CHAPTER 21
CONFRONTING ASH
"Ugh...it's been two hours; is this guy even gonna show?" Rainbow complained from within the dense branches of a tree.
The six of them were stationed around the clearing where Ash usually frequented. They took to their hiding places, Rainbow in the trees, Twilight and Rarity behind a clump pf bushes, Applejack and Pinkie, complete with a camouflage helmet and a pair of binoculars, behind a pair of trees and Fluttershy at the front barely concealed. For the next two hours, they waited, and now, their patience, especially Rainbow's, began to grow thin.
"I don't really know when he shows up. He just does..." Fluttershy admitted shyly.
Rainbow groaned and went back into her tree. "Cheer up Dashie." Pinkie pulled out a cupcake from out of her saddlebags and tossed it over to her friend. "I got treats for everypony; who wants one?"
"Over here Pinkie." Applejack called. Pinkie tossed another cupcake at Applejack who caught it in her mouth. "Fanks!" she said while chewing.
"Hey Fluttershy, you think Ash would like a cupcake?" Pinkie asked holding out another one to Fluttershy.
"I don't know. It could be like a peace offering." the latter suggested.
"If he is as he sounds Fluttershy, perhaps we could use one." Rarity suggested. "That is of course if he shows up at all." she added, her eyes turning to the empty clearing.
"Can we come back like, later or something? This's all way too boring for me." Rainbow said itching to do something more exciting than waiting.
"We don't know when he'll arrive; that's why we all came prepared to stay for a long time." Twilight said indicating her saddlebags and everypony else's. Rainbow was the only one who didn't bring a saddle bag. "The only thing you brought were a pillow and a blanket." She pointed at the makeshift bed in the branches of the tree.
The blue mare groaned again and retreated back to her hiding place. "Do you have any idea where he could be coming from Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.
Her friend shook her head. "Ash always just flies off deeper into the forest. It's full of dangerous creatures; I'm actually surprised they don't tear him apart." she said a little fearful.
"Hmm...Rainbow, do you think you can fly out and find any kind of settlement anywhere beyond here?" Twilight asked. Her friend smiled.
"Sweet. Time to get away from this boring tree." She spread her wings ready to take off.
Before she could however, she heard Pinkie gasp as she spotted something in her binoculars. "There's somepony coming!" Dash groaned and folded her wings back in.
The six of them tensed up a little and waited. A few moments later, a grey spot appeared in the sky and began to descend into the clearing. In a matter of moments, Ash had arrived at his usual spot to take his mind off things and burn some leaves completely unaware of the other six ponies in the area. He sighed and before walking over to the bush and yanking a leaf out with his mouth.
"That's him; that's Ash." Fluttershy said quietly turning behind her.
Twilight silently urged her forward. Flutershy gulped nervously and took a step forward only stopping when she heard a hushed: "Wait!". She turned around and saw Pinkie fumbling with her saddlebag. The pink pony pulled out another cupcake and tossed it over. Fluttershy fumbled with it a little before catching it in her hooves. Pinkie gave her one last reassuring smile before going back into hiding. Fluttershy steeled herself once more before flying the clearing.
"Um...hello Ash." she greeted shyly. The grey pegasus looked up seeing her for the first time. He sighed and let go of the leaf allowing it to flutter away in the wind. "Would uh...you like a cupcake?"
She extended the treat in an offering manner. Such a kind gesture caused Ash's mind to race. "Are you still going on about that friendship thing?" he asked her.
"Well um...sort of." Ash rolled his eyes. Fluttershy turned back to her friends and received a gesture from Twilight to go on. She flew closer to Ash and deposited the cupcake in front of him. "Here. Try it; it's really good." she said smiling slightly.
He found himself staring at her kind smile she always had. That coupled with her gesture caused unfamiliar feelings to grow inside him. Tensing, he shoved those feelings aside and did his best to ignore them trying to return to the front of his mind. "I...don't eat...cupcakes..." he said rejecting her offer.
Fluttershy thought she heard a muffled gasp from where her pink friend hid. "But, it's really good, I promise. My friend baked it, and she's the best baker in town. Would you please just try it?"
He could feel it again, her kindness surrounding him, enveloping him with warmth, making him feel so calm, so secure, so happy-
NO!
