//------------------------------// // Recovery // Story: Upheaval: Breaking Point // by Visiden Visidane //------------------------------// Upheaval: Breaking Point Chapter 12: Recovery The long retreat to Bastion City was the most draining and oppressive journey the survivors of Fangbreaker had ever taken. The distance itself was not great, neither was the speed that they were traversing it as the wolven had not given chase. It was the weight of defeat that hung over them that sapped their strength. It felt like a dark cloud that blotted out even the stars. Eventually, orders to stop for the night were passed. Sentries were quickly posted while several ponies collapsed in sheer exhaustion. Even as tents and campfires began to appear, there were still pegasi flying in with wounded. Everything had been a flurry of activity when they had been under attack. It started with the horde of wolven gathering in front of Fangbreaker. The tense vigil quickly turned into a confused and desperate battle when a massive explosion shattered the innermost gates. When legionnaires came running to respond, all they saw was a thick bank of black smoke roiling from the courtyard towards the second gates. Another explosion followed, then two pairs of gates had been reduced to blazing wreckage. Everypony flung what they could at the smoke: spells, arrows…a few even charged in. Nothing had worked. Those who had run in never came out. When the outer gates collapsed into a burning ruin, the wolven charged in. What followed soon after was carnage that would haunt those who survived it. Something worse than fatigue had also caught up with the survivors; they had lost their fortress. The Legion had defended Fangbreaker for more than a thousand years. Generation after generation of their ancestors had proudly kept the wolven at bay through its walls, and it was their generation that had failed. More than a few ponies were beginning to wonder if death in Fangbreaker's defense was a better fate than facing the shame of losing it. Worse, so many died trying to hold it long enough for the others to retreat. With Fangbreaker fallen, the wolven had a foothold into Equestria itself. The northern front could start to split apart at the seams. With all these things troubling the survivors, it was no surprise that nopony paid much heed to the group of ponies that had just joined them. If they had, it would have been a strange sight indeed. Among the legionnaires walked five chosen ponies led by a Special Operations captain who had just recently been reported dead. Vanguard Clash led Twilight's friends past the sentries. They trudged on slowly, even Rainbow, who had been the most energetic among them. The way they were constantly glancing around told him what else weighed in their minds. "Let's get to the medics," he told them. "Twilight should be there." They nodded. More out of necessity than anything else. They had just survived a battle against monsters that they had no idea existed. They were lost, and surrounded by strangers in a land thousands of miles from anywhere they knew. He was the only pony around they could remotely trust. They were holding up well, however. Perhaps concern for Twilight blotted out their other worries. Vanguard was worried as well. It should be easy enough to spot where the medics had stationed. All he had to look for was where the squads of pegasi were carrying their stretchers to. The makeshift ward turned up to be near the center of the camp. They stared at a veritable sea of stretchers and makeshift beds. Moans and cries of pain mixed with orders being shouted as a small group of ponies in white coats moved from one injured pony to another. The air smelled strongly of blood, burned flesh, and brandy. A barrage of swearing and scolding from a furious stallion rose above the pained cries. Vanguard turned towards Twilight's friends. "Looks like Redbrand made it out alive," he said. "Try not to get underhoof, or he'll kick you out of camp." They searched the ward for Twilight while staying clear of the medics. Finally, they spotted her near the edge of the ward. Spike had also noticed them, and was waving both claws in the air. "About time you got here!" Spike said. "I thought something bad happened to you on the way!" "How's Twilight?" Vanguard asked. "I'll be fine," was the weak reply. Twilight lay on a makeshift bed which was barely more than a thin piece of canvas. Her shoulder had been tightly wrapped in bandages. Her friends quickly surrounded her. "You sure you're alright?" Applejack asked "I was so worried!" Pinkie added. "I'm alright," Twilight replied. "I'm sorry I made you all worry." "You're darn tootin' right we worried!" Applejack said. "Just what were you thinking jumping in front of those monsters, girl?" "You gotta admit, it was pretty cool!" Rainbow Dash said. "Cool and stupid," Applejack retorted. "You better not be thinking of trying it out, Rainbow!" "She can't," Pinkie said. "She can't make things float!" "How did things go when you got here?" Vanguard asked Spike. "Did her cutie mark cause some trouble?" "No," Spike said. "The doctor yelled at Twilight for getting hurt, though. When he found out who bandaged her, he yelled at me. Then he yelled at one of his assistants for using too much bandages when they replaced the ones I put." "He only yelled at you?" Vanguard asked. "He's in a surprisingly good mood after all this." Watching her friends brought a smile to Twilight. She looked past her friends and towards Vanguard while he stayed at the edge of the circle they formed. "Looks like I owe you my