Chapter 11: Suffer Alongside Them
Twilight Sparkle was planning to try and keep a positive outlook for the group while traveling through the Flagging Hands. She understood that the stench and the temperature were far from optimal for traveling, but she was determined to keep spirits high. She was a princess after all, and it was one of her duties to lead a group of any kind to prosperity and morale. The alicorn was determined help her traveling companions get through the marshlands with their heads held high and their eyes focused on the next destination for the Rites.
That was the idea she had when she went to sleep that night. But all of that hope came crumbling down when the next morning came.
When Twilight awoke, the effects of the Flagging Hands were made immediate to her. Almost everybody in the group were just about miserable from the time spent in the gloomy environment. Jodariel was even more distant than usual, preferring to perform task in the solitude. Hedwyn no longer had that glowing smile and spark of determination in his eyes, which was rather unsettling to the alicorn. Rukey lost his wise-crack attitude and was blunter and more serious with his statements. Even Mae wasn’t immune to the effects and spent more her time lowly whispering to the Scribes while poking around with her sticks. Tariq seem mostly neutral to the oppressing atmosphere, though her was more silent than usual. What made the purple mare especially worried was condition of her friends. Applejack held her hat down over her head in a meager attempt to hide her melancholy from the others. Rainbow Dash did her best to put on a brave face for everybody, but Twilight looked into the blue pegasus’s eyes and could clearly see the suffering she was going through.
However, there were two members of the group that seemed unaffected by the environment of the marshlands. Ti’zo continued to be in high spirits when he emerged from his nest; ready to tackle the day head on. Twilight was unsure how or why the Imp was immune to the effects of the Flagging Hands, but she guesstimated that it had something to do with the fact that the Downside was his native habitat and was therefore used to such condition. Twilight was especially surprised to find that Fluttershy of all ponies still held on to her spirits. The yellow mare’s sweet and angelic voice was comforting to the ears and greeted everybody a good morning despite their down-trotted moods. Even Rukey perked up a bit when Fluttershy offered to help him pack up.
Nevertheless, the heavy mood of the group didn’t stop them from completely packing up the campsite and starting the wagon westward towards the Pit of Milithe. Twilight had hoped that getting on the move would lightened everyone’s spirits, but she was quickly proven wrong when the wagon wheels got caught in a large patch of muddy ground ten minutes after they had first left. After a series of sighs and groans from the group, Jodariel, Applejack, and Twilight went outside to see what they could do to get the blackwagon unstuck. With the combined strength of the apple farmer and the Demon, along with the telekinesis from the alicorn, the vehicle was eventually freed from the earthy snare in five minutes. While the blackwagon was no longer stuck, Rukey and Fluttershy still had to clean out the wheels of mud and grime to avoid anymore future incidents. As Twilight was hanging back waiting on the pair to finish, she noticed something approaching from behind her. She quickly turned around and sighed in relief when she was that it was just Tariq.
“Pardon my intrusion, Madam Twilight. I merely wished to discuss something with you while are waiting to depart again.” Twilight tilted her head a bit in curiosity as to what the minstrel wanted to discuss with her. “As you are quite well aware, the looming atmosphere of the Flagging Hands tend to have…sorrowful effects on those who travel through it. Of all the harsh biomes of the Downside, the Flagging Hands drain the most Hope from the exiles who wander through it.”
“Hope?” the alicorn asked. She was rather confused as to why the minstrel put such an emphasis on such an abstract concept of hope.
“Though you may not have realized yet, performance in the Rites is determined by much more than just physical attributes. An exile’s mental state can also affect how they interact in the ceremony. Hope is an example of such mental attributes. When an exile is banished from the Rites, Hope can determine how long until they can return back to the field. The more Hope one has, the quicker they can return.” The Lone Minstrel glanced over to Jodariel, who was glaring out into the distance. “Demon exiles such as Jodariel tend to have the least amount of Hope. Years spent down here in the Downside tend to make them more jaded and pessimistic.” Tariq looked back to Twilight. “With that said, I should warn you that the longer we spend here, the more your companions will lose Hope.”
