Login

Forgiveness Pending

by Kiroberos

Chapter 36

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

While the girls were settling and talking to each other, I took a good peek around the bottom of the library. It was familiar to me, yet not at the same time. The wood looked somewhat 'new' along almost a third of the wall behind the shelves, and there were temporary support struts that I saw organic parts of the tree actually growing around. Twilight explained that the tree was still alive and simply shaped to be a house. To repair it, she had to get Earth Ponies in to organically mend the hole. It would then 'age' to look exactly like the wood around it in a few weeks. Color me impressed, to be honest. I'm not sure what I thought the library was before, but it definitely wasn't something living in my mind.

Pinkie slid back into the main room from the kitchen, balancing an entire tray of tea on her head with little effort whatsoever. She was moving a little slower than I remembered, but I suddenly had a feeling that if she were fully recovered, she could probably do a flip while balancing the thing. She set it down on the table in front of the couch, grinning at Rarity, who was its sole occupant at the moment. Spike was nearby, wielding some sort of fan and keeping Rarity cool with it. I rolled my eyes, my only regret being that I didn't see it sooner.

Rainbow drifted back downstairs from the loft a moment later, followed shortly by Fluttershy, who looked a little flustered. There was a soft flush across her cheeks and her eyes darted from one side of the room to another as if looking for somepony. Strange. I further decided to not disrupt that either.

Twilight was still in the kitchen with Applejack. She had insisted that we make this as civil and relaxing as possible, and warned me that she didn't really understand it fully yet, so she was going to let me do most of the talking. I was totally okay with that. For the most part. Okay, so I had a small heart attack and was mildly recovered now, and trying not to pass out. There was something unnerving about being the center of attention for me. Still, I wasn't about to enter that kitchen and protest. My paradoxically scary fillyfriend and the mare who'd just partially recovered from avoiding me were both in there at the same time. Yeah, no.

That left only one option. Of course, it was actually a pretty good option, because I had to catch them up anyway. Making a series of clicks, I got Sweetie Belle's attention instantly. She alerted the other two, and soon all three fillies had wandered over to where I was located, next to the sofa in the living room.

"Mender! Do ya need somethin'?" Apple Bloom asked happily upon wandering over. She'd cheered up considerably, I noticed, ever since her sister accepted being my friend again.

I nodded and gave them a small smile. "I just wanted to catch you three up before I talk to everypony. I've been keeping a lot of secrets, and I'm not going to from you fillies anymore," I explained, giving them a nod.

Scootaloo looked skeptical, but Apple Bloom gave me a larger smile and nod. Maybe some of her sister's appreciation for honesty had rubbed off on her? Sweetie Belle, however, almost swelled up as her eyes widened, raising both forehooves to her chin and suddenly giving me an uncomfortable level of focused attention. Her expression kind of made me feel like I was debriefing her on her mission to save all of Equestria. I blinked in confusion, and Apple Bloom started giggling.

"Chill, Sweetie!" Scootaloo chided, giving her friend a skeptical look.

The little unicorn filly rapidly shook her head, however, exclaiming, "This is important! Can't you see how the others are treating it? We need to take this seriously and with a proper, mature outlook!" Oddly, she kind of sounded like she was quoting something.

Apple Bloom's giggling picked up a notch, and Scootaloo slapped her forehead. I coughed, however, and corrected, "She's actually right. This is a huge secret that absolutely cannot leave this room. You can't tell anypony else this, and only those present, and the Princesses, can know."

The giggling stopped, Apple Bloom giving me a more wide-eyed look. Scootaloo looked surprised, but tilted her head towards me. "The Princesses know this?" she asked softly.

I nodded affirmative. "Yes. It's about me, and the attack in the Everfree half a week ago," I revealed softly. All three gasped at that, and I held up a hoof to calm them down.

"It's okay. You're not in danger and everything's fine. I just need you three to know this, too. I'm a Cutie Mark Crusader, even if I already have my Mark, right? That means you three need to be kept up to date on everything!" I reasoned, shifting to a smile instead.

All three went from nervous to smiling, and I exhaled a quiet breath of relief. "Ah'm glad ya didn't give up bein' ah Crusader, Mender! Things are finally startin' ta look up," Apple Bloom admitted, glancing back behind her at her sister, who was just exiting the kitchen with a tray of what looked like miniature cakes. Uh oh. I hope these didn't require etiquette or anything to eat. Well, maybe making a total idiot of myself would lighten the mood? Gotta stay positive, Mender!

"Yeah! Rainbow's obviously right, of course. You really are a pretty awesome stallion," Scootaloo chirped, fluttering her wings a little and smiling at me. I resisted laughing, noticing she seemed to have a bit of hero worship for Rainbow. Huh. I wonder if the similar goals made her get along with Spike?

I nodded towards them, noticing Rarity watching me with a soft smile out of the corner of my eye. At least I'd gotten off to a better start with her and Sweetie Belle. "Anyways, what I'm about to tell you is going to be really hard to believe, but it's the absolute truth. Anypony in this room will say the same thing," I warned, shifting to a solemn expression instead. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shifted up straight instantly, almost rigid in posture as they paid close attention. Scootaloo, however, looked downright giddy and her grin got wider as she watched me. Well, at least I knew I had her attention, too.

Summary time! "Equestria is sometimes connected to another dimension. It's a bit random, but every once in a while, your dimension will 'brush up' against another that's close to it. When that happens, there's a very tiny chance that things can pass between the two," I started, hoping it didn't go right over their heads.

Three blank stares. Damn it. Rarity started snickering out of the corner of my eye. New idea! "Okay, think of Equestria as a bubble or ball floating in a pond. There are other bubbles in the same pond that are drifting around, right? Sometimes they bump into each other, however, and when that happens, things can go between the bubbles," I tried, relaxing a bit more as I lay down to drop myself down to their height.

"Ooooh," Scootaloo muttered, holding a hoof up to her chin. Sweetie Belle was smiling now, however, and gave me rapid nods. Apple Bloom didn't look confused anymore, but instead seemed deep in thought.

"Inside these bubbles are entire other worlds full of strange individuals and places. Some aren't even ponies. We use the term 'aliens' for them," I continued.

Sweetie Belle made a quiet 'Oooh' noise, but Apple Bloom looked more shocked now than anything. Scootaloo surprised me, exclaiming almost instantly, "Oh wow! That's so cool! For true?"

I nodded and put my left hoof over my heart in the almost universally accepted 'pledge' gesture. "Honest and true. None of what I'm going to say is a lie. I'm not joking in the slightest," I reiterated softly. All three fillies seemed to focus attention back on me, so I took that moment to continue. "Here's the absolute biggest secret. The reason I know all of this for a certain fact is because I'm one of those aliens," I tacked on, then counted to three.

