Chapter 12: Mike the Lost

Mike awoke to see the white ear of a nurse pony just a few inches from his face, his breaths slow and heavy. The nurse moved her head away as she dotted a few notes down on a clipboard and left Mike by himself and left the medical wing altogether.

The human groaned as he sat up, his arm still sore from being broken but at least he felt he could use it if he ever needed to. Mike rubbed his head as he looked around; the white curtains surrounding him meant he couldn’t see the rest of the hall.

“Hello?” He called out. If he was going to be punished then he might as well get on with it rather than waiting for them to decide what to do with their new prisoner. His call went unanswered until he heard a pair approach him.

A hand slipped through the curtains and Dave stepped in, followed by a dark unicorn with a large scar running over his left eye. Dave took a seat next to Mike while the pony stayed at the end of the bed. Dave’s damaged clothes were gone; a set of black trousers and a grey top replaced them, his arms exposed except for a bandage wrapped around his left forearm.

“My name is Strong Shield,” The unicorn narrowed his eye at Mike, his emotionless face only made Mike wonder what kind of punishment awaited him. “You have been arrested by the Canterlot royal guards and they have asked that I interrogate you… Thoroughly.”

Mike gulped before nodding, “Ask anything you want and I’ll answer.”

Strong Shield glanced at Dave before clearing his throat, “How did you infiltrate the castle?”

“I used my ability to assist me,” Mike noticed the small frown on Dave’s face. “Don’t worry we don’t know of any tunnels or secret ways in.”

“Alright,” Strong Shield studied the new human before him. Mike was different from Dave in various ways, even down to how they spoke. Mike knew he was beaten so he had no reason to hide his information. It was the best excuse Strong Shield saw other than Mike genuinely felt guilty for his actions.

Dave sat silently, trying to read Mike as a person. But as Mike answered the questions Strong Shield brought up the only thing Dave could think about was how well Mike had fought to stop him but not once did he try to slash his throat. Towards the end of the fight Dave had even left his throat exposed on purpose to try and get a reaction.

As the questioning went on, Dave became more relaxed, even offering a glass of water to him as his throat began to hurt from explaining so much. Eventually Strong Shield gave a sigh and looked at Dave, “I have all I want… go ahead.”

And with that small indication, Dave nodded to the unicorn and the two humans were left alone. “We have secured the arms Sasha had and Odio found that your powers and lungs were removed by this Hank guy that was bossing you about.”

“Yeah, back home I picked up an illness that meant one of my lungs had to be removed,” Mike felt his chest rise and fall. “Unfortunately the other got infected and I had to stay in the hospital.”

“So how did Hank recruit you?” Dave asked as Mike adjusted his pillows. “He didn’t seem to care about any of you.”

Mike stared down at the white hospital bed he was in and gave a sigh. “When I was in the hospital my family visited me less and less… it turns out they had moved away and didn’t tell me because a doctor let slip my condition wasn’t getting any better.”

“I’m sorry,” Dave rubbed his face before giving a sigh. “So am I right in guessing he recruited you all while you wouldn’t be missed or while you were desperate for a way out?”

“I was so grateful that he saved my life but I am not prepared to kill to pay him back,” Mike shook his head. “That’s why the rest of the group hated me because I was given a powerful gift but wouldn’t use it to kill.”

Dave relaxed into his seat as he hummed, “About those gifts, did someone by the name of Discord give them to you?”

“N-no,” Mike looked at Dave. “Hank gave them to us and said that a saviour was giving them to us.”

“Well the princesses recognised the arms Sasha had and they belonged to a chaotic being known as Discord,” Dave leaned forward and stared at Mike. “The arms are in the most secure place in Equestria but the other humans have the other powers and Discord isn’t a good guy.”

The two humans sat in silence as Dave allowed Mike to take in the information. “So I was played for someone else’s schemes?”

“Yeah seems that way,” Dave shrugged as he leaned back in his chair and placed his feet up on the bed. “So what are you gonna do now?”

“Well what can I do?” Mike sighed as he dropped his head into his hands. “I leant about you, this world and how I would settle my debt.”

Mike looked down at the white shirt and trousers he was wearing. “Well at least the hospital clothes are a lot better on this world.”

“They were made for me but regeneration is a lovely thing… Sorta,” Dave stood up and walked over to one of the curtains. “So you wanna walk or you gonna sit there by yourself all day?”

“Uh sure,” Mike stood up and found a pair of slippers under the bed. He quickly slid his feet into them before following Dave out of the medical wing. “Is it alright for me to be walking about?”

Dave hummed, “If you leave my side then yes.”

“I suppose running away is pointless,” Mike looked at Dave’s bandaged arm. “I thought you could regenerate, so why the bandage?”

The human beside Mike stopped walking for a moment before continuing, “Not all wounds heal Mike.”

Mike realized that he had encountered a touchy subject and decided to steer clear. Instead he thought back to when Dave was fighting him and the smile he had seen on his face. “Why didn’t you just kill me when we fought? I saw what you did to Sasha and I know you could have easily killed me.”

