Fallen Eagle

Chapter 55: The Most Important Things

Hello all my loyal readers, and hello to the new ones as well! So, after writing an action-packed chapter last time, I was more than looking forward to writing a straight up emotional chapter to follow it up. And boy, I was so thrilled that you guys enjoyed the last chapter so much after I had to push it back to three weeks before I updated. I had a lot of fun with this chapter, and I hope you guys have fun reading it. There is one scene in particular, specifically talking about Ivan and Applejack, that I've been dying to get to, and I'm crossing my fingers you guys will enjoy it as much as I did writing it.

Also, before I reply to any reviews, I'd just like to say that if anyone wants to hear what my voice sounds like, you can follow the link to my YouTube channel on my FanFiction profile. The newest video is of me narrating a story from one of my favorite authors, Dixie Darlin.

Nostalgia Cop: That about sums it up

WarHusky2000: Haha! No way! I've still got a lot left in this story!

The Sleeping Library: Glad to hear it! It was a lot of fun writing an action chapter

Silver25: Thanks for the encouragement, especially about taking my time. And I hope this chapter is as good

Furi Poi: Really? Hmm, are you subbed to the story?

NoOne: Hmm?

headreviewermk2: Well, I don't blame you for thinking that, but I can assure you that it's not going to be like that

SquirtlePWN: Yeah, I'll admit that it wasn't a very smart decision, but I'm glad that it wasn't chapter destroying

ShiningShadow1965: Well yeah, but his scar on his left face is forever. Pony magic can heal little cuts and black eyes, but not scars of that calibre

Druid of Mist: Well, you'll have to see her reaction

JadenYuuki: Oh, just wait until we get back to Garble!

Srey: Ever since I envisioned this arc, I was DYING to write Celestia beating the shit out of a dragon. I know on the show she's a sweet and more articulate mare that solves problems with logic and reasoning before resorting to a warrior's answer, kind of like Odin from Thor! But I knew this was a time she had to throw diplomacy out the window and show she's not screwing around or to be messed with when her baby sister is on the line.

Sassymouse: Haha! I knew YOU would love seeing Celestia kick some dragon ass. I had a feeling this would be the scene that would steal the chapter. We all know Celestia is a diplomatic mare, but with her baby sister in danger, her newest friend gone, and her horn burnt, diplomacy gets shot up and it's time for some ass kicking! I've always imagined Celestia as a great warrior along with being a great princess; I saw a chance to let that part of her surface. And I'm glad you understood that Ivan couldn't always save the day; and Luna wasn't necessarily out for the count. It'd be pretty Gary Stu-ish if Ivan didn't get a scratch while protecting Luna.

Monkeyboy0118: Thanks!

Dixie: Whoo! So glad you loved the four battles! As for Ivan, well, he couldn't just swoop in and kick Garble's ass. That wouldn't make him very interesting to be able to solve every little problem. Besides, this a great way for him to grow as a character.

Well that's it for review replies. Please R&R as always!

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(Ivan's POV; 1.5 days later)

Things didn't exactly turn into a walk in the park after Ember and Celestia discovered myself and Luna in the cave. Sure, we both felt a sense of security with several of Horntail's guards offering us assistance back to his castle. But we still had the physical injuries to deal with. ALL of us did. It didn't matter if Horntail himself personally escorted us back to his castle; all ten of us had some sort of injury hindering us. Needless to say, Celestia was overjoyed to see Luna once again, going so far as to try and hug her. While Luna too was happy, she made it her duty to make sure I was taken care of before she and Celestia had any sort of reunion.

Garble and his three cronies, as expected, were deposited into Horntail's dungeon without much thought. Ember claimed her father would deal with them in the following few days while she attempted to find some medical attention for us. While I knew my injuries were bad, Rainbow's right foreleg came close to making me vomit on sight. It was bent backwards at a right angle, and I could see the bone barely bulging at her skin. The majority of everyone else's injuries consisted of black eyes, swollen faces, and cuts which at least the castle healer could clean up. Unfortunately, they could do nothing about Rainbow's leg or my left shoulder being out of socket due to their lack of knowledge on pony anatomy. Luckily Luna could still cast a few spells, so she put an immobilization spell on Rainbow's leg and my shoulder, though the pain was still there for the both of us. Soarin and Bat Fang complained about horrible headaches which more than likely meant they had concussions, but again, there was nothing the dragon healer could do for them.

We all rested in Horntail's massive chambers for a few hours after having our cuts cleaned up by the healer. The swelling and black eyes would go away eventually, but Celestia and Luna's royal infirmary would be working overtime when we all returned, especially for myself, Luna, Rainbow Dash, Soarin, and Bat Fang. And, even though she was still a little weak in the legs, Luna would check on every single one of us with Celestia as we rested. Though the Princess of the Night kept a closer eye on me. Eventually though, we had to leave and return home. I could hobble on my good foot, but I could only bend down so far before my ribs felt like they would explode. There was no way I could fly with my shoulder out of socket and immobilized, but Celestia offered me to lie down on her back to carry me home. At first I felt a little uneasy for her considering we were both nearly the same size, but she assured me that her horn was her only injury and that it'd be no issue at all. And with some spare chains provided by Ember, I was strapped in on Celestia's back so I wouldn't fall off during the flight. With Celestia's back now occupied by me, Flash stepped up and offered to carry Spike on his own back for the trip home while Misty Fly, Bat Fang, and Glock all supported Luna on the flight back since she still couldn't fly fairly well.

And after Horntail and Ember bid us all farewell, we took off away from Draconia for our journey home. Despite this journey mirroring our trip to Draconia by being nearly silent, it felt a little more calming. We were heading back to a place of love and comfort, not one of mystery, hate, and fear. Still, from time to time Celestia would try to talk to me and ask if I was somewhat comfortable considering my injuries. Each time I would reply that I was feeling somewhat comfortable physically, but mentally I was a train wreck, just like I suspected everyone else was. All of our friends would no doubt react with jubilation of our return, but that would quickly be stolen by a reaction of horror once they got an up-close look. Applejack's reaction scared me the most, and it was not because I was afraid of her becoming angry, but because of the look of fear for my life that would constantly be on her face. I didn't want to put her through fear and heartache, but that was the hole I dug myself in; I had to live with it just like the scar on my face.

I remembered leaving Draconia, and the journey home afterwards, but right now all I could hear was the sound of muffled voices. I tried opening my eyes, but my eyelids felt so heavy that it felt physically exhausting just trying to open them. "Ugh," I groaned, feeling my body twitch a bit.

"Oh, I think he's coming to," a stallion's voice called out that sounded like a distorted Bane mask. I tried to sit up, but a shooting pain below my chest kept my back flat against whatever I was laying on. My hands began to move around, feeling a soft, warm cottony fabric that my fingers squeezed. I strained to open my eyes again; this time I got them open about halfway, but my vision was so clouded that all I could see was a white light.

"Don't exert yourself too much," a mare's voice that sounded much clearer than the stallion's voice politely advised. I looked over for the source of the voice when I felt a gentle hoof touch my non-injured shoulder, giving it a quick pat.

"W-what the hell happened?" I almost sounded like a zombie, continuing to try and open my eyes. I managed to open them a little more; my vision was starting to gradually get better. I could faintly make out the white coat and salmon mane of an earth pony mare that still had her hoof on my shoulder. With my right arm, I rubbed my eyes a few times to speed up the vision process.

"Careful!" The nurse moved her hoof and prevented movement of my arm. "You don't want to rip the IV tubes from your arm," she warned. IV tubes?

"When did we get to a hospital?" I asked the nurse, doing as I was told and settled my arm back down on what I now assumed was a hospital bed. The creaking of a door opening caught my attention, forcing me to open my eyes all the way. I groaned again as my eyes were exposed to light, but I could still see sitting in a bed across the room. The dragon noticed I was awake and gave me a little wave as I my body shook just a bit.

"Oh good, he's up," an all too familiar heavenly voice spoke up. I looked around to one of the two main doorways of the infirmary room to find Princess Celestia with a look of relief on her face and a bandage wrapped around her horn.

"Princess!" The nurse beside me dropped her hoof from my shoulder, presumably to give the princess a short bow. I tried to sit up again, but I had to settle for raising my head off the pillow.

"Rise, Nurse Redheart," Celestia politely ordered with a humble chuckle as she approaching my bed. I followed the alicorn's walk as she took a seat in a little white stool, placing her own hoof on top my head, stroking my hair. I had to crane my head to the side to be polite and look her in the eyes. I slightly jolted when Nurse Redheart fumbled around a bit with the needle of IV fluid in my right arm. "Thirsty?" Was the only thing the alicorn princess said to me. She reached next to her and picked up a cup of water with a straw, shaking it for me to see.

"Uh, y-yeah," I mumbled. With no use of my left arm, Celestia had to guide the cup closer to me until my lips wrapped around the straw, sucking down the ice cold liquid. "Ah, thanks," I licked my lips, having quenched a thirst I never knew I had.

"Would you like to sit up a bit more?" Celestia sat the cup back down on the table beside her.

"Sure," I replied before Celestia had Nurse Redheart raise the back of my bed so I was comfortably seated without putting pressure on my ribs. "How are you doing, Spike?" I called out to the dragon after I'd adjusted.

"My face and wrist hurt, but nothing I can't recover from," he gave me a thumbs up.

"Celestia, h-how long was I out?" I blinked a few times, looking back to the princess.

"Oh I'd speculate maybe 15-20 minutes. You fell asleep right as we passed over the Everfree Forest."

"And how long have we all been in the infirmary?"

"About five minutes," Celestia explained. "We were afraid we would have to disturb your slumber so the doctor could evaluate your condition and pop your shoulder back into place. Luckily you woke up on your own; don't worry though, you can go back to sleep shortly. It'll at least help the doctors get you fixed up," she offered me a smile. Just as she mentioned the doctors fixing me up, a mocha colored unicorn with a white lab coat, glasses, a stethoscope around his neck, a blood pressure cuff cutie mark, and a jet-black mane and tail trotted into the room with a tired yet genuine smile on his face.

"Hello Mr. Cougar," he greeted, "I trust you had a good short nap?" he questioned as he stopped next to my bed in front of Celestia.

"Yeah," I replied with a quick nod and a shrug. Not that I wasn't grateful to be in the presence of medical care, but I still had a few things I wanted to talk about with Celestia first. The unicorn doctor nodded, looking from me to Celestia.

"Well fret not," he gave me an assuring chuckle as something in his lab coat pocket glowed with his gray magic. "I'll just give you a quick look through so you can talk with the princess; then you can catch up on your sleep while we get to work on you," he grinned, adjusting his glasses with his hoof. I tried to protest, but if it was just a normal look through like checking my ears, throat, heart rate, and breathing, then I guess it wouldn't be too bad.

"Ah!" I yelped as the doctor clicked on a pencil flashlight, pointing it right in my eyes. I snapped my eyes shut and looked away as my vision still wasn't too well adjusted to brighter lights, especially ones pointed directly at me.

"Are you all right, Cougar?" Nurse Redheart asked, placing a hoof on my forehead.

"Oh no, I'm sorry!" I heard the unicorn apologize, followed by the clicking of the light. "I should've waited a little longer for your eyes to adjust. Let me go double check on Princess Twilight's son while the princess and Nurse Redheart keep you company."

