//------------------------------//
// Chapter Five: The Little Things 
// Story: Rise of the Runelords: Burnt Offerings 
// by redtau 
//------------------------------//

	Recognition for their actions the night of the goblin raid was something of a mixed blessing. Rarity had made the most of it, building herself and her friends into local celeberties and leveraging that fame into small discounts as some stores. Rainbow dash would show off her speed and skill whenever asked, though she had been thrown out of one store for nearly breaking a glass display. Applejack and Pinkie Pie seemed to take their newfound fame in stride. One downplaying the event and being humble, the other using it as a starting point to make new friends. 

Fluttershy and Twilight were the ones worst off for the popularity. Though she had come to terms, somewhat, with the killing, Fluttershy was never very good with crowds and tended to stay in her room most of the time. While Twilight was better with crowds, the constant attention made getting any research done difficult.

Of course worse than all the questions and the notice and the praise were the requests.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash got back to the White Stag just in time to to see Fluttershy slap someone.

"H-how could you?!" She asked in her hushed voice before running upstairs to their room and slamming the door.

Applejack caught the man, a somewhat familiar and well dressed figure, on the shoulder. "Ya mind telling us what that was all about?" She asked with a small hint of malice.

The well dressed man smiled at her. "Ah, sorry. I came looking for all of you but could only find her. I am Adrian Foxglove, a minor noble from Magnimar." His grin faltered slightly as neither Rainbow Dash nor Applejack showed any signs of recognition or awe he was apparently used to. "You saved me from the goblins last night, though I'm afraid my beloved pet did not survive the attack."

"Oh, you were that noble Fluttershy defended!" Rainbow Dash said, finally making the connection. "I didn't recognize you in the light and not cowering behind a dog."

Applejack elbowed her hard for that and gave her a stern look. "What did ya tell Fluttershy ta get her all flustered?"

"Er, I had invited her, all of you really, on a small outing in a few days." Adrian said. "Out to the Tickwood just east of town."

"What, for a picnic?" Applejack asked. "Can't see why she'd get all flustered, Fluttershy loves animals and nature."

"Oh." Adrian said, bowing his head. "That might explain things. I'd invited her on a boar hunt."

Rainbow Dash cringed. "Yeah, that would do it."

"Well no need to fret," Applejack said, patting Foxglove on the back. "I know a couple of local heroes who'd love to go out on a hunt with you."





Fluttershy trudged down the street, furious at herself and her friends. She didn't understand how Rainbow Dash and Applejack could actually agree to go off and hunt some poor animal. She also didn't understand the rage that had taken her the other night. 

No, not just a rage, a cold fury. Those goblins had hurt people and dogs, not out of some sensible need to eat or self defense but pure malice. Fluttershy had been forced to take life in the past. When an animal friend was too sick or wounded she had risen to her element of kindness and eased their pain. What the goblins had made her feel was not kindness.

Or was it? Was it kindness sensing it's antithesis and seeking to blot it out. Such violence and cruelty was not something she could stomach as a pony, and as a human it seemed something she simply could not stand. These goblins weren't animals that were just sick or bread to fight, they were sentient thinking creatures. They choose to hurt and kill, to revel in the bloodshed and violence.

"Um, excuse me?"

Fluttershy was startled out of her thought by a woman's soft voice. "Oh, sorry." Fluttershy answered reflexively.

"Your one of those women who saved the town from all those goblins aren't you?" The woman asked. Fluttershy nodded, looking at the woman. She was young and pretty, her red hair seeming to halo her face and her pain dress accentuating her feminine form subtly. "This is kind of an odd thing to ask but, do you think you could help me? My father, Vin Vender, owns the general store on the south side of town. There have been odd little thefts and scurrying noises in the store room under the shop, I think it might be rats."

Fluttershy brightened. This sounded like something she could do. After all, talking to animals was her specialty. "Of course I'll help." She said.

The woman smiled a dazzling smile. "Thank you miss...?"

"Fluttershy."

"Shyliss Vender." They shook hands.





Fluttershy descended into the basement with her staff glowing like a torch. She had discovered a habit of meditating on nature each morning and preparing her spells and energy for each day. Today she had woken up wanting to talk to some of the local pets, and was now hopping her Charm Animal spell could be applied to hungry rats. Shyliss followed close behind, sticking close to her and glancing around. A few storm lanterns fixed to pilliars brightened the store room. Fluttershy cast about for sighns of rodents, footprints or droppings or even a scent of urine. The room was remakably clean and free of any such signs.

As Fluttershy rounded the corner she found a small mattress set up on the ground. The bed was well made and covered in a dozen soft pillows.

"Um, is someone sleeping down here?" Fluttershy asked.

"My sister sometimes sneaks off with her lover sometimes." Shyliss said, suddenly very close behind Fluttershy. "But I put the bed down here because I thought we might have a bit of fun."

Fluttershy spun around, tripping and falling onto the bed as she did so. "Um, wait, I, no, you see, um" Fluttershy fought for ground, backing up to the far side of the bed as the young woman persued her.

"Come on Fluttershy, " She said in a husky voice, "Just think of it as a reward for your heroics."

Fluttershy's hand came up defnesively. 

"Flare!"

There was a flash of light and Shyliss fell back in shock covering her eyes. She blinked and rubbed them, trying to banish the spots. When her vision finally cleared, Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. 

