Randomness

Part 1

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On Equestria...

Two earth pony colts wearing snow hats and holding bags of bits in their mouths are running through the dark streets of Canterlot like their lives depended on it. They are constantly looking over their shoulders and their eyes dart towards any sign of movement. Normally a criminal would love the night, but the nights at Canterlot have become increasingly more dangerous for its citizens. Crime and corruption have run rampant ever since Gabby Gums exposed the dubbed “Cake Scandal”. And it’s only gotten worse after the Changelings attacked during the Royal Wedding. And after criminals thought that they had a stronghold on the city of Canterlot, a mysterious masked pony dressed in purple began taking matters into their own hooves and has become the symbol of vigilante justice. So far this mysterious vigilante has eluded guards and criminals alike and is even tough for the reporters to track.

Currently, this masked figure is chasing the two colts, or was chasing the two colts. It appears that the thieves had eluded their stalker after they turned into a desolate, garbage filled alley.

“Okay, I think we lost it, Crook” says the first colt between his heavy breaths

“You sure, Hawker?” asks the second colt after wiping sweat from his face to the best of his abilities

“Yeah”

The colts scan the area to make sure no one was coming. They chuckle with relief and shake the bags.

“I’m glad we lost her” says Hawker

“What if it’s a ‘him’?” asks Crook

Their stalker lands quietly behind them with a soft blue glow around her. The mare is wearing a lavender outfit completely covering her body, with a dark purple mask (complete with one way goggles) and cape, a witchy hat, and on her hooves are armored gauntlets. In fact, just about everything is armored except for her cape.

The mare watches the two argue in silence. It’s only when she clears her throat do they stop arguing and slowly turn around. Their jaws drop and the bags fall to the pavement and all the stolen bits spill out.

“I’m a mare” says the mysterious vigilante in an obviously disguised voice

“N-no. No!” cries Hawker

“You-your voice is too deep and-and scratchy to be a mare” stammers Crook

With each step the mare takes the two colts take a step back, and two sets of rope and two blue metal apples covered in the light blue mist from levitation float up behind her. When the rope and blue apples lurch forward the colts’ eyes grow to the size of dinner plates and they make a mad dash to escape.

***

Two unicorn night guards (wearing purple and bark blue armor) are having a quiet discussion while patrolling the streets. So far it has been a boring night for them, and in attempt to cure the boredom they got into a conversation that went from the weather (which had been pleasant all week), to the weird stuff that can be ordered by PP’s Deliveries, and Lulamoon Entertainment Corporation sponsoring a benefit concert starring the band “3 Barns Up”. However, as soon as Trixie came up a small argument ensues about whose better, Twilight Sparkle or Trixie.

“Look, all I’m saying is that if it came down to a fight to the death Trixie would obviously splatter Twilight Sparkle” says the first guard, named Colt Kicker

“In your dreams” scoffs the second guard, named L Roy Jerkins “It’s a show pony versus a student of Princess Celestia. Trixie doesn’t stand a chance”

“…Trixie’s hotter”

“Okay, now you’re just asking to get your flank kicked”

Suddenly the guards hear two horrified screams and the instantly run to the source, which was conveniently close to them. They skid to a halt in an alley and see Crook and Hawker hog tied with blue metal apples stuffed in their mouths and bags of stolen bits next to them. Duct taped to Crook’s nose is a small note that the second guard rips off without much concern. Crook’s yelp is muffled behind his metallic gag and is ordered to shut up by the first guard.

“What’s the note say?” asks Colt eagerly

L Roy guard clears his throat.

“Dear Royal Guards of Canterlot,” begins L Roy dramatically “I have this/these criminal(s) as a way to let you now that the people of this city care about what goes on here and that we are sick of the crime and corruption. Now get off your flanks and do your job! Sincerely, Mare-Do-Well”

Both guards look at each other and Colt shrug.

“I guess we drag them in” says Colt

Both guards lift up the captures ponies with their magic and turn around to leave, but briefly become so distracted by a zooming vehicle that they drop the ponies. They watch Mare-Do-Well pilot an odd contraption with a skinny frame and two fat wheels that leaves a trail of quickly fading light blue glitter. When the trail disappears it takes them a couple of seconds to regain their composure and pick up their prisoners.