Without even thinking, he raised a hoof and crushed the cupcake to a mushy pulp. Fluttershy's gasp was mixed with the gasps of her friends as bit of frosting splattered across the clearing floor. As Ash raised a trembling hoof, Fluttershy noticed his eyes wide with horror and fear.
"I know what this is." he told her with gritted teeth. "I know, what you're trying to do and why you're doing it. I know...who you are, Element of Kindness."
Hearing took her by surprise. "So...you know who I am." she said though Ash didn't reply. "So, you know Solstice and Ironhead and Scar right?" He narrowed his eyes at her surprised to hear that she had been told of the events the previous day. "Do you know why they're after the Elements?"
Fluttershy eagerly awaited his answer. "Why should I tell you?" he answered rudely.
"I-well." Fluttershy stammered surprised by his tone. "We just want...um..."
"Can't you go one damn sentence without-" Ash stopped himself mid shout and trembled slightly. She's pathetic...and weak...why can't I say that to her face?! Why...Why do I keep hesitating?!
Fluttershy was tempted to look back; she could imagine the looks on her friends' faces after hearing him yell at her. "Um...I'm sorry if it's bothering you." she apologized.
Ash sighed angrily and shook his head while getting up. "Didn't I already drill this into your head? You know what I told you; I am the most vile...evil...c-cruel pony in the world. All I know...is how to hurt others."
Pity coursed through Fluttershy. "I don't believe that." she told him. "Being mean all the time can't be the only thing you can do."
"It...It is...It's...it's what I am..." Ash told her trembling. "This is what I am! I'll...I'll hurt and destroy...anything in my way...you...anypony else...I don't care...I don't care!"
She could feel her friends tense up upon noticing how agitated Ash was getting. "Ash, it doesn't have to be this way. You don't have to do cruel things all the time if you don't want to." she reasoned.
"I have to; it's what I am!" he shouted, his eyes wide and his voice cracking. "Deep down, I'm vile and evil! No matter what you do...you can't change me!"
Hearing such things filled her heart with more pity. His words got Fluttershy thinking. Why did he believe he was evil so strongly? He actually looked like he was forcing himself to do and say all those horrible things. Just what was it that caused this poor boy so much pain?
"Ash, listen..." she said soothingly.
"You can't...can't change who I am...Nopony...nopony can..." Ash said once again, his voice shaking. "I'll always be cruel no matter what...I'll hurt anypony...even you!"
He suddenly raised a trembling hoof leading Fluttershy to gasp and recoil. As he hesitated, Ash clenched his eyes tightly and grit his teeth. Stop hesitating! You're suppose to hurt, destroy and kill! It's what you are! he screamed in his head. Giving out a loud cry, he swung his hoof intending to strike her across her muzzle.
His hoof suddenly collided with something else, something that felt like a pony's foreleg. "Hey, back off!" a loud, somewhat squeaky voice shouted defiantly at his face. "She's trying to help you, you idiot! Why the hell can't you-"
Ash opened his eyes immediately seeing the angry magenta ones of Rainbow. She was so ready to kick his flank all the way to Ponyville and back, but all her bravado vanished upon looking at those golden eyes of his. Ash unleashed the full power of his Glare on her, replacing her courage and determination with fear and panic.
Rainbow choked out a yelp before deploying her wings and dashing back to the tree she flew out of. "Rainbow!" Twilight shouted leaving her hiding place to check on her friend. The blue pegasus was found sitting on a branch covered in the blanket she brought while shivering in fright.
Rainbow's other friends ran up to the tree to check on her. Ash looked startled at the sight of all those ponies hiding in the shadows. "Ash, wait. I can explain." Fluttershy begged.
But Ash didn't want to hear it. He had been through enough that morning and just wanted to get away from her as fast as he could. He quickly turned and spread his wings ready to fly. As he leaped into the air, Twilight spotted him and hurriedly galloped into the clearing.
"Oh no you don't." Unwilling to let their only lead go, she lit up her horn, and a lavender glow enveloped Ash's tail. He flapped his wings, but Twilight pulled him back. He wasn't going anywhere. As he continued to struggle against her magic, Twilight approached him.
