//------------------------------// // Here She Lies... // Story: Destiny's Calling // by Crimson_Moon //------------------------------// Canterlot was a different city than Fluttershy ever had remembered. The streets were larger, the crowds larger, but that didn't surprise her given the time she spent away from such things. What did change, however, was the atmosphere. It didn't suffocate you with an air of superiority like it used to. In fact, the nobles that walked the streets were much more tame, compared to what they used to be like. Whether this was a cause of the city growing or the nobility shrinking, she didn't know. What she did know was it was a different time she now lived in, and that... Unnerved her. "How do you do it, Geralt?" She asked, trotting alongside the Witcher. "Hmm?" He grunted, weaving past another crowd of ponies giving him and his fellow Witcher strange looks. "Handling all the changes, I mean. You're hundreds of years old." The mare glanced into a nearby shop window, gazing at the old stallion wiping the counter inside. She looked back at Geralt. "How do you go through knowing it's a different city than what you remember seeing decades earlier?" He sighed, knowing his answer is no small comfort. "It blends together after a while, I suppose." He looked around, as if the changes were fresh in his eyes. "Best way I handle it is to look for the things still there. A smell from a bakery still around, a barber still open for business, or even a bookstore that remained the small one on the corner you grew up seeing." His eyes gained a wistful expression for a moment, recalling a vague memory of a city he visited long ago. It was... Important, he was sure of it. Shaking himself of such thoughts, Geralt had led Fluttershy further in. The rest of the trip remained silent, that is, until Fluttershy witnessed the Memorial shrine in the Town Square. It was a small plaza just before the bridge to the castle, and held several smaller statues depicting heroes of the age. Starswirl and the Pillars stood watch over the public library to the left, while the Cutie Mark Crusaders had their own statues built in front of their corporate headquarters to the right. What shocked her the most was the statue in the center- it was of her, before the Trial: It showed her in a majestic pose overlooking the city, smiling serenely and arcing her wings behind her. It made her look like a Guardian Angel, protecting the city from evil. Trotting forward, she read the plaque at the base of the statue. "Dedicated to Fluttershy, the first and last victim of the Trial of the Grasses. May she forever watch over the city and protect it from harm The False Ruler." The last part had seemed to have been scratched out and new words written in. Regardless, the statue had her raving mad. "I-is that what I was to her?! Some pony dead and buried?!" "Settle down! Many creatures will take offense to you making a scene in front of a place of remembrance!" A griffon, in his prime by the looks of it, piped up from a nearby bench. "...I'm sorry." She wasn't, but it was best to keep appearances up for politeness. For all she cared, she should tear down this statue and tell the world she was still alive. Slowly, the griffon walked up and sat next to Fluttershy, gazing up at the statue's smile. "They figured she died, once Princess Twilight confessed her sin at her coronation almost a decade ago." He wiped some of the debris and dirt off the plaque, gazing wistfully at it as if it were an old friend. "To be right honest with ya, I believe it was because the world didn't wanna admit something new crossed over with that Witcher friend of the Old Rulers." He chuckled a bit at his mention of Celestia and Luna. "Old Rulers" had made it sound like they drifted off into legend! The griffon looked at Fluttershy once more, resting a claw on one of her shoulders. "Frankly, I'd rather say it's because they de." He smiled. "It's been a long time." The mare brushed his claw away. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember you." The griffon cackled. "And why should you? It's been a decade after all!" He sighed. "Ah, but that's what I get for always being late to one of your kindness lessons, Mrs. Fluttershy." A look of realization painted Fluttershy's expression. "...Gallus?" She eyed the griffon again. She could see it now, the blue feathers, the look of confidence he always wore; it was all there. "You've... Grown!" She exclaimed. "And you did too, it seems!" He guffawed. "So the rumors are true, if you're standing here." "Rumors?" She asked. "What rumors?" "About you coming down from the mountain!" Gallus exclaimed. "Most ponies don't remember what you looked like or if you were still even alive, but I knew at first glance." He smiled. "It was the eyes, they still had that kindness to them..." Quickly, she backed away. "N-no! I'm not who I used to be. That kindness, that mare, she's up there-" She pointed to the statue of her old self before running off to meet Geralt at the gate. "...But Fluttershy-" Gallus reached to the Pegasus flying away, then looked up to the memorial to that same pony. Glaring coldly at the marble statue, he scratched deep into the plaque, permanently making it unreadable. "She buried you underneath a lie. Kindness is dead." He sighed. "It died long ago..." "Do I need to lecture you about that incident back there?" The Witcher crossed his arms, leering at his pupil. "No! It was a... Friend." The mare huffed. "He wanted to tell me how much I changed." She lied. "Just like everypony else." "Hmm..." For a few more minutes, Geralt simply stared at her until he eventually dropped it. They both continued on their way to the palace at the top, both on edge for different reasons. "What did the letter say?" Fluttershy asked, breaking the silence. "I'm curious to hear what She needs." "I understand your frustration towards Twilight, probably the only one that does." He spoke. "But I need you to retain some respect and dignity. I didn't pour all that training into you just to have you act like a child." "Child?!" She exclaimed. "Look at me! There's not a single trace of the old me left!" "Yes, Child!" Geralt raised his voice. "Whether you like it or not, she's royalty now. You need to respect that!" "Respect is earned." She glared at him. "You taught me that, remember?" Fluttershy remembered the brutal combat