The Heart of Pleasure
By Haunter Rayne
Ch 71 – Injury and Revelation

“...Move! Move! Outta the way!...”

Lights flashed over head as a continual spinning made everything feel a blur. Once… twice… three times a light waved before his eyes as if the world were moving or perhaps it was only Rayne who was moving while the world was holding still.

“Alright, what have we got?” Asked rushed voices that the stallion did not recognize.

“These are the heaviest injuries that we’ve seen from the forest incident so far. He must had been traveling inside the forest when the incident occurred. He was found away from the scene of injury, we assume after teleporting.” Another rushed voiced called out as he appeared to be huffing.

“The patient is an adult stallion, unicorn, height and weight have yet to be taken. He has multiple stab wounds to his anterior neck, anterior chest, both forearms, and a penetrating injury through his posterior abdomen. Additionally he has lacerations to his face, all four limbs, and patient’s back may possibly require skin grafting from a donor.”

The wheels of something rolling across shiny sterile floors could be heard as Rayne realized he was being pushed along on a gurney. Long corridors and pristine tiles lined the way as the stallion was rushed by a team of medical staff through a hospital. “Patient is unconscious and unresponsive. We have found blood in his airway as well as a tension pneumothorax on his right side.”

The medical jargon was wasted on Rayne who had never been been very good at studying anatomy or other sciences. His consciousness was drifting in and out as he silently tried to outstretch a hoof for the touch of someone familiar. “Somepony… anypony...” He thought to himself, just wanting to know that someone he knew and cared about was with him.

His hoof bobbed weakly. Try as he might his brain could hardly cause his motor functions to budge. But the desperate push of his will was enough to cause a twitch. That was when he felt the touch of somepony as he was still being wheeled along. Someone else picked up his hoof and held it tight. But he couldn’t see who. Attempting to open his eyes caused a pain which threw his body into a spasm. He could hardly hear. Everything was blurred and disorganized.

He felt it as his consciousness was once again leaving him while the medical staff were discussing his dropping heart rate and blood pressure. But there was something. A gentle sound that cut through the rushed hospital voices and the squeaking of the gurney. “...-m ...-ere...” Whispered a sobbing voice that just made it through to his ears as he felt his hoof being squeezed again.

“...Starlight...” Rayne breathed out softly as everything once more faded to black for him.

- Two Hours Later -

The Ponyville Hospital was overflowing with residents to the point that medical aid had to be sent from Canterlot to setup mobile triage centers for those who were less critically injured. Inside the hospital Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi alike were bandaged and groaning from wounds ranging in moderate to severe. But the hospital staff were thankful that out off all the injured, there hadn’t been more than just the one stallion whose condition was life threatening.

Outside the operating room in the very small four-seater waiting area six mares sat together all with their own different forms of worry for Rayne. Rainbow Dash stood angrily against a wall near Starlight who was sitting with a security pony escort. Both of them had reacted poorly to the news of Rayne being hurt which led to Dash creating a panic in the hospital while Starlight had tried to force her way into the operating room. Now they were both only allowed to remain within the hospital at Princess Twilight’s personal request with the provision that they remain under security supervision.

Meanwhile Applejack sat solemnly with her hat in her hooves as she stared forward at the other three in front of her. Maud was a complete wreck, still bawling her eyes out seeming just as inconsolable as when they had first arrived. Pinkie was also there, holding a hoof out onto her sister’s shoulder to try to comfort her as Zecora had pulled a chair up to sit on Maud’s other side. The gray mare was still covered in dried blood from when she had found Rayne laying in her home alone with his injuries. Together Pinkie Pie and Zecora worked gently to clean her fur with sterile wipes that some of the nurses had given them.

“So uh… does anypony know what exactly happened yet?” Applejack asked softly, just wanting to interrupt the silent tension in the air.

“Trust me, I would really like to know that myself.” Starlight growled bitterly as she crossed her hooves. “This had better be from some kind of freak accident or somepony is going to pay if they were responsible for hurting Rayne like this.”

“Ahh now let’s take it easy there sugarcube. We don’t know what’s what until after we find out for certain.”

“T’ch.” Dash remarked in response to Applejack trying to keep everyone calm. “Am I the only one who things that this bears a remarkable resemblance to something that already happened before?”

That was when Pinkie Pie spoke up but did not move her watchful gaze away from her sister. “It wasn’t Discord if that’s what you’re thinking. Of course that is what we ALL thought at first. But those weren’t Plunderseed plants attacking the town and Twilight already questioned him on it after they got the whole thing under control.”