"Listen Ash..." she began as the grey pegasus fought against her hold on him. "We don't want to hurt you. We just want to ask you about-"
Ash suddenly whipped his head towards her. The ground in front of Twilight suddenly exploded, knocking her off her hooves. Everypony else turned towards the clearing upon hearing it and saw Twilight hit the ground several feet away from where she was standing.
With her being down, the grip on Ash's tail vanished and he landed on his hooves. He turned around and saw the epicenter of the explosion now a large, black circle of singed grass, dirt and pebbles. Upon seeing it and the fallen mare before her, he bowed his head and started trembling as thoughts raced across his head.
"Twilight!" Fluttershy quickly bounded towards her fallen friend. Twilight coughed and slowly opened her eyes and surveyed herself. She was shaken and covered in some ash, but was otherwise unharmed. She slowly stood up.
"What...what in the world just happened?!" she exclaimed.
There wasn't anything around to cause an explosion of that magnitude. She and her friends then caught sight of the grey pegasus colt trembling before them, his head bowed his mouth breathing deeply.
"...I am The Flames of Cruelty..."
He raised his head, and everypony watched as his golden eyes suddenly turned scarlet. "I'll h-hurt...I'll kill...I'll burn you all!"
He swung his head, and as he did, every tree he laid eyes on suddenly burst into flames. The mares hiding near them screamed with fright as they galloped away into the clearing. Rainbow jumped out of the tree she was hiding in, but an explosion in front of her caught her by surprise. It send her tumbling towards the ground where she crashed rather painfully.
Ash screamed and created an explosion in their midst the force of which scattered them across the clearing. Fluttershy crashed into a burning tree and slid down. She coughed as she choked on the smoke that was clouding the area. She weakly opened her eyes and saw Ash panting and shaking, his coat blending with the smoke.
All she could see were flames, on the trees, in the bushes, on the grass, everywhere. All she could hear was the crackle of the fire as it consumed tree after tree. The smoke was blinding as well as choking. She could barely make out her friends in the smoke, but they had to be somewhere. Coughing a little, she crawled across the ground careful to not make any noise. However, a burning branch had broken off from a tree and landed beside her, leading her to gasp and flinch.
Ash must've heard her because he suddenly turned in her direction. As he cried out, Fluttershy covered her head as the ground beside her exploded. She was showered with dirt but was otherwise unharmed. She looked ahead and saw a shape lying on the ground several feet. Still staying as quiet as possible, she crawled towards the shape hoping that her friends was alright.
A pink hoof eventually came into sight. Fluttershy rushed over and shook it's owner's shoulder. "Pinkie...Wake up please..."
A low groan came from her mouth as Pinkie raised her head. "Oww...my head's all spiny..."
"Shh Pinkie. Don't make any noise." Fluttershy begged.
She looked over to Ash who was trembling and breathing deeply. His eyes were just as they were when he smashed her gift, wide with horror and fear. A bolt of purple magic sudden struck him and knocked him several feet back. Fluttershy looked around and saw a purple light shining from within the smoke. "Pinkie, this way." she whispered leading the way.
As they neared, the light sent out a pulse of magic, blowing the smoke away as it did. With the surrounding now clear of smoke, Fluttershy saw Twilight , her horn aglow with magic. She was covered in soot from all the explosions but was still fully functional. Nearby, Applejack was coughing and using her hat to waft away some smoke as she dug her head under Rarity as she helped her up. The white unicorn managed to get up, took one good look at her ruined mane and fainted right away.
A loud battle cry shouted as Rainbow flew towards Ash who was just getting up. "Rainbow, wait!" Twilight cried out, but her friend ignored her. Still trembling and wide-eyed, Ash created an explosion, but Rainbow managed to swerve around it. Thinking fast, Ash kept his gaze down and swung his head in an arc, creating a wall of fire that halted Rainbow's advance and giving him enough time to knock her back with an explosion.
Rainbow tried flying back, but felt her tail being pulled. She looked back and saw it enveloped with lavender magic. "Forget it Dash; we have to get out of here!" Twilight cried out. Another explosion interrupted her next words.
Do it! Ash blew a nearby tree to smithereens. Hurt! Another one shook the air. Kill! An explosion near the group made a few of them scream. Destroy! He could imagine their terrified faces. This is what I am! This is all I know! I'm vile! I'm evil! I'm horrible! I'm cruel! I'm Cruelty itself!