This was troubling news to the alicorn. She hadn’t realized that she now had to worry about the Nightwings’ mental health to determine how well they would perform in the Rites. Not only was the Flagging Hands an emotional hinderance for the group, but now it was literally reducing their chance at freedom. She then knew that she had to do something about this.
“Then, I guess the best thing we can do for now is to find the fastest route to the next Rite location. Right?” she asked the Lone Minstrel.
“Well,” he said. “That is a valid option. However, I should mention that due to the Flagging Hands…harsh condition, very few individuals dare venture into it. This in turn creates a high demand for any resources that can be found in the marshlands. If we dare to go off the beaten path, we may find something that would help fund our journey.”
“But, if we do that, we’ll spend more time here.” Twilight said, starting to put it all together.
“And your compatriots would suffer more, in turn.” Tariq finished.
The alicorn was starting to see the dilemma in front of her. “Is…Is there anything I can do about this loss of Hope? I don’t watch everyone suffer when there’s something I can do about it.” she pleaded with the minstrel.
The mare’s hopes were then dashed when she saw the bleak look on Tariq face. “While I do admire your determination, there is honestly not much you can do. Very few can resist the effects of the Flagging Hands, and fewer more can influence others. My best advice, though bleak, is to simply suffer along side them for the time being. The Flagging Hands is arguably the harshest area of the Downside, as you will soon see. The best you can honestly do is to stand among your friends in hopes to ward off some of the misery.” The Lone Minstrel then tipped his hat to the alicorn. “However, do not fret over this for long. I promise that things will brighten as soon as we leave this place. Endure it, and I know you will prosper.” He then left to let the purple mare reflect on what he had told her.
Twilight was left speechless at what the minstrel had told her. Even though the obvious course of action was to get through the Flagging Hands as soon as possible, the prospect of finding valuable resources to aid them on their journey was enticing. She knew that their funds were running short and it would be rather bad if they ended up running out of money when they desperately needed something from the Slug Market. The only thing was could she really prolong the group’s misery just for the sake of attaining resources? Twilight was interrupted from these thoughts when Jodariel called out to her. Rukey and Fluttershy had finished tending to the wheels and the black wagon was ready to go once again.
As the purple mare when inside, she saw that the delay seemed to have only worsen the mood of the group. Everybody was avoiding eye contact with one another and looked more down-trotted than ever before. While Fluttershy and Ti’zo still appeared in good spirits, they remained silent in what was most likely fear of annoying or angering somebody by mistake. The scene was really breaking the alicorn’s heart. What she could do or say that could even begin to lighten the mood. She thought about approaching them all with a warm smile and give a rousing speech to wave away the overhanging tension, but she just couldn’t find the words or even the ability to give such a smile. Even if she could say something, she highly doubted that anybody would care to listen to her in their current state of despair. The effects of the Flagging Hands were weighing down on the alicorn as well, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to continue on. She thought she had experienced the worst that the Downside had to offer in the desert, but she began to realize that she was very much mistaken. In the end, the purple mare let out a heavy sigh and went over to the window. Nobody responded to her as she took a seat and looked the window as the wagon began the move again. With a gloomy expression, Twilight sat back and followed the minstrel’s advice.
Suffer alongside them.
It was only a couple hours later until the blackwagon had to stop again, only this time it wasn’t because it got stuck. In front of the journeying party were multiple different paths, all leading west towards their next destination. Thankfully, most of the group had shaken themselves out of their earlier sadness to discuss what the next course of action should be. According to the maps, Hedwyn suggested that the quickest route the Pit of Milithe would be through an area known as Plaguemont. This was immediately enticing to the alicorn, seeing how it would mean less time spent in the marshlands and her companions could potentially be freed of the constant loss of Hope. However, before Twilight could decide their course, Tariq politely interrupted with another decision. The Lone Minstrel pointed out on the maps that there was another path called Coldmoat. He further explained that while the route was longer, he was confident that there would be certain resources that would no doubt be useful in their travels.