“That’s the funny thing,” Dave looked at Mike. “I was trying to kill you but you were a damned good fight.”

Dave and Mike both reached a large wooden door as they walked; Dave pushed open the door to reveal the guard barracks. All the guards stopped and turned to glare at Mike, the damage they were repairing was nothing compared to the way Mike helped the theft of Nox.

“What is that monster doing here?” A guard yelled from the back of the barracks. A few cheers rose up from amongst the guards.

Dave walked past the guards silently as Mike followed, the guards glaring the entire time. For the first time since showing up in Equestria, Mike was scared that this was his final moment. If he deviated from Dave’s side then the guards would claim his life.

The human that Mike followed was silent to the comments that the guards threw at him. Once Mike and Dave had descended down the steps into the prison the guards fell silent and carried on doing their individual tasks.

Mike felt a chill in the air as he walked into the dungeon, the empty cells should be reassuring that there were no criminals to arrest but it also made him uneasy to see such horrible prisons. But the cell at the end was nothing more than a plain wooden door.

“I just need to grab a few things,” Dave pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. “In the meantime, why don’t you tell me about what Hank has planned.”

“Well to be honest I don’t know,” Mike sighed as he watched Dave open the door to a small room with only one shelf. Dave pulled out a long coat that almost touched the floor; the scales that made up the coat were a dull emerald colour that made Mike think that they could very well be indestructible.

Next Dave strapped a belt around his waist with a long piece of leather that stretched over his shoulder and a scabbard that rested at his side. Finally pulling out a long, purple crystal sword that slid perfectly into the scabbard.

“Might wanna stand back,” Dave suggested as he moved his right arm around his head and waist. As his hand moved, the scabbard spun so the handle of the sword landed in the palm of Dave’s hand, even sliding up his back to rest behind his neck.

“What are those things?” Mike asked in wonder as Dave drew the blade and left a clean slash in one of the stone walls.

“Coat made from the scales of an elder dragon, a crystal sword filled with magic that resists physical and magical objects.” Dave smirked as he put his sword in its scabbard. “And this thing is a sheath that uses tiny amounts of magic to adjust the weight of the scabbard depending on where my arm is placed, allowing me to reach the blade at any point.”

Mike opened his eyes in amazement, “Wow those things are incredible.”

“If I had these during our fight then we wouldn’t be talking,” Dave teased as he closed the door and locked it. “Now we are going to go have a talk with my wife about our missing son, and you are going to be polite and answer any questions we have.”

The only thing Mike could do was nod, his guilt growing as he realized he had to face Princess Celestia, the mother of the colt he helped kidnap. In his distracted state he didn’t even register the silent walk he shared with Dave out of the barracks and through the castle.

“Hey snap out of it,” Dave muttered to Mike as they arrived outside the largest set of doors Mike had seen. A silver and gold border made him gulp as he realised they were going to enter the throne room.

The doors opened, the red carpet at the human’s feet ran all the way along the floor and crawled up the marble steps before stopping at the base of the gold and white throne. A giant gold sun stood proud above the throne but a furious white alicorn sat upon it.

Another alicorn sat beside her, a dark one with stars in her flowing mane. Princess Luna.

“They look mad,” Mike muttered. “They wish I was dead and I can’t blame them.”

Dave slapped the back of Mike’s head, “You listen to me right now.” Dave grabbed Mike’s collar and forced him in a face to face situation. “You are the best shot for me getting my son back so you can deal with you guilt once this is over.”

Mike looked into Dave’s furious eyes, nodding when he realised that Dave was probably the angriest out of anyone in the castle. “Ok, I’ll help as much as I can.”

“Good,” Dave sighed as he suppressed his anger again and his eyes returned to the same cold state that they had been in since Mike awoke. The humans walked over to the princesses and Mike stopped at the stairs as Dave walked up to stand beside the alicorns.

“You are known as Mike correct?” Celestia asked in such a way that made Mike almost wish he could say no.

“Yes I am Princess Celestia,” Mike looked down at his feet. He wished he had said no to Hank all those days ago, so he wouldn’t be where he was now. “I am so sorry for what I have done to your family.”

Luna couldn’t hold back her anger, “Don’t you dare talk about family!”

“Luna,” Dave whispered angrily as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Be calm, you promised you would give him a chance.”

Celestia looked at her husband, knowing the pain he felt, “We have all… reluctantly agreed to allow you to assist us.”

“Thank you Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” Mike continued to gaze down at the floor before he had the courage to look up. “I shall assist in any way possible.”

The alicorns shared a glance before Celestia looked back at Mike, “Do you know where they have taken my son?”

“No I’m afraid I don’t know where he is,” Mike shook his head and gave Dave an uneasy glance.

Luna shook her head, “You are lucky to be alive, so repay us with information.”

Dave glared at Luna for stepping out of line again but it was just the push Mike needed to get past the fear he had. “I do know where they are taking him to.”

“Where?” Celestia asked. “The sooner you tell us then the sooner we can chase them down.”

“T-they have built a scientific facility on…” Mike glanced at Dave with a face full of regret. “They are going home.”

Dave’s eyes opened in shock, “Earth?”