PyraohXBlaze - Who says she's in heat? :P And as for Spike... who knows what goes on in that drake's head sometimes.
megarock1018 - Thank you. And your wait is over
Guest - Hmm... Will we get answers in this chapter? Read on and find out!
derpdragon - Oh, I have plenty more planned. And if you refer back to chapter 52, you'll see that AJ has had some fun with him too, though I suppose Luna does dominate a bit.
PBJFanFiction - Oh, don't worry, I wouldn't dream of spoiling the mystery for you ;)
Guest - Hey! I haven't had that much to drink :P
bobfromsiam99 - We can hope
centaurus2 - Let's hope she can take it
KillerWoW - Accompanied by random, good reviews ;)
shadows being - Lol I've read a couple of fics like that too. I can't say I have any plans for that, but that's not to say it won't happen (Not saying it will either :P)
cking1996 - Well here you are!
DragonLord RyuKizoku - You'll just have to wait and see ;)
Lone The Dark Hearted Wolf - Indeed
Kyguy - You ain't seen nothin yet ;)
xel101 - What makes you say that?
TurnupGrain43 - Hmm... not so sure that would work on Blake...
Mikalzilla - Lol I dunno... It's cool, it happens.
coldshadow92 - Sorry. I wish I had more time to devote to writing, but unfortunately Life has other plans.
A/N - Howdy everypony! I hope you had a good week! And to those who reviewed my other story, I'll be posting replies when I post the next chapter, just like I do this one. I'll leave this A/N here so you all can get on with the story. As always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!
Rainbow Dash was sitting on the ground in front of me, hooves to her head and eyes squeezed shut. "Who the hay pulls a cloud out from under somepony like that?!"
I wasn't proud of what I'd done; in fact, using my levitation spell to tear the cloud straight out from under Dash like that was one of my lower moments, but I knew that I needed to get my point across to her. The indignant mare cracked an eye open and looked up.
Her eyes went wide, and I saw regret and a glint of fear in them. "B-Blake! You're back! Th-that's s-so awesome!" I could tell she was trying to play it cool, but I could also hear her knees knocking together.
I quirked an eyebrow at the strangely cowed mare. "Yeah. Though I heard that you didn't think I would be."
She gulped loudly and shrunk back. "Y-you heard about that huh? N-not one of my b-better days…"
I felt anger start to well up in my chest, but I quickly realized that she was acting completely clueless about the near-tragic results of her little outburst. "You have no idea… do you?"
She gulped again and looked around. "A-about what?"
I took a deep breath, pushing my emotions down for the moment. "Do you remember how Scootaloo heard what you said to Derpy about my not coming back?" She gulped again, and nodded. "Well, she got so upset over that that she decided to come look for me."
Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide as realization sunk in. "Sh-she didn't…"
"Oh, but she did Rainbow Dash. She took Applebloom with her and went into the Everfree to try to find me, to bring me back home. And do you know what happened to them in that forest?" Dash shook her head slowly, her face clearly showing that she was afraid of the answer, and she was right to be so. "They got ambushed… by three timberwolves."
Dash's ears pinned themselves to her head. "S-she's ok though, right? Blake, tell me Scootaloo's ok!" I could have been deaf and still heard the pleading in her voice.
I was quiet for a moment, letting her drink in the severity of the situation. When she looked like she was about to break down in tears, I decided to speak up. "She's ok, thanks to sheer coincidence. See Dash, we just so happened to have gotten back to Zecora's hut earlier that same day, so that she could make the potion out of that flower that I went into that Hell of a forest to get in the first place. And when they got ambushed, Applebloom somehow managed to get away, and she ran her flank off to Zecora's hut to get help. Do you know what I found when I got back to where they got ambushed?"
She took a step back and shook her head, fear growing in her features. "I found my adopted daughter, lying in a pool of her own blood, while Aurora fended the timberwolves off. From what I could see, she was trying to keep them away from a corpse!"
