28. Age of innocence
Wings of Tomorrow
Lament of the World
28. Age of innocence
Fluttershy wandered through the halls of the palace, feeling decidedly lost. Two days had passed since her arrival in the city and meeting with Princess Luna, days she had spent mostly wandering the palace grounds aimlessly. She had visited the castle gardens and had been thrilled to discover that the animals there did not share the same distaste for shy pegasi that those in the gardens of the palace in Canterlot did. It most certainly eased the discomfort and pain she felt at being separated from her little friends at home, but at the same time it made her feel a tad guilty as well.
She had left her home behind and had accompanied her friends to this place because Rainbow Dash had asked for her help, and she’d known full well when she boarded the Wonderbolt that she would not be going towards a picnic. Rainbow Dash hadn’t hidden the fact that war lay ahead of them. Even if they withstood the invasion, it would be but the first battle in a series of many. The Equestrian Civil War was, after three and a half centuries, moving into its final phase, one which would be even more bloody and violent than its turbulent first years.
The Nobles’ Court would not call off the attack this time when the losses were greater than expected, there would be no ceasefire and there would be no quarter. This time would be the battle to end all battles, to finally end a war that had been going on for far too long, no matter the costs or casualties.
The very idea of the coming conflict had terrified Fluttershy when she had boarded the Wonderbolt and it still terrified her today. It would probably never stop doing that, but given that this was about war, that wasn’t exactly unusual or uncommon. What mattered was that she had agreed to come with Rainbow Dash despite her fear of battle, because the admiral had admitted to needing the support and help of her friends, and Fluttershy would never allow her fears to keep her from helping her friends when they really needed her.
It helped that she also believed in the cause Rainbow Dash was fighting for. Like the rest of her friends, Fluttershy wanted nothing more but to have the unjust imprisonment of Celestia to come to an end and see the wrongs committed by the nobles made right. The thought of what the Princess had been put through the past few centuries had appalled her from the very moment Twilight had told her that Celestia had been overthrown.
When she had seen the atrocities with her own eyes at the parade, however, that dismay had turned into pure disdain and condemnation. It was most unlike her to feel so strongly about something, of this Fluttershy was all too aware, but the depravities of the parade had shocked her too deeply. She might be shy and timid and conflict and violence might frighten her, but even for her there were lines that could not be crossed. This wasn’t like a dragon threatening her friends or being mocked by bullies, this was nothing short of pure injustice being approved of by an entire nation – or half of it – and Fluttershy wouldn’t stand for it.
In the face of something so wrong, even she was compelled to act.
At least in theory. The strong feelings were certainly still there, but like many of her friends until Rainbow Dash had picked them up she had no idea of how to act upon them. It was one thing to so strongly disapprove of something that you actually wanted to do something about it, but it was another thing to actually know what that something had to be. When Rainbow Dash had made her request for their help and support, Fluttershy had been convinced that once they arrived at Cantropolis her friend would tell them how exactly they could help and what they had to do.
She’d been mistaken, however. As it turned out, when Rainbow Dash had asked her friends for their help and support, she had been thinking about the moral kind of help. The presence of her friends, their comfort when the pressure began to take its toll on her, their friendship to cheer her up, those kind of things. Simply being here was help enough as far as Rainbow Dash was concerned.
It would be wrong to say that Fluttershy was displeased by this; she was happy that her mere presence managed to make one of her dearest friends feel better. It also was most certainly less terrifying than going out on the battlefield, not that Fluttershy had actually believed Rainbow Dash would ever allow them, let alone ask them, to ever set a hoof there. However, she didn’t think of ‘simply being there’ as making herself appropriately useful. It certainly didn’t make her feel useful, wherein laid the entire problem.
Rainbow Dash didn’t need her to be around all the time, which meant that a lot of time Fluttershy was left to her own devices and fill her time as she saw fit. Which, so far, meant going wherever her hooves took her in an endless and aimless search for something to do. All of her friends had found a way to keep themselves busy and to add their own contribution to the Royalists’ cause. She, however, was at loss of what she could do to make herself more useful to her friends besides being moral support by just ‘being there’.
As far as she was concerned, she didn’t exactly have a great array of skills that she could use to make herself useful. She wasn’t a strong flyer or a great athlete, nor did she have unrivalled magical potential. She was an animal caretaker, which, while as honourable an occupation as any other, was not immediately useful for warfare. She certainly wasn’t going to use her way with animals to involve those poor little dears in this conflict, knowing full well that the thought might come to some soldier’s mind were she to speak of her talent.
She did have some medical expertise, having had to take care of an injured animal more than once, but she was far from being a nurse. Fluttershy didn’t think she could make herself useful as part of the medical staff of the royal guard. She didn’t have any experience in taking care of wounded ponies, for starters, and she wasn’t convinced that she’d be able to stomach the kind of injuries that ponies no doubt would suffer in the coming conflict.
