Paradise
Chapter 27: Recovery Continues
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<><><>Two weeks later<><><>
It had taken time and lots of pain and perseverance but Celestia and Hank had slowly gotten better, now as the summer season started to wind down into fall the human sat on the tailgate of the humvee looking out toward the exit of his property, just enjoying being pain free once again. No more aches, sharp pains in the abdomen, no more blood in his piss, and almost most importantly his appetite had subsided to what his new normal was.
All in all Hank was feeling good, truly good; sure the cabin fever had been extreme but this time he had a companion to keep him company and sane. Speaking of said companion Hank decided he would go and meet her, she was just at the Apple’s after all and she had said they wanted to see him from when she went before. She was having lunch with the family, Fluttershy, and even Rarity from what he had heard. He was more than happy for Zecora, now that she had things to do away from the cabin. It wasn’t that he wanted her gone by any means but she needed more people to talk to than just some angry human, even though she said she didn’t mind.
Hopping off the back of the humvee, a pep in his step Hank walked back into the cabin to don the rest of his gear, just because he felt better did it mean Hank was more trusting, he most certainly wasn’t, he was just ready to go back out and see the ponies he hadn't seen since the day he punched Celestia’s head off.
His gear was on quickly, nothing new on his various belts, still the same plate carrier, same alice rig, same weapons, same gear, same helmet.
Walking out of the cabin, AR in his hands the only thing that was different was his short naturally parted hair under his helmet and his freshly cleaned gear, it was still stained sure, that would never change, but blacks were more black than brown and his clothes were, mostly, free from holes and various grime. The time he was down had given him time to do the boring things he struggled to do when he was able bodied and able to run away from.
Now clad in his clean gear, small crooked smile on his face, and tune in his head Hank stepped on the trail leading to the Apples.
<><><> Celestia <><><>
The past weeks had been full of recovery and drama for the princess of the Sun. The press had been ruthless, spinning tales, bending words, and writing things that were just plain untrue. The truth was embarrassing enough why did they have to make it worse?
She had released her own personal statement on what happened but it had done almost nothing to quell the torrent of drama outside and inside the castle. Day court had been no better, the nobles were just as ruthless as the press questioning her power and decision making skills, which she could understand to some degree but it had also been her first large slip up in hundreds of years, was she not allowed to be a pony as well?
Apparently not. Celestia thought leaning back into her throne during day court, taking a small break. Sure her physical wounds had healed but her emotions were still a mess, she was truly sorry and saddened at what she had done to the man, after talking with Luna some more about the human, well as much as she would let herself share, Celestia had figured out that Hank actually could be a very nice person, you just had to be on his good side, something she was extremely far from.
Getting up from her throne Celestia stretched her long legs and sighed deeply, she was sorry, sad, and angry all in one. She was sorry about what a fool she had been and what her actions did not just to Hank but how her actions reflected on all those around her even though they didn't deserve any of the negative attention.
She was sad at how some of her ponies looked at her differently, she knew she deserved it, but it still hurt seeing the disappointment in their eyes, it hurt even worse coming from guards and castle staff. As such walking down the castle walls Celestia kept her eyes forward and herself deep in thought so she could ignore the ponies around her, she again knew it was wrong to do so but she was just so embarrassed at her actions she couldn’t help it.
Going straight for Luna’s chambers her mind suddenly went from sorrow to anger as she thought about the nobles and more importantly the press. She couldn’t help but be angry, she was embarrassed, her pride was all but gone, knocked out of her in one punch and she had nobody to blame but herself. Even then she wasn’t mad at herself as much as the press anymore, she felt sorry and was going to right her wrong, she had sent a letter to Twilight to find a way to contact Hank, and she would’ve shown up in person but figured that’d be a bad move.
The press ponies and nobles just had to keep running with it and spinning their stories for reads and plays for power, foriegn dignitaries were snide and oh so very obviously looking for a way to use the event against her and her sister’s empire. She was tired of seeing the newspapers everywhere, tired of-.
“Sister? Sister are you alright?” Luna asked, causing Celestia to snap out of her anger filled self monologue.
“I-” Looking at her sister’s concerned look as she slowly opened the door all the way showing a small sliver of the dark room inside Celestia hung her head again, “No, I’m not. I’m being eaten alive on the inside…. Can I come in?”
“Of course.” Luna said setting aside while opening the door more.
Walking into the room filled with purple, deep blues, and darkly stained wood Celestia made her way over to the small table used almost exclusively for tea and somewhat comically let her head fall onto its surface with a low ‘thump’.
Carrying over two cups of tea Luna sat across from her sister and gently nudged the cup toward her, “It’s your favorite sister, could you heat it please?”
Rolling her head over so she could use one eye Celestia spied the cups and lit her horn making the cups go from room temperature to steaming in an instant, “Thank you very much sister.”
Smiling back Luna sighed after taking a sip of her perfectly warmed tea, “I’m worried about you sister, I know the media is running wild, the nobles are being…. Well nobles, and forign leaders are most certainly breathing down your neck, I know because they’re breathing down mine, but I’ve never seen you so affected by it before.”
Celestia sat in silence for a long while after taking her own sip of tea, watching the steam rise, before finally responding, “I don’t know what’s different about this scandal; I understand its bad and what I did was wrong but I addressed that, publicly in the statement I released. It seems they aren't interested in the truth, just sensationalism.”
Celestia was visibly angered while she talked and Luna just sat there listening, like she knew Celestia wanted.
“I mean you remember long ago around two hundred years before you were… you know?”
Luna instantly knew what event Celestia was talking about and a smile couldn’t help but spread across her lips, “You mean when you went against the law that a princess couldn’t have a lover besides a stallion that was already declared prince… by getting caught bucking a common sergeant? What was his name? Eseric Stone right? Strange name.”