It only took until two. Apple Bloom's jaw dropped at the same time Sweetie Belle's eyes doubled in size. I held back a snicker, but Scootaloo beat me to the punch with, "No way! This is one of Pinkie's pranks, isn't it?!"

"Sorry, Scoots. He's tellin' tha absolute truth. He really is an alien," was suddenly spoken by an extremely familiar voice. I glanced to my left, past the leg rest of the sofa, and beheld Applejack as she slowly walked up. Her emerald eyes keenly avoided mine as I sought them out, and she sat down hesitantly next to us.

"Whoa," was all Scootaloo could mutter. I smiled back at the little filly, who had looked back to me instead.

Sweetie Belle, however, got distracted really easily, I noticed. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, why are you two upset with each other? Sis said something bad happened, but I'm not really sure what she meant," she asked, looking over at Applejack and apparently noticing the glum expression. Well, glad to see she was taking me being an alien okay!

"Ah hurt Mender really bad tha night o' tha attack because of ah stupid misunderstandin'. It was all mah fault. If Ah had just given him ah drop o' trust an' looked inta things, he wouldn't have his leg like that," she explained softly. I watched her instead of them. She refused to raise her eyes from the floor, and I sighed.

Remembering what Celestia pointed out, I asked the most obvious question I could think of. "What is it going to take for you to forgive yourself, Applejack?" She jerked, then looked up at me with a startled expression.

"W-What? No, Mender. Ah need ta get ya ta forgive me," she 'corrected' after a minor hesitation.

I smirked and nodded. "Okay. I forgive you. Now what?" I asked, a bit amused this time. Scootaloo snorted and started snickering, while Apple Bloom beamed at me.

Applejack's next expression reminded me of all the many times my 'processor' shut down. It was that familiar state where you heard something so unfathomable that your mind simply refuses to consider what had been said. It happened to me more often than I would like. "No, it can't be that easy, Mender. Come on, ya gotta be at least ah little mad at me!" she exclaimed, at least looking at me now.

"Well, I'm not. I was really sad when you said you didn't want to be my friend anymore, but you took that back, which meant a lot to me. Beyond that, you were protecting who you thought was Twilight. Why would I be angry with you for wanting to protect my fillyfriend?" I reasoned quietly. Again. The whole conversation reeked of déjà vu. Didn’t I just tell her this? She was extremely stubborn.

"She's upset not for protecting me, but for not even considering trusting you, Mender. Does her not trusting you hurt?" Twilight herself suddenly asked. I started at her sudden appearance as she walked in from the right, but flattened my ears back at the topic. It wasn't that it didn't hurt exactly. I'd come to start expecting it, especially from Twilight herself and Applejack. My eyes softened a little. It had been a long and rocky road, but I was finally starting to think that Twilight was maybe trusting me a bit more. Applejack, however...

The mare in question also drooped her ears. "That! That's what Ah wanna fix. Ah hate idlin' around and doin' nothing, an' RD's right. Ah ran away fer too long. So how can Ah make that hurt less?" she asked intently, locking gazes with me. I hesitated, not only unsure of what she was expecting me to say to that, but mildly wondering how my explanation had gotten derailed so badly.

"This should wait till later, Applejack. What he's going to explain in a bit is going to make things a little more complex," Twilight warned. Confliction hit, as I was both happy she got me out of answering that right away, and somewhat flustered that it was almost time for me to talk in front of all of these potentially exceedingly judgmental mares.

My head lowered and I sighed, nodding. "Yeah. I'm giving everypony here a 'get out of jail free' card on my friendship after I finish explaining everything today. I'm not so sure I'd want to be my friend either, if I’d known the truth," I warned, swallowing weakly. That was my biggest concern for today.

Applejack looked startled, but Rarity gasped suddenly in my depth of vision behind her. "What are you even talking about, Mender?! I know I can speak for anypony in this room when I say that we're never going to not be your friend!" she reprimanded intensely, surprisingly vehement about it.

I shivered, and then looked up at her again with my scanners fully activated. She stopped mid-rant and widened her eyes as mine undoubtedly shifted to glowing blue right in front of her. "Rarity, I lied to you all. Even myself. Nirru told me a lot of things that I didn't know about myself. I'm not a pony," I revealed gently. The room had shifted dead silent and it was extremely unnerving. Feeling awkward, I hopped up on the sofa next to me and sat down lightly on the cushion.

Rarity was just gawking as if I'd turned into an octopus or something. I hadn't yet, so I figured she was just shocked. Pinkie looked more excited than nervous as she hopped up over the back of the couch and landed next to a still stunned Rarity. I was reasonably sure she'd still be my friend. Rainbow looked apprehensive, but fluttered down behind the surprised Applejack and pulled her back over to the couch. The orange mare looked startled, but nodded back to her and sat down on the couch cushion next to her.

Maybe it was their more recent involvement, or a lack of having fully processed the last surprise, but the fillies seemed significantly less surprised. They looked at each other momentarily until Scootaloo shrugged, then all three nodded and turned back around, Apple Bloom raising her hoof up. Huh?

"Er, yes Apple Bloom?" I questioned, wondering if their schooling techniques were similar to my own.

"After a unanimous vote, we've decided that you're still a Crusader and that we don't mind whatever it is you are," she informed, smiling gently.

I blinked. "Er, you haven't even seen it yet!" I exclaimed, my brain doing a belly flop. Impressive, considering it lacked the anatomy to do so.

"So? You're still Mender. You're awesome and very nice! I wouldn't care if you were a scary looking dragon. I'd still totally... uh... we'd all be your friend still and well, you'd be a Crusader!" Sweetie Belle explained, jumbling her words halfway through and seemingly getting confused, a light blush on her face. Oh, I knew that feeling. Open mouth, insert hoof. I smiled at her and nodded, trying to make her feel better.

Twilight, however, was giving me her best Cheshire grin, looking deeply impish and amused. I glared at her instantly, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "Yes, I know. You told me that, too. Still, I'm going to give everypony the option. It's only fair after I accidentally lied to you all," I cut her off, far before she could start the 'I told you so' part. Regardless, she nodded happily to me.

"I don't understand, Mender? Are you not a Keldarian?" Rarity asked, finally seemingly recovering from her system shock and settling herself on the couch, subconsciously combing her tail back down with her hoof while asking. Spike, who had dropped the fan when I revealed the prior information, apparently decided to give it up and sat down next to the object of his desires instead, watching me curiously.

I shook my head, however. "I thought I was, but it turns out those memories aren't mine. I'm a clone of that individual. They took his DNA, created me from it, 'enhanced' me with mechanical parts, and then sent me to Equestria prematurely by accident. Something happened in the transfer and I lost my memories, becoming, well, me," I summarized weakly. More silence, but of a less profound variety this time. I took advantage of it and explained everything I could about what happened after I was taken that night, leaving out or smoothing over the nastier details, of course.

