Author's Notes:

I do not own MLP or any other series in this fanfic. WARNING THIS CHAPTER IS A LITTLE DARKER THAN MOST! BE WARNED!

Fluttershy had taken off running the moment she was awake, clinging to the baby in her arms. She was a child and being chased by a dragon, her eyes squeezed shut knowing that flying wouldn’t work against such a creature. She skidded to a halt and raised her arm, the dragon slowed to a halt looking around for her. She pressed a hand against its scales drawing out the memory of them from it’s mind watching it fly away afterwards. She smile before continuing on, a voice called out to her causing her to turn around. “I must say that was impressive.”

A woman stood there with what looked like antlers coming from her head. She had a huge grin on her face and Fluttershy looked around.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen magic like that before, powerful enough to repel a dragon.” the woman spoke moving forward and Fluttershy took a huge step back. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you, I’m going to recruit you. Okay that sounded bad, I just need to you to keep the authorities off my back at my house. Make it seem like I was there the entire time.”

“You’re a rulebreaker?” Fluttershy asked raising an eyebrow and the woman laughed. “Name’s Rumia. What’s yours?”

“I’m Fluttershy, the little one is Moonlight Wisp.” the pegasi answered not lowering her guard as the woman bounded forward to examine them. Rumia grinned saying. “Well, I can provide you with food and shelter, in return just keep the authorities from my house. You don’t want the little one to grow up in a government facility do you? After all, a concerned citizen might just inform them of the some strange people who appeared out of nowhere and made a dragon leave them alone.”

Fluttershy glared at Rumia who didn’t seem to care, instead she gave her a smug look.

“Fine.” Fluttershy replied holding out her hand. “Try anything and I will make sure you can’t remember anything.”

“You wouldn’t do that, after all you let the dragon live a normal life.” the dark haired woman chuckled before leading them to a metropolis. Welcome to the Megalomesembria Confederation. Population mostly humans, yet with some demi humans like us living among them. This way to my house.”

At first living with Rumia was uneasy, there were many times when she would return home in a rush and Fluttershy had to use her gift. Yet the Tree Spirit seemed slow down these activities when it almost put Fluttershy and Moonlight Wisp in danger. Since she was seen with Rumia they associated her with the thief. Fortunately Fluttershy was able to erase their memories but she had gotten hurt. The brown haired tree spirit often tried to find work in order to take care of them after promising Fluttershy that she wasn’t going to steal again.

It was calm after a year, Fluttershy having gotten a job as a worker at a small clinic, the strange family had started to settle into a normal life. That was until disaster struck, the pegasus was on her way home one night enjoying the silence in contrast to the busy street during the day. When she came up to the small hovel her heart began to race as a cold sweat began to bead. The door was smashed in and the kind hearted pegasus rushed in only to find bodies on the ground and no sign of the child nor of Rumia. There as a groan nearby and the pink haired mare moved towards it seeing one of them still alive.

“What happened here?” she asked as a green aura surrounded her wings as his flesh began to mend.

“We were sent to retrieve a stolen artifact.” groaned the male his eyes opening. “Reports were that a tree spirit stole it. We traced it back here, unfortunately we were wrong about who stole it and we were ambushed.”

“Rumia…” Fluttershy didn’t want to believe that she was responsible. The male shook his head saying. “She was gone when we got here, someone ambushed us from behind. He might be still….”

He never got to finish his sentence as he was turned to stone causing her to look up seeing a young boy with white hair looking at her. Fluttershy glared at him her magic welling up as he took a step forward. She almost didn’t notice the others behind him, one was a tree spirit as well.

“Where is Rumia and the baby?” she asked climbing to her feet, the boy didn’t respond at first as the others got defensive. “Tell me, now.”

“Don’t talk to Fate-sama in that regard.” one of the females said and Fluttershy looked at her using the Stare as well. “He… we… they weren’t here.”

“Koyomi.” warned the tree spirit looking at her. “What are you doing?”

“That look, I can’t help it. It scares me.” whimpered Koyomi as they all got on the defensive. Fluttershy’s fist clenched as a green glow erupted from the Pegasus as she spoke again. “Where are they?”

A snap filled the air and soon the pegasus found herself not in the house but in a long hallway with doors. She blinked in confusion as she began to look around.

“Where am I?” she asked looking around seeing many labels on the doors.

“You are in the Hall of Worlds.” a voice replied from behind her causing the Pegasus to look around. That was when she spotted a figure wearing a black cloak, she couldn’t tell anything about this person at all besides the fact that it was humanoid.

“Apologies for not appearing in your original form, ponies annoy me.” the person spoke as Fluttershy approached. “I am Raven.”

“Do you know what happened?” inquired the shy pony trying to ignore the statement on why this Raven found ponies annoying. “And if you don’t like ponies why take me out of there?”