she had to do to win Geralt's trust at Kaer Blathan. Many broken bones paved that path, and now she knew he respected her as a fellow Witcher through and through. He sighed. "I know she hasn't done anything to regain what you two once had, but she is the ruling authority in the land so from one peer to another," The Witcher stared into Fluttershy's fellow Wolven eyes. "Be on good behavior. Now come on, there's a crowd and I would rather not become a spectacle to Nobility anymore than I already am..." It had been close to a decade since Fluttershy first entered the golden gates leading to Canterlot Castle, and it never ceased to amaze her the sheer size of it, even compared to the fortress she had been training in all this time. It was awe inducing, but at the same time, it also brought back painful memories from when she was on Death's door. "Halt." A guard telekinetically barred his spear in front of those same gates, his companion on the other side doing the same. "State your business." Geralt fetched the letter he received prior, the Royal Seal stamped into the wax plain as day. "A summons from Her Majesty regarding a private matter." Hovering it over, both guards inspected it before nodding their approval and allowing passage into the castle. "Thank you." From the gate, the throne room was mostly a straight shot, save for a small detour through the Hall of Stories, where all of Equestria's heroic deeds were recorded on glass murals. Walking through, Fluttershy glanced at the murals every so often, until a certain one caught her eye. It depicted a Pegasus mare with a bleached yellow coat and brown mane slay a shadowy figure before her. Below it were two signs, one explaining the mural was fresh and the paint was still drying, while the other was a small epitaph: Here She Lies, the Flower of the Forest slaying her first foe. May this Witcher never be forgotten for her act of bravery, and continue to protect this world from the monsters that continue to plague it... Looking back up, she glanced to the mare in the glass once more, recognizing now who it was dedicated to. "B-but I didn't slay the Nightmare..." She turned to Geralt. "You did. Why would she honor me?" "Hmm..." The Witcher thought for a moment, looking at the mural alongside her. "Could be this is her way of saying Sorry to you. I could not say..." Scoffing, the mare suddenly turned and trotted away. "No silly painting is gonna make my past go away. I'm still here, and she's about to find out real soon..." They carried on in silence the rest of the way, until the two were told to redirect themselves to the Archives by the guards outside the throne room. It seemed court was cancelled until further notice. Opening the doors, both were greeted to a rather familiar and nostalgic sight: a purple Alicorn was currently buried deep into a book, with several stacks piled high around the desk she sat. "Your highness." Geralt grunted. "Let's see, if I cross reference Teferi's Multiverse Theorems with Starwirl's notes on Interdimensional Travel..." Twilight mumbled, the rest too quiet to understand. "Twilight?" He tried one more time. "I answered your summons for-" "Yes, yes, that's great. Go on another patrol, I'm sure you'll be fine!" She tittered, waving a hoof out from the side of the book she was buried in. The Witcher was about to speak again, but was suddenly halted by Fluttershy's hoof. "Let me try, Geralt." Looking at the Pegasus, he nodded. "Remember, best behavior." He warned. Nodding, she cleared her throat. "Hello, Twilight." Suddenly, the purple mare's mumbling ceased and the room grew quiet enough to hear a pin dropping. Slowly, the princess lowered the book and closed it shut. Turning her head, she gasped once their eyes connected. "You're here..." Was all she said. She continued staring for a long time, before Fluttershy interrupted the silence. "Yeah, I'm here! And despite all that I wanna say to you," she sighed. "I can't. Maybe when this isn't official, I'll ask you why you made a Memorial of me in Town Square as well as other questions-" Twilight flinched at those words, her ears splaying back. "But I am here as an escort to Geralt." She nodded to the Witcher, signalling him to continue. "I received your letter. There is an urgent matter you wish to discuss with me?" He asked. She nodded, not elaborating further. "Would you... Care to elaborate? Your note only mentioned the Law of Surprise, and a spell of Binding, whatever that is." "Yes." Twilight sighed. "Before I became Princess, Luna had told me of the Law of Surprise and the contract she issued you for..." She fell silent for a moment, glancing at Fluttershy before shaking her head and continuing. "As Princess of Equestria, you can claim Surprise with me as acting princess in Luna's stead, correct?" She asked. "The law of Surprise was payment named to the Throne and not the Princess itself, so yes. I can." She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good." Looking to Fluttershy once more, she gave a tired smile. "I spent this entire time ruling figuring out how to repent for my sin, Fluttershy." A single tear bled down her cheek. "I told the truth of your recovery to the nation and risked my reputation as both Princess of Friendship and an Element of Harmony, but that wasn't enough." The mare trotted closer, Fluttershy doing the exact opposite, causing her to flinch once more. "I tried to immortalize you in the eyes of everypony, but only made a permanent reminder of my shame." Her eyes welled up, more tears threatening to come forth any moment. "It wasn't until I researched more on the Law of Surprise, both from accounts from other countries and from Geralt's reports he had given of his own plane, cross referencing them." Wiping her muzzle, she turned to face Geralt and held an official air about her at that moment. "Geralt of Rivia, as the representative of Equestria's Throne, I hereby issue the Contract Completed, Surprise being myself. Do you accept this fulfilled agreement?" Even he was shocked. Never had Surprise been claimed as the client itself! Thinking deeply, he saw no flaw in that. "Yes. As the object of Surprise, you are now my property." Turning, he looked at Fluttershy, and suddenly hatched a brilliant plan. "And as your official owner, I transfer my ownership-" he smiled, Twilight connecting the dots immediately. "To the Witcher, Fluttershy."