His trembling became more intense and his breathing became more ragged. Twilight noticed this and hastily yanked Rainbow near her. Once she was near, she lit up her horn and surrounded herself and her friends with a shimmering lavender barrier which also protected them from the heat. His mind filled with thoughts of death and destruction, Ash drew in a ragged breath, reared on his hind legs, screamed and stomped as hard as he could.
Do what you do best! Kill! Destroy! Hurt!
The air around the barrier exploded violently. It shimmered for a brief moment, but Twilight, gritting her teeth, managed to keep it intact. Not finished, Ash bombarded the barrier with explosion after explosion; they seemed to have no end. Fluttershy huddled up close to Applejack who covered her face with her Stetson. Rarity woke up in time to see the explosions, grabbed Applejack and held on for dear life. Pinkie and dug her head in the ground like an ostrich. Pretty soon, cracks began to race across the shield.
"Twilight, do something!" Rainbow's shout was barely audible over the repeated explosions.
Twilight knew that her barrier was only a few moments away from being shattered completely. She didn't have any idea on how to stop him; Ash was just too powerful for them to handle. His power was fierce and incredible, just like Solstice and his brothers.
Just like Solstice and his brothers...
That's it! she thought.
Hoping that this would work, Twilight lit up her horn. A lavender sphere appeared at the tip and quickly grew in size. Swinging her head in a downwards arc, the sphere slammed against the singed ground. She and the others felt the ground shudder a little upon impact. Twilight quickly made another sphere, this time slightly bigger than the first and slammed it downwards as well.
The ground shuddered even more than the first time. After the third time Twilight repeated her actions, the explosions stopped for a few seconds. Fluttershy saw Ash's eyes closed tightly, his teeth gritted as if he was in pain. He shook his head and continued to hammer away at the barrier with explosions. Twilight inhaled deeply and put all her magic into her horn, creating a sphere far larger than any she had created and slammed it against the ground.
The shuddering created wasn't as powerful as the earthquake's but was still very impressive. The explosions suddenly ceased, but Twilight kept her barrier up just in case. "It's workin' Twi'!" Applejack cried out pointing ahead of them Twilight looked in that direction and saw Ash frozen in place. Fearing another explosion, she slammed another massive sphere into the ground, creating a second mini earthquake.
As the ground shook, Ash lost all sense of his surroundings; the flames, smoke, heat and other ponies barely registered. The only thing that did was the violent shuddering of the ground. As his breath quickened at an alarming pace. He felt himself violently thrust into the past, to Quinestown, his first home.
As his breaths quickened even further, Twilight slammed another sphere into the ground. The shuddering vanquished all other thoughts and filled his head with memories, painful memories-the ground shuddering even more violently than it was now, buildings crumbling and bursting into flames, ponies running for their lives before meeting their own demise, their screams of fright filling the air.
And Light...painful Light...burning like an unquenchable inferno...consuming his very being...bringing searing agony unlike anything else...was everywhere.
"Stop!"
Twilight, who was about to bring down another sphere, obeyed mostly out of the shock of hearing who it was that shouted. She and her friends looked at they shy friend who, to their surprise, had tears out of the corner of her eyes. "Stop it...please...Just...Just look at him..."
Ash, the pony who was just about to blow them all to pieces, was on his side, his golden eyes wide with horror. His head filled with the memories of long ago, his entire body jerked and convulsed violently as he began hyperventilating. They could barely recognize him as the violent, screaming, unstable colt he was just a few moments ago. He actually looked pitiable.
As the flames around them raged on, Twilight lowered her barrier. Unimpeded, Fluttershy raced across the clearing to the shuddering pegasus before them. He was mean, he was horrible to all of them, but she refused to believe that that was all he knew. She saw it in his eyes; beneath the anger and hate they showed was a pony screaming for help. The sight broke her heart.
Ash was still trapped in his memories, but managed to see Fluttershy racing towards him, her eyes filled with worry. He knew that, as the Element of Kindness, she'd comfort him; he could picture her holding him, trembling like crazy, in her arms and stroking his mane whispering words of comfort. His insides were suddenly overcome by a soothing, calming sensation brought about by the idea. He would look into those cyan eyes and truly believe that everything would be-
No...No...NO! NO! NO!
