So here we are.
It's something of a strange tableau; the former Stormwind Valkyrie standing frozen it what seems to be a bizarre mixture of elation and anguish; a mare that I thought had died long ago standing there in front of us, working under the one who prompted her torment; and me, utterly lost.
And the weirdest part?
Despite the fact that her wings are completely useless and will likely remain so for the rest of her life (despite her expertise in healing, being the Commander of the Second Battalion), [1] she really doesn't seem to be angry with me at all. Somehow.
She continues about whatever she was doing when Dash and I barged in on her, namely grinding up some berries and leaves of some sort into a mortar and pestle. I've never really studied herbalism, so I haven't the faintest clue what she's doing, only that this is somehow a thing, and that she's continuing to do it with the castle blowing up above her.
After a moment, she carefully places down the stone apparatus, turning to Dash with a gentle smile on her face. "Hey, Rainbow. How have you been?"
Dash snaps out of her daze and immediately rockets forward, grabbing Flit around the midsection. I reach out my hoof for a moment to warn her against doing anything foolish, but for the second time in not long enough, I'm forced to drop my hoof prematurely as I realize that Dash isn't assaulting Flit. She's hugging her.
At this point, I'm thoroughly confused. The two of them are talking about things that I've never heard of, places I've never seen, ponies I've never met. Their rapid conversation is shot through with something I never thought I'd hear out of Dash: sniffles. Oh, make no mistake, I've seen her cry before. Just after I destroyed Skahaben, I distinctly recall her crying, even though I could barely think straight at the moment. This is different; those tears were, as my brother would've said, liquid rage. These are just tears. No, not even; the sniffles turn into tears, which rapidly evolve into heartwrenching sobs, the kind that a really young foal makes when it loses its mother. Her face is buried in Flit's shoulder and she's just breaking down. I watch with strange curiosity. Who exactly is Flit? Other than Firelock, I've never actually met any of the commanders. I certainly haven't heard their histories.
My thought process is broken by a coherent phrase coming out of Dash, even as tear-stained as she is. Her voice is choked up, but there's still definite rage anger in it. "Flutters! Your wings!"
Flit looks back at the twisted appendages with a detached sort of interest, then back to Dash. "What about them?"
Dash opens and closes her mouth for a few moments, clearly not expecting that answer. She's bounced back from her emotional outburst incredibly quickly. The only evidence at all is the red rings around her eyes. "They're—well—you can't fly anymore! Who broke them? I'll avenge you!" Entirely separate from the fact that the culprit is me, I don't know if, in all the years I've been clashing with her, I've ever seen her so legitimately vehement, apart from Skahaben. What's the relationship between these two?
Flit (or Flutters...what's up with that?), shrugs, that same smile on her face. "Oh, it's fine. I was never the best flying anyway, so I'm really not missing much. Anyway, nobody broke them...well, that's not entirely true, but I told them to."
And that's all it takes for me to go into 'PAUSE.'
What.
That's a blatant lie...unless...
Dash beats me to the punch. "What do you mean, you told them to? That's crazy!"
"Well," Flit muses, tapping her now-solemn face with a hoof, "when I went missing from Skahaben, I fell down into the Citadel. I guess nobody noticed I was gone, or something like that; maybe I just wasn't worth turning around for." Dash opened her mouth to protest, but before she could get a word in, Flit pressed her hoof gently up to the other pegasus' face. "Shh, I'm not done. So there I was, after taking a big fall. I could barely walk. It was only due to luck that I landed in a pond instead of on the marble, or I might have died."
"So," she continues, "I was close to death when I heard the sound of a pony walking up to me. I looked up and...there she was." The previous smile begins to spread again. "Princess Celestia. She was like an angel."
Dash and I exchange confused glances. The Princess? An angel? What?
"What do you mean, Flutters...?" asks Dash slowly, cautiously.
The pale yellow pony sighs happily. "She took me in and let me stay in the palace until I got better. She didn't ask anything of me, other than a some conversation now and then. She gets very lonely, you know." I have to hold back a snort. The Celestia I know would never get lonely. How much of this is just Celestial dogma?
"She did so much for me. So when I heard that she needed a live subject for an anatomy lesson, injuries possible, recommend an older pegasus with less use of their wings, I stepped right forwards. Her ever-present smile completes the smile spectrum, turning mischievous as her eyes play over me. "I like to think it was a good lesson. I mean, look where you are now."
As soon as the first full sentence comes out of her mouth, mine is practically on the floor.
It was voluntary?
The implications are staggering. Why did Celestia show so much kindness to this pegasus, who was just a nobody? How did she inspire enough devotion for a small filly to volunteer for anatomical experiments?
Looking back and forth between us, Dash puts together what's going on and snarls at me. "You? You're the pony that broke Fluttershy's wings? How dare you!" I wince; she's raring to go. She has this tic that happens whenever she's about to pounce, I've noticed. Her right ear flicks a few times and she blows on her bangs. Every time.
