Login

Forgiveness Pending

by Kiroberos

Chapter 77: Chapter 76

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

There were at least fifteen or twenty ponies at the station when we pulled in. Several had traditional looking coats and name badges attached to them, and I guessed that quite a few newspapers of Equestria were interested in finding out more information about the Dimensional Regulation foundation Tia had set up. Of course, when three of us exited the train a little worse for wear, they suddenly had dozens of other questions instead. At least all Rainbow had was a limp.

Both Twilight and I were totally incapable of walking under our own power, with both of her forelegs out of commission and me both dead tired and having extremely ravaged back muscles. Okay, so admittedly, going overboard with Twilight's regeneration while I was also injured as well was probably stupid of me. Thankfully we had amazing friends, two of which were impressively sturdy on their hooves.

Lifting my foreleg up to shield my eyes from the flurry of camera flashes, I tried to keep from getting a headache from the reporters trying to shout over each other, each with a different question. I took full advantage of the extremely fluffy pink mane all around my head and used it to partially block the light anyway, Pinkie totally unfazed despite carrying me and my considerable weight. Well, actually I probably weighed about as much as a healthy earth pony stallion, given my stringy body shape still. Muscles were only just starting to build up again, but my, uh, added parts on the inside contributed to a bit of extra weight.

Unexpectedly, a rather familiar looking nurse slipped through the crowd within seconds, medical saddlebags filled to the brim. Her normally tidy pink mane had a few stray locks here and there, and she looked tired as well.

"Sorry, everypony! Questions will have to wait until after medical treatment!" she warned loudly, mercilessly shooing the nearest reporters away and clearing a route through the crowd for us. Three larger earth ponies were with her, dressed in guard uniforms and helping to make a path while further dissuading the reporters from pursuit, I imagined. Of course, I could be wrong. While they were admittedly loud, the pony reporters seemed far more considerate than what my Keldarian memories seemed to indicate. They hadn't mercilessly stalked me or my loved ones yet, and they seemed to listen to reason, given that we were injured.

Not that it had mattered with the expert and almost practiced ease with which Redheart moved us through the crowd. Applejack followed sharply ahead of us, Twilight resting on her back and the crowd willingly parting for the mare. Within three minutes time, we had been ushered well within the confines of the hospital and headed into a private room. Given the bewildered expressions on everypony else’s faces, I'm guessing I wasn't the only one somewhat surprised by the expediency of the process.

Twilight frowned as the nurse closed the room door. It didn't take half a second for the lavender mare to light her horn up. I activated my scanners to peek at what she was doing to the room, out of curiosity. The inside walls of the examination room were coated with a soft glow a moment later, and as suddenly as it appeared, my scanner display of everything outside the room vanished. Ah. That was a rather useful spell!

To my very pleasant surprise, Pinkie was amazingly careful in sliding me off her back and into a lying position on one of the lowered medical mattresses, Fluttershy carefully guiding my descent. Given the smaller size of the room, Twilight was slid off Applejack onto the mattress next to me, Rarity helping her similarly with magic and hoof guidance.

Nodding at the glowing walls in the meantime, Redheart turned to me instead and inquired, "The pegasus that flew ahead of the train said it was experimental wing magic, but I kind of doubted that. Is everything okay? You weren't attacked, were you?" Ah, right. The last time things got spontaneously obliterated in my vicinity, we had an alien infiltration.

"No, we weren't attacked. I registered Rarity's link to the network I have, and it completed some black box mission set for all six Elements. Wings from the Icarus Effect expanded off my back, and it tried to send me back to my old dimension. A quick save from Twilight and Rainbow is the only reason I'm still here," I summarized quickly. After carefully landing on the raised medical bed, Dash grinned, of course. Twilight blushed softly at my words instead and shifted her eyes from me. Smirking, I leaned over and pecked her on the cheek instead, causing her rosy shade to magnify slightly. Redheart listened along rather neutrally as she moved over to Twilight and unwrapped the mare's leg bandages. I'd healed a good chunk of her damage already, but the fur and upper two skin layers were still not the greatest. At least Rarity had a tonic for that 'missing splotches of fur' thing!

Rarity shivered, however, for reasons unrelated to my internal monologue, I guessed. Looking stressed still, she appended, "Keela was attacked by the Grosh while attempting to communicate with us to find out what happened, however. The damage to their vessel was quite severe, and we're waiting for them to contact us again." I'm surprised she left out how it was 'all her fault'... Had she actually listened to us finally in admitting she had next to nothing to do with it?

