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Chapter 115,123 words
Chapter 210,278 words
Chapter 314,674 words
Chapter 414,937 words
Chapter 510,328 words
Chapter 6 (part 1)9,174 words
Chapter 6 (part 2)12,317 words
Chapter 710,277 words
Chapter 815,982 words
Chapter 913,634 words
Chapter 10 (part 1)13,429 words
Chapter 10 (part 2)8,188 words
Chapter 1114,261 words
Chapter 1216,530 words
Chapter 13 (part 1)14,786 words
Chapter 13 (part 2)20,726 words
Chapter 1415,609 words
Chapter 1513,701 words

Chapter 7

When morning broke over the canopies of the trees above them, it was bleak, miserable and nasty, much like Fluttershy’s mood. Her mood only grew fouler when the heavens opened up and the rain began to fall.

She stared at the ground intensely, as though her eyes alone would make the earth break apart before her. Her ears were flat and her tail dragged behind her, picking up sloppy mud and dirt. She felt the rain hit her back like she was being poked a thousand times, and could feel the water dripping down her mane, neck, back and rump. It was enough to bring her out of her intense staring, and she realised her neck felt stiff and achy after keeping her head so low for so long. She let out a sombrely sigh, and then looked up for the first time in what felt like hours to take in her surroundings.

The land had changed little since they moved away from the derelict castle and had trekked deeper into the woods. Trees taller than the towers of Canterlot rose up into the sky, with huge branches reaching out to each other like they were holding hands. It was a sweet sight, and it made Fluttershy smile a little. However, even that she felt strain painfully.

Movement caught her attention and she looked right and tensed herself in preparation of an attack by Royal Guard ponies. She looked up, and quickly relaxed when she saw two squirrels and their two children looking out of the hole of a tree, hoping for the rain to stop soon. She wished she could stop to help them, but knew she couldn’t. They had to keep moving; they couldn’t afford to stop just yet.

For hours since leaving the castle, Fluttershy kept her ears up as high as they could so she could hear any threats coming their way, made reality by her doing. So far, they did not hear any trumpets or the cries of soldiers giving chase. Fluttershy was thankful of that, but it didn’t seem to improve the mood of any of her companions. ‘Thinking of which, I haven’t heard a peep from them since leaving the castle. Are they still with me?’

She looked back and forth at her fellow travellers, and saw that they more or less looked like she felt: cold, wet and miserable. Luna walked ahead, her head tall and proud, while her eyes were set in a hard stare of seething anger. Cadence was looking down at the ground, her ears flat and her mane looked longer, and soggier.

While Spike walked next to Trixie, looking more miserable than most as he had to put up with the unicorn’s relentless questioning; questions that were all about the one pony he wanted to forget at the moment.

“So, does Twilight Sparkle tend to keep her books in one, organised pile, has them shelved, or in an utter mess?” Trixie asked. Fluttershy pinned her ears up and glanced over her shoulder so she could see and hear this interesting, if not one-sided, conversation.

Although she was reluctant to let Spike wallow in misery while answering Trixie’s questions, she couldn’t allow the little dragon to leave her alone so the unicorn would fall behind. ‘Besides,’ she thought, ‘they might actually get to know each other better.’ Unfortunately, they hadn’t; in fact, it seemed to make Spike’s opinion on Trixie grow even worse. Nevertheless, she wanted things to work out between them all, or else they would never get to Horsca together.

“No, she does nothing to her books, except reading them. I do the clearing up while she gallivants off to do something else. Only one day Twilight sorts out her books and she calls that Re-shelving Day, complete with capitals,” Spike answered wearily.

He saw Fluttershy looking at him, and gave her a pleading look that said, “Please put me out of my misery.” Fluttershy smiled at him, and then gestured with her head for him to come and walk next to her.

“Fascinating. Well, what about magic practice?” Trixie asked, looking at Spike questioningly. “Does Twilight Sparkle practice new magic spells in her house, or in a meadow far away so nopony can see?”

“Anywhere where she can get some peace and quiet,” Spike answered. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to talk to Fluttershy about something.” He quickly raced away from Trixie’s side and jogged up to Fluttershy.

“It was nice talking to you!” Trixie called tiredly.

Spike cringed as though he had heard a fierce, scraping sound that rattled his ears. “Yeah, nice talking to you too!” he called back. He turned to Fluttershy, cringing. “Do you know how wrong Trixie talking nicely sounds?”

Fluttershy giggled, her mood now improved by the two’s conversation. “Twilight said to me how nice she spoke to her after the whole magic duel fiasco, so it isn’t impossible for her to sound nice.”

“Probably, but it still sounds so wrong,” Spike complained. He quickly cleared out his ears, as though listening to Trixie had filled them with unpleasant muck. “Thanks for getting me away from her for a bit, Fluttershy. I think I’ve heard enough about Twilight and what she does for one day; she even asked me how long she takes baths for! Baths! Trixie’s obsessed with her.”

Fluttershy smiled wryly at the little dragon. “I thought it was quite sweet, myself.”

Spike looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. “How can you call an obsession like that sweet?”

Fluttershy gave Spike the most innocent look she could muster. “Well, it’s like when I was little, I had an obsession with a cinema star that I watched in one film. He was handsome, charming, had lovely blue eyes, and,” she lowered her voice and head and whispered, “he had a really nice bum.” She shook her head to clear the image from her mind, then looked at Spike again, who stared at her oddly. “What I’m trying to say is, it’s fine to admire or be talkative about somepony, so long as it doesn’t go too far and you end up having a shrine made in your obsession’s honour. That’s when obsession starts to get creepy.”

Spike looked at her with fascinated eyes. His look gave way to a small smirk. “You know, your words are going to come back and bite you on the rump, you mark my words,” he warned playfully.

Fluttershy giggled. “I doubt that would ever happen. Who would want to obsess over me, anyway? And don’t pretend you dislike obsession. You were the same with Rarity when you tried to win her affections.”

“Hey, I wasn’t that bad,” Spike said defensively. “I didn’t keep a shrine in the library basement with Rarity’s picture on the top of it – how would I explain such a thing to Twilight when she went down there?”

