Melancholy Days

by Zurock

Chapter 20: Trust

The air was squeezed out of the lungs of every last Drypony in the crowd. A smothering blanket of silence wrapped itself tightly around them. An immense stillness swallowed the whole forest. For only a very, very brief moment however.

"YEAH!" Rainbow Dash shouted, bouncing off the ground victoriously as all her friends burst into cheers. Her collection of diverse aches and assorted pains hardly bothered her now that they were so far buried under her exhilaration. She pranced about gaily and lorded over the upside down Broken Oak, "How do you like me now, husky hocks? Woo!"

For several seconds the defeated stallion merely laid there on his back, legs pointed up in the air. He wasn't injured; the feeble bucking by Rainbow Dash had only been just enough to push him over the edge. It had hardly scratched him otherwise, and the short fall to the ground could have been shrugged off effortlessly. He was just so enveloped in absolute shock that he couldn't process what had happened. His dulled eyes rested idly on the inverted pegasus dancing in celebratory triumph.

Finally it all caught up to him and he immediately righted himself, standing up on his hooves instantly. With his eyes on fire, he hissed so hard it blew some frothy saliva right through his bared teeth. He took a single step forward, his hoof pounding down on the stake he had flipped over, driving it completely into the earth in one go, rope and all.

James stepped into the ring and raised his voice. Making positively sure that the Drypony crowd could hear him, he chastised the vengeful stallion, "Hey! Where's your Prideheart honor, Broken Oak?" He pointed at Rainbow Dash and continued, "She won the challenge of strength fair and square. You lost. Maybe if this fight was so important to you, you shouldn't have been horsing around so much!"

The man's intervention didn't seem to do anything except change who the outraged stallion was pointing his loaded ire at. He went to take another snarling step forward.

He snapped out of his furious trance somewhat when Poppy suddenly jumped over to him and threw her forehooves around his advancing leg. "Broken Oak, please don't!" she pleaded, still very upset. She scooched a bit closer as she changed her holding-back into a holding-tight, hugging his leg. "I know you're a real Prideheart hero. Please don't be dishonorable..."

The stallion was absolutely quaking, his fury overwhelming him from one direction, his frustration from another, and his utter shame from yet another. He was unendingly ashamed for having lost legitimately. He could have flung Rainbow Dash out of the arena at any time while he had been dominating the match, but his own weakness for the seductive thrill of combat, his own need to gain fulfillment through unrestrained physical exertion, had lead him straight to a defeat of his own making. His own WEAKNESS.

Poppy squeezed tighter and said, borrowing and rearranging words from James, "They won, so the least we can do is listen to what they have to say and then we can decide for ourselves."

Broken Oak stared at his littlest guard as she clutched onto his leg firmly, the near-tears bunching up in the corners of her eyes. Slowly, his partially raised leg retreated. He looked once more at Rainbow Dash and the Walking Troublemaker with an unbending gaze and without the slightest ounce of surrender. He still wasn't sympathetic to them or even convinced of their arguments in the slightest, but his anger was in check. Without a word, he dropped into a sitting position and watched them in burning silence.

The small filly pulled her hug even tighter and rubbed her head against him, thanking her beloved friend sincerely.

Rainbow Dash had a hard time suppressing her swelling sense of superiority at seeing Broken Oak back down. She was extremely tempted to stick out her tongue and wave it around at him in a cocky insult, but she kept herself together long enough to only give James a small smirk before a professional gravity descended on her. She turned and marched partway across the ring where she stood before the throng of quiet, pensive, and fearful Dryponies.

Stoic and stern, she called out to them, "Now, just to prove that you can't keep us tied up..."

The pegasus drew in a massive breath, hunched down, and poured all her strength into flexing her restrained wings one last time. Whether it was some errant tears from the clobbering she had taken, or some marvelous second wind granted by her astounding victory, or even some magical whim of fate powered by the drama of the moment, after a few seconds of grunting and sweat-drenched labor there was suddenly the slow shredding sound of a rattling sequence of rips. Then, in an instant, the vines wrapping her body roared and split down the middle across her back, falling off to the ground as her great wings emerged free.

