I woke up screaming. I was in the hospital. I looked around. I was alone.

I wiped some sweat from my brow. This was the fourth time. Would I ever sleep peacefully again?

I watched the sun come up. It was a beautiful sunrise. I let the warmth of its rays wash over me. I had not none such warmth for a while. It was peaceful. It wasn't too long after that I had some visitors. Twilight walked in followed by Rarity. Rarity had some sort of package with her. I smiled as they entered. "Hi." They both smiled back. Twilight walked up to me. "How did you sleep?" I sighed. "The same as before." She put a hoof on my shoulder. "I'm sure it'll get better, given some time." I looked out the window again. "I don't think it will. Every night I wake up screaming from the worst nightmares. And the worst part is that I don't think they are nightmares. They appear more like memories. And they're not mine." Twilight pulled me into an embrace. "You're awake now. You don't have to think about it."

I hugged her back and looked at Rarity. "What did you bring? Some new dress you wanted to show off?" Rarity giggled. "Darling, if I wanted to show off a dress, I would have worn it. No, this is for you." She levitated the package onto my lap. It was an interesting shape. And it was a good size too. Almost like...

I looked up at Rarity. She didn't say anything. She just nodded towards the package. I unwrapped it. I sat in silence, staring at it. Rarity stepped forward. "It took me forever to get it just right. And Twilight figured out the spells that need to be performed. Celestia even helped! I smiled and lifted the item up to examine it.

It had a simple cloth covering. I looked inside to find familiar wiring. I recognized it as my own design. There also appeared to be the appendage of one of Rarity's mannequins. Most likely for solidity and support. I held it out in front of me and nodded. A perfect copy of my old leg.

I motioned for Rarity to come closer. She did so. Once she was within reach, I pulled her into a hug and held her there for several moments. When we finally released, I kissed her on the cheek. "You are the most brilliant inventor ever." She blushed. Twilight grabbed the corner of my sheets. "You ready?" I nodded and she pulled back the sheets to reveal my bottom half. One leg and a third of one leg. Rarity place the double parallel to my good leg and lined them up perfectly. The double rested gently against my stump.She pulled out a small harness. It fit right onto the stump. "This is so I can attach the leg. That way you can take it off if it needs repairs." She looked at Twilight and nodded. Twilight stared down at the double and closed her eyes. Her horn glowed brighter and brighter until she finally released the magic.

I looked down. It was if the past few weeks had never happened. I was staring at two legs again. I smiled. "It looks great." Twilight laughed. "It works even better. Why don't you stand up?" Stand up? What did she mean? And then I noticed that as my good leg moved, the new leg did as well. Was this possible? I tried a few movements. It worked perfectly. It was as if it was my actual leg! Without thinking, I jumped out of bed. I landed steadily and began walking around the room. I began to laugh. I couldn't help myself.

I turned to thank the two unicorns only to find them exiting. "Wait! Where are you going?" Twilight glanced back at me. "We figured you two would want some privacy." And she was gone. But before the door could close, another pony walked in. Fluttershy. She stopped and looked at me. What should I do?

Before I could do anything though, Shy ran over to me and caught me in a hug. I hugged back and we stayed there for several minutes without speaking. I could here her crying. Before long I was crying too. I finally pulled away and looked at her. "Thank you." She wiped her tears away. "For what?" I smiled. "I don't think I'd be here without you. I couldn't see the truth until you forced me to see it." The tears were welling up again for both of us. She leaned in and kissed me.

I was checked out of the hospital the next day. It was nice to be out of that room finally. I took a deep breath of fresh air as I exited the hospital. The sun was shining and the future was bright. Fluttershy stood next to me as I stared out at the beautiful scene before me. I looked at her. "Shall we?" She smiled and we began walking. As I turned towards our homes, Shy stopped. "Wait! We need to go to town." I looked at her questioningly, but I could tell she wasn't going to budge on the matter. I shrugged and followed her.

We arrived at the library before long. I guess Shy needed a book. We walked inside.

"SURPRISE!"

I flinched a bit. But I relaxed as I saw that all my friends were here. They gathered around and hugged me. I smiled. "What's all this?" Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Well it's a surprise party, silly!" I looked around the room. Decorations, balloons, sweets...it was a party! "I...I don't know what to say." Rainbow Dash flew over to the record player. "Well I do! Let's party!" She flipped the music on and the party began.

I don't know how long we danced for. I don't even remember it getting dark. It was only when Applejack and Rarity were about to head out that I realized we had been here all day. "Wait a moment." Applejack and Rarity stopped. Everypony looked at me. I cleared my throat. "I...I just wanted to say...thanks." Twilight smiled. "We really didn't plan much. It was Pinkie's idea to throw the party." I shook my head. "That's not it. I mean...that's not all of it. What's happened over the last while...I wanted to apologize." Applejack stepped forward. "It wasn't ur fault Speedy." I lowered my head. "Yes it was. I just didn't realize what I was doing. But I finally saw the light. It was like...a punch to the face." I smiled and glanced at Fluttershy. She blushed and smiled back at me. "I was able to realize what I was doing, but I couldn't have escaped without all of you. My friends. Thank you." I could see some teary eyes. What was it about us and crying?

We had another group hug and then went our separate ways. I walked Fluttershy home under a full moon. She put her head on my shoulder as we walked. I smiled. Discord had been wrong. This is where I belonged. With my friends. With Fluttershy. And now I knew it. Next Chapter: The First Crusader Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 22 Minutes