Fluttershy giggled again, visibly glad to have something else to think about. “I suppose,” she conceded. “But you still didn’t stop talking about her like Trixie did with Twilight.”

“Yeah, I know. But like you said, that was ages ago now. I’ve stopped trying to win her over ever since she announced her engagement with Hugo.” His look shifted suddenly once more, and then he looked behind them at Trixie again. “Why do you think Trixie wouldn’t stop talking about her? I thought she hated Twilight for humiliating her.”

Fluttershy glanced back as well, and smiled knowingly. “Oh, I think there is a reason, the only reason I can think of at the top of my head.” She raised her eyebrows suggestively, prompting Spike to look between her and Trixie rapidly as the wheels in his head turned.

It didn’t take much longer, as Fluttershy theorised, for him to get what she might be going on about. “She likes Twilight?” he exclaimed, pointing a finger in the unicorn’s direction.

Fluttershy shrugged as they continued walking. “Maybe, or maybe not, but I would be surprised if that wasn’t the case.”

Spike rapidly shook his head as though he was ridding himself of vile images. “Oh no, that would never work out,” he said. “Those two would be always bickering about magic. I can see it as though those two were right there in front of me.” His eyes narrowed in disgust. “Actually, I think I can, and it won’t go away.”

Fluttershy giggled, and quickly spread a metallic wing in front of him. “Is that better?”

Spike let out a sigh of relief, which was muffled by Fluttershy’s wing. “Much better, thank you, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy smiled as best as she could, and then looked forward once more as the rains continued to pour. Beneath them, the ground began to turn sloppy, and she could feel her hooves be consumed by the large puddles that were now beginning to form underneath her. ‘But where are we?’ she wondered as her eyes wandered around her. ‘Are we closer to the Everfree Forest, or are we closer to Las Pegasus?’

They had made good progress since leaving the ruined castle behind them, and had trekked deep into the woods whilst zigzagging their way across it, staying clear from any main paths incase they were being pursued. Yet the mood between them was colder than a mid-winter’s day. The only ones that had spoken in the many hours since leaving the castle were Trixie and Spike, the rest being simply too afraid or too angry to say a word to each other. And with every word left unsaid, Fluttershy’s mood had only grown fouler.

She still felt mortified at the coldness of the two Princesses, and how far they were willing to go to get to Horsca. She could not understand how they could think like that, especially Cadence, who she had believed to be a demure, almost peaceful co-ruler, the one who wouldn’t take up arms against anyone. ‘I was wrong, so very wrong.’ Cadence said it was the one of the worst things about being a Princess and a leader, and Fluttershy believed her. It made her feel like this task Vidarr had given her was now pointless, for it was grooming her into something that she could not, or would not, become.

‘But then again,’ Fluttershy figured suddenly, ‘you don’t need to be a bloodthirsty monster to be a good leader.’ The Celestia she knew and remembered proved that by being benevolent in all her dealings, and was kind to all but a few. ‘If I’m ever to be a leader, I need to take a page or two out of Celestia’s book.’ So as her mind thought about the current trouble escalating across Equestria, it flicked back a few times to the history books she loved reading that detailed Celestia’s reign.

“Excuse me, Miss Luna!” Trixie called, bringing Fluttershy out of her brooding. “Could you go and do something about this deluge?”

“It is raining, Miss Lulamoon, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done!” Luna snapped, looking back and shooting Trixie a coat-piercing glare that made the unicorn shrink into herself.

Fluttershy grimaced at the harsh anger in Luna’s tone. “She still hasn’t spoken to you since your little argument, has she?” Spike asked.

Fluttershy shook her head solemnly. “No, she hasn’t. And I don’t think she ever wants to.”

“Well, maybe you should apologise?” Spike suggested.

Fluttershy shot her head around to face him with a questioning glare. “Apologise?” she gasped. “Why should I apologise?”

“Well you did slap her across the face – hard, I might add,” Spike reminded her with a raised eyebrow. “Even I felt that.” He absently rubbed his cheek gently as though Fluttershy had slapped him there.

Fluttershy raised a hoof and opened her mouth to make a point, yet no words came out of her mouth. After a moment, she let out a sigh and let her head fall. “You’re right, Spike. I shouldn’t have done that, but I haven’t felt that angry in a long time.” She looked up at Spike, shame written in her eyes. “I will apologise to her for that.” That shame suddenly disappeared, to be replaced by a hardened stare. “But I will not apologise for sparing that soldier’s life.”

“I’m not asking you to apologise for sparing that soldier’s life. For what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing.”

Fluttershy slowly lifted her head up high, looking at him with a small smile. “You really mean that?”

Spike nodded. “Yeah. Even after what he and the rest of his squad did to me and Cadence, it still wouldn’t be right if he had died down there, unarmed and afraid.” The two looked forward to see Luna was glancing at them with a narrow eye. She quickly looked forward again, snorting jets of smoke from her nostrils.

“By the way, was what Luna said last night true?” Spike asked fearfully, as though he dreaded the answer. “Did you… kill someone in Horsca?”

Fluttershy’s eyes lowered into sadness and regret. She wished she could say ‘no’ and Spike would look at her as he always does: with love. But she couldn’t lie to him; she couldn’t lie to anypony. “Yes,” she simply answered with a little nod. She shut her eyes tight and looked away as she prepared herself for the chastising words from Spike she knew that would come.

“Why?” Spike just asked, much to Fluttershy’s surprise.

She hesitantly looked back around to see Spike’s reaction, and grimaced when she saw it was unreadable. “I had no choice,” Fluttershy whimpered, tears threatening to spill as the scene replayed once more in her mind. “My father was knocked unconscious. The reman was above him, with a sword in his paws and ready to kill him. I only wanted to push the reman out of the way and knock him out. I never wanted to kill him. I never…”

She trailed off when she heard her voice starting to crack apart. She took a deep breath to control herself. “I did it out of defence for my father, Spike. There is no other reason than that. I would understand if you think of me differently now, or if you even hate me now. Like I said before; I have done things that make me hate myself.” She bowed her head and awaited Spike’s damming response.

After a moment, she felt Spike place a claw under her chin, and gently lifted her head to look in her eyes. “It’s okay, Fluttershy,” he said finally, his expression one of sympathy rather than hatred. “I imagine anypony would have done the same thing in your hooves; I know I would have.”

