Stubbornness of Pain

Chapter 7: A Heavy Price

Chrysalis lowered her shield around Twilight and Twilight felt immediately how the air around her got occupied by Chrysalis magic and for whatever reason made Twilight's horn start itching. Twilight was unable to use magic she felt, Chrysalis influence had done something but for the moment she didn't care. She rushed away to Rainbow Dash in a straight line without even throwing the slightest glaze at Chrysalis or her Changelings. In loud splashing sounds Twilight walked in the thin layer of blood surrounding Rainbow Dash and just stood there.
She didn't know what to do than lower herself to the floor and whisper Rainbow Dash's name in her ear. Rainbow Dash leered at Twilight but didn't dare to move in fear of massive pain.
No one in the entire hall said a single word, it was completely quiet except from Twilight's small movement in the blood. She wanted to hold Rainbow Dash close to herself, but she saw how a simple warm breath on her skin made her whole body get tense by pain. A second later a shadow appeared over them from behind and that wasn't no one less than Chrysalis.

“Don't worry... it may look brutal but I can asssure you... ssshe isss far from dying... a pony'sss body may be sssmall and sssoft to their sssurface... but as one... they are rather sssussstainable.”
The Cangeling queen said which made Twilight to add while she turned her head and gave away a angry looking face regardless of having her eyes filled with tears.
“Does it matter... I hardly believe you even let us survive to dawn.”
Chrysalis kept quiet and made a lap around Twilight and Rainbow Dash, she then sat down on the other side of Rainbow Dash in her blood and stared down at her. Twilight watched closely as Chrysalis for once made a small and friendly looking hand out of her mane and started to pull its finger through Rainbow Dash's messed up hair.
“Well... maybe not you.”
She simply said out weak as she smiled some with her eyes stuck to Rainbow Dash, Twilight lost her frustrated face and became somewhat confused.
“W-what do you mean?”
She asked but had to wait rather long for an answer, Chrysalis almost looked like she cared for Rainbow Dash which she obvious didn't, but she finally decided to raise her head up to Twilight and say.
“I don't really care if one sssingle pony isss out there in the wild free... I mean... I have you.”

Chrysalis smiled big and made another hand out of her hair and reached over to Twilight there she pinched loosely at Twilight's cheek. Twilight pulled immediately away her head from Chrysalis little grasp which made the Changeling queen to laugh some with her mouth closed and then right after that, continue to speak.
“Ssso... I sssuppossse... I could let your friend over here... to walk away.”
“You're lying... you would never do that!”
Twilight shouted out furiously without delay and immediately receiving a strong slap from Chrysalis that made her fall over.
“Why would I lie... give me one good reassson for that!”
Chrysalis this time screamed out to Twilight who tried to get up on her hoofs, she also at the same time was thinking on what Chrysalis had said and actually couldn't see any reason for her to lie, but there was still something that didn't feel right. The look Chrysalis had was somewhat suspicions and Twilight strongly didn't like it. She and Chrysalis watched each other closely and didn't let go of their eye contact easily. It was almost like they had some sort of competition between them but immediately after Twilight got up she asked with a tough voice.

“So... what you're saying is that... you're willing to let my friend go?”
“For a prize... which isss you... one life for another.”
Chrysalis said right away with a facial expression that contained a nasty trace of evil cunning and left Twilight in silence. Twilight was lost in her mind but felt how something touched her right front hoof among the blood. She looked down and saw how it was Rainbow Dash that had reached out for her and lightly looked up at her with her head.
“Don't do it.”
She said and nothing more with a weak and tired voice.
“Husssh husssh.”
Chrysalis then said and reached out a couple of arms to pull Rainbow Dash closer to her, Twilight didn't have time to react and could only stand there she was and do nothing than watch. The Changeling queen stepped over Rainbow Dash, lowered herself to her and hugged her awfully close while wrapping her up in her mane. She was gently and made sure to cause the least pain she possibly could to Dash and then continued to speak.

