I can definitively say that waking up in a panic is not exactly a novel experience for me as of late, but it’s an entirely different matter to be awoken in a panic by Princess Luna and the vicious ear-rape that is her Canterlock. If the show hadn’t made it clear before, it is now painfully evident just how loud the Royal Voice is – that is to say, it’s loud. It’s ‘dear-god-someone-please-shove-a-kebab-stick-into-my-ear’ loud.
That said, at least it ripped me out of the dream. I can’t imagine a more effective way to snap someone out of a nightmare than aiming the world’s most powerful woofer-blaster – point-blank – at their ears, and proceeding to blow out their eardrums with it.
My eyes snap awake as Luna’s voice rips through my skull, filling me with a sense of terror the likes of which I haven’t felt since Trixie was holding me down and my hair was getting overcooked. The shout is so sudden, and so unexpected, that I briefly forget myself in a blind panic. Not exactly normal for me, but I guess that’s something that can be put down to the medication that they’ve been stuffing into my food.
Startled beyond any reasonable point, I reach out blindly as my eyes flash open, my hands – fortunately – do not come into contact with anything. That’s good, because the last thing I’d want to do is slap a princess.
Following through on my flailing arm-stretch, I flop into an upright position in my bed. Letting out what can only be described as a ragged scream. It’s all just too much. The nightmare, and the shouting have combined into a snowball of confusion and pain, and I simply have no idea what’s going on. Not knowing what’s going on is horrible enough, but everything else just makes the whole shit-factor of the situation multiply by ten.
What I see is Luna standing at the end of the bed, her jaw rising from the wide-open position necessitated by the Royal Canterlot Voice. At the same time, Twilight is in the process of arriving at the side of a bed, skidding to a stop as she drops speed from what would appear to have been a full blown gallop.
I feel like the world’s slowed down. Everything looks like it’s happening slightly slower than it should be, and my reflexes feel sluggish. Then again, I have just woken up.
I look from Twilight to Luna, my mind still consumed by panic. Why was I just hit with Luna’s Canterlock? I better not have been crying in my sleep. Twilight’s the only one who knows about that.
“Keys, ar-” Twilight manages to squeeze out a word and a half before I twist to the side, wrenching my legs free of the bed covers and launching myself out of bed. It’s mostly a reflexive action. Something strange has happened, and I don’t want to be in a vulnerable position in case the strange event in question is something dangerous.
She stops dead as I emerge from the sheets, falling silent for a couple of seconds as her gaze is fixated on the ugly scar on my abdomen. I myself twist my head sharply to the left to look at Luna. The expression on her face looks like one crossed between extreme concern and shock. Not good.
As I pull my gaze away from the princess, Twilight manages to tear her own attention away from the permanent evidence of my hardships emblazoned on my front like a fiery tattoo, opening her mouth to speak once more.
“Keys, what happened?” She asks, her voice slightly but noticeably drawn out. Everything still seems a little sluggish, although my panic’s receding rapidly as the world around me comes into focus. I’m in my bedroom in the royal palace, and there’s no coffin. She isn’t here.
I look her in the eyes for a brief second, my mouth chewing over a random collection of words as I notice that my eyes and the lower portion of my face feel extremely wet.
“I… not… nothing…” My eyes trace the details around her eyes, staring at the dark shadows underneath them. She still hasn’t slept? “Bathroom.”
With nothing further to add, I scramble past her towards the open bedroom door, moving quickly and frantically despite the pain it creates in my stomach. I stumble my way past Twilight, who let’s out a rather convicted protest as I begin my mad dash. I ignore her, of course.
I barrel out into the dinning area of the upper level, promptly colliding with the chair at the head of the table. Both the chair and I fall to the ground, generating a rather loud crashing noise as the object meets the hard planks of the floor. The ruckus draws several surprised noises, not just from the bedroom but also from the lounge downstairs.
I don't pause to ponder either, instead dragging myself back to my feet and propelling myself into the bathroom.
I steady myself against the bathroom counter, using my hands to stop me from plowing headfirst into the mirror. I give a strained grunt as I turn and push the door closed in a rough manner that falls just short of slamming it, before flicking the lock into place.
I stand still for a few seconds, before leaning heavily against the door and sliding down it, splaying both arms across the tile floor.
That entire train wreck of a freak-out took no more than thirty seconds.
Coming to a rest in a deep slouch against the door, I stare across the bathroom at the cupboards under the sink, before letting out a loud and unrestrained sob.