Fluttershy gave him a small smile. “You say that but you don’t mean it.”

“I do,” Spike said insistently, nodding his head. “If you were in danger I wouldn’t hesitate to jump in and help you.”

Fluttershy’s small smile widened a little. “That is so sweet, Spike, but I wouldn’t want you to do that for me. I wouldn’t want you to risk your own life over mine; it would be wrong of me to think you should.”

Spike sighed. “Even if you thought that, Fluttershy, I would still do it. You’re the only pony I can call my family in this world now. The thought of losing you… is something I don’t particularly want to think of.”

Fluttershy’s jaw slackened a little, and tears started to form in her eyes, though they weren’t tears of sadness, but of joy. She slung a foreleg around his shoulders, and nuzzled him gently, a warm smile gracing her lips. “You have a good heart, Spike. I wish I could promise you that I will stay safe, but I can’t. Nearly everypony in Equestria is out for my blood and ours for what we have been accused of, and there are other creatures in Equestria that would want us all for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. This journey will be long and sometimes really hard. And…” She paused and bit her bottom lip as she tried to think of a gentler way to put what she had to say. “And there is a chance that some of us will not come out of this unscathed.”

Spike looked at her as if she had just stated the obvious. “I know that, and I’m prepared for everything. Though I don’t think we should worry about other ponies or monsters out to get us, but rather worry about spilling each other’s blood first,” he said, pointing a finger at Luna and looking at Fluttershy with a glance and a raised eyebrow.

The pegasus let out a sombre sigh and bowed her head. Fluttershy wanted to apologise to Luna for shouting at her, insulting her and slapping her – she really did. She wanted Luna and her to be friends again, for she knew they would not make it far if they bickered amongst themselves. But every time she was about to speak up and say sorry, she held back and shuddered in remembrance as she saw Luna with her sword raised high into the air, ready to kill Robyn.

What Luna was going to do to the guard pony went against everything the Dragonlord Order stood for, and what Fluttershy believed in. To kill an unarmed opponent was one of the greatest crimes a Dragonlord of the order could commit – the one worse than that was to kill, or severely harm, an innocent. Even then, what Luna was going to do went against everything Fluttershy had stood for since her birth. She was raised to cherish life and be good and kind to everyone, and never harm someone that might have harmed her, for such strength to hold back made her better.

Yet, not showing kindness to Luna went against what she had been tutored as well.

She rubbed her head with a forehoof, grimacing as she felt another headache come on. She knew Spike was right and that she had to say sorry, and she hoped that Luna would say sorry as well, yet right now it was difficult.

“Hush, everyone!” Luna suddenly yelled, stopping and raising a hoof up for them all to halt. Fluttershy halted immediately and felt a chill stab at her heart as the possibilities as to why Luna asked them all to stop flooded her head.

“What is it?” Cadence asked, taking a step closer and gripping her sword’s hilt with her magic.

Fluttershy bent her knees and clambered quickly to where Cadence and Luna stood alongside each other, their bodies low in a fight-or-flight stance and their ears raised high. Spike crouched low and followed her, as did Trixie, who stayed too close to Spike than the little dragon possibly wanted.

Fluttershy lifted her head up, and pinned her ears up as she listened out for whatever Luna had heard. It didn’t take long for her to pick out the heaving groaning of carts being moved, and the sound of pony hooves against the soft, muddy ground. “What is that?” Fluttershy wondered aloud.

Either Luna didn’t hear her, or pretended not to, but she did not answer the pegasus. “Whatever that is, it’s directly in front of us,” Cadence said. “What do we do?”

“I say we hunker down for a bit, and wait for it to go silent. It might be a patrol of the Royal Guard looking for us,” Luna said, glaring at Fluttershy as she said it, and making Fluttershy wince back as though she had been punched in the shoulder.

“I’m going to take a closer look,” Fluttershy announced, much to everypony’s horror. Before any one could pull her back she crept forward like a spider, her eyes wide and her ears pinned up high. She ignored the hushed whispers of her companions calling her back, for she was intrigued by what she was hearing. The sound coming from up ahead did not sound like a patrol to her at all; it sounded more like a funeral procession.

After a minute of wading through bushes and brushing past trees, she found herself in front of a bush that stretched out in both directions like a wall. She crept up as close as she possibly could without making too much noise, then raised her head and peered over the bush. What she saw on the other side shocked her deeply.

Below the hedgerow, wedged between a small cutting, was a road that stretched through the forest, westward towards Las Pegasus, and east towards Ponyville, or so Fluttershy assumed it was heading. And on the road, hundreds of ponies were heading east: the young, the old, the rich, the poor, earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns, it didn’t matter, for all of them looked miserable. Most of them could barely pick up their hooves as they walked, kicking up dirt or tripping over into the mud; it was clear to the Dragonlord that they had been travelling for some time without stopping. She watched one old mare fall down, and prepared herself to jump forward and help. She stopped herself when she saw a younger stallion offer to help, but the old mare pushed him away violently and shouted something that Fluttershy wished were words the foul-mouthed beavers had made up.

She looked back down the road, and saw the line kept on going and going. Some ponies were pulling large carts full of valuables, while others pulled carriages with a wealthy family inside. And every so often, a single, weary looking soldier walked along the far side of the road, his eyes peering over the crowd and making sure no trouble was made.

It was a sight that filled Fluttershy with despair. She knew why all these ponies were here the moment she set eyes on them. They were now refugees. They were running from a war that they knew was going to happen, and desperately wanted to get away from it before it even begins.

Fluttershy’s ears began to flicker as she picked up bits of conversations that she could hear, and each one filled her with sorrow and dread.

“Well what I heard is that Appleloosa and Dodge Junction are gone. Wiped out by Princess Celestia’s forces in one night. Manehatten has gone silent, but apparently there’s nothing else going on up north.”

“The north is the worst, that’s what I heard. The Crystal Empire is under Cadence’s control and her knights are raiding towns and villages, leaving few ponies alive. The rest in-between are just butchering each other. But nothing is going on in the deserts.”

