Upheaval: Breaking Point
Chapter 36: Chasing Scarlet
A day of dealing the other Logistics officers left Hammer Chain itching for some smithing. He returned to his work with a vengeance, and, in his enthusiasm, he dragged along a sleepy Rarity and Spike to start at the crack of dawn. With leather and cloth repairs not yet coming in, he had seized the opportunity to teach his apprentice how to forge her first knife. Thus, the clanging that came from his smithy did not come from his practiced strikes, but from Rarity's first awkward attempt at crafting a blade.
"Put some more spirit into it, Rarity!" Hammer Chain said. "That's not how I showed you, unless you're trying to make a comment on my forging!"
"I'm sorry, Hammer Chain," Rarity answered with a barely-suppressed yawn. Though the lack of sleep left her sluggish, and partly inattentive, she was surprised by the ease by which she maneuvered the heavy hammer. True to what Prince Terrato had said, all she needed was to stay in the Barrier Lands to eventually attune herself to its magic. She wasn't growing by leaps and bounds like Twilight was doing, but her telekinesis had returned to its normal strength. If Applejack and Rainbow's fighting hadn't woken her up last night, she would be impressing Hammer Chain by now. "I would not quite describe myself as 'spirited' this morning, if I may say so."
"Half-dead, is what I say so!" Hammer Chain remarked. "What's the matter? Did you spend the entire night drinking like that rainbow-maned friend of yours?"
"Certainly not!" Rarity huffed. "I knew I had work in the morning and-- wait, how did you know about Rainbow Dash?"
"Passed by Storm Brew's on my way home yesterday. Rainbow Dash, hmm? She was the loudest pony in the barroom. Haven't seen that sort of bragging since Overcast." Hammer Chain paused, his expression darkening. "Tell your friend to be cautious. Dreadwing doesn't take too kindly to a pegasus who can't back her talk up."
Rarity stopped hammering on the glowing piece of metal, and turned towards Hammer Chain.
"Don't let that piece grow cold, Rarity!" Hammer Chain warned her.
"Oh, sorry!" Rarity replied. She focused on her work, her hammer strikes now getting more vigorous as each blow shook some of her torpor out of her. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Do you know a lot about Flight Dreadwing?" Spike asked.
"Been working with them even before Tailwind took the captaincy," Hammer Chain said. "A lot of our bolts go to Dreadwing, and most of their officers are wearing my work."
"What did you mean by what you said earlier?" Rarity asked. "Is Rainbow in trouble?"
Hammer Chain stroked his beard with a hoof. "Depends on how seriously Dreadwing's taking her. How good a flyer is she?"
Rarity fell into in deep thought.
"She's the best flyer in all of Equestria!" Spike said. He nearly yelped when he noticed Rarity's disapproving frown. "Well, best in the Heartland anyway," he added sheepishly.
"Sounds bad," Hammer Chain said. "She'd better impress then. Otherwise, it's Overcast all over again."
"Might I know who this Overcast is, and what happened to him or her?" Rarity asked.
Hammer Chain raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?" he asked. "I thought that you'd be familiar with the story since you're with Vanguard Clash and Scarlet Rabbit."
Rarity shook her head. "If it's going to be a concern for Rainbow, I'd like to hear about it."
"Me too!" Spike added. He leaned forward from the crate he was sitting on.
Hammer Chain motioned for Rarity to keep working, and stayed silent for a while. Eventually, he shrugged. "Overcast used to be a Dreadwing flyer several years back. He joined up about the same time as Scarlet. He was a pretty fast colt, and he knew it. Talked up a storm whenever the flight gathered, and he did prove it by beating most of his flight mates in races."
Hammer Chain gestured for Rarity to stop hammering, then inspected the blade. After eyeing it critically, he let her continue. "You can't blame him entirely. Reconnaissance flights encourage this sort of behavior: trophies, insignias, bragging sessions in barrooms, and so on. Overcast shot himself in the hoof, but his flight gave him the crossbow."
"So that's what happened?" Spike asked. "Flight Dreadwing gave Overcast a crossbow, and he shot himself?"
"He meant that figuratively, Spike," Rarity said. She looked to Hammer Chain, silently asking her teacher to continue.
"As I was saying…" Hammer Chain said. "Overcast had potential. He and Scarlet were easily the best flyers in their flight. Inseparable too. Couldn't count the number of times I passed by those two over at Storm Brew's. To nopony's surprise, Overcast eventually challenged Scarlet to a race."
