Chapter 12: Aftermath
It was late into the afternoon when Flurry Heart and Magnolia trudged through the streets of the Crystal Empire, towards a destination Flurry Heart would rather like to avoid more than any other place in the world. Thinking about where they're headed to right now, a deep shudder went through Flurry Heart's body. Magnolia put a hoof around her neck, trying to stabilize her. “Are you okay?” In her eyes was honest concern, something that Flurry Heart still wasn't used to from the former bully. Yet, she nodded, acknowledging Magnolia's worried question.
“I'm fine,” Flurry Heart answered taut. As the towering building came into sight in the distance, though, another shudder emerged, stronger this time. Flurry Heart almost stopped in her tracks.
“Should I go in alone to get our stuff?” the rich filly at her side asked as they approached the building.
Flurry Heart gulped, then nodded again, thick sweat on her forehead now. This time, she stopped for real, unable to move just one more inch nearer to the building.
Magnolia nodded in response. “I'll be quick. Just wait right here, okay?” Without awaiting an answer by Flurry Heart, Magnolia hurried to the entrance gate, opened it and slipped inside. It closed behind her with a bang that made Magnolia twitch. Hectically, she looked around while clenching her teeth. Much like Flurry Heart, she was leaving the school just after the first lesson this morning, and if she should meet Austere Knowledge or the principal now, she would definitely get into trouble for it.
For a few seconds, Magnolia just stood in front of the closed gate, ears moving around, trying to catch any sound. In case of approaching hoofsteps, she was ready to slip back through the door and hide with Flurry Heart outside. But nopony came. After waiting for another bunch of seconds, just to be sure, Magnolia eased up and breathed a relieved sigh.
“Maybe they aren't even here anymore.....” she whispered, then set herself into motion again. After barely a few steps, though, she heard somepony cough behind her. It was a quiet sound, yet it seemed ear-piercing to Magnolia. She froze in her step, then turned around slowly, once again ready to gallop back to the gate and slip outside. But behind her, was nopony. She heard the cough a second time and it was only now that she noticed an open door in the corridor at the other side of the lobby. Yellow light shone out of it into the dark corridor and now that she was paying more attention, she could hear the sound of hooves scraping on the floor, accompanied by somepony scribbling on paper. The sounds came from the principal's office. Magnolia listened to the sounds for a minute, then she turned around again, slower and more careful this time, and continued to make her way to her and Flurry Heart's classroom.
The principal did not leave his office to check who had entered the school at this unusual time. Or maybe he was so busy with his work that he didn't notice the bang. Either way, Magnolia was alleviated that he did not come out and found her sneaking around in the now mostly dark building.
As she had reached the classroom door, she saw with satisfaction that it was still open and, happy about one source of unwanted sounds less, she flitted inside and straight to her desk at the back of the classroom. Her saddlebags still rested on the floor to the right of the desk. She snatched them up and put them on her back, then motioned towards the front of the classroom, where she did the same with Flurry Heart's saddlebags, and in less than a minute, Magnolia had left the classroom again and was sneaking through the corridor back to the exit of the school.
The situation in the lobby was still the same, everything was dark, the light shone out of the principal's office and she could still hear the scraping and scribbling sounds, occasionally interrupted by coughs. As fast as she had slipped into the building, as fast she was slipping out of it now. Not intended to make the same mistake again, and to alert the principal of her presence after all, she closed the entrance gate quietly this time, and only as she had shut it completely, she turned around to where Flurry Heart was waiting for her.
Flurry Heart, though, was not alone anymore. And as Magnolia saw who stood there in front of her, every signal in her body told her that more trouble was ahead of them and that this complicated day was far from over.
There, in front of the young alicorn, stood Sunny Spirit. Wearing a grim expression that indicated nothing less than that she was enraged beyond imagination. And if witnessing this sight wouldn't have been frightening enough already, what Sunny Spirit said as she opened her mouth let Magnolia freeze completely.
“Why did you come back?!” Sunny spew into the face of her friend. Her voice was full of disgust and hatred, a way Sunny had never talked to Flurry Heart before. The latter was frozen as well, not being able to say one word to answer the offensive question.