"It's okay, doctor," I attempted to placate him of his worries. But before I could even open my eyes again, I heard the sound of his hooves clopping against the floor toward Spike's bed. Finally opening my eyes with a shake of my head, I looked back over at Celestia, still feeling bad about accidentally chasing off the unicorn.

"Would you like some more water?" Nurse Redheart offered, trotting around my bed and hoisting the paper cup in her hoof. I nodded in reply; the parched feeling was starting to come back. Now that I thought about it, that was my first drink in over a day. "And can I get anything for you, Princess?"

"Oh no, I'm fine thank you," Celestia politely refused. The nurse pony trotted out of the little infirmary room, leaving Celestia and I by each other. "We should probably get that thing and your flight suit off you," Celestia suddenly chimed in after I was alone with my thoughts for a few seconds.

"Hmm?"

"Just so you can dress properly for the infirmary," the alicorn gestured to the mint colored hospital gown. "Besides, I'm sure it can't be that comfortable for your back to lie like that," she added. I gulped, knowing that getting my flight suit off wasn't going to be pretty. With the alicorn's assistance, I was able to slip the straps of my jetpack around both of my arms without agitating my left shoulder at all, but my flight suit was a different story. I couldn't even adjust my body enough to get my right arm out of the suit. Eventually I had no choice but to ask Nurse Redheart to cut the left sleeve off so I could peel it off my body. We also had to cut the left leg off to avoid hurting my ankle further as well.

I felt a little embarrassed to be lying in front of two mares in nothing but boxers, but luckily Nurse Redheart laced the hospital gown over my body, helping my embarrassment die down a little. After that chore was over, I turned to Celestia to ask her a question. "Celestia, where is Luna?" I questioned. The princess looked up and over at me once she knew I was covered. "In fact, where's everyone else?" It just dawned on me that I had yet to see anyone else that had accompanied us on our rescue mission.

"Calm down, Cougar," she said softly, raising a hoof in the air. "I was just checking on everypony when I entered your and Spike's room; they are either asleep or resting while other doctors look at them," Celestia explained. I opened my mouth, but the alicorn beat me to the punch. "And my sister is among those that are sleeping," she assured me. "All that the doctors have told me is she has bruising along her sides, back, and face. They need to run more tests on her, but they don't believe she has any internal injuries."

"And the foal?" It wasn't my original next response, but if Celestia was giving me a run down on Luna's status, then I definitely wanted to know about her unborn baby.

"That's what they were going to look at when Luna fell asleep. The doctors said that her being asleep shouldn't be an issue for the sonogram." I sighed in content, feeling a small ping of relief that Luna was more than likely the least injured among us. Yet as long as she and her and Checkerd's foal was okay, that's all that mattered. "Uh, Celestia?" I asked when in my moment of relief, Celestia snaked her foreleg around my neck and rested her cheek against my forehead.

"Thank you, thank you so much for all that you did in saving Luna," Celestia thanked me softly. I'll admit that her warm fur felt good against my forehead, but this wasn't nearly as awkward as the last time she thanked me for saving someone. "None of you deserved any of the injuries you received, especially you," she pulled away from the hug. Technically Rainbow Dash had the worst injury with her broken leg, but it wasn't a contest and it wasn't important enough for me to bring up.

"Wait," I called back as she stood up from the side of my bed. "Where's Applejack?" I asked quickly before the alicorn could leave the room to be with either Luna or Glock. Just saying my girlfriend's name put me a little more at ease. "Or Twilight, Checkered, anybody?" I added. Celestia took a look at the wall above my bed before looking back down at me.

"We have not yet alerted anypony of our return," Celestia replied. My expression said more than words could have, so Celestia reacted to that instead of waiting for me to verbally answer her. "I know you might not be too understanding of my choice, and believe me when I say that I'm not too thrilled about it either," she explained, only fueling my puzzlement. "I've decided to keep Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, and Checkered Flag in the dark about our return just so everypony can get comfortable in the infirmary. Again, I'm not too happy with my decision, but you, Luna, Soarin Skies, Rainbow Dash, and Bat Fang do not need any unnecessary stress at the moment." Celestia explained further.

"But, they deserve to know we're back," I quietly protested.

"In time they will," Celestia promised me. "I understand that they and everypony else has a right to know, but that cannot happen until you and the others get acclimated to the infirmary and evaluated by our hospital staff," she reiterated firmly yet calmly. "Besides, my little sister is asleep; I don't believe Checkered would want to awaken her."

"S-sorry," I apologized, chewing on my tongue. "I hate to sound selfish; I just want to see Applejack more than anything. And I'm sure Spike wants to see his mom." Celestia sighed softly, yet as I looked at her, the princess didn't seem annoyed by my persistence. In fact, she seemed rather pleased with it if the smile on her face was evidence enough.

"Well, I'll make you and Spike a deal," Celestia spoke up, garnering Spike's attention as it appeared the doctor was about done doing a quick check up on the dragon. "If you two are still awake after the doctor is done with their normal check ups, I shall go and retrieve both Applejack and Twilight Sparkle," she looked between the two of us with a smile.

"Sounds great, princess!" Spike exclaimed from across the room. I was about to agree as well when the unicorn doctor trotted back over with the same reassuring smile.

"Ah, I hope your eyes have conformed well enough," he grinned, levitating the pen light out of his pocket again. I turned to look at Celestia who just giggled softly at me before standing up from the stool.

"I'll just let the doctor do his work; then I'll go and fetch Twilight Sparkle and Applejack for the both of you," Celestia then trotted out of the room. I had no clue if she left the infirmary or just entered a different room, but I didn't have time to think about that right now.

"I promise this won't hurt," the doctor spoke to me in his gentle voice that melted away a little bit of my tension. I laid my head back as his magic lifted up my left eyelid and he pointed the pen light directly into my eye. This time my eyes were ready, and I didn't yelp or attempt to look away. He swiftly moved between my eyes, saying things like, "Good," and, "Mhmm," a few times. "Breathe in and out please," he requested, putting his stethoscope in his ears and placing the silver plate on my chest. I did as he requested while he attempted to strike up a conversation. "So, I understand you and Ms. Applejack are courting one another?"

"Uh, yeah?" I was completely unprepared for that question. I expected him to at least ask me about what fighting a dragon was like or if maybe I hurt my head on something while in Draconia. "Is that a problem?" I questioned.

"No, no of course not," the doctor grinned. "Quite honestly, I do believe Ms. Applejack is rather lucky to have a male of your calibre as her coltfriend, right Nurse Redheart?" The doctor cast a look toward the mare that was refreshing Spike's glass of water.

"Eh, I'd say so, Dr. Shots." The nurse sounded a bit indifferent, but it didn't bother me at all.

"AH!" I yelped as Dr. Shots put a little pressure on the right side of my chest with his stethoscope.

"Oh my, are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I?" The unicorn frantically pulled the medical device away from my chest. I seethed as my ribs throbbed in pain.

"A dragon, stomped on my ribs in Draconia," I strained to say. Taking his stethoscope out of his ears, Dr. Shots nodded and pulled out a clipboard and pen, scribbling something down. His horn then glowed grey once again, opening a freezer across the room and levitated a pack of ice onto my chest.

"Hope that helps for the moment," he smiled apologetically. "Once we get your shoulder back into its socket," he pointed to my oddly positioned arm, "I'll perform a few X-rays on your chest to see the extent of the damage," he explained, adjusting his glasses.

"S-sounds good," I shivered from the sudden change in temperature on my chest.

"And while you're under from the painkillers, we'll see if we can tweak your ankle back. But from a quick look," he bent down near my left foot, "it appears to be nothing more than an ordinary sprain," he grinned. "And as for your black eye there, it's nothing too major, but this should help," he levitated a small bag of frozen peas onto my left eye. I honestly forgot about my eye, but since he said it was nothing major, I wasn't worried. He then trotted over to a medicine cabinet and took out a bottle of pills, levitating three of them out of the bottle. "The swelling of your eye should go away before morning even arrives," he assured me.

"Wait a minute," I opposed. "Those painkillers won't make me drowsy will they?" I knew if any pills caused me drowsiness right now, I'd be out considering how tired I still felt.

"Well, yes they will," Dr. Shots blinked confusingly. "Since you do need your rest, and we need to reset your shoulder, I see no reason why not to give you these specific painkillers," he explained. The unicorn set the bottle back in the cabinet before walking back over to me with the three pills floating near his head.

"I can think of a good reason," I pursed my lips, afraid to take the medicine.

"Oh?"

"Celestia promised that if Spike and I were still awake, she'd come back with Twilight and Applejack," I explained. "I just want to see Applejack before I fall back asleep." The unicorn furrowed his eyebrows, pondering my explanation. He looked over at Spike who nodded, confirming that I was indeed correct.

"Hmm, well I can understand that. However, we need to rest your shoulder as soon as possible, Cougar," Dr. Shots killed my hope. "And I cannot stress enough how much you need rest after your ordeal," he repeated.

"Look, you can give me the whole damn bottle if you'd like after I just see her," I swore, reluctantly eyeing the three pills. "That's all I want," I begged. Dr. Shots sighed, lowering his head. Now I could tell he was beginning to be annoyed by me.

"Listen Mr. Cougar," the mocha colored pony lightly placed his hoof on his muzzle. "I know you're afraid of prolonging your absence from Ms. Applejack. But I cannot sit by and have a patient refuse care; your injuries are nowhere near fatal. However, if you're really so concerned, the medication takes a few minutes to work," he assured me. "It's not like you'll pass out the instant you swallow the pills." I groaned, still not wanting to fall asleep before Applejack came into the room.

"I think I can help," Nurse Redheart stepped forward. "Answer me this, Mr. Cougar," she requested, "would you want your marefriend to refuse medical care without seeing you?" Fuck, they got to me. "I believe she'd be sorely disappointed that you're dragging out your pain for this." I looked from Nurse Redheart's stern face to the pills hovering around Dr. Shots.

"Ugh," I groaned, raising my right arm as much as the IV tubes would allow. With my palm open, the unicorn doctor dumped the trio of pills into my hand before I popped them into my mouth.

"Here you go," Nurse Redheart slipped me my water cup, using it to gulp down my pills.

"There, that wasn't so bad was it?" Dr. Shots gave me a comforting smile. When my face fell flat from his comment, the good doctor chuckled. "Sorry, that's just my normal reaction whenever I treat fillies and colts of castle staff," he explained.

ZAP

A bright flash of magenta suddenly filled the room, startling everyone. I didn't jump, but I felt my heart racing faster. If I were hooked up to a heart monitor, I'm sure it would've been going crazy. "What in the princess' name!?" Dr. Shots spun around to see who'd infiltrated the room. Though from the color of the magical burst, Spike and I knew exactly who it was, poor Spike. "Mom?" Spike exclaimed, sitting up in his hospital bed.

"SPIKE!" Twilight shrieked, forcing Redheart to shush her. The alicorn, unsurprisingly, didn't listen. She instead galloped over to the dragon's bed, throwing her forelegs around his neck. "I'm so happy you're back!" She exclaimed in a strained voice, squeezing the poor drake like a plush toy.

"Mom! I…can't…breathe!" Spike patted the purple alicorn's back with his hand. He gasped for oxygen as Twilight released him, but that only made things worse.