Fluttershy might have been shy, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew perfectly well that ponies were going to get hurt, or even killed. She wasn’t going to risk endangering anypony by signing up to help with medical care, only to flee and abandon a soldier in need because she couldn’t handle the sight of his injuries, the smell of blood or the wailing of the injured and the dying. She wasn’t going to let herself risk being so irresponsible. No, if she was going to make herself useful, it would be in a way that she knew she could handle.
Which sadly led to her current situation of wandering the beautiful halls of the castle in search of a way to be of use, for the second day in a row. Fluttershy racked her more than capable brain for something useful to do, but her thought exercise had so far born no fruit. She spotted an unoccupied bench standing opposite of a window against the wall, bathing in the sunlight, and sank down on it with a sigh. The rays of the sun, their warmth amplified by the glass, felt pleasant on her coat but still did little to brighten her mood.
She wasn’t sure how long she sat there all by herself on that bench in the empty hall, minutes and hours always seemed to slow down to the same crawl whenever she felt down. She stared at the floor, her gaze absent, idly noting that the stitching of the carpet could have been done better in some places, or maybe it was simply becoming undone due to age. She didn’t even notice that she had company until her eyes, which were following the pattern in the carpet, came across two pairs of hooves.
Flustered, Fluttershy looked up to see Amethyst Star standing next to her. The young admiral was regarding her with the usual impassive expression on her face and mournful look in her eyes, hidden behind an icy, stoic glare. She wasn’t sure how long Amethyst Star had been standing there; she certainly hadn’t heard her approach due to being so lost in thought. She shifted nervously in her seat under the admiral’s gaze.
Rainbow Dash had briefly introduced Fluttershy and the rest of her friends to her fellow admirals the day after their arrival, but Amethyst Star’s face hadn’t been exactly new to any of them. They had lived together in Ponyville in their previous life, after all, though she had never been more than a passing acquaintance to Fluttershy. It had quickly become clear, however, that this Amethyst Star had little in common with the one they remembered.
This wasn’t the same mare who had run the Sisterhooves Social with her little sister, held a picnic with the foals in town or helped the amazing mare who had adopted her at home, always with a smile. In her place was had come a young mare who had been robbed of her childhood, marked and haunted by all she had seen and experienced, hardened by battle. She rarely ever smiled and never ‘lightened up’ as Rainbow Dash complained about.
In short, she had become a mare who both intimidated and frightened Fluttershy, even though the admiral had been nothing short of polite during their brief introduction. She hadn’t shown any particular interest in Fluttershy or the rest of the new arrivals, though, making Fluttershy wonder why the young admiral was here now.
When a few more moments passed in total silence, during which Amethyst Star neither moved or spoke, only kept watching her, Fluttershy grew more nervous. Perhaps the admiral hadn’t noticed Fluttershy had noticed her yet, since Fluttershy had barely moved when she’d stolen a glance at the royal admiral.
“Oh, um, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy muttered apologetically, her voice barely audible, as she nervously sat up. She tried to look at Amethyst Star as she spoken, but was too intimidated to manage more than a quick peek before she went back to hiding behind her mane. “I, um, didn’t notice you were there…”
“Evidently,” Amethyst Star replied calmly, her voice neither unkind or friendly. She tilted her head a little bit sideways while looking at Fluttershy from head to hoof. “Lost in thought?” she then asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice.
Fluttershy nodded and barely managed to squeeze out a soft ‘yes’.
The admiral gave a short nod of her own, as if confirming something for herself, before turning her head to look at the sunlit window. “I guessed as much,” she admitted. “I found that this is a pretty good spot for thinking when you’re in need of one. It’s always warm and comfortable, not to mention quiet.” A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips and a moment passed by in silence, one less tensed than the one before.
Amethyst Star broke out of her brief daze and glanced back at Fluttershy. “Spare a bit for your thoughts?”
Fluttershy shifted nervously in her seat again, feeling strangely vulnerable and tiny under Amethyst Star’s impassive gaze. “I wouldn’t want to be a bother,” she said quickly. “I mean, um, I’m sure you have much more important things to do than to listen to me right now.”
“You’ve caught me during one of my rare breaks, actually,” Amethyst Star replied with a flat grin. The grin faded when Fluttershy didn’t give any response but a soft squeak, making the admiral sigh and shrug carelessly. “Tell you what, why don’t you come with me? I’m on my way to pay a quick visit to my sister and I’m sure a familiar face from the olden times of Ponyville will be good for her.”
For the first time since the conversation had begun, Fluttershy managed to look directly at her fellow mare. “Your sister?” she echoed softly, a curious look on her face. “Dinky Hooves?”
