Catalyst Ch 7: Chivalry

>Here it was. As close to a “day after” as you'd get in deep space.
>The kind of day you'd dread, mostly from a hangover and the stark realization that you had somehow, somewhere, completely screwed up.
>And the two mares? Nowhere to be found. They'd bailed after they'd finished with you, leaving you to a dreamless sleep and no alarm clock.
>You knew it wasn't your fault.
>You knew because you'd been conscious the entire time.
>But helpless.
>”helpless?” they'd ask. “You had a choice. And you made it.”
>You had to make them believe you.
>Even if you showed them the memory footage, the video of what happened... Asked for help understanding it...
>No. No, you couldn't do that.
>You felt filthy merely at the idea. A bastardized version of your former self, searching for some way out.
>The kind of shame and guilt that should have been reserved for men that had actually done, intentionally, what you had.
>Instead, you'd walked out of the two mare's shared apartments, feeling cluelessly sick, and showing it. To your dismayed discovery, Shining Armor and Mjolna had been there.
>Waiting.
>All night.
>”Protecting” you.
>Getting to listen in while everything had carried on inside.
>And you know they had to report in.  Likely to a worried Rarity.

>Shining Armor looked down at you, and closed his eyes.
>No. It's not that bad, is it? Rarity will listen right?
>Mjolna sneered, before taking up the habit of seeming disgusted merely by looking you in the eye.
>It wasn't your fault! It wasn't!
>But how the hell were you going to prove it?
>You knew the answer.
>You couldn't.  Not without Vinyl and Octavia. And what would they ever admit?
>Clean, honest dread arose in your throat and lungs, choking your thoughts into cyclical jibberish, something you couldn't even make sense of.
>Mostly, since it intertwined with the terrible thoughts of Rarity's expression after that first realization.
>You kept replaying the imagined look in her eyes.  What she'd do to you when you finally got back to her room in this grandiose, luxurious hotel.
>that you could have avoided every bit of it, if you'd simply gone home with that wonderful mare on your mind last night instead.
>Now, this.
>The walk felt so long.
>But you had to congratulate yourself when you finally arrived.
>You never slowed down.
>Not once.
>Even if it was on terms like this, you had to see her again.

>When you entered the room, Shining Armor and Mjolna took their places outside the door, abandoning you to whatever lay inside.
>It was a big place. VIP stuff.
>A large couch surrounding a table. A big flatscreen monitor.  A large, glass window. It served as a hall to adjacent rooms, of which there were two.
>One had been for Twilight. The other had been...
>It reminded you of Rarity's penthouse.
>Was there a single moment you could stop thinking about her?
>Rarity was at the window.  She was looking out into the void, pinpoints of light glittering in the distance.
>Twilight was with her, quietly talking, and receiving silence in return.
>The purple pony turned when the door sealed. Rarity didn't even react.
>She stomped over to you, her head lowered and her eyes narrow.
>You were surprised at yourself in that moment.
>Some kind of acceptance had washed over you.  Something had clicked.
>Twilight was still you friend.  You just had to get her to realize that.
>Now, she was just in the way of who you really needed to talk to.
>”Do you have ANY idea what you've done?” She pushed her nose up to yours, close enough to feel her breath melt.
“I have nothing to say to you, Twilight.”
>You didn't feel at peace.
>But you were not afraid.
>Not of her.
>She made your body, kept your mind on ice for decades. She may as well have been your mother, your equivalent of a god.
>And you weren't afraid to say the one thing on your mind, stone-faced and unflinching.
“If there's anyone that has any right to say anything, it's Rarity. Not you. So get out of my way, and let me get every ounce of whatever it is she's going to deliver.”
>Twilight's face contorts into something of shock.

>Rarity turns, slowly.  Her eyes connect with yours.
>You edge Twilight away with your hoof, fully intent on ignoring whatever protest she might come up with. Still at a loss for words over the choice of your own, she's left watching.
>You were in full, open, view as Rarity approached.
>She was dry-eyed, at first. Angry.
>The closer she crept to you, the worse she got.
>You could see her teeth clenched, her eyes watering.  She stood in front of you, looking up toward you, and you could hear restrained shrieks of unspoken insults, spiking with her heated breath.
“Rarity, I-”
>Her front hoof landed cleanly, a hook that hurt far more than it should have. You turned your head back to face her, your cheek numb.

>She hit you again.
>And again.
>And again.
>She started to grunt and snarl.
>That sleek, humble looking muscle suit gave her far more strength than perhaps she realized. Or maybe she did, and simply wanted to truly hurt you.
>You fell. She didn't stop.
>You resisted the urge to block any of it.  This was yours to take, and take it honestly.
>You had to, in order to have her realize.
>You just hoped the words would be enough.
>With every hit you saw coming, every spike of pain, and the feel of blood oozing from your nose and mouth, you accepted it until she tired.
>Until she couldn't bring herself to hit you any longer.
>She held a front hoof in the air, ready to stomp again.
>”I thought you had a mind of your own.” She said.  “I thought you had some semblance of... Of chivalry. Honor at least! You showed me you did!”
>”Everyone else sees you for what you are. They said when we made you, that you'd just go with whatever instincts that body of yours said.”
>She puts the hoof on the ground, leaning down toward you. “I didn't think that would mean you'd turn out like every other stallion. You really are just some...”
>You knew what she wanted to say.  Thing.

