//------------------------------// // Episode 07: The Kindness of Others [7/9] // Story: Lost Legacies // by AkibaWhite //------------------------------// [Evening of Day 31] Derpy came to her senses on a soft bed of moss amongst the towering trees. She opened her eyes to the sight of tiny white flowers, beacons of flourishing life in the midst of grayish gloom. A terrible ache pulsated through her head. Derpy brought a hoof to the back of her skull, then brought it forward to find the appendage stained with blood. That worried her, but there was little she could do about it. Derpy pulled herself to her hooves and gazed back up the sheer cliff she'd fallen from. The top remained obscured by fog, but distant thuds spoke of a continuing conflict above. Derpy unfolded her wings on an impulse, then reconsidered and allowed them to fall flat. Her face grew hot, her eyes itched, and her nose drew in the pungent odor of seared muffins. She wanted to ascend. She wanted to save Fluttershy, but knew that it was impossible. Nothing had changed. Whether she stood in the midst of the Everfree Forest or a run-down apartment complex, she was equally helpless. She knew this, that there was nothing she could do, and yet . . . Something inside her pounded against that knowledge. Like a closed fist pounding against a cast-iron door, a desire as powerful as it was indiscernible railed against her misgivings. A rustling in the foliage drew Derpy's attention. She spun about to find the diminutive form of Russet Bunny gazing up at her from the midst of the white flowers. "Gosh," Derpy exclaimed with a hoof to her chest. "You scared me." The rabbit brought a hind leg up to give its floppy ears a momentary scratch. It wasn't capable of smiling, but something about its innocent eyes soothed Derpy's fears a bit. Unfortunately, the effect was only momentary. "Wait, what are you doing here?" Derpy asked. "You've gotta run back to the cottage, Russet! There's awful things out here and . . ." Her voice trailed off at the thought of her next words. "Fluttershy, Iron Will, and Spike . . . They're probably . . ." Russet Bunny did not answer, but another rabbit popped up at his side. Then came another, and another. Within seconds, over a score of fluffy rabbits occupied the moss bed. Derpy had no idea what to make of this. "You've all got to run away! You'll get hurt, or worse!" Russet Bunny simply cocked his head and turned away. He lifted a tiny paw, gesturing into the fog. One after another, the rabbits hopped into the underbrush, each in the exact direction indicated by Russet. Derpy stared in awe at the sight. "You . . . You want me to go this way?" Russet Bunny nodded and bounced off. Derpy, realizing full well that she had no idea where to go in the first place, followed after him. She found the pace at which the rabbits ran through the foliage difficult to match. These harmless-looking critters could run as the crow flies, no matter what was in their way. The appeared to swim through the loam and debris rather than run. At first, Derpy lagged behind, but the scene called to mind the movements made by Silver Cross as he'd chased down Iron Bound's slavers. Derpy expanded her wings and gave a powerful flap, resulting in a noticeable burst of speed. She stumbled and nearly crashed headlong into a fallen beech, but another reflexive flap propelled her over the obstacle. Derpy tried again and found her rhythm. In no time at all, she ran right alongside Russet Bunny in their dash through the woodlands. Trees whooshed by in a blur of motion on all sides, and Derpy again became uncertain. "Where are you taking me?" One by one, the other bunnies disappeared into the underbrush. Russet Bunny remained right by her side as they continued their sprint, and Derpy soon saw the reason for his friends' departure. The silhouettes of sludge-beasts moved aimlessly through the trees, more of the former knights that Derpy's mind had called "Phage." "Russet Bunny?" she whined. The cottontail in question threw a comical midair salute and disappeared into the forest loam. Derpy fell head over hooves in her attempt to stop, landing in a heap on the level dirt of an old logger's trail. The splashing of a nearby waterfall drowned out all other sounds. Thus, Derpy could only stare in horror at the shambling forms moving silently through the mist. She pressed her teeth together to stop them from chattering. Had she made a mistake? "Derpy?" Derpy turned in the direction of the familiar