Redheart stopped at that and glanced back at the pearly unicorn for an uncertain moment before frowning. "That's bad indeed. Is everypony on her ship okay?" she asked almost immediately, true to her profession's form.

"No," I quickly answered, further explaining with, "An attack hit the ship as they were escaping. It blew off two segments on the side, one of which turned out to be their prisoner holding area. It detached, and they're going back to see if they can find it right now, but two guards and Nirru were in it."

Redheart looked grim for a moment, the name of the female that attacked us known to her. Probably more so than most, actually, given that she was the one who had to treat both Pinkie and Applejack that night as well. "I hope they get back with you soon, then. These burns are moderate, Twilight. I'm guessing you regenerated?" the nurse inquired, quickly changing away from the unpleasant topic as she shifted her attention to the lavender mare next to me.

Her forelegs were burned and missing fur, the skin red and blistered in spots. Admittedly, I didn't know how to diagnose burns, but my readings on the area for her showed only two 'layers' of skin damage now, which was significantly better than when we had started. Twilight looked down at the damage herself and nodded before explaining, "Mender directed the regeneration while we were on the train at the expense of his own energy. The energy coming off his back during that event had been really hot, but..." she muttered, frowning at her wounds.

She trailed off, and then was further distracted by my lips gently pushing against her cheek again. The skin and fur heated up against my muzzle, and I didn't have to look to realize she was embarrassed again, but I felt her smile regardless. Quickly, I added, "Thank you, Twilight. You risked a lot to save me and keep me in Equestria. Possibly your life." Her eyes widened at that, as they had before when we tried to convince her of exactly how much risk she'd taken. Was she afraid to admit what she'd done to herself? I'd seen cases like that before as well, although they were rare. Well, he had seen them. Regardless, some soldiers felt more comfortable by never trying to come to terms with what they had to do on a daily basis. I guess sometimes ignorance really was bliss, especially when intentionally invoked.

I'd seen it coming, and it was no surprise when Dash frowned and started to let out a huff as she turned to me. I caught her before she could even make a noise by spontaneously adding, "And thank you as well, Rainbow. If you hadn't been there to save the both of us, also risking quite a bit, I don't think today would have had a happy ending."

Her jaw clamped down in an instant as her eyes widened, and she just stared at me for a moment before Redheart snickered, drawing everypony's attention to her instead, myself included. She shrugged a second later before adding, "It takes a special kind of pony to risk their life for another. You have a lot of ponies who legitimately care about you, Mender," she explained after a moment's consideration. That didn't match her reaction, and I gave her a confused head tilt instead.

It took her a moment, but she smirked a second later and added, "I'm also pleased that Equestria is still as friendly as ever. It gives me faith in ponies as a whole to see such bonds formed so strongly, even with such a rocky start." Oh, so she though it was cute, rather than funny. Got it! Although, wasn't it a little sudden for such a strong bond?

Fluttershy caught the question before it even made it to my tongue, and she giggled outright, nuzzling into my other side before shaking her head. "No, Silly. I don't know how things worked like that back in your old place, and I probably don't want to. Um, no offense, of course. Bonds here form within days sometimes, and last a lifetime. Ponies are very, um, social compared to the direction you considered," she tried to explain, that ever present hint of uncertainty shifting a bit stronger as she spoke. Still, with ponies of such high empathy around me, maybe I'd never have to say anything ever again? Pinkie giggled at that, adding a mirthful grin for good measure.

"Fluttershy's right! We all became super best friends in less than a day! It's amazing," she pointed out, looking exceptionally pleased at the fact as she said it. Sadly, she was one of those ponies who got animated while talking, and I barely ducked a hoof in time as it passed over my head to the left. She predictably didn't notice.

Rarity, who was now softly massaging Twilight's shoulders, coughed lightly at that before pointing out, "Not to dismiss your example, but we're something of a special case being bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Pinkie. Still, it is true, Mender. Normally ponies are very social and quite fast to become friendly."

The little dragon next to her rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, however. "I only wish dragons were the same. They can be downright rude to newcomers!" he complained, sounding as if he was speaking from personal experience.

Twilight smiled at that before speaking up with, "Don't forget, those were younger dragons, Spike. While probably close to your age, I'm not sure they've gotten as educated an upbringing as you." There was a certain level of pride in her tone and I barely resisted smirking. He gave a softer smile towards her, however, seemingly thankful for the compliment.

