Login

Heart of Loyalty

by PonyAmorous

Chapter 23: Chapter 21

Previous Chapter Next Chapter
Chapter 21

"Why do we have to do this again?!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she barrel rolled away from a set of snapping jaws.

"Hydra blood is a highly potent reagent and a necessary component for the spell!" Twilight shouted back while firing a concussive purple beam into the side of one of many heads.

"And this is the best way to get it?!"

"If you know of any better ways, I'm all ears!"

The hydra intruded upon the conversation with a bestial roar, expressing its immense displeasure at having its ordinary day of wallowing in muck and minding its own business interrupted by such a savage assault. One of the heads let out a series of exasperated growls that, had Fluttershy been anywhere nearby to hear them, would have translated roughly to "I've heard about snack attacks, but this is ridiculous!" followed by a series of expletives as it took a bright purple beam to the eye.

"If this stuff is so great, why didn't you keep any in your lab?" Rainbow Dash questioned, dodging another lunge and countering with a solid kick to the face.

"I did keep some for further experiments, but my house is probably the most surveilled place in Equestria at the moment, so sneaking in there is a terrible idea."

The hydra, dizzy, exhausted, and lightly concussed from a combination of kicks, magical blasts, and an improvised hail storm, finally fell over. Twilight pulled out a diamond tipped scalpel and a specimen jar as Rainbow Dash dropped in at her side.

"You mean you didn't pack hydra blood in as part of your crazy prepared paranoid travel supplies? You must be slipping Twilight."

"Well I stashed some in one of my supply cache's, but that's like a day and a half that way." She pointed a hoof at the horizon before making a small incision on the beast's belly and levitating up the specimen jar.

"Wait, what?! You're joking right? Right?" Twilight said nothing as she sealed the top of the jar and stowed it back into her saddlebags. "Holy crap you're not joking! Seriously?! If you already had some stashed away, then what was the point of all this?"

"One, it's actually much better if I can get it fresh. Two, I had the sneaking suspicion that you were growing a bit bored."

***

Earlier...

"Uggggghhh! I'm soooooo bored! When Twilight mentioned having to collect 3 components for her spell, I thought this was gonna be a cool adventure filled quest or something like in Daring Do. But instead it's just a bunch of walking and nature, like in those terrible old fantasy books she made me read."

There was a sharp gasp followed by indignant sputtering.

"Wh-huh-bu-wha? HOW DARE YOU! The entire fantasy genre as we know it owes its very existence to those stories!"

"It was hundreds of pages of ponies walking to a volcano!"

"You take that back!"

"Sorry, you're right. It was walking punctuated with the occasional 10 page backstory on the genealogy of a random shrub they passed and how it's great ancestor had been planted by the vice-duke of who-gives-a-crap to celebrate the 200th festival of nobody-cares!"

"It's called world building you uncultured swine!"

"I'm just saying that Daring Do doesn't take 1200 pages plus six appendices to tell a story which could probably fit into 120 if you took out all the walking! Which brings me back to my previous point of THIS IS SO BORING!"

***

Presently...

"Whaaaat makes you say that?" Rainbow Dash asked with a nervous laugh.

"Call it a hunch. Now come on, let's head back and meet up with the others."

"Right, right." Rainbow Dash waved a hoof as she hovered behind Twilight. "So that's two ingredients down. Where are you gonna get a dragon scale?"

"Well, since I can't exactly stroll into Ponyville and get some from Spike, there's only one other dragon whose location I know. We're not exactly on good terms."

As they continued towards their appointed rendezvous, Twilight revisited a problem that had occupied her thoughts more frequently as they grew closer to their goal. What came next? After her spell was recast, they'd still be wanted mares. She'd taken precautions against Luna tracking them through their dreams, but the two sisters would never stop hunting them. Could they really spend the rest of their lives on the run? Hiding in the wilderness? Should they leave the country and get new identities? Was it fair to ask Dash to give up her career as a Wonderbolt, her whole life, to spend the rest of her days as a fugitive? Was there really any other choice at this point?

Such thoughts continued to run on a loop inside Twilight's head as they met up with Applejack and Fluttershy and continued on to their next destination while Dash recounted the details of their latest battle. Those two presented yet another problem. Now that they were this close to Ponyville, Applejack was sure to start picking up landmarks and getting her bearings soon. The already thin excuse of being lost would crumble before long, and they would have to either leave or make some effort to stop her, or else start skirting the edges of being considered accomplices.