“I didn’t say I don’t like them, I just said they annoyed me.” Raven answered moving down the hallway. “And I know what happened to them, I took them out of there. I was aiming for Moonlight Wisp but she wouldn’t have been able to take care of herself as a baby. So Rumia went with her.”

“Why do they annoy you?” Fluttershy was trying to understand the reasoning but a look from the cloaked figure quieted her down. “I’m sorry. Where are we?”

“The Hallways of Worlds.” Raven explained as they continued to move. “Each world here is a part of a story or a larger world. What you would say if your world was a part of an original story, and even then part of a bigger one. Everything you know is written, everything is fiction to someone else.”

“So one world could see our actions through a story, right?” this was interesting to Fluttershy, as this was a being that could see all worlds and all universes.

“Correct.” Raven answered as entering a door for a moment, Fluttershy watched as the figure snuck up behind a human female and snapping the pointer and thumb together causing the girl to go by shouting. “RAVEN!”

Fluttershy blinked in surprise, her head turning as she continued to watch as the figure stood before her once again. She looked back before following along.

“This is your world, an expanded universe.” the cloaked figure spoke and Fluttershy let out a gasp as she saw a large hall. Then looked at the door she was being shown and moved in closer as she looked through a window that appeared next to it. She watched as some ponies argued while those in Ponyville prepared for an attack. Apple Bloom was sitting in the training room that was set up by the Spartans trying to watch them train secretly. Though she got the feeling that they knew she was there. She looked towards Raven who told her. “You can go back.”

“What about Rumia and Moonlight Wisp?” responded Fluttershy and Raven began to move away saying. “I will return them, the reason why you are doing this is because of a pact Discord made with the other Spirits. Testing you and your friends, so you can prove that you are worthy of their gifts. The reason why it is you is because you could wield the Elements of Harmony. You were chosen by the Tree of Harmony to wield the power that it created to combat the chaos in your world. Mainly it was for Discord and his creation, however you took that power and changed its purpose. You purified evil, you have locked it away, and yet you chose to embody those elements in how you treat others may they be friends or others.”

“So why did you bring me here if you find us so annoying?” Fluttershy asked trying to figure out Raven’s reasoning. The reply shocked her. “Because among your friends and your people you have remained kind. You have your moments of anger but even your kindness is not tempered by that.”

Fluttershy blushed as she followed the mysterious one looking around at all of the doors. Each one seemed to be customized to the world that they led to. She would peer into the doors and see clothes that seem to suit each of the worlds. That was when she came up to a large door that seemed familiar to her.

“This is where I placed them, in a safe area.” Raven told her as the door opened with a wave of the hand. Fluttershy smiled as she walked forward into the room her form still the same humanoid, the only difference was her hair color. She looked around at all of the clothes upon the racks and in front of her was another door. Raven went about looking through the clothes carefully. The mysterious person pulled a few off of the rack and brought them over to the pink maned Pegasus. Raven seemed to know which ones suited her better being careful to choose out ones that was able to either be placed around her wings. Or didn’t have a back around her shoulder blades. They chose out a robe with bare shoulder blades, they were careful with her wings. Fluttershy took a deep breath as she looked towards the door and Raven patted her on the shoulder before moving back. The Bearer of Kindness stepped forward into the unknown before entering the doorway feeling a cool breeze across her face. Looking around she spread her wings and took off to the North trying to get a lay of the land.

Rumia let out a breath as she looked around at the small hut she was staying in. She was grateful for those that stayed nearby. At first it was peaceful, the tribe of a race called the Taurens. The demi human was rather weary of the area around her, there was something that was troubling her but she didn’t know what it was. She would often trade with the Taurens a few of the items that were on her yet never let them know of Moonlight. She didn’t know their thoughts on dragons, even half ones at that. Yet she did not know the evil stirring from the presence of the half pony.

In the dark north where a old city lay a cloaked woman scanned the skies, undead standing next to her. A frown was resting on her face, there had been reports of a being flying in their lands with wings that glowed with a golden light. This creature had been sighted about a day ago, though it was not sighted coming from Gilneas.

“Lady Sylvanas, the animals in the Tirisfal Glade that were afflicted by the Plague…” that caught her attention as she turned around. “They have been cured.”

“Round them up, find out what caused this.” she said before something caught her eyes, a light among the clouds. It was flying around before swooping downwards. Stringing her bow with grace she notched an arrow and took aim. Without even batting an eye she fired, it struck the creature causing it to move back as it struggled to keep in the air.