Sadly, Nurse Redheart was forced to deflate the happier topic a moment later as she finished her analysis. "You're amazingly lucky that you regenerate, Miss Twilight Sparkle. I can imagine that this was a lot worse, and it's still pretty bad. This is a second-degree burn, and the heat damage has gone through multiple layers of flesh. I'm going to wash the areas down and bandage them up again with special cream, but you'll need to come back in after a few days and get looked at again," she warned, frowning down at them. I knew when she was serious, it was time to turn in the chips and just nod in agreement, of course. For once, it wasn't me she was getting serious with! Wait, didn't that have some other meaning?

The lavender mare gave a bleak stare down at her own forelegs, swallowing again at their tender look and lack of fur. I nuzzled her gently on the cheek and she sighed a moment later, relaxing back against my shoulder before nodding. "I'm really lucky," she muttered in agreement, sounding tired. She didn't seem very 'lucky' to me, getting these rather nasty burns. Sure, they could have been worse, but she also could have not gotten them in the first place by, I don't know, not having a scientifically engineered eldritch abomination for a coltfriend? Just a thought.

Fluttershy gave me a heart-wilting frown of vague, yet somehow also apologetic disapproval, and I averted my eyes from the mare, reminding myself that she was fully capable of reading my active thoughts at this range. She even beat Pinkie out in innate skill of using the links. Speaking of...

"Wait a second. Isn't Mender really, really injured, too? Why are you treating Twilight ahead of him and not, I dunno, both at the same time?!" Pinkie herself asked, hopping forward a bit and wiggling her eyes, somehow, at Redheart in a vaguely accusing manner. My favorite nurse seemed more confused by it than anything, of course. While I was a little concerned for my own injury, it didn't hurt all that badly, and I wanted Twilight to get help.

Redheart shook her head a moment later and explained, "Mender is going to be looked at, too. Doctor Horse is on his way right now, being the only other pony that has security clearance high enough to look at Mender's injuries." Oh, my doctor. Sometimes I forgot that I also had a doctor, as usually Redheart took care of most of my issues easily enough. His name was a bit weird, but he was a nice stallion, if not overly positive sometimes.

That said, Redheart delayed no further in sliding her rolling tray over to her and moving the bin of water off it. I stayed resting against Twilight as she shivered, the warm, wet cloth gently washing the burned skin with soapy water. Despite it probably hurting, she didn't make any noise and just closed her eyes, head turning to the left and resting against my neck. I felt her focus on her breathing instead, and slipped further inside of myself, surprising her a little as I drew her in and away from the pain going through her legs. The yellow mare over me finished straightening my bandages carefully, then smiled as she felt what we were doing. A moment later, somewhat predictably, I felt her drift in towards me as well, snuggling into Twilight's back and finally getting the mare to smile. A tag team nuzzle actually managed to get her to relax a moment later, not even aware of the outside world anymore.

To be honest, I have no idea how long we stayed resting like that, somewhere between awake and asleep. There was less awareness of time like this, and it felt like both hours and a few minutes before I felt nudges at my own back. I knew it wasn't hostile, as the sound of Applejack or Rainbow Dash knocking somepony through the wall would have alerted me to ill intent.

All three of us opened our eyes almost immediately, Twilight outright surprised to note her forelegs were bandaged up again. The familiar looking unicorn doctor next to me perked up at my sudden awareness and lifted his hooves off me, holding them up instead in a rather universally accepted parley gesture.

Admittedly, I wasn't as familiar with him as I was Redheart. Still, he naturally gave off a friendly air with his mannerisms and appearance. He slowly dropped his left hoof while adjusting his thin spectacles with his right, green eyes locking onto my wounded back. I suppose it helped that he was naturally neutral colored, with his orange-tan coat and dark brown mane and tail being rather disarming. The white doctor's coat added to the professional look, which perhaps was a bit misleading in his case. While he had moments of serious absent-minded tendencies and was a little eccentric, he was thankfully very levelheaded under pressure. Actually, that was probably why he was the one to do my surgery after the Nirru incident. I had been panicking prior to that and sliding large chunks from the walls, so he might have been the only doctor to risk it. Well, if he had even noticed. Maybe his Cutie Mark, an electrocardiogram monitor, was alluding to his ability to manage emergency situations?

"Friend, of course. I know ponies can sometimes be startled coming out of the inner trance. Fascinating technique, that! You three are very close indeed to manage it in three different directions. Do your links help?" he inquired, sounding curious.

Thankfully, despite my surprise over his sudden question, Twilight was far quicker of wit, explaining, "Actually, they totally supplement links with each other, and he has full control over them." Oh, those links! Here I momentarily thought he knew something I didn't!