"SPIKE!" I could only guess Twilight's face was full of horror as she finally got a good look at her dragon son. I looked over at Nurse Redheart who rolled her eyes, not even trying to shush the Princess of Friendship again. "Did Garble do this to you?" She demanded, gasping loudly. She lifted a trembling hoof to his face, gingerly touching around his black eye and puffy cheeks before noticing the bandage around his wrist. "If he gets within fifty miles of Equestria, I'll rip his tail from his body and jam it down his throat!"

"Please princess!" Dr. Shots replied, "I know you're excited to see your son, but we have other patients resting," he said under his breath.

"Mom, I'm fine," Spike tried to assure her. "And it wasn't Garble; he's responsible for Cougar's injuries," Spike pointed to me. Twilight cast me a quick glance, gave me an apologetic look, and turned back to her son. "One of Garble's goons gave me the black eye."

"Are you sure you're okay? Do you need ice? Do you want your pillow fluffed? Can I bake you a gemstone cake in the castle kitchen!?" She rose her voice, wanting to make sure Spike was comfortable.

"Princess Twilight, Spike will be 100% okay in a few days. He can be released from the infirmary as early as mid-morning tomorrow," Dr. Shots explained. "The worse injury he has is just a sprained wrist, nothing to be overly worried-"

"You try being a mother whose son just got beaten in Draconia!" Twilight snapped at the good doctor. Nurse Redheart and I exchanged uneasy glances because of Twilight's current situation. I thought it was sweet she cared so much for the drake, but it was starting to get a little creepy.

"Actually, a gemstone cake sounds good," Spike's snake tongue licked his lips. "But you don't have to bake it now, mom. It can wait for when we get back home," Spike smiled.

"A-a-are you sure?" Twilight stuttered. "It'd be no trouble," she assured him.

"I'm just glad to see you again, mom," Spike added, wrapping his arms around the alicorn's torso. "Ugh, mom!" Spike whined when Twilight wriggled from his grasp, only to gently pepper his swollen cheeks and eye with multiple kisses.

"I-I'm s-so happy y-you're s-safe!" She exclaimed. "Oh, and you too, Cougar," she gave me a blushing glance for nearly forgetting me. "How's everyone else; where's Princess Luna?" She asked Spike.

"Hmm?" something touching my right arm grabbed my attention. I looked over to see Nurse Redheart wrapping a blood pressure cuff around my bicep, sticking the velcro together.

"Ahem, now that that interruption has quieted down," Dr. Shots cleared his throat, "we just need your blood pressure before we proceed," he explained. "Are you feeling drowsy yet, Mr. Cougar?" He clicked the end of the pen floating in his magic.

"Uh, I can't really tell yet, Doc." I was already half awake to begin with; the only way to find out if the medicine was working is if I were knocked out.

"Well, no matter," Dr. Shots gave a nod to Nurse Redheart. "Shouldn't be too much longer now," he added right as the white earth pony began to squeeze the pump for the blood pressure cuff.

"W-wait!" I exclaimed while the cuff tightened around my bicep. "Twilight, do you know if Celestia told AJ that we were back?" I questioned the alicorn across the room. With her right ear twitching at the mention of her name, Twilight looked behind her and right at me in between Dr. Shots and Nurse Redheart.

"Hehe," she giggled nervously before pecking Spike on the cheek and trotting over my way.

"Please try not to talk," Redheart advised me as she gave the pump a final squeeze. "We need an accurate reading as we can get," she added. Scoffing under my breath, I lazily rolled my head over to meet Twilight's eyes to at least be polite.

"Oh my Celestia," Twilight suddenly threw a hoof over her mouth as the bag of frozen peas accidentally slipped off my eye. I didn't even bother asking her what was wrong; I knew exactly what had startled her. Though Twilight was still Twilight; she apologized for her reaction, lowering her hoof back to the floor. Redheart removed the cuff from my bicep, relaying the information to Dr. Shots.

"W-was AJ with you when Celestia told you we were back?" I suddenly found that my words were starting to slur. Not only that, but I could barely keep my eyes open. Even though my left one was bruised from Garble's assault, I could still see out of it, but it felt like something was trying to pull it closed. My head even collapsed onto the pillow no matter how hard I tried to keep it up.

"Ah good, the pills are starting to take effect," Dr. Shots noted on his clipboard, taking several rolls of bandages and a syringe out of a nearby cupboard. "We're just going to be safe and give you a little Lidocaine when these pills knock you out," he explained.

"No!" I exclaimed, feeling my heart rate slightly increasing from fear. Trying not to waste the rest of my energy that was rapidly depleting, I allowed my right eye to finally shut, though that just made my head feel lighter.

"Well," Twilight started once she knew the doctor was done talking. "P-please don't be mad at me," the alicorn begged, placing her hooves on the edge of my bed. "Checkered, Applejack, and myself were all waiting in the same foyer that all of you left," she explained. "Rarity waited up too, but she fell asleep and one of the guards helped her to a room to sleep."

"Applejack," was the only thing I said, hoping to get her mind back on track.

"Right, sorry! The three of us were asleep too, but I'd ordered the guards to leave us be if we fell asleep after Rarity was escorted to a room. Celestia woke us all up at the same time; Checkered was the most vocal about your return. She told us that all of you were in the infirmary getting treated for injuries, so I just uh….teleported myself so I could see Spike," she bit her lower lip as a blush fluctuated on her purple cheeks.

"So, at least she knows?" I questioned. Twilight nodded, even offering an apology for not thinking of taking Applejack with her. I told her that it was okay since she had a son to see. "How far away are we from the foyer?" I questioned, hoping at least the doctor would know.

"Cougar!" Twilight called out as my vision in my left eye went black for a brief second. I snapped both eyes open, blinking them rapidly. "You almost fell asleep," she alerted me.

"N-not without seeing her!" I wanted to declare as loud as possible, but I could barely make any words out.

"Okay, I'm sorry princess, but we must proceed to fix his shoulder," Dr. Shots shooed Twilight away from my bedside. Levitating within his grey magic was the syringe full of numbing medication. "Don't worry; your drowsiness should block most of this little pinch," he rubbed an alcoholic pad on my left bicep, cleaning an area until he could see a vein.

"No!" I slurred, trying to protest. I was starting to drift in and out now. No matter how hard I tried, my eyes would only stay open for a few seconds before shutting themselves.

"I'm sorry Mr. Cougar, but you will be able to see Ms. Applejack as much as you want tom-" the unicorn tried to placate me when the infirmary door burst open. Thankfully, the needle wasn't anywhere near my arm, so there was no chance he would accidentally slice my vein. Although my vision was blurred as hell, I could see a blob of light grey and black shoot through the room, hooves clacking hard against the flooring.

"Checkered?" Spike questioned.

"Go make sure he doesn't disturb anypony, please," Dr. Shots said to Nurse Redheart. I heard the nurse's hooves clacking against the floor as well, giving chase to the racing pony.

"Ivan?" Came a soft southern accent. My eyes lit up as much as they could, turning back to face the door. Through squinted eyes, I could see a silhouette of a pony wearing a baseball cap gallop into the room, coming to a screeching halt as soon as it entered. The figure turned their head in my direction. "Ivan!" Applejack exclaimed in shock and happiness.

"Ms. Applejack, you must let us work on him!" Dr. Shots was starting to sound a little miffed at being constantly interrupted from working on me. "I'm sorry, but your mate here has taken powerful pain medication that causes drowsiness."

"Let her through," I said weakly, "that's all I want."

"Sugarcube?" AJ ignored the doctor's pleas. I could hear a twinge of fear in her voice as her figure approached the right side of my bed. I forced my eyes open, no matter how hard they tried to stay closed, and got a good look at the mare I loved. Her eyes had enormous bags underneath them, and her ears were drooping over the side of her face. "Please tell me he's gonna be okay!" She snapped to the unicorn.

"He will be, I promise! You can stay in the infirmary while we work on him, but you MUST let me inject this numbing agent into his body so we can fix his dislocated shoulder."

"His what?!" Applejack didn't screech loud at all, she was just fearful.

"Let her through," I repeated.

"I will ask you again, please back away so we can get to work on him," Dr. Shots ordered. At this point with how tired I was, I could barely discern if this was a dream or real life. I had to make a choice and fast.

"LET HER THROUGH!" I snarled as loud as I could, my body shaking as it tried to stay awake. Both ponies gave me a scared look before Dr. Shots took a quick step away, still levitating the syringe in his magic. Gasping loudly, Applejack trotted over to my right side as fast as she could, lacing a hoof onto my left cheek. Her lower lip quivered as her emerald eyes darted around, trying to focus on me. Shakily, I raised up my right hand and placed it upon her cheek, softly massaging my thumb under her eye. I was surprised to feel a little tiny drop of moisture that escaped her eye and my thumb ran over.

"S-Sugarcube?" She sounded a mile away as my vision finally faded to black.

(2:00 A.M. With Twilight)

Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship of Equestria, snorted as she softly snored away in the Royal Infirmary. The alicorn was curled up in a chair, sitting next to the hospital bed that held her slumbering dragon son. Although she was awake and alert when Princess Celestia told her of the rescue party's return, Twilight wasn't able to fight off the nagging sensation of sleep. She and her country loving friend Applejack had fallen under its clutches a mere ten minutes after the doctor began to work on her human friend, Cougar.

Applejack was indeed upset that she barely missed having a true reunion with her special somepony, but she mimicked Twilight, plopping down in a chair next to his bed and held his free hand in her hoof. Princess Celestia in fact wished both mares a good night's rest before going to check on Princess Luna as they were nodding off. Twilight wanted to go check on the Princess of the Night, but her motherly side wouldn't allow her to leave Spike's bedside as long as he was awake.

"Mhmm," Twilight mumbled in her sleep, smacking her lips as she rotated her head to another side of the chair. The purple mare's leg twitched as she slept, kicking out while she subconsciously attempted to shift her position. Unfortunately, as her slumbering form twisted around in the chair, she pushed too hard against the back, pushing herself right off and onto the hard floor of the medical room. "AH!" She let out a split-second yelp while her body thudded against the floor. Twilight groaned, rubbing a hoof against her head as she stretched out her back. She then shook her head, trying to focus her blurred eyes on the clock above Cougar's bed. She groaned again as the clock only read 2:00 A.M.; there was still a long time to go before everyone could wake up and reunite. And she certainly wasn't going to wake up a sleeping Spike just to check on him.

"Hello?" Twilight heard somepony call out while she tried to pick herself up. She turned her attention to the next room over where the door was wide open; the sound of hooves drew nearer to her position. Amidst the dim blue light of the room, Twilight could make out the orange fur and wings of Flash Sentry as he softly strolled into the room. "Is everything okay-" the pegasus guard cut himself off when he saw that Twilight Sparkle was awake. "Your highness!" He exclaimed as quietly as he could to avoid waking anypony else up. Twilight opened her mouth once, but she couldn't say anything. The guard stopped before her, leaning forward to offer her a hoof. Not wanting to seem stuck up or that she was ignoring him, the princess graciously took the offer, standing up onto her four hooves.

"Thank you, Flash," she acknowledged the guard with a polite smile, stretching her back out a bit more. The chair definitely wasn't comfortable to sleep in, but she wasn't going to complain about something so minute.

"Ahem, you're welcome…." Flash paused, concerned with how he should address his majesty before him. He wished more than anything to refer to her by name, but was unsure if their current rift would make that inappropriate. "Princess Twilight," he technically circumvented his concern to sound more professional. "Are you all right?" Flash quickly added; he was still a royal guard after all, and he had a responsibility.

