Lost Legacies

by AkibaWhite

Episode 07: The Kindness of Others [8/9]

By the time that Derpy Hooves and Iron Will reached the place where Fluttershy had last been seen, a massive clearing was all that remained. Felled trees rested on a carpet of leaves. The dense fog had turned pale orange in the light of sunset. Silence hung on the air.

Iron Will cupped both hands to his muzzle. "Fluttershy! You out here, honeybunch?!"

Derpy piped up as well. "Fluttershy! Are you okay?!" She heard nothing in response, but Iron's ears pricked up.

"Fluttershy?" he whispered before dashing off into the clearing.

Derpy followed after as best she could, her every motion hindered by the knee-high carpet of leaves and branches. When she caught up with Iron Will, who now stood stock still in shock, a fearful sight lay before them. Fluttershy hung from a still-standing tree near the edge of the battleground, lashed to its trunk by a glob of black sludge that covered her midsection. Derpy could see that she was still breathing, but Fluttershy's head hung low, unresponsive to Iron's voice.

Iron Will stepped forward regardless. "Here, honeybun. Lemme get this thing off of you." He reached out with both hands.

"Don't!" Fluttershy barked, causing Iron Will to freeze in place. She raised her head and gazed upon them, pain writ large on her fragile features. Her irises had turned stark violet.

Derpy recoiled. "What the . . ."

"It wants you too," Fluttershy whispered, struggling with every word. "Both of you, everything alive. It—" She winced. "It keeps talking to me—talking without words. I'm trying not to listen but . . . but . . ."

Iron Will advanced slowly, still convinced that his was the correct course of action.

"It'll take you if you touch me!" Fluttershy sobbed. Her eyes watered in frustration. "Just run."

Iron Will's eyes moistened as well. "Honeybunch?"

Fluttershy strained against the sludge. "Go, before it's too late!" she shouted, then her form went slack. It began to giggle. "But it's already too late." said a different voice from Fluttershy's mouth.

Derpy drew in a sharp breath. "Screw Loose?"

A flurry of black tendrils whipped through the trees all around Fluttershy. Iron Will reacted fast, sweeping up Derpy in a headlong dive back to the clearing. He deposited her neatly on all four hooves and reared up into a perfect fighting stance. They both watched as the creature called Phage Amalgam slid out from between the trees. It grew more substantial as it entered the clearing and again assumed the approximate form of an ursa minor. It bristled with blades of bone. Its mouths snapped hungrily at the air.

Fluttershy's body laughed wickedly and smiled at the sight. A face formed in the sludge surrounding her abdomen, the face of a familiar earth pony. "You two have no idea what you're missing," both Fluttershy and the face said in Screw Loose's voice. "Come on in! The water's fine!"

"That's why they're here," Derpy whispered. "It's her fault—it's gotta be!"

"Fluttershy!" Iron Will bellowed. "Where's Kindness?!"

Fluttershy's face smirked. "You want a hug? Why didn't you say so?"

The Amalgam charged forward, scattering debris into the air. Iron Will jumped out of the way and called out once more as the creature rushed past. "Flutterhoney!"

Fluttershy's body laughed with the voice of Screw Loose, but the laugh soon turned to choking. The face in the sludge gained greater definition while Fluttershy's eyes returned to their normal shade of cyan. "That thing covering Brutus has it!" she croaked, this time in her own voice.

Both Derpy and Iron Will saw it as the Amalgam rose from its charge, a glint of pink morganite high atop its right shoulder.

Derpy balked. "How are you gonna get that?" she exclaimed, but Iron Will was already on the move.

"HEY!" the minotaur bellowed with tremendous volume. He clapped his hands over his head and let out a high-pitched whistle. "Get over here so Iron Will can show you who's boss!"

The Amalgam roared and shambled forward.

"Oh, come on!" jeered Iron Will. He poked at his own head. "You can do better than that, sludge-for-brains! Pick up the speed or get ready to bleed!"

The Amalgam obliged, charging toward the minotaur once more in a torrent of leaves and bits of goo. Derpy looked on in wonder as Iron Will taunted the creature and backed away. He clearly had something in mind, but what?

The sludge with Screw Loose's face cackled. "The bullfighting bull thinks he's got this in the bag!" She sneered. "I wonder about that . . ."