* * * * *

I'd told them everything I could about Nirru, Keela, Prudentia, and myself. It was difficult to explain what a biological weapon was, so I ended up simplifying it while still trying to get the point across that it was the most horrifying thing I'd ever seen. The expressions ranged from disbelief, to shock, to confusion throughout the explanation, as I'd anticipated. It took the better part of an hour, but finally I gave my dry throat a rest and sat back down, feeling empty and cold. No matter how big of a burden it was, letting ponies know always made me feel even emptier more than anything. I thought you were supposed to feel better after getting 'rid' of a secret?

Fluttershy had migrated from the rug next to the table to squeeze in right next to me over the course of the explanation. She was the only solace I took at the moment. I was a little surprised, but not really. After I scooted over, there was enough room for both of us to sit on the meter-wide sofa cushion. Every time I hesitated, she'd shoot me a reassuring smile, and I'd feel better. Twilight also stayed positive throughout the entire thing, but remained on the couch with the rest of her friends.

Silence prevailed in the room at this point. The fillies were quiet too, seemingly more out of respect than being disturbed. Rarity wore a passive smile, having apparently absorbed the information and relaxed again. Whatever I was to her now, it wasn't a threat, which at least made me feel a little better. Spike was looking back and forth between Rarity and me, looking uncertain but calm.

Twilight gave us a gentle smile and nod, but Rainbow had a somewhat unsure expression. She wasn't looking at me, but at Applejack instead. The orange mare held a horrified expression, and had been wearing it since halfway through my story. I didn't know what to do about it, as it wasn't the part I had expected her to be horrified at. She practically melted down, interrupting with a startled 'What?!' when I got to the point where I'd technically died. Twilight attempted to assure her that it was only momentarily and only technically because my heart stopped. Now she wore a shell-shocked expression, which was only magnified by the bloodshot eyes and sullen look.

Pinkie, however, was shivering sporadically with a massive grin on her face. "It's so cool! Can we see it?! Huh?" she asked, smashing the awkward silence with all the grace of an egg being hit by an avalanche.

"Pinkie!" Rarity reprimanded instantly, switching from relaxed to horrified in an instant, also for a reason unexpected by me. I blinked, a little confused.

"Aww. Come on. It's not that scary, and I wouldn't mind seeing it, either," Scootaloo cut in, also grinning now. I rolled my eyes. Now all that was left was for Rainbow to-

"Yeah! It's totally awesome, Rarity. Gross looking tentacles and beetle-like carapace all with glowing blue eyes!" the rainbow maned mare chipped in, right on time.

My ears flattened back at how she worded it, though. Everypony gave her a questioning look, and she lowered herself a little. I sighed and shook my head, vision activating a moment later with scanners. "If you're sure," I warned, voice splitting into two as the armor plating expanded across my neck, chest, and shoulders before moving on to the rest of my body, seamlessly merging out of my skin as if it were simply my flesh given new form. I closed my eyes momentarily as I felt the plates shift over my eyelids, then stretched my back as the armor finished popping out over my rump, my tail getting stiffer and more wiry as it momentarily sparked with electricity.

I opened my eyes again with a light clinking noise of the 'metal' plates, and skimmed the expressions now. Rarity wore surprise, of course, but it didn't particularly hold any fear. Pinkie and Scootaloo looked more delighted than before, while Sweetie and Apple Bloom looked more curious than anything. Dash held a grin this time, which was infinitely relieving to see. Applejack shifted to a blank expression instead and simply passively watched. Huh. I was expecting a more violent reaction. Fluttershy simply shifted over as my plates popped out, then resumed lying up against me after I finished transforming and wouldn't pinch her with any of the shifting armor.

Spike was the one who actually surprised me, however. He hopped off the couch a moment later and scampered towards me, stopping in front of the sofa and staring with focused intent at my right foreleg. "Whoa! This is cool. It's like big dragon scales!" he described, sliding a claw along the plate there.

"Fascinating! I should do a consistency test at some point," Twilight muttered, suddenly looking more curious than supportive. Oh boy.

Scootaloo squirmed, however. "This is awesome! You turned into this to kick the flank of that scary imposter?" she asked, hopping down and running over as well. This instantly prompted the other two fillies to join in, both smiling now. I raised an eyebrow, but nodded. That was, um, technically true, even if the wording was a tad colorful.

"Yeah. I honestly thought you'd think it was scary," I explained. My back flexed as the eight tendrils slowly and carefully expanded from my back. I was in no hurry to form them, as I didn't think steaming pores and smelly ooze was a good first impression to make. Twilight's curiosity shifted instantly to the new appendages, and Fluttershy gave them an unsure but unwavering glance.

"No way! Can you pick things up with those?!" the orange filly asked a moment later, hopping up and down in front of me. I laughed, extending my front left tendril down and gently wrapping it around her stomach. She squeaked, then cheered as I lifted her up and swayed her around. Fluttershy outright smiled at that, oddly. Despite the underlying creepiness, Scootaloo was adorable, I had to admit.

"Oooh, me too!" Apple Bloom called out.

"Um, be gentle?" Sweetie requested a moment later, also extending her hooves up like Apple Bloom. I resisted the spike in sugar levels just from watching them, and slipped three more tentacles down and lightly picked both fillies up. Spike grinned until I snatched him up too. He gave me a marginally annoyed look before laughing as I flipped him upside down. All four tentacles spiraled around in the air and tied up with each other as I spun them around, getting happy squeals. Well, this was a nice new use for my added attachments. I smiled up at them as I spun them back the other way, untangling my limbs again.

Pinkie hopped off the couch after being able to no longer stand it. "Oooh, me too!" she squealed, smiling happily. Frowning, I put two more of the tentacles against the floor to brace myself before wrapping my second to last one around her. Carefully, I gave her a double wrap, making sure to avoid the area where she was hurt. I gently pushed energy down the tendrils as well, massaging into her side as I lifted her up and twirled her around. She cooed happily, and then started giggling as I rotated her.

"How many can you grow?" Twilight asked, standing up now as well and hopping down to get a closer look.

I frowned. That was a good question, actually. "I only tried eight because I'm only using one processor to control them and I didn't know what its upper limit is," I excused, focusing again. Another tendril popped out of each shoulder, giving me ten. I expanded two more off my back hips, another two from the side of my stomach on each side, and then two more from my chest. Frowning, I started to feel more like an urchin than a pony. That was twenty-two, then, given that each tentacle was mirrored.

"Uh, whoa. That's enough, Mender. It's getting hard to see you," Twilight warned, pulling a tentacle down with her magic and peeking at it.

"Twenty-two of them is running the one processor to about seventy percent, but it's giving me error readouts now, so I might not be able to control them fully," I explained, starting to pull the excess back into myself. The processors hadn't been repaired yet, however. I made a note to start running some repair diagnostics on them when I went to bed.

