Behind the Bleeding Veil

They were gone. They were all gone now. Sunset had taken Pinkie and Sonata back with her and Adagio. That was good since both Pinkie and Sonata were crying messes. Apple Jack had stormed out on her own. Twilight had guessed she was too angry to cry. Made sense she supposed. Most more than likely their friendship was over. Once again, it made sense. She had the power of a god yet refused to resurrect their friend or even say exactly how she died. Of course Twilight couldn't tell Apple that, she had promised Rainbow she wouldn't.

They were gone. They were all gone. Twilight reflected. Their circle had originally been her and the five human versions of her pony friends. Then came Flash and Sunset (or Sunset and Flash depending on how you wanted to count them). Eventually it would be the seven of them plus the three little sisters (Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo), the older siblings (Big Mac and Maud Pie), Adagio, Sonata, Soarin, Sandal Wood, Micro Chip, and Valhalen. Now Apple Bloom, Soarin, Sandal, Chip, and Val were all dead. Rainbow Dash could be added to that list she supposed. Sweetie was completely withdrawn inside her own head, Scoot was living her own life, Rarity and Fluttershy no longer talked to them, Maud and Big Mac had moved away, and now Apple Jack looked to be gone as well. From a peak group of nineteen, only six remained. In three years, thirteen had been killed or separated from the group. So much for the power of friendship. It would seam as though not even that could stand up to the power of time.

They were gone. They were all gone. Yet that was not what weighed so heavily on Twilight's mind. No, it was what Rainbow Dash had told her. She didn't protect people. She did, but only against the First Ones. Other than that, she didn't do anything to help. And you know what? - she was absolutely right. The world was burning all around her and yet she did nothing. She had the power but not the permission. She could, if she wanted, entirely remake the universe yet she was forbidden by the source of her power. It was a cruel joke.

"Hey, you ok?" Flash looked at his beloved and put his hand on her shoulder. His heart was breaking thinking of the pain she was probably going through. He wanted to take it all away, to make her feel better but had no idea how to do it. It made him feel weak and impotent, but he had to try something; he couldn't just allow her to fester.

Twilight turned to him and gave a weak smile. "I'll be ok," she said trying to sound light and airy but sounded all the heavier and more depressed for the effort. She took his hand from her shoulder and kissed it.

Flash nodded. "Tell me when you can, if you can. I'm here to listen. If not listen then at least offer a shoulder to cry on."

"I know baby, I know," Twilight said and hugged him.

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"Twilight. Twilight."

Twilight was deep in sleep, beyond the reach of any outside noise. She had drifted into the slumber of the dead once she had gone to bed. Her mind had completely shut itself off as if to protect itself from any unwanted thoughts it might have. This voice didn't seem to becoming from outside, in the world, but inside her own head.

"Twilight. Twilight." The voice was soft, feminine; yet beneath it, almost undetectable, there was an under current of sheer hate. It was the voice of a butcher softly calling a lamb to the slaughter.

Twilight was surrounded by utter and complete darkness. She could also feel herself floating. This wasn't the darkness caused by her eyes being closed, this was the darkness of her own mind. She knew that she must be having her first dream. She hoped it would be pleasant but given the ever so slight hint of hatred in the otherwise cooing voice, she doubted it. Soon a shape began to form in front of her. It gave off the impression that one has when slowly opening ones eyes after a long sleep. It was blurry, a bit liquid, familiar, yet strange and foreign. Her dream eyes soon grew accustomed to where she was and the image became clear.

"YOU!" Twilight just gasped in horror and disbelief.

"Hello sweetie; did you miss me?" It was Queen Chrysalis. Her hair was white with black streaks through it. Her skin was greenish blue and rotted. Pus dripped from some sores, maggots could be seen crawling through others. Chunks of skin had fallen leaving whole sections of exposed muscle tissue. Her eyes burned with a bright green fire, and black lips pulled back to expose yellow fangs. It was a form Twilight had never seen but she knew exactly who it was.

"You're dead. You're dead! I saw you die. You killed yourself to free Morgarith. You can't be alive." She tried to tell herself over and over that this was just a dream; a very vivid dream, but a dream none the less. If Chrysalis was still alive, everything they had gone through had been in vain.