Both Iron Will and his towering opponent neared the edge of the clearing. Suddenly, Iron broke off his verbal assault and ran straight at a nearby tree trunk. With a leap and a bound, Iron Will ascended the branches, rising to the Amalgam's head level in a flash. Before the creature could possibly turn his way, Iron jumped clear from the treetop, hand outstretched to grab hold of the captive Element.

"Gotcha~" said Screw Loose in a singsong voice.

One of the Amalgam's bone-bladed arms whipped around its back and rocketed upward. Miraculously, Iron Will grabbed one of the oncoming blades and ascended with rather than on the weaponized appendage. Even so, a quick splash of red in the air made it clear that damage had been done. Iron Will dropped to the ground and rolled away as the Amalgam lashed about in all directions with feral screams.

"Aw darn," moaned the sludge that was Screw Loose. "Thought I had him that time."

Fluttershy's lips formed a torturous grin. "You can't beat my Willykins. Why don't you just give up?"

Screw Loose tightened around her prey, causing Fluttershy to cry out in pain. "Why don't you give up, honeybunch?"

Derpy couldn't stand to see these events transpire, but neither could she think of anything to do. She simply stood there with gritted teeth and shaking limbs as her caretaker's words coursed through her brain. Who do you want to be tomorrow? What are you going to do about it right now?

"Derpy, look out!" Iron Will shouted above the fray.

The distracted pegasus mare turned to see spikes of bone launch from the Amalgam's back—they were headed right for her! There was no time to react, nothing to do but watch in horror as the projectiles loomed ever larger.

CRACK!

CRACK!

Derpy's mouth fell open as she witnessed a blur of motion. Spike the dragon had rushed to her aid, deflecting both on-target bone spikes with his sword. The others stuck in the ground all around them like a morbid version of Triangle Peg.

"Spike!" Derpy exclaimed in utter relief. "Wait, why are you here?"

Spike kept his sword up and grimaced. "Those things doubled back. Look."

Derpy turned her eyes to the Phage Amalgam and took in a gruesome spectacle. The remaining individual Phage that Spike had tried to lead away now slid toward their conjoined brethren with alarming speed. As the piles of sludge unified, the Amalgam grew ever larger, rising above the treetops and putting the Element far out of reach.

Iron Will used the distraction to duck and dodge his way to his allies' position. He arrived at Derpy's side, bleeding a good bit from a cut across his chest. "Derpy," he gasped. "It's time to go."

Riotous laughter issued forth from Screw Loose as the Amalgam neared completion. The creature itself let out a deafening squeal and plunged its arms into the ground. It's oily skin shook and pulsated, giving off the appearance that it was pumping something into the soil.

Iron Will's instruction caught Derpy unawares. "What?" she gasped.

Bone spikes exploded from the ground in showers of leaves and dirt. They shot up from the underbrush one after another in rapid succession, forming a perfect and insurmountable circle within a few short seconds. The tendrils on the Amalgam's back grew larger and longer—its mouths licked greedily at the air in horrid anticipation.

Iron Will gripped Derpy's shoulder. "You promised, Derpy! I can't protect you anymore!"

Spike smiled back at her. "Don't worry about us. We'll be fine."

"Get out of here!" Fluttershy shouted from across the clearing. "You can't stop it now!"

Derpy shuddered in place. She knew what she'd promised Iron Will—she knew that she had to flee. Her body wholeheartedly agreed with the sentiment, but her mind was on the warpath. Which me is the real me? Who did Iron Will want to meet? As the shouts, screams, and roars echoed in her ears, her eyes once again spotted the morganite gem on the Amalgam's shoulder. She looked at Iron Will and Spike, hearing her own voice in place of their words.

Who are you?

Are you the pony who hides in her room and yells at Fluttershy?

Or are you the pony who risked her life to save Apple Bloom?

Derpy saw the gem glint in the sun's red light and ruffled her wings. She knew that it was possible—that she could fly up and retrieve the means to win this battle. Despite this, she froze once more. I could die, she thought. Screw Loose could really kill me this time. The icy terror of that thought gripped every inch of her body and rooted her to the spot. Frustration, shame, and abject fear engulfed her mind and paralyzed her to the core.

