Muffled voices greeted my latest return to consciousness. I opened my eyes and found I was lying on a couch in a room filled with animals. They were scurrying about, minding their own business. A pair of brown bunnies stopped to watch me with worried eyes, so I smiled as best I could while being non-threatening. They cautiously walked over and nuzzled my face briefly before hopping away. Somepony had re-bound my wings and covered me with a warm blanket but my cloak was nowhere to be seen. I could hear the voices of several mares speaking and I strained to hear who it was.
“Ah keep tellin' ya, this don't make no sense,” said Applejack.
“It's right here in black and white,” Twilight replied.
I looked around the room while I listened to their discussion. I had never seen a home better suited for animals. Walkways, houses, stairs and cages sized for all manner of creatures were all over the room. It was incredibly cozy and alive with activity. This had to be the interior of Fluttershy's house but what was I doing here?
“This says he ran away right?” Rainbow Dash piped up. “He broke his oath, abandoned his post and Princess Celestia right? Isn’t this what he deserves?”
I snorted angrily at what I heard and turned my attention away from the conversation. My head was throbbing with pain but I'd already heard more than enough. I put my front hooves on the floor and pulled myself off the couch. I still felt weak and dizzy but I managed to stay on my hooves. I started to walk towards the door without attracting any attention but a moment later Fluttershy ran in through the back door.
“Hello. Are you feeling any better?” she asked in a worried tone as she walked over to me.
“How did you know I was awake?” I asked, surprised y her quick arrival.
She looked embarrassed and avoided my gaze. “My bunnies told me you woke up."
I looked around the room at the diverse animals. “You can understand them?”
“Yes, they’re my friends,” she whispered. “Please don't go. The sun will set soon and you're not well.”
I looked out the window and confirmed she was right. That didn't matter, not after what I had heard.
“Thanks, but I don’t intend to stay where I have to listen a few arrogant mares play judge and jury. I've heard more than enough opinions already.”
“Oh dear, you heard them?” she said in a nearly inaudible voice.
I glanced over at the back door; unsurprised to see her other friends peeked in through the back. I glared straight at Rainbow Dash who was hovering about a foot off the ground with her front legs crossed.
“Well yes, I got what I deserved didn't I, Rainbow Dash?” I growled in her direction before starting to limp towards the front door.
“That's what I said,” she replied firmly.
“Thanks for letting me know wing paralysis is on the books as a punishment now,” I called back over my shoulder as I continued weaving towards the door. “Your sense of justice disgusts me. I guess Nightmare Moon won after all.”
Her tone suddenly turned to one of shock. “What? You're -”
“Oh shut up,” I snarled, spinning back around to glare at her. I wanted to flare my wings angrily but they remained firmly unresponsive. “Don't act like you didn't know you self-righteous brat. After all, the fact that I'm crippled is the only reason Miss Sparkle there didn't have guards waiting to haul me off to prison when I woke up. It's not like I even had a chance to defend myself from any of these absurd accusations.”
Twilight had a distraught look on her face. “But the affidavits said . . .”
I interrupted rudely before I had to listen to any more of this crap. “Yes Miss Sparkle, twenty Royal Guards said under oath that I'm an awful cowardly pony who abandoned his post and ran away. Just shut up about the Celestia damned affidavits already!”
I was balancing on the line between rage and tears as I stared off into space rather than looking at any of them. My head was spinning so I took a deep breath to calm myself and find my balance. There was no response from the six mares standing in the room, so I looked Fluttershy in the eyes. It hurt to see them full of tears after everything she had done for me today. I bowed my head to her respectfully.
“I apologize for my behavior Fluttershy,” I said quietly. “Thank you for your kindness but I have to go now.”
With that said, I turned and walked away from her and her friends towards the front door. I didn't hear a single sound while I struggled to keep my legs moving towards the door. Soon I would be on my way towards the Everfree Forest again. Succeed or die; that was the only thought left in my mind as I pushed the front door opened. However, instead of walking defiantly off into the forest, I walked into a pony and was knocked back on my haunches. Applejack had somehow galloped around the house to stop me from leaving without me noticing.
“Now you look here,” she said sternly. “Ah don't appreciate you takin' that tone with mah friends. Why are you so obsessed with going into the forest?”