Once again, Twilight was given the choice of how to proceed. Everybody in the wagon looked to her in anticipation for her decision. Feeling a little self-conscious, the alicorn decided to shut her eyes for a bit in hopes of focusing her thoughts. While it was true that the immediate prospect of leaving the Flagging Hands as soon as possible was quite enticing, her thoughts lingered back to what Tariq had told her earlier. The Flagging Hand may be a miserable marshland, but there was no doubt flora and minerals out there that would fetch a good price at the Slug Market. So the big question was that would it be worth it to have her friends and traveling companions suffer more just for the random possibility of finding something valuable? Twilight then looked over to the coin purse that Rukey kept the Nightwings’ funds. They were running dangerously low on money and she doubted they would have enough to purchase anything at the Slug Market. Given how much Twilight was struggling in the last Rite, she knew that the Nightwings would need all the talismans and stardust available for them to keep up with their next adversaries. Therefore, with a heavy heart, Twilight casted her choice. She ordered that the blackwagon would take the path through Coldmoat. The purple mare didn’t feel any better when most of the group gave her a look of disappointment or annoyance. Nevertheless, the Nightwings still honored their commitment to trust the alicorn’s decisions and set course to Coldmoat.
After a few hours of the wagon traveling on bumpy trails and muddy terrain, Twilight went over to the window to check on how far they had come. While making her way across the room, the alicorn could easily tell that the morale of the group had gone down even further than earlier. Everybody except for Fluttershy and Ti’zo either looked depressed, moody or just quiet. Twilight couldn’t help but feel some guilt over this, seeing how it was her decision that lead them to remaining in the Flagging Hands longer than they could have been. However, there was ultimately little that see could do about it now and could only hope that they would find something of value. When she reached the window, the purple mare looked outside to discover something rather unsightly. The blackwagon passed by what appeared to be giant skulls of beasts that were the size of a small hut. She no idea whether these skulls were the actual remains of titanic monsters or were instead just macabre architecture created by some of the locals brave enough to dwell here in the marshlands.
The wagon came to a halt as Tariq stated that they had arrived in Coldmoat. Before Twilight could leave to go outside, Tariq stopped her and asked if she was truly okay with stopping here. When she asked why, the minstrel avoided her gaze for a moment and explained that it was possible that she would some rather unsettling sights. He also suggested that everybody else should remain indoors and that they should go out alone. Twilight was confused by this reasoning, but it then started to make sense as she looked back the group’s down-trotted condition. Whatever was out there, Tariq seemed sure that it would only worsen their Hope and make things much more difficult in the next Rite. With a slow nod, Twilight agreed to the Lone Minstrel’s conditions and announced their plan with everybody in the room. Nobody seemed to have bothered or even frankly cared, as they were all still preoccupied with their own accords in an attempt to ward off the misery.
Twilight stepped outside into the marshlands with the minstrel slowly following after her. The strong, unpleasant scent of sulfur hit her nostrils hard which caused her to immediately scrunch up her face. She looked up to the sky to find that the heavy smog above was mostly blotting out the sun’s rays. The ground under her hooves was soft and muddy, making it a chore to even walk a few meters. However, the alicorn saw something in the corner of her eye and she turned her head to get a better view. To the left side of her was a pit, a trench to be more specific. Soft trails of steam or smoke rose up from the bottom and stretched out into the gloomy sky. While it didn’t appear to be much, there was something about the that was unnerving to the purple mare. She looked back to the minstrel to see that he was giving her a dark look. A slow, careful nod confirmed to the alicorn that whatever was at the bottom of that pit was the source of the minstrel’s earlier warnings. The alicorn gave a heavy gulp and considered her options. While she could easily just ignore the ominous-looking ditch, there was something in the back of her mind that compelled her to look. Taking one slow step at a time, Twilight might her way to the edge of the trench, she peered down at the bottom. Her eyes widen in shock at what she saw.