“I heard somewhere ponies from Trottingham and Hoofington have come together to form an army, and are right now marching south towards Canterlot, slaughtering anypony that gets in their way.”

“The ponies of Vanhoover have built a wall around their city, I heard, and are keeping ponies out who are trying to escape this madness.”

“All I know is that Luna, Cadence and Fluttershy are to blame for this. I hope there’s a special place in Tartarus for them when this is all over – if it ever ends.”

‘Ouch,’ Fluttershy thought, grimacing and feeling pained all over as though she had been stabbed in the gut. ‘They blame me and the others for this?’ The thought made her eyes brim with tears. She had never been so hated by other ponies before. Fluttershy knew a few didn’t like her, but she was all right with that for she knew you couldn’t like everypony on Terra – except if you’re Pinkie Pie. To be hated, however, felt far worse than any pain she had ever felt before.

Unable to bear the sight of so many miserable-looking ponies on the move, she spun around and trotted quickly back to where the others were, her head low, her eyes sullen and her ears flat and dripping with rainwater.

She found the others tucked beside a large tree, with its branches stretched and its leaves so big it protected them from the elements. “What did you see?” Cadence asked gently, visibly pleased to see her. Trixie and Spike smiled at her, but Luna didn’t even look up to acknowledge her presence.

Fluttershy plonked her rump on the ground, and sighed. “A whole group of ponies from Las Pegasus fleeing east towards Ponyville,” she replied sullenly.

“What?” the three ponies and one dragon gasped, looking at Fluttershy with wide eyes.

“They’re all refugees fleeing into central Equestria to escape the upcoming war,” Fluttershy elaborated, flicking her head back as a gesture to the fleeing ponies.

“What do you mean, ‘refugees’?” Trixie asked, before taking a sandwich Cadence made and devouring it messily.

“And what war?” Luna enquired, her eyes narrow. “Is there something you should be telling us?”

Fluttershy avoided Luna’s glare, and instead looked at Cadence, Trixie and Spike with a sheepish grin. “Oops. Sorry, I guess I never told you all about what Robyn told me,” she said, rubbing her left foreleg sheepishly. “Well, he said that Celestia had sent out envoys to each of the separated states, and she gave them two weeks to come back to Equestria, or it will be open war between them.”

The ponies and dragon visibly paled at the mention of war. “Are you certain of this?” Cadence asked, leaning forward. Luna cocked an eyebrow as though saying she didn’t believe her.

‘Luna is going to make my life difficult. I just know it,’ Fluttershy thought upon seeing Luna’s face. “I am certain, Cadence. And the ponies filing down the road there is enough evidence to prove it.” She opened her mouth to speak once more, but quickly shut it again. She knew they would not want to know about the things that have been said about the country and about the Princesses, as well as herself.

Cadence leaned her head back, and ran a hoof through her mane. “This is ill news,” she muttered to herself. She looked to Luna. “We should get out of Equestria before the war begins, surely?”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in shock. ‘She intends to run away from this, without even helping? Without even trying to help?’ she thought. She looked at the Crystal Princess adversely.

“We should be, considering Trixie here shows us through the Unicorn Range correctly,” Luna replied, glancing at Trixie dubiously.

Trixie smiled smugly at them all. “I promise you, Trixie will get us through the Unicorn Range in less than a day,” she boasted.

The others expressed their doubts evidently on their faces – all except for Fluttershy. “I know you will, Trixie,” Fluttershy said, a small smile on her face. She knew one of the most important aspects of a leader is to have faith in all those she leads.

She looked outside the single patch of dry land, and saw with relief that the rain had stopped. She pricked her ears up, and listened to the sound of carts moving and ponies walking, but all she could hear was the sound of birds singing joyously to the returning sun.

“Come on, I think the ponies have moved on. Let’s keep moving while the sun is out,” Fluttershy said, gesturing with a hoof for them to come forward. The ponies all nodded in agreement, and together they walked towards the road in silence.

After a while of sloshing through the wet and muddy ground, taking great care not to leave any evidence of them being in the woods, they came upon the road, which was now barren of life with only the hoof-prints of the ponies that had walked along it to show they were ever there ruining the flat ground. Fluttershy jumped down from the small ridge and looked left then right. “It’s all clear… I think,” Fluttershy said. The three other ponies and one dragon jumped down from the ridge as well and onto the road beside, and looked around to confirm that belief.

“It looks clear to me,” Trixie said. Cadence and Luna nodded in agreement.

“Then let us get away from here and back into the woods, or else we’ll be open targets,” Luna said. She quickly crested the other ridge and through another hedgerow onto a wide plain that stretched for about half a mile, before becoming covered by trees once more. Fluttershy and the others were soon next to her, and they began walking together once more.

“According to this map,” Luna said as they walked, a large ball with a map of Equestria in it floating in front of her, “we have just officially entered Whitetail Woods. It should take us more than a day or two to go through here, and then we should be in sight of the Unicorn Range.”

“And my chance to shine,” Trixie muttered joyfully.

“And my chance to see the sea,” Spike mumbled next to Fluttershy, earning a quiet giggle from the pegasus.

“Have a little faith in her, Spike,” Fluttershy said. “We need all the faith we have in each other if we’re going to get any further.”

“I know,” Spike sighed, “but I don’t think everypony holds that view.” He pointed a single finger at Luna, who was looking back at her with eyes that did not display anger or hatred, but something else.

Before Fluttershy could decipher what it was, Luna turned her head back and walked on, with Cadence just behind. Fluttershy and Spike looked at each other worryingly, before breaking into a jog to catch up with them.

“Do you think she’ll talk to me at some point?” Fluttershy whispered, leaning her head close to Spike.

The little dragon threw up his arms. “I have no idea. Just give her a day or so and then try speaking to her.” Fluttershy nodded in acceptance, then watched vividly a group of butterflies fly past them and onto the road.

The group went silent as they trekked deeper into Whitetail Woods.

They had walked across the great domain of Whitetail Woods for many hours before deciding to stop for the night, content in the knowledge that they might have lost their pursuers. Trixie needed it more than most; her legs were shaking with exhaustion by the time they reached their spot to camp. Though it was safe to say her condition had improved immensely since they had met her nearly a day or so ago, she still needed a bit more time before she could be considered fit and healthy again.