Rarity dipped the blade into a bucket of oil to cool. After an approving nod from Hammer Chain, she went over to the grindstone to sharpen it. "How did the race go?" she asked.
Hammer Chain shrugged. "I wasn't there when they went at it. From what I heard, it was pretty close for the first half. By the second half, Scarlet pulled away, and won by a wide margin."
"I guess Overcast got taken down a peg, and had to learn a lesson on humility," Spike said. He nodded sagely. "I've seen it happen before."
When Hammer Chain didn't respond, Rarity looked worriedly at him. "That's not what happened, is it?" she asked.
"I'm sure it was a humbling experience," Hammer Chain said grimly. "Official story is that Overcast was so shamed that he couldn't show his face in Fangbreaker anymore, so he asked for a transfer to the Western Legion."
"So what really happened?" Spike asked. Rarity had been about to ask the same. If "official" meant the same as "truth" Hammer Chain wouldn't have used the word.
"Everypony did find the transfer strange," Hammer Chain said. "There was no sending off party, or even a goodbye from Overcast. Nopony even saw him after the race. The popular story was that Scarlet was so livid over his easy win that he threatened to kill Overcast and Dreadwing, rather than lose their best flyer over murder charges, decided to transfer Overcast."
"But he won!" Rarity said. "Why would a pony be so angry over winning?"
"Because he wanted to lose," Hammer Chain answered. "I saw his face whenever he won a race with his weights still on, and whenever he was listening to Overcast. Scarlet wanted to lose at his best, and he really believed that Overcast was the one to do it. When Overcast failed…I doubt that it was a pretty sight."
Spike swallowed hard. "S-so…what happened to Overcast after that?"
"From what Tailwind told me, he ended up at the wrong end of a wrath dragon's sneeze. Maybe that's true. Maybe Tailwind just says that to keep Scarlet from hunting him down."
Rarity wordlessly put a fine edge on her first blade. This was bad news indeed. She didn't know Scarlet very well compared to Rainbow, or Vanguard, but she couldn't have expected something like Hammer Chain's story from a pony who was constantly laid back, and smiling. She could talk to Rainbow about it, but after what happened with Applejack...
"Let's see how it's turned out," Hammer Chain said. He held up the blade to his face with magic. "Not bad for a first try. Let's continue with the hilting and--" Tailwind flung the door open, and entered. Hammer Chain put the blade down. "What a coincidence."
Tailwind set an enormous crossbow on the floor. The weapon was about as tall as a pony when stood up, and had a metal prod. "I need your help with this, Hammer Chain," she said. "The stock feels a bit flimsy."
"That's not exactly standard issue, Flight Captain," Hammer Chain said. "Off on a hunting trip?"
Tailwind nodded, and smiled. "You could say that. I need it ready for tomorrow's sortie."
"A sortie?" Hammer Chain asked. "What for? Is the siege breaking already?"
"I wish," Tailwind muttered. "We've got the first wave of reinforcements approaching from the south, and we need to give them a path to the city. I've been tasked with assassinating the brachyurus leading the wolven forces by the southern gates."
Hammer Chain frowned. "Sounds like a Special Operations pegasus' job." He levitated the enormous weapon, and inspected it. "Here's your problem. The stock's cracked. At least the prow's still useful. So, how'd you end up with the job?"
"Who knows what's going on with Special Operations?" Tailwind snorted. "I know that Scarlet's laid out in the infirmary. I guess none of the other squads could spare their pegasus for the job, or I'm the best candidate after Scarlet."
"I'll get on it then," Hammer Chain said.
Tailwind nodded, and left. Once she was gone, Hammer Chain let the weapon hover in front of Rarity, and Spike.
"Wow," Spike said. He hopped off the crate for a closer look. "That thing's huge!"
"This is a Quarrel Mark Two Windlass-Operated Arbalest," Hammer Chain said proudly. He pointed to the engraved symbol of a hammer with its handle wrapped in chain on the prod. "One of mine at that."
"Its string is so tough!" Spike remarked as he tugged on the bowstring. "I can't even bend it!"
"Its dragongut," Hammer Chain said. "Best bowstring material in all of Equestria."
Rarity put the strips of leather down, and stared at Hammer Chain. "Did you say "dragongut"?" she asked.
Hammer Chain raised an eyebrow. "That's right. You've never heard of it?"
"As in the guts of an actual dragon?" Spike asked aghast. "You kill dragons here too?"
"Not here," Hammer Chain said. His tone softened. "And only the ones we can't negotiate with. The lesser dragons like greed, gluttony and lust ones provide this material. We have to kill them when they rampage through a settlement anyway. Might as well make use of the bodies."