“You're to hurt to be a part of thisss dissscusssion... jussst relax and let usss with a clear mind take care of thisss... I'm sssure your friend over here sssee reasssoning in her few but exisssting choicesss... am I right... Twilight... Sssparkle?
Chrysalis looked right into Twilight's eyes when she was done and only continued to hold Rainbow Dash in a firm grip with her whole body. Twilight was breathing slowly but each breath was heavy and made her whole torso to move. Once again the entire hall stood silence from nothing else then the storm outside and the sounds Rainbow Dash made in her painful, sweating shivering.
Twilight lowered her head so her eyes disappeared in the shadows of her mane and with a dead facial expression behind these shadows she simply said quietly.
“On one condition.”
“No Twilight!”
Rainbow Dash immediately screamed out but Chrysalis quickly grabbed her muzzle to keep her quiet and focused with shining eyes on Twilight and saying.
“Well... not becaussse you're in any ssstate of making demandsss but... I guesss hearing you out won't hurt.”

Twilight looked down at Rainbow Dash that desperately tried to break free but Twilight couldn't bear to watch her for too long. She changed her gaze over to Chrysalis and expressed her words with haste.
“I... I want you to give my friend at least one day of safety knowing you won’t just right away go after her... and I also want you to give her the fair chance of actually leaving the castle!”
Chrysalis face changed into an odd expression, an expression Twilight didn't know what to expect from.
She also stood up slowly but continued to hold Rainbow Dash down and her mouth shut.
“Agree... I hereby promissse that your friend will be sssafe from me to the dawn that isss in roughly one day from now... and that I will make sssure ssshe leavesss the cassstle in one piece before that.”
Chrysalis said but Twilight found her words extremely hard to trust and this saw Chrysalis in Twilight's face and added shortly.
“I know what you think of me... but I asssure you... when I make a promissse... I keep it... and why wouldn't I in a sssituation like thisss where I have the upper hand?”
Twilight sighed in hearing the foul words of the Changeling queen being true, she could very well just kill both of them right here and that actually bothered Twilight why she didn't. As she looked upon Chrysalis she saw something hidden in her eyes, something that scared her more than death.

“Then it isss decided!”
Chrysalis said out loud and suddenly and let Rainbow Dash completely free from her grasp.
The queen made a quick jump closer to Twilight and grabbed her in a second in every limb by her mane. Rainbow Dash tried her hardest to stand up, but fell immediately and hit her jaw on the stone floor hidden under the small pool of her own blood. Without delay, Chrysalis raised Twilight up above her and placed the tip of her giant horn in the center of Twilight's torso.
“Anything you want to sssay before I end you?!”
Chrysalis asked rough while Twilight struggled some by the harsh grip she was stuck in but she stopped immediately after the words she had heard. She looked away to Rainbow Dash and stared for a long time empty into her eyes, Chrysalis showed patient and allowed the delay of her act.
Dash once again tried to stand up but failed just like the last time, she started to crawl with only the help of her front hoofs towards Chrysalis and Twilight.
“Dash...”
Twilight said which made Rainbow Dash to stop and look up with blood dripping down from her jaw and when they saw into each other’s eyes, Twilight continued.

“I'm sorry I couldn't keep that promise you wanted... and I'm sorry for what I said earlier... you will always be my friend no matter what... always... remember that.”
Twilight slowly smiled then, why couldn't Rainbow Dash understand because herself started to cry silently. But that little smile Twilight performed was all she had time to do after her speech before Chrysalis pulled her towards her and impaled her on her horn. Rainbow Dash right away closed her eyes as hard as she possible could and looked away. She heard the sound of soft flesh get torn apart by something sharp, something she had heard before when she had used her halberd against the Changelings. She also heard Twilight making sounds of difficulty with breathing but other than that, she was rather quiet. A long but very hard to hear whimpering sound passed through Twilight's throat and mouth that she held wide open. Her eyes was as well wide open and watery with tears, her legs was shaking and her skin crawling by the tickling warm blood flowing past her belly and over to her hind legs where the blood then dripped of. Rainbow Dash still had her eyes closed and just cried for herself, till a loud thump following with a splash appeared right in front of her. Dash in a twitch open her eyes and looked forwards to see that Twilight's body was laying there in the blood with her back turned facing her.

