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// 3 Escape by Night 
// Story: The High Price of Kindness 
// by Bronyxy 
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Time hung heavy over the woods as the night sky turned slowly overhead. No wind stirred the trees, but faint rustlings of leaves betrayed the presence of small nocturnal mammals scurrying about on their night time forage. Occasionally, the silence would be broken by the plaintive call of a passing owl, its hoot echoing eerily before ricocheting off into the trees to die.

If Chrysalis had been conscious, she would have heard the whumping sound of massive wings coming to land in the clearing near her. Fluttershy had returned with help, a tremor spreading through the earth just as a massive pair of clawed feet slammed into the ground.
Why, thank you so much Mister Roc” said Fluttershy politely, giving her new friend a tickle on his neck feathers, “This is the patient I would like you to carry to my cottage in Ponyville please.”

He leaned in for more tickles as he eyed his passenger’s chitinous body plating with suspicion.
“No, you’ll be fine” reassured Fluttershy, “She’s injured, like any other creature I take in. I don’t believe she’s going to make a fuss.”
His yellow eyes appeared to shine like those of an owl, even though he was by nature a hunter of the daytime. He regarded the broken shape lying partly hidden in the shadows and looked sceptically back to Fluttershy, openly questioning her judgement.
“No, you’ll be fine, and so will I” reassured Fluttershy, rubbing a particularly ticklish patch on the side of his head, “But you will have to take something with you to show you’re doing this for me; there’s no telling what Harry may do otherwise.”
The Roc lifted a wing and made to preen himself, looking all the while at Fluttershy. She watched for a moment before understanding.
“Oh, I see” she cheered at having solved the riddle, “I give you one of my feathers, and they’ll know you’re doing this for me …”

He nodded and leaned in for another tickle as a reward for coming up with the idea, then pulled back to give Fluttershy room to find a loose or damaged feather. She lifted a wing and had a rummage around, but found none that wanted to be pulled free. Then she tried the other wing and found what she was looking for; manoeuvring her muzzle into a position from where she could grasp it in her teeth and pulling gently. The primrose feather came free and she secured it in the Roc’s own neck feathers, and then proceeded to part lift and part drag Chrysalis into a position from which he could pick her up.

“OK” she said triumphantly, “Over to you, Mister Roc. Thank you, and do be careful.”
The enormous bird nodded and unfurled his wings, then walked over to Chrysalis on the tips of his claws, balancing himself with large wingbeats. Chrysalis opened one green eye, but was too weak to resist and resigned herself to her fate as she felt the enormous claws tighten about her. She closed her eye once more and felt the flapping of powerful wings as her senses told her she was flying, then she blacked out.

Once Fluttershy had seen them melt into the night sky, she took off herself, a much more genteel affair than the brute force of the Roc, and quickly turned back towards the Royal Castle before she would be missed.

“Miss Fluttershy! Miss Fluttershy!” came the concerned calls from the corridor outside her room in the Royal Castle. 
She crouched on the windowsill, terrified that the pony knocking on the door and calling her name would barge his way in and find her sneaking back into her room.

She knew she wouldn’t be clever enough to think of a good reason for being half in and half out of the window, so panicked and overbalanced, tumbling into the room, landing on the floor with a bump. She staggered, feeling slightly dazed and followed a slightly indirect line to the door as she struggled with her balance.

The calling and the knocking continued, adding to the throbbing in her head and further disorientating her. She reached out to the door handle and missed, the loud scraping sound of her hoof down the door sounding remarkably like nails down a blackboard, but at least the pony on the other side stopped and quietness reigned, if only for a few seconds. She reached for the door handle again and this time opened the door successfully.

“Miss! Miss!” blurted the guard, “Are you alright?”
“I must have gone to sleep and slept through your knocking” she lied, “But I must have woken with a start and tripped on the bedclothes. Then I guess I must have hit my head on the floor. I’m sorry I didn’t open the door sooner.”
“Oh, Miss, I’m so sorry” the guard apologised, his words tripping off his tongue, clearly very concerned, “I had orders to find you - to give you a message. I was told you were in your room and was worried when you didn’t answer that something had happened …”

“Thank you” said Fluttershy sweetly, flashing him a winning smile, “I’m sorry too, for having worried you.”
“Can I take a look at your head, Miss?” 
Fluttershy moved closer to the light in the corridor so he could see the bruise she had earned falling off the windowsill.
“Oh, that might need some attention, Miss” he fussed, “I’m so sorry I caused it …”
“Don’t worry, it’s not your fault” said Fluttershy, trying to put his mind at rest, ”So what was the message you wanted to give me?”
“Dr Suture was keen to let you know that an orange bird has joined the others in his consulting room and requests your company to confirm whether it’s your little friend.”

