//------------------------------// // Secret Meeting - Confession of a Broken Soul // Story: Path of Kindness and Blood // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// Path of Kindness and Blood - Chapter 6 Secret Meeting Part 5 - Confession of a Broken Soul “F-Fluttershy!” Rarity shouted as the holes decorating the cottage caught her attention. Noticing bolts covered in blood lying on the grass and dirt did nothing to ease her worries. She galloped into the building and stopped in front of a sleeping mare whose head was pressed against a dead body’s fur, a bolt was sticking out of his chest. “Fluttershy!” Rarity shouted again, this time louder than before. After not receiving any reaction, she slowly approached and examined her friend who was sleeping deeply. The floor and fur of the spy were wet, most likely from her tears. One quick look around the room told her that something horrible must have happened. Worried, Rarity raised her foreleg and gently poked Fluttershy’s shoulder. “W-wake up, darling. Please. You are worrying me.” The pureblood just shifted, but her sleep was still deep. “Whoa. Somepony here sure knows how to party,” Vinyl said as she entered through the hole in the wall. The room quickly filled with guests as Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis entered as well, flanked by two guards. Rarity looked between Fancy Pants and the corpse of his spy before raising forehoof to her mouth a moment later. “I know what you are thinking, Lord Fancy Pants, but that is impossible. The Fluttershy I know would never take a life. She is too innocent.” Fancy Pants approached and knelt. His horn flashed in a mix between white and black as it touched Fluttershy’s head. Once the spell was cast, he stood up and said, “Forgive me for interrupting your peaceful sleep, young lady, especially after such an eventful night, but I wish to know the details of the events that befell my faithful spy.” Fluttershy murmured something before rubbing her eyes. After a long yawn, she looked around. “W-welcome,” she said hesitantly. “I’m sorry for all this mess.” Rarity approached while clearing her throat. She looked at Fancy and spoke, “May I please speak with my friend?” “Naturally,” Fancy Pants responded as he fixed his monocle. Rarity nodded and looked at Fluttershy with concern. “You look terrible, darling. What in Celestia’s name happened here?” Both guards hissed at the very mention of the princess’s name. Fluttershy took a deep breath and said calmly, “It’s… it’s a long story.” Rarity took a step back and smiled awkwardly. She sensed a slow breath and the heart-beat of her friend, alongside a significant blood loss. What worried her the most however were the eyes that stared at her emotionlessly. Those were the empty eyes of a broken pony. “In this case… I will go and prepare some tea for us all. You would not mind, would you darling?” Fluttershy pointed towards the kitchen and nodded. While Rarity and Fleur entering the kitchen as the noble mare offered to assist, Fluttershy turned to Fancy Pants. “I am listening.” Fluttershy sighed before saying coldly, “Your spy, Sharp Eye. He attempted to kill me and my servant, Applejack.” “I see,” Fancy responded as he looked at his loyal servant. “Should I assume you took his life in self-defense?” Fluttershy shook her head. “I drained his blood to weaken him, but then he…” she stopped and looked at the floor in shame. “After we defeated him, he committed a s-suicide.” She bowed as low as she could and started sobbing. “I am so sorry!” Rarity, who came back from the kitchen, quickly placed the tea cups on the floor and ran to her friend. She hadn't bothered to ask what caused her to cry and instead helped Fluttershy to stand. Fleur levitated the table from the kitchen over while the guards brought some pillows to sit on. All three purebloods, Rarity and Vinyl sat in front of the table while the guards then went outside to patrol the area. “Now please, start from the beginning and spare no details.” Fluttershy took a teacup with her trembling forelegs, spilling several drops before taking a sip. The unpleasant taste quickly told her that she was very hungry as her belly growled a moment later. The teacup slid from her hooves as Rarity caught it before it could shatter to pieces. “Oh dear,” Fleur started as levitated a blood pack from her purse. “Your blood reserves must be very low. I always carry emergency blood with me. Please take it and help yourself.” She offered the pack, but Fluttershy pushed it away. “Thank you… but… I’m not hungry.” Fancy Pants, Fleur and even Vinyl’s eyes widened. Did a pureblood thestral who lost a lot of her magic, blood and was most likely starving just say that she isn’t hungry? Fancy Pants coughed. “Very well. Now, since we are all ears, would you please tell us the events of tonight?” Fluttershy nodded as she started telling the story while changing a few small details. Her voice filled with sorrow. *** “I say,” Fancy Pants spoke. “While I must admit that I was worried about my subordinate’s growing arrogance, I would never expect him to lay a hoof against a pureblood, much less take his own life after losing to you.” He shook his head in disappointment. “His future was so bright, but