//------------------------------//
// Sharing Kindness 
// Story: A Splendid Little War 
// by Eh 
//------------------------------//

Talc was a Crystal Pony.

The Crystal Empire found itself being circumvented in the invasion of Equestria due to its status as a sovereign nation, however small it was. In fact, King Lycurgus of Gryphonia himself more or less classed the Crystal Empire as a micronation rather than a full one, but did indeed recognize it as an independent entity. When the invasion started, King Lycurgus himself stated that the borders of the Crystal Empire would be respected. So for the most part in the Grypho-Equestrian War, the Crystal Empire has remained neutral.

That didn't mean they weren't curious however. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor still today consider joining the war on Equestria's side, but the fact remained that the Crystal Empire was very small. It was as much of an empire as pyrite was gold. Gryphonia on the other hand consisted of over fifty tribes of various griffons of different breeds, creeds, and territories, excluding conquests such as Zebrica or Canis. As much as they hated it, they needed to stay out of the war for the sake of their people. 

The Crystal Ponies however share a common blood with the Equestrian Ponies, such that as every day goes by more and more Crystal Ponies believe the Crystal Empire should intervene. The Royal Couple very much agreed with their sentiments, but would not risk their lives in a war that was already lost.

That was where Talc came in. She was a scribe, as her inkwell cutie mark presented, who occasionally helped the Royal Couple ledger their official decrees and record anything important and store them in the archives. When she overheard a conversation between the Royal Couple regarding how they would judge the war lost, she jumped at the opportunity. Quite literally, as she broke her typewriter and spilled several wells of ink

"I will travel with the Army of Equestria! I will stick it with them through thick and thin, and I shall write to you if this war is lost or not!"

That was in December, three months since the war had started.

Talc had indeed met up with the Army of Equestria as they plodded along the Slush March in their retreat back in December. Most ponies warmed up to her immediately, others resented the fact that her nation remained neutral in the war. Talc understood this resentment as even she agreed the Crystal Empire had to do something. Being a scribe for a historical archive however taught you to consider multiple perspectives.

"He's a nice guy."

"Junebug, he's a griffon."

"Well, shucks, I don't fuss about you liking Lyra so much, Bon-Bon."

"That's different. Don't you read the pamphlets they give you about the griffons? They eat foals."

"That is not true."

What Talc liked most however was the perspective of the infantry. Although the officers were quite pleasant and spoke eloquently to her when she asked it, there was something quite different when speaking to a soldier. When she came to the Army, she had brought her typewriter and many sheets of paper. Often when she had the time she simply recorded the many conversations she had overheard, joined in, and witnessed over her stay. Some talks were quite philosophical, as many often argued the point of the war, why it had started, and how future wars such as this could be prevented. Some talks were more nostalgic, recalling the lush fields of home or the smell of pie or the taste of strawberries. Most conversations however were very typical of bored infantry with a lot of time on their hands.

"Griffons are omnivorous!" Bon-Bon chewed on a wildflower as she explained the food chain of griffons to Junebug and Lyra. "They eat foals, they eat zebras, they eat Arabian Horses, anything is meat to them!"

Junebug skeptically raised an eyebrow. "Bon-Bon, that's a little mean. Could you imagine if the griffons thought all we ate were flowers and grass?"

Lyra tore up a bit of muddy grass and stuffed it into her mouth. "Actually, now that you mention it, that's really all we eat now. I haven't had a good pile of oats in months."

Bon-Bon nodded grimly. "I miss oats. I hate oats."

Talc, Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Junebug were sitting on logs gathered in a little circle. It had been ten days since Gryphonian 1st Army met the Army of Equestria at Canterlot River. Now, both sides were content on entrenching themselves and waiting for the other side to make a move. Even though the armies were barely half a kilometer from each other, most ponies treated it as a bit of a vacation. This was the first time in months since most ponies in the army were able to sit down, talk, and most importantly, sleep. Talc herself didn't get much sleep but that came with having to work long days in the archives. Here, she was tripping over ponies who sleep like the dead.

"Say, Talc." Talc looked over at Junebug. "What's Crystal Corn taste like?"

Talc blinked. One of the things she came to expect was people asking her questions about the Crystal Empire. She was more confused however by the fact that the conversation switched from generalization of griffons to Crystal Empire cuisine. "It's like rock candy. In fact, a lot of our nourishment so to speak is like rock candy. But it's all definitely chewable though, and no sugar!"