“Unless I happen to have another sister that mom failed to tell me about, that’s the one, yes,” Amethyst Star replied, her voice devoid of any humour or mirth. “Life at the palace isn’t really fun when you’re a filly. Mom and I are very busy mares and there aren’t many other foals around, so she’s often lonely and bored.”
The admiral let out a sigh. “She can’t really go out to play either, because of her condition, so I try to pay her a visit whenever I get some free time. It always makes her happy to have someone to talk to, especially if they’re from Ponyville like us,” she continued. “She’ll be thrilled to see you again, I’m sure.”
“Um, I’m not sure, I mean, she’s your little sister and I, um, I wouldn’t want to impose…” Fluttershy protested weakly, rubbing her front hooves together nervously.
“Do you have something else that requires your immediate attention?” Amethyst Star asked, rather icily, and she gave Fluttershy an unimpressed look, one of her eyebrows raised high.
“N… not really,” Fluttershy had to admit, to her shame.
“In that case you might as well come along and make my little sister happy and on the way we can talk about what’s bothering you,” the admiral said decisively.
Fluttershy tried to protest, but before she could mutter even a single word, she was suddenly surrounded by a light purple glow. She squeaked as Amethyst Star used her magic to forcefully lift Fluttershy up from her seat, her legs flailing wildly. The admiral rolled her eyes at the pitiful display, before putting Fluttershy down on her hooves on the floor.
“If you’re quite done panicking over nothing, we should get going. You may have time to waste, but I don’t,” Amethyst Star said while giving Fluttershy a cool glare. The pegasus shrank back, but didn’t dare to protest and quietly followed behind Amethyst Star once the admiral started walking. She made sure to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible, hoping perhaps that the icy, harsh unicorn would forget her if she did so.
At first it looked as if the admiral would do just that, as the walk progressed in total silence at first, with Amethyst Star’s cold eyes looking straight ahead. Fluttershy’s hopes were dashed when they rounded the first corner, however, as the admiral started to speak.
“So,” Amethyst Star began curtly. “What was so interesting and fascinating to think about that it kept you from noticing me until two minutes after my arrival?”
Seeing that Amethyst Star had no intention of letting her go, Fluttershy resigned herself to her fate and decided that she might as well give her an honest answer. It suddenly hit her that, being an admiral, the unicorn actually was one of the ponies best suited to give her advice on how she could make herself useful. She only wished that Amethyst Star wasn’t so scary to talk to. Her aggressive and cold behaviour made Fluttershy too uncomfortable.
Steeling her nerves, Fluttershy took a deep breath and spoke. “I, um, I was trying to think of something to do…”
“Can’t imagine how that could form any problem,” Amethyst Star replied almost immediately. “There are many ways to pass the time here, it’s just a matter of picking one and doing it.”
The harsh reply made Fluttershy flinch, but she recovered quickly. “I didn’t… I didn’t really mean it like that,” she whispered meekly. “I was actually trying to think of something I could do that would be of help to Rainbow Dash and, um, the rest of you…”
That made Amethyst Star pause for a moment and she cast a quick glance over her shoulder at Fluttershy, her expression unreadable. “Well, I’m not going to say no to any offered helping hoof, no matter how meek or shaky it is,” she then said, shrugging. “Celestia knows we can use every pony we can get.”
“I, um, I thought as much,” Fluttershy replied, feeling a bit more confident now that the admiral approved of her wish. “But I don’t really know what exactly I can do to help. I, um, I really can’t fight, but I don’t think I could help taking care of the injured either…”
“There are many other ways a pony can help besides being a guard or a medic,” Amethyst Star said dismissively. “You could be a courier, help taking care of the supplies or act as a lookout, to name but a few things. It all comes down to what you think you can handle.” She paused to think for a few seconds. “If you really want to go through with this, go to guard office later and ask for a mare called Sharpening Stone. Tell her I sent you and ask for a list of applications. She can give you a more detailed list of things to do.”
“Okay…” Fluttershy said timidly. “And, um, thank you…” she added nervously.
“You’re welcome,” the admiral replied curtly, though not unkindly.
The rest of the walk continued on in silence, for which Fluttershy was grateful. It was hard for her to form an opinion on Amethyst Star. The admiral’s cold and harsh behaviour was certainly far from pleasant, but at the same time Fluttershy knew that it didn’t come from haughtiness or a sense of superiority, nor did she think that Amethyst Star actually disliked her. She wasn’t sure why, but Fluttershy couldn’t shake off the idea that the young admiral was cold and harsh to everyone, including herself. It actually made her feel kind of sorry for the younger mare.
“We’re here,” Amethyst Star announced, pulling Fluttershy out of her thoughts. The duo had arrived at a pair of doors that looked no different from the many other doors Fluttershy had seen in the palace. Two guards flanked the doors and saluted for Amethyst Star, their stoic expression never changing. The admiral gave them a small nod and they put their hooves down again.
