“And how is the patient today?” an almost motherly voice asked, that was the first thing I heard as I began to come around. “Her little friend was asking after her again.”
“She seems to be doing well,” a soft voice replied, sounding hopeful. “Her injuries are healing and she’s recovering quickly, I expect she’ll wake very soon.”
“That’s wonderful!” the first voice declared. “Let me know if anything changes, and when she wakes up, be sure to give her anything she desires.”
I heard the sounds of fading hoofsteps and assumed the owner of the first voice had left, where she had left, and by extension where I still was, that was still a mystery to me. I wanted to open my eyes, but I felt so relaxed where I lay in what felt like a bed woven from clouds. I felt like opening my eyes would be an indication that I was no longer tired and I would be forced to leave the comfort of the cloud bed.
“Oh my,” the soft voice exclaimed. “Are you waking up?”
I winced, realising I’d been caught out.
“Oh! I’m sorry,” the voice said suddenly. “Please don’t be upset with me, you can go back to sleep, I’ll just pretend I didn’t see you waking up.”
This mare was starting to confuse me, and my curiosity at what was going on was starting to heavily outweigh my desire to rest. I opened my eyes, turning my head to look at the pony who was talking to me. She wore a stark white cassock, with tight fitting sleeves for her front legs and a high collar, she also wore a mantel that was short at the front but long over her back, emblazoned with the sun and cross of the Celestial Sisterhood. This pony was clearly a sister, which meant I was residing in the Bask, but I turned my attention to the pony herself.
She was a butter yellow pegasus, with a long, flowing mane and tail the colour of cherry blossoms. She appeared to be rather thin, very delicate and slight in her frame. Her blue eyes were wide and inquisitive, looking back at me with a mixture of concern and… admiration?
“Oh, you are awake,” she continued. “That’s good, I wanted to ask how you were feeling.”
“I’m…” I began, frowning as I remembered what happened.
We were attacked by those bandits, I was cut open and beaten, Applejack was struck down. I was sure we were going to die, but then…
“I’m… fine,” I replied honestly, despite what had happened to me I felt no pain as I lay there looking up at the sister. “But Applejack… Autumn… Are they alright?”
“Oh, they’re both fine,” the sister informed me. “Applejack woke up yesterday, she asked the exact same thing about you both.”
“Yesterday…” I repeated, that being the only part of what she said I could focus on. “How long have I been here?”
“Only two days,” the sister replied. “You’ve recovered very quickly, both of you, faster than most ponies that come in here with those kinds of injuries.”
“So Autumn got here alright?” I asked.
“Yes, she did,” the sister confirmed. “She’s over in a different building, don’t worry, she’s being looked after by the best we have to offer.”
“That’s good,” I said in a relieved tone. “After everything that’s happened to her, I’m glad she can finally get some peace.”
“Yes, she was telling us about what happened,” the sister stated in an odd tone as she pulled a chair up beside my bed and sat on it. “She told us about what happened in Pivot, it sounded… awful, those poor ponies. But she also told us what you did, how you and your friends saved her and a number of others. You looked after them and treated them at Applejack’s farm, and then you both brought her here, and even stayed to fight those terrible ponies so that she could reach here safely.”
“Oh, she told you all that,” I replied awkwardly, not meeting the sister’s intense gaze.
“She did,” the sister continued, sounding ecstatic. “She also said you sometimes fight with the Rebels, but that you only do missions that help other ponies.”
“I try to…” I said in an uncomfortable tone.
“That’s so… so…” the sister tried to say, searching for the best word. “Noble.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” I told her. “My hooves aren’t exactly clean; I’ve done things that you’d probably consider bad, perhaps downright evil.”
“But you don’t consider them to be bad,” the sister stated confidently.
“Excuse me?” I uttered, a little taken a back.
“Sorry,” she said quickly, shrinking back and hiding behind her mane. “I’m just saying because… the way you talk about it, it sounds… resigned, like you were only doing what you felt you had to.”
“That’s…” I began, unsure how to respond to that. “Really intuitive.”
“Thank you,” the sister replied before quickly adding. “I mean, sorry.”
“No, no, it’s absolutely fine,” I assured her. “I’ve been confused about it all for a while anyway.”
“That’s okay, it’s okay to feel confused sometimes,” the sister told me. “I should probably go and tell the High Priestess you’re awake, she wanted me to let her know as soon as you were. I can let Applejack know as well if you’d like.”
“That would be much appreciated,” I said, lying my head back down on the pillow. “Thank you sister.”
“Please, just call me Fluttershy,” she insisted.
“Oh, alright,” I replied, unsure whether I was even allowed to address a sister of the Celestial Sisterhood by her name. “Well Fluttershy, my name is Rarity; it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“Likewise,” Fluttershy said, giving a small bow of the head before leaving the room.
The room I was in was very neat, a square patterned rug in the centre of the floor, matching curtains. There was a bedside table with a lamp on it, and a desk against the wall opposite the window. Upon the desk, all my clothes were folded and my equipment was laid out, even my weapons, which they had managed to recover from the hill where they found us. That raised an important question in my head; lifting the bed covers I found that my entire midriff was bandaged up. My left foreleg that had taken the first hit was not covered in any way, but nor did it hurt to move it; I could feel a slight twinge, but nothing major.