"Oh, so that's what happened to me? Well, it appears I was a bit off in my target then." It was then she let out a high pitched, sickening laugh. "Oh dear me. Well, you are right in some respects. I did die. Well, at least the majority of me did. However, I occupied your young mans mind for quite a bit; so a part of me still remained, hidden in his mind, from you, even from him."

"Wait," Twilight gasped with a growing sense of horror, "you were inside Flash's mind this whole time? For three years?"

"I'm afraid so," Chrysalis answered back in devilish glee. "Oh, you might want to lay off the butt stuff for a while. You don't want to have to start wearing Depends at your age."

Twilight felt like vomiting. If this wasn't inside her head she probably would have. For three years, arguably her greatest enemy (a piece of her at least) had lived inside her greatest love's head; hearing, seeing, feeling all. It was a violation beyond rape for it recast every loving moment, every intimate moment between her and Flash as something else.

Twilight summoned all her strength and asked with a hateful intensity, "So why now? Why reveal yourself now?"

"Because my dear, dumb Twilight, you were finally vulnerable enough. Your psychic walls had weakened enough to allow me to jump ship from his brain; oh and you'll be please to know that when he masturbates he thinks of you. Such a loyal boy. Never even rubbed one off to the idea of a threesome. I'd say he's a keeper."

Twilight couldn't hold back her anger anymore. She lunged and grabbed Chrysalis by the throat and started choking her. In response she just laughed. The more she laughed, the harder Twilight squeezed. The harder Twilight squeezed, the more she laughed. Twilight was determined to strangle the life out of her. That is, until she heard the choking beneath the laughter. It was hard, masculine. In sheer, mind numbing panic; she realized what was going on. She suddenly opened her real eyes to see she was actually choking Flash.

She let go and jumped out of bed immediately; screaming and crying. Flash rolled onto the floor, clutching his neck with his right hand. His face was already a pale blue. He struggled for breathes that refused to come. Twilight couldn't watch. She struck out her hand and instantly Flash was healed.

Twilight stood where she was, crying, shaking, begging for forgiveness. Flash got up as quickly as he could and ran over to her and grabbed her. He didn't shake or even yell at her. He just hugged her as tight as he could and said it was ok, over and over. When Twilight calmed down enough to talk, he lead her to the bed and they both sat down. He asked what had happened and she told him everything: the voice, Chrysalis, attacking her in the dream and realizing it was him in real life. They both sat quiet for several minutes; Twilight in shame and Flash just trying to process everything.

Eventually Flash turned to Twilight and asked, "So, she's been in my head the whole time, for three years?"

At first Twilight just barely nodded, her face turned down to the ground. Then she slowly looked up, in tears. "And now she's in mine."

"It, it'll be ok. You can defeat her. I know you can because you did before. Multiple times from what you told me. Also it's not even really her. Just some left over bit that was able to stowaway in the back of my brain."

"So you're not mad at me?" Twilight asked with a sad, disbelief.

"Are you mad at me for not knowing she was there in my head?"

"No, never."

"There's your answer then," Flash replied with a smile.

Twilight hugged him in tears and he returned hers. In her mind she thought, Look, look at this you fucking whore! He loves me, and I love him. Nothing you can do will ever change that. I'm safe with him. I'll burn you out of me one way or the other.

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It had been a weak since Chrysalis' reemergence and so far no further signs of her. Twilight at first kept her physical distance from Flash. The idea that Chrysalis was inside her, watching, made her feel sick and exposed. Then she thought maybe that's what Chrysalis wanted. So she forced herself to make a move on Flash. At first he refused but then gave in. During, Twilight took an almost perverse pleasure in knowing Chrysalis was watching somewhere, possibly even feeling as well. It was like a giant middle finger, it was her saying, See, you won't, you can't break me or shame me.

Still.

Still she wanted her gone but had no idea how to do it. Could she just wish her away? She didn't see why not but it also seemed way too easy. Did she need Sunset? Did she or both of them have to go inside her mind? She wasn't sure. What she did know was that as long as Chrysalis was in her head, she was trapped. If Twilight did something wrong while trying to get rid of her and accidently let her lose onto the world, that would be a horror she couldn't take.