Applejack edged off the couch and walked towards me as well, looking unsure, but somewhat curious. "Ooooh, hi, Applejack!" Pinkie squealed. I lowered her, upside-down, towards Applejack on her cue. The orange mare smiled and looked up at her as I extended her down.

"Well, this ain't as bad as Ah was expectin'. So yer some sorta part pony, part machine?" she asked, giving a passing tentacle a skeptical examination.

I nodded weakly. "An organic machine. My body is a shapeshifter, technically. Its natural form is a pony, but I can shift parts of it at will, as you can see," I summarized, flailing a tentacle about to my side. Sweetie Belle took that moment to untangle herself from one of the tendrils and slide down it, landing lightly on my back. Fluttershy started giggling.

"Oooh, you're toasty warm," the little filly pointed out, slipping up closer to my head and lying down. I used the tentacle she was riding before and lightly coiled it over her, causing her to coo as I covered her up with the heat.

Rarity perked up, trotting over as well. I also felt Rainbow take to the air and start batting at one of the free tendrils in the air. Apple Bloom started whooping as she spun around, and Scootaloo started trying to chase her, using her little wings as propellant. "Warm, you say? Honestly, up close, it doesn't look that bad. In the dark, this might be scary, but simply realizing that Mender is in control..." Rarity spoke up, running a hoof along the plate of my left shoulder.

"I'm in full control right now. I was a lot scarier that night. Nirru made me so angry. I hated her. I completely destroyed her," I muttered hollowly, lowering myself into a lying position on the sofa. My tentacles stopped spinning and I gently set the two extremely dizzy fillies down on the floor, then pulled the tentacles back inside of myself, watching as Pinkie landed gently back on her hooves, swaying back and forth happily.

Fluttershy brushed her muzzle along the plates on my neck gently, smiling at me. "She wanted to hurt all of us. You only got mad when she threatened Ponyville, right?" she asked softly, almost directly into my left ear.

I couldn't manage to stay depressed when she was around, I noticed. Smiling, I glanced back over at her and nodded. "She threatened both you and Twilight, and then said she wanted to destroy Ponyville. I had to do something. I hated her. I couldn't let her do bad things to everypony, so I turned into this and stopped her," I reiterated. Of course, I clearly left out the part where 'stopping her' involved ripping her apart slowly so she felt every little motion. The older mares probably figured that out, however. Rainbow did for certain, as she coughed lightly and looked away. She'd been there and saw all the blood, of course.

"Hum. I can't say that I like the new form. It's not very appealing to look at and it appears to be made for things not really needed in Equestria, in my opinion. Still, I'm not going to give up on being friends with you just because of this," Rarity finally spoke up, sounding unsure of her wording, but admitting her feelings finally, regardless.

My eyes lowered, but I nodded tiredly. "I understand. Thank you. I know this form is disgusting and unnecessary here," I agreed quietly. She was being honest, at least. Applejack showed the same uncertainty, but was trying to hide it under a positive guise. That made for three neutrals, and three positives amidst the Elements. That was a better outcome than I predicted. The fillies seemed largely for it, even if Sweetie Belle was a little unsure. I had worried she especially wouldn't like me anymore. Spike seemed somewhere between interested and deciding it didn't affect anything. Ultimately, this was far better than I could have hoped.

“I never said disgusting. Hmm. Maybe a touch up or two…” Rarity murmured a moment later, peeking over my armored plates before seemingly slipping into thought. I suddenly got the unexplainable sensation of dread.

Still, it had snapped me out of my inner thoughts, and I was more than a little startled to find everypony in the room staring at me. Eh?! "Mender, are you okay? We never asked you what you thought about everything," Fluttershy reminded softly, sounding a little sad. My eyes softened, causing me to look away from her. I was suddenly distinctly aware of how many ponies were in the room.

"It's fairly easy to tell what he thinks about all of this, given his last response. Mender, I never said you were disgusting," Rarity reminded gently, louder this time and stepping a little closer to me. Idly, I was quite interested in finding out what she’d been thinking about.

Twilight stepped forward before I could respond, hopping up and placing her forelegs on the cushion with Fluttershy and me. Her nose bumped up against mine and she locked eyes with me. "You're still worried that this sudden discovery makes you fake, right?" she asked gently, watching me carefully. I stared back for a moment before lowering my head again.

"Being a clone isn't that bad, I guess. I saw the information about my creation. Dr. Kyliona, the Keldarian who created me, changed so much of my genetics that I might as well be a totally different individual. I'm sad that the memories I have of my life and family aren't mine, but there are worse things," I explained before trailing off.

A glance showed me that Twilight was giving me absolute attention, which was actually a little unnerving. I forced down the urge to hide from so many ponies, and made myself continue with, "I wish I could separate which memories are mine and which are his. Especially the really bad ones. But then, I also am uncomfortable with being part organic robot, too. I just want to be normal and stay here without causing problems all the time." I think this was the first time I'd really mentioned what I had wanted, or what was bothering me.

Twilight's look of intense focus shifted to a smile instead, and she nodded gently. "We're here to help in any way we can, Mender. As your friends, we'll do whatever's needed. I might be able to help you with the memories thing. If you feel up to it, I'll start connecting to you with my magic each night and help you try to sort them out. I want you to be rested up first, though," she suggested. I blinked, then remembered what she did way back when we had first met a month or so ago.

"Do you think we can really figure out where my memories start and his stop?" I asked, unsure of the whole process. The mare seriously knew what she was doing, though, so I trusted her.

Twilight smirked and nodded confidently, shifting everypony else's expressions to smiles as well. "I think it's a splendid idea! Further, it might help you adjust more to being the pony that you are now if we got you a position in the neighborhood. A job you'd be particularly good at is your inventing and repairing," Rarity chipped in, suddenly seeming to forget that I was in my alternate form as she started rapidly considering.

"Oh yeah! Ah can get word o' mouth goin' about yer skills. There's tons o' stuff around town that needs repair, an' Ah'm sure quite ah few ponies would be interested in yer inventin' skills," Applejack agreed, also shifting to seemingly thinking intently. A job, huh? Well having my own income to help support the library would certainly be nice. Plus, they seemed intent on treating me like a normal pony, which made me feel significantly better as well.

Pinkie was vibrating at this point, grin looking like it might pop off her face if she expanded it any further. "Exactly! Oh, this is going to be so fun! I've already got a super duper party in the works. It's maybe my biggest yet! I'll introduce you to everypony I can manage in Ponyville, and you'll probably get lots of friends to help ya," the pink mare fired off in rapid salvo.

"Uh, just don't hurt yourself, Pinkie. I'm worried about your sides," I reminded, gesturing to where she'd hurt her ribs earlier. It was really, really hard to tell, but I could have sworn I saw her blush for a moment before her grin shifted to a happy smile instead.

"Aww! You're so nice, Mender. You don't have to worry about me. I know everypony is, so I'll be super careful," she promised, giving me a double nod.