I don’t want to cry. They’ll be right outside, listening.
But I can’t help it.
There’s no sorrow to my tears. None of the self-pity or loathing that’s dominated my mindset of late manages to hide within the droplets running down my cheeks. Instead it’s replaced by the heart-racked cries of the guilty. The horrified gasps and shudders of someone that knows they’ve done something horrible, and cannot bring themselves to let it go.
There’s some hesitant muttering from outside – In which I can hear the voices of Luna, Twilight and Fluttershy – before the door is treated to an equally hesitant knock.
“Umm… K-Keys?” Fluttershy’s incredibly soft voice whispered through the door, barely audible over my sobs. “A-are you okay?”
I don’t have a response for her. The answer should be self evident, although the reasons shouldn’t be. Nopony in all of Equestria would know why I just threw such a thorough shit-fit.
“Are… are you g-going to come out?”
I place my left hand to my forehead, massaging my closed eye with the palm as my chest shakes violently. Curse these damn ponies and their insatiable need to help others.
After a few seconds I take a deep breath, and let out one tired word as I pull myself together, followed a shortly by two more.
“…Shower… ten minutes.”
“O-okay…” Fluttershy responds slowly as I grip the towel rail and pull myself upright. Why she’s fronting the effort to draw me out of the bathroom is a mystery to me, but I’m far more concerned by how pathetic I must have just sounded.
I mean, who the hell actually goes into the bathroom and cries?
I stare at myself in the mirror for a second, taking in my slender, gaunt figure and the vicious red scar on my abdomen. At least I don’t look as terrible as I did a couple of days ago, which makes me feel a little better.
Not much, though.
This is all so typical. More drama for poor old Keys. More trauma, and more sympathy. It’s getting so tiresome that I don’t even take the time to acknowledge the other times this has happened – and it’s not like the Equestrians can help me with this one. It’s got nothing to do with them. It’s just a horrible memory triggered by some small detail, and it's actually something I managed to get over and shove in a dark corner of my mind quite a while ago.
After cynically eyeing the skeleton in the mirror, I hobble to the shower in the corner of the bathroom and open the hot tap with a deft flick of the wrist.
I strip off my boxer shorts as the water heats up, briefly thinking about how terrible they are as underwear, which is in sharp contrast to how wonderful they are as sleepwear. I have no clue why I’m thinking about my boxers, but it’s a better alternative to the dream.
Wait, what the hell am I doing?
I almost slap myself as I step under the now-steaming water spraying out of the showerhead. Just what am I getting worked up over? I’ve had that dream before. Quite a few times, in fact – although not in the last six months – and like I said; I worked through it all a long time ago, so why did I just go through a grandiose freak-out?
If anything, it was possibly the timing. I’ve been under a lot of stress lately, and the sudden resurfacing of that memory… I guess it’s just terrible timing.
I shake my head slightly, which makes my long hair flop around with a wet noise that reminds me of a cartoon slap. “What am I? The damn woobie? That’s Fluttershy’s job.”
After a short pause, I hit my head softly against the wall of the shower, releasing a dull ‘thud’.
I’m going to have a lot of talking to do.
***
Twilight and Fluttershy slowly made their way down the stairs to the bottom floor of the suite, uncertainty and confusion etched on both of their faces.
“And what in tarnation was all tha’ about?” Applejack was the first to ask, voicing the question that all of the ponies present had been forming.
“I…” Twilight shook her head as she herself wondered what had just happened. “I’m not sure. Keys had a bad dream, and when he woke up, he kinda… freaked out.”
She traced her eyes over the assembled mares. Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack and Princess Celestia. Each one of their faces was afflicted with expressions conveying varying levels of worry. Keys having another episode was always a cause for concern.
“That’s one way of putting it.” Rainbow observed bluntly, restlessly floating a good meter above the couch, her wings flapping lazily. “Come on Twi, he was shouting in his sleep. That sounds more like a night terror t’ me.”
“And being woken up by the Royal Canterlot Voice?” Rarity shuddered. “I can’t imagine anypony reacting well to that.”
“Is he alright, Twilight?” Celestia spoke calmly, worry etched into her face. “What’s he doing?”
“Umm…” Fluttershy scuffed a hoof against the ground, despite the fact that the subject wasn’t actually awkward. “T-taking a shower, your highness.”
The room fell silent for a brief second as each pony listened carefully for the muffled sound of rushing water upstairs, before Twilight spoke again.