Then from over Maud’s other shoulder a frustrated zebra with eyes strained from crying spoke out, “So after out of control the Everfree Forest begins to grow, there is nothing else that the heroes of Ponyville seem to know?!”

To this Applejack’s jaw fell open sadly as she tried her best to appease their striped friend. “It ain’t like we’re miracle workers Zecora. We’re just usually more capable than this. But you know as well as I do that this here business with the forest caught us ALL off guard.”

Glaring an eye out from behind the security escort Rainbow Dash angrily grumbled out, “Speaking of the rest of us, where are Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight at anyways?”

To this it was Pinkie who responded saying, “Twilight is off in Canterlot right now. She went to give a report on the situation to the princesses directly. She wanted to know what they thought on the situation. To my understanding Discord is there with them as well.” Dash just shrugged as if she didn’t care about the Draconequus at the moment. “Fluttershy said that she wanted to be here but she opted to stay at the School of Friendship to look after the students in case anything else happens. Don’t know about Rarity.”

“It… it wasn’t Discord...” A soft weeping voice spoke out. Instantly everyone’s attention was drawn in as Maud had spoken for the first time since they brought Rayne to the hospital. “I… I found him. I found Rayne in my cave. He was all alone.” She sobbed as she took a wet wipe from Zecora to dab her face with. “I don’t know how long he had been there… but he came looking for me to help him...”

“Maud, come on this isn’t your fault.” Starlight said softly, not wanting to see her friend beat herself up about this.

The little gray mare just shook her head. “When I found him I called out for help. I screamed… but no one could hear me. And I couldn’t leave him alone… I just couldn’t. That was when I called for Discord. I didn’t know if he would come but when he saw Rayne he was just as shocked as I was. He is the one who helped me get Rayne here safely. So there is no way he was responsible for this.”

All the other mares with Dash included nodded that they believed her. But that was when they looked up as the waiting area doors opened. Nurse Redheart stepped out looking drained but attentive as she scanned around the room with her eyes. “Are you all here for the same stallion?” She asked with an eyebrow raised.

Instantly everypony was on their feet wanting to step over but the security ponies cleared their throats forcing Starlight and Rainbow Dash to remain back for now. Applejack took the lead as she said, “Yes ma’am. That’s right, we’re all here for Rayne.”

“Well… what high profile friends this stallion has.” She stated while recognizing at least most of the faces in the room. “I will have you all know that his condition is still very serious. In addition to the surface wounds that he suffered there was wooden shrapnel which had splintered off inside him. We can’t be entirely sure that we got it all.” Redheart then cleared her throat seeing the sea of anxious faces staring at her with worry. “But you’ll be pleased to know that for now he is stable.”

“Oh phew.”

“What a relief.”

“Oh I’m so glad to know that he’ll be alright.”

Hearing all of the mares in the room suddenly comment together was a bit jarring for the nurse as she then raised her voice to regain control over the situation. “Ahem. It’s too early to say how his injuries might effect him though. There could be permanent nerve damage or other side effects that he’ll have to live with.” Now they all looked to each other with concern but the nurse decided to leave things on a positive note. “You’re lucky that you got him to us when you did. Any more blood loss and we wouldn’t have been able to save him. But we did all we could and I promise you that he will pull through this.”

“Nurse Redheart, thank you to you and all of the other doctors inside. You can’t know how much this means to all of us.” Starlight said from her chair. At this the nurse waived to the two security ponies that they were excused which allowed the other two to rejoin the group.

“Well I have more good news for you all. You’ll be happy to know that he’s awake.” She said with a bit of a concerned tone.

“What?!” Everypony shouted in surprise.

“Awake already? After what he done gone through?” Applejack asked.

“Are you sure that it’s okay for him to be up? Shouldn’t you sedate him or something?” Rainbow Dash asked.

To that Redheart frowned and waived her arms at their questioning. “Just a minute, just a minute!” Once they all had quieted down the nurse said to them, “He needs to be awake at least for a little while so we can test certain responses from him. But as much as myself and Doctor Horse disapprove, he is specifically asking for visitors. We tried to tell him no but he insisted that it was important. Uh, miss Zecora? He specifically asked for you by name. And, are any of you named Maud?”

“I’m Maud.” The small earth pony said while stepping forward in front of the other girls.

“Hmm. Well, it seems there is something that he needs to say to the both of you which apparently cannot wait until he has recovered. If you two, and just you two, will follow me?” Then the others looked saddened but didn’t complain as they were left behind while Nurse Redheart guided the specified girls into the back.