"I could go for those berries." Junebug sighed deeply. "I hear they taste sweet."

Talc nodded, grinning. "Sweeter than a strawberry in season." Talc's grin faded however when she found the three ponies she sat with starting to lose their cheer. Nobody liked being reminded of what they didn't have. She cleared her throat and decided on changing the subject. "So, weather seems nice."

The ponies most shrugged and murmured at that. Truth be told, a perpetual overcast mixed with a light snowfall from last night wasn't exactly great weather. Talc kicked herself mentally, of all the things she could have done she ended up accidentally making them homesick. It could have been worse, she thought, she could have asked if they had killed anyone. However, her salvation from this awkward moment came from a passing pegasus.

Lyra looked up, and immediately her smile returned. "Fluttershy!"

Private First Class Fluttershy was part of Colonel Rainbow Dash's regiment of Pegasi Volunteers. As was usual, she wore a brown cloak signifying her militia status, but her plate armor and her shootstick were missing. She carried in her mouth a basket full of untrodden grass. Upon hearing her name, she looked over at Lyra and waved with a nervous smile.

Lyra immediately got up and dragged Fluttershy over then sat her down next to Talc. Lyra gestured to Fluttershy and said, "Talc, Fluttershy," then gestured to Talc, "Fluttershy, Talc."

Talc smiled warmly and held out a hoof for a shake. "Well, nice to meet you, Fluttershy." Fluttershy slowly drew out her own hoof, then shook Talc's hoof with little gusto. "Ah, I don't bite. So what's your story, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy seemed to hide behind that long pink mane of hers. Talc could make out her other eye beneath all those split ends, muck, and frazzled hairs. Talc joked to herself mentally, noting that just because one fights in a war doesn't mean one has to have nice hair. Fluttershy quietly said, "Story?"

Talc nodded. She made a mental note to get her typewriter later. "Yeah, story. Sort of like, how Lyra came to be in the Earth Pony Volunteers despite being a unicorn. Or how Junebug talks to that griffon across the river. What's interesting about you?"

Fluttershy's face dropped to a sullen expression. "Oh, there's nothing really interesting about me. I'm kind of boring."

"Nonsense!" Bon-Bon had interrupted the two, revealing that she was chewing on some grass out of Fluttershy's basket. "Fluttershy, tell Talc about what you did at Ponyville."

Lyra nodded violently, as did Junebug. Junebug said, "Yeah, I'd like to hear about that from you, Fluttershy."

Talc's curiosity was now piqued. "Oh, something happened at Ponyville?"

Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably. She had told this story a couple of times, usually to larger audiences. Even simply telling it to a group such as this was unnerving to a pony like herself. "Well... it's a bit of a boring story but I suppose..." she trailed off, quickly glancing at all four members of the circle. They all eagerly awaited Fluttershy's side of it. So, Fluttershy began. "It was during the Battle of Ponyville, the second day if I remember right."





November


Ponyville



"They just kept coming... they just kept coming... they just kept coming..." The Pegasi Volunteers had occupied one end of a bridge in the town of Ponyville. The other side was the ruined east orchard of Sweet Apple Acres, with trees having been felled by artillery or massed gunfire. From that bridge, one could see all the way past the orchard and out towards the roads that led to Fillydelphia and Baltimare. Most of the artillery that had tore up the orchard came from the griffons, who had over a hundred seventy guns, plus or minus ten, of various calibers and sizes. Artillery wasn't just the bigger killer of trees however, during the night before the second day the griffons chopped down even more trees.

Talc held up a roof, signalling for a question. "Why would they do that?"

Lyra shrugged. "From my perspective, it seemed like they needed a good sight on us, and the trees got in the way."

Bon-Bon nodded, continuing to chew on the fresh picked grass. "Applejack found it pretty disagreeable though."

Talc raised an eyebrow. "What happened with Applejack?"

Lyra and Bon-Bon glanced at each other nervously, then looked back at Talc. They said simultaneously, "That's not really important right now."

The entire Army of Equestria kept the entire river guarded with their left flank anchored in Ponyville. The right flank anchored itself around the Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse in the West orchard. The ponies found themselves having to defend from Gryphonian 2nd Army's attempted large scale advances south towards the Apple farmhouse and north towards the town. The day for the Army of Equestria thus became one of sitting and waiting for the griffons to come to them and having to hold the line against their repeated assaults.