life again," she said. "Do you?" Vanguard asked. He approached Twilight, her friends parting to let him see her. Twilight nodded, and tried to muster a smile. "Yes." Her eyes narrowed. "Are you alright? You look like you're about to collapse." "Then set my mind at ease so I can rest," Vanguard replied. "Why have you come back to this place?" The smile disappeared from Twilight's face. She cast her gaze downwards. "Come back to this place?" Applejack asked. "You mean you've been here before?" The question came as a surprise. So Twilight's friends didn't even know why she was banished? A small part of Vanguard considered their banishment resulting from her recklessness foolhardy, but, for the most part, he admired their loyalty. As strong as Twilight may be, she would not be able to endure the crushing loneliness of exile by herself. "When I disappeared the last time, I ended up in this place," Twilight told Applejack. She faced Vanguard as she continued. "I broke Prince Terrato's memory lock. Afterwards, I tried to get Princess Celestia to tell everypony about the Barrier Lands." Her voice lowered. "She refused, and asked me to go through another memory lock. When I refused…she banished me." "Then we went along with her," Rainbow Dash added. "There was no way we were letting Twilight be banished by herself!" The answer all but knocked the breath from Vanguard. His legs finally gave way, forcing him to fall to his knees. "You idiot," he said softly, "why would you do such a thing?" Spike tried to support him as he fell, but he was too heavy for the small dragon. Twilight's eyes widened. "It was the right thing to do! Isn't that why you gave me that emblem?" "So he gave you that thing," Spike muttered. He undid some of the latches that kept Vanguard's champron in place, and let the piece fall to the ground. Vanguard's lips settled into a grim line. Twilight and her friends did their best to hide their reactions, but he had gotten pretty good at spotting the discomfort he provoked. His gray coat and curly black mane would not be issues; his eyes were a different matter. They were slit, and so brightly red that they gave the impression of glowing in the dark. The bandages wrapped around his head, a portion of his lower jaw, and his neck were also plain to see. "You are hurt," Twilight said. "Princess Celestia has had more than a thousand years to entrench herself in her position," Vanguard said. "Did you really think you could move her by talking?" Twilight's scowl deepened. "It wasn't a matter of whether I could make her change her mind," she said. "Somepony still had to say something. I thought that you'd appreciate that I still tried!" "Your life has been ruined, Twilight Sparkle, and I am to blame. I missed the part where I should be jumping with joy." "Don't martyr yourself!" Twilight snapped. She refused to meet Vanguard's gaze. "I had plenty of chances to walk away, but I didn't. I'm here because I chose to be here." Both of them became silent. After a few more awkward moments, Rarity cleared her throat. "Well…" she said. "There's really nothing to be done about that. What's done is done. Perhaps we should start thinking about what's going to happen to us now?" Vanguard turned his attention to Twilight's friends. "The Barrier Lands are your home now," he told them. "You might have noticed that it's under attack. I suggest that you help defend it." As if on cue, they heard the long, dolorous howls of the wolven coming from the distant fortress. "Has anyone seen Fluttershy?" Pinkie asked. All of them looked around in alarm. Fluttershy was gone. Seeing that Twilight was fine brought a great deal of much needed relief to Fluttershy. Everything had been going so terribly today: being banished, Twilight getting hurt, seeing ponies…die. It was almost more than she could bear. "Coming through!" somepony called out. Fluttershy edged closer to her friends as a pair of stretcher-bearing pegasi flew past her. Another pegasus was lay on the stretcher, moaning while he raised a badly bent foreleg in the air. "Oh my," she said. She flew over to take a closer look. "What happened to him?" One of the carriers squinted at her before replying. "Bolter clipped one of his wings, ma'am. He crashed just outside the fort. He's lucky we found him." Fluttershy flew over to the injured pony's side. The bones in his leg had snapped. They would have to be properly set in a splint if he was ever going to use the leg again. She spotted a roll of bandages on the ground nearby. Nopony seemed to have noticed it, just as nopony seemed to have noticed the newly-arrived patient. The ponies running the ward were clearly understaffed and swamped with work. If she didn't help this pony, he would probably have to wait for a while with his broken leg. "Do you have something we can use for a splint?" she asked the two pegasi. "Uh…you can use this leather sheath," one of them said. "I was going to have it replaced anyway. It's a bit worn." He unfastened a short blade from his harness and unsheathed it, offering the sheath to Fluttershy. The leather casing was just long and hard enough to be useful. Fluttershy went to work. "This is going to hurt a little, okay?" she told the injured pegasus soothingly. He nodded and grit his teeth as she set the bone in place. Once that was done, she put the splint in place, wrapping the leg carefully. "We'll just set him over there," one of the pegasus carriers said. They flew the newly-bandaged pony over to the long line of laid out patients. Pleased with her success, Fluttershy was about to rejoin her friends when