"But I haven't seen any other dragons around," Rarity said. "And the ponies here don't seem to recognize Spike."
"You won't find any this far north. You'll find plenty down the Western Barrier Land. Came from there myself." Hammer Chain shrugged. "The dragons don't mind us killing their lesser kin. Those mindless beasts are an embarrassment to them apparently."
Seeing Spike relax a little, Hammer Chain went over to Rarity. "Now, let me show you how to hilt that before I work on this thing, alright?" he said.
Rarity nodded, and pushed aside her worries for now. In the back of her mind, fear for her friend continued to nag at her.
Forced to lie on his belly and with his flank bound up, Scarlet stared at the infirmary's walls as if they were cage bars. He had been brought here after apparently shooting himself. If he wasn't so embarrassed by the incident, he would have protested having to spend the night in this place. All it took was a glare from Vanguard to get him to comply.
"Redbrand could at least get me some brandy," Scarlet muttered. He flapped his wings impatiently. A while ago, he had heard that there was a sortie being planned for tomorrow. It was all that he could do not to burst out of the infirmary, and tell Commander Dreadstep that he was ready for action. "Hey!" he called out when one of the medics entered. "Tell Redbrand…uh…my flank's hurting really badly, and I need a drink!"
Instead of hurrying away like the last one, this medic approached him slowly. As he got a better look, he recognized the long, pink mane, and the yellow coat. "Fluttershy!" he said. "Am I glad to see you! Say, do you have a drink on you?"
The lack of an immediate response didn't bother Scarlet. Fluttershy was but a foot away when he decided that she wasn't as glad as he was for this meeting, and that there was no drink coming.
"I want you to stop," Fluttershy said in a low voice. There was no hesitation when she spoke. No stuttering, and no backing away as well.
Scarlet raised an eyebrow. "Stop?" he asked. "Stop what? Shooting myself? I'd love to, but--"
Fluttershy leaned on Scarlet's bed, her face just a few inches away from his.
Scarlet froze when he stared directly into those green eyes. A chill ran up his spine. He tried to speak, but no words came out. All the world blurred except for those eyes.
"Whatever you're doing to Rainbow, I want you to stop it!" Fluttershy said. Her normally soft voice had steel underneath.
A low chuckle escaped Scarlet's lips, and his hooves dug into his bed. Oh, at long last he'd found it! This terror had to come from only one source! He lunged from his bed, knocking her to the ground, and pinning her in place with his hooves. His lips split into a grin as he took quick, and heavy breaths. "Found you…" he said, his voice shuddering.
Scarlet was already raising a hoof for a strike when Fluttershy realized that she was in danger. Just as suddenly, he flew to the right, crashing into a nearby table of medical supplies. Somepony offered Fluttershy a hoof. After a few shaky, and failed attempts, she took it. The hoof belonged to one of the senior medics. A couple of them had arrived with Redbrand.
Redbrand himself was turning around after kicking Scarlet. He gestured for the other medics to help him. Scarlet still had a bizzare, eager grin on his face when he got up. The bandages on his flank seeped blood. When he tried to make another lunge, the medics caught him. "Tie him down!" Redbrand snarled. "Use chains if you have to!" He looked to Fluttershy. "Let's go." With one last confused, and frightened look at Scarlet Rabbit's trashing form, Fluttershy followed Redbrand out.
"Come back!" Scarlet shouted. "Hassyth!"
"What were you doing in there?" Redbrand demanded once they had walked out of the infirmary. "Some kind of twisted chosen magic?"
"I was…I was trying to talk to him…" Fluttershy said. That was what she had planned when she saw Scarlet being brought into the ward. What she had seen last night was too much. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had argued before. They had even fought before. That would not have been a surprise as they were both headstrong, and stubborn ponies. But what had happened last night was no simple fight between friends. It was a strain on their friendship itself. For the first time in her life, she was afraid that the damage could be permanent. Rainbow was flying off somewhere she, or any of her friends, couldn't follow, and all she knew was that Scarlet had something to do with it.
Just as Scarlet had looked into her eyes, she had looked into his. He had recoiled when "the stare" suddenly came on, just as any other creature did. But, instead of staying recoiled, he had snapped loose like a metal spring wound up too tightly.
Redbrand stopped, and grabbed hold of Fluttershy, forcing her to look at one of his hooves. He was trembling too. "This is just from catching a glimpse of your eyes, filly," he said. "You better hope that I'm not doing any surgery today."