The day had ended in a slaughter for the griffons. Only about a thousand ponies were killed or wounded, compared to the near 8,500 griffons and foreign auxiliary ponies killed or wounded in the area.

And there were a lot of wounded.

As Fluttershy sat behind a makeshift wall of sandbags, she tried to drown out Raindrops' constant and shell-shocked mantra of, "They just kept coming," and the horrible haunting moans and screams of the wounded across the river. She did everything she could, she pressed her hooves against her ears, she shoved herself into her bulletridden cloak, and she had even tried taping Raindrops' mouth shut with duct tape. None of these methods worked and Fluttershy ended up right where she started, except with a now bleeding lip.

As night began falling, the regiment began settling into their cloaks for warmth in the approaching winter cold. They kept their shootsticks as close as a foal would keep a stuffed animal for comfort. Even Raindrops finally began mercifully quieting as sleep took her. Fluttershy was no exception, but unlike them, she just simply couldn't sleep. The cries of the wounded were still audible to her.

Cries of a wounded animal was nothing different to Fluttershy, but she knew that animal needed help. They squeaked, they barked, or howled in pain. Often she came to say a bird or an aardvark with a first aid kit ready and some tender loving care to boot. It was usually quite simple, recover the animal and heal it of its immediate injuries, then nurse it back to health back in her home. They do cry, but the cries stop once they are given a little love and care and even turn into squeaks of happiness.

These were not cries of wounded animals however. They were cries of wounded people. Birds cry, but not for medics or for help. Dogs bark, but not for water or medicine. Cats whimper in pain, but not for their mother.

All Fluttershy wanted was for them to stop, but she could do nothing about it. 

At least not now. So she waited, with her ears still pierced by those horrible moans of pain, until night had come completely. She quietly snuck off and grabbed as many canteens and water bottles and anything else that could hold water inside of town and stuffed them inside her kitbag. She also made sure to grab a few blankets as well. Fluttershy was no earth pony, but most earth ponies would buckle under that kind of weight.

Before Fluttershy could cross the bridge however, she was immediately bathed in the sharp light of a firefly lantern.

"Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy turned around slowly, and didn't find herself calming down at all. It was her commanding officer, Rainbow Dash.

Talc rubbed her chin. "So you and Rainbow Dash are friends?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Yeah. She wanted me to command a unit, but... I don't really want to."

"I can imagine so," Talc leaned forward, pensively gesturing to everyone in the circle. "The chains of command are quite the burden, and yet so many people think otherwise when they are not bound by it."

"Fluttershy, what are you doing?" Rainbow Dash's initial look of confusion, then turned to immediate terror. "Please tell me you aren't going to desert on me."

Fluttershy shook her head violently. "No, no. I would never do that to you, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash pointed to Fluttershy's overstuffed kitbag. "Then what's with all the water and those blankets?" Fluttershy bit her lip, finding everything in the immediate area but Rainbow Dash suddenly very interesting. A full minute passed, and Rainbow Dash patiently awaited Fluttershy's response.

Colonel Rainbow Dash knew as her position signified that it meant having to take care of her soldiers beneath her. Although she now presently wore the same armor they did and the same cloak, she bore a sword and a pistol rather than a shootstick. Fluttershy was no different to any of them, which was what worried Rainbow Dash the most. Seeing Fluttershy suddenly up and leave her post probably would have ended in a scuffle.

Instead however, it was a situation that Fluttershy expected, rehearsed in her head many times as she prepared, then suddenly found her tongue getting caught by a cat. She motioned several times as if to say something, but then recoiled back as if finding it too harsh. Fluttershy sighed, breaking the silence, then said pretty much what was on her mind. "I'm gonna cross the bridge and distribute water and blankets to the wounded."

The terrible moaning and squeals of pain didn't sound too far off, and even Rainbow Dash found herself unnerved by the experience. Nonetheless however, Rainbow Dash returned to a harsh expression and said, "You're not going out there."

What surprised Rainbow Dash, and even Fluttershy the most was Fluttershy's response. "I am."

"No you're not. What happens if some griffons are walking around out there, they'll kill you! Or worse!"

"I have to do this. They need some kind of comfort."

"Fluttershy, you're not doing this, this is final."

"But Rainbow Dash, I have to!"