Rainbow Dash's eyes went wider than I'd ever seen on a pony, and she started shaking her head as tears started to flow down her cheeks. "N-no… Scoots, no…"
"She was lucky; I managed to get to her in time, drive off the timberwolves, and get her back to Zecora's so she could heal my daughter before it was too late."
Rainbow slumped down onto her rump, obviously too overcome by what I had told her to stand any longer. "B-but I… wh-what kind of medicine could she have used?" She looked up to me, studying my face, looking for answers. Her face twisted and contorted, first with realization, then with horror as she pieced things together. "The flower… you gave her your flower… didn't you?"
I nodded solemnly. "Yes, I gave up my eyesight to save something far more precious to me."
She looked away, screwing her eyes shut as more tears spilled forth. "Blake… I screwed up so bad... I-I don't even know why I said those things about you… I'm so sorry… is there anything I can do to make up for it?"
I took a step towards her, leaning in close so we were eye-to-eye, and turned her head to face me. Her eyes opened slowly, then went wide as she saw the look on my face. "Yes Rainbow Dash, there is. You can stay away from us." Her expression turned from worry into shock and horror. "I don't want you coming near me, I don't want you coming near Derpy, and I most certainly don't want you coming near Scootaloo!"
Fresh tears flooded down her cheeks, and she shook her head as she backed away from me. "B-but… I…"
I stood and turned away from her, looking back at her over my shoulder. "And you can forget about any thoughts of being my marefriend. Ever." The poor, heartbroken mare let out a choked sob and turned away, dashing off towards town.
I looked forward, and came face-to-face with a concerned-looking Cadance. "That… that was a little harsh, Blake."
I sighed and slumped down, resting my backside on my heels as I crouched, suddenly weary from the emotional maelstrom brewing inside me. "She… she's supposed to bear the Element of Loyalty, Cadance! And what did she do? At the first sign of trouble, she up and abandoned me, and her lack of loyalty, the very element she's supposed to embody no less, almost got Scootaloo killed."
Cadance sighed and sat down next to me, looking up into the clear, fall sky. "I won't pretend to know how that feels Blake, but can tell you that it wasn't her fault; it's not like she said that just to make Scootaloo go into the woods and get attacked."
I followed her gaze up to the sky. "I know that Cadance, but whether it was intentional or not, her actions are still the cause of Scootaloo going into those woods like that. I forgave Shining Armor for attacking me because he was doing it to protect his family… but… what motivation could Rainbow Dash possibly have had for doing what she did? I've never given her any indications that I would just up and abandon everything I've come to love, especially not on a whim like that."
Cadance let out a deep sigh and stood up. "I really wish I knew Blake… to be honest, I only just heard about her saying those things from Aunt Luna. I was actually on my way to see if you were ok, and see if maybe you wanted to talk about it."
I looked over at her, and noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Thanks Cadance… that means a lot. I know we haven't had long to get to know one another, but you've been a good friend to me, even in the worst of times."
She nudged me and stood up. "That's what I'm here for. Now come on, let's go get started on your training and get your mind off all this." I took her offered hoof and stood up, following closely behind her as we made our way back to my mansion-like house.
When we got back, I saw Spike being chased around by a quartet of fillies, all shouting something about being 'Cutie Mark Crusader Temple Raiders'. I couldn't help but chuckle at the comical sight, and I noticed that I felt a little better after having told poor Rainbow Dash off like that. I knew in my heart that I couldn't stay mad at her forever, and I'd eventually want to try to make amends with her, but right now, my blood boiled at the mere thought of the rainbow-maned mare.
Cadance trotted around to the back, where she took up our usual spot beneath the tree that rested there, the same tree that would one day be on a small island in the middle of Pabu's new pond. I was tempted to look around for the ornery otter, but I figured he'd be over at Fluttershy's, playing with his other friends like he did sometimes. I hadn't thought to look for him when I first arrived, figuring he would be somewhere around the house, but that apparently wasn't the case.