Fluttershy pushed harder into my left side suddenly, brushing her cheek along mine where they connected. I smiled over at her, and she added, "I'm not, well, exactly sure how I could help, but I’ll try my hardest for anything you and Twilight need." She flushed as well as she spoke, glancing to the left a little at the lavender mare, who was smiling happily at her. They really did get along quite well.

"Enough of the mushy stuff, sheesh! We'll all help Mender in our own ways, so no worries. Just don't crowd him. I think he needs to feel surer of himself! More awesome! I'll try my absolute hardest in that regard," Rainbow interrupted suddenly, grinning and hovering into the air with a bold pose. I raised an eyebrow to her, but Applejack snorted and tugged her back down by the tail.

"Careful ya don't drown him with yer ego. What, exactly, are ya gonna do ta help, then?" she questioned, giving her friend a skeptical glance.

Rainbow momentarily looked annoyed at the tail tug, but thought for a moment. It didn't take long before she grinned again, sitting on the floor this time. "That's easy! He has that wing thingy he can enchant me with. We go out and practice each day with that. I fly around with him making my wings heavier instead. I get practice with my flying and build up that inner magic thing he explained, and he gets practice maintaining his magic, too. And if I remember, that means his earth pony body is gonna get bigger and stronger at the same time!" Rainbow explained a moment later. My eyes widened. I hadn't anticipated her giving a viable solution to help me with. Sure, it helped her, too, but that was actually a really good idea.

Applejack looked impressed for a moment before hiding it and smirking. "Doesn't that help you more than him?" she pointed out a moment later. The cyan mare's retaliatory glare was instant, and scary.

"She's right about it making him stronger. If I had to guess, it would also speed up his recovery time," Twilight muttered, drawing forth an appealing conclusion indeed. She seemed deep in thought, however, which mildly scared me if she managed to shoot that out as a mere afterthought.

Applejack looked surprised again, but smiled. "Okay then, it's settled. Ah'm gonna whip up some solid meals fer Mender, too, ta boost tha recovery process. Rainbow an' him can use Sweet Apple Acres ta practice at tha same time!" she offered, directing it over at Rainbow as well.

Rainbow Dash looked more than a little surprised before she gave her friend a grin and nod. Heh, like she'd refuse spending even more time at Applejack's place. The food sounded really appealing as well, after having hospital food for so long. "Oooh, I'll help you fix up some really good meals, AJ!" Spike suddenly chipped in, apparently wanting to help as well.

Applejack's expression fell a moment later, however, as she glanced towards the little dragon. "Ah dunno, Spike. Remember last time?" she suddenly asked. Last time?

Spike frowned and rapidly shook his head. "No, no, Applejack! Last time doesn't count. I was so out of it trying to impress you that I just wasn't myself," he tried to explain, looking rather devastated, actually.

"He's a hard worker, and his cooking is top notch from what I've seen," I added, vouching for the little guy as best I could manage. He looked momentarily startled before smiling over at me warmly.

"Really? Ya must've been really outta it then, last time! Well, Ah guess it wouldn't hurt ta give ya another chance. Go easy on tha kitchen this time, though," Applejack relented, giving Spike a smile and nod instead.

He pumped his fist and did a little hop into the air before running forward and hugging the farm mare, who just chuckled. I snickered and turned back to Twilight, who was cooing happily but remaining silent over the whole ordeal. She seemed pleased that I spoke up for him instead, if I was reading her warm smile correctly. Her eyes stared into mine as she gave my nose another nuzzle as well. Fluttershy blushed next to me, but managed a timid smile as well.

Twilight noticed instantly, however, and looked over to Fluttershy instead. Oh? The yellow mare perked and returned her attention, if not slightly more confused looking. My official fillyfriend smiled, though, and leaned forwards, giving Fluttershy a light nuzzle as well, directly across the cheek.

My eyes widened, but nowhere near as fast as Fluttershy's as her cheeks exploded into a heated flush. A light and weak squeak managed to slip out of the surprised mare as she hunched backwards, staring at Twilight in shock. "Hee. You're so adorable, Fluttershy. I'm really glad you want to join us," Twilight finally spoke up, looking pleased by the reaction.

Fluttershy's flush expanded as her eyes started shivering. "R-Really?" she whispered, voice barely there at all.

"Of course! Taking vows as a herd means we get to be together forever. I, well, would really like that. I think the three of us being together for all time is very romantic, and I'm starting to like the thought more and more," Twilight admitted, giving me a confident grin too. She was starting to work through her apprehensions then and become more certain of her feelings? I smiled gently before hearing Fluttershy's quiet whimper.

Glancing over at the yellow mare, I noticed that her face might as well have been pink rather than yellow, given how much her blush had expanded. Wait, I'd never thought about it before, but how was I able to notice her blushing through all that fur? I noticed the coat along the face seemed to tint red alongside the increased blood flow to the area, but why did it do that? Was there some biological reason for it to do so? I added it to my substantial list of questions I'd probably never end up remembering to ask Twilight. It's a pity I'd forgotten to get a look at my flank after it was shaved to see if my Cutie Mark was tattooed onto my skin or not.

"Fluttershy! Are you okay?" Twilight asked, eyes expanding as she noticed the yellow and now excessively pink mare. It went well with her mane, anyway.

Fluttershy nodded timidly and shrank down a little bit, burying her snout in the crook under my left shoulder. I smiled at her before my head was suddenly shoved downwards violently. I whacked into my armored forelegs, and then glanced upwards towards the source of the sudden weight added to my skull. Sweetie Belle smiled and waved down at me, apparently having landed there from the back of the sofa.

"We want to help you, too, Mender. You need exercise to get walking right again, so what if your fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders help you do that? We could make sure you don't fall, and help you around town and stuff!" my new hat suggested hopefully, a soft grin playing at the edges of her mouth.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom gathered to the right of Twilight in my vision a moment later. "Seriously? What are we gonna do, be a pillow for him to land on or something?" Scootaloo asked skeptically, shooting Sweetie Belle a glare.

"How about you help keep me company while Rainbow does her practicing? Being able to use my magic while holding a conversation would be a good challenge, plus company is always nice. You'll also get to watch Rainbow practice, Scootaloo," I suggested pointedly. Twilight gave me a skeptical glance this time instead, but my attempt to bribe the little filly probably was a little on the obvious side.

Still, it worked like a charm. "R-Really? You'd let me, uh, well, I mean, of course. That would be fun and all. I wouldn't mind watching Rainbow practice," the orange filly said far too quickly, shifting to a more reserved and 'cool' tone halfway through. I smirked at her. She shot me a scowl, and I resisted laughing. Oh yeah, I was supposed to pretend not to notice.

"That's the spirit, Kid! Maybe I'll even take ya flying while I practice! Added weight will help me, and the added experience will help you!" Rainbow herself tacked on, giving a sparkling smile to the young pegasus. Scootaloo's mental meltdown was rather amusing to watch and I couldn't seem to look away. It didn't help that she was absolutely adorable to me, like the rest of the fillies.