"Mmm, yes, it was just a fall," Twilight groaned as she popped her back before sighing in relief. "But thank you for your concern."

"Is there anything I can get you?" He didn't wish to sound too overbearing, but this was still the mare he had affections for. Of course he was hiding his guilt for their breakup behind his royal guard duties, yet Flash still wanted to make sure she was at least somewhat happy with her situation.

"Uh, no, I can't think of anything," Twilight tapped her chin with her hoof, looking in the other direction. The alicorn certainly wasn't annoyed by Flash's constant questions; she was honestly just happy that he protected Spike as best he could and brought him home. And although she could never admit it, she was secretly thrilled that she and Flash were speaking again albeit for a conversation as guard and princess. However, her ear twitched when a sad sigh escaped the orange guard's mouth. Despite the low light making it difficult to really see Flash's facial features, Twilight could still make out at least the shadows on his face. He looked rather down as his ears drooped, and seemed to be looking around the alicorn. Confused, the alicorn followed Flash's line of sight to see he was looking at her sleeping son. "Is there something you need, Flash?" Twilight asked politely, reiterating Flash's own question.

Flash's silhouette shifted position until he was looking at Twilight. There was a small groan as Flash attempted to say something to Twilight, but he just couldn't muster up the words. "I, uh," were the only two coherent words Twilight could understand. She cocked her head and raised a hoof to simply place on the pegasus' shoulder in an attempt to placate him so he could speak. Sure, right now their relationship was strained, but Twilight couldn't ignore anypony in grief, especially the one that saved her son.

"Flash?" Twilight said in a hushed tone.

"I'm sorry!" The pegasus exclaimed, stepping away from Twilight's hoof before turning around, heading back to the other room from whence he came. Twilight blinked, puzzled at Flash's sudden exit attempt. She could clearly tell something was plaguing his mind; she was at least going to repay him for the promise he kept.

"Wait!" Twilight called out, yet still watched her volume to not disrupt Applejack or Cougar. Her face became briefly illuminated as her horn charged up with her magenta magic. She was prepared to gently hold the pegasus back just to figure out what was eating at him. "Flash, please tell me what you're sorry about," Twilight gently requested, taking two small steps forward. To her astonishment, Flash Sentry slowed to a stop, just a few feet before the exit. "Flash?" Twilight repeated his name, hoping to get a response out of him.

"Huhhh," Flash sighed sadly, seeing it pointless to apologize to Twilight and just up and leave. Sucking in a deep breath, the orange guard slowly spun around in place until he locked eyes with the purple alicorn. The two ponies could see each other a little better with Twilight's glowing horn illuminating their faces. And yet, as Twilight finally got Flash to look at her, she couldn't hold back the gasp that shot from her mouth. Her eyes went wide as she threw her hoof up at her mouth, ceasing any other noises until she was ready to speak. "What?" Flash asked confusingly.

"Y-y-your face!" Twilight squeaked. "Are you okay Flash?" She questioned worriedly. The orange guard's face was decorated with fresh injuries. Even though he had a day and a half, and a few had started to heal, it was still very noticeable. The area around his left eye was blackened and a little puffy, though he could still see out of it; his lips were swollen with a cut in the middle of his lower lip; the end of his nose was swollen as well; and he had a little scar on his left cheek. Flash sighed yet again slumping his wings down in shame to the ground with a thud.

"I-It's nothing, Twilight," he said solemnly. "These," he pointed with his hoof to his face, "don't hurt anymore; I'm just tired is all," he explained, hanging his head low.

"Injuries aren't just 'nothing' Flash," Twilight scolded softly. "Has the doctor given you proper treatment?"

"Yes," Flash lifted his chin up, "but again, it's nothing," he reiterated. "We've all just been through a lot, so you can understand our exhaustion," he explained.

"Well of course I can understand," Twilight followed Flash with her head as he strolled over and sat down next to the chair she'd been sleeping in. "But if you're so exhausted, what were you doing up?" She made sure not to sound like an interrogation officer.

"Just getting a quick drink," Flash quickly replied, holding his head in his hooves. "Then I heard you fall, so I came in to help," he added, rubbing the sides of his head. As he sulked in the chair, Twilight took the opportunity just to study the poor stallion. Other than the injuries to her face, she did spot some light bags under his eyes, but his voice didn't sound heavy or low on energy whatsoever. In fact, she couldn't recall Flash yawning or showing any fatigue at all since he came into the room. He did look down, however, as if guilt was holding his head low. The big question still remained: What was he sorry about? Was Flash attempting to apologize for what happened after Hearts and Hooves day?

Twilight couldn't stand by and allow somepony to beat themselves up mentally like nopony cared about their situation. So she decided to do what she was best at, asking questions and studying them to figure out the answer. "Well, you don't have to just leave, Flash," Twilight said politely, trotting over and retaking her seat. Flash looked up and over at the alicorn; he began to uncomfortably chew on his lower lip the moment her flank made contact with the seat. "Look Flash, I don't want to be a invader of your privacy, but something is bothering you and I want to help," she explained, gently placing a hoof on the arm rests of the two chairs, a mere half inch away from one of the feathers on his wing.

"What?" Flash blinked and shook his head, completely flabbergasted at this turn of events.

"You may say you're fine physically speaking, but I don't think you're just exhausted Flash. Please, just tell me what's wrong; what are you sorry about?" Twilight pressed on, hoping to get the pegasus to crack. "I admit I'm not a licensed psychologist, but as the Princess of Friendship, I'm here and willing to listen," she assured him. Ever so slowly, Flash Sentry removed his hooves from his head, placing them on the arm rests of his chair before turning to look at the mare beside him. He uncomfortably cleared his throat when, accidentally, he almost placed his left hoof on top of Twilight's hoof.

He quite honestly couldn't believe what was going on. He thought it was bad enough how he'd cast her aside like rotting garbage on Hearts and Hooves Day, yet with the beating and injuries her adopted son had received on the mission in Draconia, Flash assumed Twilight would never want to speak to him again, let alone be in the castle at the same time. Although it was rather ridiculous to think she'd cause anypony bodily harm, Flash secretly dreaded being in the same room as her with an injured Spike. Flash continued to chew on his bottom lip, gulping at the same time. "I-I tried, Twilight," he scrounged hard enough and found at least some way to reply. This however only led to more questions from the purple princess.

"Tried what?" Twilight rose an eyebrow. Still feeling nervous, Flash looked up and around Twilight for an answer. The alicorn followed his gaze, surprised to see that his line of sight ended right at Spike's sleeping form. "You mean, with Spike?" She turned back to face Flash.

"Yeah," Flash quickly nodded. "I tried my best to keep him from being harmed, Twilight, but I failed," he admitted in a rather shameful tone. "I failed to keep him safe and I failed to keep my promise to you," he added.

"And….how did you fail exactly?" Twilight had to pause mid-sentence, trying to deduce just what the royal guard was trying to say. Spike was back in one piece and still sounded and acted like his old self; she considered that a job well done by both Flash and Spike for doing the jobs they signed up for to go to Draconia.'He's beating himself up,' Twilight mentally noted, frowning at the realization.

"How did I fail?" Flash repeated Twilight's question before pointing toward Spike with his hoof. "Look at Spike!" He exclaimed in a sharp whisper. Twilight did as he said, taking a good look at her adopted dragon son if only to amuse the downtrodden pegasus. "I didn't protect him as well as I could have." Twilight then turned back to face Flash Sentry.

"Now Flash," Twilight began gently, "even I would think it'd be rather silly to assume anypony would return from Draconia without a scratch," she admitted.

"And bruises, a black eye, swollen cheeks, and a sprained wrist," Flash added angrily, looking away from Twilight. The alicorn frowned again, furrowing her brow at Flash's self terminating attitude.

"Look, as a mother I'm upset that he has wounds, but as an understanding pony, I know he'll heal up soon enough. Just knowing that Spike just has cosmetic injuries and that he even sounds okay is relief enough for me," she raised her hoof from the arm rest, placing it in between Flash's wings and stroking his back gently to calm him. "I mean if we need to worry about anypony's wounds, it'd be Cougar and Rainbow Dash."

"I just….I'm sorry for failing you, again," Flash closed his eyes, still turning his head in Twilight's direction.

"Hey!" Twilight snapped under her breath. "Look at me, Flash Sentry," she ordered rather abrasively. Not wanting to piss her off, Flash obeyed her command albeit with a shiver traveling up his spine as Twilight's hoof ceased rubbing it. "Don't even bring that up; we're not talking about that right now, do you understand me? I want to help you see that you're bringing yourself down when it's not necessary whatsoever." Flash couldn't even blink, afraid to break eye contact with Twilight at all. "Spike and I happened to have a little chat before he fell asleep," she added in a much softer tone.

"What kind of chat?"

"Spike told me that you saved him from falling off a cliff," Twilight replied sternly, making sure it got through Flash's skull. "He said that he was thrown off and you dove off after him without even thinking about it." Flash nodded, seeing no reason to explain it to her if Spike told her the whole thing.

"Uhh," the pegasus froze when Twilight wrapped her forelegs around his torso, giving him the gentlest of squeezes as she hugged him.

"Thank you. You did the best you could and kept him safe; that's all I could ask for." A teensy blush appeared on Flash's face, but it stayed only for a brief moment before Twilight released her hug on his torso, looking at him with glaring eyes.

'What is going on?!' Flash's mind was going crazy.

"However," Twilight continued sternly, "while you might feel guilty about the few bruises on Spike's face, I think there's something else on your mind that you're projecting into this situation in order to keep from talking about it," she explained, folding her forelegs across her chest. Now Flash was really puzzled; he'd never came into contact with a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist before, so he couldn't really decipher what Twilight was saying. It didn't help that she didn't even give him the time to think about it. "Flash, I'm not mad at you at all; I'm angry for what those dragons did to you, Spike, and all of my friends, but I have no reason to be angry with you for risking your life to make sure Spike was safe," she said, hinting that that was her final word on the matter. "Now, if there is something else clouding your mind that you want to get off your chest, I'm always here to talk to a friend." That really perked Flash's ears up.

"You still consider me a friend? Even after….." Flash couldn't say it. It was still painful for him, and probably even more painful for Twilight.

"Saving my little Spike is a friend in my book," Twilight's harsh expression softened into a smile. "And you know how much I love books," she giggled softly, easing the tension between the two.

"Hey Twilight?" Flash spoke up after he shared a smirk with Twilight's giggle. The mare gave the stallion her undivided attention, sitting up in her chair. "Did uh, did Spike happen to mention anything I said to him?" He asked. Twilight cocked her head to the side, thinking hard about the conversation she shared with Spike before they all fell asleep. Finally, she pouted her lower lip, giving Flash Sentry an unknowing shrug in return. 'Shit,' Flash internally cursed to avoid anything disastrous happening. He knew this had to be treated like stepping into a hot spring. If he dove into this too quickly, both he and Twilight would get burned for being unprepared.

"Is something the matter?" Twilight noticed his scrunched up face as he battled his thoughts.

"Uh, maybe," Flash decided to tell the truth and not sugarcoat it to his ex-marefriend. He had to think of something though, something to help ease their way into this conversation. He knew he couldn't start out with, 'Remember when I was an idiot and dumped you because you weren't acting like yourself?' When he looked away, his cheek suddenly began to tingle. He blinked several times, looking down only to see a purple hoof holding his cheek and lifting his head back to look Twilight in the eye. She gave him the same look that said he could trust her to tell her anything. And yet, as he looked into her purple eyes, a memory came crawling back to him. A certain memory from a few years ago in the Crystal Empire. It may not have been an original way to start off an apology for breaking up with a mare, but it was all the stallion had. With a gulp, Flash began the road to his apology to Twilight. "Hey Twilight, do you remember when we first met?"

