Chapter 23: Resolutions
The Redemption of Jericho Swain
Chapter 23: Resolutions
"Fluttershy, dear?" inquired Rarity as she entered into her friend's room. "Are you in here?" A quiet sniffle answered her question. Sighing, Rarity closed the door behind her and walked over to the four post bed that dominated the room and pulling its curtains aside. "Fluttershy..."
Fluttershy took a moment to wipe her eyes before looking up at Rarity. "This is what you wanted, right? Twilight almost killed Singed. One step closer to turning her into a great warrior."
"You're not seriously implying-" Rarity paused mid-sentence, reconsidering her choice of words. "I just want our friends to be able to survive when we have to fight Malzahar. I never wanted this. I had no idea that Twilight had been so affected by her time spent captured."
"What happens when we get back to Equestria?" Fluttershy asked softly. "If it comes down to ki- to dealing with Malzahar that way, how do they come back from that? How can we even be there for them? I can't even imagine doing anything like that. How am I supposed to comfort somepony who has had to? What if our friendship ends because we can't relate to each other after this?"
Rarity nodded and hugged Fluttershy comfortingly. "It won't come to that, I promise. We've already been through so much together. We won't let this break what all of our previous adventures couldn't."
Fluttershy nodded, and took a deep, nervous breath. "You're r-right. But friendship requires work and sacrifice, which is why I think that w-we should..." She trailed off, eyes downcast.
Rarity tilted her head for a moment. "We should what, darling? It's okay, say what's on your mind."
Fluttershy was silent for several seconds, eyeing the door as if considering making a run for it. After the tension proved too thick to make the dash through, she finally took a breath, letting out all of her words at once. "Ithinkweshouldlearntofight... I mean, that is... I think we should l-learn to fight too. I hope it won't come to that, b-but maybe at least having to go through similar training will give us a little more idea of what the other girls are going through."
Rarity was shocked. "Are you sure? This is a very big commitment, and no offense, darling, but you're not exactly the fighting sort. Neither am I, for that matter. That's why we were settled with the administrative work in the first place."
Fluttershy deflated a little. "I know... but I think it's the right thing to do. It can't be all bad. You have great precision with your magic, even if it isn't as strong as Twilight's, and I have the Stare. It's not like we'll be in the fray like them. I just want to be sure that this doesn't put too large a gap between us after all of this is done."
Rarity was silent for a few seconds, letting the myriad possibilities of how this could backfire play through her mind, before finally coming to her conclusion. "I understand, and as much as it pains me to say it, you're right, but I shall be volunteering for League matches, if they shall have me. It's only fair that I go through the same evils that I was wont to subject my closest friends to. 'Tis the noble thing to do. I do think we should wait for Nasus to arrive before making the announcement, to give everyone a chance to cool off after everything that has happened. Come now, Fluttershy. Twilight should be about done explaining herself to the others. Let's go see how that went, shall we?"
- - - -
Two Days Later
- - - -
Nasus closed his eyes for a moment, letting the wind caress him. Flying had always been a pleasant experience for him. The wind reminded him of his desert homeland, and the constantly changing view of the landscape felt like a comforting reminder of the shifting, swirling sands thereof. There hadn't been much time to appreciate such things as of late. The long days of meditation and introspection, of wandering the Shurima Desert that he now called home, had fallen by the wayside due to his new friends and the adventures they brought. It wasn't an unwelcome change entirely, but living as an immortal had made him a creature of habit. It was nice to have a few moments of peace and quiet to think.
Unfortunately, such moments rarely last long, and it seemed like far too short a time before the airship's horn sounded out, signalling that they had arrived at their destination. To the uninformed, it looked as if it was preparing to dock at an ordinary refueling station on the way back to the Institute of War. If one were to do a little research, the not at all surprising discovery might be made that this particular refueling station was owned by Jericho Swain, and the various businesses that tend to center around such facilities all paid dues to him. This in itself wasn't uncommon, as many League champions had side investments that ranged from ventures like Singed's pest control services and a series of breweries co-owned by one of his fellow champions to Swain's ventures into politics and the airship market. This particular refueling station had a secret, though, known only to a select few under Swain's management, as well as a certain set of friends. Thus, nobody suspected a thing as Nasus slipped into a rather vaguely named waiting room. When he asked the bored-looking secretary behind the room's solitary desk to see the supervisor, she simply nodded and pointed to the door behind her before turning the decorative crystal on her desk slightly to the left.
Nasus barely fit through the door, squeezing himself in a cramped room with a disturbingly wobbly floor. Shortly after he crammed himself into the room, he found himself standing straight with much less effort as the floor began to descend. The pace of the magical elevator picked up, and the crystals that had been enchanted to provide light along the tube created a slightly disorienting strobe effect as they zoomed in and out of sight. After about two minutes of this, the ride suddenly lurched to a stop as a door opened in front of him, causing him to stumble forward onto his knees into a lavishly decorated lobby, where Swain was standing with a slightly amused expression, offering a hand to Nasus. "My apologies, Nasus. A recent maintenance error threw off the calibration of the elevator."