They all decided to rest on a small yet steep hill that overlooked the whole of Whitetail Woods. A small clearing resided on one side of the hill, giving the ponies and dragon ample space to spread out and settle for the night.

That was precisely what they all did.

Fluttershy laid down flat on her back, with her hind legs stretched out and crossed and her head lying on her forelegs, watching the stars shine in the sky and the bright moon move slowly across the sky, the light making Fluttershy’s coat shine like she was a crystal pony. Her eyes were wide open with wonder, for her mind could not bring her into sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she would see her friends either yelling at her for something she did not do, or screaming at her for help. Therefore, she willed herself to stay awake, and decided to watch the night go by.

“The stars look beautiful tonight,” she whispered to herself, sighing contently. Before she became a Dragonlord, she never truly appreciated the beauty of the night sky, or the calming power of the full moon, for she usually tucked herself into bed when the stars came out and the owls had gone out to look for breakfast.

Now, she wished she had stayed out for longer and admired the night more, for it was one of the most beautiful sights that graced Terra. The sky was bright with a single colour, yet there was an essence of life coming from them, as though their light shining down on them kept the planet and its inhabitants alive.

As well as the beauty the stars emitted, the sense of calm they gave to Fluttershy was overwhelming. When she looked at them, she felt a solace she could never have with her friends, both animal or pony. For here, and at times like this, the only ponies she thought, or hoped, she could talk to were her father or mother. Better yet, both of them.

“Mum? Dad?” she whispered, praying for voices she knew would never come. “I hope you can hear me, wherever you are, for I really, really need your help.” After a moment, she chuckled to herself as she moved one of her forelegs out from under her head and rested it above her belly button. “I know you won’t be able to truly help me, but all I ask is for your guidance. Should I continue with this task Vidarr gave me, or forget it and let Luna or somepony else with better skills than I take charge?”

There wasn’t a breath of wind, or a shooting star that answered her. As far as she knew, she was alone. She sighed once more, her eyes moving across the sky for a sign or anything that could help her. ‘Why am I looking at the sky for them anyway?’ she wondered in thought. ‘They might be looking from below as far as I am aware. Nopony knows truly where Paradise is.’

But it wasn’t because of the truth as to why ponies think Paradise is above them and not below; it was the ideal it presented. Fluttershy was one of those believers. She loved the idea that her father, Firewing, and her mother, Rosemary, were looking down on her, and smiling widely at their daughter, who was once a small, orphaned child, now a fully-grown mare, aged twenty-two, and the most powerful warrior on Terra. ‘Still too young for what I have gone through, and what I will go through,’ she mused. As she thought that, she wondered how she would age now that she had a lifespan of about a thousand years. How long will it take her to get wrinkles and old bones and go for long naps? She shuddered at the image of herself looking like Granny Smith in about seven hundred years. ‘Rarity would want to know my secret if it happens like that,’ she giggled quietly to herself. She giggled again after a pause of thought. ‘She already does, silly.’

She sighed sadly when she thought of the unicorn, and how much she missed her. She missed her company, their chats, their relaxation time, and just generally spend time together like good friends should. Though, as she thought about it more, it would be better that she was not here, for the unicorn would have never stopped whining about nature in general, and how muddy her hooves were getting. That always annoyed Fluttershy a fair bit when she and the others had gone camping in Whitetail Woods sometimes in the past two years. In fact, it always annoyed her when Rarity had a dramatic fit over the littlest thing, like the day when Twilight went mad, Rarity had forgotten the plates for their picnic, so decided to jump on a couch she had dragged all the way from her home and cry dramatically.

She quickly realised she was getting stressed again, so took a deep breath, and fixed her eyes once more on the stars, feeling the calming affect they had. At this moment, she felt at peace.

There wasn’t a sound from the others around her. Trixie had fallen flat on her side, exhausted after a long day’s journey. Her health was gradually improving since they had met her, having plenty to eat little and often, but she still needed to have an eye on her in case she fell behind. Spike was huddled in on himself, shaking a little from the cold night, while Cadence lay out on her left side, her mouth wide open for ants or other bugs to crawl in. Where Luna was, there was no sign, but Fluttershy knew she wouldn’t be too far away. She sighed again, and a small smile crept onto her face as a shooting star raced through the sky.

Suddenly, one of her ears twitched as the sound of singing graced her ears. Confused and curious, she sat upright and flicked her ears up in the hope she could hear it clearer. Soon enough, she could hear it as though she was in the audience of a concert at the far back. “Where’s that singing coming from?” she wondered aloud.

She stood up, and briskly trotted to the edge of the hill to hear better. The song being sung sounded solemn, like one would sing at a funeral, yet there was something else about the singing; it sounded too peaceful and magnificent for a pony to sing. Fluttershy’s eyes widened in surprise as she figured out who the creatures singing it were.

“Whitetail Deer,” she whispered in delight.

She lifted a leg up to take a step forward, but before she could set it back down, a voice behind her made her stop. “Where are you going?”

Fluttershy looked back to see Trixie with her head raised, and looking at her suspiciously. “I thought I heard something just now. I’m going to check it out,” Fluttershy whispered.

Trixie began to get up as well. “Then I’m coming with you,” she stated. Fluttershy opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off by Trixie sealing her mouth closed with magic. “I’m coming with you, and that’s that.”

After a moment, Fluttershy nodded reluctantly, allowing Trixie to break her hold on Fluttershy’s mouth, and allowing the pegasus to breathe properly again. “All right, but stay quiet and stay close to me,” Fluttershy ordered, before adding meekly, “if you want to, of course.” With that, she began to trundle down the hillside, with Trixie close behind her.

They soon made it down the hillside, and back onto the flat plain with trees all around them, making Fluttershy feel enclosed and afraid. She looked back to see Trixie was still close to her, glancing left and right quickly and shivering. ‘She’s cold,’ she thought.

Fluttershy took a step to the side, waited for Trixie to stand beside her, and then quickly draped a warm wing over the unicorn’s back. Trixie stopped shivering instantly, and Fluttershy could see a faint smile on her lips. “Thanks,” she quipped, looking away quickly.