Attempting to prevent the situation from escalating more, Magnolia rushed at Flurry Heart's side and then between her and Sunny. “Just leave her, okay? I know that it's shocking, but Flurry Heart is your friend, isn't she?”
Sunny Spirit huffed. “My friend? I don't think so! Not anymore!”
Upon hearing this exclamation, Flurry Heart twitched and finally awoke from her trance. She did a step forward and approached Sunny, stretching out a hoof to her. “But we are friends, Sunny! You are not going to lea–“ Before she could finish her sentence, Sunny slapped her hoof away.
“Don't even dare to touch me now, Flurry Heart!” A wave of anger washed over Flurry Heart, whose eyes had tears appearing in their corners now.
“Sunny.....” she began again, but this was all she could say after the harsh rejection. She whimpered a few times, then tried it again. “I'm sorry, Sunny, I never wanted–“ But promptly, Sunny was interrupting her again.
“I don't want to hear any excuses now, Flurry. I know what you did to the Crystal Heart. You almost let my parents suffer as much as they suffered from King Sombra's reign again when you destroyed the Crystal Heart. I don't want to stay with somepony who could do something like this to them again!”
She shot a hoof at Flurry Heart, who was now all in tears and unable to talk, even if Sunny would let her. “Even your name reminds me that you could hurt my parents, Flu–“ She stopped for a moment and bit her lips. “I hate you, princess!”, she then continued, her voice being louder now. The harsh words hit Flurry Heart like a hammer and her face froze in shock, the only thing moving in it being tears that emerged from the corner of her eyes. “I don't want to see you anymore!” Sunny Spirit continued. “And I don't want that you come near to me or my parents ever again!”
With this last sentence spoken, Sunny Spirit turned around at the spot and galloped away through the broad streets of the Crystal Empire, leaving Flurry Heart behind, who was now nothing more than a bundle of misery. Like on the morning of the day before, Flurry Heart had reason to break down in front of the school's gates. Unlike on the day before, though, her best friend wasn't with her anymore to calm her, only a filly she wouldn't even have considered her friend just a few hours ago. And unlike Sunny Spirit, Magnolia did not really know what to make of the situation.
She took off Flurry Heart's saddlebags and put them, as gentle as she could, on the back of their sobbing owner. Clueless about what to do now, Magnolia just said the first thing that came to her mind. “W-We should go now, Flurry. I-I heard the principal inside, if he hears you out here, he might come outside and I don't want you to get into more trouble today.”
As Flurry Heart didn't react, Magnolia grabbed her and, using all her strength, brought Flurry back on her hooves and dragged her along as she moved away from the school building. Flurry Heart followed the movement along, but merely due to the force the pegasus at her side put on her. Energy to walk on her own was nothing that Flurry had anymore. In this moment, she felt as broken as her heart. And although Magnolia knew she had to say something, there was nothing she could think of to comfort her new friend. Which was something she cursed herself for innerly.
While dragging Flurry through the streets into the direction of the castle, Magnolia cast a glance at her wings. Those wings were all she ever cared for. Those big, beautiful wings..... And she still did, this was something Magnolia could clearly feel. But now, since the incident on the day before, she wasn't sure anymore.
“If it was always just for admiring her wings, then why did I feel so bad yesterday after hurting her?” she thought to herself. “Was this just because I damaged her wings? Was I afraid of it that I could have ruined their look? Or did I really feel sorry for doing this to her?” Magnolia let her eyes wander over Flurry Heart's wings, particularly, over her right wing this time. Sunken deep in thoughts, she clumsily unfolded the wing in search for a specific spot. The absence of the feather she had ripped out the day earlier was still noticeable there. A brown scab was covering the wound now. Magnolia eyed the gap in the feathering. Moments passed, while Magnolia searched her feelings. “It doesn't really matter, does it?” she finally thought to herself. “I'm not worried about how the wing looks.” She folded the wing in and having done so, increased her efforts to drag Flurry Heart with her again.