"You're super nice, Mender. Of course we'll keep you company," Sweetie agreed, leaning forward on me again to peek down while saying it.

Apple Bloom nodded in agreement before crawling up onto the right hoof rest next to me, sitting up once she got to the top as if it were a perch, and she a gargoyle of sorts. "Ah can come keep ya company after mah chores are done, o' course. We got ah lot ta do before tha break next week," she spoke up, once again referencing that. What was next week? Wait, didn't somepony just say something about that? I wracked my brain trying to think of what it was.

"Thank you for all of your help, everypony. I don't want to be a burden, but so long as I can do something in return for all of you, I could probably use the help," I finally admitted, somehow without hiding or blushing profusely.

Pinkie grinned and shook her head repeatedly, almost becoming a blur for a second. "It's totally fine, Mender. Now, onwards with the super important things! It's time to plan a party!" she declared loudly, rib damage apparently not hampering her lungs in the slightest. I chuckled while everypony else winced at the outburst. My armor plates folded up again when she was done, of course. A break would be nice, indeed.

"I agree, Pinkie. I agree," I finally said.

* * * * *

Yawning, I gave a blank stare ahead while Nurse Redheart carefully unplugged wires from my foreleg. How long had we been here? Twilight sat to my right, reading over paperwork that was drifting in front of her via that oh so familiar purple aura. I peeked over at her, momentarily distracting myself from intently staring at the hospital room wall.

"Well, you're recovering remarkably for the most part. According to the scans, it's about week seven of your recovery, even though it's technically only day three, by a normal pony standard. Princess Celestia's magic is powerful indeed. It's a pity she doesn't make exceptions for using it more often," Redheart muttered, turning away from me and looking over the notes in my rather impressive file. How I'd accumulated three inches of hospital paperwork in a month was beyond me.

Twilight sighed and shook her head tiredly. Clocky told me that it was well past twenty-one hundred hours. We should really be sleeping about now. "I've answered that question way too frequently the last few days. Her intervention had nothing to do with him being my coltfriend. She's already revealed that this was a dimensional attacker at work that had been thwarted. She helped heal Mender due to the extraordinary situation," she explained rapidly. I detected a few potential slips in that explanation, but decided against saying anything. I suppose everypony would want her healing them if she didn't make it look like this was a special occasion.

"Oh, I know. It was just wishful thinking," Nurse Redheart assured, smiling as she turned back around again.

"But you know it wasn't just her. You're fully aware that Princess Celestia has a direct Seal of Silence order on all of Mender's medical records, right?" Twilight reminded, causing me to swallow uneasily. It felt like I was being hidden away when she said it like that. Was that for my protection or theirs?

The nurse's smile remained unwavering, however, as she nodded. "Of course. It's the same as Spike's, after all. Only his primary doctor, surgeon, and myself know that Mender isn't exactly a pony," she confirmed. I shuddered quietly.

Twilight didn't smile back, but simply nodded. "Are we clear to go for the night, then?" she asked, after a moment's hesitation.

"Yes. I'll let the doctor know what's going on when he gets back in the morning. He'll probably want a follow up for Mender in a few weeks to check the leg, but other than that, you're all set," she replied in a rather cheerful manner. I smiled faintly at her. She was a remarkably resilient mare for having to put up with all of this. I'd have probably snapped under pressure by now.

"Thank you, Nurse Redheart," I said, giving her a gentle bow of my head.

Twilight smiled finally and nodded to the nurse as well, who looked somewhat flustered, but grinned back. "It's my job, Mender. You don't need to thank me for it," Redheart explained absently as she opened the door to the room for us.

"More like a full time commitment for Mender. But thank you for helping us," Twilight added, following me as I slowly hobbled out the door, careful not to put too much weight on the lightly throbbing limb. Lying down in a few minutes was going to feel amazing, I had a feeling.

Twilight moved up to my side as we wandered through the hospital. So many of the ponies recognized her instantly and gave her happy nods and waves. I was impressed at how well known she was, but realized it was probably a foregone conclusion. She had a lot of things going in her favor when it came to notoriety. Now 'Somewhat Psychotic Coltfriend' could be added to that list. I'd yet to decide if that was actually a good thing.

"Whew. What a day," she muttered after we finally got our first breath of fresh air in what seemed like hours. Wait, it had been hours.

Regardless, I nodded in sympathetic agreement. "Falling into my cot tonight is going to feel amazing. I'm exhausted," I murmured, peeking up at the night sky as I walked. The cool air and breeze that nipped past my leg felt wonderful against the superheated skin. The stars high above were gorgeous as well. I remembered that was one part of my old world that I had cherished up until the very end. The night sky had never lost its stars.

A light twinge of bitterness shot through me. Was I even allowed to reminisce about memories that weren't mine? I resisted snorting. No, forget it. This memory was mine. This moment and every second hereafter was something I could distinctly claim as my own. My old universe could go to hell.

"Thank you, Mender," Twilight suddenly said, piercing the silence floating around me. My awareness shifted back to myself instantly as I made sure none of the anger was visible.

"Huh? For what?" I inquired, a little confused. Had I zoned out again and missed a part of her sentence? I really needed to break out of that habit.

Twilight giggled, however, so I assumed she was teasing me with it again. "For still being you. I know it's silly and probably rather nonsensical, but I'm kind of glad you're a clone," she revealed, tossing the metaphorical penny onto the track of my train of thought.

Apparently, my train of thought controlled my walking too, because I halted almost immediately. "Wait, what?" I questioned, maybe a little harsher than intended.

She stopped walking as well and turned back around, looking at me carefully. "I meant no disrespect, of course. I'm just glad because it divorces you further from that dimension. There's so much pain and misery back there. I'm glad you're not a direct product of it, honestly. It also makes you uniquely you rather than an alien with tons and tons of prior history, if that makes sense," she explained quietly, watching me in the light of the moon. There was nopony around, but it was still an awkward topic.

"So kinda like a blank slate?" I suggested, starting up my forward momentum again. She fell into place next to me as I continued towards the library.

"Yup. It makes me feel more comfortable. Instead of a scary alien like you were before, you're just the familiar Mender I already feel safe around," she furthered, smiling again as she lined up our shoulders while moving.

I blinked, and then gave her a skeptical glance. "You, afraid of something?" That didn't sound like Twilight, really.

She laughed, and then shook her head. "Hardly. I'm not fearless, Mender. I know you probably think I'm some sort of 'master' of you or something because of your old culture, but that's far from the truth. I'm a scared mare who doesn't really know what to do with herself, and who's really far out of her comfort zone," she corrected, the last part sounding a little bitter instead. A familiar level of bitterness, actually.

"You blame yourself for not being comfortable with it," I reasoned, not really asking anything. She sounded like I did sometimes when I wasn't pleased with the cards I'd been dealt.