Nasus ignored Swain's hand as he used his staff to hoist himself back to his feet. "You might consider getting that fixed. I suspect that if the ascent is similar, I might walk away with a head injury."
"Yes, of course. I'm afraid that this bunker wasn't designed for someone of your stature. It was actually made before Noxus opted into the League." Swain motioned with his cane for Nasus to walk. "Pleasantries aside, I trust your mission was successful?"
Nasus nodded and walked beside his host. "I extracted information on several other cells of Malzahar's cultists. In addition to this, I have discovered that he is searching for a massive source of magical energy and a way to store and channel it. There are plenty of powerful mages throughout Valoran, but combat expertise tends to be a common trait in them. Logically, it follows that Twilight Sparkle is an ideal combination of power and lack of combat experience. The second still bears investigation. Knowing how he plans to store this energy will better allow us to prevent him from doing so."
"Good work. Since we don't know the entirety of Malzahar's plan to open Valoran to the Void, I think it is best to harass these other cells. Not only will this increase our chances of learning more of his intentions and resources, it will frustrate him and increase the chance that he might make a mistake that will expose him." Swain halted his stride for a moment, turning to look at Nasus. "This comes with a caveat, though."
Nasus' face was expressionless for several seconds as he looked into Swain's eyes. "As long as Malzahar lives, there is a clear and persistent threat to the Equestrians. He must die. However, he will not show himself unless he sees a chance to get what he wants. Before all is said and done, the girls must be exposed to danger to be taken out of it."
Swain nodded, his expression grim. "Believe me when I say I don't want them to die or be compromised in any way. They're going to have to be ready for real fighting. Twilight recently had an outburst and almost killed Singed, but that was in a fit of passion. They need to learn how to be cold in battle if we want to increase their chances of survival. To this end, when we return to the Institute, I wish to take a more prominent role in their training. They would not hear of it from me, though. I need you to open them to the concept. Think on it. For now, your friends are waiting to greet you beyond this door. Meet me in the lobby whenever you all are ready to depart." Swain gestured to the door at the end of the hall they were in before excusing himself and walking away.
Nasus watched his retreating form for a few seconds before turning to open the door in front of him. The moment the door was halfway open he found himself tackled by a blur of pink hair and insanity. Of course, being several times the weight of his assailant, he was left to watch awkwardly as that blur bounced off of him in a comically exaggerated manner before zooming back to hug him. "Nasus!" yelled Pinkie, leaving her victim slightly deafened. "Did'ja have fun in Zaun? Bring back any souvenirs for us? Learn any world shattering secrets?"
"...Hello, Pinkie," Nasus said flatly, before surveying the various levels of mirth that played across the faces of the seven others in the room. "My mission was indeed a success. I shall tell you of the particulars when we are airborne again. How has your stay under Swain's hospitality been?"
Twilight laughed awkwardly. "A little bit too dramatic for my tastes, but we're all well. For all of his many, many faults, Swain is at least a good host. His library isn't bad either."
"Indeed," affirmed Rarity. "Aside from a few early hiccups, our stay has been relatively pleasant. However, now that we are all together, Fluttershy and I have an announcement to make. We-" She never got to finish her sentence, as Pinkie couldn't contain her excitement any longer.
"Oh! I'm so happy for you two I always thought you would make a cute- Mmrph!" Pinkie kept talking for a few moments before realizing her mouth had been covered by Rainbow Dash's hand.
"No, no, goodness no," replied Rarity in alarm. "No offense to Fluttershy of course, but I'd rather wait for my Prince Charming to come along. What we wanted to announce..." She paused for a moment, though if it was to take a nervous breath or for dramatic effect was anyone's guess. "We wish to learn how to fight, and I wish to join you all on the Fields of Justice."
The room was completely silent. Nobody moved a muscle or said a word as the tension built. Fluttershy looked as if she might pass out. It finally fell upon Rainbow Dash to break the tension. She chose to do so in a less-than-graceful manner. "BUAHAHAHAHA! Oh, Celestia, that's rich!" She continued to guffaw, only for her laughter to die in her mouth as she noted the serious expressions on everyone else's faces. "Wait, you're serious? Oh... wow... I didn't mean anything by... It's just, you two don't exactly seem like..."
Fluttershy sighed. "We know... We just need to do this. All of you are learning all of these things and fighting in the League now. I'm scared that when all of this is over, we won't know each other anymore."