Remembering the scandal Luna couldn’t help but remember her sister’s blush and the massive smile on the stallion’s face as they walked into the castle for their hearing, getting screamed at by the more orthidox members of the nobility and populous.
Remembering the time herself and watching Luna laugh Celestia slowly perked up before laughing a little herself.
“Was it worth it sister?” Luna asked between chuckles.
“Gods yes.” Celestia exclaimed leaning back into her chair, “The two years of stress had to come to a head sometime and that was such a relief, we met up even after the hearings a few more times you know, in much more private places of course where a certain commander wouldn’t walk in on us right as we were finishing.”
Raising an eyebrow Luna snickered, “Did you now? I take it he had a… satisfactory set of tools at his disposal?”
A far off look in her eye Celestia leaned forward, “He was one of the most perfect specimens of the pony species I have ever seen… and he was an earth pony so you can imagine.”
“He was one of your best, extremely well rounded soldier.” Luna nodded and took a sip of her tea enjoying the warm brew, “Now are there any ponies like him now that catch your eye?” Setting her cup down Celestia followed after taking her own sip.
“Hmm… Well I will admit Shining armor is a very handsome stallion, not quite as handsome as his father was at his age but Cadence got a good stallion for sure.”
The admission caused Luna to raise her brow again, “Really? I know enough to know he isn’t your type at all sister.”
“Oh and what is my type Luna?” Celestia squinted a playful smile on her face.
“You like your stallions big, and you prefer them to be earth ponies, now I know why, Mr. Eseric must have left quite the impression.” Taking a break to take another sip Luna soon continued, “You like the warrior scholar type: smart and outspoken but also plenty able to take care of himself. You also like them bold and willing to take the initiative and speak their mind, certainly a rare quality in a stallion back then, and even a little now. Also you prefer them to have a sizeab-”
“You can stop now, it’s obvious you know me quite well Lulu.” Shaking her head and laughing Tia hummed, “I think we got off track a little.”
“You are quite right,” Luna laughed, “Now what about this scandal compared to that one?”
Sighing Celestia deflated a little once being reminded, “Its that, even though this time was bad, really bad, it wasn’t as messy as that one was, I about lost my crown and he his life yet the paper’s though primitive and locked to Canterlot propper were fair and stayed completely unbiased. Now all I read are lies and deceit, exaggeration of the truth. It angers me.”
“Hmm.” Luna rubbed her chin, “That is out of my control as well sister, the press will say what they want, it is unfortunate, but you must stay strong and on top of it, show them you are not affected. You did what mattered, you recognize your mistake and apologized to our ponies and to Hank, publicly. There is not much else you can do other than right this in person with Hank himself, which he will not make easy.”
“I know you’re right Lulu, but that’s the hard part. It is still so hard. Half the nobles I’ve seen I just… want to… kick their heads in.” Celestia gritted her teeth and forced out.
The exclamation surprised Luna, it had been a long time since she had seen that part of her sister, she knew Celestia had been frustrated but she had no idea it was that bad. But then again maybe the confession was more shocking since Luna had watched her sister, on multiple occasions, kick a head in.
“I think you need to take a break, let me take control for a little bit,” Luna suggested knowing that once Celestia reached the level of frustration she was at now it was a slippery slope until she finally snapped, “I’ve been around enough now to see how things go and I’m more than well enough to handle ruling once again.”
“While I want to say yes if I let you do that then everypony… The press, the foriegn dignitaries, the… bucking nobles will say I retreated, that I ceded to them, they’ll only get bolder!”
She wanted her sister to be wrong but she knew she was right, with how things were now there is no doubt taking a break would be seen as weak, “Equestria hasn’t bared its teeth in a long time, too long, ponies have gotten soft, they fail to realize there are more pressing manners than idle gossip.” Luna exclaimed while Celestia silently agreed, “We must work out something, we both know that with your temper the last thing we would want is for you to snap on some deserving noble or dignitary. If you think the situation is bad now imagine how bad it would be then Tia.”
Rubbing her temples the white alicorn groaned, “You’re right, but so am I. I’ll just have to suck it up until it cools down, it’s just hard since I’m the only one to blame for this whole damn mess! I almost wish he would’ve broken my neck, I wouldn’t have to go through this shit.”
The way her sister was talking and swearing was not a good sign, Luna now knew the white alicorn was in much worse shape than she previously expected. Celestia hardly ever swore with how much she had to sensor her everyday speech; for Celestia to swear she had to be around someone she was extremely comfortable with or extremely stressed and Luna knew the ladder played a large part.
“I think you really should take a break Tia. It's clear you are more stressed than you should be.” Luna said in concern for her older sister.
A heavy sigh escaping the white alicorn’s mouth Celestia gave a short bark of a laugh, “What do you think Hank is doing right now? Do you think he cares? Think he even remembers? Do you think he’s embarrassed?” Wanting to change the subject Celestia went automatically to what the other part of her mind was concerned with, “Not that he should be.”
The strange turn in conversation catching Luna a little by surprise the midnight pony knew what her sister was doing and decided to go along with it, “I have not seen Hank since before this all went down I don’t really know what he’s going through. I can imagine he’s back up and moving now but ever really trying to understand what he’s going to be doing at a given time is quite hard, one minute he’s tending to his garden the next he’s hunting down an apex predator with his hands for fun. He lives a very unorthodox life.”
“...Yes. Yes he does,” Celestia sighed again before straightening her face and looking directly into Luna’s eyes, “Are you jealous of him?”
“What?” Luna automatically said even though she heard the question loud and clear.
“Because I am. That’s why I think I disliked him so much for so long and even a little now. He lives like we used to, he does things, he fights to defend those he loves instead of telling others to do so, he says what he wants and does what he wants whenever he wants. He’s not afraid to tell anypony off, even if they are one of the rulers of the kingdom he lives in. Then there’s me, afraid to tell some noble who wants to revert the taxes used for development in the poorest sections of Canterlot to widen the streets in the wealthiest to eat shit.”