The Amalgam readied its blades and tendrils, coming about to face the trio. Both Iron Will and Spike stood ready to defend Derpy, no matter how futile the gesture against a threat of this magnitude.

"Fly, Derpy!" shouted Iron Will.

"Get out of here!" yelled Spike. His smile wavered. "If something happens to you . . . I . . ." He gritted his teeth.

"Run!" Fluttershy cried. "All of you, just run!"

The Amalgam bent low for one final charge. Over a hundred mouths opened wide for the feast.

Why can't I do this?! Derpy screamed inwardly. I want to save them! I know what to do! What's wrong with me?!

"Derpy!"

"Derpy, run!"

Derpy clutched at her head as a searing pain entered her mind. Another vision of the past blossomed in her thoughts. This time, it was her own.

[???]
Derpy pushed hard against the gargantuan doors of the White Spire, digging her back hooves into the soft grass and crying tears of frustration as she did. "You said I could go there too, Big Sister!" she wailed. "You said the Spire leads to the Land Past the Sky!"

Derpy had been throwing herself against the massive ivory doors for some time now, but they wouldn't budge, no matter how hard she tried to open them. When at last the futility of her actions became utterly clear, she slumped down against the doors and wept. "I lied," she sobbed. "I said I'd be brave, but . . . I'm so afraid. The voices are scary, and they won't stop. Being by myself is even worse!" She tried to cradle herself with her own forelegs, only to find them inadequate. "I wish you were here. I wish you'd tell me it's gonna be okay."

One of Derpy's eyes looked up from the grass and spotted a dark silhouette against the rainbow-colored sky. She yelped in surprise and pressed her back to the door. Against the brightness of swirling constellations, the figure had no definition. All it seemed to be was an ominous black shadow, growing larger as it advanced upon her.

Derpy closed her eyes and cowered on the spot. "No!" she whimpered, her body quaking with fear. "Get away from me! I've got nothing to do with you!"

The shadow now stood directly in front of her. "You have nothing to fear, little one," it said in a masculine voice. "For if you are here, you've nothing left to lose."

Derpy opened her eyes. What had been an indiscernible shadow at a distance was now clearly a stallion, clad from head to hoof in black cloak and cowl. She could not see his face, but the stallion reached out with a gray-furred foreleg and pressed on the door behind her. It slid open just a crack, revealing a sliver of brilliant light from within.

Derpy's mouth fell open, and she forgot her trepidation. "How did you do that?"

The stallion chuckled and placed his hoof on her shoulder. "Doors remain shut as long as you fear what's behind them." The shifting lights in the sky revealed his crimson eyes. "Courage is the key to victory, little one. You must believe . . ."

Derpy's eyes refocused, and her consciousness cleared of all things but the last few words of the stallion's wisdom. "Believe in victory," she whispered. In her mind's eye, the Element of Kindness high atop the Amalgam's shoulder became the shape of a pegasus slaver in flight. Her body remembered what to do. With one powerful flap of her wings, Derpy sailed into the air, right over the heads of Iron Will and Spike. Both of them watched open-mouthed as she rocketed upward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

The Element of Kindness surfaced from the undulating sludge of the Phage Amalgam. Just as Silver Cross had once pulled his sword from the slaver, Derpy opened her jaws and snatched the golden necklace from the ooze, sailing right over the creature's "head" in the process. The Amalgam roared and lunged after her. To make matters worse, the gnarled branch of a nearby tree blocked Derpy's descent. She nearly collided with it, but flapped her wings just in the nick of time, kicking out reflexively to clear the object from her path. The powerful kick sent the branch plunging into the Amalgam and, stupendously, the abomination snagged on the offending tree limb.

As the ground drew near, Derpy imagined herself making a perfect landing. However, her mind drew a blank, and she hit the ground in a tumbling heap.

"Derpy?!" Iron Will shouted from across the clearing.

Derpy Hooves popped up from the loam in a shower of leaves. She looked back at the struggling Amalgam, felt the cold metal of the Element in her grip, and was overcome with elation. "I got it!" she exclaimed. "I got the Element!" What was I supposed to do with it again? she thought. Oh, right. Derpy spun around and flung the necklace through the air, shouting "Catch, Iron!" as she did.