"Hmm?" Twilight couldn't have guessed Flash would start off with that particular question. Even if she had a million guesses, there was a high probability she wouldn't have guessed it. Luckily for her, Flash understood how out of nowhere the question was, so he repeated it.

"Do you remember when and how we first met?" He repeated, raising his own hoof and gently placing it atop Twilight's. As the question finally sunk into Twilight's brain, and she had a chance to analyze it, she couldn't prevent the small smile that was forming on her muzzle, both from the return of the happy memory and the fact that her and Flash's hooves were connected for the first time in weeks. With no pun intended, it in fact felt like magic.

"Well, of course I do," Twilight replied as the two removed their hooves from the other's. "I just haven't thought about it in awhile, honestly," she admitted, still holding her small smile while she briefly looked away from Flash. The memory of that day came swimming back into her mind.

"Same here," Flash conceded as well, letting his mind drift too. Neither of them felt that the day they met was an easily forgettable memory, but with how they lived their relationship and the incident a few weeks prior, it seemed almost like a dream.

"Hehe," Twilight giggled, holding a hoof to her mouth. "How could I forget you colliding into me because you were busy reading the newest Daring Do book?" Her smile turned into a grin as she looked back up at Flash. "AND while you were supposed to be on your hooves standing guard I might add." Flash snorted, trying his best to stifle a chuckle in response. A tiny blush appeared on his face as he struggled to keep from snickering.

"H-Hey, you know I was about to switch shifts!" He remarked defensively, yet his snicker turned into a chuckle as he spoke. The two softly shared a laugh together, feeling the heaviness of the conversation slowly becoming lighter and lighter as they began to break down the barriers around their hearts.

"You were so scared that Shining Armor or Cadence would demote you to sanitation control when you realized who you'd walked into," Twilight sighed as she finally regained control of her laughter, wiping a small tear away with her wing. "I swear you acted like you accidentally stabbed somepony with your spear," she added.

"At least I helped you back to your hooves, and nopony saw what happened," Flash cleared his throat. "Luckily you saw my Daring Do book and allowed me to make it up to you." Twilight raised an eyebrow at this statement, recalling that that's not exactly what happened.

"It was an honest mistake Flash, but I do remember you hoping to make it up to me by showing me the quickest route to the library from the throne room."

"Hey, I'd just knocked a princess over," Flash reminded her, "helping you get to your destination faster felt like the best way to stay on your good side if you were gonna be a regular visitor to the Crystal Empire," he explained, looking down to at Twilight's hoof. With a brave sigh, he gingerly placed his hoof back onto Twilight's, missing holding it. "Hmm-hmm," he chuckled again, "and to think Princess Twilight could get lost somewhere," he managed to tease her just a bit. He thanked his lucky stars that Twilight was still okay with him touching her hoof.

"Well for your information," Twilight replied in her own teasing tone, "I didn't ask for directions from any other guards, Shining Armor, or Cadence yet," she explained. "And I forgot to ask for a map to memorize." And then, like somepony flipped a switch, things became more heavyhearted. They'd gotten past their rather amusing first encounter, but now both the alicorn and pegasus thought about the moment their inaugural interaction blossomed into a relationship. It was still a happy memory nonetheless, but they both knew that that was it, just a memory considering they were still separated.

Flash even lowered his head, looking away from Twilight as he felt his heart becoming heavier. Even when he spoke, his voice was much more monotone than before as the guilt started to rebuild. "And then…then you decided to keep up a conversation to make the trip faster," he continued, lightly tracing his hoof around Twilight's. "Asking me about Daring Do and what my favorite book was, or if I read Harry Trotter or The Starving Trials…." The stallion trailed off. The guilt in his chest was morphing into a pain; his four legs began to tingle with heartache. Flash squeezed his eyes shut, unable to prevent a few tears from slipping out.

"Flash?" Twilight whispered worriedly. The alicorn's chest was becoming heavy as well as the memory of what attracted her to Flash in the first place sank in. And now…now the guard was softly sobbing to himself before her.

'No, no, no!' Flash whined to himself. Just great, it wasn't bad enough that he broke up with Twilight like she were diseased, now he was crying like a baby in front of her. Yet he couldn't help it. The mistake he'd made combined with the sweet and innocent way the two found each other was becoming too much for the stallion. He wanted more than anything to return to what they had, but deep down he knew there was no way, no how he deserved to receive her affections.

"Please Flash," Twilight's voice sounded quieter than Fluttershy's, "it's okay, just let it out." Being the mare that she was, Twilight ever so carefully wrapped her forelegs around Flash's torso just to comfort the sobbing stallion. Flash sniffled, trying to stop crying enough to talk. He opened his eyes, allowing a few more tears to roll down his cheeks, matting his fur. The stallion looked to see Twilight Sparkle hugging him, resting her chin on his shoulder, and looking up at him.

"Twilight," he sniffled yet again, reaching back behind her with his foreleg and started to lightly stroke down her multi-colored mane. He sucked in a deep breath, blinking his eyes hard, "I just," he roughly swallowed, "I just want you to know something," he paused, silently praying that what he was about to say wouldn't ruin the progress he and Twilight made.

"What is it?" Twilight lifted her chin off his shoulder.

"B-back then, I didn't care you were a princess, and that's the truth even right now," Flash continued to stroke the back of her mane as she lifted her head back up to his eye level. "Y-you could just be a plain unicorn bookworm like your friend Moondancer, and I'd still love you." Flash moved his left hoof up, cupping Twilight's right cheek as tears started to form in her own eyes. The stallion sighed, bowing his head down until his forehead grazed against Twilight's, letting out a choked sob as he clenched his eyes shut. "Y-You're intelligent, warm-hearted, quirky, kind, a great mother, and just...cute," he admitted in a whisper, opening his eyes to give Twilight a smile. Flash knew full well what he was saying was cheesy and like something out of a cheap romance novel, but it was straight from his heart. The one sentence perfectly described how he felt about the Princess of Friendship.

Twilight shuddered from everything Flash had done. From his admittance on how he felt about her to his forehead touching hers made her shudder from how close they were again. "Flash."

"But, I'm not asking for you to give me a second chance," he added, pulling his head away from Twilight's. The mare tried to lean forward, loving the feeling of their foreheads touching. She couldn't even say anything before Flash continued speaking, removing his hoof from her cheek. "I don't deserve one after what I did to you, you did't deserve the way I treated you, and I just don't want to hurt you ever again, Twilight. I was an awful coltfriend." The stallion grunted when Twilight's grip around his torso tightened.

"H-Hey now, I wasn't exactly the quintessential marefriend," Twilight replied through a strained voice. "When Celestia and Cadence offered to reassign you to Canterlot, I was thrilled. Yet when the Tree of Harmony granted me a castle in Ponyville, I didn't even try to get you reassigned as a guard. I was okay being so far away from you for weeks at a time. W-what does th-that say about me?" Twilight started to sob herself. "I treated you m-more l-like a p-pen pal th-than a coltfriend. And you didn't deserve to have me dump all my problems onto you when you were going to treat me to a special night. I was selfish to just expect you to fix it," she sniffled.

Both ponies were now sobbing and staring into each other's eyes as tears streamed down their cheeks. Neither of them expected for the other to feel responsible for how their relationship failed. "You're a better stallion than you think, Flash," Twilight added, laying her head onto his chest and under his chin.

"Twilight, can I ask you something?"

"Mhmm," Twilight nodded into Flash's orange furry chest.

"D-do you really still feel that way about me?" Twilight bit her lower lip, trying to keep it from quivering. She then nodded, allowing a few more tear droplets to fall from her eyes.

"Y-yes," she replied hoarsely. Flash felt like he'd been punched by the dragon again.

'Sh-she still has feelings for me, even after what I did?' Flash gulped, his breathing much more audible now. "B-but Twilight, wh-what about how I-" Flash's lips tingled when Twilight gently placed her hoof over his muzzle.

"Don't think about that, please," she begged. "We both did things we regret; we both had a hoof in screwing up our relationship. It wasn't just one of us," she explained, sliding her hoof down Flash's muzzle back down to his chest. "And remember," she pulled her head off his chest, "I-I'm the Princess of Friendship; giving everypony a second chance is what my title is all about," she cracked a tiny grin.

"E-even me?" Flash's voice trembled.

"Hehe, yes," Twilight managed another giggle as she used her magic to wipe the tears out of her eyes and Flash's. "But, only on one condition," she smiled a quivering smile as the tears pooled at the bottom of her big eyes.

"A-anything Twilight," Flash curled his hoof around Twilight's. "A-anything to make it up to you," he promised, pursing his lips together.

"You have to give me a second chance too," she stated, leaning closer to Flash and nuzzling her nose against his. Flash's entire body tingled at Twilight's affections. On instinct, the stallion nuzzled the alicorn back, wrapping his forelegs around her torso to return the few hugs she'd given him that night. As the duo hugged each other tightly, Flash began to rock back and forth in his chair as Twilight shifted positions to cuddle up to the pegasus.

"I-It's a d-deal, T-Twilight," he began to sob quietly again, but this time it was tears of happiness. Twilight smiled, relishing just how soft and warm Flash was. She felt so safe and protected in his grip that she didn't want to let go for fear of losing him again. "Th-thank you, Twilight!" Flash suddenly exclaimed in a whisper to her ear.

"Thank you, Flash," Twilight moved her head up to gaze into Flash's eyes, feeling a surge within her chest. She couldn't fight it; the mare swiftly yet gently leaned in and lightly pressed her purple lips on Flash's orange ones. Both ponies felt sparks shooting from their lips and resonating all throughout their bodies. This wasn't a cheap teenage make up, this was a true make up from two ponies who admitted they both were not perfect, but they saw past each other's rough edges. "I love you, Flash," Twilight pulled away from the kiss to run her hoof over the stallion's mane. She then leaned back closer, kissing Flash's black eye.

"I love you too, Twilight," Flash chuckled as Twilight's kiss tickled his eye. Despite the surge of love, both ponies were still tired from the late time of night and the exhaustion from stress of pouring their souls out to one another. Twilight once again laid her head onto Flash's chest, nuzzling it affectionally for a pillow. The pegasus then spread his wings out, wrapping them around the purple mare's body as a blanket.

"I forgot how warm you were," Twilight complimented, sighing as she felt extremely comfortable.

"Hehe, I forgot how soft you were," Flash retorted without missing a beat, rubbing his chin on top of her head as they both yawned.

"First thing tomorrow, I'll put in a request to Princess Celestia to have you transferred to Ponyville," Twilight said as she shut her eyes.

"What about Spike?" Flash managed to ask as their combined body heat was starting to wear him out even more.

