Upheaval: Reckoning
Chapter 39: A Place for Joy and Kindness
Several days had passed since Applejack and Twilight Sparkle had gone after Rainbow Dash. During that time, Fluttershy busied herself in the hospital, tending to every patient assigned to her, and trying to keep Redbrand calm and reasonable as he consulted with various doctors. As no news arrived about how Vanguard's group was doing, Fluttershy settled into a strange, unfeeling routine. She continued to greet each pony with a smile and a kind word, moving from one task to another as if everything was going smoothly.
Things couldn't be further from the truth. Ever since she saw the grim and worried expressions on Twilight and Applejack, and then heard the silence of the secrets that Special Operations made them keep, she began to sense that something terrible was continuing to bubble beneath the surface. She was no longer in the harsh, frigid north. She was a long way away from a besieged city full of soldiers within and surrounded by vicious invaders without. Things should be better now with the "reunification", as the legionnaires were often talking about, continuing to progress and the wolven being driven back. But they weren't. Things were even worse. At least the wolven were visible and clear in their intent. Now, her friends were being hurt by foes that appeared and disappeared as they pleased, and for reasons she couldn't understand.
And it was exactly for that reason that Fluttershy was now about to check up on another one of her friends. She trembled slightly as she opened the door to Pinkie Pie's room, remembering that moment when Princess Luna herself flew the wheezing, barely conscious, pink mare into the hospital.
When Rarity had been brought in, covered in blood-soaked bandages, Fluttershy had been shocked and panicked. Rarity was no front line fighter like Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. Even if she was, they were in Canterlot, the very heart of Equestria, not Bastion City. When it was Pinkie Pie, the pony who had nothing to do with any of the fighting, who had to be brought in, the panic was no longer there, just dread realization. There was no stopping this tide of violence that washed over all of her friends: not walls, not other legionnaires, nothing. Even now, Rarity was either working on crafting weapons and armor, or practicing with those mage blades. Whatever traces of concern she had for dressmaking had been likely cut away by that awful Lion Court. Now, it was Pinkie Pie's turn. By the time the pink pony had settled into her room, Fluttershy was horrified to find that she was already waiting for the next terrible incident.
"You'll get your turn. I don't know what that turn's going to be but you'll get it."
Redbrand's words never left Fluttershy. Though she threw herself into taking care of her friends, she was quietly waiting for that turn. She didn't know what would be worse though. Staying by the sidelines while they each fought and got hurt in turn, or being attacked by a Thorn herself, and ending up injured.
The mood within Pinkie's room reflected that depressing thought. The pink pony's physical injuries were minor, just a few cuts and bruises. With Princess Luna's magic, she had been purged of the poisons that coursed through her system. A couple of legionnaires had also been brought in a short while after that, along with Captain Nightcanter and her squad. The two were suffering from severe bleeding also caused by some sort of poison gas. Though worse off than Pinkie, they had also survived.
Fluttershy remained worried, however. After a few days rest, Pinkie Pie should be fine now. Except that there seemed to be one more poison still afflicting her. She remained in her room, her mane limp and straight, often just staring vacantly ahead. Visits from Rarity and that strange stallion that had come to Canterlot with her had done little to improve Pinkie's mood.
"Hello, Pinkie, are you feeling any better today?" Fluttershy asked.
The earth pony looked up briefly, and tried to muster a smile. Her lips twitched a little from the futile effort. "Hi, Fluttershy," she said softly. "A little."
That Pinkie Pie had even responded was enough for Fluttershy to believe that there was some improvement. She hummed a little tune to herself, hoping that she could liven the room up with a little music, and began tidying up.
"Fluttershy?"
"What is it, Pinkie?"
"Am I…?" Pinkie's voice faded to barely a peep. She seemed to realize that it was impossible to hear her as she was and tried to speak louder. "Am I…just birthday cakes and party hats?"
"B-birthday cakes…what?" Fluttershy stammered. "Pinkie, what are you talking about?"
"You know, you told me that before. Frivolous things. Maybe I should have listened."
"Oh no, Pinkie! That was new Fluttershy! I didn't mean all those things!"