She slowly shook her head as we reached the door to the library, deciding to give it a blank stare instead. "Of course I blame me. I wasn't prepared for you, of all things. Almost everything about you caught me off guard, and that's not something I'm comfortable with. I care about you in quite a different way than I care about the girls, and that's scary. I'm not trying to control you, Mender. Although, I admit to manipulating things to be more... comforting to me," she whispered, seemingly more talking to the door than me.

"Celestia gave me a lot of advice about that, too. We both have our faults, Twilight," I reminded, getting her instant attention when I dropped her mentor's name.

"She talked about, um, us?" she asked hesitantly, eyes widening as she slowly turned to face me.

I distracted her by opening up the door instead. "Yeah. She 'approves' of us, for what it's worth. She told me a lot of things that kinda gave me hope for the future again. I'd been worried that nopony would want to be my friend anymore after finding out what I am." That secret was probably obvious to her, but it felt good to get it off my chest.

We both headed inside and into the darkened main floor. Only the fireplace was going and dimly lighting the room up. I smiled at the sight of Spike, who was asleep on the armrest of the couch, facing the door. He'd tried to stay awake for us after all. "I know it's hard, Mender, but you need to have more faith in us. Trust us. We're not Keldarians," Twilight whispered, hanging up her saddlebags and shaking herself lightly. I watched her coat fluff up, and then straighten again with a light dusting of magic. I just tipped myself backwards after sliding the fastener open on my stomach. My bags slid off my back and bumped onto the floor gently.

I blinked as I felt similar magic ruffle through my coat along my back and straighten out the matting from my straps. The same magic then lifted my bag as well, hanging it on the hook next to hers as she glanced over at it. Leaning in, I gave her a warm peck on the cheek just as she turned back away from the wall.

Her startled hop into the air made me smirk, and earned a playfully annoyed glare from her. "Mmm. Sorry. You were just too cute there," I apologized softly, just in case I had misread the 'playful' part of her expression.

She grinned and stretched forwards, however, planting an encouraging, and extremely pleasant kiss directly on my lips instead. Smiling into her, I pushed forwards a bit more, causing the mare to release a pleased groan against my mouth. She finally sighed softly and backed up a bit, smiling warmly at me with slightly upturned eyes. For once, I didn't actually blush, although there was a light tint to both our cheeks. I wasn't embarrassed, I realized. That was the first time we'd kissed without that lingering feeling of awkwardness afterwards as I expected my lungs to be pulled out through my nose. All Twilight had ever really, truly done was throw a bed in my general direction. Why was I so afraid of her? Her especially. All the mares made me nervous, except for maybe Fluttershy, but Twilight had been absolutely terrifying.

Twilight was oblivious to my internal interrogation, of course. She knocked me out of it when I felt her fur brush along my neck. There was nothing urgent as she leaned into me; there was no sensation of heat or burning passion. Her forelegs wrapped around me as her weight caused me to sit down, and she just held herself against me gently. I breathed in her scent, wrapping both of my forelegs around her as well as she shivered there. My magic activated, giving her a light jolt as it coursed through her, shot along the floor, and gently closed the door. Now onlookers couldn't peek in, and the chilly breeze wouldn't touch her fur.

She leaned back and smiled at me again, eyelids lowering as a light blush danced across her cheeks. "Thank you, Mender. You thought I was cold, didn't you?" she asked softly.

I tilted my head questioningly, asking, "Oh? You weren't?" I could have sworn I felt her shiver.

"A little. The shiver was from inside me, however. Fluttering sensations tickling the inside of my chest," she explained. My eyes widened again, but she cut me off with another kiss. This one remained soft and gentle, however, her leaning back again a few seconds later, eyes much softer looking now.

We didn't really say anything. She looked past me, and I watched her horn light up again. Spike drifted into the air and tucked himself up into a ball, wrapped up in Twilight's billowing aura. I knew how warm it felt to be coated in unicorn magic. It was like a warm breeze that lazily flowed around you, never really drifting away like a normal gust of wind. Or like a thin flow of water that you could breathe as easily as air.

Her head gestured to the stairs as she stepped away from me, the sleeping dragon drifting after her in slow, rocking motions. I smiled as I watched her walk up the steps. She was lying to herself, I realized. She really did know how to be a good mother. She'd been doing it for years. Sure, he might do the cooking and chores around the library, but the love was there. Love.

My eyes lowered a little. Why did I even know what that word meant, coming from the culture I did? Keldarians didn't love. Was I so divorced from what it meant to be a Keldarian that I was more Pony now instead? I wondered if it was part of the clone design that Dr. Kyliona intended. Apart from her looks and voice from the now fully repaired video, I didn't really know anything about her. I'd neglected to watch the repaired video out of fear of what I'd see. What other horrors would I learn about myself?

Slowly, I stepped forwards, careful to keep my weight partially off my left foreleg. It gave a few throbs of protest that I pointedly ignored, alongside the swelled up sensation. Every fourth stair step was an exercise in caution as I readied my armor and barriers in case I took a tumble. My surprise doubled as I saw Twilight waiting at the top of the stairs for me, her eyes tracking every movement my left foreleg made. I smiled towards her, and she caught the movement, returning the expression a moment later.

"Just making sure we won't have a surprise hospital visit yet again tonight," she teased, winking to me playfully.

I chuckled, assuring, "I had my armor and barriers ready just in case. I'd be a little dizzy, but it wouldn't have hurt. It would give you an excuse to just toss me up here with your magic, too."

Twilight's eyes widened at the last part, and I hesitated at the top of the stairs. Had I offended her, accidentally? "Mender, I'm not going to throw you around using my magic. I'll not lift you unless you're fully expecting it. I learned that lesson back at Applejack's barn," she said, lowering her head a little.

I rested my forehead against the top of her head and sighed weakly. "You didn't know, Twilight. I, well, I have a lot wrong with my mind, you know. It's not just the amnesia. Things just sort of bleed through into reality if, um," I started trying to explain. It was a bit confusing to relay to an individual that didn't suffer from it, however.

"You have external stimuli that triggers the memories, which partially overlap your waking consciousness. I figured that out after you told me what happened back then. What did I do to cause it?" she asked gently, looking back up with surprising focus and determination. Swallowing, I sat back down at the top of the stairs, wondering if I was going to fall down them yet tonight.

"It was, um, my posture while being pulled forwards. Nirru tortured me after, uh, I was arrested. Well, the individual I was cloned from, anyway. It momentarily felt like I was strapped to a platform and being pushed back towards her, as she stood there ready with her tools..." I swallowed wearily, the images easily popping back into my mind as I suddenly felt a cold sweat form. It took everything I had to remember that it wasn't real and I was with Twilight in the library.