The toss was right on target. Iron Will reached up and caught the spinning necklace with a knowing smile. "Nice to meet you, Derpy Hooves."

"What good is that gonna do?" jeered Screw Loose as the Amalgam wrenched free from its entanglement. "I've got your precious Fluttershy all to myself!"

"Um, I don't want to be a bother," squeaked Fluttershy with a tiny smile, "but I think you just lost."

Iron Will donned a mask of grim determination. "KINDNESS!"

The Element's gem flashed and spoke at the same time. "SECOND ASPECT CONFIRMED. HARMONIZING." The golden crest surrounding the core gem shifted and expanded, turning itself from a necklace into a shining metal belt before their very eyes. "COMPLETE."

Derpy face-faulted. "Huh?"

Iron Will grabbed the belt with both hands and latched it around his waist. "Didn't you know?" His mouth turned up at the corner. "We're a two-for-one special."

"READY."

Iron Will pumped his right fist in the air at a straight diagonal across his chest and let out a low growl as he brought the extended arm around to the opposite side. With a parallel punch from his left and another from his right, gave a mighty roar. "Crest Open!"

The butterfly gem flashed in response. "OPEN UP."

The cyclone of pink light burst forth once more and swirled about. Two golden plates jumped off the belt and latched onto Iron Will's wrists, forming a pair of metallic wristbands. Both his nose ring and horns took on the same golden hue. With finishing touches in place, the cyclone dissipated to reveal a combat-ready Iron Will--arms up and eyes aglow.

Iron Will threw a pair of practice jabs and flexed his prodigious muscles. "Feast your eyes on the powers of yore!" He kissed a curled bicep. "Iron Will takes the floor."

Even the Amalgam recoiled from the ostentatious display.

"Ooh, shiny," mocked Screw Loose. "You gonna summon some more critters for me to absorb?"

Iron Will ignored her and brought the two wristbands close to his face, whispering to them in a low voice. "Give unto me the likeness of love's form, to strike away evil from hearts deformed." He looked up from his prayer and shouted, "Derpy! Spike! Get ready!"

Derpy cocked her head to the side. "Ready for what?"

Pink fire erupted from the wristbands and wreathed about Iron's fists. "For this!" he bellowed. Iron Will threw a left straight in Fluttershy's direction. A brilliant pink fireball exploded from his fist and shot across the clearing.

Derpy saw Spike dash for their imprisoned friend out of the corner of her eye and chose to do the same. The ball of rose-colored flame hit the corrupted Screw Loose dead in the face and exploded all over the tree trunk. Miraculously, the yellow pegasus fell out of the blaze without a single charred feather. Spike made it just in time, catching Fluttershy in a diving save. At the same instant, a glob of black sludge hit the ground near Derpy, Screw Loose's pained expression still emblazoned on its oily surface.

Screw Loose seemed disappointed, more than anything, as pink flame burned her away into nothingness. "That sucks," she gasped. "I just wanted to have fun." Strangely enough, her last expression before she disappeared entirely was a smile. "Oh well, at least I have some company . . ."

The sight of her enemy's demise brought Derpy a slew of mixed feelings, but the Amalgam's vengeful roar snapped her out of the resulting daze. She rushed to her friends' side as Iron Will drew the attention of their remaining foe. "Fluttershy!" she gasped. "Are you okay?"

Despite her ordeal, Fluttershy looked to be completely unscathed. "Oh, I feel a little dizzy," she said as Spike lowered her onto her hooves. A sweet smile blossomed on her face all the same. "But I think I'll be just fine. Thank you, both of you." With that, she looked toward the combatants. "Now, if we can just save poor little Brutus too."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Little?"

The battle was underway between the minotaur and the Phage Amalgam, but already it looked to be completely one-sided. Without the benefit of Screw Loose's guidance, the Amalgam lashed about with every blade and tendril at its disposal, seeking to overwhelm its smaller opponent. Iron Will, however, neither touched the beast nor let it touch him. Punch after punch thrown at thin air shot a cascade of pink fireballs at the Amalgam, repelling its every attack and, eventually, sending it reeling. The rose-colored flame dissolved black sludge wherever it made contact. Only a matter of seconds passed before the starry coat of an ursa minor began to shine through holes in the ooze.