“Well, back to the station” says the L Roy coolly

+++++

On the Mushroom World…

The history of this world, like all worlds, is chaotic and full of mystery. Thankfully, under the guidance of Princess Celestia, Equestria has seen a thousand years of peace -

“Hey E Gadd, what are you reading?” blurts Mario

E Gadd looks up from a thick purple book and flashes a joyful, childlike smile at Mario. E Gadd is sitting in a swirly chair at his metallic desk, and like most of his place, it is cluttered with blueprints, notes, and crumbled pieces of garbage.

“Why Mario, my dear boy, I am reading the History of-”

Ding-itty-Ding-Dong-Dongy-Dong-Dong!

“Oh, that’s my doorbell!”

E Gadd jumps out of his seat and bolts to the door, leaving his swirly chair to spin rapidly for ten seconds flat before coming to an abrupt stop. This makes Mario raise an eyebrow, but he brushes aside what he had just witnessed since he is in E Gadd’s house and lots of weird things happen in his place. Mario scratches his chin and looks up at the ceiling (which has constellations made out of bottle caps on it).

Mario can hear E Gadd talking to other people and from the sounds of it, it’s Luigi. Mario peeks into the hallway and sees E Gadd showing off a bright pink box with red ribbons on it to his guest. He’s explaining how it came from PP’s Deliveries and how he’s planning on ordering a “Sweet Tooth Ice Cream Truck” to compare with a “Warthog”.

Mario walks back into E Gadd’s office and looks at the purple book the crazy scientist was reading before he was interrupted. Mari checks the cover and sees that a portion of the title has been rubbed away, so all that’s on it is “History of Eque-”.

“Great” mumbles Mario

Mario sits down and flips through the book. All he sees are pictures of colorful (and anatomically weird) ponies with some weird language written in really sloppy calligraphy. How E Gadd could read it is beyond him.

‘Wow, it’s like someone wrote this with their mouth’ thinks Mario

“Hey Mario, where are you!” calls Luigi

Mario flips the pages back where E Gadd left off and walks into the living room. Luigi is sitting on a puffy couch and E Gadd is sitting in his easy chair with that pink box he was showing off to Luigi earlier.

“What is it, Luigi?” asks Mario

“Mario, we need to talk” says E Gadd grimly

Mario stares at E Gadd, wondering if his grim tone is serious or if he’s just joking.

E Gadd’s stern look is suddenly replaced with a giant grin and he yanks out a blueprint roll.

“About science!” says E Gadd ecstatically

“I figured” says Mario as he leans against the wall

E Gadd flips open the arm of his chair, pushes a big red button, and the floor in the middle of the room splits open and a coffee table rises into view. When the table is fully up, the floor seals itself shut and the table locks itself into place. E Gadd giggles as he hops off of his chair and unrolls the blueprint on the table.

“Gentlemen, I have a proposition” says E Gadd

“Ooh, I like propositions” says Luigi

Mario looks at Luigi and Luigi smiles and shrugs nervously.

“What is this proposition?” asks Mario

“Well, my boy, I propose that-”

Ding-itty-Ding-Dong-Dongy-Dong-Dong!

“Oh, that’s my doorbell”

E Gadd hurries to his door and lets in two toads; a scarred toad wearing a yellow vest with yellow spots on his mushroom head (named Yellow Dude) and his brother, Blue Dude, who is wearing blue and has blue spots instead of yellow.

“Ah, I’m glad you can make it” says E Gadd gleefully

“Yeah, yeah, we’re all glad to be here. Are we going to a bar after this?” asks Yellow rudely

“Yellow, can you please show some manners!” begs Blue

E Gadd leads the Dude Brothers to his living room. Mario gives Blue a courteous nod, which he returns in kind, and Yellow Dude and Mario do a fist pound. Blue sits next to Luigi and Yellow sits next to his brother, looking bored out of his skull already.

E Gadd clears his throat and everyone focuses on him; this makes him smile.

“Good, now that everyone is here, we can begin” says E Gadd

“We’re missing Yoshi” says Blue

“He’s on vacation visiting Sandy on Yoshi Island” says Mario

“Who’s Sandy?”

“The tan yoshi that Yoshi fell in love with when we were on Yoshi Island rescuing Peach”

“You don’t say” says Yellow

“Are you sure? This sounds strangely like a shipment forced upon a fandom by fandom zealots” says Blue

The room falls deathly quiet as all eyes shift to Blue. He chuckles uneasily and shrinks in his seat. A part of Mario is eager to hear those crickets chirp again, but all he gets is Yellow’s groaning.