There at the bottom of the trench was best described as a river of bones. Twilight was at a complete loss as her eyes darted over the pile of skeletal remains of many different creatures. Nomads, Demons, Curs and a few other species that the alicorn couldn’t identify. There was something else that caught her eye, but she immediately regretted looking at it. Near the middle of the pit was the body of an expired Cur that she didn’t recognize. Based on the light rot and decay of the skin and fur, it was clear that the body had been tossed down her somewhat recently. The purple mare was actually for once grateful for the overpowering sulfur in the air, as it most likely covered up the stench of death and decay. Once she had seen enough for one lifetime, Twilight began to slowly back away from the pit of death. She tripped backward on a patch of mud and fell right onto her haunches, but she hardly cared as her mind was still racing. Deep down, Twilight knew that most of the exiles sent down here into the Downside probably didn’t last long before they would eventually perished. It wasn’t a concept that she liked thinking about, but it was a hard truth that she had to accept. However, she only assumed that any exile that died were at least given a proper burial and at least have some dignity. But now she knew the truth; whenever somebody would die, they were most like tossed down here in the marshlands where they would rot out in the open along with their fellow deceased. The alicorn was now starting to figure out where the Flagging Hands got its dismal atmosphere from.
“Madam Twilight,” the alicorn thoughts were interrupted when she turned her head to see that Tariq had knelt down to her level. Though the minstrel’s eyes were not as expressive as others like Hedwyn, she still found them rather calming. “are you okay?” he asked her. For a minute, Twilight couldn’t exactly answer right away, as she was still in shock over what she just saw. The Lone Minstrel asked her another question. “I am guessing by your reaction that you are not familiar with this amount of death?”
Twilight slowed nodded her head slowly. Recently back in Equestria, death was a rather rare occurrence, save for when a pony died of old age or when there was an occasional severe illness. Of course, many of the books in her library did cover the topic of death. She had read many accounts of the casualties of past wars and plagues. However, the alicorn had yet to experience this amount of death right in front of her face. Tariq gave a heavy sigh at the purple mare’s answer. “I see,” he said solemnly. “I apologize in advance for suggesting this path. I merely assumed that the other had already mentioned this to you.” He then looked to the pit for a minute and then back to the concerned mare. “There is nothing that you can do for these poor souls now. I understand that this must be difficult for you to process but know that this is not your fate. Nor is it the fate of the Nightwings and your fellow companions. Let their demise serve as both a warning and a motivation for the journey.”
The alicorn breathing began to slow down as she took in more of what the minstrel was telling her. Whether she wanted to believe it or not, it’s either survival or death in the Downside. The river of bones right below her was proof enough of that. However, deep down Twilight still knew that this wasn’t her fate. Not as long as she continued pushing forward and leading the Nightwings and her friends to freedom. With a deep breath, Twilight got back onto her hooves and began to walk away. While she did wish that she could erase the haunting image of death and dismay from her memory, it would prove to be a somber reminder to her in the future. She looked to Tariq and gave him a stern nod to show that she had gotten the point.
As the minstrel stood back up, Twilight then noticed a shift in the air. She looked around to find what was causing this phenomenon and she eventually saw something begin to shimmer in front of her. However, before she could get a better look, Twilight suddenly felt Tariq’s hand on the back of her head and forced her to look down at the ground. The alicorn was about to ask why for this sudden contact, but the Lone Minstrel was quick to explain himself. “Do not look.” Tariq said in absolute seriousness. “Speak not directly to the living shades. They are the remnants of some of the unlucky souls that perished here in the Flagging Hands.” The alicorn gulped and continued to look to the ground. “Be true to your heart when responding to its inquiries. And…make no attempts to look at it in the eyes.”
The minstrel removed his hand from the pony’s head, allowing her to slowly move her head up. She saw that the green mist from earlier had now solidified into a semi-transparent form of a Nomad. However, Twilight dared not to take the chance of accidently looking into the shade’s gaze. She was beginning to wonder exact how she was to communicate with the dead, but then she felt it. Though the shade spoke not a word, Twilight felt its thoughts and feelings pierce her mind and heart. Wordlessly, the shade asked the alicorn her purpose; why she decided to cross the desolation of the Flagging Hands. She was slightly taken aback by the question; however, her heart already revealed the answer to it: To lead her friends to freedom. The shade paused for a few minutes before asking another inquiry. It then asked the pure mare if she was willing to follow through with that goal even if it meant the risk of ending up like the fallen surrounding them. Once again, her heart was quick to answer the question: Yes, she would risk anything if it meant saving the friends that she dearly loved.