“Twilight.”
Rainbow Dash said to herself extremely upset with a second away from trying to get over to her if it wasn't for Chrysalis who grabbed her while saying.
“And now to the promissse I made.”
“Don't touch me you disgusting thing!”
Rainbow Dash screamed out in sorrow but Chrysalis didn't care, she did however find Dash's resistance rather frustrating and didn't feel shy in being a bit rough with her. She grabbed Rainbow Dash's front and hind legs with two separate hands made out of her mane and stretched her out.
Through the whole time Dash struggled, swore and screamed both in pain and hate out to the giant hall. Chrysalis just completely ignored her and while having Rainbow Dash where she wanted, she used her magic to grab and rip of one side of the curtain that hanged at one of the many windows in the room. While pulling it towards her, she at the same time tore it even further into long thin stripes like bandage and then finally wrapped it around Rainbow Dash's belly to cover up the two wounds on each side of her. Rainbow Dash cried in pain when Chrysalis tensed the cloth firmly around her and stuffed it under an earlier layer there she lastly tied it stuck. Dash now had a red coloured dressing around her stomach and when the queen was done with her, she putted her down on the floor.

The first thing Rainbow Dash did was to make her way over to Twilight in her limping movement and make a turn so she appeared on her front. She stopped and felt her whole body tingling, her eyes was shaking in their sockets of her skull as she looked down on Twilight.
Her chest leaked with blood from the small wound which Chrysalis horn had pierced her at. The wound itself didn't look to bad, but it was its depth which was, it had penetrated many organs and Rainbow Dash could see directly in to Twilight's lifeless face.
“W-why... why is everyone dying around me!”
Rainbow Dash screamed out even though she shouted to herself, she then just fell to the ground right in front of Twilight's body and stared at her with grief. She reached out an unstable hoof towards Twilight's cheek and felt the warmth from her skin, she touched her carefully just like she was the most fragile thing that ever existed.

“I tried to protect you... I really did... but I failed.”
Rainbow Dash whispered out and leaned forward to hug Twilight's head. She shoved Twilight's face into her chest and rested her own head on Twilight’s forehead next to her horn and sighed while crying. All the suddenly Dash felt a warm breath reach her chest and in the next second she could feel Twilight actually moving.
“You’re alive!”
Rainbow Dash said shocked and pushed her head back so she could see Twilight's face. Right away Twilight started to cough lightly and to a good sign that no blood came with it, her lungs was unhurt but in her small coughs she felt great pain.
“Dash... the pain... it unbearably.”
She said miserly and scared like a child, it didn't take long for Chrysalis to finally appear on the other side of Twilight and peak over her with her head.
“Ssshe wont sssurvive for long with a wound like that.”
Chrysalis said after a while with her head turned to Rainbow Dash and that made Rainbow Dash to explode from the inside with rage.

“Stay away from her!”
She yelled out and that actually made Chrysalis to slowly straighten her body and give Dash and Twilight some space. Rainbow Dash looked down at the suffering Twilight was enduring and how she barely could open her eyes by the lack of strength, she then looked back up at the Changeling queen and said with a lower voice this time.
“I... I hate you so much... and I swear... if it wasn't for my weak body... I would be fighting you right now.”
Chrysalis gave away a face that she didn't care to much of Rainbow Dash's words. She instead stayed quiet for a while and just looked away to the end of the room where she used her magic to open similar doors out to a balcony like where Dash had entered the castle.
“There'sss your freedom... you can take your friend with you if you want to... I don't care.”
Rainbow Dash was almost out of breath from her earlier screaming and tiredness and just looked away through the doors out to the storm in the end of the hall. She turned back her head with tears in her eyes that at the same time was burning with hate and once again used a loud voice.
“You really think I can fly with such burning pain right under my wings... why not just kill me right here and forget about your promise... it's not like you have any honour to protect!”