Well all that would have to wait. It was Friday morning, neither she nor Flash had any classes so they were going to the city to spend the weekend with their parents. One night at Twilight's, one night at Flash's. It would be a nice getaway after everything. Flash was getting a shower and Twilight had TV on while finishing up packing. Nice and normal.

Then a news cast came on and changed all that. Twin reports; one about another supposed barrel bomb attack in Syria and then on the starvation levels in Yemen due to the civil war there. Twilight looked on in horror as pictures of bloody, dirty, maimed men, women, and children crossed the screen. Children, babies, emaciated; their eyes dead and empty as their stomachs. Taught flesh wrapped around bone, the muscles long since atrophied. Twilight started to weep.

Tears Twilight? Crocodile tears more like it. You're a goddess you know. With but a snap of your finger you could end all this. Their pain, their suffering; that's all on you Twilight.

Twilight knew exactly who it was. Chrysalis had finally decided to speak. Twilight closed her eyes and lashed back, So now you speak? Where have been this whole time? You're a coward Chrysalis.

In her mind now she saw Chrysalis standing before, as decayed as ever. Chrysalis just laughed. "I'm a coward? Oh Twilight, you know better than that. I'm also disappointed in the strength of your come back. I expected better."

"Ok, fine. Here's one, the truth. I can't. I'm not allowed to. I protect . . . "

"You protect against the First Ones and can not interfere with multiverse," Chrysalis replied, yawning. "Tell me, what does it feel like, to have all that power and not be able to use it? I would say emasculating, but that infers that masculinity is superior to femininity and we both know that's not true. Just don't tell your boyfriend that. Men, such fragile egos you know."

"Not him and I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to make me angry and lash out again. It won't work."

"Actually sweetie, I'm trying to show you how useless you are. You stopped me from unleashing the Black Gods of Death. Ok, so what. You saved the multiverse! Hallelugah and praise Jesus! What did you save them from? What did you save them for? Look at their suffering. Look at how they kill each other; for what? Who's sect of who's made up religion is right? Over which squiggly lines on a piece of paper are correct? For pieces of printed paper and stamped metal? Take those atrocities off the table, what do you have? Famine, plague, earthquakes, tornados. If they aren't trying to kill themselves, the very universe is trying to do it for them.

"You saved no one. All you did was kill me and my men which makes you no better than I. You could. Oh yes you could. You saved your boyfriend last week and almost saved your friend as well. Nothing happened to you. You're power is still yours. But you don't because you won't. You won't because you're scared and weak. You're righteousness is an illusion. Only the will, the will to act, to be your own person, is true."

With that, Twilight suddenly found herself in her apartment again - cold and shaking.

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On the way to Twilight's parents, Twilight said next to nothing. The images of the dead and dying from the news and Chrysalis' words running on loop inside her brain. It was only when Flash screamed was she fully released from her trance. A bus blew a tire and was careening off the side of the bridge they were on. Twilight saw this as her time to act. Waving her right hand up, she levitated the bus back up and onto the bridge.

As traffic came to a halt, Flash looked over at Twilight in shock. "What did you do?" he asked in fear. Not fear of her power but the consequences there of.

Twilight turned to him grimly and said, "What I always do, I saved people."

Traffic would be backed up for a couple hours but eventually got moving again. The rest of the journey was spent in silence. Flash thought Twilight might have gone too far but said nothing for fear of distressing her before she had time to clear her head. Twilight loved the feeling that she had just saved a bus load of people but still felt like it was little comfort given the magnitude of pain and suffering in this world.

When they got to Twilight's parents' house, things seemed better. They all hugged and laughed and joked. Mrs. Sparkle had dinner waiting for them. They ate, talked about school, Twilight's parents asked how she was dealing with Rainbow Dash's disappearance and she replied as best as possible. Over all things went well until the TV was turned on later where they saw that one of the passengers on the miracle bus this morning had gone into the maternity ward of the hospital where his estranged wife was delivering their child and shoot the place up; killing the doctors, nurses his wife and new born son, and finally himself.

I told you, you save no one!