his character always had a shadow over it.” He took a sip of tea and looked at Fluttershy curiously. “And that huntress of yours, she protected you at your command?” Fluttershy nodded weakly. “Yes. I ordered her to protect me and she did. I also commanded her not to tell her family about what happened tonight and keep my identity a secret. With her help, I will take control over the farm family without issue.” Fleur stood from her pillow and walked towards the kitchen as she glanced at the dead body. “I would never expect Sharp Eye to go this far.” She levitated the pack of blood into the refrigerator before returning to her sitting spot. “I mean, I believe he would try to kill your servant, but to think he would attack you for getting in the way...” “I am not surprised to be honest. I would say it was just a matter of time,” Fancy added before looking at Sharp Eye with regret. “Maybe if I had focused more on teaching him humility rather than just nurturing his skills, things would have turned out differently.” He looked back at Fluttershy who had once again run out of tears. Her eyes were dry, her mane was a mess and her wings had drooped to the floor. “How will you punish me?” she asked with a weak voice. “Punish?” Rarity and Vinyl said in unison. Vinyl continued, “That dude was trigger happy. I mean, sure, he was kind of cool and all, but he didn’t know how to chill. It’s not your fault.” Fancy Pants raised Fluttershy’s lowered head and gave her a forgiving smile. “He brought it upon himself. I forgive you, so please, forgive yourself.” “B-but…” she struggled a response. “He died… because of me. He was your student, or so I heard. You must hate me for what I caused.” “Not especially.” “What do you mean?” Fancy Pants sighed and massaged his forehead. “If you will one day lead a large clan yourself, you will understand.” He looked at the ceiling. “I lived for nearly a millennium and outlived many of my friends and acquaintances. I cannot let myself to be attached to anypony except my family.” He looked at the sad mare and carefully stroked her mane. “Just look at you. Crying over a death of an enemy that tried to kill you, a death you didn’t cause. Your guilt is destroying you from the inside. I would not last long with this attitude.” Fluttershy nodded weakly. “So you won’t punish me?” “I believe you’ve punished yourself more than enough. Also, do you remember what I have told you?” “What you told me?” Fluttershy responded in confusion. “Yes. I told you that if you want to keep your friend and her family alive as slaves, you will need to show your resolve without my support. Resolve you showed by fighting my spy who crossed your ways. Will you give up now?” “N-no…” “Then there is nothing else for me to say,” Fancy said as he once again fixed his monocle. He stood from the table and approached Rarity who already levitated over some cleaning equipment. “Miss Rarity, I hope you will won’t mind if my guards assist you with cleaning this place.” “Why would I mind? I would be honoured.” Upon hearing their master’s call, both thestrals flew inside the cottage and saluted. “My lord.” “I’ll help too,” Vinyl said before looking at Fancy Pants. “Since Tavi and me will be moving to Ponyville, does this make Fluttershy my new boss, old Boss?” “If Fluttershy doesn't mind,” Fancy responded before receiving a silent nod from the depressed mare. “Keep an eye on her.” “Will do,” Vinyl said before levitating over pieces of a broken table, a hammer and a few damaged nails. “Now, time to put this baby together!” Rarity blinked each time she heard the hammer strike and asked, “She knows what she is doing, right?” “Not in the slightest,” Fleur answered with a chuckle. Fancy Pants spoke loudly, “Miss Fluttershy, keep in mind that from now on, Applejack and her family are your responsibility. Make sure they behave to not anger your neighbors for your own good.” Noticing yet another silent nod, he asked the fashionista to follow him outside before lowering his head to her ear and whispering, “I am more than certain that your master lied in some parts of her story, but I will let it slide. Right now, she needs friends more than ever.” “Y-yes, I will do my best.” “Good,” Fancy said before gesturing to Fleur to leave the cottage, who gracefully followed. With the guards and Vinyl cleaning the room, Rarity walked inside and approached her friend, or the shell she was now. “Fluttershy, I cannot even imagine how dreadful you must feel right now, but please, let us help you.” After not receiving any reaction, her ears dropped and expression filled with sorrow as she rubbed her foreleg. She looked around at the barely touched teacup and levitated it. “You always loved this tea every time I visited. Please drink it.” “I’m not thirsty,” Fluttershy murmured, her eyes barely opened as she looked at the floor. “Not thirsty, but you are dehydrated. Even your eyelids are dry from crying. Please,” Rarity pleaded, but the levitated teacup was weakly pushed to the side. “What about blood? I know you refused Fleur’s gift, but I am sure that your animals can share some with you,” Rarity added, only for whistling sound to capture her attention. She quickly noticed Angel with several squirrels, two seals and even an angered