//------------------------------// // 131 - The Trial of Kindness // Story: Re:Harmony // by starcross7 //------------------------------// The keratin hooves looked ragged. Fluttershy did not need yet another worry about Rarity berating her bad habit on top of the Trial of Generosity that was taking place at the same time. The pacing had already tired her out, and she did not think she would have the strength to fly for the rest of the day. Rainbow Dash seemed to be doing okay. The test she completed with Twilight had left her in a bad mood as she stormed off to the food services tent. With Pinkie entertaining her with juggling, ball balancing, music, and dance, her mood lightened, and her cool smile returned to her. A bright flash briefly blinded all, and Twilight and Rarity appeared in the center of the chamber. She knew injuries that happened during the test were transferred to the real world, but Fluttershy was not prepared for this. “Somepony, help us!” Rarity cried. “Twilight’s hurt!” Twilight was alive, but barely. She looked like she was crushed by a huge rock. Applejack, followed by Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, assisted Rarity in carrying their unicorn out of the Guardian of Avarice’s chamber. Fluttershy wished she could help. She could help. Without thinking, the timid yellow pegasus immediately activated her Element of Empathy, and summoned the twin Butterfly Stars to transfer the damage. One attached itself to Twilight’s torso. The other, however, Fluttershy lost control. She immediately realized that the other Butterfly Star attached itself to the butterfly-shaped emblem of the other chamber door. Twilight was healed as she was carried. The sight of her head rising and her blinking in surprise convinced everypony that she was now all right. However, the next chamber door swung open. Cold air filtered out through the opening, which revealed in a large six-winged butterfly-like creature made of pink ice hovering in the center. If not for the coldness, the jagged and imposing appearance of the next Guardian sent shivers down Fluttershy’s spine. “I AM THE GUARDIAN OF HATRED," it spoke with a chilly tone. “WHO DARES SSSSUCCUMB THYSSSSELF TO THE TRIAL OF KINDNESSSSS?" Fluttershy was not ready. She walked away from the current chamber, hoping that by ignoring it, the Trial would be delayed. "SSSSSS, THE BEARER OF THE ELEMENT OF EMPATHY HATH SUMMONED ME. IF THE BEARER DOES NOT PRESENT THYSSSELF, THE TEST WILL BE RENDERED NULL AND VOID, AND NO ONE WILL OBTAIN THE FINAL ELEMENT." "Hey, Fluttershy," said Pinkie Pie. "Weren't you the one who opened that big and scary giant door and summoned a scary-looking six-winged ice-butterfly of death?" "I didn't mean to," squeaked Fluttershy. "FLUTTERSSSSHY, IS IT?" hissed the Guardian. "THOU HAD EVERY INTENT TO USE THY POWER." "Do you think we can rest a bit?" "THE TRIAL SSSSHALL BE ADMINISTERED IMMEDIATELY. PREPARE THYSSSELF, BEARER OF THE ELEMENT OF KINDNESS AND CANDIDATE FOR THE FINAL ELEMENT." Her mind and heart spoke two things. Her mind told Fluttershy she was not ready, but her heart knew that she had to succumb to the Trial sooner or later. Still, her body attempted to flutter away, but she could not escape. Whether it was due to weak wings or hesitation, a gust of cold wind enveloped her body, and pulled her and Twilight into the dreaded being known as the Guardian of Hatred. A flash of cold rippled throughout her body, and then everything became dark. "Fluttershy. Fluttershy. Fluttershy! Wake up!" The timid yellow pegasus eyes opened to the sight of a writhing spiked tentacle falling towards her. Twilight rushed in and tackled her out of the way as it slammed itself on a grotesque, puss-filled surface. The smell was noxious, and the land of was filled more spiky tentacles and many other indescribable horrors. The blood-red night sky was not appealing to her either, as it was filled with globular creatures uttering high-pitched screams as it fluttered in frenzy in the air. “What is this place?” Fluttershy asked. “Why are we here?” “This is part of the Trial of Kindness,” replied Twilight, “but it appears the Guardian of Hatred took us to a different dimension.” “I don’t like this.” “It looks we fulfilled the hatred part, but the Trial isn’t over yet.” “Then what are supposed to do?” “For starters... Duck!” Fluttershy ducked down as another spiked tentacle swung over their heads, which they almost lost. She was scared to fly with those globular creatures in the air, which were too attacked by the many tentacles. Some escaped. Those that did not found themselves ensnared and then squeezed