“But it still hurts to look at it.....” she pinpointed the observation of her feelings. A tinge of pain flashed through her heart as she did so. “What's this?” she thought. “Do I still feel guilty for it? Does this mean I'm really caring for Flurry Heart? But why do I have no idea what to say then? Why can't I cheer her up? I should do this, as her friend.....”
This was a question Magnolia couldn't find an answer for. Silently, she kept dragging Flurry Heart ever nearer to the castle. Having averted her gaze from Flurry Heart, Magnolia looked around now. The streets around them were all empty, which was strange for this time of day. Even though it was late afternoon, there should be bustling activity around them still. But there was nothing of that sort. The streets were devoid of other ponies, they were all alone. And even more strangely, quite many windows were shut and covered by thick curtains. Magnolia flashed a look at Flurry Heart, concern in her eyes, then looked back to the houses.
It was only now that she noticed how dark it was. Putting one and one together, Magnolia looked up and indeed, the sky was full of thick, dark clouds. As if her look was a cue, a raindrop landed in her face. Another one followed soon, then, all of a sudden, the clouds let a barrage of water rain on her and Flurry Heart. It wasn't long until both of them were soaked. The cold rain mixed itself with the salty tears of Flurry Heart that continously streamed down her face, but the young princess did not react to it. Nervously, Magnolia looked around to find a place for them to stand under, but all she could see were the many houses around them and, so she figured, knocking on one of the doors would prove useless right now. There was no choice other than to keep trotting, until they were at Flurry Heart's home.
As Magnolia finally saw the Crystal Castle in the distance, though, her movements became more hesitant, and a completely different thought as the ones before entered her mind.
“What if they don't want to see me? Flurry's parents..... I'm sure they know everything.” Magnolia bit her lip, then looked into Flurry Heart's tear-stained and from grief distorted face. “And if they see her crying like this, they will think I'm at fault for it. What are they going to do then?”
Pictures of her getting yelled at by the rulers of the Crystal Empire, of guards pushing her down one of the castle's corridors and finally, of her rotting in some dark oubliette deep below ground level, without food and only foul water, and with rats as big as her head who just waited for her to fall asleep flashed up in front of her inner eye.
Vigorously, Magnolia shook her head, chasing those dark thoughts away. “Now I'm stupid..... They would never do this. At least not for something like this and not to a filly.....” The fear, though, remained in her heart. Said fear emanating from her eyes, she looked down on Flurry Heart. The castle wasn't far away anymore now. “Hey, do your parents know who I am? Have you told them about the bullying?”
Flurry Heart gave no answer. Even her sobs were quieter now and those quiet sobs were the only sounds she produced.
Magnolia wrinkled her forehead. She looked forward to the castle and bit her lip again, with more force this time. It was hurting now, but she didn't care. The castle drew nearer in the distance and with every additional step, her heart was bumping faster in her chest. Magnolia went over different things she could say to Flurry Heart's parents, but nothing seemed good enough to her and nothing was able to reassure herself that her parents wouldn't be mad at her. In all her anxiousness, Magnolia wished for the castle to just disappear, but of course, this didn't happen. The reduction of the distance that became bigger with every hoofstep she made was merciless.
Finally, Magnolia had reached the castle. Frantically, she looked around, and felt relieved as no guards were to be seen anywhere. Exhausted now, she dragged Flurry Heart, who was still unable to move on her own, up the small stairs to the castle's main entrance. The whizzing sound of the Crystal Heart nearby felt like torture to Magnolia's nervous and agitated mind.
Not knowing what to do, now that she stood in front of the gate, Magnolia let her head hang and just listened to the sounds of the Crystal Heart and the rain. She knew she should knock on the door, but also didn't dare to do so, fearing what could await her inside of the castle. Minutes passed and none of the two fillies had moved, as a sneeze left Flurry Heart. Magnolia could feel her shuddering at her side and noticed how cold her body was. She bit her lip again, then she removed her hooves from Flurry Heart and carefully placed her in a somewhat comfortable position on the ground. Tears glistened in the corners of Magnolia's eyes now.