“Princess Luna’s waiting to talk with him.” She look around the room once more. “And… I’m not sure what to do.”
“Uhh… we could... throw him a party…?” Pinkie raised a hoof cautiously.
“No parties, dear.” Rarity replied softly. “Some things are fragile, and our wounded visitor would appear to be one of the most fragile objects one could find.”
“That’s Flutters’ job.” Rainbow replied lightly, giving a little forced laugh at the lame joke, which only served to elicit a face-hoof from Applejack. “I mean… I… uh… I’ll just…” She dropped back down onto the couch as the room lapsed into silence.
Celestia, for one, had spent most of the exchange quietly observing the mares’ banter. After a small amount of consideration, she contributed her own thoughts for the group to hear.
“I believe – or at least hope – that Keys will still be able to discuss with us whatever it was that he asked us here for. After that, I think it would be best if you all – Keys included, if he’s in any position for it – go out and spend some time in Canterlot. I dare say a few of you could use the rest.” She directed the final part at Twilight, who shied away from the attention slightly.
“Yes, your highness.” The collection of mares chorused. Rarity looked pleased by the prospect, as did Pinkie. The remaining four looked a little bit more uncertain, but kept their respective reservations to themselves.
Celestia nodded, the soft smile she normally bore returning to her face as she took a half-step back. Twilight could only wonder what was going through her head, but had no further time to ponder the possibilities as the muffled sounds of flowing water were cut off by a dull ‘thunk’ from within the walls.
“Was that ten minutes?” She glanced at Fluttershy, who shook her head ever so slightly.
After a brief second, Luna appeared at the top of the stairs, descending them quickly.
"I feel it would be best if I were not present when Keys emerges." She explained quickly as Celestia imparted a questioning look upon her. "Considering his species' body-shyness, among other things."
"That's... uh, a wise choice, Princess." Twilight bowed slightly to the Ruler of the Night as she descended the curving flight of stairs to join the others in the center of the lounge. In truth, it seemed a little odd that Luna would really care about that, considering that Keys' long-term mental health was of more importance than his short-term dignity. (Although in certain scenarios, the two may as well be one and the same.)
She normally spoke with both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia when she was in Canterlot, but speaking with them both at the same time always made her feel awkward. As ridiculous a worry as it was, Twilight was always concerned that she would provide one of the rulers with more attention than the other. The fact that she was Celestia's student didn't come into the equation, because she wanted make sure Luna didn't feel like she was being treated differently for her past.
Luna joined her sister, the two of them standing close to the door out onto the balcony. "We must give Keys his space, rather than become too intrusive. He has already shown that too much sympathy frustrates him, so I imagine that he would feel the same way concerning the attention of others."
Celestia and Twilight both dipped their heads slightly in agreement, while the other mares remained still. None of them were overly familiar with the topic, and simply refrained from commenting.
Any further discussion was cut off by the sound of the bathroom door opening, followed by a few footsteps – which in turn ended as Keys appeared at the rail of the upper floor, clothed in a fluffy white bathrobe.
"Good morning, your majesties." He spoke slightly louder to account for the increased distance, which only served to draw attention to the awkward undertone to his voice.
Keys bowed in an equally awkward fashion, using the rail for support. "And, uh... hey, everypony else." He bowed once more, despite the fact that a nod would have sufficed. "I'm... uh, sorry about all that. Let me just... get some real clothes on, and then I'll come down and explain that whole mess."
"'s cool, dude." Rainbow replied in her most casual tone yet, waving her hoof dismissively.
"Indeed. Do not trouble yourself, dear." Rarity chipped in.
"Take your time." Celestia added softly.
"Okay, thanks – and sorry again." Keys replied, managing to stop the exchange from turning into a drawn-out conversation where each individual pony added their own thoughts to the conversation.
After a brief pause, he stepped back from the railing and turned back to his room, a barely audible "So much understanding" floating behind them.
A more-than-perplexed Twilight looked up at the landing for a few seconds more, before turning her attention back to her friends.
"And... I think Keys just resolved the problem himself."
Author's Note:
Okay, I know nothing really happens in this chapter. Boy do I know it. It's mostly because I'm busy at the moment, so I released some filler to tide you guys over. Enjoy.
The purpose of this chapter was: To eliminate any long-lasting fallout from Keys' nightmare, and set up for the following conversation. With any luck, y'all won't completely hate this. (Oh, and I wanted to show that Celestia isn't actually in any sort of 'Keys/Human-hating' mode or mindset, because it's important to me that I do that.)
