Starting A Flame

by Star_Shade

Chapter [15] Better understandings

“I can’t do it anymore, Melody. I no longer know what I am doing. I wish you were here… you always knew the best course of action.” Shining sighed, sitting in his tent alone. He had been looking over a map of the land. Moving away, he glanced at his mirror, seeing his reflection. What once had been his peak physical form, was now a weary stallion looking back at him. He took note of the bags under his eyes, seeing the toll of many sleepless nights. His mane was tattered and barely combed to be presentable. The weight of attempting to stay one step ahead of their enemy was taxing him greatly. Shaking his head of some treacherous thoughts, he made his way to his bed.

Climbing into his bed, he pulled a heavy blanket over himself and stared at the roof of the tent, with the fabric only slightly obscuring the night sky. Thoughts and plans swirled in his head. He ran hundreds of outcomes through his mind, all of them, it seemed to him, led to their defeat and Nightmare Moon’s victory. Who am I kidding. I am no leader. I can barely manage to keep ourselves together, he thought, maybe I should focus on what Moon Melody had hoped for. Those whispers of a leader rising among us. But who?

---

“Are you sure this is a good idea? Commander Shining was smart enough to disperse our numbers so that our enemy won’t become suspicious with such a large group. Is it wise to gather everypony now?” asked Moon Nettle. They both were in the mess hall, going over the plan that Shining had given Dasher.

“Oh come on, Nettle! You and I both know that the resistance has been pretty lax right now in our fight back. Why not gather our forces for something huge? We could really do some damage right when Nightmare Moon least expects it,” responded Dasher enthusiastically, slamming her hoof onto the table. “I trust the commander; he has led us well so far.”

“I trust him too, but our trust should not be given blindly when it comes to these things.”

“But come on! Where is your sense of justice? It’s time we stood up and fought back. Don’t you think we have a chance?” exclaimed Dasher.

“Of course we have a chance! I just think that we should be wise when it comes to fighting Nightmare Moon. She and Dawn Lighter have been known to do things that are erratic, I mean by Celestia, she took the foals! She is not afraid to do terrible stuff! We just need to be prepared for anything. Who knows what other horrors they have done?” said Nettle.

“Don’t think like that,” responded Dasher, nudging her. “That just spirals into depressing thoughts. We have hope.”

“You’re right.” Nettle sighed. “Now, where to first?”

---

“Give this to Commander Shining. It is a medical report on Piper,” said Doctor Therevex, giving a messenger a scroll. The messenger looked at it, then back up at the doctor.

“How is the colt? Will he be okay?” he asked.

“Marble, was it?” responded Doctor Therevex.

“Yes, sir,” said Marble

“Alright, Marble, well… just get the message to the commander. The future is looking somewhat bright for this lad. Whether the commander wishes to elaborate is up to him. And make haste, too,” Therevex commanded, dismissing the messenger.

As the stallion made his way to the commander’s tent, he contemplated opening the message, but then thought better as the commander would update the rest of the camp on what happened to the poor colt. “Courier Marble, here with a message for Commander Shining Moon,” he said, speaking to the two guards positioned outside the tent. Waiting to be admitted into the tent, Marble was surprised to find Commander Shining personally coming out to greet him. It seemed that Shining had recently taken a bath, with his mane still a bit wet. Gone were the bags under his eyes that ponies had whispered about as he stood proudly before him. “Commander Shining,” Marble said, standing straight at attention.

“At ease, I hear you have a message for me?” Shining smiled at him.

“Yes, sir!” he exclaimed a little too loudly. “Update on Piper’s condition, sir.”

“Very good,” Shining remarked, picking up the message with his magic. “Hopefully better news of his condition.” Quickly scanning the scroll, his chipper expression faded into a sadder look. Rolling the scroll up, Shining tucked it away in his saddlebag and started making his way to the medical tent.

“Not so good news, sir?” questioned Marble.

“Sadly no, Doctor Therevex has requested my presence to give me a more detailed report. I can’t say everything is alright with the colt. I will give a better update when I have all of the details.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“He will survive, he is a strong colt. But he will have many challenges to overcome in his life now.”

---

“It’s hopeless!” cried Piper.

“No, it is not. Eventually, you will learn to live with your pain. Maybe one day we may be able to heal you properly, but for now, I need you to walk across the room without falling,” Doctor Therevex commanded. He supported Piper as he stood up. Letting go, he tracked the colt struggling across the room. Yet Piper only got a few steps in before collapsing again. The doctor sighed softly before beginning the process again. Three more attempts were made before Shining entered the tent.

“We can try again later, Piper.” Doctor Therevex sighed, moving over to greet the commander. The colt breathed in, glad for the break.

“I came as fast as I could,” Shining said, drawing closer..

“Yes, thank you. Piper, why don’t you go ahead and rest for now? . Commander Shining and I need to step out and talk for a bit, is that alright?” asked Doctor Therevex.

“Yes!” exclaimed Piper, relieved that he did not have to move anymore. As he stumbled back to his bed, Shining and Therevex calmly walked out of the room.

---

Shining Moon and Doctor Therevex strolled over to a nearby picnic table and sat down. “So, how bad is it?” asked Shining.

“Surprisingly not as bad as I thought. In laypony terms, he will suffer back pain for the rest of his life. Right now, I am helping him with some physical exercises to test his pain threshold. He is a strong colt but needs the mental mindset to get over obstacles,” began Doctor Therevex, bringing out a medical sheet. “I fear that his own failures will take hold in his mind and block him from being able to function properly. He is going through the loss of his friends and family, as well as dealing with new pain he has never experienced. It will take a long time for him to get used to.”

“Something that I wish we all had. His predicament sounds pretty hard, but why did you ask me to come? I care about the colt’s condition, but I do not see how this pertains to me,” asked Shining.

Looking up, he noticed the camp coming to life. What had once been blue and gloomy was now alive, as a few ponies ran around and cheered as they saw Dasher and Moon Nettle leave. Glad his plan to bolster the morale had worked, he was satisfied to find that the two were off to their mission. He returned his attention back to Doctor Therevex.

“...healing process, he should be all yours in about a few weeks. Unless of course, you already have something in mind,” concluded Doctor Therevex.

“Wait, what do you mean? How did you know I wanted to train him?” asked Shining, a bit surprised by the words.

“Don’t be silly. It’s my job to watch ponies for a living, keeping track of what they do and feel. You may have been good at hiding it, but I can see that you intend to take him under your wing. I highly recommend nothing extremely physical for maybe, two weeks at the most? By then the healers should have made ample progress,” responded the doctor, smiling gently at Shining Moon’s open jaw.

“Well… I am still trying to figure out where to begin, really. Your update on his condition has helped, but training him will be… interesting to say the least,” continued Shining.

“You have had plenty of experience with training, why, you were Captain of the Guard ,if I recall correctly. Surely you are used to shaping stallions and mares into soldiers, why not him too?” said Doctor Therevex.

“But that’s just it, those were adults, not foals. I have to completely rethink my way of teaching, just to suit his physical needs. I can’t push him hard, because he would break too easily.” Shining sighed, rubbing his temples.

“Then don’t start with anything physical. Work on his mind. Celestia knows he has enough survivor's guilt already. Beat those insecurities out first, and then… give him room to grow. Sometimes the little ones can surprise us all,” Therevex remarked coily.

“Maybe, but… how do I do that? How do I get him to focus on what is important right now, rather than the past?” wondered Shining.

“I don’t know. I am a medical doctor, not a psychiatrist.” The doctor smirked.

Comments

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Great chapter a,