“Can we get this over with? I haven’t had a smoke in a few hours” grunts Yellow

“Seriously? Do you have to smoke that much?” scoffs Blue

“Yes I do”

“Anyways!” says E Gadd with a sudden burst of sternness

E Gadd pushes a button underneath the coffee table and a copy of the blueprint appears in a blue holographic projection for everyone to see easily. E Gadd explains the mechanics of his “Transdimensionaljumpingatron 9000” while he turns off the lights and closes the blinds and curtains. When he’s done with those the projection is the only light in the room, he goes on to explaining his mission.

“Gentlemen,” says E Gadd dramatically “I’ve explained the device to you and now I ask you this one simple question. Do you want to explore new worlds?”

“I want a beer” says Yellow

“Dammit, Yellow!” snaps Blue

+++++

Meanwhile at Bowser’s Castle…

“Karl, where is my remote!” barks Bowser

Bowser is sitting on his throne, trying to watch a game of football, but the game was rudely interrupted by an infomercial advertising a hair growth gel. A koopa with a black shell, burnt skin, and piercing red eyes dressed in Koopa Patrol armor, and armed with a saber, grouchily walks up to Bowser with the television remote in his claws.

“Here it is, Your Majesty” says Karl while handing the remote to Bowser

Bowser snatches it and changes the channel to a hockey match. So far it looks like Koopa Land is destroying the Mushroom Kingdom; nine hundred to zero. Bowser chuckles from the euphoria he’s getting from watching the toads be destroyed by the koopas.

“Wario and Waluigi request your presence, sire” says Karl flatly

“They can wait” growls Bowser

“They said you’d say that and they told me to tell you that they had finished setting up the surveillance equipment and are now spying on E Gadd”

Bowser looks at Karl.

“Really?” asks Bowser

“Yes sir” replies Karl

“Hmm…I’m at a predicament here. On the one hand, I’m interested in seeing what that old man is planning, but on the other hand I want to see who will win this hockey match”

“I think it’s a safe bet to say who will win”

“Hmph, record the match, Karl, I’m off to see what those two knuckleheads have found”

“Of course sir”

Bowser marches out of the room (shaking it slightly with each step) and Karl sets the recorder. After setting the recorder he sits on Bowser’s throne and puts his hands together like a pyramid and taps his pointer fingers together rhythmically. Half an hour later, Kammy and Kamek fly in, smoking and panting.

“Bowser we got bad news!” says Kamek

“I’m not Bowser” says Karl harshly without looking up

“Where’s Bowser” demands Kammy

“Meeting with Wario and Waluigi down in the research levels of the castle; why?”

“Rex has escaped!”

Karl jumps out of his seat and puts his hand on the hilt of his saber.

“You two find Bowser! I’ll muster the guards!” says Karl

Kamek and Kammy zoom out of the throne room to find Bowser and Karl runs out to muster his guards.

***

Bowser walks into a domed room with bright lights shining down on it. There are thick tubes and wires are slithering all over the floor and walls and in the middle of it all…is a phone booth. Wario and Waluigi are in the back, hunched around a bulky computer propped on a simple metal table. Both of them are wearing headsets and Wario is using a joystick while Waluigi is taking notes.

“…Trans-Dimensional travel…” mutters Waluigi

Bowser walks forward and has a look at what the two are watching. He can see the self-proclaimed Mushroom World Heroes, their sidekicks, and the crazy scientist talking about something. He can also see a very elaborate blueprint of E Gadd’s invention, which looks nothing like the phone booth in the middle of the room.

‘Okay, what the Hell’ growls Bowser mentally

“Oh, hey Bowser” says Wario casually

“That blueprint looks nothing like what you have in the middle of the room” snarls Bowser

“But it works the same way” says Waluigi defensively

“How can you be so sure?”

“Trust us, it’ll work” says Wario

“What if I told you that I don’t trust you” retorts Bowser

“Then we’ll be very, very angry with you and then we’ll write you a letter telling you how angry we are”

Bowser and Waluigi look at Wario and Wario is oblivious to their staring for a few seconds, but when he notices he gets a sheepish grin.