“I'm sorry, Flurry Heart,” she said. Then she faced the door again. Breathing in deeply, she gathered all her courage, then knocked on the gate, with all the force her tiny hooves could bring up, hoping that it would be loud enough for somepony inside to hear it. Then she turned around, stretched her wings and took flight, high up, then with a sharp curve to the left side of the castle. As the castle's gates opened and Shining Armor stepped out of them, looking for who the arrival was, Magnolia had already disappeared between some of the crystal buildings.
As Shining Armor saw who sat there in front of the gates; crying, shuddering and freezing, he gasped from shock. “Flurry Heart!” his voice rang out to her agitatedly and without wasting time, he wrapped her into his magic and carried her inside, closing the gates behind him.
With the quickness of a concerned father, Shining Armor galloped through the castle and throne room into the royal apartments, rushing past Cadance. As soon as she saw the reason for his hurry, she jumped up from the throne and followed her husband. “You will stay here and inform us immediately if something happens!” she commanded a guard before she disappeared inside the royal apartments as well.
Still carrying his daughter, Shining Armor rushed into the bedroom of him and his wife, pulled the blanket off the sheets and wrapped Flurry into it. Not any less fast, he then made his way into the kitchen, rushing past Cadance once more, and sat Flurry Heart, who still shuddered from cold, on the nearest stool.
Cadance entered the kitchen right after him. “What happened, Shining Armor? Where did you find her?” Agitated, she rushed in front of her daughter and put a hoof on her forehead upon seeing her condition.
“I don't know what happened. She was sitting like this in front of the entrance,” he answered grim.
“We must warm her! I go and make some tea and you bring more blankets for her!”
Like she wanted to underline what her mother said, Flurry Heart sneezed again.
Shining Armor rushed out of the kitchen again and came back with two more blankets just moments later. Carefully, he wrapped his daughter into the soft and warm fabric, concern on his face as he had to see how his daughter continued to shudder and sneeze. The moment he was done, Cadance had the tea ready. She joined her husband and hovered the cup in front of Flurry Heart's face. “Open your mouth, Flurry, if you drink this you will soon feel better!” Stopping to clatter with her teeth for a moment, Flurry Heart did as she was told, almost mechanically, and Cadance poured the hot tea slowly into her mouth. With the how brew running down her throat, Flurry Heart felt a part of her spirit return.
As Cadance had put the cup down again, Flurry looked at her mom. When more tears left her eyes, it was when her parents realized that her face was soaked not just because of the rain. “Mommy.....” Flurry Heart said weakly, but before she could continue, Cadance put a hoof around her shoulder.
“It's okay, Flurry, you don't have to explain anything. We already know what happened. We were just worried where you had been the whole time, but now everything is fine. Just rest and don't talk now.”
Shining Armor at her side nodded. “We got the news a few hours after you left for school. The principal himself told us what happened and how they found out.”
Flurry Heart's eyes widened as she heard the principal being mentioned and she shuddered again, this time not from the cold. “Am I–“ A cough interrupted her. “Am I expelled from school now?”
Shining Armor put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “No. No, you aren't. But.....” He trailed off, having trouble to find the right words.
Cadance set up a comforting smile and continued gently. “But we were asked to take safety measures once you return to school. The principal was not as furious as you fear, Flurry, but he told us how he is concerned for the safety of the other students. We explained that the magic you used to destroy the Crystal Heart is sealed now, but he did not believe us because we tried to cover it up.” A tinge of guilt flashed over Cadance's face, but she hid it quickly. “He demanded precautions as requirement to let you attend school again. That's why we will send one of the guards with you to school tomorrow.”
The last sentence raised doubts in Shining Armor's face. “But can she go to school tomorrow? You see how sick she is. Maybe it's better if she stays here and rests.”
“She doesn't have fever, it's just a cold,” Cadance calmed his concerns. “If she rests today, she should be fit enough to attend school tomorrow.”
Suggesting to send a guard alongside her to school did not go down well for Flurry Heart. “I don't want to be accompanied by a guard,” she protested, still somewhat weakly. “I'm not hurting anypony.....”
“We know that your magic won't cause any trouble,” Cadance clarified gently while she took a tissue and wiped away her daughter's tears. “But it's to your own safety as well, Flurry.”