Chrysalis actually gave away a rather angry look to Rainbow Dash, it appeared that Rainbow Dash's words hit a weak spot in insulting her. Without saying anything, Chrysalis just continued to hold her highly unfriendly face and made her way slowly up to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash actually expected Chrysalis to kill her on this very spot by what she had said and just continued to lay there on the floor next to Twilight. She stared with a tough face right into Chrysalis shining eyes by a lightning that appears outside through a window and awaited death with acceptances.
But to Rainbow Dash's surprise, Chrysalis just grabbed quickly and harshly the side of Dash's head and angled it to the side so her neck got visibly. Without delay Chrysalis then reached down to her and sunk her giant fangs straight into her neck. Rainbow Dash screamed in the disgusting feeling of having two thick needles shoved down her neck and then feel how something was happening to her.
Her whole body froze in place and a strange taste in her mouth appeared that tasted just like some sort of weak burning acid combined with mud. Chrysalis then pulled out her teeth from Rainbow Dash and backed off while watching her with a ill-tempered face.

Dash covered up immediately the two small wounds Chrysalis fangs had made on her neck with a hoof and gave away a painful, stinging facial expression. But the pain quickly just from nowhere disappeared and so did it from her wounds under her wings. She was surprised and confused by the strange feeling of no pain and stranger it become. In just matter of seconds later, Rainbow Dash could barely feel her body, everything had went numb and she looked up surprised and asked rather frightened with heavy breaths.
“I-I... I can’t feel anything!”
“And ssso you won’t neither for a ssshort time... ssso I sssuggessst you leave with hassste... immediately!”
Chrysalis yelled with a strong stomp to the ground which got Rainbow Dash's hating face to return.
She stood up which felt uncomfortable in not feeling her own legs as she should have, she took some time on her to get use to the feeling but hurried up with getting Twilight on her back. Twilight made immediately sounds that easily were linked to great suffer and pain despite Rainbow Dash trying to be as carefully as she possibly could. But her effort in making Twilight to feel as little pain as possibly was nothing than in vain when the only way to carry Twilight was to have her laying on her back with her wound in her chest, pushed into Rainbow Dash's back. Though Twilight was for the most part rather quiet so could Rainbow Dash just imagine the pain she had to go through, she turned her head back to her and whispered with heart.
“Hang in there Twilight.”

Chrysalis just shaken her head back and forth and then just turned around to leave and go further into the castle. Everyone got a bit surprised by that, even the Changelings followed her with their eyes rather chocked. Rainbow Dash then looked around her at all the Changeling and saw how they did the same thing. Slowly started Rainbow Dash to back off towards the balcony in the end of the room and the second Dash thought all of them would swarm over her by the look they all gave her, they just stayed quiet and hurried up in the same direction as Chrysalis disappeared in.
Extremely chocked Rainbow Dash stopped and lost all expression in her face by confusion.
She couldn't believe she was alone with Twilight after a while and looked back to the exit which lead to freedom. Twilight started then to make even more painful sound and that actually snapped Rainbow Dash lose from her thinking. Without caring any more about Chrysalis or her Channellings, Rainbow Dash turned around to the balcony and rushed out on it.
On the way she spread her wings wide and didn't feel the slighted pain, it felt amazing but at the same time not right. Twilight's weight wasn't too bad, but the thing that actually made Rainbow Dash feel unease was Twilight's open wound against her back.
When she reached the balcony Rainbow Dash didn't stop, she immediately jumped up in the air and swept through the storm. She made sure Twilight wouldn't fall off her and took it rather easy on the way down, not because Dash could go too much faster when she barely could control herself with her numbness.

