Act III - 13 - Speaking Words of Wisdom
Act III:
“Naqoyqatsi (Life as War)”
Chapter Thirteen:
"Speaking Words of Wisdom"
The tremendous monster that was Tree Flower’s daughter sat hunkered down in the corner of the cave that they had taken refuge in, hidden deep in the thick wilderness of the Everfree Forest. Tree Flower herself sat at the opposite end of the cave, unsure of what to do. She simply watched the large creature, who now sat sulking quietly, seemingly wrapped up in it’s own world.
Tree Flower honestly couldn’t believe that the beast opposite from her was actually her own daughter. Everything about the titanic pony next to her was the total opposite from her kind, gentle and above all, shy daughter. This was a being that seemed to be angry at everything around it, it’s voice a rumbling growl that was more often nothing more than inarticulate growls or grunts. It’s every muscle seemed wound as tightly as was possible, giving the creature the feeling as if it might suddenly explode wildly in all directions.
Outside the cave, there was the characteristic drizzle of pouring rain, as it had begun raining a few minutes before, thereby trapping the two inside the cave until the storm cleared. A loud clap of thunder exploded across the sky and Tree Flower flinched as the beast besides her leapt across the cave and stood in front of her, roaring skyward as if defying whatever forces of nature conspired to break the silence between the two of them. The sound of thunder died away and the beast relaxed slightly before stomping back to it’s corner.
Tree Flower said nothing, but rather raised an eyebrow slightly. Why did she do that? she wondered, looking back at the jet black sky as the rain continued to pour. It was as if she were protecting me.
She silently swallowed, building up her confidence as she got ready to play out a hunch that was forming in her mind.
“F-Fluttershy,” she spoke quietly, looking towards the beast. “I’m okay if that’s what you're worried about.”
The beast simply grunted in response, shifting on it’s haunches slightly and simply stared back into the blackness. However, Tree Flower could see that it had looked towards her for a moment, as if worried before turning back to look towards the entrance to the cave. Taking a breath, Tree Flower started to slowly walk towards it.
“Fluttershy...Fluttershy can you hear me?” she asked softly, causing the beast to simply grumble in response. Tree Flower took the beasts ambivalent reaction to mean that she could continue her approach, albeit slowly and quietly.
As she neared the beast, she remembered to be ready to retreat to her corner of the cave at a moments notice, lest the beast unexpectedly explode into a rage. However, even with that fear in her mind, the aspect that this was in fact her daughter was enough to override her fear and instead imbue her with curiosity. Maybe the monster wasn’t as mindless as Fluttershy had made it out to be. The beast obviously had recognized her before, having picked her up and carried her all the way out here. It had even called her ‘friend’, and just moments before, had moved to defend her from the thunder, which it apparently perceived as a threat.
She slowly reached a hoof and gently touched the beast’s foreleg. The beast, instead of squishing her like a bug, simply flinched slightly, before looking down at her for a moment. Tree Flower looked up, doing her best not to panic given her rather dangerous position so close by. She smiled as warmly as she could muster, and she could see the perpetual anger that burned in the creature’s eyes fade slightly, and it looked vaguely relieved.
“H-hello F-Fluttershy...” Tree Flower repeated, now gently rubbing the spot where her hoof was, feeling the rough and wild fur of her daughter’s coat. “It’s me, Mom. Remember?”
The beast shrugged slightly, “Flutterhulk like friend,” it murmured, relaxing a little more and letting Tree Flower come a little closer. Tree Flower leaned up against it and settled to look out towards the rough and tumble forest that spread out before them. They sat there, no sound passing between them asides from the monster’s deep breaths. As time passed, Tree Flower let herself drift off to sleep, still gently stroking the beast beside her.
/////////////////////////////////
Fluttershy’s eyes opened slowly. She felt her heart sink at the feeling of the ache that pervaded her entire body. That could mean only one thing:
She had lost control again.