Fluttershy smiled, then looked ahead and froze in shock at the scene in front of her. Trixie stopped beside her, and tilted her head at the wide-eyed face Fluttershy had. “What’s gotten you so– hey!” she cried as Fluttershy took hold of her hoof and dragged her behind a large bush.

“Stay quiet, please,” Fluttershy whispered. Slowly, she craned her neck to look over the bush, and her eyes widened even more at the procession before her.

Curious as to why Fluttershy was like this, Trixie peeked over as well, and when her eyes locked onto what was going on before them she gasped in astonishment. “Incredible,” she whispered.

Along a small path, dozens if not hundreds of deer walked sullenly through Whitetail Woods, singing their hearts out in their ancient yet entrancing language. They were tall, just being a foot or so taller than an average pony, and all of them had a light brown coat with white spots like freckles that covered their backs and sides. Their short, stumpy tails were plain white, and seemed to shine silver in the moonlight, and their ears were long and pointy.

They were the most beautiful creatures Fluttershy had ever seen.

“Who are they?” Trixie asked, watching the deer go by with wide eyes.

“Whitetail Deer,” Fluttershy answered, her eyes never leaving the seemingly sorrowful procession. “The indigenous inhabitants of these woods. They’ve been here for thousands of years. When Equestria was formed, and expansion began, the deer and the ponies, naturally, began to antagonise each other as the ponies inched closer to Whitetail Woods.

“Ultimately, war broke out when a few ponies cut down some of their trees, prompting the deer to drive back the invaders. They won the first war easily, by luring the Equestrian forces into the woods, and then destroying them utterly. The second war was more ferocious, and ended in a stalemate with Whitetail Woods two times smaller than they once were. When Princess Celestia and Luna came to power, they settled a peace deal with the deer, allowing them to keep the woods while Equestrian ponies settled around it. We’ve been at peace with them ever since.”

Trixie looked at her with fascinated eyes. “Fascinating.”

Fluttershy lowered her head slightly as a large buck skipped past the crowd, his large blue eyes looking for trouble. As soon as he appeared he was skipping past the procession once more, allowing Fluttershy and Trixie to breathe again. The two ponies craned their necks once more to watch the Whitetail Deer go by.

“Are all of those deer female?” Trixie asked.

“They’re doe’s, Trixie,” Fluttershy corrected her. “And yes, mostly. There are a few bucks in the group, but they’re only younglings.”

“How do you know?” she asked. She looked at Fluttershy for a moment, before saying slyly, “Were you looking?”

“No!” Fluttershy whispered loudly, blushing pink while ferociously shaking her head. “I just looked at their heads and saw their antlers were growing through. A doe doesn’t have any antlers, only the bucks do.” She looked back at the group of deer, and felt her heart sink at the sadness of the song they were singing. “I wonder what they’re singing about?”

“Probably lost their king or something,” Trixie suggested. “I just don’t get why they do not sing it in Terran?”

“Because it’s an old song sung by our people before ponies ever came to our lands, and even before the time when the races of this world came together in harmony,” an old yet powerful voice replied. Fluttershy and Trixie squeaked in fright and ducked down, hoping they wouldn’t be found behind their bush. “It’s quite all right, little ponies. I do not intend to harm you.”

Fluttershy didn’t know why, but the deer’s voice was enough to make any anxiety leave her instantly. She quickly stood up, and her eyes widened in awe at the great buck.

The old buck was much taller than most deer, and had the largest antlers on his head, which revealed his age and his title as King of the Deer. His coat was far darker, and his spots a cloud grey. His long pointy face stared down at Fluttershy with a small but warming smile. At once, Fluttershy walked through the bush and out into the open, her eyes never leaving the deer’s own.

“Fluttershy, come back!” Trixie whispered, reaching out with a hoof to stop her, yet Fluttershy ignored it. Her eyes were a mix of fascination and awe as she stared at the deer.

“Do not be afraid, fellow children of Terra, for if I wanted to harm you I would have done so by now,” the deer said smoothly. Fluttershy’s ear twitched as she heard Trixie relax as though she had been entranced, and step out from behind the bush towards the deer.

The deer’s eyes moved from the unicorn to Fluttershy with the unwavering warm smile. When Fluttershy was about five feet away and was visible in the moonlight, his smile vanished and he looked at her in awe.

Fluttershy quickly bowed her head to the buck. “Um… h-hello,” she said hesitantly, feeling unsure of how to begin this once in a lifetime encounter. “I suppose I should say thank you for this. It’s a real honour to be talking to a deer of Whitetail Woods.” She glanced to her right and saw Trixie standing next to her, studying the deer in awe.

The buck bowed his head lowly. “The honour is mine this very night, Dragonlord.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly as she stepped back in shock, while Trixie shot her head around to look at her in surprise. “You know what I am?”

The buck nodded. “Only one of the great warrior’s of Terra could survive such a terrific wound such as yours on your back,” he said, pointing to the long scar that ran down Fluttershy’s back. “The Dragonlords are revered greatly by our people, for we would have been destroyed by Equestrian expansion long ago had they not intervened and saved us – saved both of us – from further war.” He looked back at his people heading north, and sighed sadly. “It is a shame they cannot help us here.”

“Help you?” Fluttershy asked confusedly. “Um, if you don’t mind answering me, of course, but where are you all going? And why do you feel like you need help?”

The buck looked back at her with sullen eyes. “We are retreating deeper into the woods, young one, to shelter ourselves from the enclosing darkness that threatens this world.”

Fluttershy felt cold all of a sudden. “Darkness? What darkness? Is it the war threatening to tear Equestria apart?”

The buck shook his head mournfully. “No, my dear, I’m afraid not. It is far worse than that. An ancient evil has risen once more, and behind it, a great and terrible army flocks together like carrion birds. Together, they will ravage this world and create a new order – one that will dominate all.”

Fluttershy looked down at her coat and saw that it was a far paler shade of yellow than usual. She glanced over to see Trixie fared no better. “How do you know all this?” Fluttershy asked, looking up once more whilst shaking in fright.