By the end of her small rant Celestia was almost out of breath with how fast the admission had left her, “So yes I’m jealous of him and honestly I want to go into those woods to take care of the Shucks myself, not to prove to him that I’m not just some politician who does nothing, but to prove to myself that I’m not just some politician anymore. I’ve felt this way for a long time. I guess it just took meeting him to realize it.”
Getting up out of her chair Celestia used her magic and drained the last of the tea out of the small porcelain cup into her mouth, “I’m sorry sister but I’m late as it is, I need to get back to day court but let’s please talk more sometime, this little conversation helped more than I expected, thank you.”
“Of course sister,” Luna smiled, getting out of her seat and following Celestia toward the door, “Say sister…” Luna started getting Celestia’s attention, “Do you… I guess there is no way to ask this easily,” Luna mumbled loud enough for Celestia to easily hear, “Miss combat?”
Looking at Luna for a second mulling the question over, Celestia fully turned her body to face her, “I don’t miss losing troops and seeing innocent lives suffer but the action itself, the thrill, and satisfaction? Yes I miss it. I have for a long time, hundreds of years and the desire grows daily. I look at my old armor and swords quite a lot, I keep them polished and sharp, ready for use, not that they have been out of their scabbards for more than polishing in centuries, I don’t even practice anymore.” Just admitting it made Celestia feel weak, she’d have to change that, get back to where she was before she hung up the armor and swords, it would take work but it’d be worth it.
“I’m going to change that.” Celestia added after a second with a sincere smile before opening the door with her magic, “Goodbye sister, have a goodnight in court if I do not see you again.”
“Goodbye Tia, good luck.”
Watching Celestia close the door behind her, smile on her face, Luna went over to her bed and laughed while sitting down, things were about to change around Canterlot she could feel it.
<><><> Sweet Apple Acres <><><>
The farmhouse coming into view through the full trees the human kept walking forward taking a second to look down the rifle in his hands inspecting its surface and taking a second to look through the red dot that sat on it’s top rail admiring how the small reticle co witnessed perfect with the front post of the rifle.
“I like it when things work.” Hank said to himself looking back to the house as he came up to the front steps, skipping all but the first and last as he made his way to the door and knocked. He could hear the conversation inside but he still wanted to knock just to be polite.
Hearing the telltale pattern Hank always used to announce his presence the conversation temporarily paused while Zecora smiled and looked to the doorway of the living room, “Seems like someone decided to come after all.” She laughed causing the others to do so as well.
Small hoofsteps racing out of the kitchen the ponies in the living room watched Apple bloom zip down the hallway excitedly screaming a certain human’s name as she rushed toward the door. Getting out of her chair about to say something to the effect of “Slow down Apple Bloom” Applejack was cut off as something or somepony slammed into the screen door before squeezing through the opening and into the awaiting arms of the smiling human.
“You’re okay!” AB said excitedly as Hank lifted her up with no effort and hugged her with his left arm as he held his rifle in his right.
“Yeah, I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be?” Hank answered back gently squeezing the small pony as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head into his shoulder.
“Hey I’m all good I promise, I’m glad to see you again Apple Bloom.” Feeling the pony squeeze tighter Hank said rubbing her back.
“I was scared you’d never come back, Applejack said you were hurt really bad! I was afraid you died!” The small filly mumbled into Hank’s shoulder, small pools of moisture starting to wet his left shoulder on his one size too small shirt.
“Hey now it’s all okay, I’m not going anywhere, I’m a lot harder to kill than that.” Trying his best to comfort the filly despite his blunt and straight to the point language. Honestly out of all the people one could pick to comfort another Hank should be put on the bottom of that list, his time spent surviving, killing, and nearly dying had stripped away any care for beating around the bush, sort of speak. Then again look into the eyes of enough dead family and dying friends one could see why a person would lose their ability to soften the reality of a situation to another.
If a person was dying Hank wouldn’t say everything is fine, you’ll be okay he’d instead say the pain was almost over, that all their suffering would be over soon. So it is clear to see why Hank’s words did little to comfort Apple bloom, his fingers running through her mane and general warmness however, that was a different story.
Turning his attention from the calming filly Hank turned and saw a familiar orange pony walking toward him down the hallway, a small smile on her face, “It’s been a while.”
“That it has.” Hank gave a small laugh stepping through the door Applejack had opened for him seeing his full hands.
“What ah, what’ve ya been up to?” AJ asked somewhat clumsily, trying to get acquainted with the human.
“Well,” Motioning to the still Applebloom Hank paused, “Not much really, just been around the house.
Catching that he had more he wanted to say but not directly in front of the young pony Applejack nodded, “Well good, I’m sure you needed the rest. Oh and Apple bloom?”
Slowly raising her head and looking to her sister the red headed filly replied, “Yeah?”
“Ah think Granny still needs you in the kitchen, maybe you could get Hank here something?”
“Oh, sure!” AB perked up instantly at the mention of helping the human.
Setting her down Apple bloom walked toward the kitchen, “Ah’ll be right back Hank!” She called over her shoulder disappearing from view.
“No rush.” Hank called out as he and AJ walked into the living room where everyone else was.
“Honestly, I was beat to shit, I barely moved for three days, though, she’d tell you I moved too much.” He pointed to Zecora as he entered the room the zebra shaking her head and rolling her eyes.
“You did move too much, you were stabbed in the stomach.”
“Eh, aesthetics.” He waved off setting his rifle and helmet in the corner of the room next to the entryway, “Just adds another scar to the collection.”
Walking over to the empty spot on the couch Hank sat down in the far right side as gently as possible trying his best to put as small of a load on the undersized furniture as possible.
Letting a content sigh escape his lips as he leaned back in a stretch, his hands on the back of his head, he stretched his cramped legs as well causing a massive crack to come from his right knee as it was known to do.