Despite her emphatic disapproval being made quite clear, Applejack had so far settled on letting Dash make her own decision. But was that just in the hope that she could convince her otherwise before the final moment came? When it was time to actually recast the spell, would her non-interference hold? Would she run off and alert the authorities, even knowing it would be too late and that they would be long gone by then? Would she try to stop them, even knowing she would certainly lose? Where would Fluttershy fall in all this? Hopefully not on her side. It was bad enough she was dragging Dash down with her.

By the time Twilight's attention returned to the world around her, they were standing at the mouth of a familiar looking cave.

"This the place?" Rainbow Dash asked from Twilight's side.

"Yeah. We just need to get a scale and get out. Stick close and—" She was interrupted by a loud, rhythmic stomping that was closely followed by the head of a huge green dragon peeking out the mouth of the cave to investigate the commotion on its doorstep.

Two reptilian eyes stared down with disdain and annoyance at four equine shapes. Two in a low crouch, one hovering a few feet off the ground and one cowering behind the others. The rumbling preparations of a deep inhalation were suddenly interrupted when the eyes caught a magenta glow gathering around the bony protrusion on the head of the lead figure with a familiar lavender coat. A few moments of stillness passed before a great clawed hand raised up and plucked loose a scale, tossing it with as much contempt as possible at the hooves of the lead equine figure. The two eyes turned back towards the cave interior as the gargantuan clawed feet stomped their way back inside.

The four ponies stood in silence as they watch the back of the dragon disappear into the darkness.

"Umm...okay then. Dragon scale, check." Twilight bent down to grab the scale in her teeth and placed in her saddlebags.

"That's it?! Oh, come o–oww!" Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head where Applejack's hoof had delivered a concise argument on the lack of necessity in picking fights with dragons, while Fluttershy resumed breathing. "So, uhh...what's next?"

"Now we just find somewhere to make camp. It should only take me about two hours to prep the ingredients, and then...then I guess..."

"Show time?" Rainbow Dash finished.

"Yeah."

Twilight felt a growing sense of tension as they searched for an appropriate camping spot a respectful distance away from the dragon's cave. Like sitting and waiting for the start of a test that, even though she had done everything possible to study for, she was sure would surprise her with something she had completely forgotten. The unease only grew stronger as her makeshift lab setup took shape over the campfire and she watched her concoction start to bubble.

***

Applejack took a break from her pacing to take a look at the rest of the camp. It seemed nopony else was able sit still either. Dash had been flying circles around the camp for a little over an hour. Fluttershy would sit down somewhere only to stand back up and walk to another location like a filly in a school play desperately searching for her mark. Even Twilight, who had remained rooted in place to obsessively watch a pot boil, had been fidgeting so much that her back hoof had tapped a deep indentation into the ground. Not that she herself was much better. She looked down at the groove she had been working into the forest floor.

Procrastination was not something Applejack was overly familiar with. Through most of her life, she had excelled at knowing what needed to be done and then doing it, and rarely had there been any appreciable amount of time between the two. That was why this mounting sense of urgency screaming in her head at the approach of an unaddressed deadline felt so foreign.

In fact, there was only one other time she could clearly remember feeling this way. That was the night she decided to confess her feelings to Dash. There had been that same paralysis as a window of opportunity shrunk ever smaller. As they sat on that hilltop, she had silently screamed at herself to take action before the chance passed her by completely, only for her body to stubbornly refuse and sit there as the minutes dragged on. She remembered a sense of incredulity at the fact that she could face down dangerous Everfree monsters and millennia old mad gods without batting an eye, but simply telling Rainbow Dash the truth about how she felt was enough to turn her lily-livered! She had been moments away from calling the whole thing off and slinking home to drown her miseries in cider when Dash had kissed her out of the blue. As it turned out, this wasn't a case of Dash being more perceptive than normally given credit for, seeing where this whole thing had been going, and helping her get past her cold hooves. She had later admitted to liking her but not having any clue if she liked her back, and just deciding to resolve the matter by charging forward with her typical lack of impulse control.

Applejack shook her head, leaving bittersweet memories behind and returning her attention to the present. Even if that relationship was long finished, she was still grateful for it. Dash had saved her from making a terrible mistake, and she owed it to her to at least attempt to return the favor. Even if it was fruitless, even if Dash refused to listen, she had to at least try. She wouldn't be able to live with herself otherwise.