Spreading her liberated wings up and out as broadly as they could go, she struck a proud, bold, irrepressible, and heroic pose. Ha! She knew Twilight and Spike weren't the only ones who could pull off an awesome escape!

It stung lightly when she noticed that all her poise and bluster didn't seem to get a reaction from the crowd, who only continued to stare at her in simmering unease. She kept her wings held high while she furled her lip and looked around. At least Poppy seemed to be absorbing her majesty and staring with interest.

"Alright, so," Rainbow Dash began to address the crowd again, shrugging off a disappointed sigh and folding up her wings, "I guess since we won the challenge that means you have to at least listen to what we have to say! So for that I'm going to turn things over to my smart friend Twilight, who I know has something important to tell you!"

The pegasus reached an inviting and friendly hoof out towards Twilight.

Happy and hopeful, the unicorn steadily eased herself off of Applejack's support (with the farm pony's blessings) and took some fragile steps forward on her own. Carefully stepping over the ring's rope and easing along one weakened clop at a time, she joined her friend's side and warmly whispered to the pegasus, "Thank you, Rainbow Dash."

"No problem. And," the pegasus filled with apologetic appreciation, "thank you for having a level head when we needed it the most."

With exchanged smiles, Rainbow Dash took a step back and Twilight claimed the stage. All the trembling Drypony crowd watched the Sun-sorceress anxiously, fearful under the gaze of the magic monster who lead their enemies and had spectacularly overcome their guards. The Dryponies didn't even have enough of their senses collected to whisper furtively amongst themselves. They were fixed upon her, terrified of what she would say or do.

She opened to them with honesty, "Dryponies of Dryearth forest! I am the personal student of Princess Celestia; the personal student of the Sun! But my friends and I were never sent here on any mission of aggression. We were only sent to discover the source of Hamestown's troubles. We were never told anything about you; even the ponies of Hamestown don't know that you are here. Now, we've found out that it has been you who are responsible for their problems. So, what my friends and I are going to do..."

A slight panic stirred up in the crowd.

"... is stay the night here in Heartwood since it's getting late, and then tomorrow morning... we're simply going to leave," the unicorn stated succinctly. She assured them calmly but devotedly, "No fighting, no force, no MAGIC. We're just going to go. We're going to leave and go back to Hamestown.

"However, that doesn't mean things here can keep going on the way they've been going on!" She took another step forward as she called out in a desperate plea, filled with compassionate perception. "I understand that you've only moved against the settlement because you believe you are protecting yourselves from us. But you have to shake yourselves free of that illusion! None of us; not me, not my friends, not the ponies at Hamestown, not even Princess Celestia; none of us want anything bad for you!

"Any trouble that the ponies of Hamestown have caused you has been an accident! Those are problems that can be fixed, if you can set aside your differences and work with the Hamestown ponies. If you would just speak openly with them, you'll find that they're actually very much like you: survivors who believe in their own strength and independence, working hard to get by, working hard to make their own way.

"When my friends and I go back to the settlement, none of you will be forced to accompany us," she insisted in promise. "I can't even justly ask any of you to come. But if there are any of you who would like to come along; any who would like to meet the ponies of Hamestown face-to-face, to begin a fair dialogue with them; you are more than welcome to come with us!" She swung her neck to look behind herself, very specifically and trustingly at Willow Wise. The old mare in turned bowed her head with a single accepting nod.

"As for Princess Celestia," Twilight continued to the crowd, "I don't have any answers for you. Like I told you before, I never heard about you from her at all. But I can promise to try my best to get answers for you. I don't know what happened all those years ago, between Prideheart and the Princess, but you deserve those answers! If you're willing to be patient, to be cooperative, to turn away from your path of separation, then I sincerely hope that one day you'll be able to share Prideheart's story with the rest of Equestria."

With the conclusion of the unicorn's unexpected speech, the low murmur of the Dryponies' consideration began. Frightful and uncertain whispers crawled from one end of the crowd to the other. Could this mare be trusted? They looked for guidance from their contrary leaders: Willow Wise who sat in bowed agreement or Broken Oak who sat in cold and unreadable silence. But there wasn't any explicit direction from either of the still ponies.