Flit—or Fluttershy, I'm not even sure at this point—quickly darts out a hoof and stops her. I raise an eyebrow. I didn't think there was anything that could stop Dash when she's on the warpath. "Don't worry about me, Rainbow," she murmurs into Dash's ear, "this way everyone wins. I get to heal ponies, which is what I always wanted, and Skahaben gets to be rid of dead weight." The completely matter-of-fact tone attached to that statement surprises me. For a Commander, she seems very nonchalant about being considered inferior.
"NO!" snarls Dash, predictably enough. "For all she did! Everypony she's hurt, and now even YOU!" By the end of it she's pretty much roaring, and I take a step back; the fire in her eyes is quite intense. This goes beyond anger, she's absolutely livid.
"Rainbow Dash!" barks Flit, jolting me in surprise with how sharp her tone suddenly is. From Rainbow's reaction, she wasn't expecting it either. "Stop it!"
And just like that, she does. My eyes bug out at just how easily Flit managed to stop her from bolting at me. Sure, she's walked off and is sulking in the corner and glaring at me darkly now, but meh. I can live with that. Clucking her tongue at Dash, Flit steps forward and holds out her hoof. "I'm Fluttershy, though most ponies know me as Flit." Well, there's that question answered. "I knew Rainbow a long time ago."
I stare at the hoof for a little while, unsure of what to do. Even past everything else, I never expected the filly that I mutilated to be so calm and...almost grateful about it. Giving an awkward little chuckle, I complete the hoofshake, finishing the cliche introduction with a clumsy half-joke because nothing else to do is coming to mind at the moment: "Twilight, former protege of Princess Celestia. So, Rainbow's childhood friend? Got any embarrassing stories?"
FLuttershy giggles softly. "It's funny that you should mention that..." An intense glare from Dash only serves to make her laugh (a little bit) harder. "But in all seriousness, Twilight, thank you. [3] Because of your anatomy lesson, I couldn't fly at all anymore. That, combined with my interest in medicine, caused Celestia to give me the best job I could imagine." I self-consciously nod.
"No...problem, I guess."
I shuffle nervously for a moment. Fluttershy, despite her leadership position, seems like a nice pony; I'd hate for her to be crushed under an entire castle falling on top of her. "Look, Fluttershy...we may or may not have just caused the foundations of this castle to fall in on themselves a little bit. You...might want to get out of here before the way is blocked or something."
Fluttershy's smile stays on her face, but grows slightly definitively forced. "You think I should leave the castle?"
I eye her suspiciously. "...Yes? It's probably going to cave in really soon. As in, several minutes soon, not a couple days soon."
I'm not worried about Trixie and Pinkie. Trixie's a fairly powerful mage in her own right, certainly powerful enough to cast a basic teleportation spell in case things go south for the two of them. Not so for Fluttershy. She's doesn't look fast like Dash, and she can't use magic. I'm afraid that she'll die if she stays down here for any longer.
"No...No, I'll be fine..." Something is definitely up now. She's sweating heavily and I can practically feel her heartbeat on my skin it's going so hard. At hearing this exchange, Dash trots over, eyes narrowed. I'm forgotten about for the moment, much to my relief.
"Flutters," she begins, voice exasperated and exhausted, "how long has it been since you left this room?"
For a moment I'm confused, but I quickly realize what's going on when Fluttershy seems to shrink in on herself and squeaks out an answer so quietly I can barely hear it. "eight years..."
Dash sighs disappointedly. "Damn it..." She turns to me, impatience obviously on her face. "Okay, Sparkle, look. I'll beat you to death for hurting Flutters later. Right now, though, we have to get out of here. Flutters has always been..." she searches for the right word as Fluttershy curls up in a ball of shame on the floor, "...reclusive. I can get myself out of here no problem, but you need to get Flutters out of here. Okay?" Her hooves rest lightly on my shoulders as she looks me in the eye. "Even if I can't get out of here, she's more important."
This time I'm definitely sure. Her cutie mark just flashed with light. My eyes narrow. "Alright, Dash. But you better come back alive."
She grins cockily. "Do you even know who you're talking to?
I expand my magical field, grabbing Fluttershy. I could probably bring Dash too, but once you start traveling with more than two people, it starts to get a little wonky and you might lose on in the aether. [4] I can hear Fluttershy trying to cry out, but I ignore the sound and instead ignite my horn in light.
Then we're gone.
Dash glances at the door. Beyond it, she can see the pale green effluence of pure mana leaking, and she draws a shaky breath. "I got this," she whispers. "No problem."
---
[1]: By the way, what's up with that? The three Battalions are magic users, at least as far as I'm aware. It's not so much that I don't think pegasi can be competent healers, but in terms of magic, it doesn't make much sense. Or, well, it didn't at the time, at least.
[2]: I must admit I started a bit when I heard her refer to Skahaben in the present tense.
[3]: Never expected to be thanked for mutilating somepony. But hey, first time for everything, I guess.
[4]: Not a pretty sight when they reappear. In pieces.