With not too much time spending in the air, Ponyville quickly appeared through the mist down at the ground. Rainbow Dash steered herself right away to it when she couldn't think off any better place to go to and it was lucky she did to. All the suddenly Dash felt how her body started to turn normal and she could actually feel the proper cold from the rain surrounding her, but that also meant that her pain would return. Slowly but sure her sides itched like needles got pushed into her and how Twilight's weight on her back there she had been whipped started to sting.
It wasn't too bad at first and Rainbow Dash took that chance to hurry up and get as close to the ground and Ponyville as she could. She angled her entire body steeply down to almost just fall freely while feeling how whatever Chrysalis did to her when she bit her was wearing off.
Carefully flaps while closing in on the ground made Rainbow Dash to keep her steady but she felt how for each new flap she did that her body became normal again. The pain was back and in that, Dash lost the ability to fly flexible, she could only now glide her way down in a still motion.
She could feel how the slighted muscle on her body made her entire nerve system to scream in pain.

Her wings were giving away for the weight and soon she knew she would crash. The ground under her and that was the streets of Ponyville was just a short distant away, if she was to land from here that wouldn’t have been too bad but she wanted it to be as smooth as possibly for Twilight's sake.
Rainbow Dash had her hoofs almost touching the ground but she came in fast and would just slip immediately if tried to land, however, she didn't have much of a choice. Her wings yelled in exhausting and when she tried to resist the speed and air, the muscles under her wings there her two wounds where she couldn't handle it. All she could do was to pull in her legs and head to her body and close her eyes. She hit the ground where it was grass and not actually a stone road in a soft bump and made sure to take the worse of the hit. Twilight of course fell of when they both bounced a couple of times into two different directions and landed with their backs turned against each other.
None of them made a single word, they didn't even move, it was just like they both were dead.
Rainbow Dash tried to catch her breath and just stared forward at the leaning world with a lost mind.

She felt fine expect from the marks Chrysalis had left on her body, the landing hadn’t hurt her at all but she just couldn't believe what she saw and what she was doing. The beautiful and once peaceful Ponyville was no more and here she was in what was left of it with one of her dearest friends. The grass tickled one side of her face in the fresh and heavy winds the storm contained of and she emitted for herself that she had no idea of what to do. It was still night and far from morning, Dash just continued to lay there on the ground and so would she have kept doing if it wasn't for Twilight shouting her name hoarse and scared.
“Rainbow Dash... where are you?!”
Immediately Rainbow Dash threw herself on her legs and rushed to where Twilight was laying with her back turn to her.
“I-I'm here Twilight!”
Rainbow Dash replayed with and crawled closer to her. Twilight had her head stretched up and she looked rather stressed while asking with a worrying voice.
“W-where are we?!”
“We're back in Ponyville... or what’s left of it.”
Dash reply which made Twilight not to wait a single second before adding tiresome but still exhilarated by fear.
“N-no... no... we can't stay here... you can't stay here!”

Twilight was literally shouting to Rainbow Dash in concern but Rainbow Dash could see it in her eyes that Twilight was in some sort of chock. Her breathing was irregular and loud and thinking about her wound in her chest so was this no place for her. Rainbow Dash ignored what Twilight was saying and started to work her way to get Twilight on her back again.
“N-no!”
Twilight yelled weak like it was in her sleep but once again Rainbow Dash didn't listen, Twilight didn't struggle as she pretty much got forced up on Dash's back.
“You need a place where you can rest and where it's warm... I think it's best for us to go back to your house.”
Rainbow Dash said and immediately started to walk through Ponyville to Twilight's house.
“No... it's not safe her in Ponyville anymore!”
Twilight whimpered in a fatigued panic, Rainbow Dash just continued to walk forward as she saw Twilight being lost in her mind by pain and added with a sigh in how she felt horribly seeing Twilight suffer.
“Nowhere is safe for us with Chrysalis lose.”