James suddenly stepped forward and addressed crowd loudly and firmly, filling the void of authority, "For centuries you've been in this forest, preparing yourselves for a great destiny that you've believed would come one day. It's a destiny, a grand dream, that you defined for yourselves a long time ago. We're not asking you to abandon your destiny; only to see it in a new light."

Many Drypony voices fell to listen. Others kept their suspicious whispers humming.

"It's not going to be any less grand than the old one, or any less difficult. Maybe it'll be even more so," the man went on. "Yes, you've always believed that your destiny would be your greatest challenge, and it WILL BE! You've been preparing yourselves for either a flight from Equestria or a fight to the end... but where's the real challenge in either of those?" he asked them sternly, shaking his head. "An eternal retreat or simply embracing the end? Neither is something that would TRULY challenge you! The real challenge is to make peace! To heal the rift that even Prideheart couldn't! You've built yourselves so strongly against it... so now it has become the greatest test you could ever face. A test in which you must overcome YOURSELVES. And I think that you've proven that you're capable."

He looked back especially at Poppy, Willow Wise, the sympathetic guards, and even Broken Oak. "The spirit to see in others something more than the things we wish them to be; the depth of knowledge and wealth of experience to accept a world larger than your own; the courage to extend a hoof in friendship even in the face of opposition; the fortitude to keep going against all odds, even impossibly great ones... all the tools are there in you! You just have to accept that it's worth trying to meet this new challenge!"

As the man's words died down the crowd slowly turned in on itself, their timid discussion rising into open debate. Some were frightened by the thought of not knowing the future anymore but others sounded more than ready to face down the unknown. The three standing before them - the Walking Desert, the challenge victor, and even the dreaded sorceress of the wicked Sun - gradually seemed to fade away from their attention as more voices came to the fore and their battle became between themselves.

With everything in the Dryponies' hooves now, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and James turned back around and left them to their debates, contemplations, and decisions. The three all breathed a collective sigh of relief; the largest hurdle had perhaps been jumped.

Rainbow Dash wiped off some of the dirt that lingered on her legs and sides before she tried to stretch away some of her aches, glad to have a moment to rest. Far more laid-back than she had been in a quite awhile, she turned towards James. Gone was her boiling suspicion and nimble hostility. She erupted into contained laughter and said to the man, "Snrk! Nice speech, Dr. Martingale Loper Kingsky!"

Her casual jab set the tone immediately. "Better than yours," the man shot right back with a chuckle.

"Hey, I did all the hard work of shutting up Loudmouth Blabberface over there!" she objected.

"Well, I was going to step up and handle it but you beat me to the punch," he snarked.

"Oh, it would have be HILARIOUS to see him wipe the floor with you AGAIN!"

"Like you got a good look at it the first time," he laughed. But then in mock condescension he added, "But yeah, you're right. It WAS pretty hilarious to watch him hand you your tail until you got a very intelligent tip from an incredibly handsome bystander."

"I would have had him eventually anyway," she easily insisted.

"Pfft, haha! Ahahaha!"

Twilight shook her head, also laughing herself, and finally interceded, "Alright, that's enough. What matters is that things are calm, for the moment." She paused briefly before she more quietly admitted to the man, "I thought it was a good speech. Thanks for the help."

James shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah, well, let's hope it was good enough that they don't change their minds in the middle of the night, jump us in our sleep, and lock us all up."

"They won't," Twilight believed. But after a pregnant pause she trepidatiously said, "Buuuut... maybe I should find somepony to get this thing off my horn right now anyway. To be safe. Oh, and Rarity's. And get Spike and Fluttershy unwrapped, too." She departed their company, still slightly wobbly and unsteady, calling out politely to the sympathetic guards for assistance.

Rainbow Dash went back to pushing past all of the dull leftover pain from her fight, as well as trying to work out the numb stiffness still present in her wings. She complained, "Ugh, I need to go for a fly or something. I feel like I accidentally took a nap while laying on- ? Uh... do you need something, kid?"