I started to smile and nod when I was yet again interrupted, this time by Applejack. "Uh, not ta change tha topic, but Ah'm kinda curious. What's with tha huge tray o' food?" she inquired, sounding intrigued. Tray of food? I looked around but didn't immediately find what I was looking for, which weirded me out a little.

The doctor stared blankly at her for a moment before suddenly seeming to remember, and stepped sideways in my vision. Sure enough, a large tray of food had been entirely eclipsed by his much nearer in perspective chest while he examined my back. Oh, yes! I was beyond hungry.

"Ah, right, right! Eat up, Mender! Please, allow me to observe and note the effects of your natural regeneration upon consuming things," he requested, nodding to me twice. I got the sudden inclination that this was a science experiment, but I was far too hungry to care. Not wasting energy with magic, my tongue shot out instead and latched onto the tray, sliding it over towards me before it rolled to a stop.

Admittedly, the stallion knew me well enough. While most in the room undoubtedly knew now about my 'consumption-based' regeneration, not many would also pick out my favorites. Six sandwiches were on the tray with an assortment of fried hay patties, practically smothered in grease. Multiple bowls of dressing were also available, including one filled completely with sugar instead of anything cream-based. He also got me a few toasted slices of bread, the waves of heat still drifting up off them. Alongside were some very natural looking jellies, with added sugar sprinkled in. Oh.

It took me a moment to note the different patterns in the variety present, but I quickly realized he was testing the effects of different food combinations on my healing. I already knew of course that it was twofold, requiring both mass to help repair things, and fuel to break down for energy. It was an interesting experiment, though, as I wasn't sure if raw sugar or the greasy fats of the patties were better for 'fuel' for me.

I immediately made a sandwich out of one of the patties, some thick, tangy dressing, and sprayed a bit of sugar across it before slapping the other slice of toast onto it. Twilight utterly forgot about the pain in her forelegs as she watched on in clear horror. I layered another patty on top of that, ignoring her shudder completely. More dressing was tossed on after, along with a third layer of toast. Yes! Now this was a sandwich!

"Um, n-not to interrupt but, uh, is that healthy for him, Doctor Horse?" Fluttershy asked politely a moment later as I squished the sandwich down and happily picked it up. Rainbow started laughing, of course, barely resisting herself while I was making this masterpiece. I think the squishing noise pushed her over the edge. Pinkie chipped in and started giggling next to her while they watched me take a huge bite out of the thing, shivering as the combined tastes danced happily in my mouth.

My taste buds exploded into a happy state of bliss, and I barely managed to catch the doctor's reply. "...course! I'm a Doctor. Doctor Horse, of course! He's not quite a normal pony, however, so all of this will simply be processed by his body and converted directly. I merely wish to observe which affects him the best," he explained. Okay, so while he was a little, well, strange, he gave me this awesome thing, so I wasn't about to complain. Plus he seemed to actually understand the process of my body on a more fundamental level.

Redheart, apparently far more used to dealing with him, utterly ignored his antics while gently wrapping bandages around Twilight's forelegs again. "Now remember, Twilight, leave these on for the next twenty-four hours, then clean them again with gentle soaps. Wrap afterwards, and then I want to see you back here in forty-eight hours for another checkup," she instructed, giving a rather impressive list of orders. I made a digital list as she went along, but Twilight gave an uncertain frown down at the bandages.

The yellow mare still residing between us gained a timid smile before assuring, "I can help you re-wrap them, don't worry. Um, only if you want me to, though!" I smiled at that, but it wasn't noticeable around my sandwich as I kept munching on it. Sure, I could have eaten the thing in one bite, but it was far more pleasant to take my time and enjoy the wonderful blend of flavors.

Twilight gave her a soft smile and nod, which got the yellow mare to relax anyway. I was about to point out that Fluttershy probably would have done that regardless, but a ping fired off in my link system before I could. Perking, I quickly swallowed the bite of sandwich I had been working on, flicked on my eye projector, switched the speaker system in my throat on, and activated Keela's connection.

Everypony turned to look as the light flared into the room and a slightly transparent version of Keela faded in, about a meter to each side of her also visible from awareness bleed. She was bandaged up now, but still looked rather battered. I recognized the area she was in as the forward navigation bay. In most mobile starships, there was an area of the command room that was devoted to the actual movement and navigation of the craft, and it typically had very easily identifiable consoles and displays. In this case, I saw fully active scanners running.

"Ah, Mender! I was hoping you wouldn't be too busy by now. Oh, did you make it to the hospital?" the Keldarian inquired, looking about the room I was in. The link went both ways and let her see within a good five or six meters of me.