“What” says Wario innocently

“No movie references” orders Bowser

“Fine”

“What have you found out so far?”

“Well we found out that E Gadd is planning an expedition to explore another dimension. More specifically, a place called Equestria. Apparently he has a friend over there”

Bowser scratches his head.

“He has a friend in another dimension?” says Bowser quizzically

“Well it’s not that big of a deal,” says Wario snobbishly “I mean inter-dimensional communication has been around for a very long time. In fact, according to Dr. Miles Prower’s Theory of Dimensional Fusion, if two dimensions interact enough times then they eventually become one dimension”

“Why does that name sound familiar?”

“Miles was that little two tailed runt with the bad attitude. But everyone called him ‘Tails’”

“I think that attitude was because of puberty” reasons Waluigi

Bowser laughs and slaps Wario on the back, causing him to lurch forward and bang his head against the computer screen. The computer almost falls off of the table, but with quick reflexes Wario and Waluigi are able to catch it and set it straight.

“I remember him!” laughs Bowser hysterically “I punched him in the face when he had that ridiculously adorable kitty keychain. And then Olimar splattered because of it!”

Bowser laughs so hard his scales turn red and Wario and Waluigi join into the laughing. Soon their eyes are filled with tears and their faces are bright red because they are laughing so hard.

“Hey, how does this thing work?” asks a black yoshi with red spines and eyes

Wario and Waluigi explain how the device works in between their laughs and the black yoshi thanks them, crawls inside, and then disappears in a flash of blinding light a few seconds later. Bowser, Wario, and Waluigi immediately stop laughing and stare at the burnt square where the in the middle of the room.

And they stared.

And they stared.

And they stared.

And they stared.

Kamek and Kammy fly in the room, closely followed by Karl and the Koopa Brothers.

“Your Smelliness, Rex has escaped!” says Kamek anxiously

Bowser screams at the top of his lungs while shaking his fists.

“NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOAAAAUGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRGGGHHHHHH!!!”

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Back at E Gadd’s House…

Mario is pacing around the holographic projection while rubbing his brow. He can’t believe what E Gadd is proposing. He knows E Gadd is loopy, but traveling through different dimensions just for the heck of it is just insane! Especially traveling to a place inhabited by intelligent ponies. What good could that possibly bring! Plus he has a job to defend the Mushroom World from whatever threats there may be. But Luigi on the other hand…

“I like that idea” says Luigi happily

“I think it’s gay and stupid” says Yellow

“I’m in,” says Blue Dude “I want to study these extra dimensional beings”

“You can’t be serious” scoffs Yellow

“I am serious. And either you can come or you can stay here and get a job”

“Okay, I’ll go”

Luigi looks at Mario with Bambi eyes.

“Are you going, brother?” asks Luigi

“No” says Mario flatly

“But why! I’ll be going, and all your friends are going”

“Yoshi’s not going”

“That’s beside the point”

“Well I have a duty to defend the Mushroom World –and Peach- from whatever dangers may come. I can’t do that while I’m talking to talking ponies”

E Gadd wags his hand while shaking his head furiously.

“No. Nope, nope, nope, no, no, no. No. You’ll be studying talking ponies” says E Gadd

“Which requires talking to them, E Gadd” says Mario harshly

“…Oh yeah...So are you coming?”

“No!”

E Gadd sighs depressingly.

“Okay…that’s fine” says E Gadd sadly

Next thing Mario knows, he’s standing outside and E Gadd is slamming the door behind him. Mario huffs and kicks imaginary rocks away, stuffs his hands in his pockets and walks down the path.

“Well, this day can’t possibly get any worse” says Mario to himself

Not even a second later, Mario gets a newspaper to the face by the local paperboy.

“Sorry Mario!” hollers the paperboy while speeding away on his bike

Mario shakes the pain away and picks up the newspaper (titled Mushroom Times). On the front page is a picture of Tails, wearing a nice suit, shaking hands with E Gadd in front of Mushroom Kingdom’s University of Advanced Sciences. Mario cocks his head and flips to the part that’s covering the story behind the front page picture.

Professor Elvin Gadd and Dr. Miles Prower met today at the University of Advanced Sciences yesterday to talk about the future of travel. But this future of travel is not about visiting exotic regions of the Mushroom World or Mobius, but of traveling to other dimensions! The extensive research by the prodigies has led to multiple breakthroughs of-

“Blah, blah, blah” mutters Mario impatiently as he speed-reads through the article

Dr. Prower is reported to be staying in the Mushroom Kingdom to give lectures at UAS until the end of the week

Mario closes the newspaper and carelessly tosses it behind his back.