- -

Rayne sat in pained patience until he heard the door to his room finally open back up again. His nurse walked the other two mares into the room as Maud looked to him with concern but Zecora placed her hooves over her mouth being less able to stomach the sight of him.

Rayne was secured to the bed straps and wires. He was covered in dark red bandages from top to bottom and his body was suspended on cables to prevent his own weight from leaning on various injuries. “Oh Rayne… oh, no my Rayne.” Zecora wept softly as she rushed to his bedside.

Nurse Redheart leaned in to whisper to Maud, “Listen, my heart goes out to you all but he really does need his rest. Whatever it is that he needs to say to you, please help keep this short.”

Then after waiting for the nurse to leave Maud stepped over to the stallion and spoke to him in her usual straight tone. “I’m glad to see you awake Rayne. You gave me quite a scare finding you bleeding in my cave like that. But I’ve cried enough now. Tell me… how can I help?”

Zecora then looked up in question and then perked her ears toward the stallion curiously. “You have no idea how uncomfortable all of this is. Tell me… where am I hurt?” Maud nodded that she understood and began to quickly observe him in as much detail as she could. After conveying that most of the bandages with darker red stains were near his throat and his abdomen Rayne’s horn shined a dark purple and then he immediately began to breathe easier. “Oohh phew. There, that should make my recovery a bit quicker. I don’t want to risk healing too much and freaking the doctors out.”

The two mares nodded and began wiping their eyes. “So you’re going to be okay?” Maud asked as the zebra still seemed a bit choked up at the moment.

He nodded and said, “Yes. I’ll let the doctors do their work and keep me here for awhile. But I’ll use my magic to speed up my healing a little bit each day until I’m out of here. Don’t worry, once they release me from the hospital I’ll just finish healing myself completely. In the mean time I need to avoid having a miracle recovery.”

A brief pause for shared kissing and smiles of relief were shared between all of them. But then Maud spoke up again saying, “The nurses aren’t going to let us stay in here for much longer. You said that there was something you wanted to talk to us about?”

Now Rayne nodded and looked to the door. The girls watched a few shadows travel out from the bed checking the hallway and the window before returning back in. “Is everypony else waiting outside?” The two nodded to him and he sighed. “Zecora, I’m sorry but please don’t go home.” He said sternly which surprised the zebra. “It isn’t safe and I want you to be okay. I can heal myself with magic but you can’t. This was no accident, someone caused this to happen. Someone attacked me.”

“What are you saying Rayne?” Maud asked with stoic surprise. “Zecora had told us that trees came to life and attacked you. What really happened out there?”

Clearing his throat now Rayne began the retelling of events so that Maud could understand. “Zecora and I had just left the cave of the green dragon that lives in the Everfree Forest. Everything went by without a hitch and we were about to leave. That is went a lone Timberwolf was sent out in front of us.”

“Sent?” Zecora asked in surprise. “But that wolf was alone. That is not how I remember how things went.”

Rayne just raised a hoof for her to let him finish. “Yes, the Timberwolf was alone. But I have never seen a lone Timberwolf before. At minimum they travel in a group of three. I think it was a test. I think someone out there knows about me and that I have been hunting wild creatures. It is my theory that they were hiding from a distance and watching as I ensnared the wolf as I have so many others by now. Then once they saw the proof of my deeds they made the choice to eliminate me.”

Reaching out to hold Rayne’s hoof Maud said, “We have to report this to Twilight right away. If there is someone out there who is that dangerous then-”

“No!” Rayne called out but then winced as he was still deeply hurt. “No… For now I want this to remain a mystery. If someone else figures this out before I do then I might find myself in real trouble. I just need time to heal and to know that you all are safe. It was foolish of me letting this happen. If I had known what was coming I could have protected myself more but I was caught completely by surprise.”

“What went wrong? Why couldn’t you protect yourself?” The gray mare asked, leaning down and giving his hoof a kiss.

With a bit of a chuckle he told her, “It was the initial surprise attack that really did me in, not so much anything else. I had thought I saw the trees moving suspiciously but I had been looking for a creature in the trees to be causing it. I never expected the branches themselves to come flying at me.”

Rayne struggled a bit not enjoying the feeling of the suspension cables that supported him. But for now there was nothing he could do about it so he just continued on. “The first blow sent a tree limb six inches wide and about twelve feet in length right through my side. It stabbed so far through me that it pinned me in place when it drove into the ground. If it hadn’t been for that hit then everything else thrown at me wouldn’t have been such a problem. Now in hindsight I know the exact spell which could have rebuffed all the other attacks away. But my body was sent into shock and I couldn’t think straight after that.”