Wincing at the sound the ponies recoiled, “My goodness! Are you okay?” Rarity exclaimed looking at his knee as Hank relaxed his muscles.
“Huh?” The human looked up to the room in front of him before connecting the dots, “Oh. Yeah, I’m good, that knee does that sometimes. Don’t concern yourself about it.”
“Well okay I guess.” Rarity accepted Hank’s answer with a little hesitation, the sound she heard coming from the appendage saying anything but “fine.”
“Ain’t ya a little worried about why it does that? Ah mean that seems like your knee might be trying to tell ya somethin’.” AJ added; concern on her face.
Shaking his head the human smiled, “I know why it does it, and it’s not like it ever gives out on me. Speaking of…” Turning his head to the red stallion who was sat on the other far side of the couch Hank pointed to his hip, “Your hip still doing good?”
“Eeyup.” Mac answered simply.
“Good. Good. So what were all you talking about before I got here?” Hank asked, addressing the whole group again.
“Just simple things, mostly what fall is going to be like with summer ending soon.” Zecora answered, clueing in the man.
Nodding in understanding Hank turned as AJ spoke, “Harvest is gonna be decent from what it looks like this year, with how we’ve been harvesting early already. Bein’ honest' Ah really have no idea why that orchard matured so fast this year. And thanks again for doing what you did Hank, that really helped us out big time.”
“It’s nothin’. But your trees don’t usually start that early?”
“No, not at all. We have it set up so the North orchard goes first then East, South, and West. So we ain’t racing ta get things in before they go past prime, but that was far too early. It’s happened before but still it throws things a little off.”
“I can imagine. Though I don’t know a thing about apple farming so I have no idea what it could be.” Hank laughed, getting a smile from the group.
“Don’t feel to bad about it, Ah’ve done it my whole life and Ah still got no clue.” Mac added in his baritone voice getting the attention of everybody due simply due to how little the large stallion spoke.
“Some things just don’t need figured out. Simple as that.” Hank retorted getting a nod from Mac.
The conversation continued on for a while longer, jumping topics from what people were doing, to what was going on in the world at large. It was nice to be a part of a simple easy conversation again even if he didn’t add much to it. Hank was more than content sipping his tea Apple bloom brought him while listening to the others talk. He was most happy to see Zecora interacting with everybody and get along and to see Rarity acting relatively normal despite what happened though he could tell something was off.
Her hooves were very restless, grabbing at the cloth of the seat she was sat on, her eyes were far more active than the others, scanning the room much like his did even if he'd done it a thousand times. On top of it all he could tell she was having a hard time staying out of her own head.
He expected it all from the small mare for what she had been through and wanted to talk to her one on one badly, just to make sure she was fairing as well as possible. He’d have to be as gentle as possible though because even if she was sat in the same room as him and had no issue speaking to him in conversation Rarity was wary of the human, he could tell this as well, just with the same body language he was reading before. It came at no surprise to the man, she had seen one of the most ruthless sides of him, and he knew it wasn’t a pretty sight.
“Do you have any idea Hank?”
The mention of his name pulling him out of his thoughts Hank looked around before settling on Fluttershy.
“Oh uh, say that again. I was off…” He motioned with his hand signalling what he meant.
“The fish in the stream have all left and I didn’t know if you could possibly have a reason as to why.” Fluttershy repeated softly, “ It’s still too early for them to find deeper water and hibernate but I haven’t seen a single one in about… well a week or more.”
Thinking for a second Hank shrugged nothing coming to mind immediately, “I’m sure you’d know more than me, I’m already not a wildlife specialist, and I’m certainly not familiar with the fish on this world minus how a few of them taste.”
Nodding Fluttershy understood and was about to say thank you anyway before Hank hummed.
“Well… I mean, are the animals drinking out of it?”
“I… I don’t know.” The question came as a slight surprise. Fluttershy had to think hard to remember if she had seen any of the regular fauna drinking out of the stream as they had for the past forever. Thinking back on all the times she was outside in the past week she came to the stunning realization that, no, they had not been, “I actually don’t think they have now that you mention it. Do you think something is in the water?”
Shrugging again the human took the last drink of his tea, “Sure sounds like it, must be upstream cause I didn’t smell anything or see anything on the way here that was abnormal.”
“Goodness, I hope it isn’t too serious, a lot of animals use that stream for water.” Flutters nervously tapped her hooves together.
“It could just be a large bloom of algae up stream, I know certain species use the soil they grow in to make themselves slightly toxic and if enough of it grows it can leach into the water as a whole,” Zecora added catching the attention of the room, “And I also know such soil is not uncommon of the rivers and streams of the Everfree.”
Laughing a little Applejack looked to Zecora amazed, “Ya really know your stuff don’t ya?”
Blushing a little and looking at Hank who was smiling back at her Zecora gave a small laugh of her own, “I would certainly hope so, it’s the only thing I have ever done after all.”
Shaking her head the orange farm pony didn’t take the attempt at modesty at all, “I dunno. You still know more than anypony I’ve ever known, and that’s sayin somethin’ now. Have you seen how big our family tree is?”
“Yes. I have.” Hank butted in, “I saw the mob you were walking into town with when I first got here, looked like half a town was moving in.”
“And that was only around half of em.” Granny snickered slowly walking into the room.
“Get everything figured out alright Granny?” AJ asked.
“Oh yeah.” Granny smiled, “Everthin’ is in the oven, now y’all are stayin’ for supper now ain’t ya?” The elderly mare asked around the room in a far more serious tone narrowing her eyes.
Everyone answering yes somehow, not willing to go against the matriarch her smile instantly came back as she eased into her properly empty chair, “Now those other friends of yours are comin’ now too ain’t they AJ?”
Either not catching or caring to stop at the look on Applejack’s face Granny asked the question anyway even through the signals that were being sent her way.
Dread filling her stomach AJ slowly turned to Hank who’s face had fallen into that menacing mask he usually wore from the small smile he’d been wearing all day.
