Chapter 60: Losing The Curb
The clattering stomp of many hooves down the street, fresh air and warm sunlight. A low gentle hum created by the mass of conversations taking place all around them in the open air eatery. The two sat outside, enjoying a soft breeze while they ate their midday meal. James watched as across form him, Dash frantically tried to scratch a spot on her bandaged up wing.
"Having a little trouble there?"
"I just.. need to get this.. one. spot. Ugh!" She cried in frustration.
"Here, let me help."
James reached over and with a hand, began scratching the spot she has been unable to reach.
"Ahhhh~ That's much better." The pegasus said blissfully.
After she was satisfied, the human leaned back into his seat and resumed eating.
"So, what brought you to the hospital so early?"
"Hm? Oh, I just... heard you had gotten hurt, so I came to visit."
"Huh... that's strange. Nopony except the weather team knew. Except maybe Fluttershy..." she said skeptically.
"Uh, yeah... Garth told me. I stepped by to check on him and he just kind of mentioned it."
"Hm... Meh, Fluttershy must've told him. That's good, I thought you might've been involved with all the ruckus from last night."
"What kind of ruckus?" James asked as innocently as he could.
"Some pegasus was brought in right in the middle of our rain storm. Sounded like he was in pretty bad shape too, all the doctors and nurses were rushing around like the sun wouldn't come up in the morning. Weird part was that he isn't even part of the weather team or anypony else I know in town, just some random guy."
"That is strange."
"Yeah, and then I heard Princess Celestia made a surprise visit in the middle of the night, know anything about that?" She asked accusingly.
She glared at him across the small table. Her gaze like a focused laser beam shooting strait into his eyes. His features became serious. After sitting in stoic silence for a minute, James finally relented.
"Alright. I was involved with that..."
"I knew it! You're going to leave me and go get hurt somewhere again, aren't you?" She said scathingly. "Go let somepony else go and fight, stay here, stay with me!"
"Believe me, there's nothing else I would rather do than just that. But it's better if I go, rather than one of you." He replied soberly.
"Then let me go with you, let me help!"
"I can't let you do that."
"Why not!? I can fight just as good as anypony, you even trained me to fight better!"
"Can you take a life?" James asked seriously, "Can you look one of those soldiers in the eye, or even a pony because they have some on their side too, can you look them in the eye and make the conscious decision to deliberately end their time in this world? Cause them unimaginable pain and suffering before sending them on their way?" He snapped at her. Some of the other patrons stopped what they were doing and turned to stare.
"I... well I...." Dash stuttered, unprepared and taken aback by the unexpected question.
"When you boil it down, what I do is a horrible, horrible thing. It is something I will not have you exposed to." He said definitively.
Even though her expression remained angry, James could see a bit of hurt in her eyes.
"Shit, I'm sorry." He sighed and leaned back in his chair, "I didn't mean to flip out on you like that." He said apologetically.
Dash relaxed a little in her seat, but still remained somewhat tense, "It's fine."
"No, it's not." He replied, rubbing his head with a hand. Noticing a sudden drop in the noise level in the room, he started looking around the room and noticed all the ponies staring at him with looks of curiosity.
"What the hell are you looking at!?" He snapped at them.
With a little fright, they all quickly redirect their attention back to what they were previously doing.
"James!" Dash yelled angrily, "that was not ok!"
"Dammit!"
James angrily stood up and tossed some bits on the table for the meal before turning to leave.
"Where are you going?" Dash demanded.
James didn't answer and walked out of the restaurant look the gawks of the surprised onlookers. Anger burned in his gut. It was not anger at the mare he'd snapped on nor anger at any of the others who had been looking on. It was anger at himself. Anger at himself for losing control. So on he stomped, fuming. At just past midday, the town was still alive and bustling with business and errands, so to avoid more contact and the possibility of conflict, he ducked into a nearby alley and stormed angrily down the narrow passage, kicking empty boxes and punching dumpsters to vent his anger, causing a bit of a ruckus which thankfully went unnoticed in the isolated confines of the alley.
He punched and punched until his knuckles were sore and slightly bloody, the hard metal and sharp corners taking their toll on his skin. He stopped when it became too painful and continued down the alley, his mind now distracted from the anger by the pain he had caused himself. Soon, James came to the end of the alley and saw that he had come out near the bridge that spanned the small river that separated the town from the Everfree Forest. Thinking that performing some equipment maintenance would further help to calm his mind, he stepped forward to the bridge with the intention of going to Sparks' workshop.
"Oh my! James, what happened to you?" Came a soft voice from behind.
He stopped and turned around, seeing a canary yellow pegasus with blue eyes and a pair of saddle bags slung over her back.