"Alright Blake, like your shield spell, tapping into your healing magic is all about finding your innate magical flow; once you've done that, using it to heal rather than create a shield is all about putting yourself in the right mindset. Now, I want you to tap into your innate magical flow, then imagine that Derpy's broken her leg, and you want to help her…"
Thanks to my familiarity with my shield spell, I had no trouble latching onto the stream of innate magic. I started to have some difficulties once that was accomplished though; my mind was so used to using that magical flow for creating shields, that trying to use it to heal was problematic. The first several tries were complete failures, conjuring shield spells that wrapped around Cadance's leg rather than the magical aura that was supposed to mend wounds.
We tried for almost two hours before Cadance finally decided we should take a break, opening up a satchel she'd stashed at the base of the tree and tossing me a plump, juicy apple to munch on. I couldn't help but revel in the sense of familiarity, of peace.
Just when my mind felt completely relaxed, Rainbow Dash flitted through my mind, and I suddenly felt horrible for the things I'd said to her, the pain in her eyes the instant before she'd run off cutting deep into my heart. I'd never wanted to hurt her that badly, but my emotions got the better of me, and I did anyway.
I wanted to go find her, to apologize, but I knew she wouldn't want to see me at the moment, and I wondered if she ever would again. "Hey Blake, are you ok?" I snapped back to reality to see the concerned face of Cadance, mere centimeters in front of my own.
"Y-yeah… just thinking, that's all."
She sighed and backed up a few steps. "Thinking about Rainbow Dash?" I nodded and stood up. "I don't need to be the Princess of Love to tell that you hurt her pretty badly… but with that said, maybe she needs this wake-up call. She seems to be too brash, too arrogant for her own good sometimes… maybe this will bring some of that to light for her."
"So, you're saying that I should just let her be for the time being?"
She shook her head. "Normally, I'd say you should go find her right away, but I think in this case, giving her some space might be the better option. I'm sure she'll come around, she just needs some time to think things through and calm down-"
"Hey Blake! I got something for you!" We both looked up to see Rainbow Dash diving out of the sky, something clutched in her forehooves. Before I had a chance to react, she pulled a foreleg back and flung it at me. Somewhere in my mind, I knew that I should duck, or form a shield, or do something to defend myself, but I was so flabbergasted by what was happening that I could only stare as the grey object hurtled towards me.
Whatever it was struck me in the face, my entire head exploding in pain while stars bloomed in my vision as whatever it was splattered from the impact. "For your information, I never wanted to be your stupid marefriend, you plothole!" Cadance called out to her, but she was gone before she could do anything to stop her.
I groaned and struggled to sit up, feeling a stream of warm, sticky liquid leaking form my nose and other parts of my face. I couldn't tell if it was blood, or something from the object. I tried opening my eyes, but found that the liquid had run into them, forcing me to keep them shut.
I could vaguely hear Cadance's hoofsteps over the ringing in my ears, and she started talking to me, but it was too quiet for me to make out. I shook my head several times to try to get the ringing to stop, but nothing seemed to work. I even tried to activate my aurasight spell, but all I got for my troubles was a blinding headache.
Before long, I felt another presence near me, and from the size, I could guess that it was Luna. Something soft, warm, and wet began sliding across my face, and at first I thought it was a tongue, but quickly realized that the texture was that of a towel.
Whoever was wielding the towel was concentrating on my eyes and a few other places across my face, places that must have been the worst off from the impact. Slowly, the ringing subsided, and I could start to hear their conversation. "… But, why a cantaloupe?! Does she not realize that she could have killed dearest Blake with such a blow?!" I recognized the lovely voice of my Lunar Lover almost instantly.
"She was heartbroken Aunt Luna, she probably wasn't thinking about much at all…" Cadance let out a sigh, and I heard magic spark to life and felt the accompanying magical pressure from the direction her voice had come from. "Hmm… it looks like he has a concussion… it doesn't look too serious, but there's only so much I can do; concussions are difficult to heal properly, too much can go wrong if you don't know what you're doing."
"Don't worry yourself over it Cadance, these things will heal, with time. For now though, we should concentrate on these cuts across my poor Blake's face, they don't seem to want to stop bleeding." Luna seemed to be relegating the towel to the same three or four spots on my face now, and it didn't take much to realize that that's where the cuts she was referring to were located.