“Who else is coming?” His voice blunt and monotone Hank asked, the entire room falling silent at his shift in tone.
“Oh, the other three elements: Pinkie, Rainbow, and… what is her name again Twinkle?”
“Twilight.” Aj simply corrected a sinking feeling growing in her stomach, she really should have told him sooner but she also knew he would’ve just left at the mention of Twilight and Rainbow and in all honesty she just wanted to see him again, they all did, but maybe AJ a little more.
“Twilight. That’s right, I’ve only met her a few times; but they should all be coming out for supper as well.” Granny added noticing Hank’s shift in personality, and the room’s response from it, “You did tell them didn’t you AJ?”
“Yes, Ah did.” The orange pony deflated more.
“Well good.” Granny smiled looking over to Hank who was looking out of the window, his body language still a tad tense, “There’s more than enough food to go around. Me and Applebloom have been working on this for two days ain’t we?”
“Yeah!” Ab beamed, “Ah don’t think I’ve ever seen so many pie crusts in one place.”
While the rest of the room was filling back up with warm energy Hank was becoming colder and colder as he watched three figures slowly come up from far down the driveway, his eyes following two much more than the third.
“Say the devil’s name and he shall appear.” Hank mumbled in a deep rumbly voice taking his eyes off the approaching group. He really did want to stay, he was having an excellent time, but he also knew that he didn’t want to deal with two certain ponies.
He also knew himself well enough to know that he wouldn’t be able to have a good time around them, it’d be awkward and it’d drag the whole mood down, he didn’t want to do that, it wasn’t fair to everyone else that because he didn’t get along with certain people and he is the way he is he’d make things far less fun.
Standing up, Hank sighed and walked over to his gear. Worst case scenario an argument would break out and things would be said that Applebloom just didn’t need to hear, he couldn’t risk that he decided so if it meant running like a little bitch he guessed he’d have to.
“Where do ya think you’re going?” Granny asked in a not so neutral tone as she watched the human dress back up in his strange gear.
“I got errands to run in town now that I think about it, long overdue ones.” Hank answered honestly as he thought about how he was supposed to meet with the bank pony, his name escaping him for the moment.
“Ah see. You’ll be back for supper won’t ya?” Granny asked already knowing what the man would say.
“Doubtful.” Hank answered simply looking back at the elderly mare.
Granny frowned at the man and decided to be direct, something she was more than known for, “If you keep running and ain’t willing to confront the ponies you don’t like things’ll never change or get better.”
Stopping in his tracks Hank looked out of the screen door and decided he had time to respond, “I don’t want things to change, they don’t like me, I don’t like them, simple and easy. I don’t need everyone to like me.”
Granny frowned further at the human’s attitude as he turned and started to walk down the hallway, “You’ll need to be an adult about this someday Hank.”
The footsteps stopping in an instant the human quickly reappeared around the corner and looked right at Granny, obviously irate.
Granny was taken aback by his gaze and so were the rest of the ponies in the room, AJ and Mac the most. Nobody ever looked at Granny in a mean spirited manner without serious consequences but here was Hank, a man that was far out of reach of pony punishment and who only played nice because he liked and chose to.
“This isn’t a question of my maturity Granny,” Hank grumbled, “It’s a question of my extraordinarily short fuze, I’m leaving because I know I can’t control it and that those two will set it off. I’m leaving because I’d hate to ruin this wonderful supper that you obviously planned and invited people to. I’m trying to be courteous.”
Aggravation clear in his tone Hank explained himself taking a backward step out of the room.
“Then you need to get a grip on your temper don’t ya.” Granny said plainly, only striking more of a nerve.
“It… I… It’s not that simple!” Hank exclaimed, getting pulled back into the conversation as the pressure mounted from outside, the ponies drawing closer.
“It i-”
“No it ain’t!” Hank cut Granny off only making the room more tense as they watched two proverbial titans clash in front of them.
“I respect you Granny, I truly do but being frank you don’t have a damned idea on how my brain works, what it has been trained to do, what I have trained it to do, the way my brain had to and does work is not peaceful, not in the slightest. The proof of that is that I’m standin’ here talking to you. I was meaner, more willing to cross the lines of morality, more evil than the people I came across.”
Not consciously doing so Hank’s muscles tensed, showing his size through the few sizes too small clothes was wearing. Granny had never seen this side of the man and while it made her nervous she knew nobody was in danger, it was just her base instincts.
“And I came across some truly evil, wicked, people so what do you think that tells you about what my temper is like?” He asked, relaxing his unconsciously aggressive posture while also noticing the group getting too close, “Now if you’ll excuse me.”
Turning and walking up the stairs the ponies in the living room sat silent as they listened to his heavy footfalls ascend the wooden steps before the screen door opened. The room was still stuck in silence as they listened to the incoming trio’s conversation round the bend into the room.
“Hey guys! How’ve you been?” Twilight cheerfully asked looking around the room, missing the slight unease that hung in the air, much unlike Pinkie who had noticed it almost before she walked in. Rainbow was looking over the room as she stepped in and took a seat next to Fluttershy.
“How ya been Flutters?” She asked with a smile.
“Oh quite good, some troubles with the stream in front of my house but otherwise good.” The other pegasi answered gently.
“Anything serious?” Rainbow inquired further as the other took their seats and conversation started to flow again.
“Oh I don’t think so, Zecora said it could be an algal bloom upstream.” Pointing to the zebra across the room Fluttershy clarified.
Rainbow hadn't seen the zebra when she walked into the room but now looking at her Rainbow recognized her. She was the one that went with the human after he left the hospital a few weeks ago. This made her weary because she knew that if she was here he wasn’t far away.
Looking over the zebra closely Rainbow was caught staring by Zecora and was surprised at the glare the zebra’s face turned into once she had looked into her eyes. Looking away for a second Rainbow took this time to see if anyone else in the room was unfamiliar before looking back to the zebra who gave her a sideways glare before starting a conversation with Pinkiepie who was very excited to meet a new pony regardless of who they may be associated with.