“Anything out of the ordinary to report?” she asked, her voice flat and emotionless.
The guards didn’t so much as blink an eye. “Negative, admiral, ma’am,” the first replied calmly. “Admiral Rainbow Dash’s esquire arrived half an hour ago and has yet to leave. There have been no other visitors.”
“Very well. Continue carrying out your duty,” Amethyst Star said, after which she brushed past the guards and opened the door. She glanced over her shoulder to see if Fluttershy was still following. During her brief conversation with the guards, Fluttershy had taken the opportunity to look around the hall a bit.
The doors might have looked the same as all the other ones in the palace, but Fluttershy noticed that the rest of the hall appeared warmer, more homely than most of the other places she had been in so far in the palace. She remembered that the hall where she and her friends had their guest rooms looked like this as well, so she figured it was normal for the living quarters in the palace.
“You coming?” Amethyst Star’s brusque question, which sounded more like an order than anything else, managed to startle her again. Fluttershy squeaked before quickly realising she had just panicked over nothing again and blushed.
“Oh, um, yes?” she muttered timidly, her face half-hidden behind her mane as she avoided looking at the admiral. Amethyst Star merely rolled her eyes, scoffed and went inside. Fluttershy went after her, a tensed bundle of nerves and embarrassment. The guards, to their credit, kept their stoic faces and did not react to the flustered pegasus at all.
They stood in a small, short hallway, at the end of which was a spiralling staircase that led to the floor above. Amethyst Star looked around slowly at first, as if trying to determine where to go next, but when she heard the excited giggling and chattering of young foals from behind the door to her right, she wasted no time and headed over to that one. She gave the door a few soft knocks with her hoof before opening it. Standing behind her, Fluttershy leaned aside a bit to look past Amethyst Star into the room.
The sight that greeted her was that of a cosy living room, with a thick carpet in its centre, on top of which sat two fillies. One was a pegasus, her coat orange and her mane and tail purple, the other a unicorn with a grey coat and a mane and tail coloured like straw. The pegasus, who Fluttershy immediately recognised as Scootaloo, was wearing the official uniform of a royal esquire, while the other filly wore nothing but a big, red bow in her mane.
One of the things Fluttershy had noticed upon arriving in the kingdom was that the attitude concerning clothing was more lax than it was in the Republic. It was not forbidden by law to go out wearing nothing, though most ponies tended to wear at least one piece of clothing, like a loose shirt or a simple dress. Fully-dressed ponies were much more rare. Even the guards didn’t all wear clothes under their armour and for those that did it was rarely more than a snug bodysuit. The royal admirals and grand admiral wore proper suits, as a mark of status, but only at the palace. When going out into battle, even they preferred to wear nothing but their armour, to have as little hindrances to their mobility as possible.
The two fillies looked up from the board game they had been playing, towards the two young adults who stood in the doorway. Their reactions were immediate, though different for each of them. Dinky perked up and smiled widely upon seeing her older sister, while Scootaloo immediately jumped to her hooves and saluted.
“Sparkler!” Dinky cheered.
“Admiral Amethyst Star, ma’am!” Scootaloo said, standing at attention while trying to get her face stoic and serious as was the norm when saluting one’s superior. It was a perfect, proper salute, though it had a certain comical edge to it due to being performed by such a young filly.
To Fluttershy’s surprise, Amethyst Star gave a genuinely kind and warm smile upon seeing the display and her cold expression seemed to thaw out somewhat. “Hello to you, too, little sis,” she said to Dinky, before turning to Scootaloo. “At ease, esquire Scootaloo. You know I’m not your mentor, you don’t have to salute me.”
Scootaloo lowered her hoof and relaxed. “I know I don’t have to, ma’am, but I want to,” she said, smiling proudly. “Rainbow Dash said that it’s both a sign of respect and good practice for later, when I become a real guard!”
“Well, you’ll certainly be ahead of the other recruits then, when the time comes,” the admiral replied calmly. “I should thank you for keeping my little sister company.”
“W… well, that’s not necessary, ma’am,” Scootaloo sputtered, blushing profusely upon being complimented by one of the heroes she looked up to. Though Rainbow Dash would always remain her number one favourite, that didn’t mean that she didn’t admire the other admirals as well. Nor was she the only one to do so, as the three admirals were revered throughout the kingdom to the point where many believed that their glory and might nearly rivalled that of the legendary Princess Celestia herself.
“I mean, it’s not as if I was going to turn down a request from the grand admiral herself,” Scootaloo continued, still flustered. “Not that I wouldn’t be doing this if she hadn’t asked me to!” she hastily added, after realising the implications her previous statement could have. She glanced at Dinky and smiled. “It’s fun to hang out with Dinky, would be so boring here otherwise. Especially now that Rainbow Dash is so busy.”
“Are you done working for today already, sis?” Dinky asked hopefully.