I glared straight at her though my eyes were feeling a bit glazed over. “You're not letting me go without an answer are you?”
She stared at me, solid as a rock in the doorway. “Nope.”
I knew I was too weak to push past anypony, let alone a determined Earth Pony. I assume you saw the insane debt I owe the military as part of those charges?”
“Ah did, but what does that have ta do with the Everfree Forest?” she asked.
“My helmet and armor are in that forest. I was forced to leave them behind due to my injuries. I have to retrieve them to even have a hope of surviving this farce of a punishment.”
“So why don't you just get a friend to go get it for you darling?” Rarity piped up from the other side of the room.
“Friends?” I spat in a bitter voice. "What friends, Rarity? Twenty of the ponies I thought I could trust with my life are on that list right above Twilight Sparkles. They were supposed to be my brothers in arms but they chose to destroy me instead. Nopony else chose to contradict them either. My brother's hooves are tied and I have nopony else I can turn to.”
“I keep telling you, your story simply doesn't make any sense,” Twilight exclaimed. “Why would twenty guards tell lies of the magnitude you're describing?”
I looked over at Twilight with a weary expression before turning away to face Applejack again. I struggled back onto my hooves, feeling flush and overheated. I was tired of arguing about what the truth was and I had to get started before I collapsed again. “I wish I knew. Now please stand aside Applejack.”
Applejack braced herself to stop me from escaping. “No can do, Jade. Fluttershy’s right. You are in no condition to go out.”
“What and my condition will be better tomorrow?” I asked, finally giving in to the need to sit back down. “I'm already on borrowed time Applejack. I’m a cripple with no bits, no possessions, no job and no prospects. Retrieving this armor is the only thing I can control in my life right now. I can't fail and I won’t let him win.”
“Let who win?” Rarity asked quietly.
I didn't answer that question and turned to face Twilight again. I glared at her through blurring eyes from the exhaustion and tears.
“You know Miss Sparkle, I told my brother my entire story when he visited me in the hospital. The one you dismissed as an obvious and bald-faced lie, remember? He pointed out there are precisely five ponies in all of Equestria that could provide evidence or statements to overturn that ruling. Do you know who they are?
“My friends?” she whispered against her will.
“Got it in one,” I said in a derisive voice. “The five mares you are doing your absolute best to convince that I'm guilty of every single charge without one scrap of real evidence. I don’t know why you hate me so much but you’ve done a lovely job of helping make sure I’m going to suffer.”
Twilight looked horrified by my accusation, “I didn't want-”
“Whatever,” I interrupted as I turned towards the door yet again. “You made your beliefs abundantly clear the day I woke up.”
“Wait just one dang minute here,” Applejack demanded. “How in the hay can Ah’ help clear this sentence? Ah've never seen you before in my life.”
I stared at Applejack for a moment and then spun to face Twilight. I didn't even have the energy left to lose my temper. “You didn't tell them? Celestia help me, you didn't even tell them my version of the story? I suppose that makes sense. Why waste your valuable time repeating my lies, right?”
I'm not sure I ever felt more alone in my life while I stood there staring at Twilight. At least she had the decency to look ashamed of herself but it didn’t matter. Arguing the truth was pointless when standing against the most intelligent pony I knew of. Again, I turned around to leave the room but suddenly, the pink mare with the puffy mane that had been silent this entire time popped up out of nowhere between me and Applejack.
“Then it's story time!” she said in an excited voice. “What's your story?”
“What's the point?" I asked in a weak, monotone voice. "Why would any of you care about my story when Miss Sparkle there is just going to tear it apart when I'm done?”
“Well if your story is that different from the one on those papers, it must be a good one,” she said in a strangely enthusiastic and upbeat tone.
I stared at the insane pink mare, trying to reconcile her cheerful behavior with the frustration I was experiencing. Strangely, just like Fluttershy's, her warm blue eyes made me relax just a bit, even in the face of her bizarre upbeat behavior. She wanted me to talk. Maybe once I was done they would let me go since there was no way they would believe me. I broke eye contact with her and stared at the floor as I started my story.