Watching the room further Rainbow was unaware if twilight had noticed the zebra but if she had she didn’t show it as she spoke with Rarity and AJ, rainbow wouldn’t be surprised if she never noticed honestly, Twilight was hardly an observant pony when it came to anything that could be deemed social.
Turning back to Fluttershy, Rainbow started talking to her oldest friend again letting her feelings toward the zebra slip away. Things really seemed all back to normal in the room as the ponies mingled and enjoyed each other's company; that was until a creak came from the ceiling and floor of the room above them.
While certainly noticed, nobody thought much of it since old farm houses most certainly have their own sounds as they settle but when one becomes two and then three in a rhythm moving toward the wall the ponies quieted down and listened.
“Just what is he doin’!?” Granny asked looking up at the ceiling where the sound was coming from.
“Who is it?” Twilight asked, thinking maybe one of the members of the Apple families’s extensive family was visiting.
“Oh it’s just Hank,” Granny huffed, “I have no idea what that boy thinks he’s doin’.”
“W-wait! What is he doing here?” Twilight nearly shouted.
“What do ya mean?” Granny looked to the purple mare confused as she heard the upstairs window open, “Oh he better not be.”
“Applejack, what is he doing around here?” Twilight turned to her friend as Granny ignored her, most of the others in the room doing the same.
Staying silent for a second Applejack looked out of the large window that was directly under the window he had just opened and waited for him to come into view, “He came by to visit, we hadn't seen him since what happened.” She finally answered.
“Mac go tell him to knock that off, Ah don’t want him hurtin’ himself.” Granny commanded.
Looking up through the window Mac looked to his grandmother for a second before looking back toward the second story seeing Hank’s leg come through, “Too late for that.”
Not a second later Hank Managed to fit himself through the small window and found himself falling to the ground, falling to a knee and a hand once he landed. Not a peep of protest coming from any part of his previously injured body Hank gave a short hum in approval, “Not bad.”
Rising back to his feet Hank turned to the window where he could see inside the large family room, full of ponies. Noticing Mac looking at him Hank raised his left hand and pointed to the pony in acknowledgement while giving his signature crooked grin.
Giving a nod back Mac, and the rest of the crowd, watched as the human walked out of view, down the path, much to the surprise of Twilight who hadn't even known he was there. The thought alone of not knowing where something so sinister was lurking was enough to creep her out and put her on edge.
Meanwhile Granny was shaking her head at the man’s behavior, she wasn’t angry or even upset at him, she was worried that he’d never get over whatever it was that burdened him.
“Do you have a clue as to why he thinks the way he does?” Granny asked, looking at Zecora who’s eyes immediately widened as she blew out a long breath.
Laughing a few times the zebra shook her head as the room turned its collective attention to her, “I have no idea why he does the things he does but I have gotten… used to them I’d say.” Zecora smiled thinking of some of his antics, “I assure you he means no offence by them, he just sees paths of travel that we wouldn’t think about.” Thinking about what she said Zecora kept going, “He’s just different from us in general really, he prefers to… go through things, not around them. I mean that in a phycological and physical sense.” Zecora explained the best she could while a smile started to grow on her lips, “He’s very straight forward.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Granny said laughing a few times, “He’s a good colt. Are you takin’ good care of him?” The old mare asked in a much more serious tone.
Pleasantly surprised in Granny’s defensiveness toward the man Zecora smiled, “As much as he will let me.”
“Good.” Her tone switching instantly Granny smiled, before the room turned to Rarity who had slipped out of her chair, the sight thunk of hooves hitting wood announcing her movement.
Looking at the usually pristine always smiling mare it was clear something was troubling her by the look on her face, “I-I’m sorry everypony, but I really must go talk to Hank while I can.”
Quickly making it toward the exit trying to catch the man before he got too far away Rarity was stopped at the sound of Rainbow’s voice.
“Hey. I’ll go with you so he doesn’t try anything funny.” The prismatic mare said getting up.
“No no dear that is more than fine, I can handle myself.” Rarity responded gently while looking out of the door watching the man get further and further away.
“I know Rares but still I-”
“I’m flattered dear, I really am.” Rarity cut off, “But Hank isn’t going to hurt me and I really need to talk to him alone.”
“But-”
“Alone.”
With that Rarity turned around and quickly walked out of the house before starting down the drive after the man all while Rainbow watched down the hallway before slowly walking back to her seat and plopped down defeated.
She felt like all of her friends were ignoring all the things she was trying to warn them about the man, that they were choosing him over her. Her feelings were clear as she sat down defeated, her body language reflecting her downtrodden feelings.
<><><>
Quickly walking up behind Hank the human heard the appracoching hoofsteps and slowly turned his head to see who it was, surprised to see Rarity he gave a small smile.
Rarity on the other hand found herself out of breath and talking a reflexive step back as Hank’s eyes met hers, the events of that terrible morning playing back in her head. Getting control of herself Rarity cleared her throat and started to walk in pace with the human as he made it down the driveway.
Rarity didn’t know where to start, how to start, or anything with what she wanted to talk about. She didn’t even know if Hank would want to speak with her, she just knew that if there was somebody that would know anything about this it would most likely be him.
“There’s something pretty obviously bothering you Rarity, I doubt you’d race over here just to walk with me.” Hank eventually said breaking the silence.
Rarity jumped at his words, startled out of her deep thoughts by his grumbly voice, “Well I… Yes. I- I just don’t know what to say.” She answered looking up to the human’s face who was still looking forward.
Seems she wanted to talk about this as well, Hank thought before opening his own mouth, “It’s about what happened in the cave right?”
A feeling of dread welling up in her chest Rarity confirmed, “Yes.”