Pinkie Pie barely seemed to hear Fluttershy's protests. "The princesses…" she said. "Oh, and the prince, are always going on about how important the Elements of Harmony are. Everypony is always about fighting these days." She looked down to her chest where the Element of Joy would have been hanging. "I thought that being the bearer of the Element of Joy would be wonderful, but all I'm doing is holding ponies down, and putting them in danger! Where does Joy come in when nopony wants to be happy and smiling? When all they want to do is fight? I think…I think I should quit."
"Pinkie Pie…" Fluttershy found herself unable to answer. The question had quickly found itself a mirror image within her. Where did kindness fit into all of this fighting?
"The only way to quit is to die," was the deep-voiced reply. Fluttershy gasped and turned around to see who had entered a room. She found only a pretty, blue-maned unicorn mare leaning against the door frame. Puzzled, she walked past the mare, and looked outside. She saw nopony save for a couple of heavily-barded legionnaires just a few feet away. They looked back at her wordlessly and expectantly until she looked away.
"Excuse me, miss," Fluttershy said to the mare next to her politely. "Did you see some stallion walk in here for a moment to say something?"
"No," the mare replied. Her deep, masculine voice left Fluttershy confused. "But I did walk in here and say something."
"Oh…my…well…um…" the yellow pegasus didn't know exactly what to say. Should she apologize? She felt like she should apologize, but she usually felt that way about almost anything she does that involved other ponies.
Pinkie was less hesitant. Her eyes narrowed at the unicorn's words. "Who are you?" she asked.
"My name is Blue Moon, former captain of the Thorns," the unicorn replied. He, Fluttershy decided to assume that this pony was a "he", said both the name and title confidently even as her eyes widened. A quick glance towards Pinkie showed the earth pony's similar reaction.
"You-!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "You're a Thorn! Just like Sablesteel!" She looked around for something. Fluttershy guessed that it was that strange slab of rock that she was clutching when Princess Luna brought her here. She found herself frozen halfway between preparing for an attack from Blue Moon and trying to get Pinkie to calm down.
"Was," Blue Moon said. "There's no need to panic. I'm not your enemy anymore. Even if I was, you can see that I am horn-locked, and my escorts are just outside."
Pinkie's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she stopped moving about in a panic. Fluttershy remembered the two legionnaires standing nearby, and tried to relax. It just didn't look like Blue Moon was here to cause trouble. Just as he had mentioned, his horn had a band of metal wrapped around it with a small glowing gem embedded on the device. He didn't have any kind of weapon on him and he wore a simple, white, collared shirt instead of any kind of barding. Still, what he just said…
The mere mention of the name melted right through the awkwardness Fluttershy felt and revealed an emotion she seldom encountered within her; anger. She had encountered plenty of mean, opportunistic, and greedy creatures in her life. She had seen the sort of viciousness the wolven did. But these Thorns…they were a different sort of vile. Rarity had mentioned that Lion Court was one of them, and that another one, a pony named Longstride, was after Rainbow Dash. Now, there was Sablesteel, who seemed bent on hurting Pinkie and her loved ones. And they deliberately stayed on hurting. All of Lion Court's cuts had been made to cause as much pain and as little damage as possible. Sablesteel's poison also turned out to be very slow-acting and painful. Only monsters reveled in causing pain just for pain's sake. "Is it true?" Fluttershy asked. "You were one of the Thorns?"
"I just said that," Blue Moon replied.
"Then maybe you can stop them!" Pinkie pleaded before Fluttershy could say anything. "Please, stop them from hurting my friends! Especially Sablesteel!"
"There is no stopping them," Blue Moon said softly, his gaze apologetic. "The Thorns are committed to Black Rose's orders. Only she can tell them to stop."
"They're monsters then," Pinkie Pie said, her voice dropping in anger. "My friends and family never did anything to Sablesteel. She's going to kill them because somepony told her?"
"Is that what she told you?" Blue Moon asked. Not even a trace of emotion crossed his face at the sight of Pinkie's rising anger. Even Fluttershy began to feel some indignation at his uncaring expression. "You should consider them safe then."