she heard somepony shouting. "You there! Pink-mane! Get over here!" Fluttershy looked around to see who was yelling. One of the ponies working in the ward was looking at her and shouting. She pointed to herself and looked at him curiously, silently asking if he meant her. "Yes, you!" the pony shouted. "Get your ridiculously flowery mane over here!" Fluttershy flew over to him. The pony who had been calling her was a dark brown earth pony with a short very dark blue mane that he kept slick and brushed up so that it stuck to his neck and out of his face. He was standing next to another pegasus who was laid up on the ground. To Fluttershy's horror, a large piece of wood stuck out of the pegasus's flank. Thick gobs of blood oozed from the wound. She tore her eyes away and faced the stallion. "Y-yes?" she asked. "I'm going to pull that bolt out," the stallion said. "You see that piece of metal I've been heating over there?" He pointed to a small fire nearby. One end of a long, rectangular bar of metal had been placed over it. "Take the heated end and cauterize the wound before he bleeds out." "C-cauterize?" she asked. "Yes, cauterize!" he snapped. "Do it while I hold him down. This idiot's a real bucker. He'll go nuts once he feels his flank is on fire. Take the brand and burn the wound shut before it makes a damn puddle in my ward! Are you ready?" He put a hoof over the bolt and looked at her. "N-no…" Fluttershy squeaked as she tried to slowly back out. "That brand's going to stick to his flank or it's going up yours, filly," the stallion snarled. "He's going to die while you stutter, so move it!" Fluttershy nearly bolted. Blinking away tears, she picked up the cold end of the brand with her mouth. As soon as she approached, the stallion pulled the bolt out. Blood spurted from the wound and the injured pony grunted in pain. Fluttershy's stomach violently protested. The brand wobbled in her mouth while she desperately tried to keep it together. "Do it!" the stallion shouted. Fluttershy suppressed the urge to close her eyes, and stuck the white-hot end to the wound. The blood around it started to sizzle. The wounded pegasus struggled violently while the stallion held him down. "Keep it in there until you smell him roasting, pink-mane!" the stallion shouted. As soon as awful stench of burned flesh hit Fluttershy's nostrils, she let the brand go. The piece of metal fell to the ground with a clatter. The stallion let go of the pegasus to pick the brand up. "Don't waste a heated brand, pink-mane," he said, "we might have more cauterizing to do. Bandages are almost gone." "I'm gonna get you for lighting my flank on fire, filly," the wounded pegasus hissed between his teeth. The stallion smacked the pegasus's head with a hoof. "Shut your prince-damned mouth, Updraft!" he snapped. "You wouldn't be here if you weren't parading your giant flank for the wolven to shoot at!" "Can I at least get a mouthful from that flask you've got there?" Updraft asked weakly. "You just threatened one of my assistants, feather-head, I wouldn't give you my piss in a cup." Still grumbling, Updraft settled down. The stallion turned towards Fluttershy. "Name's Redbrand," he said. "I'm in charge Fangbreaker's medical staff. Or what's left of it anyway. Who are you?" "M-my name is Fluttershy." "Speak up, you wallflower! I can't hear you over all the moaning!" "It's Fluttershy!". "Take this kit then, Fluttershy," Redbrand said as he handed a small suitcase to her. "We've got a long night ahead of us." The medical ward eventually settled down. The squads of pegasi stopped flying in and the injured went to sleep. Among them, two ponies were laid up next to each other. With her bound up shoulder, Twilight stared up at the sky, studying the stars that she had just realized were the same as the ones in the Heartland. Spike was nestled against her, dozing away. A foot away from her was Vanguard Clash. His armor had been removed, revealing the extent of his injuries. His entire torso was wrapped in bandages. How he even managed to stay standing for so long was a mystery. One of the medics had removed the bandages to see what had happened, giving her a view of burned patches all along one side of his coat. "So what happened to you?" Twilight asked. She avoided looking at Vanguard. She was still a little cross at him for calling her an idiot. "Pyre and I got into a little disagreement about me giving you my emblem," Vanguard replied. "The burns came with her witty rebuttal." Twilight looked at Vanguard to see if he was just joking. He wasn't. The image of an angry Pyre Valor hurling a fireball came to her mind. Would even the combative unicorn attack her own captain? "It's my fault then," she said. "I'm sorry." "Don't martyr yourself," he replied. They fell silent. Twilight's friends huddled together at a distance. When they saw Fluttershy helping out in the ward, they decided to leave her be. Especially since the pony in charge was constantly yelling and looked like he would kick their faces off if they bothered anypony in the ward. "Twilight," Vanguard said. "What is it?" "I'm sorry that you and your friends have been banished and that your return is just in time to see the start of the worst crisis the Northern Legion's faced for hundreds of years." "I've already told you, that's--" "-but I am glad to see you again." Twilight kept a smile from spreading across her muzzle and settled for stargazing once more. "Let's just get some sleep," she said. She realized that the night would be over soon and tomorrow would mark her first day as part of the Barrier Lands.