Stopping his walk Rarity did the same and turned to him as he crouched down to be on the same level as her, “Which part is it that is bothering you the most, or is it all of it? It was all a horrible situation and I realize how traumatizing it can be, are you doin’ alright?”
Somewhat surprised at his tone and genuine care Rarity suddenly felt a little bit more at ease, “It’s mostly about what I did, how I…” Rarity paused clenching her eyes closed tightly while taking deep breath, “killed that diamond dog. I can’t sleep, I haven't eaten in two weeks, I feel like I’m a lie; everypony looks at me like I’m the same but I feel like I carry this terrible secret with me and if I were to tell them they’d hate me.”
Opening her eyes the first thing she was met with was Hank’s, his tiny usually piercing eyes filled with a large amount of sadness and sympathy.
Letting out a long sigh Hank looked at the ground before looking back up to the distressed pony, a somber smile on his lips, “Can I tell ya somethin’ that you’re prolly not gonna like to hear?”
“That’s why I’m here.” Rarity gave a small smile back but flinched when she felt his large hand rest on her shoulder.
“The best way to relive what you’re going through is to talk about it, and before ya start.” He cut off the pony as she opened her mouth, “That don't mean everyone, just the folks closest to ya. That means all of them in there, your parents, and whoever else you feel fits those parameters.”
The warmth of Hank’s hand fading once he pulled it away Rarity found herself missing the warmth as the uncomfortable information digested in her head, “What if they think I’m a monster, or a murderer? What if they don’t wanna be friends with me anymore? What if all the ponies I love leave and I - I end up alone with no-”
The same hand that was resting on her shoulder now holding her muzzle shut Rarity looked through the tears that had gathered in her eyes at the human as he gently shook his head.
It was no surprise to Hank that this was one of Rarity’s problems, it didn’t help him figure out a gentle way to say things, but at least he saw it coming.
“Look Rarity.” Hank started, removing his hand from her muzzle, “And don’t worry I didn’t mess up your makeup.”
Rarity gave a small laugh at how he had answered what she was wondering.
“They won’t think that, hell, two of your friends are my friends, and I AM a monster-” He patted himself on the chest, “If they can like me it won’t be an issue. I ain’t saying you are a monster or murderer, whatever the fuck, I’m just trying to say they’re more understanding than you realize.”
While the way he said it may not have been the most eloquent or gentle, but the firm and no bull tone was comforting in its own way, it provided a strong sense of order that Rarity’s mind could latch onto, “I know…” She trailed off, “They really are, but what if they don’t? What if other ponies think I’m terrible.”
“If they think you’re a monster or evil for defending yourself and saving not only my life but the lives of every other pony down there, you’re lucky they don’t like you cause they’re a piece of shit.” His voice suddenly harsher Rarity listened very closely, “Fuckin’ worthless, whatever you wanna say. I really want you to remember this: You did nothing wrong, nothing, and if some dipshit thinks you did tell em to kindly go fuck themselves. A person who would demonize another for defending their own life is a complete waste of time and energy, so be grateful they’ll avoid you.”
While the advice was extremely harsh Rarity still understood what the man was saying and found a small smile on her lips, “I - I guess you’re right.”
“I know I am.” Hank smiled back and patted her shoulder, “And… I don’t really know how to say this, or make it sound good, or hell, if you’ll take this as a compliment or an insult but… I’m really proud of you.”
The human’s kind words coming as a shock to fashionista, Rarity stayed silent and let Hank continue uninterrupted.
“I know what you did was hard for you, it was only made extremely harder by how your kind seems to be raised, the culture that surrounds you, and even how y’all are hardwired in your brain. But the fact that you were able to push through all that mental training and save not only your own life but mine, the little dragon guy’s, and every other pony that was behind you proves to me that you have some serious heart. You did the right thing, and I know that it might not seem like it but you did okay. Don’t think you’re the bad one in that scenario, you ain’t.”
The human’s words reaching deep in Rarity’s mind the pony found herself tearing up before completely breaking down as the words cracked through the armor she had put around the event in her mind.
Reflexively moving forward, looking for embrace, Rarity latched onto Hank ignoring the armor that was suspended around his form putting her head into his chest as she wept. The tears that fell down her face weren’t of sadness but immense stress that Rarity had found on herself after the event. It was beyond hard for the pony, as if the event itself wasn’t traumatizing enough for her, seeing the state the other ponies that were down there were in, watching the human go to work. She knew the imagery of that morning would never leave her, she thought about it constantly. The sight of mutilated bodies, the sounds of screams of pure terror and agony, it was difficult in itself but the hardest part Rarity found was living with the fact that she had ended another creature’s life. She knew she had no choice but the submissive and passive mindset she had been raised with, that most ponies were, along with all of the added no violence teachings, had her mind tearing itself apart. And now it was all coming out.
Hank on the other hand wrapped his left arm around Rarity and held her close. He didn’t want to say anything else and he sure as hell wasn't going to tell her to stop, however he was aware that they were still somewhat in view of the house and he knew Rarity wouldn’t want to have what was happening brought up or seen.
So, tightening the sling around the back of his neck with his free hand so his rifle wouldn't hang too low and ram into certain sensitive areas he scooped up the still distressed mare and started walking further down the drive.
Feeling her head start to rise, no doubt in response to the sudden change of elevation and the whole being carried like a baby thing, Hank used the hand that wasn’t supporting her weight to his torso and gently pushed her head back down to it’s spot on it’s chest.
Starting to relax a little in the human’s grasp Rarity was a little curious about where they were going but soon found herself too comfortable to care. While part of her mind was telling her to resist and at least know where she was going, Rarity really did feel quite safe in Hank’s arms despite what she had seen him do.
<><><><><><>
Looking back out of the window and seeing that Rarity and the Human were now gone Rainbow turned back to the room and sat uncharacteristically quiet as she listened to the conversation went back and forth though not as freely as before.