She looked around to see where she had ended up this time. She found she was in a relatively clean looking cave, and the smell of rain confirmed that it had recently been raining. She found that she was now covered in a blanket, and she reflexively pulled it around her to cover herself. A light snorting noise greeted her ear and her head whipped around in fear, only for her fear to vaporize almost instantaneously once she saw what had made the sound. Her mother simply shifted her weight off Fluttershy slightly and murmured under her breath. Fluttershy looked back towards the entrance of the cave. It was a surprising sight to say the least, as she had no memory of arriving in this cave, much less her mother following along. Her last clear memory was of her trying to fight off that white pegasus stallion that had attacked her back in Ponyville and then nothing but foggy and imprecise flickers of whatever New Fluttershy had done. A quick glance outside the cave told Fluttershy they were deep in the Everfree Forest, which was miles away from the park Fluttershy had remembered. She could see the pathway that her alter-ego had cut through the trees, having snapped them like twigs in order to get to this rather meek cave.
She slowly got to her hooves and started towards the exit. She felt compelled to keep moving. She knew that, most likely, given New Fluttershy's appearance, that the government would be right on their tail, most likely capturing her again. But another, more worrying thought was on her mind: What would her mother do once she woke up? She wondered if her mother would be scared or frightened of her now that she knew the truth, just like everyone else had been.
Fluttershy stopped in her tracks, turning to look back at the still sleeping older mare. What did her mother even think of her now? She wondered if the only reason her mother had been so forgiving was because she simply didn't know everything about New Fluttershy. But now the truth was out, no use denying it, and Tree Flower had finally seen the full scope of Fluttershy's monstrous alter-ego. Fluttershy took a deep breath and once more started to walk to the exit. She couldn't bare the thought of what would, most assuredly, happen next. She could picture her mother, shoving her away like a freak and leaving her alone again, lost in the middle of the forest.
"Fluttershy? Where are you going?" Tree Flower's tired voice called out. Fluttershy halted in her tracks again, Tree Flower's question snapping her out of her paranoid thoughts.
"A-Away..." Fluttershy choked out, not wanting to look at her mother out her own guilty feelings.
"But why? You don't have to leave." Her mother replied, sounding concerned.
"Yes, yes I do Mother!" Fluttershy cried, turning to face her. "You saw what I am! I'm a freak!" Tears started to well up in her eyes. "I'm a monster Mother! An evil, brutal monster! You saw it didn't you?!" She was practically sobbing now, sitting on her haunches, her chest heaving as she felt her emotional catharsis wash over her.
Tree Flower said nothing in response, instead practically galloping over to Fluttershy and pulling her into an incredibly tight hug.
"Nonsense Fluttershy! You're not evil."
"But you saw her! She kills ponies!" Fluttershy sobbed, clutching her mother tightly. She was greeted by her mother's hoof grabbing her chin and looking into her eyes.
"Fluttershy. Listen to me-"
"I already told you Mother...it's because I'm a monster..."
"No!" Tree Flower said sternly. "You are not a monster. You still have a choice."
Fluttershy halted, looking into her mother's eyes in confusion. "Wh-what? M-mother what are you talking about?" She asked, completely baffled at her mother's words.
Tree Flower nodded, her face serious and stern. "Yesterday, when we were trying to escape, I got caught in that net remember?"
Fluttershy nodded mutely, replaying the memory in her head. Her mother apparently took this as a sign to continue, as she continued to speak, her voice steady.
"Do you remember what happened after that?"
Fluttershy shook her head, still saying nothing.
"She saved me," Tree Flower said matter-of-factly. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow slightly.
"'She'? Who's 'She'?"
"Flutterhulk," Tree Flower said plainly.
"What?!" Fluttershy practically gasped, as she shook her head in confusion. "B-But how? How did that happen?"
"I don't know," Tree Flower replied, shrugging slightly. "All I know is that this grey mare came to arrest me, and then, out of the blue..." She paused, apparently carefully choosing her next words carefully. "...she appeared. She was about to crush that pony, and I called her by your name."
"But Mother..." Fluttershy murmured, still trying to wrap her head around what happened. "Why did you even try that? Why not run away like everypony else?"
Tree Flower smiled sadly. "Because, and this might sound strange, I couldn't just let her run wild like that. I had to at least try and communicate with the daughter I knew still was inside there somewhere."