"You and I can sit down and have a talk with him, but I'm sure he'll understand," Twilight rubbed her cheek on Flash's chest one more time. Flash looked down at Twilight's adorable form before looking over at Spike's sleeping form. He blinked a few times, smiling that what he thought would be a night of anger and heartache turned into a night of love and redemption for both he and Twilight Sparkle. What he said was true, he didn't care that Twilight was a princess, and he certainly didn't care that that was a 'bonus.' He loved the quirky bookworm; he couldn't wait move in with her and be the coltfriend she righteously deserved. He thought about the opportunities to cuddle with her, share a bed, stand by her side all day to guard her, cuddle up together with a good book in her castle's library, and even spend time together with Spike. "Like a family," Flash said even quieter than Fluttershy before his eyes refused to stay open. The stallion then fell asleep as he managed to give one last kiss onto Twilight's cheek.

---

(Later; Ivan's POV)

"Gah!" I exclaimed as my eyes shot open and I sat up. I was quite aware that I was asleep, but I didn't recall any dreams or nightmares invading my mind as I slept. In fact, the whole time I was asleep, all I could see was a black void of emptiness with Applejack saying, "Sugarcube?" Over and over again. And although I knew I had been asleep, my mind picked up right where it left off before the sleeping meds took effect. My hand moved around in the air, searching for Applejack's warm cheek, but it found nothing. My breathing was short and shallow as I could feel the hospital gown clinging to my sweat soaked skin. I looked around for any sign of Applejack or anyone for that matter, but a dim blue light was my only help, and I could barely see anyone.

"What the fuck?" I groaned to myself, popping my stiff back muscles. Looking down, I noticed that my left arm was lying across my chest in a white sling, evidence that Dr. Shots successfully relocated my shoulder back into socket as I was out. Feeling curious, I slipped my right hand down the collar of the gown, feeling out the bandages that were wrapped around my chest. 'At least they got everything done on me,' I thought to myself as I looked around. "AJ?" I called out, hoping that the mare was still at least half awake. When no response came, I squinted my eyes to the right side of my bed, the last place I remember seeing the orange mare. A light snoring caught my attention, the same snoring I've heard from Applejack herself.

"Come on," I whined, feeling my heart drop at the revelation that she had fallen asleep. I couldn't blame her though; it was late, and she'd been put through a lot stress while we were gone. As much as I wanted to reach out and just hold the cheek of her silhouette, I wasn't going to risk waking her up. Sleeping for me, however, wasn't an option. I was too awake to even think of falling back asleep. Besides, lying in bed unable to sleep is one of the worst feelings in the world for me, especially with stiff muscles in my legs and back."Hmm," I rolled my neck around to my right arm. At least I had a small victory; there were no needles or tubes or anything attached to my arm, which meant I didn't have to stay in bed any longer.

"Ngh," I groaned, trying to sit up straight and swing my legs over the side of the bed. I just wanted to walk around a bit to get some of the feeling back into my legs and back. Thankfully, I was lying down on a blanket, or else my sweat stained legs would've clung to the leather mattress below. Although I could still feel the effects of the numbing agent Dr. Shots gave me to relocate my shoulder, it was beginning to wear off. I could feel the slightest pinch in my shoulder, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. But it did feel satisfying to feel my back and legs loosen up as I stretched them while I sat on the edge of the bed. Bracing myself with my good arm, I eased my feet down to the floor, holding myself as I stood up. Immediately I felt my legs going wobbly since I hadn't used them in nearly two days thanks to having to lie like a board on Celestia's back. However, the wobbliness was the least of my concern; I bit my tongue to suppress a yelp from stepping on my left ankle. "Mother!" I shot under my breath as I had forgotten about my sprained ankle. It didn't hurt too much, but it was enough to get my attention if I put too much pressure on it.

I pulled my left foot up, allowing the pain to go away as I breathed sharply in and out of my nose to dull the pain. After a few seconds, the pain went away, so I tried it again. This time however, I barely touched the floor with my foot and limped forward on my right foot. I kept my hand on the bed so my weak legs wouldn't give out on me. As luck would have it, the blood rushed back into my legs rather quickly, but I wasn't about to shrug it off and try walking like normal. I limped forward again, taking extra precaution not to step on my left foot. It took forever, but I finally made it past my hospital bed in the direction of my destination. The first thing I really wanted to do was at least just look at AJ, but I also really wanted to get out of this room. I was feeling extremely warm, and the sweat on my skin was becoming overbearing. It sounded odd, especially given my current situation, but I was really yearning for an ice cold shower, if only to help me cool off and get my thoughts straight. However, as I limped ever closer to the door of the room, I couldn't help but look over at the sleeping Applejack curled up in a hospital chair. 'Leave her be,' my inner voice warned. My heart sank knowing that it was best to just let her sleep; she had a stressful enough time while I was gone, and from what I remembered before blacking out, the mare looked exhausted.

Unfortunately, the love I had for her was far too strong. Pursing my lips, I limped my way over to the mare, grunting along the way. My pursed lips grew into a little smile as I could finally make out her face as it scrunched up while she snored. I managed to stop myself about two steps away from Applejack, just feeling happy to see her again. Now I really had to fight myself from reaching out and nuzzling my hand against her cheek. 'Soon,' my inner voice promised, 'soon.' However, something, off, caught my eye.

"Hmm?" I hummed curiously as I noticed in the dim light that she wasn't wearing her stetson, she was wearing my Drive To End Hunger ball cap! I'd never seen her in a hat other than her stetson, so it was pretty damn cute to me, especially whilst she slept. The mare snorted, rolling her head to the opposite side of the chair. I couldn't help but let out a little whine; I knew I didn't want to wake her, and my inner voice was practically yelling at me, but I couldn't stop myself from bending down and gently pressing my lips on her cheek, whispering, "I love you," to her before sitting back up. With another pained smile that she was still sleeping, I took a few steps back and resumed my original course to find an infirmary bathroom with a shower.

"Ah love ya…too," I heard her mumble. The hairs all over my body stood up, fearing that I had accidentally awakened her. Ever so carefully, I looked back behind me to see if she was waking up. The mare mumbled again, though it was some unintelligible sleep talk. She smacked her lips a few times before her snoring resumed. I waited for about fifteen seconds before I could tell I hadn't woken her up, letting out a minimal sigh of relief. I'd heard her mumble in her sleep a few times before, but nothing like answering something I'd said. I had to get out before I did accidentally wake her up.

I pathetically limped my way through the door, holding it so it wouldn't bang against the door frame and ruin everyone's slumber. It was a good thing I wasn't wearing my shoes; I didn't have to worry about taking quieter steps on the floor. Getting a bearing of my surroundings, the first thing I noticed was the rush of air from the much cooler waiting room against my warm skin. I groaned in delight, relishing the relaxing feeling before I caught sight of a hallway in the empty waiting room. A sign on the wall indicated that it lead to a mare's bathroom and a stallion's bathroom, complete with a shower for patients. I held my breath when I caught sight of two silhouettes against the glass windows leading out to the corridor. Not wanting to draw the attention of the pair of unicorn guards, I slipped into the hallway as they strolled, inching forward to the blue tiled wall of the stallion's bathroom.

"Ah," I groaned when walked into a wall of pitch black. My right hand fumbled along the tiled wall, looking for the light switch. I had to close my eyes when I flicked the switch up, immediately flooding the bathroom with a bright yellow light. From what I could see, it was rather nice, though I had to remember this was a hospital bathroom in a castle. On the far wall was a large glass shower that I'm guessing was big enough to fit two Celestia's; a large sink and mirror adorned the left wall; and a toilet stall was a mere few feet next to the sink and mirror. Looking more to my left, I spotted a coat rack with about five white cotton robes hanging from the hooks with a shelf of towels above the coat rack. Without wasting any time, I undid the knots in the minty hospital gown, allowing it to drop around my ankles before I cautiously stepped around it, kicking it to the wall so I wouldn't slip and further injure myself. Since the robes were much too small to appropriately cover me, I grabbed a pair of towels and lumbered over to the shower stall, setting the towels on the towel rack.

I was a little off put that the glass door and walls of the shower weren't frosted at all, so anyone could peek in and see whatever they pleased. Then again, this was a shower in a pony land hospital, so there was little reason for that. Nonetheless, I looked behind me just in case and hopped in the shower, gently shutting the door so the noise wouldn't echo out into the waiting room. Whether or not the sling around my left arm or the bandages around my ribs were waterproof didn't matter to me in the slightest. I quickly hobbled to the other side of the rather large shower and curled my fingers around handle, flicking it over to the blue semi-circle. "Ah!" I shuddered as the rush of ice cold water hit me the face and cascaded down my front and back. Thankfully, the water didn't roar too loud, and my little shriek of surprise wasn't too noticeable. I then braced my hand agains the blue tiled wall, sighing audibly against the roar of the shower with a dumb smile on my face. It was pure heaven, or it would be if Applejack were here. Not to do anything naughty, but just to be close to her.

"Oh yeah," I groaned, lifting my face up to get the full blast of cold water. Hell, it even felt damn good on my shoulder! I even twisted and turned a little, making sure every inch of my body was being soothed by the shower. As I ran my right hand through my drenched hair, smoothing it out, I then reached out for the bar of soap sitting on a metallic shelf. However, as I picked up the soap and began to lather my chest up, I did a double take when I saw my reflection in the considerably reflective surface of the shower shelf.

Thud went the bar of soap as it slipped through my fingers. I-I couldn't believe what I saw staring back at me. Hoping it was something on the shelf, I rapidly swiped my hand at its surface, but nothing came off. My black eye was nearly gone thanks to the treatment from Dr. Shots, but something remained on the left side of my face. Something that just by looking at it, I knew it would always be there to remind me of what I did. With a shaky hand, I touched around the noticeably large scar that ran down the left side of my left eye, all the way from my forehead down to my chin from where Garble clawed me. I was never one to care about my looks; this only grabbed my attention because this was a constant reminder of another brush with death I had. Except this time, it was because of my own doing. I recalled older pilots and soldiers of the military bragging about scars they'd gotten performing heroic acts in the line of duty, but those were mere cuts compared to what I had, and this one was certainly nothing to brag about. I jumped back when, in my mind, I saw a flash of Garble's face as he jabbed his claw into my skin, slowly tearing down through my face.

I wasn't ashamed for doing what I felt was right, to protect and save Luna. However, I couldn't prevent a choked sob from escaping my mouth. Guilt began to wash through me as I thought of what would happen to Applejack, Applebloom, Big Mac, and Granny Smith if Luna hadn't saved me in time. I loved them all so much; I couldn't stomach the idea of the pain they'd go through if I had died, especially the pain AJ would feel. She'd tried to stop me from going; she would never be the same if I were gone after that. It just broke my heart imagining Applejack being unable to do any more farm work or even get out of bed all because of me. "I'm sorry I was selfish," I whispered to my reflection. Something struck me as odd, though. While I never got shot down prior to that fateful night, I went into battle with the same mindset as I did in Draconia. I was willing to sacrifice my life for the betterment of others. Yet…..as I told Applejack before I left, I didn't have anyone outside of the military to say goodbye to before going off on a mission like I did in Equestria.

"No," I shook my head, putting my forehead against the tiles of the shower stall. It hit me like a bullet in the gut. I'd taken my friendships with Adam, Stinger, Tex, Boa, and Grizz completely for granted. I always went with the mindset of, "If I die, I die," for every single mission I was sent on. Never once did it enter my mind how heartbroken all of my friends and adoptive brother would feel if I had been shot down for good. And now with how close Applejack and her family came to being a family minus me again, I realized just how selfish I was back on Earth. "You stupid asshole," I said into the reflective shelf as a minute amount of tears fell off my cheeks. I sat there, braced against the wall with water gushing over my body for God knows how long, wallowing in my anger. All of a sudden, my body froze as I felt a pair of furry forelegs wrap around my torso. I jumped up, feeling a warm body brushing against my back.

