting them magically. She would then run across the city, use her authority as the princess’s protégé to enter the palace, and summon Celestia.
That was the plan, anyway.
It was ten minutes to three, and the five ponies were waiting in Twilight’s room. It had been decided not to loiter in the waiting room, as if they were spotted hanging around too much, they may well arouse suspicion and put their prey on the defensive. They were all painfully aware that what they were doing was legally and morally dubious.
Applejack glanced at the clock, her brow sweaty. “Twi’…” she muttered. “What if we’re wrong? What if she’s just here to see her daughter? Ah dunno ‘bout you, but Ah’d feel mighty bad if we go trussin’ her up for no good reason.”
Twilight sighed. “I know, Applejack. But we’ve got to take that risk. I’ll happily take the blame if we’re wrong, or if we get caught. We’re not going to hurt her, we’re just going to keep her contained until we can bring the princess here. We could just leave her, but Dash’s chances are already slim enough; I don’t want to play dice with whatever she has left, and I’d bet my horn that Shine’s not here to do anything good.”
Pinkie nodded, unusually serious. “I just hope the doctors don’t spot us,” she remarked to Rarity. “Do you think we ought to camouflage ourselves?”
“Camouflage ourselves as what, dear?” the unicorn asked, rolling her eyes. “We’re in a hospital, for Celestia’s sake.”
“…Medicine?” suggested Pinkie, her expression one of utmost seriousness.
Twilight looked around at the assembled ponies. “Look,” she said, “I realize that what we’re doing isn’t exactly pleasant. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, to tell the truth, but I’m going to go through with it for Rainbow’s sake. If any of you don’t want anything to do with this, let me know now. I won’t blame you.”
She paused, giving anypony who wanted to do so a chance to opt out. None of her friends spoke, and Twilight felt a rush of gratitude towards them for sticking by her side.
Applejack smirked, and nudged Fluttershy. “Ah told ya this wasn’t gonna end well.”
Twilight trotted to the door, and swung it ajar to look up and down the corridor. “Okay, let’s go. Visiting time’s in five minutes.”
Moving as silently as possible, the five ponies made their stealthy way up through the network of corridors that criss-crossed the hospital. The central waiting room for this wing was by the burns unit, adjacent to Fluttershy’s room, and about a minute’s walk from Twilight’s.
They reached the corner that led into the waiting room, and Twilight turned to the others. “I’ll go in and sit across from her, you guys keep out of sight. As soon as she makes a move, I’ll wait for her to head down the corridor and fetch you. That way we can sneak up on her. Alright?”
The four ponies nodded, and Fluttershy indicated the storage cupboard in which they had hidden earlier. “We’ll wait in there, Twilight.”
The unicorn nodded, and took a moment to compose her features into an expression of suitable neutrality. Then, she stepped around the corner. Her hooves receded away along the tiles, towards the waiting room. Then, they halted. Fluttershy had been leading the way towards the cupboard full of cleaning supplies, but she stopped and turned as Twilight’s hoofbeats began rapidly returning up the passageway.
The lavender pony appeared, running back around the corner, her face white. She narrowly avoided a linen-coated doctor, leaving his glasses askew, and careened to a halt. Her friends turned fearfully to look at her.
“She’s gone,” Twilight exclaimed. “Shine’s gone!”
“Come on,” commanded Applejack, taking the initiative and motioning towards the waiting room. The five ponies entered the carpeted, magazine-strewn room at a canter, looking hurriedly around at the occupants. Several surprised faces stared back at them, but none belonged to Dash’s mother.
Rarity picked her way around the tables to the deserted reception desk, ringing the bell urgently with a swipe of her hoof. It took precious seconds, but a blue-coated and disinterested-looking receptionist appeared from a back office, a sheaf of papers clutched between her teeth. She dumped the papers down on the faux-granite surface, and looked up with considerable boredom at the near-panicked unicorn.
“Yeah?”
Rarity took a few seconds to control her rate of breathing, and hoisted a rather weak smile onto her face. She was aware that she was likely to be given short shrift, but right now even a chance of relocating their quarry was better than none. “Excuse me,” she began, tapping her back hoof nervously on the carpet, “I believe there was a unicorn mare waiting here, wearing a headscarf. Her name’s Rainbow Shine.”
The receptionist glanced up. Rarity noticed that she was idly chewing gum. “Oh, her? Do you know her?”
Rarity nodded, reasoning that improvising was easier when it was based on truth. “Yes, we’re… we’re friends of hers. Her daughter, Rainbow Dash, is here at the moment.”