"It won't come to that," said Applejack resolutely. "Ah know this'll change us in more ways than we'll probably realize, but we're your friends, and we're always gonna be. Ain't nobody gonna hold it against you that you're a bit more... uh, delicate than we are. It's just part of who you are."
"I know that we're not the most likely candidates," replied Rarity, "but I simply couldn't live with myself if I didn't do this with you all. Besides, I may not be as powerful as Twilight, but I certainly know enough magic to hold my own, and from what I understand the gems of this world are especially receptive to enchantment."
"If they want to try, let them," said Riven with a shrug. "In Noxus, everyone learns to fight, even the most 'delicate' of us. I doubt it's beyond their abilities, and from what you all have told me about the adventures you've been in before we met, it'd be a good skill set to have. All it takes is the right trainer. Don't expect it to be easy, though. Now, let's get to the lobby. Gilded as it may be, I'm eager to get out of Swain's little birdcage."
- - - -
An hour later, the airship departed, bound for the Institute of War. As it ascended, a woman in a purple cloak turned to her similarly-clad companion. "Alert the others. Our targets have departed."
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I dare guess Taric would be an awesome trainer for Rarity. Gems, Gems are truly truly truly amazing.
Hmm... Cassiopia for Fluttershy? Go Dragonshy and get Shyvanna...
Rarity seems pretty self explanatory, but I'm curious on what role Fluttershy will play on Summoner's Rift.
2871000
Healer/support like Sona or Soraka?
2870982
Your skills are inferior >:|.
Making a guess on the skills for these two
's skills
Passive: Precise eye: With her eye for details, Rarity can detect a enemy's attack and move far enough away to lessen the damage> next skill that hits her deal 25-50% less damage, cooldown 30secs.
Q: Diamond Shot :hurls a diamond at target that damages and slows the first target hit, > skill shot that slows, simple enough
W: THIS IS WHINING!: Releases cries that silences enemies nearby> Increasing range per rank, mainly for defense but can be used for offense depending how she fights.
E: Quick Mend: Seeing a slight tear in the armor, Rarity quickly fixes it >Target gains a damage shield that increases if her passive was up.
R: Art of the Dress: Rarity goes into a fashion frenzy and creates an area that slows foes inside the area and boost's allies defenses while in it.
Main focus of her skills to me is damage reduction and disruption as seen with her E and R, granted while proper ponies would fight fairly Rarity knows how high society really works and would apply that in the form of her W. The Q is mainly for a damage dealing spell and peeling ability.
Passive: Heart of Kindness: Nearby allies gain bonus mana regain (can't think of any flavor text for this yet.)
Q: <Insert weapon based attack here or something> I got nothing
W: Animal friends: Fluttershy's animal friends scout out the nearby area and damages and slows any that they see> Roughly the size of Quinn's W
E: Cheering: With a loud "yay!" , Fluttershy motives an ally to do better> a heal that grants bonus movement speed.
R: The Stare: Foes that are caught in Fluttershy's gaze are terrified for as long as it's channeled> Think a bit like galio's ult but with fear and without the huge damage burst at the end, used for starting fights
Fluttershy to me is a heavy back row support.
2871133 That can be a given but most supports weather they have a heal or not would normally back up the ADC with some tankiness and/or magic. And Fluttershy has neither of those two, unless our lovely writer can pull it off.
Edit: I guess Fluttershy can go along with being a morale support from Burning Wick's suggestion.
2871000
There's only one champion who could train Fluttershy.
Our insane suppordle friend.
images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120317034950/leagueoflegends/images/9/91/LuluSquare.png
2871751 I knew something tasted purple before I clicked that link.
Fighting training?
Staredown - Fiddlesticks vs Fluttershy! 
rarity and taric go
...Or frustrate him into just going through with his plans early. Not sayin' it's a bad plan, just he seems to be ignoring something.
2871494 not terrified stunned.you don't run from the stare.
I actually want flutter to be trained by twisted fate just because twist is one of my faves and needs a presence here :O
and more anivia.
So... Since I'm gonna be stuck I'm Italy for a while but should have internet on my phone, if you need any help, especially with Flutters first summoning, tell me. I'd be glad to help.
2876600
Have you played him since he was nerfed and FoN was removed? Singed is nowhere near the terror he used to be.
PLEASE tell me that Fluttershy meets Udyr at some point in the story. Perhaps channeling the powers of other animals would be more appealing to her than more conventional fighting using weapons.
Weapons are for the weak after all.
There's only a couple people I could see training Fluttershy: Teemo, Lulu, Maokai (she always wanted to be a tree), and maaybeee Volibear
Fluttershy is almost guaranteed to be a support, Rarity is a bit more up in the air
As for trainers, I second this 2870982 thought for Rarity.
For Fluttershy... not really sure.
Galio could help train Flutters!!!