I cracked open an eye slowly, hoping it was free of blood and cantaloupe juice, and found that Luna had done a good job of cleaning me up. I glanced to the side, making sure to keep my head still for her, and saw the shattered orange flesh of the melon-turned-projectile. I couldn't help but side with Luna in asking myself what that mare had been thinking, throwing something like that at me; and at such a high velocity too.
"My love, are you alright?" I glanced over to Luna, only then noticing that she had stopped dabbing at my face.
I shook my head one final time in a last-ditch effort to make the pain go away, but it was no use. "I fink sho." My father had taught me first-hand what that kind of speech impediment meant. "Oh great… my nosh ish droken!" Luna and Cadance both tried not to laugh at my speech as I sat there and glowered.
Cadance cast her spell again. "Oh wow! How did I miss that?!" I looked over at her as she dismissed the spell. "You're right Blake; she broke your nose in two places and you have several fractures in your skull…"
Luna growled and got to her hooves. "I will not allow such an attack to stand! Element of Harmony or not, that mare shall face justice for what she has done!"
I set a hand on her shoulder before she got out of range, freezing her in place as she turned back to regard me. "Please Lulu… you'll just make things worse if you confront her now. Cadance was right before; we need to give her space so she can cool off. Who knows? Maybe when she does, she'll realize just how serious throwing that melon was on her own." Fortunately, also thanks to my father, I knew how to talk around a broken nose so that I could sound almost normal.
I looked over to Cadance, who was looking between us. "I… you both have valid points; Rainbow Dash did nearly kill you… but on the other hoof, she was in a heartbroken rage, so she may not have realized just how bad that could have been. I… I think I have to agree with Blake though, Aunt Luna."
Luna looked between us several times. "Very well. I still believe that she deserves to be punished for her actions, but I will concede to your judgment on the matter."
Using her sable shoulder as a brace, I shakily got to my feet. "Well… I suppose the calm was fun while it- OOF!" Something slammed into me from behind, nearly sending me toppling to the ground again.
"YAY! I can't believe Blakey's back! My Pinkie Sense told me a good friend was coming home, and I just knew it had to be you!" The spastic pink mare let go of me and started bouncing around the yard. "Ooh! Ooh! You know what this means, don't you?!"
Cadance tried to keep up with the bouncing mare, but it was no use. "Pinkie, I love your parties as much as the next pony, but Blake won't be in any shape for a party for a few days at least."
Pinkie froze mid-air, zipping over to me so quickly that she left an afterimage of herself as she hung in the air. She stopped right in front of me, eyeing me up and down, suddenly stopping when she got to my face. "Wow… what happened to you Blakey? Did some meanie try to beat you up while you were in the Everfree?" I shook my head, but she kept going before I could say anything. "Did you run into a thorny bush, or a tree? Ooh! Ooh! Or maybe you- Mmm mmph!"
I pulled my hand away from her mouth once I was sure she wouldn't start talking again. I'd always hated that trick, but it was the only way to get in a word edgewise sometimes. "It's not from anything in the Everfree, Pinkie… Rainbow Dash did this."
Her eyes went wide and she gasped so hugely that it actually rustled my hair. "Not Rainbow Dash! I mean, I know she was upset about you being gone, but she'd never do anything like this!"
"Miss Pinkamena, if you do not believe Blake, you should go and ask Rainbow Dash yourself."
Pinkie stared at Luna for a moment. "That's a great idea! I'll go ask Dashie what happened, and then I can invite her to Blakey's welcome home party!"
The pink party devil dashed off before we could tell her how much of a bad idea that was. "Welp, that was fun… so Cadance, I imagine we'll need to wait for this concussion to heal before we can continue our training?"
She nodded. "Unfortunately… if you tried to use your magic with trauma like that, you might end up in another coma." She walked up to me and her horn lit up. "I can't fix the broken bone in your nose, but I can fix the rest of the damage that the melon caused."