The images flickered and snapped away an instant later, Twilight's face pushing through them and directly into another kiss. I felt myself relax a little, my breathing slowing as she pushed her chest into mine. "You're safe, Mender. She's not going to get you ever again. I'll personally teleport her to the moon if she even tries," she assured. I smiled and gently nuzzled her cheek, refraining from mentioning that tossing her into a zero atmosphere environment would probably be the same as just murdering her, if their outer space was the same as ours. Twilight had known what a void was, which would probably be a difficult concept to grasp if it didn't exist here, however. That made me slightly more inclined to think their outer space was similar to ours.

Twilight turned away and finished tucking Spike in before giving me a smile over her shoulder. She hopped up onto her bed an instant later, leaving me slightly confused as to what the expression had been about. "Go brush your teeth and get ready for bed, Silly. You're probably exhausted," she reminded, peeking over the side of her bed at me. I chuckled and nodded before turning to do as I was told.

Here was infinitely better than there. I realized that once more for probably the hundredth time as I stared at my reflection in the mirror, toothbrush coated in a barrier as it moved by itself. I had to keep telling myself how good it was here out of fear that I'd wake up and not be here anymore. It was like this was a fragile dream that I kept expecting to wake up from. Maybe that was why it was so easy for me to slip into memories? Things didn't feel 'real' here.

Even staring at the stallion looking back at me, my mind couldn't fully process it. I peeked into the amber eyes, wondering if that was the same color my old ones had been. Keldarians all had blue fur, so there wasn't much to go off of, there. What about my mane? I looked up at the darker blue and silver streaked mess. It was shorter than I used to have it when I'd first come here, thanks to Rarity's uphill battle with the growth formula. The sides of my bangs were still braided however. They were simplistic weaves, going barely an eighth of a meter down and ending in a light tuff of hair. It kind of reminded me of the tribalistic styles I'd seen in books from when I was growing up.

When he was growing up, I reminded a moment later. My 'youth' was the inside of a glass tube. I glared at the amber eyes, suddenly hoping they weren't his colors. I wanted them to be mine. This body was mine, not his. It had never been tortured, even if my mind said otherwise. The scars on it are from his past, not my own. I set the toothbrush back in the cup on the sink after thoroughly rinsing out.

They were right. I'd feel better once I got my own source of income. I had to. It was part of building my identity as a pony here. Just thinking about having a purpose was comforting. I'd start by helping Rainbow with her wings. I'd already helped Applejack with her barn. That made me feel better. When I felt useful, it was a good sensation. My type of enchantment was new here, and would probably be useful to a lot of ponies, right? I was a little hesitant about putting myself out there, but I'm sure that my friends would help me get adjusted. My friends. They were still my friends.

Sure, some didn't like the ugly monster I could turn into, but they were still my friends! Nopony had decided that I was bad or gross just because of what I actually was. Even knowing that was what I really looked like, they had accepted me still. I smiled gently and shook, waiting for the last couple drops to fall before reaching up and pushing the toilet's lever down. Carefully, I washed my hooves again with the still running faucet before turning off the water and drying them with a towel. Yes. Things were finally going to be okay. Even if they weren't, I could make it through because I didn't have to be alone anymore.

That was ultimately what made this place so much better than my last universe. I had been all alone there, even in a crowded room. The only sense of companionship I'd ever gotten was from my squad mates. After they'd died... No, after they'd been murdered, there was nothing but that frozen cold core in my heart. I remembered now. It wasn't natural to hate. I don't think anypony, or anyone from any species had a natural tendency to hate something. We were taught it. It was trained insanity. A pure, cold form of anger that made one want to end the target of it, no matter the cost. That wasn't natural.

I opened the door, only to be met with a softly smiling Twilight as she wandered past, undoubtedly to do what I just did. I returned her smile, albeit a bit more timidly, and let her pass before heading for my cozy bed. That would be purchase number one, I think. An actual bed so I could finally return this one to Applejack, and thank her profusely for allowing me to use it. She'd deny the thanks, of course, but at least she'd have it. I smiled as I lay down amidst the warm covers, glad the heat from the magical fireplace had drifted up and warmed the room. It was always comforting to know that physics still worked properly.

Twilight was much faster than me in the bathroom. Either that or I had drifted off while she was in there, as I snapped back to attention at the sound of the toilet flushing again. I rotated around to give her a smile as she passed, but was momentarily startled when I kept going. At first, I had thought I'd misjudged my distance and rolled off my cot, but I rapidly felt the billowing magic as I lifted into the air. Hey!

She gave me a knowing grin upon turning the lights out to the bathroom and walking back over to her bed, carrying me along with her. I realized her intent about halfway there and started blushing again. She had no trouble whatsoever with hopping up onto the bed and depositing me directly against her as she slid under the covers. "I think we'll return the cot to Applejack tomorrow," she added, making me shiver at her not so subtle implication. Her grin only made it worse, and I gave her a playful glare. It would only fuel her, of course.

"What? I've gotten comfortable with sharing my bed with you at night. I might have even missed it, staying over with Rarity the past couple days. She makes for wonderful company, don't get me wrong. But there's something extremely pleasant about sharing a bed with somepony you know cares about you in a far, well, different manner," she extrapolated, and I could feel the heat coming from her even though we weren't touching.

Heh. I tucked myself under the covers and settled gently into the lavender mare, who snuggled closer and made a light cooing noise. "I missed you, too, Twilight. I'm glad that you're not having second thoughts after everything I told you," I murmured, relaxing as I felt her breathing against me.

"Quite the contrary. You, Fluttershy, and Rainbow made me really jealous today, although I was glad I didn't have to experience Pinkie's mental barrage," Twilight revealed, giving a shiver towards the end. I resisted laughing. It hadn't been pleasant at the time, but now I could certainly laugh at myself over the whole ordeal. "Still, I'd like to finalize the link to you. Not only would you know it was me all the time, but the communication over distances seems really useful," she added.

As if reminding herself, she pushed her horn against my forehead and I felt the familiar and distinctly 'Twilight' energy drift into my mind. I'd had no doubt before that it was her, of course, technically having never been separated from her since this afternoon. Still, it was an amazing sensation that I wasn't about to complain over. "It's permanent, Twilight. I just want you to be absolutely sure," I reiterated quietly, letting my body slowly drift.

Her thoughts mingled into mine, and I almost felt her kissing me again even though our muzzles weren't touching. I smiled into her mind and pulled her a little closer, feeling a burst of happiness drift through her at the sensation. She didn't have to say anything else. She'd made a totally valid argument with her feelings alone, and she knew it. Her heat drifted through me as she mirrored the sensation, actually kissing me for a moment this time. I felt myself slip, and she went with me willingly. Both of us fell into slumber, foreheads touching and entangled in each other's hooves.

Next Chapter: Chapter 37 Estimated time remaining: 47 Hours, 59 Minutes
Return to Story Description

Login

Facebook
Login with
Facebook:
FiMFetch