until all their fluids splattered out of their bodies. Them screaming while fleeing was bad. Them dying sounded worse. On top of it, the land rumbled. A rift opened from afar, and a rush of yellow puss spilled out. Twilight and Fluttershy galloped to higher ground at the side of a bone-white mountain before the river of puss drowned them. The land rumbled again, but for some reason, Fluttershy did not become frightened. Twilight did not hear it, but Fluttershy’s ears focused on a distant cry. “Somepony is in pain,” said Fluttershy. “Where?” Twilight asked. “Here.” “Here?” “Where we’re standing. This land is alive.” “Are you serious?” Fluttershy nodded. Twilight looked down for a moment and touched her chin, like she would do every time she was in deep thought. Like always, she would look back up with a realization in her mind. “I remembered reading a science fiction story about living planets in far off star systems,” she said, “but I would never imagine it would be real.” The land moaned again. “He’s saying it hurts,” said Fluttershy. “Who?” Fluttershy pressed body upon the bone-like surface and listened. She could not translate the words, but she understood them. She also allowed her Geosense to “speak” back to the living planet. "His name Mad’ot L'Soth,” she replied as she stood back up. “He is a ‘Great Old One’, I think. He is also known as the Virulent Victor, the, um, Malignant Scourge, the, um, Wandering Malice, the, um…” “Okay, I think I got it,” said Twilight. “This thing is an evil planet eater who attacks those blob creatures in the sky. What are we to do about him?” Fluttershy pressed her body on the surface once more, and spoke to Mad’ot once more. "He says that there is a giant ice stuck inside of him a few miles from here," replied Fluttershy. "We need to free it?" "Yes, but..." "But what?" "If we free it, he’s going to devour a planet he’s heading towards to, and that planet is alive.” “Like him?” “It’s like ours, but it’s inhabited by innocent animals. Twilight, I don’t know what to do!” “This is probably part of the Trial. Maybe we can convince him to not eat it when we free him.” “He’s committed to it.” “Whether it is an illusion or we really been transported to a different dimension, I’m sure there is a reason to it. It’s probably part of his nature, I think.” “He doesn’t need to do it. He does because he loves it.” The land rumbled, and this time the tremors were great. A small avalanche slid down at a different part of the bone-mountain, and more puss-producing ground fissures opened. The towering tentacles thrashed higher into the air, ensnaring and grossly smothering the globular sky creatures. A loud moan echoed, which made Twilight wince in nervousness. "Fine!" Twilight cried. "We'll kill it!" "I don't want to kill it!" Fluttershy cried. "You told me this thing is a planet-eating monster with no remorse!" "I know! Even if he is a monster, we can't leave him in pain!" "You really want to save Mad'ot, do you?" Fluttershy nodded. It would be too much to ask to save Mad'ot and the planet he was going to devour. If this scenario was a product of nature, she would not hesitate to do so, but Mad'ot was a hateful entity that relished on the suffering of others. The yellow pegasus only gave the barest of details to her dear friend. She spared Twilight the goriness of how Mad'ot toys and tortures its victims. "Okay," said a solemn Twilight. "This is your Trial, Fluttershy. Lead the way." Hesitatingly, her wings carried her a few feet above the ground. Her eyes, though used to the thick forests of her home in the Everfree Forest, did their best to scope out the nightmarish landscape, and eventually settled to the least dangerous path alongside the bone-white mountain. They trekked for minutes, maybe for an hour. Then for another hour or so, they passed through a crackling pain dotted with towering plants of unimaginable twists and many mouths. They eventually arrived into a slimy forest where they discovered wrecks of ancient spaceships nestled within. Twilight and Fluttershy were not first visitors, but these predecessors were not lucky. Outside of these corroded hulls littered husks of spacesuits where the slimy plants invaded and made it theirs. Fluttershy nearly threw up at the thought of what happened to those poor, unfortunate souls, and she subconsciously floated back towards Twilight’s comforting presence. “That’s… quite extreme,” said Twilight. “I don’t feel good,” spoke Fluttershy. “The smell’s not helping us, obviously. We probably need to talk about something to get our minds off this place. So, what are you planning on doing after we stop