“Oh, Constance!” she cheered excitedly, squeezing him in a hug, “Can we go to her now?”
“Er … of course Miss” he replied, a little embarrassed at how to handle her exuberant outburst, ”Would you care to follow me, please?”

He led the way back down through the maze of corridors until they reached the door of Dr Suture’s consulting room with the familiar snake logo on the front. The guard advanced and knocked twice on her behalf, surprised to see a much younger stallion answer it than he had been expecting.
“Excuse me, Sir” began the guard, “Would you be so kind as to advise the Royal …”
His words were cut short when Fluttershy caught sight of Silver Salver standing in the doorway and rushed past the guard to give him a big hug. 

“I don’t think we should keep this delightful filly waiting, do you?” he asked, inclining his head towards the elderly veterinarian who was staggering unsteadily from his easy chair towards the door, wrestling to command the wasted muscles in his ageing legs, while trying concurrently to fix his spectacles. He beamed at Fluttershy as soon as he could bring his old eyes into focus and made happy little cheep, cheep noises in celebration.

Sure enough, Fluttershy saw the perch, now fully populated once more, and said hello to Constance, then to each of the others in turn, so none felt left out. After this, she asked how the newly returned songbird was, and what she had gotten up to during her absence.

The tuneful little chirps relayed to Fluttershy that there had been a large family gathering, but that some of her relatives who wanted to see her had been delayed because of the changeling invasion and were late meeting up. She said how sorry she was for the trouble she had caused, but was happy to be back. 

Nopony else understood the tuneful songbird’s chirping, but Dr Suture stood there enchanted at the sight of pony and bird obviously getting on so well, while Silver Salver found himself drawn in and standing close beside Fluttershy before either of them had realised what was going on. When the timid pegasus looked turned to her side, she was a little surprised to see him stood so close, and blushed while he in his turn suddenly appreciated that he had rather crossed into her personal space, and blushed brightly before withdrawing to a more socially acceptable distance. Nothing more would have been said about the matter, but Mister Green Jay chose that precise moment to let out a wolf whistle, causing both ponies to develop an even redder hue around their cheeks.

Silver Salver coughed discretely to hide his embarrassment, but Fluttershy could see his awkwardness and leaned over to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek, partly for waiting for her, but also partly because; well, just because …


***


They left the birds chattering happily with the enchanted veterinarian, who was learning their songs and dancing happily in circles.

Fluttershy and Silver Salver looked at each other, both trying to suppress a giggle at the sight of the happy old pony and edged towards the door, neither wanting to break the magic of the moment. Fluttershy gave a wave to her little friends and slid out of the door with Silver Salver following closely behind. Once in the corridor he pulled the door shut and turned the handle silently with his aura leaving it safely closed behind them.

When he turned back to face Fluttershy he found her looking up at him with big grateful blue eyes and felt his cheeks warming up once again.
“Would you care for a hot cocoa?” he offered, “The kitchen staff serve all through the night, and you look to me as if you could use one right about now.”
“That would be lovely” she replied, ”If it’s not too much trouble.”

She followed him happily, listening as he regaled her with inconsequential stories about operations in the kitchen and some of their more demanding guests. She laughed in all the right places, but soon found herself hanging on his every word, enjoying his company as something of a recovery while her adrenaline levels quietened down following her night’s intense activities.
“… So then she said; oatmeal, are you crazy?”
Fluttershy laughed again at the story and wished she could spend more time in this stallion’s company, but knew she had taken on a weighty responsibility, one that would mean her telling a lot more lies to her friends in the coming weeks. Just for now though, she didn’t want this moment to end.

They arrived in the dining hall and took a discrete two pony table rather than sitting at the Baroque formal dining table set with solid silver cutlery and illuminated with ornate candelabras.
“Sorry, I can’t join you at the main table because I’m not a guest. You can imagine it wouldn’t do my career any favours if Princess Luna were to catch me indulging when it’s my place to be looking after others.”
“That’s fine” she replied, “I rather like this one anyway.”

“And what do you think Princess Luna would do?” came a voice from behind them.
They both turned in a flash and saw the unmistakable figure of a slender midnight blue alicorn.
“Your Majesty” he bowed immediately, “I was only …”
“He’s my guest” Fluttershy interjected, ”He’s been very sweet to me. I do hope we’re not in any trouble?”