Feedback, and criticism. As usual, I want it. You must give it.
(Ignoring the fact that the last chapter was released during the Columbus Day break, I can sadly say that this story's reader-count has taken a dip of at least 400, but probably closer to 600. It's heartbreaking.
5 am ready to go to bed *email dings* *Checks email* WOOHOO new chapter! *Stays up later to read it*
....2:21 AM......You actually updated.....
Thank Luna's Ethereal Mane! Now I can go to sleep with ponies on my mind...better than the crap I've been having nightmares about....Filler or not, I think you've just granted me my first restfull night of sleep in a few months....
Thank you SOOOOO much! I'm going to sleep now that I'm not nervous about doing so.
night! Allons-yy!
Great chapter. Keys be ok.
I MAKE LINK TO THIS STORY!
3:50am here. Freezing cold New Mexico morning. New piano man chapter will keep me warm. Woo an update! And even though this chapter is just "filler" I still enjoy it very much despite it being lamentably short. thank you for this chapter and we all eagerly await for the next one!
i hate double talk, i want to say don't let any amount of readers dropping the story stop you, but i want to include the disclaimer of letting the story die gracefully if it needs it. i also don't know any method of know whether the series is dying other than reader comments and count....in other words, this sucks
EDIT: btw, my personal opinions of the series are very high.
Still intriguing, and ESPECIALLY because nothing happens.
Awaiting further releases.
on my second read through. When he woke up, was the guilt-fest from his life in reality, or was it some (admittedly weird) guilt attached to trixie?
Aw. Come on. There should of been some back lash on luna.
What the fu-
You were having a bad dream.
THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO MAKE ME DEAF WHILE YOU TRYING TO WAKE ME UP!
He should have went "Fgrablable!" when he woke up and did his arm flail.
Pronounced: F-gra-bul-ah-bul
Not much happens, but enough happens.
Keys is the most complicated case of human in Equestria I have ever seen. And Celestia needs to give him a hug. A long, tight one.
There is no critism to give you good sir!
There's nothing to complain about here.
Keys' nightmare, Luna's RCV shout - it should be declared a WMD - (kinda called that one) and the on-going craziness of being in Equestria would cause most people to freak out. He also wants to put up a good image and impression (musicians are performers), and it's not happening, and that's not helping either.
Good "bit of filler". Continue, please.
Well that was interesting. I would've slapped Luna for that wakeup shout, just a bit. Seriously. I would've.
Just walked up and slapped her. In the face.
As has been said, don't worry about the loss of readers who drop the story if you don't update every other day. They seem to forget that reality keeps interfering with our pleasures. I have stories I am watching that haven’t updated in months. In most cases the author put out a message that he/she is having problems that have interfered with his or her writing, hay s.....t happens.
This story has a much more complex character in it than many others, it is going to take time to do him justice.
That said , in regards to Celestias comment about a book relating to humans. First was it one of our books brought to Equesteria. If so what book, something by Machiavelli, Mien Kampf, 1984??
Was the author watching the earth during the Inquisition, the crusades, WW 2, when? Any one of them
along with many others would give Celestia cause to wonder what Keys is capable of. OK off the soapbox. Excellent story, lots of stuff to think about. Keep up the good work I for one will wait for you.
Nice to see Keys is finally starting to get his shit together. I think. I can never tell with him.
Well if nothing else, this chapter at least establishes that Keys was already f'ed in the head before he ended up in Equestria. What a swell fellow!dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Twilight_crazy.png
I have no complaints about this chapter, I thought that it was pretty good. Sometimes "filler" is necessary, not everything has to be explosions every chapter.
Using spike as the scribe for his torture statement is crazy. Let's make a child hear about the most atrocious thing to ever happen in centuries, in detail.
This filler has done its job and left mme quite full! Sweet merciful baby Jesus this story is amazing!!!!!!!!!!
You know what Keys really needs, besides serious therapy, is to make a friend with another guy/stallion. That or at least talk to one... and no Maneworthy doesn't count because he was kind of a jerk. The fact that he's surrounded by mares that do nothing but coddle him and treat him like he's made out of glass (even if figuratively true to a point...) is doing nothing to improve his mental health what so ever. It also doesn't help that all six of the Elements are undisputedly neurotic as fuck. Now actually doing this wouldn't be good for the story itself, at least not yet, since we aren't seeking resolution for Keys's problems here. But I can't help but think that what he needs is someone who wont be so soft with him, and is a male.