the war?” Twilight asked. Fluttershy took a deep breath, and held her lunch in. “I thought I answered you,” she replied. “Or was it Rainbow Dash?” “I think you did. You wanted return home to your animal friends in the forest, right?” “Yes, but there are other things I would like to do. Ever since you’ve taught me how to read, I’ve been reading about Gaea and other countries have these places called ‘zoos’. To be honest, I didn’t like what I saw.” “You must’ve read between the lines about the deplorable conditions the ponies put them through.” “Those books on the airship say they are doing it to protect them, but as it turns out, they were the ones who destroyed their homes in the first place. I felt so sad knowing this, and I was even sadder that even after the war has ended, their homes would still be destroyed.” “Are you thinking about doing something about it?” “I thought about letting the animals into the Everfree Forest, but I’m afraid it might be too small, and that they won’t get along with their new guests. I don’t want to chop down a lot of trees, and I don’t want to have a stone wall or a fence to keep them in. I want the animals to be free and happy, but I also want ponies to know that they have a voice.” “That sounds like a bold plan, Fluttershy.” “If I haven’t met you girls, I would not have discovered that the world was a much bigger place, and that there are creatures out there that need love and care.” “If you need our help to realize your dream, just know that we’ll be there to support you.” The yellow pegasus smiled. For some reason, Fluttershy felt energized, and the horrific environment of the living planet of Mad’ot no longer sickened her. “By the stars,” said Twilight. “Is that it?” Fluttershy thought it would be as easy as removing a thorn from a manticore’s paw. Even when she expected it to be bigger, the thorn of pink ice was massive, and it towered high up to the sky. It could only be half exposed, for it dug painfully deep into the crackled skin-like surface of the living planet, and from the impact in the sides flowed boiling purple fluids. Around them, the tentacles acted more violently in their indiscriminate devouring of the floating globular creatures, but they all seemed to be ignoring the ponies standing on the surface. The sacrificial blue planet loomed above the ponies, and it glowed in the wretched blood sky with pure innocence. “I don’t know how we could ever get that out,” said Fluttershy. “My magic alone might not be enough,” said Twilight. “However, I might be able to jerry-rig a working rocket from the broken spaceships we passed by.” “You think it will work?” “I might, but I am going to need your help.” Fluttershy followed Twilight back to the slimy forest, and she watched as her unicorn friend began clearing out the dripping “branches” from the corroded spaceship hulls. She followed her inside of the ships hoping to avoid the planet’s smell, but it was just as strong inside. Twilight toyed with wires and control boards, and eventually lights flickered on. There a few mummified creatures in their spacesuits. It wasn’t as grotesque as the outside, but it was still just as horrific. For at least one, Fluttershy, pulled a blanket over its face that had been partially absorbed the vile planet. “It’s still operational,” smiled Twilight. “And it has some robots that can help us. We still need some more rockets to pull that giant icicle from the planet. Fluttershy, take this marker and mark the spaceships that look like they’ll have working rocket engines.” Fluttershy caught the marker Twilight magicked off a table with her mouth. She walked out as a few bipedal machines whirred to life, and hobbled to their new unicorn mistress to receive their orders. Many minutes had passed, and Fluttershy lost track of time. She had gotten used to passing by the seemingly empty spacesuits, whose organic remains had been assimilated with the planet’s slimy branches. One by one, she scoured the slimy forest marking rocket engines with the marker Twilight gave to her. It appeared to be either a magical or technological device. When she made the mark, it sparkled and glowed. Then the robots hobbled over and started dismantling the rockets. She must have done this for an hour, and while the routine kept her occupied, the thought of her assisting a planet-sized planet-eating monster continued to haunt her. Fluttershy then arrived at a golden spaceship that appeared to be mostly intact, and relatively new. She made her mark on its engines, and watched as it sparkled. Then it flashed before her eyes. Fluttershy recovered her sight and saw three