Both mares were about to say something when they stopped short. It was Pinkie Pie who recovered first. "What?" she asked.
Fluttershy shook away her daze. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Sablesteel takes her work as an assassin very seriously," Blue Moon said. "She is the sole remaining heiress to a very old tradition, and she treats any failure on her part as shaming herself before the hundreds of ponies who belonged to that tradition. She would never do something so stupidly theatrical as to announce her targets. Unless assassination isn't part of her plan to begin with."
"Then-!" Pinkie Pie's angry scowl cracked as she began to brighten. "Then they're safe?" she asked. "Sablesteel won't hurt them?"
"No," Blue Moon replied. "Don't start celebrating, though. If you provoke her, she'll do something to prove a point."
Blue Moon's warning reined in some of Pinkie's enthusiasm. More than that, Fluttershy guessed that the earth pony still pondered her question. Blue Moon's words gave her hope, but that still left her in the dark about the Element of Joy. "But if she's not going to hurt them, why would she say she would?" Pinkie asked.
"Sable has been tasked to find away to draw out the power of the Element of Joy," Blue Moon replied. "She may believe that the best way to do that is to make you as miserable as possible." He snorted. "I can only suspect that she's been spending too much time with Lion Court to come up with a plan like that."
At that moment, Fluttershy felt some of her anger slip away. Finally, a trace of emotion marked Blue Moon's words. The stallion spoke of Sablesteel with concerned disapproval, the kind of tone she had heard her friends use before when she or somepony else was involved in something bad or dangerous. It was only now that she saw that he looked at the world through a set of bright blue eyes. In a second, they went from icy and confident to showing the liquid gleam of emotion. It also dawned upon her that for Blue Moon to introduce himself as "former captain of the Thorns" meant more than just identifying himself as once an enemy. These Thorns, at least some of them, were his friends, and something bad must have happened to make him abandon them despite his concern.
"Well…" Pinkie Pie mumbled. She pressed her front hooves together absentmindedly. Fluttershy guessed that Blue Moon's reactions also left the earth pony a little hesitant. "She's still pretty mean. And those poisons really hurt. If they want to make the Elements of Harmony become stronger, why don't they just help us out instead of attacking us like this?" She pressed her lips tightly for a second. "I'd like to know how to make my element grow stronger. I really do."
Blue Moon gazed downwards without a word while Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie looked to him expectantly. "Various reasons," he said. He opened his mouth to say more, but he stopped himself with a shake of his head. Another moment of silence passed before he spoke again. "None of them matter. The Thorns will continue to antagonize you as per their orders anyway." He looked away. "I should go now, and let you get some more rest."
Pinkie Pie was about to say more when her eyes lit up. She fell into such a thoughtful silence that Fluttershy didn't dare disturb her just to ask if she was fine. Instead, she focused on Blue Moon.
"Wait!" Fluttershy called out after the stallion. She had followed him after he left Pinkie's room and managed to catch up by the hallway. Around them, doctors, nurses and patients move through with barely a glance at them. Blue Moon paused for a moment, just before he could rejoin his two escorts, and looked back. "Why did you come here?" she asked.
"I just wanted to see how Pinkie Pie was," Blue Moon said. "Don't get me wrong, it's not out of any overwhelming concern for your friend. I wanted to see how badly Sable was willing to hurt her." He paused and actually smiled a little. "The full recovery is a relief."
"You're really worried about Sablesteel, aren't you?" Fluttershy asked.
Blue Moon moved to the side of the hallway and gestured for Fluttershy to do the same. "I worry for all the surviving Thorns save for Lion Court," he said. "Sable tends to make bad personal choices, while Stride can't be bothered to make any to begin with. If there's anything I regret over going against Black Rose, it would be leaving the group to themselves."
Fluttershy looked down on the floor. Once more, she found herself momentarily speechless and hesitant. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear more of this. Just a few minutes ago, she was thinking of how her friends' tormentors were all cruel monsters. Hearing somepony talk about them as…well, as ponies, was difficult. Blue Moon called these "monsters" by nicknames, and spoke with an affection that made her miss her friends in return. "If…if it would be alright, may I ask you something more personal?" she asked.