Yay chapter!
Boo, not much happens.
Yay for promising lots of stuff happening next chapter.
You have avoided the rabid fury this time, but next time may not be so easy.
1432761
You know, I agree with you on that. He does need a guy friend unrelated to this whole mess, someone to just shoot the shit with and maybe share a brewski. Wait, how old is Keys again? And yes I know that currently beer would be a bad idea, but it's the principle of the thing.
how does Celestia know about humans?
1432083
I can only criticize you on this:
I mean, who the hell actually goes into the bathroom and cries?
That's what I do when I run out of toilet paper in the other bathroom :|.
The name 'Applejack' is all one word, I think. Might want to fix that.
FREDERICK!!! 'TIS A WONDERFUL NAME!!!dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Luna_lolface.png
What is it with you and updating at ungodly hours....Dafuq.
Anyway, great chapter. I just want to know...when are we gonna get more story progression?
I miss story progression.
1433312 Previous chapters. Read em.
Update.
dl.dropbox.com/u/100264180/Reaction%20Pictures/Drunk%20mushroom.jpg
Dude people are fickle. If they drop your story over not updating fast enough that's on them. Writing fanfiction is just a hobby not a job, so don't feel obligated to cater to ungrateful people. Me along with a great deal of others, still enjoy what you put out, so keep up the good work
1436968
However, when someone writes the point is often about getting that story to other people. Why write a story when the writer can simply keep it in his or her head?
By slowly writing and losing readers, a person may be in fact losing the whole foundation for the writing. Although, I do agree, nobody should ever feel bad about not releasing a story fast enough, only sad to lose readers.
1432139 Really? Thanks! And where?
1432145 I'm considering ending the series after the trial. Best to duck out gracefully, after all.
1432162 His own life.
1432163 I'll give that a reference in the next chapter.
1432452 Enough happens? Excellent!
HUGS FOR EVERYBODY!
1432527 Indeed. Musicians are either very concerned with their public image, or don't care at all.
1432678 I doubt I'll ever specify the book. It's best to just leave that up in the air. Thanks for the advice, though.
1432716 That happened BECAUSE FUCK LOGIC.
(And they really needed a scribe. Keys wouldn't be able to record it himself, due to the risk of falsification. Spike would be the fastest writer available.)
1432761 True. Maneworthy is a jerk, but I like him. As for another male pony... well, you're right in saying that it can't happen at this point in time, which probably means it won't at any point. (I refer to my above statement on the future of the story.)
1433066 Ehh.... maybe. Still thinking about that.
1433315
1433467 I will! I will fix it!
1436730 *angry noises*
1436968 1437342 Thanks for the wise words.
1437440 thank the heavens. i cannot comprehend how screwy it would be to develop GUILT over say, breaking trixie's horn. that would be a mental nuke.
1437440
on usah page
Edit: Oh my Celestia!
The Sentinent Cloud replied to my comment?!
*insert fangirl squee*
*dies of happiness overload*
Been a hell of a ride so far dude. I applaud your amazing ability!
If you do end the story after the trial plz be sure to do an epilogue so we can have some of those pesky long term questions answered.
1437342 Yes but he's still getting his story out there for people to read, regardless of update time. It makes no logical sense to me, why people would look at there favorite's list, see that this story was updated, then decide they won't read it because it took two weeks or something to update.
I don't know, maybe because I write as well I'm more compassionate to the fact that people have other obligations in life. Hell I've been waiting for an update on Article 2 for months now. And when it does update I'll have the largest grin on my face and read it enthusiastically. Not say screw this guy, he took too long.
To Sentient Cloud. Well I'm sorry you feel you have to cut this story short for declining interest. But you should know this story is quite successful. In retrospect not many stories break over 500 likes, so you should be proud of achieving that. And you did it through good story telling, and not the, I'm just going to have Twilight fuck Celestia and get a million hits method.
Well wherever you take this story I'll be there to read it, God-speed to you sir.
1437440
Fuck logic indeed. No scribes on the castle, the fucking castle of the fucking princesses! Let's use a child, hes a reptile, i think, maybe he won't be traumatized by torture and all that stuff
1438430 If most readers were as impatient as those here seem to be, most authors of regular fiction would have starved to death long ago, or gone into some other line of work. Say, technical writing.