"Hey Dash?" Applejack called up at the restless pegasus, still flying her circuit.

"Hmm?" Rainbow Dash stopped her aerial pacing and glided down to where Applejack was waving her over at the edge of the camp. She followed her a few paces further and behind a large tree where they could talk privately.

Applejack took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "So, you're really serious about going through with this?"

Rainbow Dash stiffened. "Yeah. I already said I was." Without thinking about it, her knees bent ever so slightly into a defensive crouch. "You got a problem with that?"

"I think everypony already knows my opinion on the matter." Applejack suppressed the rise in her voice and did her best not to mirror Dash's posture, forcing her body to relax as she worked on appearing as non-threatening as possible. Falling into a shouting match would end things right here.

"And I was pretty sure everypony knew mine!" Rainbow Dash growled back. "Did I stutter or something?"

"No. I know. It's just that...there was a lot going on that day. Emotions were high. And since it's been a couple days now and things have cooled down a bit, I was wondering if there were any...second thoughts?"

"You mean, have I calmed down, come to my senses and realized how right you are and how wrong I am? How you always know what's best? You and everypony else because Rainbow Dash is just an immature idiot who can't be trusted to make decisions about her own life without screwing it up! Her dumb jock brain can't handle a thought more complex than 'gotta go fast'!" Her breathing grew more rapid as her eyes widened and her wings began to twitch at her sides. "She's a barely functional child in an adult body, so just ignore her when she screams and protests and thrashes around on the table because she's just physically incapable of understanding how right you are! Is that it?!"

"Damnit Dash! I'm not looking for a fight here! I just..." Applejack closed her eyes, took a breath, and let it out through her teeth as she mentally counted to three. "I really, honestly, just want to know how my friend is doing. I just want to know you're alright."

"I..." Slowly, grudgingly, Rainbow Dash forced herself to relax. "...yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. I mean, I guess I'm a bit tense. It's just that..." She paused as she struggled to find the right words. "Just that...even though it was days ago and I'm out and miles away. When it feels like...like somepony is second guessing me or ignoring what I'm saying, I...my heart starts pounding and my fetlocks start aching, even though the bruises are pretty much gone now, and I swear I can smell antiseptic and taste blood and hear that horrible buzzing noise and every part of me is just ready to fight and–and—"

Rainbow Dash's rambling was cut off by Applejack pulling her into a gentle hug. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Really. I'm fine." Rainbow Dash returned the hug, raising her hoof behind Applejack's back to wipe at what was most certainly not the beginnings of a tear trying to form.

"You know I don't think of you like that, right? You ain't always the easiest to get along with, but I never thought you were some foal who couldn't manage on her own. Even with the occasional tendency to leap before looking, you're frequently single-minded and damn near as stubborn as me sometimes, but that's not the same thing as stupid. I'm sorry if at any point I ever made you feel otherwise."

"I know, I know. Really, it's all good. You can stop apologizing already you idiot."

Applejack just squeezed her tighter as she whispered into her ear. "Your taste in music is still shit though."

The definitely not tears finally found an escape as Rainbow Dash collapsed to the ground in laughter.

"Oh, screw you, you banjo humping bumpkin! And like I told you a thousand times before, 'The Rainbooms' is a great name for a band!"

With the tension finally drained, Applejack decided to get the conversation back on track.

"So, no second thoughts at all?"

"None. I'm 100% on board with this."

"Don't suppose you'd reconsider?"

"Applejack."

"I know, I know. It's your life. Your decision. It's just that, you know this ain't just the end of it, right? This don't wrap everything up in a nice happily ever after."

"Yeah, I know. There's still a big painful mess to sort out afterward."

"I don't see much getting sorted if you stick with Twilight. Either you keep playing fugitive with her until you're both caught, she gets locked up and you get sent back to more doctors," Rainbow Dash gave a quick shudder, "or you manage to beat the odds and spend the rest of your days on the run, no more Ponyville, no more Wonderbolts training, no more seeing the rest of your friends."

Rainbow Dash shifted uncomfortably.

"But those aren't your only options. There's one more." She raised a hoof to point to the southwest. "You and me walk out of here right now and don't look back. We don't stop until we hit Ponyville. I can vouch for you that you're completely cured of any and all magical influences and if anypony tries to take you off to poke around your head without your say so, they can take it up with the twins." Applejack shot a glance at her hind legs. "In short, you get your life back. I ain't gonna try to force ya. I know I can't. It's your choice, but if we're doing this, we gotta do it now."