But just as they passed through Ponyville's town square, Twilight leaned forward to Rainbow Dash's head and whispered something directly into her ear, something that made Dash to stop and feel how her spine shivered brutally.
“But it's you who she wants now.”
“W-what?!”
Rainbow Dash added rather scared and turned her head back to Twilight, but only to see how she had passed out.
Rainbow Dash's heart was at first close to stop as she thought Twilight had died, but as she felt Twilight's weak breathing on her back so knew she that her body only tried to regain her strength back by making her fall asleep. But Rainbow Dash could still not understand what she meant with what she said, she looked up and saw Canterlot far away in a small crack in the clouds and the mist till it disappeared shortly again.

She continued then her way over to Twilight's house where she stuffed Twilight in her own bed and tried her best to look after her wounds.
She was sleeping like a baby at first but she just after a couple of hours started to get fever and sweating like there was no tomorrow. She woke up and all Rainbow Dash could do was to stay at her side and keep her company. Dash had one hoof on the bed and that went under the cover to one of Twilight's own hoofs, she held her head low and couldn't stand watching Twilight directly.
She felt so pathetic, so useless and powerless, she tried not to cry and manage that by thinking in how much she hated Chrysalis and how cruelly enough she had enjoyed killing her minions.

By her thoughts she could feel the taste of blood coming back from the Changeling she had once torn apart its throat when she was fighting together with Applejack. Her sorrow quickly faded away and got replaced with the strong feeling of wanting to destroy something. But in Rainbow Dash boiling body she got interrupt by Twilight.
“Rainbow Dash?”
She simply said but was well enough for her to get Dash's all focus.
Twilight only glanced at Rainbow Dash with her half opened eyes as she felt to weak to actually look at her straight while her sweat ran pass her entire body. Both of them were quiet and only stared into each other’s eyes, Rainbow Dash's eyes turned scared and frightened as she slowly once again wanted to cry. Twilight however only gave her tired and weak facial expression and said with a voice like she was sick.
“Dash... I'm really tired... and we both know that if I fall asleep... I won't wake up again...”
“Don't say that!”
Rainbow Dash shouted in the middle of Twilight's sentence but after she was done, Twilight just continued.

“But there is maybe still some hope... a small shard of light... one last thing we could try.”
Rainbow Dash only looked down to the floor and sobbed some for herself. Twilight did however manage to reach out her other hoof that she didn't hold Dash's hoof with and turned Rainbow Dash's head to face her.
“Listen... I'm afraid that all is on you now.”
Twilight said which immediately got Rainbow Dash's mind to go crazy, she pulled away from the bed and walked a couple of steps away deeper into the house there she then stopped with her back turned to Twilight.
“Please Dash... I believe in you.”
Twilight said which Rainbow Dash herself added to.
“Well... I don't.”
“Are you... going to run away?”
Twilight then asked and left Rainbow Dash quiet for a long time.
Deep in the shadows of the house where Rainbow Dash stood, everything was a mess in Rainbow Dash head. She felt how her wounds over her entire body was healing in there itching, pulsating stinging waves.

She leered back over her shoulder to the bed and on Twilight and just watched her as she could she Twilight was waiting for an answer. But Dash saw something else too, something that was shining red from underneath the bed and she knew immediately what it was.
She returned to the bed and grabbed her Element of Harmony and just held it in her hoof, she stared at it carefully for a long time with no facial expression whatsoever and Twilight just kept quiet as she watched her. In time Rainbow Dash made a deep long sigh while discreetly glancing over on Twilight. Dash thought for herself as she looked at Twilight and saw it as her fault that Twilight was in her current state, it had happen when she tried to run away and she wasn't going to allow that to happen again.
“What do I have to do?”
She asked finally with turning her whole head depressed to Twilight, but her depressed face wasn't for feeling forced in keep fighting, it was for seeing Twilight suffer. Twilight however smiled a little in her hopeless stage and coughed some in middle of it. She kept her little smile even after she hoarsely coughed and then she simply said in a whisper.
“Come closer... and I will tell you.”