Fluttershy looked at her mother in confusion. "Why would you even think that? New Fluttershy is nothing but hate. It hates everything, wants to destroy it, crush it and pulverize it until there's nothing left..." She looked down at her hooves mournfully. She saw Tree Flower's coral hoof come up to meet with her yellow one and caress it gently.
"No Fluttershy...that's not true. I saw Flutterhulk's face. The look on her face wasn't one of hate, but rather...fury. When it was going to crush that other mare, it looked at her as if the mare was something evil that needed to be destroyed. And then when it looked at me, it looked as if it knew me, even if it was only vaguely. Then it came, scooped me up, as if I were a filly it were protecting, and then walked away from the other mare. We later came through the Everfree and ended up here because of the rain. If Flutterhulk was as evil as you say she was, she wouldn't have done that. She would have ignored me, crushed that other pony, and then crushed me as well. But she didn't. She chose to spare me and the other mare. And you know what she called me?"
"N-No...I d-don't..." Fluttershy replied quietly.
"She called me 'friend'," Tree Flower said kindly. Fluttershy sat silently, running through the events her mother had described in her head. It made no sense. How could New Fluttershy, a beast that until now Fluttershy believed to be an almost demonic abomination of anger and rage, suddenly show mercy on somepony?
"But how..." she repeated, "She's hurt so many...why stop now?" she put her head in her hooves in frustration. "And why can't I stop it?" she cried softly.
Tree Flower shrugged slightly, "Maybe you just need to let it go."
"Let go of what Mother?" Fluttershy asked angrily, turning towards Tree Flower. "I can't just let go of my past! Its always going to be there! Haunting me constantly, reminding me of what she's done-what I've done to destroy everything I hold dear! Father, Posey, you, everything!"
"Thats nonsense Fluttershy," Tree Flower said just as sharply. "I knew exactly what you did that day and I still saw past the monster and was able to see you, the daughter I love."
"But why?!" Fluttershy half-sobbed, half-shouted in anger and frustration.
"Because I forgave you and decided not to hate you for whatever's happened in the past. And don't think that was easy. Because it wasn't," Tree Flower snapped back, her voice stern and authoritative. "I had to first let go of twenty-three years of wondering what I had done wrong or what I could have done or said to prevent all this –" she motioned towards the cave, her face tight with emotion "– from happening. I had to let go of my own anger, anger towards your father for not telling me what he had done, anger towards those who would mock you and hurt you every day. I even felt angry at you, for taking your father from me," she admitted, her voice heavy with emotion. "It was eating me alive, just as your own anger is right now! But until you let go of that anger, take it out and bury it, destroy it, you will always be like this, torn and tortured by your past. Stop letting your past define you Fluttershy, and instead, break free from it."
Fluttershy simply sat in stunned silence, taken aback by her mother's speech. Tree Flower herself was now simply breathing rather heavily, obviously having invested quite a bit of energy into expressing her own feelings on the matter. Neither of them spoke for what seemed like an eternity, with Fluttershy taking in the meaning of her mother's words. The fact that her mother had to bear with the pain and suffering she had undergone for twenty-three years, and still be willing to wake up every morning only managed to highlight Fluttershy's own intense self-loathing. She felt tears running from her eyes as she looked back at her mother, whose own eyes were watering as she stared back at Fluttershy, a mournful look on her face.
"B-but Mother...h-how do I let it all go? I can't just throw it away...its a part of me, an evil, monstrous part of me..." Fluttershy finally asked, her voice hoarse. Tree Flower let out a heavy sigh.
"If you can't throw it away, if it really is so much a part of you that you can't rid yourself of it, the least you could do is try and control it somehow...and don't let it rule over you. The first thing I learned was that the past is just that, the past. Its already moved on and is over. Nothing we do is going to change what already happened. No amount of screaming or crying is going to bring back your father. I've already accepted that horrible truth. So, instead of wallowing in the past, I decided to instead always look ahead, and hope that tomorrow is a better day than today." she said, her voice now tired and calm.
"But its so hard Mother. I mean, I tried everything to control it, but it won't go away..." Fluttershy replied sadly, looking down at the floor, no longer angry, but rather intensely depressed. She felt her mother's hoof on her shoulder and simply silently let her shoulders sag even more. She felt her mother's other arm reach around her and felt herself being pulled into a gentle, yet firm hug.