I sighed wearily. “Fine. I was on duty in the town hall for the Summer Sun Celebration as part of Celestia's honor guard. I was knocked out by Nightmare Moon's lightning like the other guards but I recovered fast because of my former special talent with lightning. Since Twilight knew about Nightmare Moon it seemed reasonable she would have a lead on a solution so I went to the library and found the book on the Elements of Harmony you left out.”
I paused for a moment, waiting to see if I would finally be shut down and kicked out. Nopony said a word or interrupted so I took a deep breath and soldiered on.
“I flew to the castle in case you needed backup and spotted the five of you on the steps being blocked by those Shadowbolt pony things. That's when I intervened and sent the five of you off to finish whatever you were trying to do. After you left the stairs, I tried to fight them. I was exhausted and they broke my wing, causing me to crash into the canyon. My front leg broke on impact and one of the Shadowbolts stomped on my other wing to break it before attacking me with some sort of black lightning. Before it completely killed me, it dissolved into rainbow dust and the sun came up. I passed out from the pain and woke up the next night, still on the canyon floor. I would have died in that canyon if Zecora hadn't found me.”
The exhaustion was overwhelming but I stood firm and waited. Applejack hadn’t stepped out of my way yet. I felt my stomach growl angrily but I did my best to ignore it. My face was feeling even more overheated.
“That’s all. It's not as if I have any proof beyond my word,” I said bitterly. “Royal Guard helmets have a minor glamor on them to gives us all white fur and identical eyes. There are no obvious differences between me and whoever wound up with the commendation. There is no reason for any of you to believe my story. That's all there is, so please, just let me go now."
I took a few weak steps around the pink pony towards the door, fighting off a wave of nausea. There was a faint buzzing noise in the background and I glanced around trying to find the source. In spite of my request, Applejack didn’t look like she was going to budge and her defiant expression was simple confirmation. I was about ready to make a futile attempt at pushing my way out but stopped short when Rarity asked a single question.
“What did you say when you landed on those stairs, Jade?”
I turned and looked at Rarity while struggling to remember the events of that night. “Ummm, I think it was something along the lines of ‘I'll take care of these three. Take your friends and get moving, Rarity.' It's all a bit foggy.”
“So, how did you know my name?” she continued.
I could barely hear my own voice through the growing noise but I answered her question. “You introduced yourself to me after the other guards left me alone on duty in the town hall while you finished decorating for the Celebration. I am sorry I didn't respond but there is a code of conduct I had to obey.”
“Twilight,” Rarity said quietly. “I only spoke to one guard before Nightmare Moon appeared. We never discussed the exact . . .”
There was a painful buzzing starting to build in my ears, drowning out whatever Rarity was saying to the others. I stood there swaying on my hooves and tried to start walking again. Instead, my hind legs buckled under me and I was forced to sit back down. It was humiliating to be so weak but I didn’t have enough strength in me. Applejack walked over to me and leaned in close and said something to me.
“You . . . ere . . . Su . . ?”
I shook my head to try and clear the growing noise but it was useless. I simply couldn’t make out what was being said. My body felt incredibly warm, almost painfully so. Applejack’s face became worried as she examined me. She looked past me and seemed to be speaking to somepony behind me.
Next thing I knew, I was encased in a pink aura and I floated off the ground. Uncontrollable terror flooded through me and I began to flail about, trying to grab something or somepony. I knew it was hopeless but I couldn’t give up. No good had ever come from being levitated by a unicorn and Twilight Sparkle was more powerful than any unicorn I’d ever heard of. As I feared, the grip of the aura tightened and I was totally immobilized as I floated into the air. I closed my eyes as my heart began racing and I began hyperventilating while waiting for the pain to start.
I had embarrassed Twilight and I was sure she was hauling me outside so she could fling me off into oblivion. Maybe she'd throw me in the forest. That would at least get me a head start. Instead, I felt something soft underneath me and I grabbed it as tightly as I could. The magical straightjacket slackened its grip and faded away to nothing. I didn’t even try to run; I just burrowed my face into the softness of whatever I was on to hide.