Nodding, I quickly explained, "We made it back to Ponyville in the time you were gone. Twilight and I are getting looked at right now." Only a slight fabrication, as I figured scientific observation counted as 'looking at me' for Doctor Horse, anyway.

Redheart smiled at Keela, having been informed about that particular Keldarian before. "It's nice to finally meet you. Twilight should be fine in a day or two, but Mender's wounds are significantly worse. Doctor Horse is trying to boost Mender's accelerated regeneration using disgustingly unhealthy foods," she elaborated, earning a snicker from Keela and an eye roll from me.

"Given that I have two large holes in my back, what I'm eating at the moment should be the least of my health concerns. Still, I'm directing all the intake towards regeneration anyway," I retorted rapidly, shooting a look towards the now smirking Redheart, who'd obviously done it just to get a rise out of me. Well it worked!

Twilight, being far more observant than I as usual, instead pointed out, "You're smiling and in good spirits, Keela. Does that mean you have good news?" Oh, right. The whole reason for her cutting communications for a while was to try to find the separated parts of the ship. That had completely slipped my mind after getting the sandwich made...

Keela stared over at her for a moment before sighing, sounding really tired. With a frustrated wrinkle to her brow, she lowered her eyes to the panel next to her before picking something up off it. As it came into the focus of the display, I saw that it was a data pad similar to the one she'd had earlier, although significantly less mangled. A report, then? Still, I assumed 'frustrated' was better than 'angry' or 'depressed'.

"Uh, inconclusive," she finally managed to mutter, some sort of irritation present in her gaze, if only for seemingly the data pad itself. They lost more data pads that way, I bet... Still, 'inconclusive'? While better than an outright negative result, I was struggling to figure out what that meant in regards to the Grosh. Normally, their modus operandi left things fairly definite as to what happened.

My, and everypony else’s confused expressions must have been readily apparent. She glanced up again, blinked once, then looked back down at the pad before elaborating with, "We found what was left of the two missing segments, and recovered their black boxes. They were hit with several category three particle blasts and reduced to less than four percent cohesiveness." Uh... That was fairly straightforward, so I simply waited for the 'but' clause.

Twilight was slightly less patient, however. "Wait, so the Grosh blew them up?!" she asked almost immediately, looking beyond horrified. At her clarification of the statement, everypony else mimicked her expression as if it were shrapnel from her explosive outburst.

"But?" I asked quickly, interrupting before anypony else could spiral with those thoughts. Instead, I managed to at least draw everypony's attention to myself instead, Redheart and Doctor Horse included.

The doctor nodded a moment later before adding, "Quite, quite! The young Miss Keela stated the results as inconclusive prior to this, and that result is very much not. There must be more!"

Keela raised an eyebrow to him, but nodded regardless. Hesitating, she looked back down at the sheet before furthering with, "The parts were significantly damaged prior to that, however. The separation shrapnel inflicted significant hull damage, and they were venting atmosphere at two percent a minute with no backup reserve. We would have made it in time to rescue them, but..." She trailed off at that, frowning at her pad instead. She looked about as confused as I felt. Why was that important? Wait...

Tym started snickering, again outside of the 'picture' around her a ways. "It doesn't make any sense at all. The Grosh don't fight like that. They're logical to a fault. Why waste ammo and energy reserves when your target is already doomed, and you get a free show of watching them slowly suffer and maybe draw their allies back to 'rescue' them, to destroy them, too?" he pointed out in an odd mixture of amusement and bitterness. Oh.

"That... That's horrifying!" Rarity immediately declared, with no hesitation whatsoever.

I exhaled softly before agreeing with, "Yes, yes it is. One of the many reasons why I don't want them anywhere near Equestria." I'd figured that being willing to blow myself to bits in order to prevent just that would have left some lasting impression as to how horrible they were. No, wait, I was being bitter again.

Keela looked guilty for a long moment before nodding. "I was... I was an idiot to make that link with you, Mender. I'm sorry again. If I hadn't, you wouldn't have had any further trouble. Our worlds would be long separated by now," she apologized.

Twilight frowned for a moment while considering that before politely shaking her head and countering with, "No, I for one believe this is actually for the best." Ah, right, that made sense. Wait, no it didn't. Keela gave her a confused yet ultimately vacant stare, seemingly so unprepared by that statement that she didn't even have a proper facial expression ready. The lavender mare actually giggled for a moment at her expression before continuing with, "What? It's true. I've fully read Princess Celestia's case file from the last time. Everything points to these dimensional connections forming in a circular, repeating pattern. If so, I'd rather have the chance to start preparing for it now, and formulate a decent defense ahead of time than simply pass the event by and hope for the best with the next one."