Derpy shook her head and looked on with wide eyes. "What is he doing? How is he doing it?"

Fluttershy tapped the tiny bell on her ear. "It's a bit embarrassing, but . . ." She blushed. "The bond of marriage is very powerful. Two bodies become one—two souls become one. Iron Will is my other half, the other Element of Kindness." She smiled wistfully as her husband battled on. "The Element's shape and powers depend on the one who wears it. Mine draws on the ways I've been kind to others and asks them very nicely to help me when I'm in need."

"Compels them to, actually," Spike corrected.

"Iron Will's is different," continued Fluttershy. "He's very assertive, even mean sometimes, but that's how he gets through to others—to what's really bothering them. That's why his Element can burn away bad feelings." Her smile grew wider. "That's how my Willykins wins his battles—he attacks the will to hurt others."

By this time, there was little left of the Phage Amalgam. Dented plates of armor and burning piles of sludge littered the forest floor. The creature Iron Will fought bore the form of an ursa minor once more, save for a single undulating Phage that enveloped its head.

Iron Will drew back his rear hand and focused his power for the final attack. "Hey, Phage!" he barked. "Or whatever you call yourself, listen up!"

The creature he addressed actually lurched back at his words.

Iron Will smirked. "Looks like you're missin' the point of this little bout, so Iron Will's gonna spell it out!" The flame of his lead hand receded, causing the one on his rear hand to flare brilliantly. "Next time you feel like bargin' into my kitchen, make sure you can take the HEAT!"

On the last word he threw a powerful straight punch, propelling a massive ball of pink fire into the air. The Amalgam only had time for one last screech before the flame vaporized it on contact, leaving only the unmarked, glittering form of an ursa minor in its wake.

"Brutus!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

Free from his captors, the ursa minor let out a massive groan and toppled forward, hitting the underbrush with a gut-churning thud. Fluttershy was at the giant bear's side in an instant, though Derpy and Spike hung back for a moment to check that their teeth hadn't come loose. All around them, the circle of bone spikes crumbled to dust.

Iron Will, his mission accomplished, let out a slow exhale and brought his arms to rest. "Kindness?"

The morganite gem on his belt flashed once and rung out a neutral tone of acknowledgement.

"Good job. Close Crest."

"STAND DOWN." With that, the core gem locked back into its starting position. The belt and wristbands unlatched of their own accord, merged back into a single golden object, and rocketed off into the sky on its way back to the library.

The golden hue and magic light faded from Iron Will's features, replaced by a smile of great relief.

Derpy Hooves trotted over to Fluttershy as the caretaker examined her charge. "Is he gonna be okay?"

Fluttershy pulled her ear away from the ursa minor's flaring nostrils and nodded cheerfully. "I think so! I checked all over, and he's in such good shape that he might as well have been taking a nap this whole time!" She spread her wings out parallel to the ground and knelt down on one knee, giving the traditional curtsy of a pegasus mare. "Thank you so much, all of you. You were all so very brave."

"That they were," said Iron Will. Despite his words, he approached the group with the body language of a disapproving father—hands folded behind his back and a stolid grimace on his face. He fixed an angry glare on Derpy Hooves. "But somepony broke her promise to make it happen, and by Celestia she's gonna get what's coming to her."

"Wait, Iron!" said Spike. "If Derpy hadn't done that, we'd all be—"

Iron Will interrupted Spike by kneeling down and offering an open hand. "Thank you, Derpy," he said with a gentle smile. "Thank you for giving me the power to save my honeybunch." As Derpy extended a cautious hoof, Iron Will took it in his hand and shook firmly. "No matter where life takes you, you will always be welcome in our home."

Derpy's bottom lip quivered. Happy tears formed in her eyes. "I don't know what to say." She was happy, genuinely happy from the bottom of her heart for what seemed like the very first time. Even so, a shadow tugged at the edge of her thoughts. "But I . . ." Her expression became uncertain. "Did we really just get rid of Screw Loose?"

All of them looked out across the clearing in the fading light, a sight that spoke clearly of damage wrought, but said nothing of the cause behind it.

Spike grimaced. "What do you think she meant when she said she had 'company?'"