The shade seemed satisfied with the mare’s answers and urged her to follow. Twilight complied and followed along as the shade drifted into the other direction. While the alicorn was following the shade, she noticed that they passed by multiple other pits exactly like the one that she saw earlier. Twilight had no desire to looking into them and relive the horrid imagery that she witnessed moments ago. The shade finally halted in front of a rotted, hollowed stump. The shade gave her a final farewell and then faded away. Twilight then looked up from the ground again and approached the stump. Looking inside, she found something of interest and pulled it out using her magic. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a blue mushroom speckled with white spots.
“Ah yes, it appears you have found a Noxshoom.” Twilight turned out to find that Tariq had followed her and was now looking at her findings. She then levitated it over to the minstrel for him to get a better look at the fungus. “These only grow one month out of the years, and even then, very few grow to this size. To the right people, this should refurbish our funds quite well.” After he stashed the Noxshroom in his robes for safe-keeping, the minstrel looked back to the alicorn. “Madam Twilight, you have been awfully quite since we’ve arrived here. I imagine that you must still be taking in the…things that you had just witnessed. Would you like to talk about it?”
The purple mare was slightly surprised that she had not spoken a single word since arriving to Coldmoat. She wasn’t exactly conscious about it up until now, and the minstrel was correct when he guessed that she was still thinking about the pit. The sight of all those bones not only gave the mare an uneasy feeling in her stomach but provided her with a grim reminder of what was at stake. She still remembered the words of encouragement that Tariq had told her after witnessing such a sight, however that didn’t stop the small speck of self-doubt in the back of her head from imagining the worst-case scenario for her and her friends. Twilight wanted to tell Tariq that she was fine and there was nothing to worry about, but she just couldn’t bring herself to lie to him. The alicorn let out a heavy sigh and finally answered the Lone Minstrel. “Let’s…Let’s just get back to the wagon and leave this place.”
The minstrel bowed his head in agreement and then followed Twilight as she made her way back to the wagon. Along the way, she still continued to avoid looking at the many other pits that surrounded her. She had witnessed enough death for that day, even maybe enough for her entire lifetime. When they finally made it back to the wagon door, Twilight put on the bravest face she could muster and headed inside.
The rest of the day had gone rather smoothly all things considering. The further the blackwagon got away from Coldmoat, the better the alicorn felt. Although, the “burial mounds”, as Twilight generously dubbed them, still bothered her as she was having a hard time suppressing those morbid images from her mind. Twilight had considered at least telling her friends about what she saw out there, but she ultimately decided to omit them and simply showed them the Noxshroom that she found out there. Everybody was miserable enough and Twilight didn’t think telling her friends about the literal river of bones would improve any morale. She did think about telling the Nightwings about what she saw, but she then realized that they were probably already aware of pits given how long they’ve spent in the Downside.
As evening fell, the group stopped the blackwagon to said up camp for the night. What followed was nearly two hours of awkward interaction and banter between everybody as they desperately tried to pass the time until they could finally go to sleep and gain a temporary respite from the dismal atmosphere of the Flagging Hands. After a silent dinner that Hedwyn had prepared. Most of the Nightwings decided to head back inside the wagon to get an early night sleep. That only left Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash out in the open night air, staring at the roaring fire. Ti’zo had decided to stay outside with the ponies, and Fluttershy was more than happy to cuddle with the Imp. Tariq had also decided to stay as well and was strumming a few tuneless chords on the white lute that he cared around with him. While Twilight was glad for the company, there was still the awkward silence that was hanging over them. While trying to think of something to break this silence, the alicorn remembered a small detail that Tariq had mentioned a few days ago. “Um, Tariq?” she asked.
“Yes, Madam Twilight?” he said looking up from his lute.
“Back at the Cairn of Ha’ub, you mentioned something about “Greater Titans”. What exactly did you mean by that?” The other ponies looked to the minstrel, eager to hear his answer to the purple mare’s question. Tariq was silent for a moment, as if he was internally thinking of how to structure his explanation.
“Ah, yes,” he finally said. “I suppose it was only a matter of time before you would ask that.” As he continued to speak, he did not stop gently strumming his lute. “Though the Downside may be harsh today, this is nothing compared to what it once was. Centuries ago, giant, unimaginable creatures roamed these lands. Some were so grand that if they were to reach up, they could touch the heavens themselves. No one knew what these creatures were or where they originated from. In time, the local inhabitants dubbed these creatures “The Greater Titans”. It was believed that no means of magic or technology could slay these Titans, so the only thing the populous could do was to cower away from their paths and pray for another day of safety from them.”