Shining Armor nodded affirmatively, his face showing a serious expression now. “The news about what really happened to the Crystal Heart spread quickly after it got out. While you were gone, many of the citizens came to the castle and demanded explanations. A lot of them were angry and demanded from us to do something about it. There was a riot and we and the guards had our hooves full to calm the crowd.” His face became more grim. “We had to impose a curfew until tomorrow morning to prevent the situation from escalating. It probably made them more suspicious, but in this situation, we had no other choice.”
Now, Flurry Heart's face showed terror as she began to understand the implications in her mother's sentence.
Noticing the fear in her face, Cadance wrapped her hooves around Flurry Heart completely now and pulled her into a hug. “Don't worry about it too much. We still have this situation under control, Flurry. And as long as the guard stays at your side, you will be safe.” She squeezed her gently, then let go of her. “But now, tell us where you have been.” Against her will, Cadance's voice sounded stricter now. “Daddy and me were worried when school was over, but you still didn't come home.”
Feeling reminded on the events from earlier in the afternoon again, Flurry Heart's body began to shake and a new stream of tears started to flow down her cheeks. She sobbed a few times before she found the strength to explain.
“I–I left school right after it happened. I flew up to a cloud and stayed there until it was late into the afternoon with..... With a friend.”
“'A' friend?” Cadance asked surprised. “What about Sunny? Was she not with you?”
Another shaking, a lot stronger this time, went through Flurry Heart's body and she erupted into a series of sobs upon hearing Sunny's name, stuck for an answer to the question of her mother.
Once more, Cadance wrapped her daughter into a hug. Softly, she stroke over her mane, while Flurry Heart was crying into her chest. “What happened, Flurry?”
The answer came muffled. “S-Sunny..... I-I'm not her friend anymore, mommy.” Driven by the sudden desire for comfort, Flurry Heart twined her arms around her mother's body.
Cadance and Shining Armor exchanged a glance of concern and bitter understanding.
“She hates me now, mommy,” Flurry pressed out between more sobs. “S-She said she never wants to see me again!”
Shining Armor's face turned dark. “I hate this bastard. The next time I meet Austere Knowledge, I will make him regret all of this.”
Cadance shot her husband a glance. “Calm down, Shining Armor. We can't solve this situation with violence.”
“I know,” he repeated defeatedly and clenched his teeth. “But I can't just stand here and do nothing.”
“And we won't. But we need to stay calm to find a solution.” She addressed her daughter again. “We're going to talk with Sunny Spirit about everything, Flurry. I'm sure once she finds out that you are not dangerous, she will change her mind again.” Cadance pulled away from Flurry Heart again and took the same tissue to dry her tears once more, then she let her daughter blow her nose into it. “But now you should try to sleep a little.” She crumpled the tissue with her magic and threw it into the bin that was nearby. “It was a hard day and you are exhausted, Flurry. You need rest now and tomorrow, we are going to find a solution for everything that happened together.”
Cadance got up and, gently embracing Flurry with her hooves, placed her on her back. Accompanied by her husband, they made their way towards Flurry's bedroom, while Flurry Heart was clutching Cadance's neck tightly.
Having arrived there, Cadance lifted her off her back and lied her down on the pillow. Their magic combined, the two parents spread the blanket over Flurry Heart, who was still wrapped in the other three blankets.
Cadance bent down to her daughter and stroke over her cheek, then did another check of her forehead. “Are you still feeling cold?” she asked her.
Slowly, Flurry Heart shook her head, but how she was clasping at her mother's hooves demonstrated that she had other concerns.
Cadance was holding Flurry Heart's hooves with her own and ruffled through her mane with the other one. “Don't worry, I will stay here while you sleep.”She bent down again and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead, as suddenly, loud bangs sounded through the castle. Startled, Cadance's head shot up. “What are these sounds?”
“It's the gate,” Shining Armor answered, vigilance in his voice.
“Mommy?” Flurry Heart asked, her voice shuddering from fear. “Who is this?”
The banging returned, louder and more urgent this time. Cadance and Shining Armor exchanged a glance, yet didn't say anything to not worry their daughter even more.