“Now of this I can remember. You used a spell to disintegrate the wood which stabbed you but that only caused a bleeding which refused to surrender.” Zecora added after finding her voice as she started regaining control over her emotions.

“That’s right. Once I realized it was the trees themselves that were attacking me and not something in the trees, it was already too late. Sure I blasted more than a few away. I even summoned some of my larger creatures to try to help keep the trees at bay from me. But when I was already deep in the forest with trees all around that had ten, twenty, thirty foot branches being swung around like great swords… it didn’t matter what I summoned. They kept getting cut in half just as fast as I could have them reform.”

“Why didn’t you run away sooner then? Or use a different spell to protect yourself?” Maud asked as she knew he had become one of the most extensive wealth's of magical knowledge in Equestria.

“Heh, well to be honest I wanted to stay and find out why this was happening. The Everfree Forest is always dangerous sure.. but not because the trees attack you. Zecora lives out there. I couldn’t rightly have something like this happen and not get to the bottom on it. I need to keep you all safe.” He said as the zebra blushed.

“Your chivalry is very kind, but not when it puts yourself in a bind!” She reprimanded him as he just smiled and continued.

“All I could think to do was dodge. And with the amount of adrenaline running through me I couldn’t focus on the spells that I acquired from Sombra. Sure I might have all of his magic and knowledge… but that didn’t transfer his ‘experience’ in using magic to me. Knowing what a spell is and being familiar with having already cast it myself are two different things. I’m quick on my hooves if you give me a moment. But I didn’t have a moment. I didn’t even have a second as I was being attacked from every which way at once.”

The other two nodded that it did make a sort of sense. “Panic, shock, and blood loss all at once would make anypony lose their wits. Even an amazing pony like like you Rayne.” Maud cooed to him affectionately.

Rayne chuckled softly as to not aggravate his wounds. But Zecora spoke back up sounding a bit glum. “Tis a shame that things would turn out this way. You stayed to find the source of this mystery but in the end were chased away.”

But both mares looked up as they saw a grin on Rayne’s face that they both had seen many times now. It was his sneer of confidence. “Oh? Yes it’s true that I may have overstayed my welcome a bit. But I never said that I failed to learn anything about what is going on. It is as I already told you… someone is responsible for this.”

“Then tell us who has done this? Who is it that has set the forest’s peace amiss.” The zebra asked.

“I only caught a glimpse of them. They were tall… but walked on all fours like a pony. And they had bright green eyes. Green murderous eyes that looked upon me with contempt. This was no accident. I was being hunted. I was specifically targeted for this attack and I intend to find out who is responsible so that I can make them pay for the tears I see on these beautiful faces in front of me.” He said while gently reaching out and stroking both of their cheeks.

“Rayne… there is something that I think you should know.” Maud told him as both she and Zecora frowned with worry. “You got the worst of it to be sure… but it wasn’t just you who was attacked.”

“WHAT?!” Rayne shouted in surprise and then winced as he had forgotten his condition for a moment.

“What she says is true. And not just Ponyville but Canterlot too.” Zecora added in.

Maud went on to explain that every town in Equestria that shares a boarder with the forest was ransacked by trees and vines. So far there had been no causalities but many ponies had been forced from their homes. Shining Armor was called in from the Crystal Empire to help shield Canterlot from the attack, Star Swirl the Bearded had returned to Ponyville to defend it in Twilight’s absence, and the other five Pillars of Harmony were dispatched around to other forest neighboring towns.

“Is that so?” Rayne asked as he had not expected this. “That definitely complicates matters more than what I had thought they were. I’m going to need some time to think this over.”

“Rayne, please. What you need to do right now is to recover. We almost lost you. The last thing that I want is to see you put yourself back in harm’s way.” Maud pleaded with him.

Rayne held her hoof softly and smiled. “I promise, I have no intention of getting hurt like this again. If I hadn’t been so caught by surprise then I could have easily prevented it. But this is what I have been training for. This is why I have been gathering all the magic that I could. I’ll rest for now and see what Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony plan to do about the situation. But if things don’t go well… then I will step in to handle things my way. One way or another… I’m going to keep you all safe.”

“While I am sure that Maud and I and the others appreciate your wooing, what I fear is that overconfidence and pride in your vast powers are what will be your undoing.” His other girlfriend reprimanded to him.

“Trust me darling. It will take more than a few pointy sticks to finish me off for good. But enough of that for now. I know that they others are probably waiting to see me too. Could you go back out there and send Starlight in to see me please? I did just use my healing magic after all. I probably don’t have long left before the use of it makes me faint again.” At Rayne’s request the other two nodded also not wanting to monopolize the time available with him for just themselves. With a tender kiss from each of them they returned to the waiting area.