“Gather the animals, I shall take care of this intruder.” she ordered before moving off of the wall. Her horse, already saddled, was waiting for her at the gate. The banshee queen was curious about this creature. A half breed of a Val’kyr, a harpy… yet if her suspicions were correct, the Plague vanishing from the animals and the arrival of this strange creature was linked. Her horse rode swiftly through the lands towards where this creature fell, the poison on the arrow should have paralyzed the creature. It wasn’t that far when Sylvanas spotted hair on a nearby branch and yellow feathers circling an area. She climbed off her horse quickly vanishing into the shadows waiting carefully. The bushes moved as a rabbit jumped out no sign of the affliction on it. It ran towards the bushes across from it and the leaves began to move revealing the winged creature laying on the ground. Sylvanas moved quickly snatching her out of the bushes the branches trying to stop her. The rabbit was frozen as it watched her carry the being to her horse. She draped the paralyzed creature across the back before tying her hands. Climbing onto her steed she took off towards the Undercity without even glancing back. The trees groaned before its branches grew trying to catch the dark ranger who was faster now that she was on her steed. She didn’t even look back even as the wolves chased her yet when everything went silent she knew that they had stopped.

Rumia breathed deeply as she reached out her hand feeling a new power flow through her as a tree reached towards her hand. It was just a sapling yet it seemed to grow faster when she was there. She smiled sadly, it had already been a week and there was no sign of Fluttershy. The Tauren had already moved on, nomadic in nature. That left her with a sense of vulnerability, she was wildly aware that she was being watched. The trees around her home were now like a fence, it was the first thing that hid her, yet it was not enough. That came too late, an arrow pierced her shoulder a toxin settling in deep. She turned around to see hooded figures. They had weapons yet what troubled her deeply was the magic they were using. She growled her wooden horns growing as her eyes glowed.

“A druid? You never told me she was a druid.” a smaller creature squeaked staring at her as she attacked, vines shooting towards them.

“Kill her, we are here for the child.” Rumia let out a roar trying to take down as many of these figures as possible. Her body was beginning to fail her but she fought on though moving towards the door over her own home hearing Moonlight Wisp crying. She moved into the house once her attacks were no longer moving, she staggered draping herself over the cradle. Tears welled up in her eyes as she placed a kiss on the forehead of the baby.

“She’ll find you, don’t worry little Moonlight.” she whispered haggardly as her form began to grow as she wrapped herself around the cradle her horns growing into branches her hair turning leaves. Her body turned into a tree protecting the baby.

Fluttershy woke feeling herself unable to move due to the bindings. She had hid in the bushes to let herself heal. Yet this is not where she had landed before, it was darker and the smell was making her sick. A figure was watching her, rotting and deformed, yet she didn’t shrink in disgust nor fear. In fact she knew that this was one of the Afflicted creatures, yet it seemed intelligent. Soon the door on the far end of the room opened and a woman entered. Her eyes red, hair pale and her skin was a light grey: Pale, sickly, holding none of warmth a living creature had. In her hand was one of her feathers. The pegasus looked startled as she tried to move realizing that her wings were trapped in holes under her.

“How were the tests?” she asked ignoring the struggling creature, the afflicted creature with the wild hair looked towards her saying. “Positive. This is the creature that has been curing the curse on this land. Whenever an afflicted creature is brought near it the wings would begin to glow and the taint leaves the creature.”

“Are the wings the source of your power I wonder.” the woman spoke walking over to the table, her eyes were cold as she studied Fluttershy. “I hope you don’t mind your new room.”

With that she rounded on heel and left the room, the decaying creature grinned at her before going about sharpening its tools. She was glad that he was keeping his distance, though the look in his eye told her that he held no loyalty to the woman from before. The door opened as a masked individual walked in. His appearance did not give any hope to Fluttershy as he listened to what the decaying creature told him. Nodding his head he looked at Fluttershy saying. “If your wings are the source of the power, then we can’t let you continue curing the Plague. Take them then rid us of her.”

The kind mare began to shake as the table was turned so she was facing towards the ground. She tried everything to get out of the restraints. Footsteps moved closer, her heart began to beat faster. Her skin became clammy as goosebump rose as the sound of metal scratched against a surface.Then they began to approach her, she began to struggle some more before the doors around her wings opened up and pain registered in her mind. She let out a scream as her flesh and bone was carved into on both sides. The pain was beginning to become to much to bear as her wings fell to the floor. She had to get out of there she had to escape. Energy surged forth as her screams tore through the air a warmth flowing around her as the coldness of the dungeon was gone. One place, one safe place entered her mind, a small abbey she found North of Goldshire. ‘Northshire Abbey.’ she thought before the pain overrode her senses.

Moonlight Wisp awoke to the sound of muffled hoof steps against the ground, it was a familiar sound. She yawned and stretched in her cradle before getting uncomfortable, she squirmed before managing to make it onto her stomach and stretched again. Blinking she looked around taking note that the cover over the cradle was darker than usual. Normally the strange woman with the horns uses vines so a little bit of light could shine through. This was almost complete darkness, the startled child let out a cry before it became a wail. Her magic began to well up changing her form into something that she could use to protect herself.