Amethyst Star gave her sister an apologetic smile. “I’m afraid not, I’m just on a small break before going back to work,” she confessed. Upon seeing Dinky’s smile fade and turn into a sad pout, she added: “I brought someone with me who wanted to pay you a visit, though.” Smiling, Amethyst Star stepped aside to reveal a nervous Fluttershy, who had been making herself scarce behind the admiral until now. “Dinky, you remember Fluttershy, don’t you?”
Dinky gave Fluttershy a quizzical look, her eyes narrowing more and more as she wracked her young brain. “I think so…” she said slowly, not sounding completely sure. “She’s the pony who took care of Little Hoof’s pet ferret when it was sick, right?”
“Oh my, you remember that?” Fluttershy asked, looking surprised. She herself remembered that event as well, but she never forgot the face of an animal she had taken care of. She was more astonished by the fact that Dinky remembered it. Did this mean that the filly had retained her memories from her previous life as well?
“Uh huh!” Dinky beamed proudly. “Little Hoof was very happy that Mister Whiskers was okay and I was happy for her.” Then suddenly the young filly frowned and tapped the side of her head with one of her hooves, thinking hard about something. “But I’m not sure when this happened… It happened during one of miss Cheerilee’s classes about pets, but mommy, Sparkler and me left Ponyville when I was just a baby…” She gave her sister a confused, helpless look. “Didn’t we?”
“I think you’re just a bit confused, little sis,” Sparkler said soothingly, smiling at her younger sibling as if nothing was wrong. “After all, you didn’t get a lot of sleep tonight because you absolutely wanted to stay awake until mom came back. I think your brain is still sleeping.” She used her magic to give her sister some light taps on the head, making Dinky giggle.
“I guess you’re right,” Dinky admitted, letting the matter drop. “My brain wouldn’t be so sleepy if mommy just came home on time,” she added with a pout. “Mommy always says ponies have to go to bed on time, so why does she always get to stay up so late? It’s not fair!”
Amethyst Star rolled her eyes in amusement, having heard this argument before. “Mom is a very busy and very important pony, Dinky,” she explained patiently. “Important ponies get to stay up late sometimes, while little fillies don’t.”
“I’m an important pony too!” Dinky insisted.
“Are you now?” Sparkler asked, an eyebrow raised in amusement.
“That’s what mommy always tells me, at least!” Dinky replied. “She always says that you and me are the most important ponies in the world for her. Mommy wouldn’t lie about that, so that makes me an important pony and I get to stay up late!”
“Fillies have to go to bed on time even if they’re important ponies,” Amethyst Star laughed. She picked her little sister up with her magic and the filly squealed in delight, her legs flailing around as her sister’s magic tickled her and made her giggle uncontrollably. Amethyst Star floated her little sister over to her and then hugged her to her chest, her magic fading. “And you’re very, very important to both mom and me,” she said.
Dinky giggled and snuggled against her older sister. “Thank you, Sparkler,” she murmured happily.
Amethyst Star smiled in return and held the embrace for a while, before putting her little sister back on her hooves again. “Now then, I think you and Scootaloo were playing a game, weren’t you?” she asked.
“Oh yes! We’re playing Monopony!” the filly replied eagerly, nodding. “Will you play with us?”
Amethyst Star’ smile turned apologetic. “I’m afraid I don’t have time for that, Dinky. I need to get back to work,” she said reluctantly, already seeing how her sister’s hopeful smile turned into a disappointed pout. “But I’m sure Fluttershy here would love to play with you, and then you can ask her for stories of Ponyville in the meantime,” she added quickly, and she turned her head to look at the mare in question. “Wouldn’t you?”
“What?” a bewildered Fluttershy squeaked, startled by being so suddenly involved in the conversation between the two sisters. Then she saw Dinky’s face and her mind quickly caught up. “I mean, um, yes, of course I would.”
“Yay!” Dinky exclaimed happily, and she went back to rejoin Scootaloo at the game board, limping heavily all the while. Behind her, Fluttershy couldn’t suppress a horrified gasp.
Fluttershy hadn’t been able to take a good look at Amethyst Star’s younger sister until now, due to Dinky being partly hidden by either a couch or her older sister. Any glimpse had always been of the filly’s left side. But as Dinky walked back to Scootaloo, the right side of her body was in plain view and the sight made Fluttershy’s blood run cold. What she saw horrified her, but at the same time she couldn’t look away, despite her mind screaming at her body to do just that.
Dinky’s right side was heavily mutilated, with many patches of her fur having gone missing. In their place were hideous scars and numerous third degree burns. Her entire right foreleg was missing and her hind leg was gone from the knee down. They had been replaced by skeletal prostheses made of steel, which each had a tiny shard of magicite embedded in them that bound them to Dinky’s mind. But even with that link in place, the mechanical limbs were ungainly and stiff, which explained the limp in the filly’s step.
