(Make longer chapters they said, it'll be good for the story they said. And then tadah, instant fun as an author. If I were to name this chapter I think I would call it 'Crimson Tears' -N64Fan)

Inventor laid on the hospital bed throughout the night and into the early morning with a face paled to the point of being a convincing death mask, unbelievably he had managed to stabilize after his overwind. The doctors said that they didn’t know how he had pushed his body to the point he had been at, just that he was making an amazing recovery. So he laid on the hospital bed with his jacket on. His undershirt was missing and, in its place, a set of tightly bound bandages circled his chest.

The doctors had attempted to magically connect a machine to his heart in order to keep track of the beats it gave off, they failed on the grounds that they couldn’t seem to find his heart, they tacked this up to him being a different creature they hadn’t seen before and left it there, most of the friends agreed with the doctors on this regard but the red inventor pegasus had grown worried about the fact that he may have replaced more than just his arm.

Crimson and Scootaloo sat on some chairs in the man’s medical room as he laid on the hospital bed, the whirring from his mechanical arm had died down a few hours after he had been brought in and was now replaced by the familiar comforting clicking of the arm’s usual beat, it did seem a bit softer though and it wasn’t moving with the man’s movements but rather it remained stiff and straight. The two were mostly silent, occasionally one of the pegasus would ask the other about how their recent life had been but these conversations were short-lived and faded away when they were answered with brief words.

Scootaloo turned to the red pegasus who sat beside her as the sun began to rise and light up the room, with eyes that were bloodshot and watery, “Crimson, why does he always do this? Dad thinks he can carry the world alone but only ends up hurt. I just don’t understand.”

“Why don’t we ask him?” Crimson said with a glance at Inventor, “Why do you keep doing this Inventor? I would think that someone who can make an arm like yours would be smarter then to try and carry the world on your shoulders.”

“How did you know I was awake?” Inventor responded as he opened his eyes and began to have a fit of blinking as the light from the room invaded his dark retinas.

Crimson walked over and stood next to the bed, Inventor managed to clear his vision of the tears and looked at the red pegasus, his reward was tears of pain as she swung her wing to hit him in the face, Scootaloo’s jaw dropped as Crimson stood up and placed her front legs on the edge of the hospital bed in order to get a better look at her victim. “YOU SCARE SCOOTALOO LIKE THAT AGAIN AND I WILL MAKE YOU WISH THAT I ENDED YOU!” She shouted at the man.

“You’re a parent now, that means caring for your child, your stupid selfishness is going to kill you and then where will Scootaloo be?” The red mare continued as her voice reflected the anger she was feeling. “You think you can do anything that you deem ok but you can’t. You have a daughter and friends, if you are having a problem you talk to us and let us help fix it, you don’t randomly disappear into the forest because you think you need to run away.”

Inventor sat there shocked, then slowly swung his legs over the edge of the bed, flinching as he did so not only from his chest, but also for the small bruise beginning to form on his face. After stopping for a deep inhale with his legs over the edge of the bed the man managed to slowly lower himself to the ground next to the mare. He reached his hand back and Crimson cringed at the action as memories of her foalhood surfaced in her mind, instead of a slap to the face however he threw his flesh arm around her neck, as his mechanical one seemed to be unable to move, and he smiled. “Thank you Crimson, that is exactly what I needed to hear.”

She nodded in return as she returned the hug. The pegasus filly, who hadn’t moved since Crimson had hit Inventor, not being one for missing out on hugs, made her way over and joined the embrace, Inventor had pieced together what he suspected to be the basics of the mare’s backstory by now and knew that it must be hard for her, as he was reminded of that fact he hugged her a little tighter. The group remained like that for several minutes as they hugged in a mutual friendship until a nurse entered the room.

She gasped as she ran over to the man who was kneeling on his knees to hug the red mare, “You should be in bed Mr. Inventor, you are still wounded.” The caring nurse said as she approached and took a look at the man who was still hugging the two pegasi.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Inventor said as he managed to lift himself into a nearby seat where he leaned back to keep his midsection straight, “I would like to ask you if you could get the Elements and Trixie for me, oh and ask Twilight to send a letter to Luna asking her to come as well if you could, I have some information that I would like to share with them, something that they should all hear.”

The nurse nodded once and looked at the man with another caring glance to make sure he wasn’t bleeding through his bandages. After ensuring that the man wasn’t going to die while she was out the nurse left to deliver the message to the ponies that the man had asked for. After she left Inventor let his head lean back and rest on the wall behind the chair, it was like that for a few minutes before he spoke to Crimson.