Large humanoids with bull heads and fur covering their bodies approached the protected house. Their eyes scanning the trees that were natural to the plains but their growth, as they could tell, was unnatural. They knew this was the place that the other tribe had described. The dwelling of the creature of the forest. Scouts were sent forward in hopes that she would be willing to share the land with them. Though the other tribe spoke of her courtesy it was still polite. Yet the scouts returned with a grim expression on their faces, the young Paladin next to the chief shifted.

“Chief Hawkwind, the news is dire.” spoke the scout in charge looking back. “We found members of the Shadow Council, dead, and no sign of the one the other tribe spoke of.”

“One can hope that she escaped.” the Chief said before the Druid spoke up her voice raspy yet firm. “No, she is still in there.”

The small tribe followed the Druid into the house as she looked around before moving to the tree. Pressing her hand upon the trunk she closed her eyes and focused.

“She is alive but weak, the dark magic that the Shadow Council used is corrupting her.” the Druid spoke before waving over her students. “We must purify and heal her before it is too late. She is barely holding on.”

Chief Hawkwind watched the Druids work cleansing and purifying the tree, the Shamans helping as well. The Paladins kept watch for any sign of the unnatural spawn that could come from the Warlocks’ dark spells. The tree regained some color and a section of it began to part revealing a small pale silver dragon. It was crying in panic before looking at Chief Hawkwind with big green eyes. The Druid seemed startled before pressing her hand on the tree once again listening.

“She wants us to take care of her.” the Druid spoke taking out the dragon watching as the hole closed. “Until we find her caretaker, or this one awakes.”

“Did she give us a name?” the Chief asked holding out his hand as the baby dragon was set into it. The Druid shook her head solemnly as the dragon looked around at them. “No, she was tired. She managed to relay this message before her silence. We do not even know who this caretaker is.”

“We will know.” the Tauren Chief promised as the dragon tried to climb up his arm to bat at his braid. “When this caretaker comes, we will know.”

Fluttershy moaned in pain her eyes opening, there were two humans in robes standing over her. At first she began to panic until one placed a hand on her head saying. “Do not worry, you are safe.”

“W-where am I?” she asked trying to sit up but the healer did not let her. She didn’t struggle against this, feeling the pain.

“You are in Northshire Abbey, a stranger found you on the road right outside of the gate. He went to Goldshire to get more bandages for us.” the healer told her sitting down. “You were unconscious for a few days. Your wounds were great, do you remember who did this to you?”

The Bearer of Kindness began to panic as she thought back but no words would escape her mouth. The other healer frowned before placing a calming hand on her head saying. “We should not force someone so young to remember something so tragic.”

“Yes sir.” the first healer stood and left as the elderly man sat down, he gave her a sad smile staring at her. “Our apologies, everyone here is worried. It is hard when we see a child wounded because of this war. My student like so many have no love for the Horde.”

Fluttershy was curious, not only what the Horde was but his own feelings about the war. She had spent little time in Azeroth, the only time she visited Northshire Valley was when she was trying to find Twilight. Shaking her head mentally she decided to ask. “And how do you feel about the Horde?”

“I believe there can be peace.” the older man spoke as he sat back. “I remember someone saying to me as a child. ‘Do not blame everyone for the actions of a few. But do not take the culture of a race for granted, there can be a great evil inside everyone but there is also great good. Find those who seek peace and be friends with them.’ The Orcs are violent but they do not want that to consume them. I want to find the good in them. Yet others don’t think so, they only want to see the bad, it is easier for them to fight this war. Or others only want to see just the innocence and will mock those that have fought for a long time.”

Fluttershy felt her breath catch as she remembered saying that to a child that had been caught by the Orcs. She had barely managed to escape with him at the plea of his mother, she flew as far as she could until bringing him to the Abbey. Peace settled upon her when she realized that, even though they didn’t stop a war or make a big impact she had still affected one person’s life. Though she did wonder if his mother made it at all.

“I can see the wheels turn in your head little one.” the old healer spoke before standing up. “You should get some rest.”

“My wounds… will they get better?” she asked quietly and the human paused a hurt in his eyes as he looked at her saying. “I am not sure, they are healing slowly yet it seems as if they are not closing correctly. Don’t worry little one nothing bad will happen to you here. Now sleep.”

Fluttershy nodded her head before closing her eyes again this time falling into a more peaceful sleep. There was a knock on the door as the healer stood up and opened it seeing a tall man with shoulder length dark brown hair and beard.

“Sorry I’m late, Murlocs.” he spoke his voice accented heavily, the healer nodded his head saying. “Understandable, I managed to get her back to sleep so speak quietly.”

“Sorry, got the bandages and the medicine you needed.” the man lowered his voice to a whisper as he moved next to her. “I should have been there.”