Poppy had approached them, staring wide-eyed at Rainbow Dash.

James traced the little filly's gaze and laughed. Bending down at his knees, he asked her, "So... first time that you've gotten a REAL good look at a pair of pegasus wings, huh?"

The rainbow pegasus didn't mind the reinforcement to her inflated ego in the least bit and immediately went back to posing her wings. "Go ahead," she invited, "take a good look. Soak it all in."

The smaller pegasus burbled something awed to herself, still staring with fascination at the big, feathered limbs. So much larger than any bird's in the forest; with perfectly ordered and beautifully shaped feathers; wings that were arched and powerful and ready for takeoff. Her imagination soared.

She suddenly turned her head to look at her own back and the coil of vines wrapping her tiny body. A shy, wishful wonder filled her eyes and, hoping beyond hope, she asked them both, "... Do you think... I have...?"

James winced slightly, suspecting that Poppy would be let down by the likely truth. He gently asked her, "You don't know? When was the last time you had these vines off?"

"Oh... well... never, I guess?" she answered dismally. "We try not to... if they start tearing we just put more on."

Rainbow Dash didn't have any approval for such unnatural restraints and immediately pushed, "Let's get'em off and check, then!"

Poppy grinned in approval at the suggestion as Rainbow Dash looked about. Just outside of the ring, the friendly Drypony stallion was fiddling with Twilight's horn-cap while the friendly mare had a simple knife that she was using to very delicately cut Spike free. "We can ask her once she's finished," the pegasus suggested with a nod to the mare.

"You kidding?" James said. He held up a fist and then popped his index finger up like a switchblade. Now that her curiosity was peaked, Poppy's wrappings were going to be coming off one way or another so it was better to just get it over with.

He drove his finger into the knot on the little filly's back, twisting his digit and wedging it in as he pulled carefully at the tangled rope with his other hand. After several intense moments of meticulously working the knot, wound extremely tight as it was, it finally started to give. "Ha! Never send a hoof to do a finger's job," he laughed at Rainbow Dash. Gripping the loosened knot, he quickly pulled it apart and then gingerly peeled the aged vines off of Poppy's back, dragging the now baggy coils past her tail and dumping them on the ground.

The filly's face fell as her hopes crashed into the ground and smashed to pieces. Sure enough, she had wings and, as would be expected from the generations old Drypony practice of always keeping them bound, they were exceedingly small and limp, practically crushed into her body. There were few fully formed feathers and the ones that had grown completely appeared frayed and unmendable. Endless confinement had left her minuscule wings atrophied and largely useless.

Surprising James, Rainbow Dash had apparently seen this coming and had a response prepared. She placed a comforting hoof onto the nearly tearful Poppy's shoulder and, like a supportive sister, told the filly wisely, "All of the Dryponies with wings are probably just like you. That's what happens when you keep them tucked away forever like that; when you never let them out. They don't get a chance to grow."

Helplessly upset, Poppy looked again at the older pegasus' amazing wings, so full and bright and strong compared to her own sickly pair. She asked vainly, "Maybe... they will grow some more?"

"I don't know; maybe not," Rainbow Dash admitted sorely. "Maybe you held them back too long and now that opportunity is gone..."

Poppy's head dropped with a defeated whine.

"Hey, it's not the end of the world," Rainbow Dash reassured her, with a pat and a smile. "You've still got other, different opportunities if you get out there and catch'em. And besides... you've got some pretty smooth moves without wings anyway, kid."

Adding onto Rainbow Dash's support, James asked the little filly, "You know what they call a winged pony who can race really fast through the tree tops?"

She slowly shook her head.

"Just a regular pegasus," the man casually discarded. "You know what they call a pony who can do that despite not having wings?"

"A... a Branch Dancer...?" Poppy guessed.

"No," he replied, before answering while specifically pointing at her, "Somepony really talented and special."

Backed by their kind words, a simple, embarrassed smile started to break through the little filly's cloudy gloom.

But when it was clear that her small depression still had some hold on her, Rainbow Dash knew it was time for action and chuckled seriously, "Alright then, hop on." She thrust her head between the confused Poppy's legs and rolled the filly onto her back. Flapping her wings, she floated up into the air. "Hold on tight!" she directed.