"Then we'll just have figure out away together," her mother whispered. Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked up at Tree Flower, a confused look on her face.
"'We?'" she asked. Tree Flower nodded simply.
"Yes. I've said it once, and I'll say it again, you're my daughter Fluttershy, and that means, no matter what you've done or will do, I will never, ever leave you alone," she then unexpectedly chuckled slightly. "Anyways, with all that ruckus back in Ponyville, I'm pretty sure me going home isn't an option."
Fluttershy couldn't help but smile at her mother's reassurance. The same feeling of release that had come with their first hug back when Fluttershy first returned home washed over her, and she let herself relax completely in her mother's loving grasp. Her mother was still here, alive and well, and above all, she was never going to abandon or betray her. A part of Fluttershy was taken in abject wonder at her mother's saintly courage and dedication. Even knowing the full scope of everything, and having seen New Fluttershy herself up close and personal, she was still going to stay. As Fluttershy came to this realization, she started to cry. Not tears of sadness, but tears of joy.
She was no longer alone.
/////////////////////////////////
The zeppelin was now flying over the Everfree Forest, its spotlight trained on the dense foliage below. Hoofcuff, meanwhile, had first tried to find Starlight, but, as it turned out, he had apparently been sent home. Of course, having a broken leg might have had something to do with it. Upon hearing that news, she went back to her cabin, trying to make sense of everything that had happened. She settled to look out the window, and, to be honest, was now even more confused than before. This was the second time Fluttershy had been at the advantage, and even as that...creature...or whatever it was, she consciously chose to spare Hoofcuff. It only managed to make everything that had gone on during this entire bizarre mission even stranger. General Iron Will had always made it sound as if the beast was something that was evil or sadistic, if not at the very least totally mindless.
But what Hoofcuff had witnessed was something different. She was a threat, no doubt about that, what with her crushing a tank like a soda can. But evil? Hoofcuff knew what 'evil' was supposed to look like, with her job basically guaranteeing that she'd run into her fair share of 'evil' ponies, and, as wildly destructive as this...'Flutterhulk' seemed to be, she didn't exactly fit the standard definition. Now that Hoofcuff had had a chance to observe it in action, the first thing she had noticed was that it only seemed to attack what it seemed to be a threat. If it were evil, shouldn't it have instead focused its attention on the completely defenseless town that was quite literally right next door? Wouldn't that have been a better, more satisfying target then a heavily armored tank? All in all, everything was just confusion piled on top of more confusion. It drove her up the wall.
She let out a grumbling sigh and turned away from the window, the view outside being a mind-numbing expanse of green. She sat on her bed, lying back in an attempt to at least try and fall asleep. It had been a long day and she was quite on honestly exhausted. However, as she tossed and turned in an attempt to fall asleep, her mind continued to drift back to what happened earlier. Not that monster mind you, she had already ran over that in her mind enough times to make her dizzy.
No, rather her mind focused on another thing she had seen. Before everything had gone south, she had had a unique opportunity to really observe Fluttershy for the first time. And to be honest, it really only managed to drive home the freakish difference between her and that monster.
She had seemed, at least to Hoofcuff's eyes, to be at peace, and it had been the first time she had seen her in a state other than abject panic or fear. Even when she had spotted her at that train station before, she had seen how paranoid the shy pegasus could be. But back in Ponyville, she had seemed almost content, calm and placid, quietly discussing things with her mother, Tree Flower.
The more she thought about it and the more she had watched the other two, the more pointless this whole trip had seemed. Even thinking back on it started to make Hoofcuff feel somewhat guilty, since, before the ambush, both Fluttershy and Tree Flower looked as if they didn't have a care in the world. All the memory of the two ponies managed to do was remind Hoofcuff of her own rather lonely existence. She didn't have any friends of her own. All she had was Starlight, who even then was more the chipper assistant then an actual friend. Most of the ponies back at HQ tended to avoid her and it wasn't like her own rather prickly personality helped to smooth things over.