voice only to gaze at the waterfall. She cocked her head to the side and had no time to react when a blue-furred arm broke through. The arm grabbed hold of her right leg, then pulled her past the curtain of water in surprisingly gentle fashion. Freshly soaked and shocked once more, Derpy found herself inside a small rock cavern with two very welcome companions. "Iron!" she exclaimed with a brilliant smile. "Spike!" She lunged forward and grabbed hold of her dragon friend. "I'm so glad you're alive!" After a moment's firm embrace, she pulled back a bit to look at them properly. "What happened? Why are you in this weird cave?" Spike raised a solitary claw. "That would be my fault. Me and Iron found a bunch of knight armor on the ground near the cottage. I saw something moving in the trees and went after it, but it was a total trap. Iron dived in to save me and . . ." He scratched at his dorsal spines. "Those things out there boxed us in," said Iron Will. "You can't cut 'em, you can't punch 'em, and you can't burn 'em—we figured that much out pretty darn quick. They're not too fast, but they close ranks every time me n' Spike make for an opening. We couldn't fight 'em n' couldn't get past 'em, so they just kept pushin' us back. We came in here to try and lose 'em, but all they do is circle around." He touched the falling water. "They don't seem to be much for walkin' through this, so we're in a good old-fashioned stalemate. Iron Will n' Spike were just thinkin' about what to do when you came along. Wait . . ." His eyes narrowed. "Where's Flutterhoney?" Derpy looked down at the ground. "We were together until the Phage attacked us." Spike raised an eyebrow. "The what now?" "The Phage," Derpy repeated. "I . . . I think that's what those black things are called." A wave of pain rushed through her head. She winced and brought a hoof to her wound. "Fluttershy and a big bear of hers tried to fight them, but it didn't work. She ended up throwing me over a cliff to . . ." She felt woozy and struggled with the last words. "To save me." "Whoa, kiddo," cautioned Iron Will. He walked over and sat behind the dizzy pegasus mare, letting out a low whistle as he parted her mane. "That's some nice battle damage you've got there." He snapped his fingers. "Spike, toss my bag over." When the young dragon had done so, Iron Will fished out a roll of gauze and set about wetting his hands to clean the wound. "This might sting a bit, Derpy, but Iron Will's gonna have you fixed up in no time." True to the minotaur's word, the cleansing did hurt, but not as much as Derpy thought it might. Quite the opposite, in fact—Iron Will clearly had experience in the dressing of injuries. "Now what?" grumbled Spike. "These things took out an ursa minor? We're screwed." "No," said Iron Will as he unrolled the gauze. "If Fluttershy's here, then there's somethin' we haven't tried yet." "Is it worth trying?" asked Spike. Iron Will flashed a grim smile. "Let's put it this way: if Iron Will's plan don't work, we should move right on to evacuatin' Ponyville." He twirled the bandage around Derpy's head and closed one eye in thought. "Gotta save my honeybunch first though, and those Phage bozos aren't gonna make that easy on us." Spike drew his sword from its scabbard. He held it in his hands for a moment before tapping it with a cursory claw. He pondered the resulting sound for a moment, then said, "What if I can make a distraction?" Both Derpy and Iron Will gave him worried looks. "You know, draw those things off so you two can go after Fluttershy?" Spike elaborated. He waved the sword about. "I may not be able to hurt them, but I am faster than they are." "You sure about that?" asked Iron Will. Spike shrugged. "Sure as I can be without trying. You got a better idea?" Iron Will sighed. "All right, Spikearoo. Whenever you're ready." Spike turned to the waterfall. His expression waxed uncertain, but he tightened his grip on the sword handle and bent low for a headlong dash. "It'll take me a minute or so to clear them out," he warned. Seized by a sudden sense of foreboding, Derpy reached out and touched a hoof to the young dragon's hand. "Spike?" Spike turned to face the watery-eyed pegasus mare. "You're gonna be okay, right?" Spike wasn't sure, but he flashed a toothy grin all the same. "You won't even know I'm gone." With that, he burst through the curtain of water and began rapping his claws against the sword blade. "All right, you slimy good-for-nothing creeps!" he shouted