“We have foreseen it: in the stars, the clouds, the world itself, we have seen this terrible future; one that no one could stand against. That is why we are fleeing, to hide and pray that this evil will pass us by. If you two have any sense of survival, you will do the same.” With his words of doom spread, the buck turned away from them and began to follow the other deer into the woods. “I wish you both the best of luck in the dark days to come – you will need it.” That said, he skipped after the other deer, who were now out of sight yet their song sounded as loud as it had been before.

Fluttershy and Trixie watched them disappear with wide eyes, while Fluttershy’s mind filled with both wonder and dread. ‘What did he mean, ‘a great evil has risen once more’? ‘An order that will dominate all’?’ She hated it when somepony spoke in riddles, for she was not the best pony to answer them. She cleared it to the back of her mind. ‘It doesn’t matter now. What does matter now is that I am right. If the deer are running away from something terrible, then surely this terrible thing must be behind the chaos that is strangling Equestria.’

Yet, even with this new piece of information, she figured it still wouldn’t be enough to convince Luna, Cadence and Spike. They could see it as the deer having had a few too many mushrooms, and had only hallucinated something that they thought was the end of the world. ‘Besides, the deer probably would not know of Equestria’s troubles.’

She shook the thoughts to the back of her mind, and began to trot back to their camp. She didn’t make it far when she felt a hoof touch her shoulder, and make her spin around to face Trixie, who looked at her in awe. “You’re a Dragonlord!” Trixie exclaimed, looking all over her as though she didn’t believe it. “An actual living, breathing, fighting Dragonlord?”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened and her mouth opened in surprise. “Y-y-you know about my order?” she asked.

Trixie nodded, her eyes turning from surprise to utter delight. “Why, of course I do. I wouldn’t have said otherwise!” she shouted.

Fluttershy shook her head disbelievingly, her eyes locked into Trixie’s own for any trace of a lie. She found none, and previously considered the truth impossible. “How? The Dragonlords never kept records of themselves and what they did. Believe me, me and my old friends checked.”

“Ah, yes they tried, but a few things slipped past even their eyes and made it into the history books. Clearly they never counted on Trixie, and her amazing Dragonlord finding skills!” Trixie proclaimed, rearing up and throwing her hooves wide into the air to make a dramatic pose. She quickly fell back onto her forelegs, unable to stay rearing up for too long.

Fluttershy blinked several times. “Okay,” she said as she turned around. She continued trotting back up the hill to their camp.

Trixie galloped after her, and slowed down when she was alongside the Dragonlord. “When I was a little Trixie, my mother and father would always tell me bedtime stories on a whole range of subjects. One story in particular I will always remember was one about a pony who wanted to be greater, and met a group of ponies named Dragonlords. They told him that he was great to begin with, so he went home and became a great pony. The story is better than I make it sound, I promise you. Do you remember your parents telling you about it?”

Fluttershy stopped suddenly, and then turned to face Trixie with sorrowful eyes. “I wasn’t as lucky as you, Trixie. I grew up with no parents, no family to call my own; only the other fillies and colts at the orphanage I lived in for most of my life.” She continued to trot, while Trixie watched her go with regretful eyes.

“I’m… I’m… I’m sorry,” she said eventually, making it sound like she had never said an apology before. She raced after Fluttershy once more. “I didn’t mean to cause any offence.”

‘Spike’s right, it is weird to hear Trixie being so nice,’ Fluttershy mused. She looked back at Trixie with a small smile. “It’s all right, Trixie. You did not know about me being an orphan; you don’t know anything about me. So there’s no need to be so hard on yourself.” The two ponies soon made it to the top of the hill, and had a quick look around.

Cadence had rolled over onto her other side, and Fluttershy could see a small puddle of drool leaving her slightly open mouth. Fluttershy quickly looked away to see Spike, and tilted her head and smiled sweetly when she saw him hugging a small branch he had found that resembled a small teddy bear. Luna was still unseen, but again, Fluttershy knew she wouldn’t be too far away. ‘She’s probably watching the deer procession,’ she thought.

The two ponies moved to a small corner far from the two sleeping bodies as possible, then settled down onto their stomachs. “So tell me, if you don’t mind, how did you find out the Dragonlords were real?” Fluttershy enquired, looking at the unicorn with a raised eyebrow.

“I didn’t. Not for a long time,” Trixie replied, shrugging. “But it wasn’t until history class in primary school that I discovered they were real. I was looking through one of the history books for the older years, because I was so good in history that little children’s history books could no longer suit me, when I noticed a small sentence referring to the Dragonlords just before Celestia and Luna’s rebellion.

“Stunned, I decided to look through nearly every history book on Equestrian warfare that ever existed, just to find out more about this incredible order of ponies that dedicated their lives to creating peace.” She paused to let out a sigh. “They became something special to me, Fluttershy. The more I learnt about them, the more I inspired to be like them. Not killing anything, of course, I could never be like that, but the way they strutted about as though they owned the planet, and how they were so great and powerful, they just… I realised that was how I wanted to live; be great and powerful.”

Fluttershy felt a small smile crawl across her face as the pieces came together in her head. “So you wanted to be a Dragonlord, yet you couldn’t truly be one, so decided to aspire towards them, right down to their arrogance?” Fluttershy concluded.

Trixie nodded, scraping a hoof across the ground. “Yes. Is it wrong to aspire to something greater?” she asked with an accusing look.

Fluttershy threw her hooves up as though she had been caught stealing. “Oh no, there’s nothing wrong with that at all! I just feel that the Dragonlords are not exactly the right role models to follow, since I’m one myself,” she said.

“Then surely you know how great they are, and what they have done for this world,” Trixie said.

Fluttershy nodded sullenly. “Oh yes, I know what they have done, and I know what they shouldn’t have done. Last year I went to Las Pegasus to my father’s old house, and found a small book documenting one of my ancestor’s defence of the city of Liberum. It detailed several other things as well, but it mostly told about how he, a small group of Dragonlords and a whole army of Liberum ponies were able to hold back and defeat a far larger army of Equestrians under King Tyran.”

Trixie’s eyes widened in interest. “The Dragonlords at Liberum were led by one of your ancestors?” Trixie asked. Fluttershy nodded, and watched as a wide grin spread across the unicorn’s face. “One of my ancestors fought at that city as well. She fought as one of the archers against the Equestrians, and was there at the end of the war in Canterlot when King Pacificus took over and deemed that all ponies be equal by ridding us of clothes.”