“No matter how many times I see it, it never becomes any easier to look upon it,” Amethyst Star said quietly, as she watched her little sister play with Rainbow Dash’s esquire. She turned her head towards Fluttershy, giving her a sad but knowing look.
Fluttershy slowly put down the hoof she had clasped before her mouth to prevent herself from screaming, though that had been more of an instinctive than a necessary precaution, for her voice seemed to have been stolen. “H… how?” was all she could mutter, once she finally reclaimed her trembling voice.
“She was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Amethyst Star replied quietly. “Ten years ago, the Nobles’ Court ordered a thorough searching and purging of Ponyville. They had heard rumours of there being an underground Royalist movement hiding in town, and they weren’t going to take any chances.”
“An entire unit of the unicorn division was dispatched to take care of it, and they took care of it alright. Ponies were beaten up, arrested at random or forced to watch as their home and belonging burned away before their eyes,” she continued. “Mom got separated from Dinky and lost her amidst the chaos. We looked for her, but we were too late. A stray cannonball had found my baby sister first and… well, you can see the results.” Amethyst Star lifted her gaze up to the ceiling and sighed. “She was barely six months old at the time.”
Fluttershy swallowed hard, feeling highly uncomfortable. “I’m sorry,” she squeaked, though the moment the words left her mouth she knew that they couldn’t even hope to be an adequate response to what she had just been told.
Amethyst Star looked at her as if she had just grown a second head. “You’re sorry?” the admiral echoed in surprise and disbelief. She kept staring at Fluttershy in silence for a few more seconds, before bursting out in harsh, mirthless laughter that made Fluttershy cringe.
“Sorry won’t give my sister her legs back,” Amethyst Star said with a growl. “Sorry will not give her back her chance at a normal life. Sorry will not take away the injustice done to countless other foals and families, or right the innumerable wrongs they suffered at the hooves of the Nobles.” Her harsh glare burned itself into Fluttershy’s, who whimpered and shrank back as the admiral advanced on her. “Sorry won’t change anything!”
“The only way to change anything is to remove the Nobles’ Court and their fake parliament from power. I’ve been fighting for nearly ten years to make that happen and I will keep fighting for a hundred more if that’s what it’ll take to bring them down!” She lifted her head and sniffed in disdain. “And I don’t care who they put in their place. Celestia, the High Chancellor or even steward Morning Red, I don’t give a flying feather who it is! All that matters is that whoever it ends up being is somepony who is righteous and just.”
Her expression softened a little as she turned her head to look at Dinky. “Somepony who would never let something like that happen to anypony ever again…”
She was suddenly aware of the fact that Dinky was looking back, uncertainty and a bit of fear on her childish features. “Sparkler, are you and Fluttershy having an argument…?” Dinky asked timidly, her voice trembling a bit. She didn’t know why, but ponies arguing always scared her. It brought back strange, hazy memories of screaming ponies, a loud boom and intolerable heat. A shiver ran down her spine.
Amethyst Star opened her mouth, but no sound left her lips. She sighed and bowed her head in shame. “No…No, sis, we’re not,” she muttered quietly. The admiral turned her head to look at Fluttershy, who was staring back timidly from behind her mane. “I was just… explaining something difficult to Fluttershy,” she finished, her voice almost breaking.
All ponies in the room were now looking at the admiral in uncertainty, until Amethyst Star could no longer bear it and stood up brusquely. “I… I need to get back to work,” she said quietly. She hurriedly made her way to the door and left, feeling the hurt and confused look of her beloved little sister burn in her back.
Fluttershy and the two fillies winced as the door fell shut.
For a long moment the room was held in the grip of total silence, until the quiet sobs of a disheartened Dinky set it free. Scootaloo quickly went over to her friend and patted her comfortingly on the back, but remained silent. Partly because she did not want to talk about her superior behind her back, partly because she didn’t want to risk saying the wrong thing and make her friend feel even worse. She inwardly felt very relieved when Dinky’s tears shook Fluttershy out of her daze and made her come over to comfort the unhappy filly as well.
“Is Sparkler mad at me?” Dinky asked amidst her disheartened sobs. “Did I do something wrong?”
Fluttershy felt a pang in her chest as she looked down at the crying filly. It didn’t matter that she really didn’t know Dinky and her family that well; right before her was an unhappy, crying filly in need of comfort and she was not going to deny her that. Gently she unfolded her wing and wrapped it around the little unicorn, pressing her warmly against her in a comforting embrace.
“No, of course you didn’t do anything wrong, little one,” Fluttershy said soothingly, one of her hooves stroking through Dinky’s mane. She looked at the door through which Amethyst Star had fled so hastily mere moments before with pity and compassion. “Your sister just has a lot on her mind right now…”
End of chapter 28.