Twilight listened on in awe at the Lone Minstrel tale and was somewhat soothed by the lute’s gently melody. Sure, she was quite familiar with fantastical beasts and creatures back in Equestria, but these Greater Titan felt as though they were in a completely different league in terms of grandness and awestruck. Her thoughts were then interrupted when one of her friends asked the minstrel a question. “Hold on,” Applejack said. “I know that I haven’t been here as long as Twilight has, but I don’t rightly recall seein’ any giant creatures that yer talkin’ about. Shouldn’t we’ve run into one of ‘em Titans back in the Valley?”
“Tis an excellent observation, Miss Applejack,” Tariq commended her. “We have had the good fortune of not crossing paths with any of them. The Greater Titans, with their incredible size and stature, were almost invincible to any force…almost.” The minstrel then gave a noticeable strong cord on his lute. “Everyone believed that the Greater Titans would roam the Downside and continue to terrorize its denizens till the end of time. That is, until eight individuals proved them all wrong.”
The dots connected themselves inside the alicorn’s head when heard the minstrel mentioned the number eight. “The Eight Scribes.” She said out loud. Tariq nodded to confirm her suspicions.
“Wait a minute,” Rainbow interjected. “You make these Titans out to be so big and scary, how exactly were they defeated by such a small group? What did they have magic powers or something?” The minstrel then answered the blue pony’s question.
“Well, Miss Rain-“
“Just call me Rainbow Dash.” She suddenly interrupted. “I’m not a big fan of those proper titles.” Twilight slightly rolled her eyes at Rainbow’s crassness, but then immediately put it out of mind.
“Um…Well, Rainbow Dash,” Tariq continued. “The Eight Scribes had no magical powers to call their own, nor did they require any. All they needed was a combination of skill, wisdom and ingenuity to outsmart the Titans and ultimately slay them. One by one, the Greater Titan fell to the Scribes, making the Downside only tad less inhospitable. However, due to their massive scale, their bodies still remained with no conceivable way of disposing of them. After a Titan were slain, the stars above burned brighter, and the surrounding land gain unique power based on the particular characteristics of that Titan. This was a clear message to the Scribes, every area around a slain Titan would become the site of the traditional ceremony of their creation. They dubbed these sites Celestial Landmarks, and they have been an integral part of the Rites ever since.”
As Twilight took in the flood of information, she began to remember some of the earlier locations that they had already visited. Specifically, she remembered how the Ridge of Gol had a rather a particular shape to it. “Wait,” she said out loud. “back when Hedwyn, Jodariel, Rukey and I went to the Ridge of Gol for our first Rite, I noticed something peculiar about it. You don’t mean…” Twilight trailed off from her thought, but the minstrel answered her anyway.
“Aye” he said, still unconsciously strumming his lute. “What you saw was the petrified remains of the great serpent, Lord Gandroth. The serpent was slain by the Master-General Golathanian himself.”
“And the skeleton of that big ole scorpion critter back at the Spring?” Applejack asked.
“The hive-titan Bialanthius was once a scourge on the Valley, until Jomuer Many-Mane managed to crush the beast. The moonlight shining off its carapace is what gives the Spring its resplendent glory.” Tariq explained.
“And that scary looking monster that was at the Cairn of Ha’ub?” Fluttershy quietly asked.
“Shax Six Shoulders proved to be a tremendous foe, but the Imp Scribe Ha’ub used his small size to his advantage to defeat the bone-titan from the inside. The glacial blood that oozed out from the carcass is what gave the Cairn its frigid atmosphere.” All of the ponies listened on in great interest as the Lone Minstrel continued on about this world’s history. “As our journey continued, you shall see more Celestial Landmarks and more fallen Titans. A physical reminder of the glory that the Eight Scribes have left here in the Downside. Glory that can hopefully send you and the Nightwings home.” The minstrel went silent for a moment, leaving the air silent and empty expect for the lute’s gentle tones. The lute abruptly stopped, and the minstrel cleared his throat. “My apologies, I tend lose myself in my melodies when I go into tangents such as that.”