However there was still one injury that I needed to see to, and it was probably the one I was most dreading. Forcing myself out of bed and once again being surprised by how little everything hurt, I made my way across the room to the opposite corner where a wash basin sat with a full length mirror. I knew exactly where I had been struck in the jaw, and yet as I looked at my reflection, I saw absolutely nothing that would suggest the attack had ever occurred. I shouldn’t have been surprised, as I did plenty of talking with Fluttershy and didn’t feel any pain in my jaw, but I still managed to be.
I recalled what Fluttershy had said about Applejack and I recovering unusually quickly, I chose to ignore it for the time being, it being much easier to believe that the Sisterhood just worked wonders. It was at that moment, while I stood admiring my still dazzling face in the mirror, that the door opened and Fluttershy returned, this time with another pony in tow. This new pony wore similar clothes to Fluttershy, but they were closer to robes as they were much more flowing and loose. She had a pink tone coat, and her mane was varying shades of purple and blue and was done up in a high pony tail with a flat fringe hanging down around her horn.
“Oh good, you’re up,” she greeted in the same motherly voice I heard when I first woke up. “But what’s this, you’re out of bed? Sister Fluttershy, why is our new friend out of bed?”
I quickly picked up on how stern her voice became when she began questioning Fluttershy, and I also saw how the pegasus shrank under her gaze.
“Oh, it’s not her fault,” I said quickly. “I got up after she left; I just wanted to look in the mirror.”
“If that’s all you required then you should have simply asked it of Sister Fluttershy,” the mare replied, addressing me with her original motherly tone. “She has been tasked to look after you, and she will do so without question or complaint.”
“It’s okay really,” I tried to say, feeling a bit put off by this new mares over cheeriness. “I’m feeling great; I don’t need anypony looking after me Sister…”
“Oh! Where are my manners?” the mare said suddenly as I drifted off. “I am High Priestess Starlight Glimmer, but you can just call me Starlight.”
“Uh, sure,” I replied, finding it even more bizarre to call the High Priestess by her name. “But the thing is, I feel great. Really, I owe you all so much, but I need to see my friend and we need to be on our way soon. She’s probably needed back on the farm and I’m… needed there too.”
“Well of course you can see your friend,” Starlight informed me, still sounding overly delighted. “But you must stay so that we can monitor your conditions, at least until tomorrow. You came to us in a very bad shape, you’ve improved greatly, but we would be remiss to let you leave without being absolutely sure that you’re fit to travel.”
“Well…” I began, thinking it was fair enough. “Sure, tomorrow sounds agreeable. So can I see Applejack now?”
“Certainly, if you would like to follow me this way,” Starlight invited, leading the way out of the room.
I followed Starlight from the room into a similarly decorated corridor with Fluttershy right behind me, we only travelled down a few doors before we stopped at one and Starlight walked straight in without knocking. Following her in, I found a room almost identical to my own, only the desk was cluttered with Applejack’s possessions and the bed looked like it had been hardly slept in. Applejack herself was standing by the window, looking agitated as she leant on the sill with her hooves, staring out at the beautiful countryside view.
“Applejack, you aren’t sleeping,” Starlight pointed out, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Applejack turned to look at her, but immediately forgot she was there when she saw me.
“Rarity!” she exclaimed, rushing right past Starlight Glimmer to hug me. “You’re okay! They wouldn’t let me see you until you woke up.”
“It’s good to see you too Applejack,” I replied. “Did they hurt you badly?”
“Uh… they didn’t go easy on me that’s for sure,” she replied uncomfortably.
I looked her up and down, but she looked no worse for wear, much like myself. Starlight Glimmer coughed noticeably to draw our attention back to her; I noticed she was looking rather put off at being ignored.
“Well I’m glad you’re both happy,” she said, although she didn’t sound glad. “I will leave you be for now, I have other duties to attend to. Sister Fluttershy, take Miss Rarity back to her room when she has been sufficiently reunited with her friend.”
“Of course High Priestess,” Fluttershy replied, giving a much more pronounced bow as Starlight Glimmer left the room.
“You should go on now Sugarcube,” Applejack said in an annoyed tone. “She’ll get her nark on if you stay too long; she certainly did when I tried seeing Autumn for more than five minutes.”
“She said we could leave tomorrow,” I informed her.
“Thank goodness!” Applejack said sounding relieved. “This place is like paradise, but that High Priestess gives me the…”
She stopped suddenly when she remembered Fluttershy was still in the room, who quickly pretended not to be listening.
“Anyway, you go on and get some rest,” Applejack told me. “We’ll head home tomorrow.”
I said farewell and left Applejack’s room, Fluttershy still in tow. I walked down to my room door, but hesitated as I reached for the handle, Fluttershy looked at me with concern.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“It’s just…” I began. “Now that I’m up, I don’t fancy sitting in a room all day. I’d like to go for a walk, see more the Bask, if that’s alright.”