“I don’t suppose you have a clockwork key to wind gears do you?” Inventor said with a glance to the red pegasus out of the corner of his eye, she nodded with a smile and pulled an odd looking key out from under her right wing, she approached the man who shifted slightly to give easier access to his arm. She inserted the key into a small slot at the elbow of the arm using her feathers to place the key then grabbing it with her mouth to wind the gears.

After several clicks the sound of the arm returned to its normal volume and Inventor flexed his arm a few times after the key had been removed, “Thank you, that was driving me insane.” The man said with a look on his face as if an itch he couldn’t reach had just been taken care of.

Crimson nodded and slid the key back under her wing and away from sight. “May I ask you how you managed to transform yourself into a pony?” she said when her mouth was no longer holding the metal key.

Inventor looked at the red mare out of the corner of his eye again and he grinned, “I utilized the magic residue that the city of Canterlot has in the very air to fuel a one use transformation. Some of the magic clung to me as I teleported to the forest and was bent into a semi-circular and very unstable magic field by the innate anti-magic effects of the woods. The resulting effect caused a reflux of the unstable magical area, this triggered a massive discharge of energy I haven’t been able to get my hands on without using less-than-safe means, like blowing up a nuke.

“This magic was then captured and run through a device that I had to half handedly improvise, I used part of my bonemender to bend my bones into a pony shape and the remains of my invisibility device to bend some of the details out of the light like the cutie mark and the colors, which is why Insight had blue mane and coat, since blue is the shortest wavelength and is very easy to reproduce.

“The illusion could be ended at anytime due to my third part of the device which caused a brief flux of magic that would shatter the illusion and trigger the bonemender again. However, because of the instability of the devices I used I can’t use that transformation method ever again because of the resistances my body is already building to the morph. Oh and before you ask, yes, it hurt, constantly.” Inventor said as he let his eye close once again as his grin slowly faded into a satisfied smile.

As he finished he merely got a shake of the head from Crimson as she smiled at his explanation, even she had only understood it so far. “I see, well as long as it was simple.” She said with a glance to Inventor who only remained smiling, she turned her glance to Scootaloo who was now in a fitful sleep on the ground where they had hugged earlier. “Do you know why she has these nightmares?” The red mare asked the human.

“I know that for some reason a steady rhythm breaks the nightmare, check her saddlebags there should be a music box I gave her in there. I would let her sleep in my arms tonight again but my chest isn’t exactly in the best of health.” With a nod to the man she went over to the filly’s saddlebags and extracted the mentioned musical device. She opened it and set it next to the orange filly and a slow sad song ticked out of the machine.

“I don’t recognize the song, I assume it’s from your world?” The red mare asked as she turned to look at the man again who was humming the tune.

Without answering her question Inventor sung a single line, softly, “Though under palm trees your dreams go, such happiness mine will never know.” He stopped humming and looked at Crimson.

“My wife wrote it, she said it was inspired by the way our world was and, more specifically, me and my role in it. She didn’t really like my job, heck neither did I, but I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.” Inventor said as he rested his head against the wall behind him once again.

“What was your job?” The mare asked in response.

“That’s one of the things I’ll tell you and the others about when they get here, we shouldn’t have to wait too long, they are usually quite fast.”

Indeed not soon after he said this the other ponies he had asked the nurse to talk to began to show up. Pinkie was the first, Luna arrived last with the heralding of gasps as the nurses saw the younger of the princesses in their hospital, as she entered a small smile graced her lips as she looked at Inventor. A little small talk was exchanged before Inventor slowly eased himself into a straight sitting position to face the group, the conversation stopped and everypony looked at him expectantly.

“I am sure the majority of you are wondering why I asked you here to listen to me. Well, I will be sharing with you a story, a story of my past, a story I very much wish to go uninterrupted lest I forget myself and stop the story.” The man said as he dropped a kind gaze onto the ponies in the room, including Scootaloo. He had had to argue briefly with the nurse about so many visitors, but when he told her that Luna would be there the argument was essentially void.

“I suppose the important part of the story starts merely a few days before the incident that took all the importance in the world away from me, On that day me and a few other humans were busy working under the oppressive thumb of our government, if you were smart they ‘hired you’ and forced you to work for them. That’s beside the point though, on this day I discovered something, something that the government desperately wanted. I knew what it would cause but they had threatened my family by this point, I knew what it would bring but I still gave it to them.