Now flashing a great big smile, Poppy gripped Rainbow Dash as strongly as she could while the pegasus took off over the concourse. They glided about the open area, zipping and zooming, weaving back and forth, shooting high and dipping low, all at safe enough speeds considering the circumstances. She was carried on a joyride that spread her happy laughter from lake to palace hollow.

James shook his head with a snicker. Ponies riding ponies! A living carousel! But at least that little one should be okay. In all ways.

His musing was interrupted when somepony slowly approached him from the side. "... Lady Willow?" he addressed her.

"I hope a 'thank you' will be in order, when all this is through," the old mare stated.

"Oh, no, no 'thanks' will be needed," James replied, absent of humility. He was rigid and straight. "I just saw what was going on and didn't want to see it descend into something so... pointless. Really, thank you for being brave enough to listen. That must've been the hardest part."

There was a reserved nod from Willow Wise, grateful and at least partially accepting. But there was no mistaking the unsteady nervousness that still rested in her.

James expressed sincerely, "Don't be afraid. If you can keep on stepping into a wider world with your head held high, I really think it'll all work out."

"I am praying so," the old mare related.

She stood there for a moment, thinking of what was to come and her many delicate hopes and wishes for the future, when she had a sudden realization. She told the man, "We sang of the Walking Desert. The one who would lead us away from the wicked Sun. And here you came."

"No, there's no destiny for me here," James shook his head, dazed by whatever she was trying to get at. "And the Princess isn't wicked," he reminded her.

"That's what I just said," Willow Wise sagely stated.

She gave him one last nod and a closed smile. "Tell your friends that I will find space for them to stay in the palace hollow tonight," she said as she turned and walked away, leaving the man to process her words in addition to own fate.

Willow Wise went right over to Broken Oak, who was still sitting on the ground quietly. His eyes were locked on James, unblinking, with a sour and angry frown across his face. There was a subtle, nearly imperceptible quaking to his entire body; the fury had a deep hold, jostling him; it wormed about inside, desperately looking for a justified route of escape. He didn't seem to notice the old mare even as she stood before him.

"Broken Oak," she called to him.

His wrath ignored her, spilling out of his unwavering eyes and passing right through her on its way to the man. His groaning breaths came out boiling.

"Broken Oak!" she called again, more loudly and shaking him with a hoof.

The touch brought him back to conscious reality, like suddenly being awoken from a dream. He gave a small gasp to restart his more regular breathing, his pupils pulsed as his eyes reset and came back to focus, and a jolt ran through his whole body quickly. "Lady Willow?"

"Are you alright, Broken Oak?" she asked him with depth.

"I'm unhurt," he snorted. "Pathetic and lucky attack as it was."

"That's not what I'm asking," Willow Wise said with concern.

The stallion sat there for a moment, trying to absorb her meaning. Then he suddenly complained, still unendingly hostile, "Lady Willow, we shouldn't be trusting them! They-"

"We don't have to trust them, Broken Oak," she pleaded with him. "But we do have to listen to them."

"No! I'm not convinced that-"

"Again," she fought back, tired and exasperated, but not in conflict with him at all, "we don't have to be convinced. But we do have to try. This unknown future has more hope than the old horizon, now so dark and tragic. It was a fight that wouldn't win us anything."

"But Prideheart-!" Broken Oak tried to object.

"Are you afraid?" she abruptly asked him. He was so offended at the insinuation that he had completely missed her truly earnest tone, and she immediately pushed on to admit to him, "I am. I am very afraid, Broken Oak. For all its impossibility, the old dream was at least certain; we knew where we stood and what we would have to do... to whatever end it lead." Her voice grew ever more shaky as a few frightened tears built up. "But with this, we'll have to walk on faith and struggle to find our way against our own darkness. It will take MORE courage than before. More, to pray our enemy isn't what we believe. More, to find new balances to Prideheart's virtues."