"Fluttershy, I am ordering you to go back and-"

"Rainbow Dash!"

Not many people yell at their superior officers. Not many people yell at Rainbow Dash either. Rainbow's shocked face said it all for her. Fluttershy's face flushed immediately on realizing this. She stammered, "Oh, I-I'm so sorry, I didn't- I'll-I'll just go back-"

"Wait." Fluttershy stopped, and saw that Rainbow Dash was now putting a hoof around her. "Listen, Fluttershy, it's a really nice thing you're doing. Do you really know what you're doing?"

"Of course."

"And this is something you really want to do?"

"Yes!"

"And you know I can't help you. I can't even give you a white rag so the griffons know you're not fighting right?"

A little less enthusiastically, Fluttershy said, "Yes."

"Then I won't stop you." Rainbow Dash gave a slight smile to Fluttershy, then stepped back and gave off a sharp salute. Fluttershy saluted back, and with that, Rainbow Dash said, "Just make sure you come back by morning, alright?"

Talc tapped her chin. "She really let you just go?"

Fluttershy nodded. "I was quite surprised myself. I understood her reasoning though, not giving me a white flag. She was trying to talk me out of it."

Crossing the bridge was an easy ordeal. However, as she began walking out into the fields where the wounded laid, she started getting cold feet. The chances of getting shot were quite high now that Fluttershy thought about it. Just the thought of tending to a wounded griffon and then suddenly a band of not-so-hurt griffons show up and think she's looting them. She could imagine what they'd do to her if not just outright kill her. Regardless, the river had been crossed and from her perspective, there was no turning back.

The east orchard wasn't really an orchard anymore. The occasional tree still stood unscatched, but for every one tree around fifty more were completely ripped to shreds. Some chopped by axes, others torn up by artillery, and most fallen over. Fluttershy hopped and skipped over the occasional impact crater, until finally she began coming up to corpses.

The griffons had managed to come within nearly 40 yards of the bridge, and it definitely showed by the sheer amount of corpses left to rot and fest in the cold night. Most were shoulder to shoulder, as it would be if they were standing in a line getting shot to bits, and others were behind as they would if they were running from the fight. The soft haunting moans of the wounded were now very close as Fluttershy began focusing in on what sounded like the closest one.

She found a griffon, covered up by a bullet ridden blue cloak, lying on his face and his limbs splayed out onto the ground. He was groaning, rattling as if near his death throes. Fluttershy quietly stepped up to him, steeling herself for anything grotesque or otherwise horrifying. Perhaps his beak had been smashed to bits by an artillery round and all that remained was a bloody hole where his tongue hang out? Or perhaps his chest had been cut open and his intestines were soaking the ground with blood? Fluttershy threw caution to the wind and quickly turned him over.

It was a simple bulletwound, from the location Fluttershy guessed it was the lung that had been pierced. Fluttershy suddenly felt a great amount of relief wash over her, then took out a canteen from her kitbag. The griffon looked young, not much older than Fluttershy maybe, but the sorrowful and pained expression on his face made him old. The glazed over eyes barely looked over Fluttershy, then returned to staring off into the stars. Quickly, Fluttershy uncorked the canteen and brought it to his beak, and she made him drink. The griffon took the drink of water as a foal would desire a toy, but after a few sips he began coughing and wheezing. Fluttershy recoiled, nearly spilling the entire canteen. The griffon collapsed onto his back, his face strained and his previous groans now replaced with pained wheezing.

After a minute, Fluttershy quietly said to herself. "I've made it worse haven't I?"

The griffon looked over, his eyes narrowing on Fluttershy. Slowly, he shook his head and through his hacking and coughing, he said, "Thanks."

Fluttershy nodded. She left a blanket over the griffon, who accepted it gratefully, then moved on. She made sure not to step on any of the corpses or in any of the gathering pools of blood. She closed in on another wounded griffon from the sound of his weeping. He lay on his back, but Fluttershy could see immediately that he didn't even look that hurt. As she got closer, she could see he was simply lying on his back, almost relaxing, but he trembled as he wept. Fluttershy stepped up to him, and she could see what pained him so. At the base of his right wing was a bulletwound, which was yellowing and already showing signs of infection and rot. Then immediately, Fluttershy understood why this griffon wept. If he wanted to survive, that wing would have to go.