An expression of recognition flashed across the receptionist’s face. “Rainbow Dash? Oh yeah, that was it. She wanted to see Rainbow Dash, so I told her to go ahead.”
“What?” exclaimed Rarity, whipping around and staring in horrified confusion at the clock. Two minutes until visiting time.
The blue mare shrugged. “She’s family, family members can visit private rooms whenever they want. I unlocked the door for her myself.” She thought idly for a couple of seconds. “She must have gone in about fifteen minutes ago.”
Rarity’s mouth was hanging open a little, and she turned to the others, who had heard everything, and looked equally panic-stricken. This meant that Rainbow Shine had walked right past the door to Twilight’s room, while they had all stood within, plotting, oblivious. In their haste, not one of them had thought to set somepony to wait outside Dash’s door.
Oh Celestia, we’re idiots.
The receptionist looked down at the papers she was re-filing. “She’ll probably still be there,” she remarked. “If you head back now you’ll be able to catch…” her words tailed off, as she looked up.
The five ponies were gone. The only sign of them was the swiftly-receding sound of five pairs of hooves, as they charged back down the twisting corridors.
The receptionist shook her head contemptuously, and returned to her paperwork.
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Have a chapter! Sorry this one is a tad filler-ish, it's one of those 'relative-calm before the storm' type chapters.
In other news, I can't help thinking that "Dusk Tempest and his vendetta against Celestia" would be an awesome name for a prog rock band.
I found it SO GOD DAMN FUNNY towards the end.
Is that a bad thing?
Filler chapter or not it was still great. If she's hurt dash I predict a white eyed glowing twilight ripping Her limb from limb.
i feel like i'm the only one who doesn't think Rainbow Shine is there to hurt Dash
The ponies seem awful sure that Shine's out to 'get' Dash. I'm not so convinced
Good chapter. Even if it is filler, feels like we're almost at the end of this Epic.
587224
Nope you are not the only one. ;)
Slowly restoring hope, maybe because of the "kind of funny" end. :P
586886
YES. That or a 15 minute long instrumental piece!
I'm hoping Rainbow Shine is just there to make amends. It is HER daughter, after all. And her PEGASUS daughter is dating a UNICORN. So perhaps Rainbow Shine heard and is changing her ways after seeing that Unicorns and Pegasi can get along? Or am I being overly optimistic.
anaesthetize
This doesn't mean 'kill oneself'. I was going to suggest 'euthanize' but apparently nobody uses such a word.
so, I dunno what is a better word.
AWESOME CHAPTER!
Can't wait to see how this story ends. 
587292
That's kind of what I thought too... Hoping this is exactly what happens to be honest. If not, oh well, MORE ACTION
memedepot.com/uploads/2000/2397_bpfobu.jpg
This chapter was actually pretty funny.
I tell you, if she's there to kill Dash, I would feel like I ran into a wall. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but the chapter's been a little more upbeat than the previous ones.
587224 I'm with you ;P
Well apart from Rainbow Shine getting screwed in the event that she does hurt rainbow, that receptionist is probably going to get her arse wooped when it comes down to it, just because Twilight will be in rage mode
Whoo, lots of feedback!
I'll try and get the next chapter out pretty quickly to resolve the whole 'what's she up to?' debate.
587623 Anaesthetize in that context was a metaphor. If Twilight died, she'd save herself from all the heartbreak she'd go through if Dash died, hence she saves herself from 'pain', which is why I used anaesthetize in a non-literal sense.
589997
Subtle, I like it.
Oooooooh.
587957 TACTICAL SHITSTORM INBOUND
587224
Nope, not at all.
Anyway, most people dislike filler chapters, I on the other-hand enjoy them sometimes. They may be boring and tedious at times, but they're necessary, damnit!
It helps when they're as well written as this and serve to set up the next piece.
595395 Really glad you're liking the story, thanks for the epic amount of comments!
great story granted i really think twilight would've been put in the comma if she never severed the blood line considering blood will coagulate eventually slowing the blood flow if your not dead from blood lost unless dashes comma wasnt from blood lose and she was put in by her mental state than nvm well nvm anyways im just posting what i think
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I bet Shine casts the life-trading spell using herself as the fuel.
I bet you anything.
"five pairs of hooves"
Don't ponies have 4 hooves each?
This story is too good for its own well being. It deserves quite a few more views than it has already accumulated. I greatly look forward to reading the next chapters to this amazing story.
1166073 what are you a dictionary.
SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
About halfway through this chapter I realized that Dash’s half sister said that she “would not like what she see’s” if she went to visit her mom. This probably means that Rainbow Shine is indeed dangerous, unless Dash’s half sisters is messing around Dash which I doubt.