She sighed. "But... lately, I have decided... that I care more about our future than our past. I would rather us take the risk of the unknown for a chance at rest than send us into that old future that was so recklessly tied up with the past; that future which we now know is an inferno. The dragon fire that cleaved Prideheart's spirit... we would dredge it up from the past to consume us too, if we never find the strength to heal the oldest wounds."

"Lady Willow..."

"I'm quite old," she shivered, "and there isn't much time left for me. Somepony must keep the Dryponies safe when I am gone. I still need you, Broken Oak. Your strength, your bravery..." She took a small step towards him so she could gently rub his cheek with her hoof. "On this new path, right or wrong as it may be, the Walking Desert was correct; it will test us in hard ways we could not have imagined. You must be around to keep the Dryponies safe through it; not sacrificed in some unnecessary fight for the sake of honor..."

The massive stallion sat quiet, something washing over him as the weeping Willow Wise tenderly stroked his cheek. His giant hoof came up, edged around her tired, shaking body, and pulled her in for an embrace with the softest part of his endless strength.

---

From the perspective of Hamestown, the moonlit forest had always been an oppressive wall of nightly noises and foreboding darkness. But in a strange way, things were quite different in the center of the forest. There was a certain peaceful brightness to the Heartwood nights. The deep sounds of teeming life, chips and chirps and squeaks and songs, came from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Instead of the sounds being hostile or threatening, they echoed like an evening at rest. The flickering crystals scattered about the forest village kept it dimly lit with a glow as warm as any moon's but with colors as vivacious as any spring day.

The lights that came from the inside of any given Drypony hollow or hut were much brighter, spilling out through their windows and doors. It was a village up late, everypony around every free table, pouring cups of their strongest drinks and discussing the matters of the most dramatic day they had ever seen in four hundred years. Families and friends traded thoughts and ideas on what exactly tomorrow might bring while they held their foals close before putting them to bed.

It wasn't much different for the palace hollow. The strong light coming from the windows and broad archway lent it the appearance of a charming and friendly jack-o'-lantern resting comfortably on a neighborhood porch. The makings of some activity inside could be seen through the openings, with shadows that moved from here to there as the light was tickled and bounced about. But not all the guests were part of those activities. Out on the surrounding balcony was the Walking Desert; James.

He sat on the edge, close to the hollow entrance and the ramp, with his legs hanging off the side. He was tall enough to lay his forearms flat before him on the short railing, resting his chin upon it and looking out towards the nighttime village. The rest of his companions had all been fast to retreat inside and collect some proper rest after a wearying day, whether that meant nursing bruises, or finding a mirror for some emergency hair styling, or pigging out on snacks. But the man had retreated to silence and isolation, sitting there long and quiet, accompanied only by his heavy, audible breaths.

At some point his night was interrupted by a ready set of clops coming out of the archway. He perked up, looked, and was quite surprised to see the backlit silhouette of a rainbow-maned pegasus standing there.

"Not going to get any rest?" Rainbow Dash asked him.

He turned back towards the village. "Eh, I don't really rest when I sleep anymore anyway."

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" she wondered as she approached.

"Nothing. What's up?"

The pegasus squirmed with flustered discomfort, lowering her head a little and looking away. She told him with mild reservation, "So... I already apologized to Twilight, once she finally stopped chatting up that old coot."

"Apolo-? What?" James said. The relevance of this was completely lost to him and he rotated to face her again.

Rainbow Dash rubbed her neck awkwardly. "Yeah, you know... for being so aggressive and pushy before... and basically encouraging her to screw everything up and start a great pony war."

Still caught by the irrelevance, but at least happy to hear of her humility, he joked, "Oh. For being a hardheaded moron. Okay, got it."

"Hey!" she responded, before she latched on to his jest and snorted in amusement, "Very funny." She collected herself and then, again with an ounce of uneasiness, she said, "Anyway, now it's your turn."

"My- wait. For an apology? Why?" he asked, stunned. Lately this pegasus had been nothing but a barrel of surprises.

"Cause... I was a jerk?" Rainbow Dash answered as if he should have known. "Not saying that you haven't been a little terrible yourself, or that you haven't... made some mistakes...," she specifically echoed his earlier words, "... but I certainly wasn't being helpful by being all suspicious and, you know, jerky."