“The information I gave them that day was the final piece to an explosive puzzle they had nearly finished, a bomb that could destroy all our enemies. After I handed the knowledge of the finishing piece to the leader I realized what I had done, the destruction I had just wreaked upon the world. I tried to warn the man in charge about it but he was insane. I tried to explain that if he used this device he had cooked up the entire world would be irradiated and all life would be destroyed in the process. He exclaimed that if he couldn’t have the world then he wasn’t letting anyone else have it either.

“Three days later he launched the bomb and I became the fifth horseman of the apocalypse, the bringer of radiation and instantaneous death. I almost told my wife about it, but what kind of perverse death is that? Dying knowing full well that there was nothing I could do about it, so instead I waited and prepared for death.

“The bomb hit on the other side of the world. I explored it later, a massive crater that even after a whole year hadn’t been filled completely by the surrounding oceans, the radiation spread quickly and soon hit our country. The people were crying as they saw death approach in all its nightmarish horror, they saw the end and they left that rock as one. They all moved on into the afterlife whatever it was like, but I remained.

“The one unfit for the afterlife. I didn’t know why I survived the massive destruction, not until several years later anyway. I was left with the remains of a broken destroyed planet, I had watched my deepest love disintegrated as her atoms were torn apart and she was reduced into a puddle that quickly evaporated. That wasn’t the worst part of it all though, oh no. The worst part were the ‘people’ who survived. My daughter among them.

“Their minds had been all but destroyed by the radiation and they had devolved into primitive carnivores. I had to shoot my own daughter in the head to save myself and put her out of her misery.” Inventor paused briefly as he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “And after I had killed them all, all the survivors. I was left alone on a rock where I couldn’t do anything, I quickly began to adapt my technology, an implant to absorb radiation as food, a mechanical arm when I lost my original in a crash. Stupid things that kept me alive for whatever reason, I don’t know why I continued on, but I did.”

Inventor looked at each of the ponies in front of him, “But then I realized something, it was stupid of me not to think of it sooner actually, there had to be other places, other lands in other dimensions where they didn’t monumentally screw up like I had, maybe if I found such a place I could live in peace and be left to the ghosts of my past.

“What I found was Equestria, a much better place then I could ever imagine where the ponies were kind, intelligent, generous, honest, loyal, and happy. I soon found out that the world wasn’t entirely like that, that everyone had dark sides to them, but the thing that made them good and kind, the reason why their society still thrives, was because they knew this darkness and they did all in their power to overcome it.” Inventor looked pointedly at Luna before continuing. “Something we as a race had given up on long before the world was destroyed. I decided I would be the fifth horseman of the apocalypse if that was what this world needed.”

“It wasn’t what the world needed, when I talked to you in the Everfree I discovered that my role up until now was pointless, this land didn’t need a judge, jury, and executioner, the ponies of this land didn’t want a dark protector who would do all in his power to save them while he remained mysterious. The ponies who I seeked to protect merely wanted a friend, a father, and a kind man.”

Inventor raised his head to look at the assorted ponies, Rainbow was looking on with a look of disbelief and awe. AJ hid her face under her hat as she pulled it down over her face to hide her expression. Fluttershy was hiding her face with her hair as she looked at the ground and a tear ran down her cheek. Rarity wore a sad smile as she levitated out the newly repaired clothes that the man had left at her boutique the last time he had been in town, Inventor put his hand out and the white mare dropped the clothes into his grasp, with a nod of thanks the man continued his examination of the effect his story had had.

Luna was managing to keep a resolute face though her eyes betrayed her emotion, sadness and joy, an odd combination to be sure. Both Crimson and Trixie were talking with each other in murmurs. Twilight was looking at him thoughtfully and Pinkie was about to burst into full tears as she hid her eyes behind her hoof. With a smile the man stood and walked over to the pink mare, he squatted low to the ground and tapped her on the nose, she lowered her hoof to reveal her watery eyes.

“You know what would be great right now Pinkie?” Inventor said as his smile grew wider, when the pink mare’s eyes brightened and joy came to her face she looked at him pleadingly while the tears disappeared from her eyes, “A party would be just perfect.” he confirmed and nodded his head.

The pink party pony smiled and turned to Luna to whisper something into her ear, the lunar princess paused for a moment before nodding as a smile broke across her face, a soft blue glow surrounded the group and they teleported away with a pop, on the table the princess had left a stack of bits to pay for the hospital bill, aside from that however the room showed no sign of the madman ever having been in the room.