“Master Rainier.” the healer took a deep breath walking over to the sleeping girl and started to change her bandages. “I am happy that you managed to find and save her before she was eaten by the Kobolds. Yet what happened to her before, how she managed to escape where she was, only she knows. It pains her to remember. I think it will do her some good if you were here when she wakes again. See the face of the man who carried her here despite his own wounds and didn’t get any sleep while making sure she was taken care of.”

Rainier smiled sadly as he watched her having much to do, he did not want her to go through something like that again. He was going to make sure she knew how to defend herself. He was so close on losing her and he had promised Rarity long ago that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her and her friends. Now he had a body to do this, he was going to defend her and keep his promise. When he had found their world through the help of the Fade, the Great Spirits, Raven, and Cole. He, at first, attached himself to Rainbow Dash. He knew she needed someone to protect her yet as he watched her he realized like his fellow companions that it wasn't the right fit. Rainbow needed someone who was willing to balance out her rambunctious personality yet another to compliment it. He wasn’t the prankster nor he would have been able to be stern with her like Cassandra or Sera. Yet when he saw Fluttershy be strict yet caring did he realize that he could take her under his wing. Teach her that weapons didn’t have to be for fighting they could be used for defense. Then she was taken away for her tests, he wasn’t around for the first test and he knew that this time, she needed him.

The healer was quiet, he knew that he was getting too old for this his apprentice was already teaching others. He was going to retire after this, perhaps take up fishing in Goldshire. After all the Horde were quiet lately. The door burst open as a young girl ran in tome and staff in hand. She had burn marks on her face and came to a halt in the doorway her eyes wide.

“Father Eren, Orcs, they attacked Goldshire.” she panted and the healer felt his heart sink, he knew this child and knew she wouldn’t be here alone. “The Head priest there is dead.”

“Ragnbjörg, get Priestess Anetta and Josetta.” he told her and when the girl began to move away did he call out to her. “Where is your teacher?”

The girl paused before heading off and Eren cursed under his breath, Rainer looked at him and the old priest explained. “Ragnbjörg is a few of the mages taught outside of Dalaran. We have only a few mage trainers here, yet her teacher took it upon himself to teach her personally as her attention span can be a bit… lacking. To know that he is gone will pain us all.”

“I didn’t even sense them.” Thom said quietly and the old healer looked at him. “If I had known….”

“You would also be slain and then where would we be?”

Thom looked to the side debating if he should say anything. The aged healer chuckled as he stood up his work complete. “Some things that happen can be far out of our control. It is how we deal with them that makes us who we are. Tell me, what are you plans?”

“To teach her how to defend.” Rainer spoke looking at Fluttershy. “She has already been scarred by this world, but that doesn’t mean she will change and become hardened. She is a young woman with a good heart and won’t change just because someone hurt her.”

“She sounds like Prince Anduin.” chuckled Eren before groaning and holding his back, the human looked at him. “I’m old but that doesn’t mean you can fuss over me all the time.”

“Just making sure you’re still alive.” Rainier replied, a grin on his own face as he sat down next to Fluttershy. “I’ll stay here in case she wakes up again.”

The older priest smiled before heading outside though worry was still in his mind. Both the child and Rainer were strangers, his only hope was that the good in them outweighed the bad.

It wasn’t until a few days later that Fluttershy did awaken, but by then Father Eren was already gone. She let out a soft pained groan as she surfaced from her unconscious state, Rainer was at her side in an instant as well as Sister Anetta.

“Take it slowly, you’ll only exhaust yourself more if you try to rush it.” The young priest trainer said softly and she set her hand on her shoulder when she tried to sit up, gently guiding her back down onto the bed.

“How are you feeling?” Rainier asked giving her a kind but pained smile, before quickly adding. “My name is Thomas Rainer, I’m the one who found you.”

Fluttershy whimpered a little in pain as she shifted her head towards the two. “Thank you for bringing me here, that was very kind of you. I just hope I wasn’t too heavy.”

Sister Anetta’s eyes widen in disbelief, looking to Rainier for confirmation as to what she just heard before clearing her throat. “I believe you haven’t answered Rainier’s question. How are you feeling?”

“Oh, um…. better?” the question caused a small chuckle out of the newly appointed head priest. The shy girl blushed at the priest’s amusement and attempted to hide behind her hair. The room went quiet for a moment the silence only being broken by a nervous cough from Fluttershy.

“So will happen now?” was the question that caused Rainier to speak up. “You rest up.”

“He’s right, your wounds haven’t fully healed.” Anetta told her, tucking a lock of her golden hair behind her ear as she smoothed her other hand over Fluttershy’s forehead. “It is strange, our magic cannot seal the wounds.”

“Not everything can be cured by magic.” Thom told her gently, placing a hand on the priestess’ shoulder. “Some wounds don’t always heal properly. Though once she’s well enough to stand some fresh air might help.”