“Well, it looks like I know what I’ll be doing” says Mario to himself

And then he boldly walks down the path and begins his journey to talk to Miles Prower; the best friend of his number one rival.

+++++

At the University of Advanced Sciences…

“And that is a basic explanation of Dimensional Fusion” finishes Tails

The auditorium that Tails is talking in is filled so much that people had to sit on the floor, but it is also dead silent, save for the scattered sounds of pencils and pens scratching on paper. But after Tails finishes his presentation the crowd files out of the auditorium with great difficulty; a good ten minutes passes before it is completely empty, except for Mario. Mario had been waiting in the back patiently for almost an hour, listening to a form of science that his mind cannot comprehend. He’s not even sure if most of the toads in the auditorium comprehended what was presented. To him, it seemed like Tails and E Gadd were basing their Inter-Dimensional Travel/Fusion thingamajig on grounds as flimsy as wet tissue paper.

‘Well, time to talk to Tails’ thinks Mario dreadfully

Mario walks down the steps towards Tails, who is now putting away his stuff in a fancy briefcase. Mario can’t believe he’s about to talk to his rival’s best friend about this odd field of science.

“You’re skeptical, aren’t you” says Tails coolly while snapping his suitcase shut

“I thought I hid my skepticism very well” says Mario sarcastically

“Are you here for questions or are you here to badger me”

Before Mario can reply Tails pulls out a small pink box almost identical to the one at E Gadd’s house, and he takes out a glowing glass bottle of soda called “Nuka Cola” and drinks it.

“What is that?” asks Mario

“Nuka Cola” says Tails

“Uh huh…I’ve never heard of it. Is it a Mobius thing?”

“Nope, it’s from another dimension. Me and E Gadd did extensive studies on this one and it is, by far, one of the most difficult ones we’ve had. This particular dimension seeps into other dimensions and fuses together to create something new with minimal levels of external influences. We called it the Fallout Dimension”

“But why is it in a pink box? I saw one almost exactly like that, only bigger, at E Gadd’s place”

“Oh, ‘PP’s Deliveries’, they deliver randomness”

“…What”

Tails grins and pats the box like it is his loyal pet.

“Without PP’s Deliveries, me and E Gadd wouldn’t have been able to get as far as we did with our inter-dimensional studies. The founder is already a master of the subject and even has gotten as far as to breaking something called the ‘Fourth Wall’. I’m hoping to study-”

“Fantastic, listen I need you to talk to E Gadd, he’s lost his mind”

“How so”

“He wants to take us to a place called Equestria to meet with talking ponies”

“Oh, that’s very thoughtful of him.  He’s been talking about meeting with Pinkie Pie for a while, since she’s in charge of the ‘PP’s Deliveries’ and all and that’s where she lives. I think they Facebook-ed each other too”

“What the heck is ‘Facebook’?”

Tails hops off of the stage and walks towards the exit, completely ignoring Mario’s question. As Mario trails him he pretends to strangle the fox.

“Tails, I know you and E Gadd put a lot of time and effort into this, but this is a crazy, stupid idea that you have and I don’t want my brother or my friends getting wrapped up in this pseudo-science of yours” says Mario impatiently

“We are on the verge of a scientific breakthrough, Mario, it will revolutionize everything” says Tails firmly

Tails waves to a couple of students that greeted him as he walks down the hallway with Mario at his side. Mario grabs Tails’s shoulder and looks him dead in the eyes.

“Revolutionary or not, you need to talk sense into E Gadd before he gets my brother killed with an implosion!” says Mario desperately

“There were only three implosions” says Tails

“Three times too many!”

“I’m sorry, Mario, I can’t, for the sake of science, now if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be”

And then Tails hurries away without another word, and Mario sighs and walks alone in silence; that is until his drooling troll of a clone grabs him and yanks him behind a corner. Mario is about to punch Wario, but Wario holds up his hands defensively and begs Mario not to hit him; Waluigi is also there, munching on a banana.