When the conversation again brought back up Hank as Granny and Zeccora were speaking about gardening. Already annoyed at his mere presence Rainbow had a hard time hearing his name; it was all that anypony seemed to talk about anymore! Was it not enough that he was slowly turning all her friends against her!? As such upon hearing his name again, brought up with something about tomatoes Rainbow had had enough.
“How do you live with that thing?” The question came out snappy and full of attitude as Rainbow asked the zebra across the room.
Zecora, genuinely confused at the question, turned to the prismatic mare and cocked her head slightly to the side, “What did you ask?”
Further annoyed, Rainbow repeated herself, “How do you live with that thing?”
Trying to understand what the pony meant Zecora finally understood and felt her chest slightly tighten in anger but instantly felt it melt away as all that mental training kicked in.
“By “thing” I believe you are referring to Hank? Yes?”
“Yeah, if you wanna call it that, whatever.”
What a wonderful test of patience Zecora thought, a subtle smile on her lips, “I’m afraid your question is quite narrow and simple. It is quite easy living with him, and very enjoyable, never a dull moment.”
The zebra’s smile was enough to make Rainbow sick as she looked at her from across the room, her calm and kind demeanor only made the rainbow pegasus more and more irate, “You aren’t embarrassed by what he does? How he acts?”
“You need to watch your tone missy!” Granny warned Rainbow before Zecora could answer the angry mare’s question, the rest of the room feeling rather uncomfortable.
“It’s fine Granny, I’m not angered. I know she's just upset at what she does not know.” Zecora said to the old pony doing little to calm her.
“But to answer your question no of course not, I may not understand what he does or why he does it but I know there is a reason for why he does whatever it is.” Zecora responded kindly before continuing, “And no matter how strange it might be he always has those who he loves wellbeing in mind.”
The explanation Zecora was passionate and meaningful, it put a smile on the faces of the ponies in the room that knew him as they remembered all that he’d done for them and how caring he was.
Rainbow however had no such warm feelings and was still deadpan, “I could almost believe that if he wasn’t a sadistic murderer.”
“C’mon now Dash! Why can’t ya just calm down for a day and actually talk to him before judgin’ him like that?” AJ shook her head deeply disappointed in her friend. She was glad at least the AB had gone up to her room.
Astounded Rainbow shook her head as well giving a short laugh, “Why can’t all of you see what the problem is being around him!? He’s dangerous, he’s violent, I’d even say he’s evil. And he’s pulled the wool over all of your eyes!”
Hearing a pony call Hank evil made Zecora mad, actually mad. As a matter of fact it seemed to the zebra that hearing a pony speak so lowly of her man was the ultimate test of mental resilience as she felt her chest tighten and her face attempt to grow into a snarl. Yet; she held it back, and she was proud of herself for being able to, but now she couldn’t let such words go unanswered.
“Respectfully, you have no idea what he has been through, take your worst ideas and multiply them tenfold. He watched his entire world, his entire species, claw and scream and burn around him as he struggled every day to keep breathing.” Zecora’s voice started to get stronger while her accent became more prevalent, “He was hunted everyday by former members of his kin as they lusted for his flesh and blood, he buried all of his family, all of his friends, watched the faces of his acquaintances turn ravenous and rage filled as those who used to fill his life actively tried to end his.”
Surprised at the usually calm and smiling zebra’s serious and passion filled tone most of the room was shocked, all except Granny who was more than pleased to see the mare standing up for her stallion. Granny smiled at how obvious the pair had been, they could hardly keep their eyes off each other, oh to be young and in love Granny reminisced thinking of her own past life.
“His world was one of extreme violence and struggle, the only way one can survive in that environment is to run or become the apex predator. Hank does not run, but even if he would he couldn’t. His entire planet was cast into an apocalypse, there was nowhere to go. His skin is a tapestry to the struggles he’s persevered, lessons he has learned through pain and bloodshed, so yes he is prone to violence and anger when a problem presents itself, but…. But.” Zecora smiled and leaned back in her chair, “He is the most caring selfless person I have ever met, he spent two days with no sleep planning and building the gear necessary to go save Rarity and the rest of the ponies. He only stopped when he fell unconscious from stress and exhaustion but then he got back up, put on the gear, went into the cave, destroyed whatever tried to stop him, got stabbed in his stomach and nearly bled to death because he couldn’t let them suffer any longer!”
Starting to get emotional, remembering how pale Hank was when he fell out of the humvee at the hospital Zecora had to take a second to calm down and hold back the tears, “Yes he kills, he’s unapologetic about it, and it’s hard to watch or experience but if it weren’t for his skills I wouldn’t be alive.”
“Neither would I.” Applejack added turning from Zecora to Rainbow, “And neither would Big Mac, Granny, or Apple bloom. Ah don't know why the world is goin’ so crazy all the sudden but Ah’m sure glad Hank showed up when he did, and really Dash, Twi, I know he is rough and has been mean to ya both in the past but if you’d apologize to him Ah know he’d start to warm up to ya. He really is the sweetest stallion once ya get to know him.”
Feeling a hoof placed softly on her shoulder Rainbow turned to Fluttershy sat next to her, “He really is Dash, I’d be gone too if it weren't for him, he is most fun to have tea with as well.”
Still resistant to the idea Rainbow shook her head, “What about all the ponies he’s hurt? You guys can’t just look over that!”
“They all had it comin’.” Big Mac uncharacteristically inserted himself into the conversation.
Surprised at the few words Big Mac spoke RD immediately turned her head to him to see if the red stallion would continue and sure enough he would, “Ain’t one of em ah woulda done different if Ah was him.”
The sound of the door opening and closing coming down the hall, all the ponies in the room looked to the door as rarity stepped into the doorway.
“Are you okay Rarity?” Twilight asked, worried at her friend’s red, teary eyed face.
“O-oh I’m alright Twilight, I just need to talk about something.” Rarity said with a small smile while wiping her eyes.