Hoofcuff all of a sudden shook her head brusquely. Stop it Hoofcuff. You're getting sappy, she chided herself. You've got a good thing going. You help Equestria. You help them find and capture the worst of the worst. That's all that’s important, her train of thought paused.
As true as those words were, something still felt missing. She couldn't quite nail what it was, but she knew something was missing. Her train of thought started again, Yeah...that's all...but then what? After you catch them, what do you get? A pat on the back and a trip back home to your ratty apartment to dine on take out. Excellent.
She found herself letting out a frustrated groan and shifting on her cot, going back to earlier that day and how quickly Fluttershy could swing from apparent peace to complete and utter terror. As soon as Fluttershy had caught sight of the miniature army that had been stalking her, her and the older mare turned tail and ran wildly for the forest. Of course, once the expected explosion of shouting, gunfire and chaos that accompanied the botched ambush, Hoofcuff soon lost track of Fluttershy, and had to make due with trying to arrest the other mare.
Hoofcuff let out another grumbling sigh. Why did Flutterhulk save that other pony? The only reasonable explanation for that bizarre move would be that she somehow recognized the other mare, and understood what the other mare was saying. Heck, it had responded to Fluttershy's name no less, almost instantaneously.
This is all so damned confusing! Hoofcuff thought, rolling over in bed and looking at the small clock.
It read 01:00.
Maybe you just need rest, she thought, rubbing her tired eyes as her exhaustion only managed to grow. Her eyelids felt heavy, as if they were made of stone and closed over her eyes.
Yeah...sleep. Sleep is good. Where her final thoughts as she drifted off into dreamland.
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Great update, as I think I have an Idea on how Fluttershy can join the Harmony Warriors....let S.H.I.E.L.D help her mother or at least place her in witness protection away from Ironwill's grasp.
Also, Hoofcuff may need to meet up with S.H.I.E.LD before all is said and done within this tale, because a mare with talent like that cannot be put to waste being a bounty hunter.
Great update and great confrontation between Mother and Daughter as it seems that no matter where she goes, Tree Flower will always love her daughter no matter what.
So please do keep up the good work upon such a great tale.
2971247 THAT'S A GREAT IDEA FOR HER WILLINGNESS TO STAY WITH THEM
And yeah Hoofcuff is gonna join NEIGHS (btw she's a US Marshall. Not a bounty hunter...although I can easily change that if it works better, I don't know)
2971264
Either occupation for Hoofcuff would be a great source of new asset for N.E.I.G.H.S. to use.
2971283 exactly.
Just asking, but are you thinking about putting the taxi scene in here from the movie? That'd be pretty funny to see on how you take it.
And I know you said that Rarity was only a cameo at the beginning, but maybe you'll somehow find a place for her at the end like Tony was at the end of the movie? Just wondering, but then again it's not really a good idea to take too many scenes from the movies, and it's really all up to you, the author.
2971711 Well, that depends.
I do hope to include the cab scene, mainly because it was very funny, and the Rarity cameo is a possibility....of course that depends on how everything turns out ya know?
I was listening to this while reading the scene with Fluttershy and her mother.
It really helped drive the feels home.
Great chapter as usual.
2972857 Why thank you my friend
Just finished this, and I require more.
2995351 Ooh wow thanks!
Favorite part so far? (and don't worry I'll update as soon as possible)
2995417
Honestly, I have two. The cave scene and the beginning of Snowflakes apotheosis into Abomination.
Please say you'll use the "How you feeling?", "...like a monster." line
2995480 Oh there's a possibility.
If not here maybe in the big team up story
2995506
In the words of Nigel, Smashing!
Poor sad confused Hoofcuff....
Luckily she's well on her way to Bucking General Will in the Bullnads.
3042095 Yes. Yes she is.
And I never got to know what you thought of the Gilda cameo (unless I just forgot)
3042116 needed more Gore and Pancakes.
will X-23 be in this?
3042127 The universe?
YES
3042129 I'd imagine as a younger griffin OC?
3042139 Well, go read the blog post for all the nitty gritty (I linked ya to it with the word 'yes')
Who in Hel's name is Hoofcuff suposted to be from the hulk series?
Nice to see a little temper from Tree Flower. And Bruce/Fluttershy rarely does give Hulk enough credit, does he/she?