I looked over at Fluttershy hopefully, who bit her lip in response, clearly torn on what to do.
“I don’t know that the High Priestess would like that very much, but…” Fluttershy murmured in a quiet voice. “She did say to do whatever you desired.”
She quickly glanced around her, up and down the corridor to make sure there was nopony else around.
“I think we could go for a walk,” she agreed, giving a strained smile.
We left the building and entered a small courtyard, there were a few other sisters walking about, they all greeted us warmly, they probably assumed I had every right to walk around with Fluttershy. Fluttershy led the way, while she did, I followed and took in the sights. The Bask really was beautiful, even more so now that I was walking about it and seeing it all up close. Everything looked so clean and meticulously maintained, it had the most serene atmosphere of any place I had ever visited, I could easily see why so many mares chose to come here to give birth.
Fluttershy took me through a few small courtyards and walkways, finally arriving at a wall with an arch cut out of it, overlooking the lands outside the Bask. There was a walkway that ran parallel with the wall and the archway, and it allowed us to stand over a section of exposed rock with a stream and waterfall trickling out through the archway and down the crag into the river. Fluttershy stopped and waited for me to take it all in, it was only when I saw her trying to stifle her giggles, that I realised I was standing with my mouth hanging open in awe.
“Sorry,” I said quickly, embarrassed that I had been caught looking so undignified by my new friend.
“It’s quite alright,” Fluttershy assured me. “It really is something, it’s hard not be awestruck. I come here whenever I want to feel at peace… well, more so than usual. At least, I used to come here… I don’t so much anymore.”
“Why not?” I asked, unsure what reason anypony could have to not want to stand there for hours on end and simply take in the world.
“I stood here once…” Fluttershy began. “During the war… I saw a battle take place in those very fields. I saw… so many ponies lose their lives, and even more struck down and left to die slowly, and I was forbidden from going to help them.”
“That’s… awful,” I replied honestly, but also confused. “But why didn’t the Crusaders step in, like they did when they saved us?”
“Because you weren’t soldiers,” Fluttershy explained. “You were just normal ponies who were being unfairly ganged up on outside our front gates, the Crusaders wouldn’t tolerate that. Soldiers on the other hand… as far as the Crusaders are concerned, they accept their fate when they joined the fight, if they come to us we’ll help them, but we aren’t allowed to go to them.”
“I can’t understand that,” I said, shaking my head. “Your Sisterhood wants to help ponies, but they refuse to go to where those ponies are? What about those who can’t get here to receive help?”
“Yeah…” Fluttershy agreed with a sigh, looking away into the distance.
“I’m sorry,” I said earnestly. “I didn’t mean anything against you or your group.”
“No, it’s fine,” Fluttershy jumped in quickly. “I know we aren’t perfect… far from it.”
We stood in silence for a long time, the pair of us simply closing our eyes and breathing in and out. I was glad the rain held off that day, although the clouds were heavy in the sky. After a while, we heard someone calling over to Fluttershy, she noticeably flinched when she heard her name, but relaxed when she saw it was just a fellow sister.
“Sister Fluttershy,” the other mare began, standing several metres from us. “Will you be joining us for dinner tonight?”
“No, I’m looking after a patient,” Fluttershy replied, the other sister nodding understandably before leaving.
As Fluttershy turned back to the view, she let out a sigh of relief.
“Um, Fluttershy…” I began, aware what I was about to ask might be uncomfortable for her. “What exactly is the deal with Starlight Glimmer?”
Fluttershy froze at the mention of the name, panic in her eyes.
“Wrong?” she repeated hastily. “Nothing’s wrong with her, she’s a very lovely pony and she cares very deeply about everypony else.”
“But…” I invited, knowing there was more she wasn’t saying.
Fluttershy gave another sigh, slumping over the stone railing in resignation.
“But she treats us like foals,” Fluttershy continued. “You, me, Applejack, Everypony. It’s like she doesn’t trust us to look after ourselves.”
“I was wondering why she was so annoyed when me and Applejack weren’t in bed,” I muttered.
“Sometimes I think she would remake the world entirely out of bubble wrap,” Fluttershy mused with a smirk. “She didn’t take the war well; I think it just reinforced the idea that ponies can’t be trusted with their own safety in her mind. She used to be alright, but now she’s… she’s… oh I shouldn’t be talking about the High Priestess like this.”
“Fluttershy,” I cut in. “What were you going to call her?”
Fluttershy took a deep breath before finishing her sentence.
“Overbearing,” she stated. “Overbearing and controlling.”
“Well, if you don’t like being pushed around and treated like a child,” I began in a firm voice. “Why don’t you leave, there’s so much more to the world and ponies who could use your help.”
“I’ve often thought about it,” Fluttershy admitted. “But this is still my home, these ponies are my family. If I left I would be excommunicated and never allowed to return.”
“Oh…” I uttered, realising just how devastating that would be for her. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” she replied, obviously lying. “I meet so many nice ponies coming in and out of here, and I hear lots of stories about the world.”
“Do you want to hear some stories?” I asked, seeing Fluttershy’s eyes brighten up instantly. “Because the last month has given me plenty of stories to tell.”