Fluttershy looked downwards. "I'm sorry."
"Forget apologies," Redbrand snapped. "Why were you trying to terrify him into talking anyway? Terrato grind me, they could use you in Special Operations with that stare. It'd do wonders for interrogations."
"Well…I didn't know it was going to happen," Fluttershy said meekly. "I just wanted him to stop what he was doing to my friend. But…it didn't work on him…"
"It worked alright," Redbrand muttered. "It just didn't have the sort of effect you're used to."
Fluttershy's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"That thing you do shakes ponies up. You don't get to control what you shake out when you do. "
Fluttershy stayed silent and stared at Redbrand in confusion.
"There are more monsters in this world than the ones out there, Fluttershy," Redbrand said. "Ponies hide plenty inside them. You never know what's going to tumble out when you shake a pony around. Scarlet's given you a taste of just how bad it can be."
Fluttershy swallowed. It was a foalish thing she did: confronting Scarlet by herself, and cornering him like that. She was fortunate that the other medics had stepped in when they did. More than ever, she was sure that Scarlet was bad for Rainbow. "I've never seen such a pony before," she whispered.
"You'll get used to it," Redbrand replied. "Spend a few years in Medical, and you'll see how the carnage of battle damages a pony. And it's not just their bodies too."
"Could it happen to me and my friends too?" Fluttershy asked.
"What kind of question is that? You're ponies too. Those ridiculous pictures on your flanks won't protect you from this place. Isn't that why Celestia stuffed you all in the Heartland?"
Fluttershy's heart sank. So it wasn't just Rainbow she had to worry about. Her other friends might start changing because of this place. Even she might start changing. She closed her eyes, and quivered slightly at the thought. She opened her eyes in surprise, however, when a hoof patted her on the shoulder. She looked towards Redbrand, who didn't match her gaze.
Redbrand cleared his throat before speaking. "Don't mope," he said, his gruffness sounded forced this time. "Not everypony ends up partly deranged. Others are strong enough to stay themselves. You and your friends might be among them."
A slight smile creased Fluttershy's face. He scowled, and looked away. "You have friends out in the front lines right?" he asked. "Tomorrow will be a test for them. You better be ready too, Fluttershy."
Well, as much as I like Scarlet Rabbit, he is starting to scare me.
I knew Scarlet was psycho but this confrontation was unexpected.
1496906 1224572 Whoops, double posted the same comment. I deleted the other post.
Wikipedia:first sentence: Psychopathy is a personality disorder that has been variously characterized by shallow emotions (including reduced fear, a lack of empathy, and stress tolerance), coldheartedness, egocentricity, superficial charm, manipulativeness, irresponsibility, impulsivity, criminality, antisocial behavior, a lack of remorse, and a parasitic lifestyle.
I have a different opinion than the comments below. This chapter doesn't really prove that Scarlet is Psychopathic. All you have is gossip from a smith, and a defensive reaction to Fluttershy (which I believe is justified). In fact, Fluttershy seems to be more psycho than Scarlet, and that's not just in this particular situation, but her life on the whole (On a loosely related note, SHED.MOV. Funny OOC portrayal) I relate more to Scarlet's character, and dislike Fluttershy up to this point in the story. People get too wrapped up in pity for Fluttershy to pass rational judgement. Heavy bias in favor of Fluttershy, while overlooking facts.
Is it really that surprising, and/or scary that Scarlet lashed out? That stare she did was an intimidation effort. It's an unnatural stare. Ever notice that when Fluttershy uses the stare in canon, she gets into a creature's personal space, with a creepy stare while sounding hostile? Inches, sometimes centimeters away from them, eye to eye. She used that to cow a cockatrice and even a dragon as far as I know (I feel sorry for the dragon). If someone got in your face, and appeared menacing to you, would you: A) let them have their way, or B) go "hell no! Gtfo my face! *push/tackle/punch* C) something more assertive than A but more passive than B?
Fluttershy left no room for compromise, or even discussion. Unfortunately, C would be overlooked in most cases like that. She immediately chose to intimidate. Her demands were stern, and ambiguous. Can't fault flight or fight if someone gets right into your face like that. Extreme actions being met with escalation, or equally extreme measures in those cases, aren't uncommon. A and B might be seen as extreme, but when Fluttershy did what she did, Scarlet's reaction would be normal.