The griffon turned to her and she could see the tear soaked feathers on his face, the expression of defeat which was so pathetic that even she felt somewhat ashamed to even look at him. Without a word, Fluttershy offered him a drink from the canteen. The weeping griffon shakily accepted the canteen and took a large drink from it. After considering it, Fluttershy let him keep the canteen, and a blanket as well. The griffon, crying just a little softer now, covered himself in the cloak and the blanket. Fluttershy continued on, leaving him to himself.

"My goodness. Those were just the first two?"

"Yes. It didn't stop there however, I-... I went on. There were some very bad cases."

Fluttershy had recently given water to a griffon lying in an impact crater. The entire left side of his body had been mangled, his left arm was gone, his left wing was cut to ribbons, his left leg was broken and angled at an awkward position, and the left side of his beak was cracked like a ceramic vase. Fluttershy could only guess that he must have been the victim of a shrapnel bomb from Equestrian artillery.

Another griffon she met gurgled loudly as blood pooled out of his mouth. He lied on his back, and his frail arms were wrapped around his torn open chest, trying to keep the guts from spilling out. Fluttershy couldn't do much for him in terms of water, and simply tucked him into a blanket for warmth.

She had also met another griffon, whose eye sockets bled from being blinded by splinters. He wore a blue cloak with a silver trim to it, and instead of a metal helmet he wore a cap with an eagle badge affixed to it. He cradled the torn and bullet-ridden regimental colors in his arms, muttering somewhat madly to himself. Fluttershy had called out to him and offered him a drink of water, but he pointed a revolver at her and screamed at her to go away.

Fluttershy had been out in the field for a couple of hours now. The moaning and whining of the wounded now become cries for water. Fluttershy did her best to prioritize, she was already out of blankets and her water supply was running drastically low. She was going to need to make a trip back to resupply.

So that's what she did. When she ran out of water, she quietly called out that she would right back and that she was simply stocking on water and blankets. She quickly galloped back to her lines, and was welcomed by the amazement of her regiment for the audacity of her actions. She wasn't paying attention to them however, she simply refilled as many canteens as possible and then ran back out into the field, to the horror of her unit. Fluttershy made a note that this would probably be the last time she would need to refill her canteens. She would finish giving out water once it ran out. She'd seen enough of dying griffons.





Talc leaned back, digesting the story as Fluttershy had told it. After a minute or so, she asked, "And you only made one trip back?"

Fluttershy looked at her, slightly embarrassed, and said, "I made several actually."

"More than a dozen from what I hear," Bon-Bon chimed in. "Fluttershy didn't stop until everyone was right and quiet, and it took all night to do it. The sun was rising by the time Fluttershy was done."

"Still," Lyra added, "it's something I couldn't have done myself. I mean, seeing the enemy up close being as mangled as you, it really sucks the fight out of you. I mean, me and Bon-Bon don't like griffons definitely, but seeing a person in pain is just terrible. How did you get through it, Fluttershy?"

Talc nodded. "Yes, it is a weird thing helping the enemy.

Fluttershy hesitated in answering, but then puffed in her chest and confidentially said, "It was the right thing to do."

"Well, I really admire it, Fluttershy," said Junebug with a comforted smile. She continued on, "I really hope the war ends soon, can't imagine how I'd go through seeing any person like that."

After Fluttershy had told her story, she simply went up and left with a simple goodbye to everyone. Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Junebug continued shooting the breeze on the latest topics. One of them was the rumor that the army may move soon, which they all laughed at. Talc herself however opted out of the conversations. The story that Fluttershy told lingered in her head, and she was now regretting not asking more questions.

The simply idea of someone helping their enemy, or at the very least comforting them in their dying moments, was very strange to say the least. It wouldn't seem strange if they had a common enemy to fight in which case they'd settle their differences and band together to defeat this menace. But here in the Griffon-Equestrian War, neither side particularly liked each other very much for the longest time. The destruction of the griffon airship, the Monoceros, and the death of over 162 crewmembers on Equestrian soil who had in the past denounced Gryphonia for its imperialism served as the straw that broke the camel's back.

As Talc sat her in her modest little tent later that night, she considered typing up a letter to send to Princess Cadance. After a quick mug of mud, walnuts, and sugar that the ponies called "coffee", she pulled out her typewriter and donned her reading glasses. She began typing a letter.

To Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,

I am writing to you describe an amazing tale of kindness...