It's ready when it's ready, and done when it's done. What else is there to say?
1437440 After the trial? Naaaaw... there's still so much to explore in the world you built, Cloud!
I ask you to reconsider and keep an Act III as a possibility, as far-off in the future as it may be. There are way too many fics ending prematurely on this site; don't do the same to 'The Piano Man'.
I am sorry I did not make my point in a better fashion. I was trying to point out to several readers that if Celestia made her judgment of humanity from one book, that there were several that would give a skewed view of humanity. Just as looking at only one point in human history would do the same thing.
I am in complete agreement with you, I don’t think it would serve any purpose to pick one book from humanities library, or one written about a particular time period if the book was by a pony who was viewing human history.
The only thing I would like to see is Keys starting to get his life together if he cannot be sent back with his memory wiped.
I agree with Jack Kellar above. Please reconsider
Ouch, having Luna go all RCV in your ear in the morning......just ouch.
I should point out bro, my comments weren't meant to be discouraging. I DO like this series, and I still like this story. I tried to temper my comments with the point that ultimately what we disagree on is a matter of interpretation and a sticking point of characterization. Ultimately, you do what you feel the story needs, and screw what people say about it. It would be incredibly pretentious of me to start telling you your story is wrong, and that was not my intention.
As for the readership "dip", you can't use that as a metric, bro. Just as writers get busy, readers get busy too. Plus, on a long weekend, people are less likely to be in front of their computers, not more. The true metric, if you really want to split hairs, is that everytime a new chapter of this story is released, within minutes its on the featured box, and then stays in the popular stories tab for two or three days.
As for the content of this chapter, I can understand why you'd think it is content light, but it isn't, not really. The problem Keys is running into is a pretty typical male response. Initial freak out, followed by self-recrimination... because men aren't supposed to emotionally lose their shit. The thing is, Keys has every RIGHT to freak out. He was essentially in a long term abusive situation in which he was raped repeatedly. Yes, nothing sexual occurred, but rape isn't really about sex. It's about power and control. Keys had his CONTROL stripped from him, and is reacting like a lot of men, and some women do to being raped.
Unfortunately, this cycle is really hard to break, and seems to stem from a cultural taboo about men having emotions and being "strong". The fact that it makes me want to smack Keys for being a dumbass is a GOOD thing, as funny as that sounds, because it's good characterization. I've seen friends do this all too often and it never helps. Hell, I do it myself.
1416375 Teen-age angst. It's in the water, or something.
1427126 Some of us resemble that remark...
1438021 1438430 1439174 1439795
Hmm... (I'd like to point out that I said I was considering ending the series. It's not a definite by any means.) Yeah. Maybe I should carry on after the trial. To do that, I would indeed need to make an Act III, which would mean I'd have to hit WIL_I_ZIN up for yet another piece of artwork, which I am hesitant to do.
Another point is that Act III would be a lot less popular than Act II. If Act I had been popular, than Act II would not have been so popular. The reason this story spread so well was because the first one was essentially an underground story, with a low count in almost every department. Act III would have diminished figures compared to II.
All that said, I'm not actually saying no to Act III. A story that just deals with the Equestrian lifestyle instead of following the plot of Keys-V-Trixie would be quite nice. Further thought is needed.
1444311 I'm glad that people like Keys. Some character's I've made in the past have been less-than-likable/really bad Gary Stu's. I'm talking REALLY BAD ones.
And as for Keys being non-sexually raped? I totally agree. Trixie pretty much did every possible non-sexual horrible thing to him. Let's all take a moment to worship the 'teen' rating, shall we?
... nothing happened. This was filler. I am a sad pony. I wouldn't be so blunt about it, but looking at your a/n I think you already know this was not your proudest moment.
1449672 I'm pretty sure I speak for everyone when I say that, after practically 2 stories of pure misery and grief, an act dealing with Keys' recovery and some actual happiness is all but a necessity. And if you think that would have "diminished figures"... You're a silly brony! Act III presents the perfect opportunity to really delve into the psychology of everyone involved, something that just isn't really that easy with the wounds so fresh and so many things happening as the situation is here in Act II.
I read these chapters at school. I find it makes school a bit more enjoyable :D great chapter btw, I like how keys didn't cry for 40 minutes, and he just got over it. Also, I enjoy dialogue with fluttershy ^.^
OK, you did definitely give all the clues. But when you first mention Sara you said Facebook bullies pushed her to it. Denial?