"I appreciate it Applejack, really. But my mind's made up. It's not that I haven't thought about all that stuff. I really don't want to give all that up. But if I were to go back the way I am now, I just don't think it would ever feel right. It still feels like I'm broken. Like I'm not really me, but some...cheap impersonation. I want so badly just to go home and sleep in my own bed again, maybe grab a cupcake from Sugarcube Corner, but I want to feel like me again even more. And I've never felt more completely myself than when I was with Twilight, including my life before we met.

She always saw more in me than I ever imagined was there. For one thing, I never would have picked up a Daring Do book if not for her. But not just that. Whenever she'd try to explain some bit of science or philosophy or some other egghead stuff to me and I'd start to get lost, she never wrote it off as a lost cause. Never assumed that I was just too dumb to ever get it, even if I assumed so. She truly believed that I was capable of understanding if she just found the right way to explain it, and she was right! Some of it was still horribly boring, but some of it I actually found interesting, and before I knew it I was borrowing books and discovering more parts of me I never knew were there.

That was the real me. And anything that spell actually did to my head was insignificant next to what simply being with Twilight did, which was actually make me grow as a pony. I'm not just looking to get doped up on happy magic. I need that spell so I can get out of this weird funk caused by my memories and feelings not connecting right and get back to being that better me. If I can just do that, I know I can face whatever messed up stuff comes after, especially if Twilight's there to face it with me."

Applejack just shook her head and gave a defeated sigh. "She really did change you didn't she? You never were one for impassioned speechifying. Really nothing I can say to change your mind?"

"Nothing."

"Well alright then. You can't say I didn't try."

"I appreciate the effort anyway."

"Glad to hear it. You know, as messed up as it is, even though I'll miss you terribly, I hope you beat the odds and I never see you again after this."

"Thanks. I'll miss you too."

***

Encased in a magenta glow, the viscous mixture rose into a column around the solitary strand of Twilight's mane, hardening into a thick candle. All preparations were finally complete.

"R–Ready!" Twilight called out with a surprising degree of hesitancy in her voice.

Get it together. This is what you've been waiting for, isn't it?

Fluttershy jumped with a startled "Oh!" and looked even more at a loss as to what to do with herself. Applejack appeared from behind a large tree on the outskirts of the camp, approaching with a notable frown. Rainbow Dash came zipping around from the same tree in a polychromatic blur, appearing in front of Twilight so quickly that she nearly fell backwards.

"Finally! So, what do I gotta do?"

"N-Nothing really. We already took care of all the paperwork, and Applejack and Fluttershy witnessed it. Not that I expect it will count for much, but at least it's something. Oh! One more thing." A bright pulse of magic suddenly flared out of Twilight's horn, followed by Applejack and Fluttershy falling on their sides wrapped in glowing magical bonds. "Sorry about this! If anypony asks, there was nothing you possibly could have done to stop me."

"Okay, so we're all set then?" Rainbow Dash asked, her impatience growing more obvious by the second.

"Y-Yeah. I should probably put you to sleep first. I mean, I don't think there would be any adverse effects to being awake for it, but you were asleep the first time and it's probably best if we recreate—"

"Twilight! Less talking, more casting!"

"Right!" Twilight leaned forward and tapped her horn to Rainbow Dash's forehead, causing her to slump forward into a snoring heap. She then tapped the wick of the candle, which ignited with a magical spark.

Okay, here we go. Making with the magic. Getting our marefriend back to normal. Paying off all that blood, sweat, and tears. Yep. Starting now. Now. Noooooow!

Twilight's horn remained distinctly unilluminated. A stream of violet smoke continued to rise straight up from the candle, unperturbed by any magical effects. From her prone viewpoint, Applejack raised an eyebrow at the lack of action, but said nothing.

"Just give me a minute!" Twilight snapped in response.

You're really going to choke here of all places? Get it together!

It just feels...wrong somehow.

Are you fucking serious?! Really?! NOW you're squeamish? NOW you think that maybe there's something morally problematic about this whole concept? It's a tad bit late for that, genius!