And before I get into direct quotes for evidence, let's take a general look at the great timing, and attitude of Fluttershy, and circumstances that she is almost entirely at fault for. Guy gets back from a mission. Right after seeing 15 ponies get killed by Black Rose, seeing 2 of his squads disappear, and getting his own bolt stuck (deep? It's described with the shaft sticking in from last chapter) in his flank. That's got to be painful. Bleeding out can be dangerous. Who knows what kind of damage there is? Did it hit an artery? How's walking, or just twitching going to feel? Imagine it scabbing over before he gets medical care. Asking for a bit of booze, and getting medical treatment without unnecessary wait does not sound out of the ordinary, or unfair for soldiers. He defends ponies, and gets hurt doing so, with a smile. How about some respect, and rest before dealing with melodrama? Fluttershy is pretty dumb I think. The bolt sticking out of his butt should alone be sufficient indication for one to think "doesn't that hurt?" Medical treatment 1st, impudence later, if you have any brains or decency.
And that shows that Fluttershy is dishonest. She answered Redbrand, but evaded the question, as if she knew what she did was wrong, but did it anyways, and said this to not be held accountable. Technically she talked to Scarlet, but not in a good way. Was she even "trying?" Well, as for trying to get her point across in a civil manner, no she did not do that.
She never told Scarlet, in detail, how he was making Rainbow change, and why she didn't like it. She just made a demand, expecting him to understand her right off the bat. Then she went to a stare almost instantly.
These quotes show that she used her fear tactic intentionally. She knows that it intimidates animals. It is insulting, and immoral to use it on sapient (note that I typed sapient, not sentient. Yes, there's a big difference. I see many people write sentient, where sapient makes much more sense) beings, in an effort to bend them to your will, rather than beginning an actual discussion, in which you both have the chance to exchange ideas. She never gave Scarlet a chance. Fluttershy's actions to Scarlet a nutshell: "I don't care for your reasons, and you don't need to hear mine. I won't bother convincing you with an argument. You have nothing of value, and I don't want to hear what you have to say. You will do as I say."
Even if Scarlet, like many others, turned to drinking booze around friends to cope with life, and if he was under pressure, or psycho in the 1st place; those are not reasonable excuses for blaming Scarlet for his reaction to Fluttershy. I can't say that he had a hair trigger reaction, since Fluttershy's provocation was not slight. I think Redbrand used the right moment, but wrong words to convey that Scarlet might be "fast and deadly, but stupid." True these words might fit Scarlet, and even Rainbow Dash, but a primal fear is not necessarily stupid. And it's a two-dimensional way to describe Scarlet. As far as we know, he's better than that. Heat of the moment, or the events leading to it, could be stupid, and prove people to be dumb, but not in this case for Scarlet. It can be justified as self-defense. I think the joy he brings to others (keeps up morale), and sacrifices he makes for the good of others warrants more than just an apology from Fluttershy, but a heap of lashings for her as well.
On the other hand, Fluttershy had time to stew this over before confronting Scarlet, and the way she did it was the only stupidity I see. Scarlet is within his rights to beat Flutters, given her thoughtless actions. Antagonizing Scarlet, while thinking only of Rainbow, isn't kind toward Scarlet, or empathetic at all. She only projected her self-important views, with the well being of Rainbow in mind, and maybe a personal vendetta against Scarlet. The way she made, and handled immediate aftermath of the incident, was narrow-minded and more than a little selfish. I hope that there are further-reaching consequences, that lead to comeuppance.
To claim that Fluttershy embodies the element of kindness is untrue. It just ought to be said that she bears an ancient weapon with her kindness section being only a codename. Everyone has flaws, but surely there are many better candidates for owning the "kindness" title than Fluttershy?
2103735 Are you in the My Little Over-Analysis group yet?
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i'm over-analytic. especially when its a subject i'm passionate about (Moral Ambiguity, Lunas magnificent... assets, etc, etc.)
but this guy? Jesus, that is even more than Uber-Analytical! I-I'm gonna have to get my Thesaurus to find a(n) word epic sounding enough to fit this!
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>> HornyUnicorn
I think that your comment is longer than the chapter! But I must say that I have had similar thoughts about Fluttershy. The pony underneath her facade of helplessness is scary.
Shite, Scarlet Rabbit's a psychopath. Well, technically no, but you know what I mean. I always figured there was something darker under that grin, but this is a bit much. I can't help but wonder if Rainbow will end up killing him herself before this is all over.
As bad as it would make me feel to see Fluttershy hurt in any way, I think it would have been better if she'd taken a few blows. Then Rainbow would have indelible evidence of the dangerous path she's walking.
2103735
This concludes the biggest comment I have ever seen in my life on any site.