"I've been cooperating with the Legion since I came to the prince," Blue Moon said with a shrug. "Cooperating with the Element of Kindness's bearer won't be much of a strain."
"Why did you leave your friends if you care about them so much?"
"Because I care for other things more," Blue Moon said. The emotion in his voice was gone. "They chose to follow Black Rose after she has overstepped her boundaries. I chose to remember my place in the grand scheme of things."
"I…I see," Fluttershy looked away disappointed. She scolded herself for letting the stallion lead her on with his sympathy. What had she been expecting anyway? A tearful confession from this hardened soldier? Perhaps it was because Blue Moon looked so delicate and graceful that it made seeing him as the former leader of such a dangerous group of ponies difficult. She felt the urge to just turn around and walk back to her duties. A niggling feeling that she had to get something more from this stallion kept her in place, however.
"Is there something else?" Blue Moon asked.
"N-no, not really," Fluttershy said. "I mean-!" She stopped and closed her eyes for a moment. There was something else, she just needed to say it. Even if she had to force it out like a bad meal. "Is that really all?" She let out a sigh when she managed to ask it. A second later, she was already holding her breath nervously.
Blue Moon stared quietly at Fluttershy for a while, lips in an even, unfeeling line. Then, he snorted and gave a wry smile. "No, that's not all of it," he said. "But why the interest, Fluttershy? Just earlier, you looked like you were going to string me up in the middle of Canterlot for saying I used to be with the Thorns."
"That's not true!" Fluttershy said. She glanced sideways, avoiding Blue Moon's stare. "Well…not mostly…I mean, I didn't think about using string…or even the middle of Canterlot!"
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," Blue Moon said. "Animosity towards the enemy is natural. Again, I must ask why you seem persistent about this topic."
"I'm just…I'm just trying to see you Thorns as something other than the enemy," Fluttershy said. She winced at her own answer. That sounded weak. It also sounded ridiculous. Vanguard Clash would scold her for thinking such things, just like when he scolded her for not wanting to wear those wolven-fur cloaks. Rainbow Dash would probably laugh and agree with the stallion while her other friends would just stay silent, "necessity" taking away whatever protests they felt. Blue Moon must be laughing inside already.
Blue Moon's eyes narrowed. "It's a dangerous thing you're doing, Fluttershy," he said.
"W-what do you mean?"
"Trying to sympathize. Leave the worrying about my former comrades to me. The Thorns are your enemies. That's all you should really treat them as."
Fluttershy remembered her earlier ire. It was so easy to slip into that kind of thinking; the same sort of thinking that Blue Moon was now suggesting. She had almost forgotten to see them as ponies, or even as living creatures. Almost. "No," she said, determination winning over her shyness on this rare occasion.
"No, what?" Blue Moon asked.
"I'm not just going to treat them as enemies," Fluttershy replied. "That's the easy way out!" Her defiant look softened. "How can you suggest that when you care about them?"
After a moment of confusion, Blue Moon's smile widened. "Element of Kindness, huh?" he remarked. "Maybe you do have a point, Fluttershy. My sister's strategies seldom considered that."
Fluttershy felt herself blush. The determination she felt welling up had receded and the shyness was back with a vengeance.
"You're going to need more than just your intentions," Blue Moon went on. "Or your skill in helping the wounded."
"I know that," Fluttershy said. The stallion's words reminded her of a constant frustration. The same frustration that likely plagued Pinkie Pie. "But what else can I do?"
Blue Moon paused to ponder something for a minute and then looked at her appraisingly. "When my sister was assigning the Elements of Harmony to the Thorns, I was tasked with somehow drawing out the power of the Element of Kindness." He raised his head with pride. "Leave it to Black Rose to assign me the most difficult task for her Thorns." He paused in contemplation. "Not that Joy is any less difficult."
Fluttershy lowered her gaze. "Sorry," she said.
"That wasn't meant as a rebuke," Blue Moon added. "But it does mean that you posed a different sort of task. Truth be told, I was still unsure of what can be done to that end. Information about you has given me some other details that can be improved on; your Stare ability."