Ah. So she'd rather deal with the devil she knew, in other words. That way if an unknown one came, we'd be way more prepared. I never considered the situation as something to learn from, admittedly. Keela looked just as surprised until I winced, drawing everypony's attention back to me as the doctor apparently picked now to pull the bandages from my back. Of course, Fluttershy had worked with what she had, which unfortunately hadn't included stick-free wrappings.

Redheart rolled her eyes absently at Doctor Horse's antics, but he totally ignored her, or was entirely oblivious. Instead, he checked the wounds over carefully before nodding twice, to nopony in particular. "Ah, right, right. I just remembered that I couldn't observe your healing if I couldn't see the wound. Hmm. Actually, I appear to have accidentally torn them open again. Oh dear. Nurse, could you get me some gauze and non-adhesive wrappings?" he inquired, surprisingly not sounding all that concerned. Damn it!

My favorite nurse was already holding up the bandages when he looked up, shooting him an irate stare. "Mender is our boss, need I remind you. You should strive to not maim your patients regardless, however. Pay attention!" she lectured sharply, earning a pleased yet blissfully unaware nod from him. Ugh. Why was he my doctor again?

Thirty seconds later, I was reminded of exactly why as he easily cleaned and re-bandaged my wound. His horn idly spread grayish blue ambiance across the room as he worked, his hooves doing the wrapping while his magic soothed nerves and healed my deeper tissue. It was absolutely second nature to him, given how effortless he pulled it all off.

Twilight exhaled slowly a moment later before her horn lit up and a notepad drifted out of her left saddlebag, accompanying quill immediately starting to dance across the page in her neat, yet tightly formed script. "So Mender completed an 'objective' designated inside of his black box, presumably given by whomever put it inside of him, and it tried to automatically return him to his prior dimension. Keela was attacked in response to powering up the faster than light engines, presumably by the Grosh. They then behaved strangely by apparently destroying pointless targets, and showing no noticeable interest in giving chase." She narrated out loud as she took her notes, and I smirked at her extraordinarily scientific method of viewing things.

Keela blinked in surprise before quickly pointing out, "Seemingly?! There are chunks of the ship segments floating around the moon in multiple orbits now! You don't get much more destroyed than that."

Sighing, I came to Twilight's defense with, "Actually, you can, but apart from that, I believe Twi was referring to your sister and the other two Keldarians, not the ship itself." The lavender unicorn smiled at my intervention, but didn't lift her eyes from her notes, still rapidly writing alongside her now silent thoughts.

Keela shook her head twice after that, and shuddered before asking, "But what alternative is there? She's either dead or captured, which is even worse! There's no sign of any escape, that's for sure. Besides, they don’t capture non-civilians! I… I don’t know what’s going on here.”

Considering it for a moment, I finally nodded and suggested, “It’s true. They’re acting strange, and something is definitely off. You should get some scans and samples from the wreckage, and then probably get out of there, however.” They’d been lucky with the Grosh being gone when they got back, but that wasn’t something to rely on for any length of time.

After considering it for a moment, Keela nodded and added, “Yeah, you’re right. More clues would help us out. We’re also idling in silent mode right now, holding on to our emissions for the time being, but no, I don’t want to endanger us any further. Okay then, everyone! We’re grabbing some scans and samples of the two destroyed sections, then jumping to a new random location in dark space to analyze them!” She ended on the two orders and gestured her hand out while talking to the Keldarians presumably near her on the deck. There was the sound of a flurry of motion, and I realized I’d guessed correctly.

She turned back to me afterwards and finally gave a weak smile. “Um, thanks for being patient with me. I don’t think I’m entirely thinking clearly at the moment, and you and Tymandius have been a blessing. I’ll ping you again when we get back to safety with the analysis reports?” she offered in a quieter voice, torso sagging a little.

I nodded and smiled back to her in attempts to be reassuring, of course. Fluttershy surprised me by timidly speaking up, however. “Um, I think you should get some rest after that, too, Keela. If it’s not too much trouble, just to, well, relax a little. You look really tired,” she suggested quietly.

Keela looked momentarily surprised before closing her eyes and smiling a bit further, nodding slowly. She did look tired. “Yeah, you’re right. After I get the report to Mender, I might just take a cat nap for a few hours. We need to get to safety first, though.” Reasonable, at least. Either that or her inner fatigue was making the prospect sound too good to pass up.