Fluttershy smiled as well. “Really? Wow, imagine that. I wonder if our two ancestors ever spoke to one another?”

“Better than that, I wonder if they were ever friends?” Trixie giggled at the impossibility. “No, my ancestor was a bit too low born for somepony as high and mighty as a Dragonlord.”

Fluttershy’s smile disappeared, and she shook her head. “The Dragonlords might have been arrogant in their abilities to fight, but they were never too high and mighty for anyone. They always considered everypony equal to them, not in battle prowess, but in heart and mind. They helped anyone that needed it because they could help. Yet most of the time they did it through violence, and killing others to advance their goals and that of others.”

Trixie suddenly looked confused. “Forgive me, but you make it sound like they’re not around anymore.”

Fluttershy looked back up at Trixie with a solemn expression. “That’s because they aren’t around anymore, Trixie. I’m the last of the Dragonlords.”

Trixie’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened in shock. “How? How can the Dragonlords be gone? They were considered invincible in the small amount of text I found out about them.”

Fluttershy shook her head once more. “When I found my father again, he told me that nopony is invincible, not even the Dragonlords. Unfortunately, the Dragonlords considered themselves invincible, and were destroyed in a long and terrible war against the very creature they were supposed to destroy at their beginning.”

Trixie visibly slumped. “That’s horrible,” she said. “To be around for thousands of years, only to be wiped from the face of the earth. And in our time, too.” Trixie made a pondering face as a silence grew between them. “If I may ask, what was it like? Becoming a Dragonlord, I mean.”

Fluttershy looked up from the ground, and had to fight back the terrible memories of how she became one in the first place. “Horrible,” she simply answered. “The worst experience of my life.”

“Oh, it can’t have been that bad. A few changes to your body here and there, and that’s it, done.”

Fluttershy’s face darkened to a more serious look, and the tone of her voice became grim and heavy. “Imagine standing in the middle of a large bonfire. You aren’t bound in place, but you just cannot move as the flames wrap around you. You can’t scream as your coat and skin is ripped off you like teeth are tearing it off piece by piece. You feel your insides start to burn and your mane, tail and your skin are torn from you, and all the while you are still alive, and in constant agony. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, your mind goes blank, and you’re dead.” She sighed and looked down at the ground. “That’s what becoming a Dragonlord is like, Trixie. You feel what it is like to die, and then rise from the ashes like a phoenix and be reborn once more as someone new, someone different, and someone colder. I’m not the pony I once was.”

She looked up to see Trixie staring at her with horrified eyes. The look of horror gave way to regret. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” she said, rubbing her left foreleg. “I didn’t mean to bring back horrible memories for you.”

Fluttershy smiled affectionately at Trixie. “It’s all right, Trixie, I know you didn’t. Now you know what it’s like, please don’t step into any fires intentionally. You might not rise up again like I did.”

Trixie nodded. “I won’t.” She looked back at the two sleeping forms behind her. “Are you going to tell them what that deer told us tonight?” she asked.

Fluttershy shook her head while shifting her body about a bit. “I might do if I had a bigger chance of them believing me, but right now, no.”

“But why not? Surely that would be enough to convince them that you’re right.”

Fluttershy looked up at Trixie, her eyes wide and hopeful. “You mean you believe me?”

Trixie nodded. “You seem so certain that something is wrong with Equestria, and only an idiot cannot see that it is the work of something else. If you want it, I will help you, Fluttershy, in any way that I can.”

Fluttershy grinned and squealed quietly with delight. “Oh, thank you, Trixie!” she leapt forward and wrapped her hooves around the unicorn’s neck. “You’re a good friend.”

Trixie looked stunned. “We’re friends?” she asked as Fluttershy set herself back down.

Fluttershy nodded. “Why, of course we are. Although my first impressions of you were less than high, now I see you away from the stage you seem like quite a nice enough pony.” Fluttershy suddenly shied away. “You… you can say I’m a friend too, right?”

Trixie broke out of her daze, and put on a faint, nervous smile. “I would like that. It’s just that I have never had any friends before. I’ve never been really good at making any.”

‘Why doesn’t that surprise me?’ Fluttershy wondered. She smiled warmly. “You’re not as different to Twilight in that regard. She was never good at making friends, much like me, really.”

Trixie’s eyes grew curious at the mention of Twilight. “Do you think Twilight Sparkle would want to talk to me again? I would like it if we started from scratch. Get to know each other better, you know.”

‘Oh, I bet you do,’ Fluttershy said in thought, giggling inwardly. “I think so. We just got to find something that could help her get better first.” She suddenly let out a yawn, making her blush. “Oh dear, pardon me. Right, if you’ll excuse me, I would like to go to sleep.” She rolled onto her side, and let out a sigh as she got comfortable.

Trixie nodded in agreement, then fell over herself and relaxed. “What do you think is going to happen tomorrow?” Trixie asked.

Fluttershy shrugged. “I’m not sure, but hopefully nothing bad. Goodnight, Trixie.”

“Goodnight, Fluttershy.” With that, Trixie closed her eyes, and fell asleep almost instantly. It didn’t take Fluttershy much longer to fall asleep as well, her dreams invaded with the screaming and yelling faces of her friends.

Author's Note:

Firstly, I am so sorry this has taken ages to be released, but stuff came up and such that it became difficult to get work done on this chapter, but here it is at last.

Now, if anyone here isn't a fan of Twixie, please put down your torches and pitchforks. Just because Fluttershy thinks Trixie likes Twilight that way doesn't mean she is right; this makes strict one character POV quite interesting, but then again I've blown it with this message... or have I...?

Secondly, the Whitetail Deer moment was inspired by a great piece of music from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring called The Passing of the Elves. It is from the complete recordings and has the music from the extended edition of the film in its entirety. The scene is small but has Frodo and Sam watching wood elves heading to the Gray Havens, to leave Middle-Earth before Sauron takes over. A great scene and a beautiful piece of music.

Anyway, I am sorry this one took so long, and hopefully it won't happen again. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

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