The Stare. Fluttershy had always been wary of that ability of hers. She had no idea where it had come from, how she had come to have it, and what its actual purpose was. All she knew was that it had been useful on some occasions, she didn't really have much of a control over it, and that it was scary. Really scary. Her experience with Scarlet Rabbit showed her just how scary it could really be, for both the user and the one being stared at. But, if it could be used to help her friends, to frighten their enemies away without all the violence…she'd try anything.
"What can I do about it?" Fluttershy asked.
Blue Moon looked to the guards just a few feet away. He leaned closer and spoke softly. "Go to the hidden archives in the Canterlot Grand Library. You are a bearer of an Element of Harmony, a trusted pony in the eyes of our royalty. I'm sure you can find a means to access that place. Read more on the works of the pegasi of the six companions: Hurricane and Pansy. You'll find some answers for yourself."
"H-how do you know about all of this?" Fluttershy asked. That Blue Moon had to whisper left her nervous and in doubt.
"My sister has the uncanny ability to piece together conclusions from bits and pieces of information. Your ability is one that fascinates her, and puts her ill at ease. It should be no surprise that she's tracked down all possible leads, and this is her best one."
And there it was again, Fluttershy noticed. This time there was more than just a mere crack in Blue Moon's emotionless mask. He spoke of Black Rose, his sister, with unabashed affection when talking about her abilities. The only time Fluttershy encountered that mare was when Princess Celestia's power was stolen. The newly ascended alicorn didn't seem the caring sort. She had a smile that only appeared warm, but actually sent chills down Fluttershy's spine. What did Blue Moon see? She suddenly wanted to know.
Some time passed and Blue Moon noticed Fluttershy's staring. The mask was back up and he spoke to her in that emotionless tone again. "You should go right away," he said.
"But, I'm still needed here!" Fluttershy said aghast. There were patients to take care of, including Pinkie Pie. Redbrand also likely still needed her help.
"There will always be more injured," Blue Moon said. "They will be there when you leave, and they will still be there when you return. Opportunities like these are fleeting. Something grave is in the horizon. You may not get the chance again if you let this pass."
"I…" Fluttershy turned around and trotted off to find Redbrand and ask for some time off. She didn't fully trust everything Blue Moon said, but she felt a growing sense of urgency about what he spoke of.
Blue Moon watched as the yellow pegasus trotted off. With her out of sight, he finally had a chance to evaluate what had just happened. He had been too open in their conversation to the point of ridiculousness. What had started out as just a quick visit to Sablesteel's target had turned into a landslide of self-revelation on his part. The yellow pegasus was surprising and proof, once again, that researching a pony as much as possible was no substitute for actually meeting her for the first time.
As for his interference, Sablesteel would likely be furious if she discovered what he had told Pinkie Pie. He didn't mind. He really did think that the pegasus was approaching this the wrong way. Of course, Sable would call him arrogant for thinking he knew best.
He snorted at his own earlier boast about that matter. It wasn't really difficulty that made Black Rose assign Fluttershy to him. More like a process of elimination. Longstride and Rhapsody would have deemed Fluttershy "too weak" and would have asked permission to just kill her on sight. Sablesteel and Frenzy Heart, if he was still around, would have asked for somepony else. Lion Court would have found her "boring", and boring ponies didn't last long with him. No, it was either Black Rose personally took care of the matter or Blue Moon did.
As Blue Moon left the hospital, he glanced towards the direction of Canterlot's Grand Library. In truth, his sister was still unsure of whether to actually let Fluttershy tap into the Stare's potential, or just let the whole thing slide. He had concurred at the time, but something about the yellow pegasus's determination made him relent. Black Rose had been afraid that Fluttershy's timid disposition made her incapable of dealing with the Stare's origins and nature, things that even she could only guess at. But today's meeting let him see a determination within Fluttershy, something that hid in the depths of her timidity and shyness which made him believe that she was capable of this.
'This will mean trouble,' he silently told the mare who was likely on her way to the Grand Library. "It's your head if you fail, likely mine as well. I hope you pull through."