Setting up a confident smile, Cadance looked down at her daughter again. “Everything is fine, Flurry. It's probably nothing to worry about.” She squeezed her hooves gently.
“I will go and see who it is,” Shining Armor said. “You wait here until I'm back.” He bent forward to his wife and brought his mouth close to her left ear. “In case anything happens, you know about the secret passage in the corridor and how to open it.”
Cadance nodded sternly.
Shining Armor trotted to the door of the bedroom and turned around. He gave Flurry Heart a last, reassuring smile, then he went through the door and headed through the corridor towards the castle's main entrance, from which more loud banging sounded into his direction.
Despite the attempts of her parents to calm her, though, Flurry Heart kept shuddering, her young mind busy with imagining all sorts of worst case scenarios. Cadance kept holding her tiny hooves and repeatedly stroke over her mane, while eyeing the door with a mix of anxiety and concern.....
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Down with Mr. Knowledge!!!!
7583359 yes down with Knowledge purge the heretic in the name of the emperor and the golden throne I declare exsterminatus against him
7583379
7583431 was it something I said
7583953 Indeed.
Wow. All I have to say is DAMN! Just like I expected, shit went down! This is getting darker and more depressing counter to the lighthearted previous chapter. Also, I like how you shifted the point of view from Flurry to Magnolia at the beginning; it really helped fleshing her out and making her motives clearer.
And Shining's angry reaction was a little satisfying. I'm still waiting for angry/badass Cadance, though
Keep up the awesome work and don't let us wait for too long!
P.S : is the passage Shining mentioned Sombra's basement from the comics?
7584000 if I did I apologize I didn't mean to offend you or anyone in anyway
7584301 You didn't.
Alright status report the royals ALL of them can't do anything to turn the tide of battle AT THIS POINT in time. Any action they take at this point can only be added Austere's showing of his grand royal conspiracy.
We're going to have to switch battlefields, we need neutral wait for it, academics to enter into the mess. They'll have to point out the flaws in Austere's arguments pointing out how limiter spells are in fact a thing, how obviously a baby has little control over his actions, how obviously the heart can in fact be repaired, point out all the little flaws in Austere's thinking and goad him, get him to say something stupid that reveals his true intentions and see how many stand with him then.
Only once his selfishness is revealed to all can the royals strike back, and they might not even have to, if Austere is discredited sufficiently he can be driven to a self destructive despair that will finish him more efficiently than any government action. The only thing they'd have to ensure is that it remains solely self destructive and Austere doesn't try a "I'm taking you down with me" while he's collapsing...
Side note: So Magnolia really has gained at least an inkling of what her actions were doing, that's actually very good to hear.
7584047
I'm happy it's perceived as such. That's exactly what I had in mind.^^
I had a different passage in mind, actually. A passage of which we don't know if it exists in the Crystal Castle or not.
The passage I mentioned is in the corridor of the royal apartments, while Sombra's passage is in the throne room and just leads to some secret rooms of him inside the castle.
7584700
Yep, Magnolia is fully aware of it that she did wrong and that she hurt Flurry Heart a lot with it.
Thanks for your comment.
7585116 Umm, just a question, why is this story in the Flurrax group (Flurry x Thorax)?
7585358
I don't know myself. I haven't included it.
The group has a "Flurry Heart" folder too, so I guess that's the reason for it.
7586425 Oh, if that's so, then there's nothing wrong.
7586440
I'm definitely fine with it! Good to see the story going around in more groups!
Okay, I'm scared for Flurry Heart now. Something is about to happen, I'm sure.
7592392
Something IS about to happen, indeed.
Why isn't Austere Knowledge under arrest? He directly defied & burned a royal decree. That HAS to be against the law, possibly even treason. Plus, Inciting a Riot is against the law in most places. Lots of places have some sort Official Secrets Act. In short, his parole officer hasn't been born yet. Hopefully, he'll hang for what he did
Violence doesn't solve anything?
I would disagree in one respect. Violence has not only resolved more issues than any other factor, it has probably resolved more issues than all other factors combined.