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Hmm. Was it really necessary to throw in the crippled child? It makes the replublic that much more of a cliched mustache twirling evil empire. Combined with the copious mistreatment of Celestia, it's like you're trying reeeally hard to show us that 'the republic are assholes.'
1989020
I think you missed the point somewhat. If anything, this chapter serves to do away with the idea that the royalists are all good while the Republic is pure evil, something I've been working on for the past few chapters if you pay attention to the details. Take Amethyst Star here, for example. She just admitted that she doesn't care if Celestia comes back or not, she just wants to end the Republic and freeing Celestia just happens to be a part of that process. I can assure you that she is far from being in the minority when it comes to this mindset, which effectively kills the illusion that the royalists are in this to righten one of the greatest crimes in pony history. There might be the occasional royalist out there like Rainbow Dash who fights out of a moral conviction and loyalty to Celestia, but far greater in number are those who fight not because of something that happened to some mythical pony Princess three and half centuries ago, but for personal tragedies like what happened to Dinky.
After all, why would a mailmare and jewel appraiser have to take up arms in name of a Princess who was imprisoned so long ago only said Princess really remembers what really happened? Many ponies don't really care either way if Celestia is free or not, they just want their own lives to be peaceful and prosperous, their own children to be safe. Derpy and Amethyst Star are no different. Do you really think that if Dinky hadn't gotten injured, they would have left Ponyville and become the grand admiral and admiral of the Royal Guard? What for? For something that happened three hundred fifty years ago? It would be like me taking up arms against the French today because Napoleon invaded Belgium eons ago.
Likewise, do you really believe that all those numerous Republican soldiers fight so the Nobles' Court can keep exploiting the populace and torturing Celestia? No, just like the royalists, they took up arms not for something that happened long before they were born, but because they suffered a tragedy in their own life, in their own family. Do you really think that things like Dinky happen only to royalists? I can assure you, there are just as many fillies in the Republic who were crippled by Royalist cannons, making their parents and family stand up against the evil Kingdom who ruined their life. Does that make them any more wrong or any more evil than the royalists who fight for the same reason?
Sure, the Nobles' Court are assholes, but many of their soldiers don't fight for them. Remember Spitfire's words in chapter 26. It doesn't matter anymore who was right and who was wrong three hundred fifty years ago, if Celestia was injustly imprisoned or not. Celestia is nothing but a symbol the royalists gather behind these days, but only a few truly fight in her name, for her. In the grand scheme of things, her fate is no longer the stake around which the war revolves. Like Spitfire said, that's no longer what ponies fight for. They fight for themselves, for the crippled children on both sides, to finally end this war that has long since lost its original meaning so that there will be no more Dinky's in the future. Spitfire and Amethyst Star symbolize this mindset, though maybe I layered this a bit too subtle.
There are ponies who are in it for Celestia, to keep her in jail or to get her out of it, like Shining Armour and Rainbow Dash, respectively, but even they don't do it because they're evil (though each side sees one of these two as evil, yes), but because they believe they're doing the right thing. The only real "evil" are the Nobles, but they aren't the ones doing the fighting. They just give the orders, which their soldiers each carry out for their own reasons. And more often than not, that reason is exactly the same one for which their enemies are fighting.
You say that the Republic is not that evil but uh.. everything you've shown, the soldiers that took down Twilight/Fluttershy/Rarity were led by a sadistic bastard, Blueblood is an evil asshole, Dinky is crippled for life, Celestia is horribly mistreated.. the worst the narrative has shown of the Kingdom is that they don't really care about Celestia all that much anymore. And that's only some of them.
I still don't get Shining Armor. Like.. what is he hoping to do here? I'm pretty sure he knows Celestia is going to break free no matter what he does, even if it isn't in his lifetime.. so by delaying her jailbreak you do.. what? Help make her hate ponies even more? Great job, captain. Maybe if you try to help her she -won't- try to kill everything when she is released. A series of nebulous visions that don't really say anything concrete is not what you base your life goals on, especially if you have to betray your sister to do it. As I said before, complete asshole, hope he suffers.
I apologize if my tone is acidic or biting, I do like the story.
1990716
I was kind of hoping people would figure out for themselves that there are two sides to the coin. I mean, we are dealing with war here, it kind of goes without saying that ponies and children get injured on both sides without me having to spell it out in the narrative. Take Amethyst Star for example. Judging from her behaviour and attitude in this chapter, would you say she's free of sin? Rainbow Dash already hinted in chapter 23 that she's absolutely ruthless and without mercy towards any Republican. How many soldiers has she not send home towards the family they were trying to protect, scarred for life? How many did she rob of the chance to return to said family at all?