above the clamor. "There's a big scaly hunk of dragon for you right here! Come on, move! I bet I taste delicious! Let's see you try and catch me! Yeah!" Iron Will chuckled as he tied off the bandage around Derpy's head. "Can't call him a liar, can you? If he carries on that loud the whole time it really is gonna feel like he's right here." Derpy simply shuddered in response, overwhelmed by worry and stress. Iron Will walked over to a spot across from Derpy and sat down once more. He folded his hands in his lap and looked at her with absolute severity. "Now Derpy, Iron Will needs you to listen carefully to what he's got to say." Derpy nodded wordlessly. "Good girl," replied Iron. "Do you think you can lead us back to where Fluttershy is?" "Yeah," said Derpy. "It kinda looked like that trail outside runs back up the cliff." "Then that's where we'll go," said Iron, his voice low and soothing. "When we get out there, you need to stick close to old Iron Will, but I can't guarantee anythin' this time. If things go south, if it looks like Iron Will can't protect you anymore, I want you to spread your wings and fly back to Ponyville without a second thought. Once you're there, you go right to the Sheriff's Department and tell 'em what happened." He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Can you promise me you'll do that?" Derpy almost responded in the affirmative, but the regret of leaving Fluttershy behind still coursed through her mind. She bit at her lower lip and looked away. Iron Will tightened his grip. "Promise me, Derpy. We aren't gonna have time to argue once we're out there." Derpy looked upon the minotaur's weathered features and remembered that she was in the presence of one with a great deal of experience. She decided to trust his judgment, and nodded. "I promise." The sounds of Spike's sword-rattling and coarse language grew distant. Iron Will watched the shadows moving outside the waterfall cave. He clenched and unclenched his fists in anticipation. "One more thing," he said. "I don't know if this is the right time to say this, but I might not get another chance." He looked back at Derpy. "You're wrong about Flutterhoney." Derpy realized that the last thing Iron Will must have heard from her was her outburst in the cottage's upstairs room. She bowed her head. "I'm sorry." Iron Will nodded. "I know you're sorry you said it, but you don't think you're wrong either, do you?" It was true, but Derpy didn't want to say as much. She continued to stare at the floor, allowing the contradictory mixture of guilt and resentment to swirl around inside her. "Truth is, Iron Will's the lucky failure." Derpy looked up at him in disbelief. "Huh?" Iron Will turned his eyes back to the moving shadows. "Iron Will was a wreck when he came back to Ponyville—spent his whole life thinkin' he was helpin' ponies with his seminars, but it just wasn't so. The money dried up when word got around, and Iron Will didn't know what to do with himself." He grimaced. "I came back to Ponyville to see the first pony who told me the truth, but I went to that bar where we actually met to get sloshed." His gaze returned to Derpy. "Iron Will didn't save Fluttershy from nothin'. She was the one actually helpin' others, and she was the one who helped me—helped me to see what I really wanted, who I really am. It just so happened that right then n' there, she needed me too." Iron Will tensed up as the shadows beyond the curtain of water grew fewer in number. "Point is, Iron Will knows what its like to feel hopeless, to feel like everythin' you've done is a waste. It was Flutterhoney who showed me that what you've done before—the person you've been—isn't half as important as who you want to be tomorrow, and what you're gonna do about it right now." Derpy stared back at him in open-mouthed awe. The reasoning seemed simple to her now, but she'd never thought of it that way before. "I . . . I don't know what to say." Iron Will rose to his hooves and scanned for remaining shadows. "There's nothin' wrong with not havin' the words—just make sure you do what you think is right. One way or another, that's how you find the real you." He smiled. "And Iron Will can't wait to meet her." Derpy stood as well. The minotaur's words had broken through her stupor. Right now, she wanted very much to live through this ordeal—for all of them to live through it. "Ready to move?" asked Iron Will. Derpy nodded. Iron Will had never looked more resolute. "Okay, on three . . ." ~