The group arrived at the other end of the teleportation in a building in the middle of town, the building was already decorated when they arrived as blue magic disappeared from the party favors. Pinkie began to run around and check on several things, before long the party pony had set the entire party into full swing, Luna stuck around for a while and conversed with Inventor about the magical findings he had discovered, she left not very into the party regardless to get some sleep as the sun rose to its zenith.

All the ponies had a great time as the party raged on and the party games were worn on and on, as the sun began to set the group was utterly exhausted and Trixie managed to get a chance to talk to the man alone.

“I suppose your history explains why you forgave me for what I did, I would just like to thank you for it regardless.” The blue mare said before she disappeared once more into the slowing party.

Almost immediately afterward Crimson managed to catch him and talk to him, “I know you just told me your past, so I figured I should tell you mine as well, can’t have secrets between friends right?” Inventor nodded and Crimson let out a sigh of relief.

“It happened when I was a only a little filly, I developed an addiction to machines, I realized I could use some of my small toys to create other new toys using the separate parts to create them. My family disapproved of this as our line was one the prided itself more on being stockbrokers then anything else. My parents decided to let me stay until I was old enough to go live on my own, this was because I hadn't received my cutie mark yet and he hoped in vain it was still tied to finace. As I left on the day of my eighteenth birthday my father was in a drunken rage, he... well.” The red mare looked at the braces placed on her legs.

“I discovered my cutie mark that day though, so I guess I owe something to that old stallion.” She finished with a sigh, “They disconnected themselves from me when they found out what my talent was and I’ve been on my own ever since.”

“Ever since a few days ago you mean.” Inventor said with a smile to the red mare, “These ponies at this party are as much your friend as I am, you have proven yourself to them and they respect your actions, you are no longer alone Crimson, and neither am I.” The pegasus looked up at Inventor and, for the first time in a long time, a genuine smile spread across her face.

The party was winding down when Crimson announced she needed to be heading back to her shop to finish up some business for the next day, Inventor offered her an escort that she kindly accepted, they had only just left the doorway when the red mare froze in fear. Inventor followed her gaze and saw two ponies approaching them from a few steps away. “My parents.” the inventress said under her breath and Inventor nodded.

“So this is what our daughter has fallen to, hanging out with this monstrous rabble that the princesses let roam free.” the stallion said, spitting the word daughter like it was foul on his tongue. The mare behind him merely nodded in agreement.

Crimson flinched at the words but Inventor merely answered with his classic smile as he looked at the two ponies, “Ah, but what is the difference between a monster and an animal, and an animal and a pony? Those questions need to be answered first or else we’ll never get anywhere with this conversation. I personally can’t come up with anything so let’s call a few of Crimson’s friends over to help us with this one shall we?”

Inventor turned away from the confused faces of the two ponies and shouted loudly back in the direction of the building, “Hey everyone, Me and Crimson need your help with something for a minute!" After a few seconds the Elements shuffled out of the building with Trixie bringing up the rear. Most with looks of confusion on their faces.

Inventor didn’t see as the looks of confusion on Crimson’s parents had turned to shock, instead he spoke once more to the ponies he had just called out of the building, “These are Crimson’s parents, the ones who disowned her and cut all ties to her. Anyway they called me a monster and so I was wondering what you would say the difference is between a monster and an animal and a pony, because we need to settle that before we decide on anything at all.”

The expressions of the friends hardened as he explained, briefly, what Crimson’s parents had done to her, the glared at the two parents as they approached their red coated friend. The group formed around the pegasus who looked on either side of her into the faces of the ponies who were protecting her, after a few silent moments Inventor spoke again, his voice cold. “You see, I would personally qualify a monster as some heartless creature that can’t express love or kindness. In that case, there is a monster in this city, but it certainly isn’t me.” The man turned his gaze to look sideways at the parents.

The two ponies looked at the assorted ponies by their daughter and the monster who loomed threateningly in the back and they walked away from the scene at a brisk trot. When they left Crimson turned around to look at the other seven ponies who had stood up for her as well as the human at the back.

“Thank you.” She managed in a soft voice as she closed her eyes and willed tears not to show up, Inventor saved her from that as he dropped his hand on the top of her head, she looked up at him through watery eyes as he smiled at her.

“Let’s get you home shall we?”

(Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I did. As always I encourage any constructive criticisms that you may have in regards to this work that will help me improve in future chapters. Thanks again - N64Fan)