“That sounds nice.” she sighed relaxing into the bed a soft smile on her face. Her eyes began to closing humming a song under breath. Rainier chuckled gruffly seeing her yawn before a deep melancholy filled his eyes. He pulled the covers over her, tucking her in, as she began to drift back to sleep once again.

It took many weeks to gather enough strength for her to sit up. She wasn’t alone, most of the time either Anette or Rainer was there assisting her. They would help her sit up to eat or drink water, sometimes the pain would wane her appetite. She had to be fed by them as it hurt to move her arms, she was often laying on her stomach or her side. She knew it angered Thom how injured she was, it got to the point where she had to confront him.

It was a cloudy day when the door opened to her room again. The only reason why Fluttershy knew this was that she was faced towards a window. She knew it was Rainer by his footsteps, being much heavier than Anetta’s footsteps. He sat her up gently as he removed her shirt a cloth being dipped into water. A quiet whimper escaped her lips as the cloth pressed against her back and she felt his arm tense.

“I don’t hate him.” she spoke quietly and she felt the rag slip a little. “The one who ordered this, nor the one that did this to me. What they did was wrong and I understand this, however being angry at a situation that was out of my control will not help me now.”

Thom was quiet as he continued to clean her though she heard him inhale deeply through his nose. Her eyes slipped closed as she continued. “In fact I think they would expect me to be angry, so I will do the opposite, I’m going to forgive them.”

The man behind her started to cough before asking. “What?”

“Not out of spite but because it is will help me move on.” she explained opening her eyes and staring out of the window rain starting to pour down slowly. “The memories will pain me greatly and I do want my wings back, though with the way I am right now that’s impossible.”

“I can teach you…” offered Rainier as he cleaned her arms. “After you’re healed.”

“I would like that.” she told him as he finished bathing her and redid the bandages. He laid her back down gently before heading over to one of the bookshelves. He took one of the books and sat down in the chair opening it up. He began to read in his deep gravelly voice reading aloud. It was a book on the First War but even then he made it sound exciting. He would glance up once in awhile to check on her, the moment her eyes began to drift shut did he close the book and pull up the covers. His hand smoothed her hair back and he took his leave.

“We are facing a problem.” he told her the next morning during breakfast feeding her some porridge. She gave him a raised eyebrow as he continued. “They are beginning to ask around about your name.”

“It’s Fluttershy.” she told him seeing a shake of his head. “What’s the matter?”

“The people here, they normally don’t call their children that. It’s more of a nickname of sorts.” he replied stirring the gruel around in the bowl. “I hate to admit it but we’re going to have make one up for you.”

Fluttershy felt the hair raise on the back of her neck as a frown rested upon her face. She was trying her best not to fidget, he was right her name wouldn’t fit. She looked over at him both of them going quiet as they thought.

“How about Cecilia… Blackwall.” he suggested before shaking his head mumbling. “No, that’s a bad idea.”

“I like the name” she told him moving her hand slightly resting it on the bed next to her. “Why would it be a bad idea?”

“I went by that name once, a long time ago. Not Cecilia.” he told her as he fed her another spoonful. “Now let’s focus on eating the food before it gets cold.”

They both chuckled as they completed their routine as Priestess Anetta walked her brow furrowed as she looked between them wondering what was so funny.

Fluttershy was able to stand up within a few months, though she did require assistance as she hadn’t used her legs in a while. Rainier would often lend his elbow to her being careful not to agitate her shoulders too much. At first they would walk around the room, Anetta figuring out a way for her to do things on her own. The young girl took her first few steps out of her room about two days after that by herself. Though clinging to walls was her best bet when she felt unsteady. One day she headed out of her room to find some room, clinging to the walls since her legs had fallen asleep. She stumbled when she found that there was a sharp to nearly running into someone. Large hand grasped the top of her shoulders gently to keep her from crashing to the floor.

“Careful there.” a deep voice told her causing the young girl to look up. He was a man wearing full plate armor with tan skin and jaw length brown hair. She felt her foot moving against the floor as she replied quietly. “I-I’m sorry, I was looking for Rainier.”

“You must be Cecilia, I saw him bring you in. I am Brother Sammuel, I am the Paladin trainer here.” he told her as he led her along. “You must have been quite strong to survive those wounds.”

“Not really.” she mumbled looking to the side a frown on her face, Sammuel took quick notice saying. “Then the Light was with you.”

This caught her attention as she glanced up at him as he studied her for a moment.

“Brother Sammuel are you trying to recruit her?” Anetta’s voice rang through the hall causing both to turn and look at her as she stalked forward a dangerous look in her eyes. “She is only nine…”

A nod from Fluttershy allowed her to continue. “Nine years old and you are trying to recruit her into your order while she is recovering from her injuries!”