“What do you guys want?” sneers Mario

“We have a slight problem” says Wario

“We were building a trans-dimensional traveling device, but then something bad happened” says Waluigi as he carelessly tosses the banana peel away

Mario sighs and rubs his brow; he has a feeling he’s going to regret what his rivals are going to say.

“What happened?” asks Mario reluctantly

“Rex stole it and jumped to another dimension and Bowser is requesting your assistance to get him back, due to your extensive knowledge of yoshis” says Wario

Mario opens his mouth to bash them for their carelessness, but then he realizes he has no clue who “Rex” is. And then another thought creeps in where thinks Bowser has an ulterior motive.

“Who’s Rex?” asks Mario suspiciously

“Rex is a black yoshi from Yoshi’s Island, he was captured by Bowser’s soldiers when he occupied it all those years ago” says Waluigi

“What’s special about him?”

“Rex is a nut job” replies Wario

“That doesn’t say much” says Mario dryly

“Mario, I know you don’t trust us, but believe me when I say that we need to get Rex back before he does any real harm”

Mario rubs his chin, trying to decide whether or not he should risk going to find a nut job yoshi and leave Peach exposed to Bowser, or just stay here and let Wario and Waluigi handle the problem themselves and not risk losing a kingdom…again.

“What if I say ‘No’?” asks Mario

“Oh c’mon, Mario!” whines Wario “We did not get teleported into a closet by Kamek just so you can say ‘No’!”

“I thought my assistance was requested”

“Look, Mario,” says Waluigi carefully “just think about this for a second. Say, hypothetically, that Rex is going to the same place that your brother and friends are going”

Mario’s eyes narrow, which makes Wario and Waluigi take a step back.

“Where is he going” demands Mario

Wario looks at Waluigi, Waluigi looks at Wario, and then they both look at Mario. Both of them sigh in unison and look down while shifting their feet shamefully.

+++++

Back on Equestria…

It is a bright and sunny day on the outskirts of Ponyville. The sky is almost cloudless, the sun is warming everything up for the summer season, and there is a soft wind rolling over the fields to cool off the peaceful ponies and to spread the pollen for the flowers.

In the middle of the Whitetail Wood, Daisy, Ponyville’s expert gardener, is skipping through the forest with a basket of flowers in her mouth. She is humming her favorite tune while marveling at the beauty of the forest, when a sparking phone booth suddenly falls out of the sky and lands in front of her. She makes a small “Eep!” and scrambles backwards and falls on her back, dropping the basket in the process.

Daisy clumsily gets back on her hooves and watches in wonder as the door slides open with a small hissing noise and becomes curious when she sees a bipedal reptile with black scales, a big muzzle, and red spines hobble out of it. She wants to greet it, but something seems…off about the visitor, so she takes a step back instead.

“[Ah, Rex, it’s good to get out of that dingy dungeon]” says the creature

The creature, Rex, cracks his back and takes a moment to look at his surroundings. When he sees the mare he flashes a toothy grin. But his teeth are not bright and clean, they are almost pure yellow and rotting away in spots…and sharp too.  Daisy wrinkles her nose because she can smell his horrible breath from she’s standing. She doesn’t even know how to describe the smell!

“[Hey there cutie]” says Rex pleasantly

Daisy shies away by taking a couple of steps back and lowering her head while trying to hide behind her mane. But her mane is not big enough. She knew she should’ve gotten those mane extensions when she was at Canterlot.

“[Do I frighten you?]” asks Rex sadly “[Oh that’s okay, I understand]”

Rex lightly kicks a rock away.

“[Yeah, I’ve always been seen as a blight on my world. Why should this one be any different?]”

Daisy can’t understand what he’s saying, but she can hear the grief in his voice. She takes a deep breath and, against her better judgment, trots forward. When she’s close enough she nuzzles her head under his hand. Rex smiles and gently runs his fingers through her mane. The claws running through her mane and lightly scratching her skin feels really good, like a Godly back-scratch. The mare smiles and closes her eyes blissfully while Rex rubs her head. But then Rex twists her mane around his hand and holds her head up so that she is looking into his blood red eyes. He snickers and licks his lips while his claw tracing a trail on the mares cheek. She begins shaking and whimpering and Rex softly shushes her while rubbing her cheek with his thumb. Daisy stops whimpering, but her trembling becomes so bad that she has to sit down.

“[Silly little creature, you should’ve listened to your instincts]”