James gave her a strange stare. He didn't question her commitment to her apology. It was just so out of left field. Finally he replied, "No, no, there's nothing you did that- This is just like before, at Fluttershy's cabin. You were only being cautious of me to try and protect your friends and everything right? I can't... fault you for that. It's fine."

Rainbow Dash groaned and rolled her eyes at him. It was already difficult enough to have to apologize, and he just couldn't make it any easier, could he? "Yeah, maybe it was okay that I didn't get on board with trusting you immediately and everything, but I was kind of going over the line by giving you no chances, or no credit when you earned it."

"Really?" he almost scoffed. Again, another surprise coming from the brash pegasus. "I never thought too much of it, I guess. I mean, I thought we had a good rapport on the first train ride," he said.

"Eh... we were getting along, but what does it say that the instant I heard something was off from Twilight I threw out everything and pegged you for a monster?" she asked rhetorically. She dipped her head again, the ends of her mane dangling slowly with regret. "Then, I let it get so bad that I counted you out of everything. So even though you were working this whole time to make everything right, I wouldn't believe it. AND, then when things got really bad I endangered everypony by not even being willing to listen."

The pegasus let out a repentant sigh and brought herself up to the task, saying, "Anyway the point is, if you're going to be around for awhile then I'm not REALLY helping my friends if I'm always at complete odds with you for no good reason. Especially if you're trying. So... it wasn't cool of me to be all against you like that and... I'm sorry." She nodded once, reinforcing to herself that everything had come out correctly.

"Well, I still don't-" James started, before he just canceled everything, shaking his head. "You know what, you're right. Apology accepted. There's no sense taking this nowhere."

"Of course I'm right, ogre boy," she asserted with a silly smugness.

James laughed once, thought for a moment, and then said, "It's a little weird, all this. You strike me as someone I can really easily get along with. Just haven't yet, because... we need the right reasons, I suppose."

"Well, let's start on that right now then." She held out a hoof at him, declaring, "I'm officially upgrading this friendship to 'pals' status. Don't disappoint me, Wingless."

The man looked at her available hoof for a second before he accepted by bumping his fist into it. "You got it, No-fingers."

Something eased in the air. The night felt just a little bit clearer.

James brought his arms back on top of the rail and gazed out past the dim concourse again.

"What are you even looking at?" Rainbow Dash decided to ask.

"Uh, need to get your eyes checked?" the man quipped and pointed across the open area before them.

"Woah."

The crystals in the village gave Heartwood a mystical, if still dark, glow in the deep of the night. But the largest groupings of crystals by a long shot, and therefore the brightest part of the village, were in the lake. The towers of crystals that sprang up out of the water, large and small, glowed strongly in the shadows. The radiant colors that they gave off pooled together into waves of rainbow light. They mixed with the gently stirring water to create dancing spectacles on the surface of the lake; parades of rich and luminous colors marching about the water, ever-changing in hue and intensity, like an eternal, silent firework show. The tree trunks and leaves all around the lake caught the reflections of spreading colors, shifting constantly between blues and greens, between reds and yellows, between purples and oranges; a painted forest which shone so dynamic and brilliant as the different lights fought with each other for space. The most beautiful aspect of it all could only faintly be seen from up on the balcony: there were many times more crystals under the water than there were that breached the surface. They were hardly visible during the day but at night those innumerable crystals gave off their glows so visibly that it was as if a shining city of lights was hidden deep within the lake.

"It's almost like the aurora," James breathed in controlled awe.

"The what?" Rainbow Dash asked without taking her eyes off the wondrous sight.

"A... a phenomenon of lights in the sky... at some places back home," he explained quietly. "I never saw'em, except in pictures. I guess I would've liked to... and I guess this is as close as I'll ever get..." He grew very cold and still.

Rainbow Dash's eyebrow came up. "I thought you said there wasn't any magic where you're from?" she questioned.

"There isn't."