I was shaking with fear when I felt something warm being draped over me and then a hoof touched me. I cringed away at first but the hoof began stroking my back gently, making me relax. Somewhere in the distance, I thought I could hear somepony singing. There were no words I could understand but it made me feel safer than I’d felt in months. By some miracle, my body began to relax and I think I must have fallen asleep.
The room was silent when I woke up again. I cracked my eyes opened to find a nearly dark room, barely illuminated by the embers in the fireplace. Fluttershy was curled up on some cushions on the floor nearby under a blanket. A wave of guilt flooded through me. I had behaved so badly, I probably deserved to be dumped in a ditch. Instead, I was here I was on her couch again and she had chosen to stay nearby leaving me no way to sneak out.
“Are you awake?” I asked in the quietest voice I could manage. I sincerely hoped she wouldn’t wake up.
Her head lifted up in a flash and she immediately walked over to me. “Thank goodness you’re awake. Let me see . . .”
She put her hoof on my forehead and nodded in satisfaction. “Good, your fever is gone. Oooh, I’m so angry at the doctors for letting you leave in this state. Especially with that vicious storm that was scheduled last night. You were caught out in it, weren't you?”
I couldn't help smile at the contrast of her quiet gentle voice being to be angry and stern.
“In their defense, I kind of insisted on getting out of there. I felt fine and didn’t want to waste their time.”
She lifted a cup with a straw up to me. "They still shouldn't have let you go. Drink this. It should help you to feel better.”
I took the cup in my hooves and sipped on it. It was some sort of fruit drink. “I appreciate your help Fluttershy but I have no idea how I’ll repay you.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” she said in her quiet voice. “I’m just glad you’re feeling better.”
“I have to figure something out Fluttershy. I refuse to be a burden on anypony but without my wings, there isn't much I can do anymore.”
Fluttershy was silent and I took another sip of my drink. I looked around the room and saw animals curled up and sleeping everywhere.
“Jade, what happened when Twilight helped you to the couch?” She asked nervously.
I shuddered at the memory of the restrictive magical field around me and I looked off into the infinite darkness.
“I’m scared of unicorns and the power they have," I finally admitted. "Even a weak one can use their telekinesis to push me around and there is nothing I could do to stop it. Slap you on the side the head, throw you off the balcony, dunk you in a lake; it doesn’t matter. There’s nothing I can do to protect myself. Sparkle immobilized me without a second thought and she would just squash me like a bug if I irritated her.”
Fluttershy’s hoof shot to her mouth and she gasped with horror. “Twilight wouldn’t do that Jade! Neither would Rarity.”
I shivered. “You’ll pardon me if I don’t take your word for it. The only unicorn I trust is my brother and that's because he earned it.”
I put the now empty cup back on the floor and laid my head down on the couch. My eyes drifted closed again and I felt moisture in them again.
“I don’t even understand why the other guards hate me,” I whispered sadly. “Why else would they have left me to die? I told a mare in the town hall to let them know that I was going after you five but they just abandoned me. I’m only alive because a Zebra was gathering flowers in one of the most dangerous forests in Equestria. Nopony else even cared that I was gone.”
I nearly jumped out of my skin again when I felt a hoof start rubbing my back. “I’m so sorry you’ve been treated so horribly Jade,” Fluttershy murmured. “My friends and I will work to earn your trust starting tomorrow if you’ll let us.”
“I doubt Sparkle or Rainbow care about earning my trust,” I countered in a bitter voice. “I got what I deserved and it’s my voice against twenty. I wouldn't believe me if I was in their place.”
Fluttershy’s hoof on my back was making me relax. Her touch was far gentler than I’d ever felt before. It was the kind of contact I had always dreamed of but was denied all my life.
“None of us knew the extent of your injuries. Not even Twilight so please, just give them a chance.”
“A chance,” I whispered in a sleepy voice. “You really think I should?”
“Yes, I do,” Fluttershy said in a kind voice. “Go back to sleep Jade. You need to rest so you’ll be ready in the morning.”
“What for?” I murmured as I closed my eyes.
“Shhhhh. Sleep now Jade Storm,” she whispered. “We'll explain tomorrow.”
She began to hum quietly. It was a gentle sweet song that made me begin to relax and for the first time in many weeks, I felt safe. That feeling of security sent me drifting back off to a deep, dreamless sleep.