Derpy looked upon a dented piece of golden armor and realized that for all she'd gained from this battle, for all those she'd saved, something else—perhaps equally precious—had just been lost.

~

Comments

[drone_r0m-3]

Woo-hoo!

This needs some kind of victory music.
[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YCN-a0NsNk]
Ahh, the classics always work.

[Forevermore]

This is like Sailor Moon, W.I.T.C.H., and Saint Seya all rolled into one!

[DreadedCandiru2]

I just hope that when she comes through the other side of this, she can make up for whatever was lost in this one.
Also, I should actually have seen that coming.....

[jackofallapples]

Dunno if this has been brought up, but the chapter formatting - while very cool - messes with the epub format. Anything after the first text break in any chapter - so, for example, directly after the prologue in chapter one - the epub format cuts off, as if it's assumed it's reached the end of the chapter. I don't know if this is something you want to fix, perhaps by finding a different means of signifying text breaks / gaps in time, but I wanted to mention it because I tried to read this on my Nook and most of the story was missing.

[AkibaWhite]

2279609

Wow, I had no idea. Thanks for letting me know. I'll have the horizontal rules out of here within the next day or so.

[jackofallapples]

2279627 No problem. I didn't mention it the instant I saw it because I couldn't figure out what was going on at first. A couple chapters in and I noticed the trend.

[sopchoppy]

awesome!

[Wade]

That is how we DO it!

[Sporkz]

I gather once part 9 comes out you'll merge it all into one?

[jackofallapples]

Finished reading all updates to this point. I wasn't sold immediately, but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. This story builds very slowly -- it takes a while before all the major elements (Derpy's history-jumping, the present day quest, the new nature of the Elements, and the pursuit of Screw Loose) are introduced, and even by episode 07 there are new ideas being brought forward. But all of them seem to have some meaning, so I don't mind. I still have a huge number of questions - where do the Spires come from? what's Derpy's sister's agenda? - but enough of them are answered in any given chapter that I'm not overly bothered.

Rattling off a few other good things: the action and fantasy elements are written well, the characters in the past are compelling, the central plot of Derpy trying to figure out what her cutie mark means is a decent enough idea.

But there are a few things, even after reading 8/9 of episode 07, that still bug me. Most notably, the Mane Six keep acting like total jerks. Yeah, Derpy messes up a lot, but that doesn't explain the Six's rudeness or disgust when dealing with her. The Six that I know give characters a lot more chances than that (see Trixie in "Magic Duel"). It's like they want Derpy to feel bad. This is more forgivable with characters like Cross, who is set up as a Han Solo-like rogue and who wasn't in the show. But for characters who represent harmony and friendship, it feels off.

And I don't know how I feel about Derpy being consistently too scared to act. Sometimes it makes sense; like, I wouldn't expect the poor mare to react well to being trapped in a body in the thick of battle. But in segments of the real world, her angst can get repetitive. That troubles me less, though, because you're trying to give her somewhere to grow to.

Overall, it's definitely epic and compelling enough for me to keep reading. The Mane Six characters do often bug me, but the characters are coming around to Derpy, and meanwhile you slowly sold me on Flutterwill (the most adorable moment came at the realization that Iron Will is the second Element of Friendship). Pretty darn good so far.

[AkibaWhite]

2284573
Thank you for that very thorough evaluation! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and I do hope you'll stay for the rest. As for the elements you have issue with . . . I'm afraid there's nothing I can say without coming off as argumentative. Instead, I thank you again for articulating your concerns so thoughtfully.

Although . . .
E07(9/9) should provide interesting food for thought in regard to the Mane 6's behavior.

Also, putting these two lines together paints an odd little picture . . .
Screw Loose, E06 - "But I'm getting into the game pretty late. Truth is, I'm not the first pony in your life to have an agenda. I just happen to be the most honest."
Spike, E07 (about a hypothetical relationship w/ Derpy) - "Now I know you're joking. We were both there when Twilight warned us about what could happen."

I believe in coincidences . . .

[Swan Song]

2284573 This is very much in line with Faust's original intent for the Mane Six. They were never meant to be perfect representations of their element, merely exemplars. There is a certain degree of "brute honesty" that's demanded in situations like Derpy's, especially when used to break down barriers created by lack of communication or trust between friends.