"Nothing, I'm fine." He replied, and turned to resume his path.
"That is not fine. Look at your hands, they're bleeding!" Fluttershy said, rushing over to him, "I'm on my way home now, come with me and I'll clean them up and bandage for you." She ordered.
"I said I'm fine, just let me go." He said stubbornly.
"James, this is not an option."
He looked at her again and saw her face become serious, the kind she made when she was about to use what he now knew as 'The Stare'. Fully aware that it would be foolish to argue with her at this point, he relented.
"Alright, fine. I'll go with you."
"Good." She said happily and with a smile.
Begrudgingly, he followed her to her home, which was much closer than the team's HQ. In almost no time, they were climbing the small rise that led to her front door. She brought him inside and set him down on her couch while she went into the kitchen and began unpacking her bags. James sat there and rubbed his torn knuckles while he waited. From down the stairs, a small white rabbit hopped into the living room. 'Angel' he remembered. Though he thought the rabbit was anything but, given the treatment he had received from it in the past.
It hopped yo the center of the room and up onto the table, giving the human q scathing look, like James was was being an annoyance to it, just by being there.
"Don't look at me like that, I didn't want to come here."
The rabbit just crossed his tiny little fore legs and began tapping his left foot rapidly, as if waiting impatiently for James to do something. Probably leave. From back in the kitchen, the clatter of delicate ceramic could be heard as someone walked out with a tray of tea cups and a tea pot. James expected to see Fluttershy. Instead, what he saw shocked him and almost made him laugh. Out came Garth, carrying the tray of tea and clad in a frilly pink apron that was far too small for his size. The added fact that he had to stoop and walk hunched over in the low ceilinged house only made it that much funnier.
"You've got to be kidding me." James said disbelievingly as he stifled a laugh.
"I don not understand, there are no children here." Garth replied as he put down the tray on the table by Angel. The rabbit turned his attention from the human and scrambled up Garth's left arm where he perched on the large warrior's shoulder. Garth took out a carrot from a back pocket and gently handed it to the small furry beast who politely took it and began happily munching on the vegetable.
"Oh, come on, now I've seen everything. That damn rabbit doesn't like anyone!"
"He is quite friendly, once you get to know him." The large mottled warrior said, lightly stroking the top of the rabbit's head with a single finger, "What has brought you here my friend? I see your hands are wounded and ripped. Was there a battle I might have missed?" He asked expectantly.
"Only with my self," James replied, examining his knuckles, "I'm still not sure who won."
"Ah, it is often the battle within that is the most perilous. Even lethal, If one does not mend and move on." Garth commented as he took a seat next to the human in an almost comically small chair. The wood creaked and groaned in protest as it took his weight. From the kitchen, Fluttershy returned with a small first aid bag and set it on the coffee table where she started taking items out and setting them in neat rows.
"Ok, now please hold out your hands so I can treat them." She ordered in a kindly and soft tone.
James mentally remarked at how straight forward she had become. While she was still very sweet and extremely soft spoken, gone was the timid ness she had exhibited before. He wondered if it had anything to do with the trauma of the loss she had suffered recently. James shuffled the thought away in his mental filing cabinet and held out his hands for the kind pegasus mare. It was painful, but he managed to stretch his fingers out fully to allow her to do her work unimpeded.
"Tsk tsk tsk," she scolded, "you really should be more careful. How did you end up with these wounds anyway?"
"I kind of... got in a fight with RD."
"What!? That's horrible, you didn't hurt her, did you?" She asked in alarm.
"No, no, it wasn't a physical fight. I did this in a back alley, blowing off some steam on a dumpster. I sort of just... left her at the restaurant. We were having lunch." He winced a little as she applied some sort of rubbing alcohol to his hands before starting to wrap them in gauze.
"Well that's certainly no good. You'll have to go apologize to her."
"Yeah, she's probably still pretty angry. I'll be in for it."
"I find your interactions with your opposite members strange and confusing." Garth chimed in.
"What, your kind doesn't have relationships? Come to think of it, I've never seen a female of your kind. How do you... you know?" James asked curiously.
"Replenish our ranks? Members of my kin are born of the roots of deep stone. They are pulled from the bowls of earth and foundations of mountains to do battle and earn glory before returning to the heart of cold rock from whence they came."
"O... k..."
"There, all done!" Fluttershy declared in a light tone.
James looked back down at his hands and saw she had done an excellent job in dressing his wounds. He clenched his hands and flexed his digits, testing the range of movement. He still had full use, although it pained him slightly to move his hands.
"Thank you Fluttershy, I appreciate it."
"Are you still angry?" She asked him.