>But she didn't.  Her eyes betrayed her- she couldn't.
>She was still the only other living creature around that didn't think of you that way.
>The only one on a space station literally in the middle of nowhere. Whatever happened, she was the last thing of importance you really had.
>The only thing between you, and whatever hell everyone else would decide on if your voice went unheard.
“I don't give a damn about what they said.”
>You reply with a broken voice.
”I don't care what you believe of me now, if you'll even listen to what I have to say.”
>It hurts to move. You push through it.
“I don't even care if you kill me right here and now.”
>You know she could. She'd crushed armor-plating in one of the tests of the suit she was now wearing.
>The one you helped her with, every step of the way.
“But it wasn't my fault.”
>She didn't believe you. Who would?
>”Why? WHY?! Why would you do this to what we have?”
>You laugh at yourself.
“Some sad excuse, huh? But it's true.”
>She hits you.
“I wasn't drunk.”
>She hits you again.  Twice as hard.
“But it wasn't a choice.”
>Twice more.
“And I had to watch my body getting used by those worthless sluts-”
>Again.
“When all I tried to think about-”
>Her hoof hovers in mid-air, her breath pumping with rage.
“Was you.”

>Her composure holds for only a second or two.
“And what my body had done, how it would make me look, when the right part of me finally got control again.”
>She goes to hit you again. Twilight deflects some of the blow, and restrains Rarity enough that she steps back.
>Not by force.  Twilight didn't have the strength to go against that suit.
>Rarity simply didn't want to hit you.
>Maybe there was some hope...
>You rise with a grace you didn't think possible.  You shrug off the muscle spasms, the pain, to look as if you were merely taking her abuse as retribution.
>”What are you talking about? Explain.” Twilight is interested. It's not that inquisition you normally saw her do with the lawyers. The questions aimed to find some legal crack to protect her friends, regardless of the morals.
>This was that stoic, scientists curiousity.
>You never thought she might make sense of it.  She might be the best chance you've got.
“I don't know.”
>You begin. You wipe blood off your chin, and taste metal.
“But something happened late at the club. I was drinking-”
>”But you weren't drunk.” Twilight said. “You can't be.”
“Yeah. Yeah I found that out.”
>You laugh. It hurts, and you cough.
“But the DJ's came down.  Some music started playing.  Things got really messed up from there.”
>”How? How did it happen?”

“The other ponies just... I don't know, they just shut off.  Just all got on the dance floor and started to watch. Even the guards. They started... screaming and wailing the more the music played.”
>The two mares watched you. Rarity's right foreleg, normally in the shimmering white cloth, was speckled gently with red.
“They started... Doing things. Whatever the DJ's said.  And I could feel the music.”
>you make a motion with your hoof, shaking it.
“I mean, FEEL it. Not bass. Bass doesn't tingle or tickle like that.”
>”You're sure?” Twilight asked.
“That it happened? Yeah. What it was I don't know.”
>The violet pony looked back at Rarity. She placed a hoof on her shoulder, and shook her head gently at Rarity.
>”The DJ's. What did they do?”
“I don't know. I just... My body started doing everything they wanted.  I kept thinking and thinking. Trying to stop.”
>You look at Rarity.
“I... I kept seeing flashes of...”
>You point at her.
>She hesitates. “I've heard of that.” she whispers. “I... But it only happens with-”
>”If he's telling the truth, nop0ny is to blame for this. Well, nop0ny but the DJ's.” She tries to console Rarity, saying it more to her than to you.
>That doesn't stop you from feeling relief. At least, for now.
>Rarity looks at you, still distant. Obviously wishing she wasn't.
“What happened to me?”

>”It's a pending legal issue.” Twilight said. “There is some sort of... Hypnotic weapon Luna was developing. Something non-lethal for once. For police. One shot sound weapons that calm riots.”
>She trots to the table. She starts to circle it.
>”Luna was accused a while ago of using it to indoctrinate ponies.  Making permanent employees. Nothing was proven because there weren't any signals found and no weapons were successfully deployed. You're positive it was the music?”
“Abso-freaking-lutely.”
>”Ugh, this is the perfect place for it!  Recruitment kiosks everywhere. Ponies need this place as a checkpoint on the trip.  Who wouldn't stop at the club?”
>Rarity was still in shock.
>She'd just beaten the crap out of her boyfriend for being in a three-way, and her best friend was telling her it might not have been deserved.
>It's the first time you manage some sliver of happiness at the turn of events.
>And the first time you think back to the DJ's apartment.
>Not once were you worried about your own wellbeing.  Only how Rarity would react. How she'd feel.
>How you needed to get out of there, for her sake.
>Did she see it? Did she know? Please let her see it...

>”But you were awake for it. Aware?”
“Y-yes.”
>”But couldn't do anything.”
“Only what they told my body to do.”
>You feel a little heat in your chest.
“And they had really complete control.”
>Twilight goes quiet.  Rarity turns to her, and shakes her head. “No. That doesn't mean a thing.”
>”But if... If he was awake that means it was a subroutine-”
>”No.” Rarity replies.
>Twilight doesn't push it.
>She gets up, and walks to the door.
>Rarity looks back at you.
“Rarity. I'm sorry. I didn't want to. I didn't-”
>She shakes her head as Twilight leaves.
>”I... I...” She scrapes the ground with a front hoof. “If they... If they really did that... I think I might for the first time in my life want to kill somep0ny.”
>You knew that feel.
>”Does that make me a bad pony?”
>You shake your head.
>Twilight peeks her head in the room. She makes a gesture to follow, with Shining Armor and Mjolna behind her.
>”I pulled up the old legal documents.  We're going to ask a few questions,” she gestures back to the private guard. “and I'm going to make sure they don't have any room to argue.”
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