Fluttershy nodded at that and recovered her smile, having felt melancholy since the attack had hit our friends. With that, Keela gave a smiling nod and perk towards the ‘camera’ before the link went quiet again, and I felt myself relax a little. Today had kinda sucked, and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. Not that I hadn’t gotten my lunch started early.

Glancing down, I took note of my forgotten sandwich before picking it up again and taking another bite. Mmm, soggier than I remembered. Figures. Redheart finished adding the last of the wrapping to Twilight’s legs and nodded after, looking somber. “It sounds like everypony’s having a bad day today. Twilight’s recovery time is set to two days or so. No Running of the Leaves this year, however,” she warned, reminding me again of what time it was. Oh! The doctor nodded in agreement as well.

“Yes, the burn treatment should have you healed and furred again in two days’ time, but try to limit your walking and activities with your forelegs until then. Mender’s regeneration from the food he consumed is already kicking in and the wounds are looking better already. Fascinating. That means both greasy and sugary fuels work with him. I wonder which is better. No, I’d best observe that later tonight. For now, I’m going to re-wrap his wounds. I suggest he stay with us overnight, however, to insure there are no complications,” the doctor explained, shifting in and out of addressing us and talking to himself. I’d been anticipating that, so it wasn’t really a surprise.

“That’s probably for the best. I’ll settle back at the library for tonight, then come visit you later after everything’s unpacked,” Twilight offered, smiling softly towards me.

Applejack looked less than pleased at that prospect, instead correcting, “Oh no ya don’t. Yer gonna be resting, an’ we’ll be doin’ tha unpackin’. Pinkie, Spike, an’ Ah got it covered. Ya should probably stay groundside fer tonight as well, Rainbow.” The cyan pegasus winced at that, looking unpleased at the aspect, then nodded reluctantly. Wow. Applejack could get her to do almost anything!

“Oh! Right, right. I forgot to take a look at Miss Rainbow Dash’s leg. One moment,” the doctor suddenly excused, grabbing a very small hammer off the wall. Eh? What was that for, reflex testing?

The cyan mare fidgeted at that and rapidly shook her head, protesting, “I’m fine, really! It doesn’t even hurt anymore!” That probably meant, given that it was Dash saying it, that it was slightly less than agonizing now. The tension that was drifting down the link from her didn’t make her statement any more believable, of course.

The doctor held a hoof up before assuring, “I’ll only do the briefest of tests, worry not. While it’s not your wings this time, I believe you still find your legs quite useful, no?” Oh, had he treated Rainbow before?

“Uh, no, really, it’s okay. I’m fine and I can walk by-“ she started to continue. She was interrupted, of course, when he floated the hammer out and lightly bopped her on the knee joint. Her leg shot out to full extension out of reflex and she winced, and then cried out, bending down and holding onto her leg carefully.

Redheart finally growled and shot him an annoyed expression before ordering, “Okay, that’s it. I’m taking over from here. Move…” He backed off almost immediately, of course…

* * * * *

Gently, I relaxed while staring out the window. Crimson and dark orange light drifted over the clouds, day slowly sinking beneath the horizon. A single leaf snapped off its branch a moment later, drifting on the outside breeze as it fell towards the ground far below. I shifted a little bit, and the soft blue aura immediately took it as a cue, my pillows lifting slightly behind me and fluffing again before settling.

"They were fine, you know. You're awfully stubborn," I muttered without turning back her way. I felt her smirk regardless, that coy and playful one she got sometimes when 'bantering' as she put it. The links were becoming second nature to me, anyway.

"You should never call a lady stubborn, even when she is. To properly compliment, use 'determined'. It works much better," Rarity advised calmly, indeed sounding all too amused.

Chuckling, I warned, "Careful. That's an adjective I've heard given to Rainbow. I didn't think you liked being compared like that."

The white mare rolled her eyes at that, the smile not diminishing as I turned back to look at her. "Rainbow, while certainly brash and very spontaneous sometimes, is a very dear friend to me, and truly has very admirable qualities. I'm not afraid of the comparison," she assured politely, nodding twice to her own statement. She sat on the chair next to my hospital bed, of course, and had been for almost three hours now. Still, I had to admit to liking her methods a lot more.

Applejack and Pinkie volunteered to help deliver the bags back to both Twilight's and Rarity's houses and make sure Twilight was settled in with Spike assisting her. All before moving on to drop their own luggage off, which was rather unsurprising at this point, given the mares involved. Rarity obviously couldn't manage getting her luggage back to her house and unloading it, having taken both Spike and two nearby stallions to haul it to the station in the first place. The mare knew how to use her charm, that was for sure.