As the stillness dragged on, Applejack finally spoke up from the ground. "What's the matter Twi? Not as easy to do in broad daylight with ponies watching as it is skulking around and breaking into bedrooms under cover of darkness?" A gag magically appeared in Applejack's mouth, cutting off any further remarks, but Twilight didn't look away from the candle flame as her internal struggle continued.

We knew it was wrong last time and made peace with that fact. If anything, this should be much easier. We've got enthusiastic consent here! What's the holdup?

It just...feels like cheating?

That makes absolutely no sense at all.

I mean, do we really NEED to do this?

Yes. Have you not been paying attention?

It could be my imagination, but it kinda seems like Dash has been warming up a bit the more we travel together. She says it's just ingrained habits, but...maybe this could be a chance to start over. To actually do things the right way.

Except for the part where she's got brain damage now.

Brains are amazingly plastic, and habit drives behavior. That was the whole point of our spell in the first place. And given that Dash is clearly interested in pursing a relationship now, there's a chance that damage might repair itself. That just continuing to reinforce those habits will reforge those affectionate connections. We can build new memories together. It may be slower, but we can get to where we were before without any magic.

The result of the spell is physiologically identical to the 'natural way' you're talking about. Just faster. That was the entire point. Why take the slow way?

To prove to myself that I can! That if just given the chance, I can build and maintain this relationship on my own. That I can make her happy without needing any magic as crutch. And that we are together because we're actually good for each other, and not just because I have the power to make it so.

Well that's not what Rainbow Dash literally signed up for.

She wants a relationship so badly already that a good placebo would probably do the trick.

So instead of magically manipulating her, you're going to take the high ground and just psychologically manipulate her into thinking you magically manipulated her.

Shut up!

And of course there's no better way to start your new 'authentic' relationship than with a massive lie. But hey, it's only because you know what's best for her right? Why start caring about her input now?

How am I suddenly the bad guy for NOT enchanting somepony?!

You already promised to do so. Now you're looking for a way to walk it back, even though you want it just as bad as she does, because you suddenly feel guilty about a previous situation with wildly different context. You're a self-destructive masochist who'll go to extreme lengths to sabotage a shot at happiness.

It's called a conscience, you amoral bundle of tenuous rationalizations for sociopathic behavior! Don't pretend like you've got a consistent or coherent moral philosophy. One minute it's utilitarian arguments about how Dash will be much happier as a result of our spell, the next it's admonishment about how not casting it is presuming to know what's best for her. As long as it leads to the quick and easy path.

It's called pragmatism. And what you're questionably calling a 'conscience' looks a lot like paralyzing self-doubt leading to a lot of pointless dithering and worse outcomes for all involved. And yeah, I'M the sociopath for saying backing out on a deal, lying to Dash, and building a relationship on top of that lie to prove some point to yourself is a fucking bad idea!

We can at least try the non-magical route, can't we? Magic can be a viable plan B, but we can't do the former after the latter. At the very least we can wake her up and float the idea. And who knows? Maybe when she wakes up she'll feel all better thanks to one good shock of placebo and it won't pop when we tell her we didn't do anything and 'the magic was in her the whole time' yadda yadda, and nopony will even care about the spell anymore.

First, the chances of that happening are so near zero that they're in for an awkward breakfast and a walk of shame in the morning. Second, that's assuming time is a resource we have in abundance. Our long term odds don't look particularly good. Our days could be numbered, so how many do we want to throw away gambling on a slow route that might not even work?

So we just need to change those odds. Get the authorities off our backs for good, and we'll have all the time in the world.

And how exactly do we—No, you're seriously considering running with that plan?! I hesitate to even call it a plan! There are simpler ways to commit suicide you know.

It could work.

There are 87 ways it could go disastrously wrong, and that's just the obvious ones I can think of on a first pass. There's a 75% chance it ends with us captured, and a 24.3% chance of ending up dead.

You just pulled those numbers out of your plot, because there's no data to base those calculations on.

That's because there's no way to quantify that many unknowns with all the parts beyond our control that have to go perfectly right, which is the hallmark of a terrible plan!

It's the only real shot we've got of actually addressing the long term problem, and I'll take it over doing nothing. And besides, my made up math says there's higher chance we end up dead than captured. We've pulled off crazy plans before.

And you're willing to gamble the time we have with Dash on it?

If it goes bad, then at least Dash still gets the rest of her life back. She won't be dragged down with us.

Twilight finally moved. With a quick pulse of her horn, she snuffed out the candle. With a second, she roused the sleeping pegasus.