My face was engulfed in the familiar cooling sensation of healing magic, and I stood still as I felt the various cuts across my face knit themselves back together and the pain started to fade away. I even felt something in my nose crackling around, and I guessed that she was mending the cartilage that had been damaged.
The glow around her horn subsided, and I sniffed, testing the repairs she's done to my nose. "Well, how do I look?" I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to talk and breathe after Cadance literally worked her magic.
Luna walked up close and inspected my face. "You have done a wonderful job Cadance; there is hardly a scar left from the incident."
"Oh dear, what 'incident'? What has happened to poor Blake now?" We all turned and saw Rarity approaching from the direction of town. "Oh, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but overhear… please tell me you're alright dear, you've been through far too much since you've been here already."
I sighed, resisting the urge to slump down into a crouch as the weight of everything that had happened started catching up and piling up on me. "I… I really don't know Rarity…"
The three of us took the time to fill Rarity in on what had happened with Rainbow Dash, with Cadance and Luna stepping in to fill in the parts that were a blur to me, either from the emotional turmoil or simply from the daze caused by having been hit in the face by a cantaloupe. I realized in the middle of our tale that I had yet to go into any detail about what had happened to Scootaloo in the Everfree, which meant that Rarity likely wouldn't know just how serious things were.
Since the retelling was taking so long, the four of us decided to relocate into my house to get more comfortable. Rarity shook her head slowly as our tale came to its end. "I… I'm not sure what to say, Darling… I can't say I agree with how harshly you treated her, but I also can't say I wouldn't have done the same if something like that had happened to Sweetie Belle…" She studied me for a moment, eyes darting around, presumably inspecting whatever scars remained after Cadance's healing. "That being said, Rainbow Dash had no right to attack you as she did either. I believe that we should have a talk with that mare… once she cools her hooves, of course."
I sighed and sipped the tea that Cadance had been kind enough to make us. "Yeah. I guess I'm just worried that she won't cool her hooves… at least not anytime soon."
Rarity leaned over and patted my knee with a hoof. "I wouldn't worry about it too much Darling; Rainbow Dash may be stubborn, but she would never want her friends to think she hated them."
I looked deep into her sparkling, sapphire eyes, and realized that she truly believed what she was saying. "Thanks Rarity." I wasn't quite sure what else to say, but my mind quickly rectified that as a thought came to it. "Oh! I never did ask what you originally came to visit for."
A smile creased her lips. "Oh, of course! My apologies, Darling; with everything that's happening at the moment, I nearly forgot myself. I wanted to ask you if you could stop by my shop later this evening so I can make some final fittings for your costume before I start working on the finished product."
I looked over to Cadance, who nodded. "Well, since you have a concussion, we can't exactly continue with our lessons for the day…"
Rarity gasped. "Darling! I didn't realize Rainbow Dash had hurt you that badly!"
I shrugged. Well, technically, I've got a broken nose too."
She gasped even louder. "My word! I thought you sounded a little… nasally, but I wasn't going to say anything to you about it."
I waved a hand dismissively and stood up. "Don't worry about it, these things will heal on their own. It's the emotional wounds I'm worried about… both mine and Rainbow Dash's." I offered her a hand, pulling her to her hooves when she daintily rested a hoof in it. "Now, why don't we go and get this fitting done? I'm Sure Luna and Cadance wouldn't mind spending some quality time together as aunt and niece rather than Princesses."
Luna stood and trotted over to me, rearing up and giving me a hug and a tender kiss. "Do not think overmuch about this situation, my love; I'm sure Miss Dash will see the error of her ways soon enough. And if she does not… then we will speak to her when the time comes."
I returned her hug and gave her a kiss of my own. "Thanks Luna, I'm glad I have your support… I really need it right now."
She smiled and planted one final kiss on my lips before hopping down. "You will always have my support, my love, for as long as we both may live." I gave her a grateful smile and turned to the door, opening it for Rarity.
I never even got the chance to motion for her to go first, instead being tackled to the ground by a blur of pink. "BLAKEY! What did you say to Rainbow Dash?! She's moving her cloud-house out of Ponyville!"