As for Shining Armour, his plans and motivations will be revealed fully later on, but I can already reveal that he does not have the intention of keeping Celestia jailed forever. He's not stupid, of course he knows Celestia can't and won't be contained forever, unlike some of the Nobles. If anything, I would say he's one of the few ponies in the story so far who really takes this matter serious. I dare say he's thought more about how to release Celestia than any of the Royalists have. But that will all be revealed in due time.
I don't mind the discussion, really, it's nice to have thought-provoking comments from time to time.
poor Dinky...
I so wish I could send the Stitcher to that universe... at the least, there's be less maimed fillies.
Finally! An update!
Before I start reading, how important is the stuff that will be happening in the coming chapters? If you're doing what I think you're going to do (A Day in Canropolis mini-arc), I feel like this will drag out on and on and on.
Don't get me wrong, it's a good story, but I just feel like the already slightly slow pacing is about to get slower, which actually deters me from wanting to read, or at the very least, skip them.
Edit: Went ahead and read the chapter anyways. It is as I imagined, unfortunately (in regards to pacing). I can sum up the entire chapter in three words: Fluttershy meets Dinky.
I'm liking the story overall, but yikes, I feel that the story is moving very, very slowly.
1997158
Well, it will reveal major insights in the motivation and background of the admirals and Derpy, more details and explanation about magicite, its origins and workings, some details of what Rainbow Dash was up to during her years of absence from her friends. And as seen in Twilight's tale, this mini arc also sets up some important plot-points that will become majorly important later on. Basically, it serves to flesh out my characters, their personality and background a little. I was of the opinion that this was necesary to make my readers care about these characters. I mean, sure, we all care about the mane six, but there are more major players here and I was kind of afraid that if I just started writing the war chapters, people would be like: "Eh, why should we care if this or that character (that's not one of the mane six) gets injured or killed? We know nothing about him/her."
I apologise for the slow pacing, I'm afraid it's kind of one of my writing traits. I never really mean for things to get this long, it just happens. Take chapter 28 for example, I had expected it to be 4000 words, but instead I nearly got 7000 again. I don't mean to do it, my fingers just type it that way. I can definately say, though, that after this little mini-arc (which I honestly am trying to write as quickly as I can, I already started writing part 3) we'll be finally getting to that long-awaited invasion. Of course, I need one or two chapters to get the mane six all geared up, setting up the defences, building tension in that "last minute before the storm" moment, but after that, the time for talk is over. Now I don't really wanna put a date on it because I SUCK at keeping deadlines, but if I really have to estimate how long it'll take: I'm hoping for a month at most. If life allows it. Apologies in advance if I don't make it, it's really not because I don't want to.
1997305 You do have a point with flushing out the characters. It's good to do that, since it DOES make us want to care about them. But, it's just good to try and avoid Arc Fatigue.
Though, I WILL say, you're doing much better with the dialogue flow.
We no longer have whole paragraphs between each line of dialogue. 
1997593
Noooo, not TVTropes! Now I'll be stuck there for hours. XD On a more serious note, your comment did get me to think a bit, and I think I might cut down the "A Day in Cantropolis" arc by one by fusing Rarity's and Pinkie's chapter into one. Maybe, I'm not sure. It depends on how long Rarity's ends up being once I get to writing it. We'll see, but it's a possibility. Just don't be mad if it ends up not happening in the end.
I'm glad to hear that. My editor did give me some pointers on how to be less wordy, and I try my best to heed the advice.
1997685 Whatever course of action you go with, I will accept it and continue reading. I've come to far to just stop.
GEEZ! Dinky's situation got dark REAL FAST.
1990003
I agree 100%
There is a lot of gray area in war, but the fact of the matter is, Steel Gear and the original Nobles started this war with their greed and lust for power. Everything that has happened since, all the pain BOTH sides have gone through, is because of them.
This isn't just about Celestia. It's about JUSTICE.
took a few days but i'm finally caught up. i really like the story, there is one thing bothering me, remember when it felt like fluttershy was important, and not just her strange arrival? ya, i miss that felling. while i know fluttershy will be important, and you want to examine the other major players, i feel as though the one i thought was the main character is taking a back seat. what i liked about last of the dragonlords by fluttershy 20 was that it explored the characters without it ever feeling like the main character (in this case flutters) was being overshadowed. it did cost the story some ability to delve to deep into other characters, but it made the main character feel important, and this story, while good, has me wondering if who i thought the focus of the story was still is.i will keep reading though, it's not a big enough thing for me to stop, but i would like it if you maybe thought about what i am saying.
1990784
This Divrve right of king Shite Proganna that make most like disgust my core.
This Offend All Good and Pride of my Republican values as take story spit on our so "gery" it very sercet monarchy and divrve right of king is all good, Equality and Freedom are nothing buzzword and Right of Men Abloish for so call Glorious monarch.
Sic semper tyrannis.
I'm Neoclassical Liberal, I want see Tainted Tyrant want their power because how "Thing should be"
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