Rainbow Dash slowly climbed to her hooves with a large yawn and a stretch. She stared at Twilight as her eyes took a moment to refocus. A habitual smile took form on her face as the familiar lavender outline took shape and she sleepily mumbled out the familiar phrase she had so often recited in the past whenever waking up next to it.

"Morning, Twi."

The smile quickly collapsed into a frown as the usual flood of elation failed to follow, derailing the entire script. This wasn't right.

"How are you feeling?" Twillight tentatively asked.

"Kinda...like nothing happened? I feel the same as before. Did you cast it yet?" A momentary look of panic crossed her face. "Did it not work?! Am I gonna be stuck like this forever?!"

"No, No! I...I didn't actually cast it yet."

"What? ARRRGH! I'm so sick of getting jerked around! What's a mare gotta do to get enchanted around here?! What's the problem now?!"

"Well first, kind of a side note, but I think there's actually a pretty decent chance you might just get better over time if we keep spending time together."

"And how long would that take?"

"I don't know, but it brings me to the main point. I don't know how much time we'll have after this. How long we can realistically keep running before...." Twilight let the thought trail off. They both knew the possible, even probable outcomes. "But I've got a...well, plan might be too strong of a word, but an idea. An idea that involves holding off on the spell for a while, but just might actually fix the whole 'hunted by all of Equestria' problem."

"And what is this not-plan of yours, exactly?"

"That's the thing. You see...I can't tell you."

"Twilight."

"I know, I know. We agreed to no more secrets, but I really can't! I need your help for at least one part, but some parts of it depend explicitly on you not knowing all the details, or else the whole thing crumbles. You're going to have to trust me, and yes, I know I've done absolutely nothing to deserve that level of trust, considering all that's happened."

"Will it work?"

"Obviously there's no way to know in advance. I won't sugarcoat it, it's definitely risky. It's a longshot and there's a lot of ways it could go wrong, but that's been true of pretty much everything up to this point, and it's the only thing I've been able to think of that will give us a real shot for the future. But only if you're onboard with it. If you'd rather I just go ahead and cast the spell right now, I'll do that instead.

Rainbow Dash's hooves pulled at her face as she let out a long groan. She was being asked to gamble without knowing the odds, the stakes, or even the game. Normally, Rainbow Dash was far from what any pony would call 'risk-averse', a fact that had led to many crushing defeats in any wager based game with Twilight (along with several legendary victories), but taking this bet also meant patience and delayed gratification regarding getting her head back on straight. And she didn't even know for how long. Still, if anypony could pull off a longshot, it was Twilight.

"Can you at least promise me you know what you're doing?"

"Ehhh, about as much as usual up to this point?"

"Well, I hope you can execute this plan better than you can sell it."

"So you're in?"

"I'll probably regret it, but yeah. If only because now you've got me curious, and I want to hear the whole thing afterward."

Twilight leaped at Rainbow Dash and wrapped her forelegs around her in a tight hug. "Thanks for believing in me. I'll do my best."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and chuckled "Oh, that' s good to hear. Until now I thought you were just gonna half-ass it."

"Umm..." A quiet voice called out from somewhere low to the ground. Two heads turned to look at Fluttershy, still magically bound and lying on the ground next to a bound and gagged Applejack. "Can we get up now?"


Author's Note

Okay, so remember how I offhandedly mentioned that this fic would end before the show did? I might not quite make that deadline. I've been trying to race through wrapping things up this week, but everything at the lab I work at is now constantly finding new ways to break, turning my hopes of popping out early for a day or two into staying late every single night.

I'm just short of 2000 words into the next chapter already and it should be posted sometime this weekend, hopefully followed immediately after by the final chapter. I tried to knock the rest of this out in this sitting, but I do actually need to grab more than 4 hours of sleep at some point this week, so I'm calling it a night/morning at 4 am now.

I never can predict how long each scene is going to be until I'm in the middle of writing it. Like I thought I'd make the dragon a whole thing, but it ended up a single paragraph. Then I just wanted a brief check in between Applejack and Rainbow Dash and that became an unplanned examination of PTSD. Then Twilight's inner debate was going to be like a quarter of its final size, but I kept coming up with rebuttals to the last word.

Next Chapter: Chapter 22 Estimated time remaining: 55 Minutes
Return to Story Description

Login

Facebook
Login with
Facebook:
FiMFetch