Now that it was clear the Tariq was finished, Rainbow Dash stretched out her wings and gave out what seemed to be a faux yawn. “Welp, as interesting as all that was, I think I’m gonna turn in now.” The blue pony then flew over to the wagon door and looked back to the group. “Good night, everybody!”
As Rainbow went inside, Tariq then stood up. “I believe Rainbow Dash is correct. We should all get some rest if we wish to make it to the Pit of Milithe by tomorrow evening. I wish you all a good night.”
The minstrel was then followed by Applejack. “Alrighty. I’m gonna go check on Mae before I hit the hay. G’night, everybody.”
As Twilight watched the pair head inside the wagon, she was about to do the same. Until she looked over to see that both Fluttershy and Ti’zo were still outside with her. The alicorn then decided that now was a perfect opportunity to talk to them about a subject that had been plaguing her mind as of late. “Um, Fluttershy? Ti’zo?” she asked as she approached them. “May I talk to you about something?”
“Oh, of course, Twilight!” Fluttershy said sweetly as she looked up at the Imp nuzzled up in her pink mane. “Though, could we please make it quick? Ti’zo gets a bit cranky if he doesn’t get enough sleep.”
“Skraaa…” Ti’zo groaned at the timid mare’s remark.
“Oh hush, you!” she gently chastised him. “What’s on her mind, Twilight?”
The alicorn averted the yellow mare’s gaze and started digging into the ground with one of her hooves. She was a bit unsure how to poise her question without sound rude, but she eventually spat it out. “I was…just wondering? Well, I’m sure you’ve probably noticed that everybody has been miserable ever since we arrived here in the Flagging Hands. The thing is…I’ve noticed that the dreary atmosphere hasn’t really had an effect on you, or Ti’zo for that matter. I was just curious as to why. Don’t you find this place revolting?”
“Oh, well,” Fluttershy said, almost as if she was thinking for an answer herself. “I suppose that it is true that the Flagging Hands isn’t the prettiest or even the best smelling place I ever been to. The temperature is slightly uncomfortable, and it does seem darker than the Valley even during the day. But I don’t really let it bother me that much.”
“Really?” Twilight asked incredulously?
“I guess spending time and going on all those adventures with you girls not only taught me how to be braver, but it also taught me how to look on the brighter side of things. Back when Starlight took our cutie marks and locked us in that room, I was the first one to give up and I almost completely joined her. Even though I eventually found out her secret and helped the town get their marks back, I still felt really bad that I gave up so quickly. So I decided that when things started to look bad, I would still try to smile in hopes that it might brighten everybody else’s day. I guess Pinkie Pie’s endless cheeriness might be rubbing off on me. I talk to Ti’zo about this, and he seems to be in complete agreement with me!”
“Skree-HAA!” Ti’zo chirped out enthusiastically.
Fluttershy gave an even warmer smile. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that even when everything looks gloomy, I want to be the one to make the day a bit brighter. There’s nothing wrong with being a bit more hopeful!”
When Fluttershy finished that last sentence, Twilight could have sworn she saw something strange. For a brief moment, the alicorn noticed that there was a flash of pink light in the yellow mare’s eyes for a quick second. She blinked a few times to make sure that she wasn’t seeing things, but she couldn’t find any other way to explain what she just saw.
“Um, Twilight?” The alicorn snapped out of her trance and returned her attention back to Fluttershy. “Is there anything else you would like to talk about?”
The purple mare thought about asking the timid mare about what she saw, but then decided against it. She said goodnight to both Fluttershy and Ti’zo and watched the pair head inside the wagon for bed. Before she went inside herself, Twilight took one last look over to the gloomy, night landscape of the marshland. After everything she had witnessed that day, she was more than ready to leave this place and move on with her journey towards freedom. Her only concern though was that would the Nightwings be ready for the next Rite with all of their recent melancholy? The alicorn wasn’t sure, but she knew that it was still her duty as Reader to lead them on anyway. With that last thought, Twilight went inside the wagon to get some much-needed sleep.
Celestia only knew that she would need it if she wanted to get out of the Flagging Hands.