"Need a lil help, Sugarcube?" AJ's southern drawl asked me sweetly. I shuddered as Applejack's forelegs squeezed my abs while she rubbed her cheek against my right shoulder. She must've been standing on her hind legs in order to reach that far up.

"A-Applejack?" I stammered, keeping myself braced against the wall.

"It's okay, Ivan, just calm down a little," she said soothingly into my ear. "Relax just a bit; it's just us in here." I did as I was told, resting my forehead against the wall underneath my arm, softly breathing in and out while my girlfriend clung to me. As she held me, she would on occasion run her forelegs up around my chest, just trying to further placate me, knowing that I was stressed out. I was curious why the cold water didn't bother her, but that was such a minute detail at the moment.

"W-what are you doing awake?" I lifted my head from the wall, looking back at her to see she was standing on her hind legs and using me for support.

"Ah should ask ya the same thing, Sugarcube," he sweet voice was a little more strict this time. "But before Ah do," she added, removing her forelegs from my torso and moved them around my neck. "Can y'all turn around fer me?" She asked, moving her hoof to my cheek. I groaned, afraid to let her see the ugly scar that was tattooed onto my face for the rest of my life. Yet I knew I couldn't refuse anything she asked of me, and I missed being together too much. With a sigh, I slowly spun around in her loose grip, ready to face the music.

"I-mmph!" I was about to say something when she forced her lips onto my own, pushing my back completely against the wall and both of us under the stream of the shower. Despite having a lot of guilt weighing down my mind, I couldn't resist this. I wrapped my good arm around her back, pulling her closer as we opened our mouths, allowing our tongues to gracefully spar with one another. It was nothing rough, just a loving kiss hello.

"Ah…missed you," AJ huffed when we had to break for air, moving forward a bit so we could breathe easier. I licked my lips, tasting the delicious flavor of apples on my mouth as we pressed our foreheads together, and the ice cold shower pelted at my back.

"I missed you too," I said quieter than her. 'Didn't she see my scar before I fell asleep?' I pondered as we held each other. As we stared into each other's eyes, I was sure she would be able to spot it, but she never breathed a word about it which only made me more nervous.

"Ivan, why are ya outta bed?" Applejack pulled her forehead away, causing me to turn my head to shamefully hide my scar. Guilt and shame began to burn within my chest. I didn't want to hide my scar from Applejack, but the fear of her reaction, her disappointment in me, was too strong. I could even feel the little bit of hurt radiating from her body when I turned away. "I-Ivan?" She stammered, puzzled. I'd never done this to her before; being confused and a little hurt should be expected.

"Well," I swallowed, "m-my legs were feeling restless, I was burning up in the infirmary room, and I was covered in sweat," I explained, trying to talk out of the side of my mouth. Unfortunately, no matter how truthful I was being, I knew in my heart it wouldn't matter.

"Hey, what's the matter?" The mare asked as sweet as she could, though I could sense the twinge of pain within her voice. She tried to look around me, collapsing back onto all fours and trotting over to my left side. I pressed the area of my face where the scar resided onto the wall, completely blocking it from her view.

"AJ," I breathed out, "I-I-I'm sorry," came a stammering reply. "I just, can't," I started to breathe much harder in and out of my nose. Out of my right eye, I could see Applejack cock her head, trying to figure out what I was getting at. I couldn't stop myself from taking note how angelic she looked with her mane sopping wet and without the hair tie.

"Y'all….y'all can't look at me?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"No," I said in a much sharper whisper, trying to keep from crying again. The mare's eyebrow fell back above her eye as she lowered her head yet still kept eye contact with me. Her ears drooping downward felt like Thor had just bashed me in the chest with his hammer.

"But y'all were just fine with kissin' me," she pointed out. Her voice was starting to become more monotone. I had to explain myself before she got the wrong idea. She was NOT trying guilt me, she was truly hurt that I refused to look at her.

"Y-yeah," I agreed, chewing on my lip, "but please believe me, Applejack. It's not about you; I'd want to look at you for the rest of my life if I could," I tried to throw her a little assurance. She blinked and rose her head up just a little bit, interested in what I had to say. "I-I'm afraid of you looking at me," I admitted, squeezing my right eye shut and rubbing my scar against the blue tiles.

"Huh?" Applejack exclaimed. "What's gotten into ya, Sugarcube? Did ya do somethin' in Draconia ya ain't proud of?" I felt her place a hoof on my right arm, rubbing it lovingly. I lazily reopened my eye, looking directly into Applejack's face. My mouth wouldn't obey my command to open, so I shook my head gently. "Well then, what is it?" She pressed further. I knew precisely what to say next, but I just couldn't. As an alternative, I reached up and put my hand on her cheek, gently massaging it with my thumb. "Uh-uh," Applejack shook my hand away, "tell me what's got yer stomach in a knot, Ivan," she pleaded.

"I-I don't know how," I replied shamefully, shuddering as I worked hard to suppress even more tears.

"Please Ivan, yer mah special somepony; you can tell me anythin' that's botherin' ya," Applejack reminded me, shuffling her hoof under my hand so I'd hold it. "An' Ah love ya," she just had to add that with a smile. As I stood there, just breathing and darting my eye from object to object in the shower, I still couldn't pull myself together to show her the scar. I clenched my eye shut, finally, and lowered my head until my chin rested upon my chest in remorse. The mare's hoof immediately slipped from my hand, clacking loudly against the floor of the shower.

'What the-?' I thought, reopening my eye again. Applejack's eyes were slightly squinted as she shook her head back and forth. Her mouth was slightly ajar, but the lower lip was quivering as her face was carved into that of hurt and confusion. "AJ," I started before she interrupted me.

"Why can't ya just look at me?" She asked in a strained whisper. "D-don't ya love me enough ta at least let me help ya?" Sucking in a deep breath, I responded.

"You know I love you more than anything, Applejack," I replied in a serious tone. "But, I can't look at you because it'll just hurt you…." my voice gradually became softer over the course of the sentence. Although I knew it was coming, it simply wasn't a good enough answer for her, not that I could blame her.

"Please, look at me," she begged slowly. "Yer just hurtin' me more by lookin' away, Ivan," Applejack added, sounding more hurt than she'd been that night. If only to keep her trust within me intact and to keep her heart from breaking, I knew what I had to do. As if time was stuck going frame by frame, I peeled my face from the wall and turned my body to look Applejack in the eye. The mare stared back at me for what seemed like an hour before she gasped like she'd been stabbed. That's all it took for the guilt and shame to make my legs weak.

"I-I'm sorry, Applejack," I shook my head back and forth which only allowed her to see my scar in full view.

"Ivan," she breathed out, taking a few steps closer to me. "D-does it hurt?" Her voice returned to normal after she gulped. Physically? No. Psychologically? YES. I could feel my whole mouth quivering as Applejack stared at me with concern.

"N-no!" I exclaimed, backing myself against the wall as my body began to shake. I let out a choked sob, unable to feel my legs anymore and slowly slid down the shower wall until my naked butt touched the floor. I pulled my knees up and rested my forehead upon them, curling my right arm around my legs and chanting, "I'm sorry," over and over again. My chants turned into pathetic mumbling until I was only able to mouth the two words.

"Hun!" Applejack's hooves scrambled against the floor. I still couldn't look up, but that didn't stop the mare from sitting down right next to me and wrapping her forelegs around my neck as she scooted closer and pressed our hips together. "It's okay Sugarcube," she whispered, gently nuzzling my neck with her muzzle. Of course I was grateful that she was doing her best to comfort me, but I was too distraught to at least return the hug. That fact alone made me feel worse.

"A-AJ," I managed to say clearly. However, before I could say anything else, she brushed her hoof along my lips, silencing me.

"Don't say anythin' Sugarcube," she advised, "just let out as much as ya can." My cheek tingled as she gave me a tender kiss. I groaned in comfort when she proceeded to lay her head upon my right shoulder, moving her forelegs back around my midsection. With a sigh, I reached up and switched the shower off, quickly making the room nearly silent with the exception of a few water drops. Instead of returning my arm back around my legs, I instead wrapped it around Applejack, pulling her as close as possible.

Finally, after a few minutes of silent groveling and massaging Applejack's back, I picked my head up off my knees and cast my gaze into Applejack's eyes with a sad frown. "Mm," I moaned, lightly pecking my lips onto AJ's. "I love you," I mumbled loud enough for her to hear. Those words carried much more weight on my heart than ever before. I didn't want to leave her side anymore. The thought of neither of us seeing each other again was an eye-opener. AJ responded by smiling and kissing my nose.

"There ya go," she smiled when I failed to stifle a chuckle. "Now then, are ya sure it's not a-hurtin' ya?" She questioned yet again about my scar. Though it did help that this time she sounded more sweet and understanding than shocked and a little fearful. Despite that, however, I still found it difficult to talk so far, so I settled for giving her a sad nod with a quiet, "Mhmm." Thankfully, she was a very patient mare. "Well, that's a good sign!" She attempted to brighten up my spirits with a positive attitude.

"Y-yeah," I croaked, lowering my chin back down to my chest. I wasn't attempting to hide my scar again; I was simply too emotionally exhausted to keep my head up.

"Look hun, Ah'll admit that it did shock me at first," Applejack admitted, sounding a little uneasy about having to tell me. "An' Ah can tell it scares ya, but Ah give ya my word that Ah won't treat ya any different just because of a scar," she moved a hoof to the back of my head and rubbed it in little circles. "Cause yer still the same Ivan on the inside that Ah love."

"I-I never expected you to, A-Applejack," I shakily replied, keeping my head lowered. "It's just," I inhaled deeply, trying to think of how to tell her exactly what was wrong. A sigh of anguish came forth from my mouth instead of an actual answer.

"Ivan, come on," Applejack gingerly shook my body, "if y'all need a little longer, take all the time ya need, hun."

"I'm sorry," I said for what seemed like the millionth time in the span of about ten minutes. I didn't even wait a second after her suggestion to say it.

"Sugarcube, there's no need ta be sorry if yer composure needs a little gatherin'," Applejack patted my knee with an understanding and patient smile.

"No, it's not about that," I corrected her. My voice was becoming more and more shaky as the guilt piled on the longer Applejack was acting so sweet and loving with me. I adored how supportive she was, but considering my reckless attitude about my own life and how close I came to foolishly breaking her heart, nothing could stop me from feeling sick to my stomach. "And the scar is just the surface of my problems," I lifted my head back up, weakly pointing my right index finger at the abrasion on my face, finishing with a sniffle. My throat was starting to become a little bit sore from holding back so many sobs tonight that I had to swallow an upcoming sob instead. "Applejack, I'm sorry for what I did in Draconia to you," I admitted, lifting my head up and looking at her, blinking a few tears away. Her face understandably fell in confusion, but I didn't let her respond. "And Applebloom, Big Mac, Granny Smith, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Rarity," I listed off the names of our friends and the Apple family, realizing that there were many others that would actually miss me beyond the Apple family and the ones that went to Draconia.

"D-did ta us?" Applejack shook her head, trying to wrap it around my apology. "Sugarcube?"