Everypony looked up as they stepped through the doorway. “So, did he have anything worthwhile to say about the current situation?” Nurse Redheart asked and did not mean to sound as crass as she realized that she had.

It was Maud who responded saying, “Yes, some. But for the most part it was intimate things he shared with us. Still though, Starlight could you please ask Twilight to visit me when you see her? There are a few things that I would like to tell her that Rayne had to share.”

“Sure thing. Of course I will Maud.” The princesses pupil stated.

“Also,” the gray mare continued, “I will be taking Zecora in to stay with me for awhile. We can’t exactly trust the forest right now to let her return home.”

The others nodded but that was when the zebra stepped forward and placed a hoof on Starlight’s shoulder. “Our boyfriend needs his rest but still I think it would do, for before he sleeps for him to have a visit from you.”

“Me? What about the rest of the girls. They want to see him too!” Starlight said humbly.

But then Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked to one another. Dash stepped forward to say, “Well hold on a minute. You two just went to see him… is he pretty banged up?” Together Maud and Zecora nodded. “Is it like ‘really’ bad?” Dash asked while grimacing and the expression on the other mare’s faces both became crestfallen. “You know what? I don’t want anypony thinking that I don’t care about him as much as the rest of you… But honestly I don’t really want to see him looking like that. I… I think it would just haunt me once I’d have to go home afterwards.”

After that Applejack placed a hoof on Starlight’s shoulder. “You go on ahead now sugarcube. We all care for him but I’m thinking that this might take too long for us all to have a turn. He ain’t going no where and neither are we. Nurse Redheart said that he’d pull through so they’ll be time enough for Dashie and I later. You go ahead and stay with him for the night. One of us will stop by to take over for you in the morning. How does that sound?”

To this Starlight was happy to accept. But it was a loud exclamation from Redheart which came next. “W-wait a minute… Are you saying that he is the boyfriend to ALL of you?!”

“Welllllll… technically not to me. I’m just here supporting my sister.” Pinkie said. “But other than that yeah he’s dating all these girls. He’s one lucky fella.”

“… WHAAAAAT?!” Redheart shouted in disbelief as her mind was blown.

“Shhhhhhhh!” The two security ponies shushed her after they came running back down the hall.

- -

When Starlight made her way into the room the stallion already lay sleeping and breathing softly. The unicorn felt tears well up in her eyes as she brought a hoof to her mouth at the sight of him. But she attempted to calm herself as Maud had already told her that he was doing much better than he looked by this point.

Still though, Starlight moved a chair over for her to sit beside him and she reached out to hold his hoof so that he might know she was with him. “It’s going to be okay. I’m here with you now. This may be the second time I’ve had to sit by your recovering bedside but never again will I leave it. I promise you Rayne, I’ll be here for you when you wake up this time. I love you Rayne.” She whispered sweetly as she leaned forward to place a gentle kiss upon his forehead and waited.

Author's Notes:

Hellooooo everyone! So I'm back! Sorry about that long delay but I am back writing again. As always, you can expect a posting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays as long as I have a finished chapter available. I no longer have a surplus of already written chapters but I am sure that it will build up again.

Okay so we have a good bit of story drama here. We got a much more in depth view point of Rayne's perception on how things went. Admittedly the end of the last chapter did go by pretty fast. It was more of a shock and awe scene and this chapter had the break down.

Also we had some nice follow up. We saw what happened with Rayne and what all his girls are now doing. The next chapter will being in Canterlot as the leaders discuss the event to move the plot along.

Now a big question has been why did I hand Rayne his own ass on a silver platter? Well the answer to that is because, that's life. I feel it is important to balance success with failure with every character. The harder you succeed at something the harder you should fail at something else. And vice versa. Life is about more than just power. Life is drama. And drama will happen in this story whether it's good for Rayne or not.

I hope it was clear why Rayne struggled to defend himself the first time around. You can watch someone ride a bike and study all the mechanics to it but it will never become second nature to you until you climb up there and do it yourself. This is why no matter if Rayne becomes more powerful than Discord or Celestia, they will always outmatched him in experience.

Also the heartstrings. Oh I love tugging on the heartstrings. Please tell me that I tugged on some of your emotions while you read this chapter? All those sad faces... all those bleeding hearts.

Lastly, ooohhh challenge accepted! Who owns those green eyes in the forest? Someone just picked a fight and you sure can bet that Rayne intends to counter attack.