The pegasus tried to work through the many thoughts and questions that sprung up in her head, some far simple and mundane but others way deeper than what she usually liked to house. It was a little much, and she certainly didn't have qualms letting most of it go. What absolutely didn't escape her was James' continued wistful and wounded stare out at the lake.

"Hey...," she slowly came in, "so... pals help each other out, right?"

James pried his arms off the rail again. "It's... traditionally considered so. Why?"

She pondered wordlessly for a moment; about the past few days; about Twilight and Applejack. A forced nonchalance quickly came over her. "Ah, no reason," she dismissed plainly. "For now, anyway."

All her labors for the day finally finished, she released a long-imprisoned relaxation with a single great sigh and then turned to head back inside. Her soreness seemed to finally catch up to her and she moved with a bit of a limp. "I'm going to go get some well-earned sleep. Try to get some yourself."

Once more, his eyes moved to the lake. "I'll try," he quietly promised.

Comments

[JBL]

The massive stallion sat quiet, something washing over him as the weeping Willow Wise tenderly stroked his cheek. His giant hoof came up, edged around her tired, shaking body, and pulled her in for an embrace with the softest part of his endless strength.

I thought for sure he would say something like, "As you wish, mother."

[Zurock]

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I thought a little bit about the specific familial relationships between the three named Drypony characters but ultimately decided that it didn't really matter. They're as close as family regardless of their actual blood relationship. The age difference between Willow Wise and Broken Oak is steep enough that she'd more likely be his grandmother, though.

[paladinwolf]

The only thing that irks me a bit, is that James is a trained soldier... Seems like that has been almost completely forgotten. As a minor example, it isn't ever mentioned, from his perspective at least, that he could have most likely just killed Broken Oak and solved things with violence. I know that this whole story is a kind of growing past what we were and learning new ways and such, but I think that it should be remembered that he knows how to solve things the permanent way and that it is a struggle to do things the 'pony' way.

Just a personal pet peeve, otherwise totally enjoyable. Thank you for the story.

[Zurock]

4654451
Excellent thoughts! Like is so often the case, it's such a great opening that can be expanded to include so much more. I could probably write paragraphs about it myself, but I'll try to keep my reply a little limited so that there aren't chapters appearing below every chapter.

But certainly say more, if you like! Why do you believe that element should be a considered part of the story? Something personal? Or do you feel the story set it up and never followed through? Do you yourself believe that killing Broken Oak would have "solved things permanently" or are you saying that the story suggests that would work, or maybe you believe that is how James should have thought and the story should have addressed that? And to each of those questions, another layer of: why?

Never stop talking. I love words.

Speaking briefly for myself on the broader issue you bring up: James's character trait of being a soldier. Yeah, it doesn't always get used like it could. I think a lot of it comes from it being such a tacked on character trait. Like I've mentioned in the past blog posts, making him a soldier was initially done with one solitary purpose in What Separates: to clue the reader in to the fact that he would be reasonably comfortable with the idea of violence; that he would accept a certain place violence would have in the world. Doing that without having plans on how to tie it into him more may not have been the greatest idea. But I have tried. I still try to bring it in where I feel it's reasonable, without making it the defining aspect of his person (that is one of the reasons why in this story I created a reference to his more apathetic joining of the military; to put forward the idea that though he is a functioning soldier, he isn't a career soldier.) So I do think it comes into reasonable play enough. For instance, his reactions when the gang is captured and hauled away in chapter 12 and chapter 13.

Regarding the more specific issue of him never considering violence as the choice through the Drypony escapade: you're right that the story never directly covers his thoughts on this. However, I personally feel the story covers it indirectly. There's enough following of his feelings and thoughts through the whole event to understand why he makes the choices he does and doesn't choose other courses of action.

[Truthseeker]

Alright then, so Broken Oak is going to just get away scott-free for all the shit he's caused... seriously? And Willow Wise is asking him to be a LEADER? After almost murdering Twilight and being a hair's breadth from murdering the mane 6 and Spike and James then beginning a war that would have killed hundreds... he just fucking walks away. Where is the justice? There is the RIGHT we hear so much about? This is ridiculous! Nobody has to answer for their crimes? Nobody at all? I call BULLSHIT!