bear who entered through the hole in the wall. The bear growled as he looked enraged, his aggression ready to be unleashed on the alerted guards. Angel quickly climbed onto his head and poked it before pointing at the dead body lying on a sofa. The bear quickly calmed down and sat. Rarity smiled and said, “See, your friends are here and more than willing to feed you.” “I’m not hungry…” “Fluttershy, please…” “I said no,” she responded. “My peaceful life is ruined. Applejack h-” Rarity quickly pressed Fluttershy’s head against her belly, embracing her in a gentle hug. Ensuring that the guards won’t hear what they shouldn’t. “Sssh… it will be okay, sssh.” Fluttershy was more than willing to search for comfort in Rarity’s embrace, pressing herself against the soft fur on her friend’s chest. “I’ve given up… so much. I can’t take it anymore…” *** Rarity stroked her friend’s mane as the hug lasted for a minute. The sight of a pureblood showing weakness to her servant was something that the guards found pitiful and sad as they escorted the sleepy mare upstairs towards the bed. Rarity pointed out a secret passage under the bed as both thestrals pulled it to the side, revealing a secret entrance into an underground room behind an illusion. The passage went between floors into an underground chamber thanks to a pulled-back wall on the ground floor. The lack of light wasn’t an issue for thestrals as they examined the room, noticing only one dusty coffin and several candles surrounding it. The guards looked at each other as their pity towards Fluttershy only grew. Carefully, they placed the pureblood thestral inside the coffin and closed the lid. After climbing back to the bedroom, they pulled the bed back to its original location. “I can’t believe that she’s living in such conditions. She’s from the pureblood family for crying out loud. Does she have any dignity at all?” one guard said as he fixed the pillow on the small bed. “I would say she is a definition of poverty and humility, but it can’t be helped after all that happened. The worst however is that she willingly neglected our master’s protection, just to keep that huntress’s family alive,” the second guard responded. “I feel kind of bad for her. She lost her family and nearly died in a fight against an assassin spy… wait, does not a mix between assassin and spy make Sharp Eye a ninja?” “I suppose, but he was also a summoner.” “I read some books where ninjas could summon monsters and stuff with their ninjutsu or whatever it was called. Wait, what were we talking about?” “Thank you, Sirs,” Rarity said as she pointed towards the exit of the bedroom. “However, we still have a lot of cleaning to do. We cannot let Mistress Fluttershy wake up in ruins, can we?” Both guards nodded before returning to cleaning and salvaging. Rarity raised her foreleg as she was about to follow, but failed to take a single step. Her ears and head dropped before her eyes closed as guilt struck her like a tidal wave. “What have I done…” she murmured to herself. “Nothing,” Vinyl added, startling Rarity from her hooves. “What’s on your mind?” After grabbing Vinyl’s helping hoof, Rarity stood and replied, “Nothing special.” VInyl patted the fashionista’s back. “Don’t give me that. Ever since Fancy sensed that his blood bond with Sharp Eye broke all of the sudden, you were kind of on edge.” The musician smirked. “And do I even need to mention your heart-rate when he pointed towards your master’s cottage? Or how you were sweating like a fountain? Or–” Rarity pushed away Vinyl’s foreleg and frowned. “I get the idea.” She looked back at the bed and sighed. “She needed me.” After taking a deep breath, she continued, ”She needed me more than ever and I didn’t follow.” “Why’s that?” “I…” Rarity started hesitantly. “I was afraid of being recognized by Applejack. I let Fluttershy face both the harsh words of a huntress and an assassin. I left her alone to endure silver bolts that Sharp Eye apparently used just to save my own skin and keep that I am thestral a secret.” “But you’re sorry, right?” Rarity shoot Vinyl an angered glare. “Of course I am! If I was there to support Fluttershy, she would not be a devastated wreck!” “What happened, happened. Water under the bridge as they say. But you’re sorry and want to fix everything, and that’s what matters,” Vinyl said with a proud smile before patting Rarity’s back again. “You have no idea how many times I’ve messed up, but Tavi and big Fancy boss lord and so on always forgave me. They let me make up for my mistakes.” Rarity rubbed her chin and smiled warmly. “I guess you have a point. I will just need to help Fluttershy in those harsh times and apologize for not being there for her in time of need.” “That’s the spirit,” Vinyl said as she once again pat Rarity on the back, causing her to roll her eyes. She walked into the main room as the fashionista followed, only to stop in her tracks as her eyes opened widely. “W-what monstrosity is that?” Rarity asked while pointing at Vinyl’s work. “It looks nothing like a table!” Vinyl tilted her head to the side in confusion. “It was meant to be a table?” Rarity’s face turned red and steam nearly shot out out of her ears. “I won’t stand for such a fashion crime. Kill it with fire!”