"Maybe a little, but not so much as before."
"Good, glad I could help."
She began cleaning up the medical supplies and small drops of his blood that had dripped onto the small table during her ministrations. After a moment, she picked up all the things she had gathered and retreated back to the kitchen. While she stowed the first aid equipment, James turned back to his large friend.
"So Garth, you seem a little more... tranquil, than before."
"Yes. Fluttershy has had me aiding her in the care of her home and it's tenants. Helping her, caring for the small creatures that reside here, I find it somewhat calming. The urge to kill, the drive to die in a gloriously heated contest, they appear as trivial matters to me now."
"Huh, that so?" Said James, nodding in approval, "That's good."
"Good? You think it so?"
"Yeah, means you're more likely to think tactically in a combat situation rather than just charge in and hack 'n' slash. Means you'll get more done more efficiently, fight better."
"Then perhaps this is good."
Fluttershy came back into the room, a small tray of fresh cookies balanced on one outstretched wing, "James, would you like some? I made these this morning."
"Oh, no thanks," he politely declined, "I should actually get going. I gotta go find Dash and see if she'll accept an apology yet."
"Oh, well good luck to you then!"
"Thanks, I think I'll need it." He replied, standing up to go, "Oh, and Garth, why don't you stop by the HQ later, we got some info to pass down."
"Flash came by my hut earlier today and told me some, though I would like to hear more about it."
"Alright, see you later then. And Fluttershy, thanks again for helping me out." He told her again, holding up his hands.
"It was my pleasure!" She replied warmly.
James excused himself from he cottage and started thinking of where he could find what he was sure was a furious pegasus mare. If she didn't find him first. The first thing he did was head over to her house. He didn't think she would still be at the restaurant, not the way he had left her there. A small rock of cold dread sat in a lump at the pit of his stomach as he climbed the small hill that led up to her floating cloud house. As he neared the top, he saw another pegasus mare descend from Dash's front door.
"Hey," he called to her, "RD home?'
The nut brown mare glided down to the human, "Hey, you're one of her friends, right?"
"Uh... yeah? Who are you?"
The mare landed on the ground in front of him, "I'm from the weather team, the name's Autumn Breeze. You wouldn't happened to have seen her around, have you?"
"No, I was actually looking for her myself. You said you're from the weather team, does she have to work today or something? 'Cause last I checked one of her wings was a little messed up."
"Oh yeah, she did have that slight mishap. Nah, our boss just sent me over here to check up on her. The accident looked pretty bad, but she's a tough gal. She probably already took of her bandages and is zooming around somewhere. You sure you haven't seen her?"
"Well... we were having lunch together earlier, but we kinda... had a fight."
"Oooooohhhhhh! So you're the guy she's been talking about! Hm, you're no stallion, but you ain't too bad lookin' either. James, right?" She said, eyeing him up and down.
"Er... thanks." James replied, feeling suddenly awkward. "Listen, I really need to talk to her, so if you have any idea where she might be, that would be extremely useful."
"Well let's see... I you two had a fight, she'd most likely be somewhere she could blow it off. You could try the east side of Saddle Lake. That's one of her favorite practice spots. No pony really goes out there, so if she messes up on a new trick she's less embarrassed."
"Alright, thanks." James said, and began jogging back the way he'd come.
"No problemo!"
James made good time getting to the lake. Fortunately, it wasn't too far off from his own house, so getting there was just a matter of keeping to a steady run up the river to the lake by the town. Once he reached it's shore, he followed it to the east and began scanning the earth and sky for any sign of the cyan mare. As he neared the far eastern end, he thought of giving up and trying some other spot, like the park, when he couldn't spot her. James stopped to catch his breath for a moment and arched his back, trying to get out a cramp. That's when he saw it.
Far up high in the sky was a little white speck in the almost entirely clear sky. When he focused on it, he could make it out to be a small tuft of cloud. When he strained his eyes, he could see a small amount of rainbow colors hanging off the side.
"DASH!"
No response, not even movement.
"DASH! IT'S ME! I WANNA TALK TO YOU!" He shouted as loud as he could.
She was too high up to hear him.
"Fuck."
James looked around, trying to think of a way to get her attention. There was nothing he could throw high enough to signal her, he had nothing with which to start a small fire. What's worse, the sun was creeping towards the horizon, it would be dark in a few hours. He thought and thought and thought, but only one solution came to mind.
"Shit," he said to himself, "I hope Myst is up for a little practice flight."
James took off at a run back to the HQ, a crazy plan formulating in his mind. One that was both exciting and reckless. One that was worth doing for the one he cared about. If he hurried, he could pull it off before sunset.