The ground in front of Fluttershy exploded suddenly. She screamed and stopped before she could run into the blast range. When the smoke and dust finally cleared, Ash was gone. She looked up and saw him in the air, flying as fast as he could.
"Ash!" she cried out, but he was already too far away. Feeling defeated, she sat down, bowed, sniffed a little and wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye. "Ash..."
Twilight felt sorry for her friend. Nothing came out of his whole encounter except knowing that Ash was connected to the brothers and seeing her Fluttershy crushed. "The poor thing..." she heard Rarity say behind her.
She sighed. "Let's...let's get out of here. Rainbow, go on ahead and get as many rain clouds as you can. Some of the other pegasi must've noticed all this already."
Rainbow nodded and took one last look at her depressed friend before leaving. Twilight approached Fluttershy and sat next to her. "I'm sorry things turned out this way Fluttershy."
It took a while for her to answer. "It's fine Twilight...This isn't your fault. Let's...let's just go home..."
A few moments later, Fluttershy found Pinkie next to her. Before she could say anything, two bubblegum hooves pulled her into a hug. While she was grateful for the gesture, her thoughts were still on the poor boy who left. She had known for a long time just how much darkness laid in his heart, but she never expected...this. As was practically drowning in his anger and hate.
Was he really beyond help?
Still hyperventilating, Ash flew as fast as he could through the Everfree Forest crashing through twigs and branches as he did. Images of Fluttershy and of what he was about to do to her and her friends continued to flash through his mind. He was still trembling and shaking, so much so that he was surprised that he was still able to fly albeit not very well.
A long time later, he finally arrived at the castle deep within the forest. Without even slowing down, Ash crashed through the front door and crashed into the wall across it. Pain shooting throughout his body, he slid to the ground where he continued to tremble and hyperventilate.
"A...Ash?!" A familiar voice cried out in shock. The trembling pegasus recognized it as Ironhead's voice. "S-Sweet Celestia, what happened to you?! We saw the smoke and-and freaked out when-"
Ash didn't want to hear any of it. He scrambled to his feet and bolted away ignoring his brother's cries to wait. Galloping as fast as he could, he went up a corner and dashed up a set of stairs. Just as he turned to head up another set of stairs, he collided into something. He was once again knocked to the ground feeling slightly dazed.
"Ash?" The pegasus looked up and saw the dark rose eyes of his brother Psych looking at him surprised and worried. "W-wait!" Psych cried out as his brother brushed past him and flew up the stairs. Deeply concerned, for him, Psych followed suit.
Ash could unfortunately fly faster than his earth pony brother could gallop. Two more flights of stairs later, Ash made a beeline for his room. Once there, he pulled open the door and hurled himself inside before slamming it shut. Psych arrived a split second later. "Ash?" He tried the knob, but it was locked. "Ash, what happened?!" he cried out hammering on the door. "Ash!"
Inside his room, Ash had finally stopped trembling and hyperventilating, but his mind was still in disarray. His back against the door, he clutched his head tightly and started crying out if he were in serious pain. The images...Fluttershy...her terrified friends...the burning clearing...Quinestown...everything he'd just done...they all rapidly coursed through his head. Standing on his hind legs, he got up started staggering around the room as his cries increased in volume.
I'm vile. I'm evil. I'm horrible. I'm cruel. Hurt...Kill...Destroy...Hurt ponies who just want to talk...Destroy ponies who tried to help him...Kill ponies who try to show me kindness...My cruelty has no end...This...This is all I know...I can't do anything else...This is what I am...This is what I will always be...
Images of Fluttershy, of Psych, of Scar, Ironhead, Blues, Solstice and Equinox came to his mind. "Why...Why do you keep doing this to me?!" he screamed as tears poured down his face. He just didn't understand any of it; why couldn't any of them just hate him like the rest of the world does and should. To him, it made no sense.
"You...you all care about me...but I can't...and never will feel the same towards any of you! I'm incapable of love, of care, of kindness! I'm Cruelty itself! The world hates me...So why...Why do you still care...Why do I have brothers...a dad...a family...Why do I have ponies who care about me...Why don't any of you see me for what I really am..." He sunk to his knees this time clutching his face. "Why...Why...Why..."
"WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"
If it weren't for the virtually soundproof walls, the whole house would've heard Ash screaming his head off.