Luna broke into a warm smile, “I heard you have had a rather busy night.”
“You have?” gasped Fluttershy, suddenly seized by the guilt of knowing she was harbouring a known enemy of Equestria, and therefore by default, an enemy of Princess Luna.
“Why, of course. Lieutenant Nocturne is a very conscientious officer and briefed me on the hunt for your bird” she explained, “I believe she has been found safely?”
“Yes, thank you Princess Luna. She’s back with her friends now.”
“Good. And I see you are feeling better too.”
“I’m better for good company” replied Fluttershy, thinking about the urgency with which she had to get to Chrysalis, “But I should be on the first train to Ponyville in the morning.”
“She’s got a bad bump on her head” added Silver Salver.
“Oh, I am sorry to hear it” said Luna, “You know you are always welcome here, but if you think it best you return sooner, I shall order my chariot readied for you.”

Fluttershy looked into the warmth of Silver Salver’s eyes and didn’t want to leave him, but recognised that her obligation to a sick creature, even an enemy of Equestria, had to take precedence.
“Yes please, Princess” she decided, wrenching her thoughts away from him, “If it’s not too much trouble.”
“It is no trouble at all” replied Luna, who then turned to Silver Salver adding, ”And perhaps you may want to visit Ponyville on your day off?”
He blushed deep red and she knew that was exactly what had been on his mind.

“Very well” confirmed Luna, “I shall order my chariot readied for departure in half an hour. It will be by the main entrance with instructions to return you forthwith. Dear Fluttershy, thank you from all of us for your part in having saved Equestria from evil Queen Chrysalis and her army. I have no need to tell you how much safer we all feel knowing that she has been banished, hopefully never to return. I do so look forward to meeting with you again soon.”

Luna nodded her head in a bow of acknowledgement, but Fluttershy was transfixed, her mouth feeling uncomfortably dry. Luna put it down to her nerves, but inside Fluttershy felt awful; she had just been thanked by the Princess of the Night for having saved Equestria from the very individual she was about to rush home for, in order to nurse her back to health. Her personal code of morality had put herself in an impossible position and she felt sharp pangs of growing discomfort as she struggled with her conscience to resolve the dichotomy. Worse, she knew Luna could see into ponies’ dreams and was terrified what she would do when she found out about this dreadful secret. She started to cry and ran away as fast as she could, leaving Luna and Silver Salver staring after her.

“It has been a long day” observed Luna, “And she is a delicate soul, but the kindest pony you will ever meet.”
“And the most beautiful” sighed Silver Salver wistfully, continuing to stare down the empty corridor where she had run, “But I don’t know if I’ll ever understand her.”
“A wise stallion will never try to understand” philosophised Luna, “Just accept her for who she is.”
“Thank you Princess. I shall try to learn from your wisdom.”
“May I suggest you help the Royal Veterinarian make the birds comfortable in their transit box for the journey ahead. That will be a gesture to gain you further favour in her heart.”
Silver Salver thanked Luna again and bowed deeply as they parted company and he went to follow her suggestion to the letter.

Fluttershy ran.

Her mane fell across her face, but she didn’t care.

She was running and didn’t want to stop until she had outrun her tangled emotions.

Every word of Luna’s praise had stabbed her like a knife; she felt unworthy of such affection. Luna was right, of course; had the invasion succeeded, all ponykind would have been enslaved to provide food for the changeling hordes. But Chrysalis could be reformed, much like Luna herself or even Discord for that matter, she just knew it.

Perhaps Fluttershy was much like Twilight, standing alone against public opinion, correct in her suspicions towards the imposter masquerading as Princess Cadance? It certainly felt lonely, and she suddenly experienced a pang of guilt about not having supported Twilight when she had stood alone. The self-reproach never seemed to end!

Suddenly she felt a sharp tug to her mane and tried desperately to extend her forehoof to take the next step but failed, her hoof caught in her flowing mane, and she fell, rolling a few yards down the deserted corridor before coming to rest sprawled across the floor. She let out a groan and felt the dampness around her muzzle where she had been crying.

She pulled her forehoof out from the knotted clump of mane that had acted like a snare to trip her, and whimpered with the pain, chest heaving as she contemplated her situation. There was nothing for it; Luna’s chariot was being prepared and she mustn’t keep them waiting, no matter how bad she felt. She wanted desperately to talk to somepony who would understand, but conceded that right now, nopony would be likely to want to see anything better for Chrysalis than perpetual banishment, or worse.

She couldn’t say she was alone; she had herself-doubt and self-loathing for company, and it didn’t make for a very happy party.

Sorrowfully, she returned the way she had come, trying to find some discernible feature that would tell her where she was. As she took her first step, she felt a pain in her foreleg and knew instantly she had sprained it, so quickly transferred the weight from it to limp past the flickering torches burning in the wall sconces, her shadow mocking her with a cruelly accentuated limp.