"I-I'm sorry I almost died!" Came a sob. That definitely caught AJ's attention. Her pupils shrank to about the size of a marble as she analyzed my exclamation. "I-if Luna didn't do something, G-Garble would've finished me off," I continued, moving my hand over to her face to stroke her cheek. This thankfully brought her back to reality after zoning out for about fifteen seconds. The mare leaned her cheek into my hand and leaned closer to me.

"Look Ivan," she said, sucking in a deep breath and smacking her lips. "Ah'm so grateful that yer back 'n alive, but please, don't you ever apologize for somethin' like that. It wasn't you who did this to ya," she reminded me softly. She definitely sounded a little more hollow than before; the shock of hearing I was nearly killed was putting a lot of stress on the mare, but she somehow strived on in order to comfort me. She even went a step further, placing a hoof on my left cheek to cradle it.

"B-but you were right," I relied solemnly, shuddering as her hoof lightly grazed against my scar. "I'm sorry I cared more for saving Luna than how you'd feel if I never came back!" I cried, squeezing my eyes shut; my body began to tremble again. "You were right," I repeated in a whisper, "you were right when you said I wasn't ready to face off against dragons," I leaned my head forward until I felt the warm comfort of her furry forehead.

"Ivan hun," Applejack patted my back, talking in a lower voice due to our faces nearly pressed together. "Ah know exactly what Ah said, 'n that yer sorry 'n scared, but think about it. If it weren't fer you, Luna might've never been saved. Yer a hero, no matter how ya slice it. Ya did what ya told me you were born ta do, 'n Ah'm proud 'o ya. Yes, it certainly scares me at what could've happened, but Ah feel the same way every time the girls 'n Ah have ta leave Ponyville fer a mission; we don't know exactly what we could be facin', 'n we may not come back. We came close ta not escapin' Starlight's village, 'member?"

"Yeah," I opened my eyes to see Applejack's emerald orbs waiting for me.

"You may see it as an awful reminder 'o what coulda happened, but Ah see it as a reminder 'o how far you'll go ta save 'n protect those that need it, just like how ya did everythin' ya had to ta save us from that timberwolf," she reminded me, giving my lips just a light peck.

"I'm happy you think that highly of me, AJ," the two of us turned our heads so we could cuddle our cheeks. "But….but I just can't do this anymore," I declared. Applejack yanked her head back with a look of bewilderment.

"Huh?"

"With how much I have to live for, and how many friends I have that love and support me, I can't break your heart or Big Mac's heart, Applebloom's, Granny Smith's or any of our friends," I explained. "And I'm ashamed it took me so long to understand this," I added.

"Understand what exactly, Sugarcube?" Applejack's voice forced me to open my eyes.

"H-how f-fucking s-selfish I was," I shuddered in response. "When I decided to leave to help Celestia, and the seven years I spent as a pilot," I explained. Now Applejack cradled both of my cheeks with both of her hooves, not forcing me to look at her, but to help ease me, to help me keep going.

"Ivan, how in Celestia's name are ya selfish?" AJ whispered, trying to study me.

"There's a big distinction between not caring about dying, and accepting the fact that what I'm doing COULD kill me, Applejack. When Garble pushed me off the edge, I got a huge dose of reality; I almost died in Draconia. But I went there willing to risk my life because I didn't care if I did die or not." I explained, feeling another dose of shame piling on top of my shoulders. I sighed before continuing, "Before every single flight I took in the Air Force, we'd always have our pre-mission banter about giving the enemy a good wallop, but we'd also carry the air of making the ultimate sacrifice for freedom."

"An' what's wrong with that, Ivan?" Applejack was even more confused now, leaving one hoof on my left cheek and moving the other one to my uninjured shoulder.

"I-Instead of actually embracing my life and all of the good things about my friends, I took their friendships for granted, AJ. "I was always ready to say, 'If I die, I die.' Never once did I even think about how all my friends would feel if I never returned from a mission. And that's what I'm sorry about. I was completely selfish. It took until I was knocking on death's door to realize my life DOES matter, and all of my friends Applebloom, Granny Smith, Big Mac, and especially you would be heartbroken. But now I recognize how awful I was truly acting toward my squad mates and Adam about missions, and more recently, you." My lip quivered. "I shouldn't be preparing to die every time I go out on a mission like that; I need to embrace every moment I get with my friends, prove how much I love them and just enjoy the chance I've been given to live, especially the moments I get with you. I love you, Applejack."

"Ivan," was the only word Applejack could breathe. Beyond that, she was speechless.

"And I'm so sorry for putting you through this; I'm sorry I was selfish…." I trailed off before I silently sobbed, allowing a few tears to roll down my cheeks. My cheek slipped away from Applejack's hoof, allowing my chin to freely fall back to my chest. I extended my legs out, not having the energy to keep them curled up to my chest anymore. I even pulled my arm away from AJ and dropped it onto my leg.

"Shh, shh, shh," Applejack cooed, "it's okay Ivan. Just come here," She curled her forelegs around my stomach and squeezed me tightly, laying her chin on my shoulder. Luckily she avoided my ribs in the process. "Ah love you too, Ivan, An' Ah'll never stop. Sometimes the most complicated things help us see the simplest 'o things," she attempted to put a philosophical spin on me. Despite the fact that I was silently crying while AJ held me close, it didn't necessarily mean that I couldn't talk this time. I just needed to get some of my emotions out first.

"Applejack, I'm not going out of my way to go on dangerous missions like that anymore," I revealed, placing my arm around her back to hold her in return. "I-I just want to live a simple life with friends I cherish and the woman I love; the most important things. I'll still help anyone that needs it, but I'm not gonna jump at the chance to go on dangerous missions like that anymore, AJ. I've got too much to live for now to volunteer myself for just anything." While yes I was ashamed of how little I thought of my friends Applejack's feelings, I still had the urge within me to help others; that was probably never going to go away. But like I just told Applejack, I will still help those that need it or ask for it, but I won't blindly volunteer again.

"Sugarcube, just let me say this," AJ rose her head from my shoulder. "Yer still a young 24 year old man with a long long time left in yer life. If y'all told me you were born ta protect the innocent, then Ah won't stop ya," she smiled. "Maybe you could try enlistin ta be a special guard fer Ponyville. Ah'm positive Twilight would grant ya the authority ta help uphold the law in Ponyville while ya keep on workin on the farm." A whole lot of weight suddenly dissipated from me. Although it was mainly the love I felt due to AJ's love and support, I was intrigued by the idea of sort of being a police officer of Ponyville, especially under Twilight's order. We've obviously grown a lot closer since Hearth's Warming Eve, and I think she makes great decisions as a princess. "Ya know, kinda like that one superhero ya like," Applejack nuzzled my shoulder with her chin.

"Captain America?" I couldn't help but grin like an idiot through my tears that were slowing down.

"Yeah, that's it!" AJ exclaimed, seemingly happier now that I'd stopped crying and feeling sorry for myself. "He always tried ta uphold what was right, an' he was always happy ta help," AJ agreed. "This way, you could still spend time with yer friends, 'n only jump into situations that call for it." I couldn't help but stare into Applejack's loving and trusting eyes after hearing her idea to satiate my desire to help and my desire to try and live a normal life as best as I could. I loved her deeply before, but something was blowing up inside of me, a warming sensation within my chest. AJ must've felt it too; the next thing I knew, I cupped her cheek with my one good hand and planted my mouth on hers.

"Mmph!" She exclaimed as best as she could with her mouth muffled. Her shock, however, wore off immediately as she wrapped her forelegs around my neck and returned the kiss. It started off innocent and loving at first, but it quickly turned a little heated as our tongues started to tango. After a little while of expressing our love in a high PG-13 fashion, the sound of inhaling and exhaling through our noses filled the infirmary bathroom. "Wow," Applejack blushed when we pulled away when the need for oxygen became to great. Both of our faces were pink while our chests heaved in and out, gulping as much air as we needed. I curled my arm around her torso, relishing this feeling of cuddling again. "Y'all didn't miss a beat there, Sugarcube," AJ graciously snuggled right up to me.

"W-what did I do to deserve your love, Applejack?" I wheezed, looking down at her.

"Y'all were just yerself, Ivan," Applejack replied without even having to think about it. I chuckled at the short and to the point answer she'd given me. I was assuming she'd say something about my selflessness, the way I embrace hard work, the way I worked to brighten up anyone's day, or the way I could sweet talk her. But that was the best answer I could ever want. "An' don't you stop bein' yerself, ya hear me?" She playfully poked my nose with her hoof.

"Understood, ma'am," I grinned, sighing happily.

"Now then, let's get ya all dried up 'n back ta bed, mister," Applejack pushed herself away and stood up on all fours. Her mane was still damp, so she flicked it behind her head. She had to have been teasing me. "'Cause you need yer rest, or else Ah'll knock ya out 'n drag ya back ta bed myself," she warned, giving me a playful stink-eye. Grabbing ahold of a shower bar, and with AJ's help, I grunted and pulled myself up. AJ opened the shower door and grabbed both towels, tossing one to me.

"Thanks," I replied, beginning to dry off my head and shoulders as carefully as I could without hurting my left shoulder. "I'll be sure to talk to Twilight as soon as possible about-" I began until something surprised me. "Hmm?!" I shuddered when I felt the other towel barely graze against my lower front area. Removing the towel from my face, I saw AJ with a face as red as the apples on her flank and an innocent smirk. "Hehe, I think I can get that, hun," I chuckled, proceeding to keep drying my body.

"Can't blame a mare fer tryin'," she innocently shrugged and dried off her fur and mane. To no surprise, she helped me back into my hospital gown, going so far as to tie the knots back up for me. Though she did take much longer with the lower knot than the upper one…. We both tossed our towels into the nearby hamper and began our trek back to the infirmary before AJ stopped me in the dimly lit waiting room.

"What's wrong, hun?" I asked when I accidentally walked into her rear. Applejack turned around, and using the receptionist's desk as leverage, stood on her hind legs and leaned into my face. I leaned closer too, not minding another kiss from the mare my heart belonged to. However, instead of our lips making contact, I didn't feel anything on my lips. My body shuddered when Applejack kissed the scar on my face, grazing her lips up and down the abrasion with light pecks all the way. My scar didn't hurt whatsoever, but my face was filled with tingles as the mare showed it as much love as she'd shown me.

"Ah told ya yer still the same Ivan Ah love," AJ said when she pulled away and collapsed back on her hooves. "Welcome back, Sugarcube," I saw her wink before proceeding back to the infirmary. With a shaky hand, I reached up and touched my scar, feeling no more shame or humiliation from the injury. Thanks to Applejack, I got through this, and now not only we were reunited, but tomorrow, all of us friends and family would be together again to celebrate Luna's return and her pregnancy. In fact, I'd dare say that all of us were a family by this point.

"I love all of you," I whispered to myself before following the mare.

End Chapter 55

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So yeah, I really hope the fact that Twilight and Flash doesn't turn any of you away from the story. I PROMISE that I won't cram their relationship into every damn scene, but I saw an opportunity to at least try and make Flash an interesting character, and I honestly think he could work good together with Twilight. I remember how they first met in Equestria Girls with Twilight bumping into him, so I took that and twisted it around to what you read. All I can say is: Remember Flash bumping into Twilight; that WILL be used as a base for his personality.

Also, for those wishing to see Luna and Checkered together again, the next chapter will be ALL about everyone reuniting again! There's a lot in the next chapter, mainly concerning about Luna discussing her pregnancy with Checkered to Celestia and how Garble was able to kidnap her, plus a lot more!