They both have wings and fly, and both smite things with powers that come from there eyes (admittedly the second thing is a stretch 
) Here's hoping
Thresh would absolutely hilarious due to the juxtaposition between them
.... Or maybe
Looking forward to more
O, and these is for you>>2870982
, who knew.
fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/128/0/6/raric_by_xarazel-d4z0wic.jpg
ponybot.net/pix/2187.jpg
24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7dflwjMT91ru37q6o1_500.jpg
There's a surprisingly high level of the mane 6 as league champions
I just had a thought while playing some AD Malz.
It remains to be seen if the Mane 6 have the wherewithal to just up and murder Malzahar. As Fluttershy said herself
They could definitely pull it off, but the mental scarring would be grievous. So call this speculation on what you're planning, or a suggestion if I'm wrong, but I think I know an alternative
While I'm admittedly fuzzy on any lore changes to him in the Journal of Justice, the lore on Malzahars page suggests that he resisted his whispering visions as long as he could before going to Icathia. This shows him succumbing to the inevitability of the Voids coming, not wanting for them to come, as shown in his quote
And your tidbits of him in Ch 12 strongly support that idea, that he is certain that the Void will come not that he wants it to.
Both of these have something in common, a lack of hope.
My theory is thus, that in his own mind Malzahar sees himself as an angel of mercy, causing his home to suffer as little as possible.
Based on this, while the coming of the Void is most likely unstoppable, if Malz could be convinced that he and the people of Valoran had a chance, then he would put everything he could into opposing the void.
This brings me to the point
If the Mane 6 could banish the Void Terrors that live in Malzs mind, if they could rekindle his hope for Valoran, then they would not have to introduce him to the Reaper.
And, from there it wouldn't be to far of a leap to expect Malzahar to be able to use the knowledge the void gave him to help them return home!
Just a thought though
2883955 - It really is rather funny that you managed to find images of all 3 parallels... Disturbing... but still funny. Maybe Udyr? Channel the might of her animal friends?
Fluttershy's stances would be Bunny, Beaver, Bear and Tree.
2886359
Why would you do that to Taric? Bloodstone Taric is an abomination as it is. Pink fuzzy taric is only Taric.
As an MLP fan and LoL player myself, I can only say that this story is really great. I always thought that good character development was an important part of a good story, and you did an incredible work here with that. Also love whole world building, it's very complex and detailed. You wrote an amazing background story for almost everything, and that makes one thing that LoL was always lacking for me.
I'm looking forward to the next chapters :)
2876715
I main Singed. See my Av. Just cause FoN is gone and he was nerfed pretty hard, doesn't mean he's useless. Do things right, and he'll be the biggest annoyance around.
And he is. :D
2969792
Ehh, he simply can't make the plays like he could without the tenacity from his ult. i feel like if you want the annoyance factor, Teemo, Yorick, or Darius all outclass him right now. Any champ with ranged harass wrecks Singed in lane at the moment, and even a few without.
2 days to go through the story to this point. Where the new chapters? I love you and this fic... I may just be using you for it...
3204985
i had a lot completed, but then i decided it sucked, so i'm rewriting it. about three-fourths done with that.
LoL PONY FANFIC WHERE?
Sorry, it's just been a while, kinda wondering if it's still going.
3422884
Unfortunate circumstances have left me to do some job searching. Writing won't be a priority until I'm employed.
I hate you beyond legitimate words right now. You have me up till 5 in the morning reading this God send, and now I'm out of chapters to read.
You need to rectify this problem. Immediately.
Heh....rectify....hehehe.
Funny word.
3473381
Sure thing.
3475125
Thanks a lot!
3424161
Sorry to hear dude. Hopefully that will turn out well.
2884285
you make a point that I have said before, Malz doesn't want them to show up, he just accepts that they will. if they could convince him to fight then he would be on the front lines.
I've only read the story halway so far an I'm also not sure if this has been asked before, but any ideas about Infernal Nasus?
2879757 THAT... actually makes a surprising amount of sense. Fluttershy already has a stun/petrify move with her stare, but it also locks her movement down, so it's very situational. She has a ton of animal related abilities, so tapping them like Udyr is a promising angle, as is LuLu's.
Then of course, she could always meet Maokai and decide to be a tree.
For Rarity, she has a ton of fine control and nasty attack angles with those diamonds of hers. I'm thinking a tracking move (based on her gem-finding spell perhaps) a CC move based on her fabric, and heavily telekinetic/gemstone themed powers for her other skills.
Taric is my favorite support in all of League, and I would LOVE to see him and Rarity hook up for some fabulous gemcrafting sessions... :3
Also, finally I get my ultimate mental hype moment of imagining the video... "Hello summoners, this is Phreank, and this is the champion spotlight for Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness."
I’m imagining fluttershy encountering ammumu, and rarity running into taric