six-winged crystalline butterflies fluttering in front of her. At first, she became delighted at the pleasant sight of something familiar and something cute. When she felt a brush of cold through her fur and feathers, she became rightfully suspicious. She tried walk away and ignore them, but they immediately appeared in front of her again. “FLUTTERSSSSSHY,” they spoke in unison. “THOU HAST LIED TO HER.” “I didn’t,” spoke Fluttershy. “OMITTING INFORMATION IS JUST THE SAME AS LYING. WHILE THAT BLUE STAR HAS INNOCENT ANIMALS, IT HAS SENTIENT CREATURES LIKE PONIES. CREATURES THAT PREYED AND TORTURED THOSE ANIMALS. IT MADE THY DECISION, EASSSIER.” “It didn’t.” “IT DID! THOSE SSSENTIENT CREATURES HAD RENDERED MANY OF THOSE POOR, INNOCENT ANIMALS EXTINCT TO THE POINT OF NO RETURN. THEIR PLANET WAS ALREADY ON THE VERGE OF DEATH.” “But not everypony is to blame.” “THEIR CHILDREN WILL GROW UP TO BE NO DIFFERENT. THEY WILL CONTINUE THEIR DESTRUCTIVE PATH BEYOND THEIR STAR. THEY ARE THE SAME AS MAD’OT.” “They’re not! They can change!” “THOU ART DOING LIFE JUSTICE. RELISH AND REJOICE IN YOUR HATRED!” “There’s nothing just about what I’m doing right now!” “Were you talking to somepony?” Twilight asked. She blinked. The three six-winged butterfiles vanished right as Twilight arrived with a group of hobbling robots. “Just to myself,” said Fluttershy. “That’s not like you.” It wasn’t. The Guardian of Hatred might as well reflect Fluttershy’s hatred that she harbored against ponies who hunted, tortured, and killed the animals in the Everfree Forest and beyond. It made her feel terrible that if she didn’t have those feelings, she wouldn’t have survived all those years alone. Twilight had declared the preparations complete. She ordered the robots to drill and attach the mishmash of rockets onto the giant thorn of ice. In addition, the robots planted numerous explosives around the ice thorn in order to open up the planet’s wound. “Thank you for your hard work,” Twilight said to robots. She had them lined up on a hill far from the ice thorn, and one by one she deactivated them with single press on a portable computer she carried around. “Why don’t you leave them on?” Fluttershy asked. “There is not enough power to keep them charged up indefinitely. I need to divert all available energy to the rockets.” “I wish you did.” “I know.” “Do you think this will work?” “According to my calculations, this has a twenty-percent chance of success, if Mad’ot is willing to cooperate and bear through the pain. Fluttershy, we can still back out of this. This might not be the solution to the Trial of Kindness.” “I’m sure.” “Here. This is the trigger. It will detonate the explosives and fire the rockets.” The trigger could not be any simpler. Tethered to a thick wire running down the hill was a rectangular box with a big button in the middle. Fluttershy made one of many gulps has she held the trigger for several minutes. She heard Mad’ot moan in pain while screaming gruesome words in his own tongue. She looked back up to the sky and saw Mad’ot’s prey shimmering in its blue beauty. Knowing that it was like her world, full of ponies oppressing each other and animals, it made her feel terrible that its fate was in her hooves. She pressed it anyway. She closed her eyes, but she couldn’t close her ears. The ring of explosions detonated at the same time and the rockets ignited. The heat swelled, and Mad’ot moaned in pain again. Fluttershy finally opened her eyes to see the massive thorn of pink ice rise higher and higher into space until it finally escaped orbit. The regular rumblings of pain had finally stopped. The globular monsters shrieked happily, and many of them erected a trumpet-like appendage in which they embraced with two of their many tentacles. From their hidden mouths, they produced a terrible song, and formed a line so they could dance around the hateful living planet that continued to kill them. "Do you know what they are singing?" asked Twilight. "You probably would not want to know,” replied Fluttershy. “Do you think I made the right decision?" “I don’t think there is a wrong decision, but it feels like we’ve completed the Trial.” “I guess we’ll have to wait then.” As the globular monsters sang bloody praises, Twilight and Fluttershy watched the sky as Mad’ot closed in on the blue planet and ensnared it with its many massive tentacles it sprung from the far side of the planet. Mad’ot pulled the blue planet in further, and for a moment it dominated the horizon before it was pulled under in beautiful destruction. The globular monsters shrieked and sang before they flew out and feasted on the remains.