“He wasn’t.” Fluttershy spoke up causing the golden haired healer to look at her. “He was helping me down the hall.”

“She kind of ran into me.” the brown haired Paladin said before a shout caught their attention. “You will never catch me alive!”

“Well then I will have to kill you won’t I?” a deeper voice spoke the sound of footsteps coming to their attention as the first voice yelled. “Run away!”

That was when a flaxen haired young woman flew down the hallway running straight into Sammuel. Anetta shook her head saying. “Liily, you do know that Brother Athelstan will always catch you in the end?”

“He’s putting me on bed rest!” the teen said struggling to get free the moment the Paladin grabbed her by her collar. “He’s crazy!”

“I’m not crazy this latest explosion of yours threw you into a wall.” replied a young man with dark brown hair and eyes. “I’m worried for your health.”

“I’m used to it.” Liily mumbled rubbing her arm and looking away. “I’m not cut out to be a mage.”

“Well maybe we just need to find what type of spellcaster you are.” Athelstan told her as he led her away, the teen looking at the ground sniffling. “We will find what you are good at, I promise.”

Brother Sammuel had a very different approach in dealing with Fluttershy’s injuries. He had dealt with soldiers with serious back and shoulder injuries among many others. He showed her different ways to move until she fully healed. He taught her to bend with her knees and to use her hands while keeping her arms relaxed. That wasn’t the only thing he taught her, he would often speak of the Light. Source of all the holy power of the Paladins and Priests, among the humans. The paladin didn’t question her about where she was, instead focusing on helping her recover. Fluttershy didn’t mind learning from him, until he expressed interest in teaching her the ways of the Paladin when she was older.

“You have a connection to the Light.” he told her as he looked at the flowers in his hand as they sat in by the river. Brother Athelstan was chasing away the Defias, with an ax and a shield, from the Vineyard. A rabbit running by stopping to munch on a clover held by Fluttershy, he watched for a moment before continuing his thought. “I can feel it in you, so can the animals, it is why they are drawn to you.”

Fluttershy thought about it feeling a new weight climb into her lap as the rabbit settle for a nap. She knew that wasn’t the actual reason why the animals were drawn to her, yet from those who didn’t know her origins it would seem plausible. Her eyes glanced up behind Brother Sammuel seeing Rainier standing there a frown on his face. His eyes weren’t focused on her but on the Paladin. The shy pony knew that, that didn’t stop her from shrinking back. Anetta was right behind him shaking her head, hands on her hips. She wasn’t watching the two men turning their attention to each other, instead choosing to watch Athelstan. ‘I think she guessed this was going to happen eventually.’ the light haired girl thought as the two began to argue. Anetta shouting caught her attention again. “Enough you two! It will be up to her who decides.”

All eyes were on her causing the pegasus to freeze having been placed into the center of the spotlight. Taking a deep breath she thought about what they would have been fighting about before it dawned on her. They both wanted to train her, that was when an idea popped into her head. Taking a breath she spoke. “I have decided that I will be trained by both of you. I don’t mean to inconvenience or upset either of you but, it would be best if you get along. So by having you both training me it would mean no more arguments about this, understood?”

Anetta was on the ground laughing ignoring the sour looks on the two warriors faces. Athelstan walked up his shoulders heaving his eyes focusing in on the Priestess. He looked around with confusion asking. “Did I miss something?”

“Nothing really.” Fluttershy replied before climbing to her feet trying to keep herself steady. Bother Rainier and Sammuel were twitching to help her. Eventually she managed without pushing herself up. Anetta smiled over at Athelstan as the group headed into the Abbey to get some food. All of them knew that the road ahead was long.

Moonlight Wisp had found a new home, on top of one of the strange creature’s head. She was small for her kind according to them and she didn’t want to leave her protective area. So they allowed her to stay on top of their heads, they were even more surprised when she almost didn’t eat the food set out for her. That was until she grew hungry and ate it, it wasn’t her favorite. She wanted something else, one of the stronger ones a female who had powers like the sun, took her in. Her mane wasn’t as thick as the males but it was long enough that she could hide in it. She learned rather quickly that she was rare, for the known dragons. The one she hides in the mane of is called Zelean, she was a warrior who had her own magic when she fought. These were referred to as Paladins, Moonlight would often be placed somewhere safe during training. Most of the time on another… Tauren, she had heard that is what they were called. They were respectful to her but they did enjoy when she would finally come out of her hiding place to play.

The first part of Fluttershy’s training was just studying the way of the Light. Both Priestess Anetta and Brother Sammuel helped with that as they were more well versed than Rainier. Both the Paladin and Warrior swore that they wouldn’t start her martial training until after her shoulders were healed enough. Anetta and Athelstan managed to use their powers to take away the pain, yet her wings hadn’t even begun to heal. Athelstan had observed that something was preventing it from healing properly. In order to get her mind off of the wounds Thom took her to the capital city: Stormwind. He was going to sell some homemade toys there: The journey took a few days and Fluttershy enjoyed the distraction. They visited Goldshire and stayed a night before continuing on to the capital.

