Romance and the Fate of Equestria

Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Five

"All right, you. Hold still."

Snarl sneered at Vorpal Blade. "You can't make me." He tossed his head, growling and quivering before holding himself perfectly still. "Yes… you can."

The two of them were contained together in a force cage in the library basement. Magic chains held Snarl's limbs and tail in place, while Vorpal Blade stood relatively free, able to at least walk the length and circumference of the cage.

Snarl struggled a bit more. Vorpal Blade sleepily blinked at him, before releasing a puff of air. With a toss of his head, Vorpal Blade conjured up a halo around Snarl's, which contracted and held the dragon's head in place.

"There," he said pleasantly. "Now you're still."

Snarl flailed ineffectually, as Vorpal Blade gently touched his horn to the dragon's forehead.

"What a tangle," he said, smirking. "Wave after wave, ever clashing against each other. Yes, what a mind you have, my boy. So complex… I'll have to separate the two of you bit by bit, thought by thought. Hee hee, I haven't faced such a complicated task in a very, very long time. How easy it would be for one little slip-up to cause you to lose your entire identity… but those kinds of challenges are my favorites."

Both sides of Snarl's face, which had existed in opposition ever since Twilight's failed attempt at a cure, looked identically frightened for a brief moment.

"So… it's true."

Vorpal Blade looked up. Rarity stood at the top of the basement stairs, and she descended, closely followed by Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack, while Rainbow Dash bypassed the stairs by slowly gliding down to the floor.

"Vorpal Blade, we meet again," Rarity said pleasantly.

"Yooooou dastardly bastard," said Pinkie. "Or bastardly dastard, whichever you prefer. What's up?"

"Well, uh, as I'm sure you know, I'm working on—"

Before he could finish, he was enveloped in Rarity's powder-blue magic and drawn out of the force cage.

"What's this, then?" he said cautiously.

Rarity drew him closer, almost close enough to her face to kiss him, and slowly smiled at him, with tight lips and narrowed eyes.

"Okay, that's terrifying," Vorpal Blade said casually.

"It's just been so long since any of us have held a proper conversation with you," Rarity said in a syrupy voice. "We never really got a chance to tell you just what we think of the way you deceived our dear Twilight and broke her heart."

"And, as she ain't planning to punish you properly during this debacle…" said Applejack, who was suddenly circling around behind him.

"We thought we'd do a small thing ourselves," said Pinkie, leaning in with a manic grin.

"Yeah," said Rainbow, landing on Vorpal Blade's back and ruffling his mane. "You know, rough you up a little."

Vorpal Blade turned his gaze to Fluttershy, who was lingering in the rear of the group. Noticing, she flinched. "Oh! Um… yeah. She just hasn't been the same, you know. Oh, sure, she's happy, and moved on. But not the same."

"I've waited a long time for this," Rarity concluded.

"What's on your mind, Rarity?" Vorpal Blade said calmly.

She concentrated her magic on the back of his neck, lifting him up high into the air. Rainbow Dash hopped off of his back, standing at Rarity's side to look up at him.

"What do you say, we go for the vulnerable bits?" Rainbow said in a hushed voice.

"Oh, quite, quite," said Rarity. "Seems like a nice way to make him pay for every single moment of pleasure he derived from Twilight."

"I like your thinking."

"Thank you, darling."

"HEY!"

Twilight trotted down the stairs, glaring at them.

"Oh, hey, Twilight," Rainbow said casually.

"Put him down, you guys," Twilight commanded. "Go on, do it, put him back in his cage."

Swiftly, Rarity picked up Vorpal Blade in her magic and slipped him back into the force cage.

"Come on, you guys, you're better than this," Twilight said crossly. "You all know perfectly well that when we deal with villains and bullies their way, we become villains and bullies ourselves!"

"I don't think we ever learned that one," said Rarity, smirking. "I don't recall that one ever being a letter to Princess Celestia."

"I don't think we ever had to learn that one," Twilight groused. "I think we kind of knew that one all along because we're adults and we're generally good ponies."

A magic beam from Twilight's horn fanned out and scanned the other five.

"What's that?" said Applejack, puzzled.

"Making sure he didn't mind-control any of you while you had him out of his cage," said Twilight. "As far as I can tell, he didn't. Did any of you really think about that?"

"We would have noticed if he was trying to use magic," Rainbow objected.

"Would you?" said Twilight. "The guy brainwashes entire cities, Rainbow, and we have no idea what process he uses. Just be careful, okay? I appreciate you guys doing this on my behalf, but I did not ask for it. I hate Vorpal Blade more than any of you do, you should know that, and I fully understand how this all comes from… from thinking of me, but please… don't. He's going to cure Snarl, and then he's going to jail for a very long time, but I don't treat my prisoners with cruelty."

They all glanced around at each other before turning back to Twilight.

"All right, Twilight," said Rarity, putting a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "I'm sorry I orchestrated this. Just looking out for you. But you're right, I went about it in the wrong way."

Twilight stared for a moment, then nodded. "I'll see you guys later. I love you all very much."

They all ascended the stairs and filed out. "Take care of yourself, Twilight," Applejack called.

When they were gone, Twilight picked up the small paper bag she had brought and drew an object out of it, a plump, spiced carrot wrapped in a bun. Stepping effortlessly into the force cage, she offered it to Vorpal Blade. "Hot dog?"

"Uh, sure," he said, the magic around it changing from Twilight's magenta to his own midnight-blue as he drew it towards him. "Thanks. This isn't one of those deals where I interpret your lack of cruelty as kindness and start to want to be imprisoned here, is it?"

"That's entirely up to you," said Twilight, shrugging. "On my end, it's exactly what you said, a lack of cruelty. Heh, funny thing, I was talking to Princess Celestia about that very concept quite recently."

"Were you."

"So…" she said, looking at Snarl, who had ceased struggling and was merely eyeing the two of them, bearing two very different expressions in his eyes. "How's progress?"

"Being made," he said simply. "Little by little, I'm dividing one from the other, but essentially I have to do that by hoof."

She patted his shoulder. "You can do this."

"Of course I can do this."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Endnotes

My spellcheck thought nothing of it when I used the phrase "bastardly dastard", so apparently those are actually words. Who knew?

Oh, and lest I forget: Protocol. Season 7 isn't quite over yet, still one regular episode and a two-parter to go, but this is the first update to come after the release of My Little Pony: The Movie. I'd like to say I've seen it, but in my town it only ever played once a day and today is its last day in the local cinema, so I missed it. Another time, I guess.