There was a roughly Fluttershy shaped lump under the covers, and a soft sobbing sound in the air.

"Fluttershy?"

The lump froze.

"Well this isn't what I was expecting. I thought you adventurer types had a lover or two in every town."

"I- I didn't think it would be like this either." Fluttershy whimpered. "I had to-  to-"

"What?"

"I'm a murderer!" Fluttershy started wailing.

Shyliss jumped back. "A murderer?!"

"I killed those goblins!"

That seemed to bring Shyliss up short. "But- but they were goblins!" she said.

"No!" Fluttershy cried. "That isn't an excuse. That can't be an excuse. They could just as easily have said you're human."

Shyliss frowned. This was not what she had expected. She wasn't sure if she had expected to go all the way with this new hero, but consoling her on her heroics was definitely not in Shyliss's plans. Still, Shyliss wasn't heartless.

Fluttershy shuddered slightly as an arm was wrapped around her, but Shyliss only pulled her over and shushed her. "They were goblins," Shyliss repeated, trying to find a way to talk the newcomer around. "They- they have always been a threat around here, harassing caravans or raiding farms. They see us the same way a cat might see mice-"

"I've seen cats and mice get along." Fluttershy said.

"But not feral cats and wild mice. Goblins see themselves as better than everyone else, even if they can't prove it. They see people like you and me as slaves at best and food at worst. The ones who attacked us yesterday are killers, far beyond anything you did to defend us."

"They were killers." Fluttershy agreed, nodding a bit. "This- this probably wasn't the first time they had tried to kill somep- someone. But I just can't believe that they are all bad, and I can't believe-" She stuttered to a halt.

"Maybe if you found a very young goblin you might be able to teach it different." Shyliss  said. "If you-"

"SHYLISS!" a deep voice boomed into the cellar. "ARE YOU DOWN HERE?!"

Shyliss sat upright and completely still. Her father had come to find her a lot faster than she thought he would. For a brief moment she was glad things had not gone as planned with Fluttershy, as they would have certainly been in a difficult to explain position. As it was, her father came around the corner to find her and Fluttershy merely sitting on a cot.

"Shyliss! What are you doing down here? Who is this?"

Shyliss stuttered, startled by her father. "This is um- Fluttershy. She- she was one of the heroes who helped with the goblins."

"What is she doing down here?" Vin asked suspiciously.

"Y-y-your daugter thought she saw rats down here." Fluttershy said. "Since I'm a druid I thought I could help while my friends are off h-h-hunting down some poor, innocent boar." Fluttershy sniffled.

"I was trying to comfort her a bit." Shyliss said as she reached out and put an arm around Fluttershy's shoulders, comforting her. 

Vin harumphed loudly and let his shoulders slouch. "Shyliss is a good girl with a good head on her shoulders. I wish her older sister would listen to her advice." A thought struck him and his ire started to work up again. "THAT'S WHAT THE COT IS FOR ISN'T IT?! WHEN I GET AHOLD OF YOUR SISTER AND THAT NO ACCOUNT-"

"Father!" Shyliss warned, nodding meaningfully at Fluttershy who had covered her ears and was cowering from the big man's shouting. "Maybe we can discuss my sister another time."

Vin nodded, and stepped aside so Shyliss could lead Fluttershy out.





Twilight glanced nervously around the table at her friends. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were chatting about the boar hunt a few days ago, Rarity pumping them for more information about the "Charming Adrian Foxglove." Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were talking about life around town. 

Twilight cleared her throat and the conversation died down. "So we've been here almost a week and what do we have to show for it?" 

"The local animals seem friendly, but they don't have any real idea about evil wizards." Fluttershy said. "They do seem worried about something, but it is too.... instinctual to really articulate."

"Local history has been somewhat tough to come by."  Rarity said. "We were right when we first got to town, some bad stuff has gone down. About five years ago there was a serial killer. The night after they caught him, the church burned down with the head priest and his daughter inside."

"Ah been talking to the sheriff and the guards." Applejack said. "Goblins have always been troublesome, hitting caravans and raiding farms but nothing as big as the raid. They've spent most of last week picking the last few goblin corpses outa their hidey holes."

"Public opinion of us is pretty good." Pinkie said. "Bashing baddies here is better than throwing parties. Rainbow's been offered food by about half the bakers in town, and the nice weapons lady told us she'd give us a 20% discount."

"I don't suppose we could apply that on previous purchases." Rarity asked, looking pointedly at the expensive weapons and armor Applejack insisted on wearing everywhere.

Twilight nodded. "Did you find out anything Rainbow Dash?"

"There are a couple of things that are strange. I mean, strange for this place." Rainbow shook her head. "The weather is all like the Everfree, everything seems just so wild. But there are a couple of things in town that don't fit. That stone foundation on the north end called the old light is way older than the town. Most people in town say it's the remains of an ancient lighthouse but one person seems to think it was an old wizard's tower of some kind."

Twilight nodded. "That might be worth looking into. Is there-"

The door to the inn's common room slammed open and a woman rushed in with a screaming bundle wrapped tightly in her arms. 

"Help!" She cried, scanning the room with paicked eyes before fixing on Twilight and her friends. She ran over and laid her bundle on the table. "Please! You have to help my baby!"

The crying child writhed on the table, and Twilight paled at the sight of all the blood. The boy's left arm had almost been chewed to the bone, and with the size of the marks there could be no doubt.

These were bites from a goblin.