It was a large city, the streets filled with various people talking and shopping. Rainier moved off to a large building. Before entering he turned to Fluttershy and said. “I might be awhile, since the Pala… Brother Sammuel told me he trusted every single one of these men. They keep a careful watch on all citizens in the city and make sure they stay safe. So while I’m in here you can wander… just be careful.”

“I will.” she replied before heading off to explore, she was careful where she went. She visited the cathedral, wandered around the Mage area, talked with some Dwarves. She was curious about the Old Town, there seemed to be very few children and lots of guards about. At first it made her a little worried that she wasn’t supposed to be there yet there were some children about. So she decided to explore it a bit, that was when something caught her attention. Once in awhile a child would run by and the guards would stop to watch. Yet when she stood right in front of them they didn’t even look. Frowning she went on, eventually reaching a larger area with a fountain in front. She looked at the guards not paying her mind.

She walked straight through the entrance and through the hall taking in everything. There was a door on the left and a throne ahead. When she reached it the feeling that no one was actually seeing her. She took a left out of the throne room when the door opened panicking for a moment. It settled when she saw a small garden surrounded by pillars and half wall, a stone walkway led to a room on the right side. Taking a deep breath she headed straight for the room, it was a library. ‘Bit smaller than the one at the Abbey.’ she thought glancing around. Her hand reached for a book when a voice called out causing her to start. “Who are you? How did you get in here?”

Fluttershy whipped around her shoulder hitting the bookshelf causing her to drop to the ground. Footsteps moved forward and she looked up to see concerned blue eyes staring at her. Her head jerked to looked beyond him as the bookshelf began to fall forward. She moved forward a golden light forming a shield around them her eyes glowing. The boy looked around as the shelf hit the shield and stayed above them. Books began to drop as shelves began to tip over, Fluttershy didn’t move straining to keep the shield up. Her shoulder hurt and she felt ready to collapse.

“We have to move.” the boy told her and she shook her head. “Why not?”

“I can’t focus and move at the same time.” she explained to him looking in his direction, her arms were beginning to shake. The shelves fell around them blocking off their escape, no light was to be seen except for the glow of the shield. Fluttershy collapsed to one knee trying not to focus on the books falling around them. The blonde boy moved to her side glancing around them.

“Cecilia Blackwall.” she spoke causing him to look at her. “My name.”

“I’m Anduin.” he replied kneeling by her side noticing blood seeping through her clothes. “What happened?”

Biting her lip Fluttershy felt him touch the wounds lightly before responding. “I… I was hurt by strange creatures. Cursed and broken.”

Anduin frowned, he knew he had to tell his father yet that would only cause more trouble during this war. The light began to fade as the shield vanished a pale gold feather fell into his lap. The shelves didn’t move as Fluttershy collapsed towards him. She was panting and out of energy her eyes returning to teal. They were just staring towards the shelves her shoulders moving only slightly. Voices were heard from beyond the shelves one that Anduin recognized as his father’s. The shelves moved to the side as a familiar face came into view. The blonde let out a sigh of relief as he father called his name but didn’t move. It would hurt the girl more than she already was. Varian looked a little shock at the appearance of the child next to his son. It didn’t stop him from picking her up and carrying her to a room where she could stay until she woke.

When Fluttershy awoke she found herself laying on her side once again. Sitting in a chair in the corner of the room was a tall man with brown hair and various scars on his face. He was dozing off, though his posture was tense. Next to her was the boy from earlier, Fluttershy smiled until she noticed that Rainier, Anetta, Sammuel, and Athelstan was there as well. She felt bad, she hadn’t meant for them to be summoned. The Bearer of Kindness tried to sit up as quietly as possible, though she did alert Anduin. His blue eyes opened up and was about to tell the others but didn’t at a shake of her head. She whispered quietly that he had to lean in to hear her. “I don’t think they have had any rest today.”

“They didn’t.” he whispered back making sure that they weren’t stirring before continuing. “It has been a few days.”

Fluttershy sighed at that before mumbling. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, it wasn’t your fault that the shelves fell.” he told her climbing onto the bed. “Thank you for saving me. Are you a priest?”

“I’m training to be a paladin.” she explained pointing out who was training. “Priestess Anetta, Brother Athelstan, Brother Sammuel, and Thom are all training me. They are secretly hoping that I would take a little more after them… well not Brother Athelstan. He already has a lot on his plate, he just likes to talk and teach me. I think he understands what I went through a little more than the others.”

Anduin fiddled with something on his lap as she began to tell him in a hushed voice what had happened to her. It was the feather that had fallen from the shield.