After unpacking, however, she surprised me by immediately turning around and coming back here instead. I tried to dissuade her, of course, predicting she was going to try to be like Applejack, but instead, it would seem she took her own words to heart. That was something that was really hard to do. She explained that she herself had felt guilty in regards to our injuries, and logically, mine was the most severe. Further, I had nopony 'personally' there to help me, Fluttershy staying with Twilight, and Rainbow rooming with Applejack until her leg recovered. Logically again, Rarity decided that I was in the most need of aid. So to take responsibility for what she felt was partially her fault, she would see that I was well tended to while I recovered. She had outlined a definite goal, and acknowledged what was wrong, so I could hardly fault her. Plus, well, she was good company and I was lonely. Redheart had a lot of other patients, and I wasn't about to 'order' her to tend to only me, regardless of if she offered or not. Twilight and Fluttershy were set to visit later, too, but until then...

Rarity tilted her head lightly and smiled, inquiring, "A bit for your thoughts?"

I stared at her for a moment before simply smiling and shaking my head slowly. For a moment, I considered what my thoughts actually were, and then instead replied, "Free for you, of course. And, well, thank you. Admittedly, I was rather lonely."

Of course, she wasted no time in giggling at that, and I wondered if it was at my expense. "Oh, I noticed, yes. That longing look you gave Twilight and Fluttershy as they left was clear enough. Not the normal look of a stallion ogling two pretty mares either. You care deeply for their company, I know," she observed. None of it was a question, and we both knew that she didn't have to actually ask. As intangible and sometimes confusing as my feelings for the two mares were, I could very easily agree that I loved their company.

Still... "That better not be alluding to your own worth. You know I also value your company," I reminded, just in case.

She smiled at that, and then nodded more earnestly, the feel of our conversation slipping from playful and into somber and honest. "Yes, I know. Despite your faults, you always have been good at complimenting, you know that? But don't detract from our prior topic. Distraction and absent-mindedness are some of those faults of yours," she reminded. I was impressed with her ability to actively point out negative qualities of mine without actually insulting me. Still, she was right.

Nodding, I shifted the larger book closer to me again, its pages still open with a soft felt bookmark within. There was no risk of accidental closure now, and I slid the bookmark to the side as I flipped one of the thick, browned pages. That was the color of most paper the ponies used, I noted.

"I'm not sure," I finally muttered, looking over the book that now took over my entire lap. This spread of pages contained a full map of Equestria, cities marked and transit lanes highlighted. "You've already shared a lot, including bringing this in the first place. I'm always glad to learn everything I can about the things, but isn't your throat getting sore?" I asked instead, frowning over at the mare.

She held a hoof up to me and chuckled lightly at that. "No, no. My throat is quite all right. Hmm,” she started before pausing and seemingly considering something. I waited patiently for a moment, ears twitching lightly in anticipation of her continuing her thought. Finally, she admitted, “Well, actually, the main problem is that I’m a bit fatigued from the long train ride. Would you be upset if I took a short rest?” Oh! Right, the train ride had taken an hour longer than anticipated.

Smiling easily at that, I nodded to her before assuring, “It’s all right, Rarity. Take a nap if you need it. I’ll wake you if something happens or Twilight and Fluttershy get here.”

She gave me a polite nod before settling a bit, then curling up on the chair’s cushion. I watched her relax there for a bit before turning and looking back at the large book in my lap. She really had been helpful, and bringing this with her when she came back was amazingly thoughtful. She knew I didn’t know much about pony customs and history. The founding from the three tribes, Tia’s and Luna’s surprisingly passive guidance over the decades, and the relation with the surrounding nations were all rather interesting to me. It was my duty now as a ‘pony’ to know this information.

Smiling at that thought, I gently closed the book after slipping the mark back into it, and set it next to me. For now, however, there were other things that I wanted to look into. Rarity couldn’t help me with this, as it was something I had to do on my own. My saddlebags had been stashed next to me on the bed, thankfully, and I opened the clasp on the right one before sliding the large folder out of it. It was amazingly thick, and had a single symbol printed on the front of it. Of course, I now knew the symbol to be that of the Bureau of Extradimensional Investigation and Defense, or BEID.

Staring at the folder, I was somewhat surprised in my hesitation. This was the collective knowledge of that organization, including its final reports before shutting down almost three hundred years ago, however. I guess it was just me being weird, but it was still the collective work and effort from quite a lot of ponies. How far from the original premise were the members of BEID today?

Carefully, I unhooked the wrapping on it and slid open the vanilla colored folder. Having expected case files and documentation, I was a bit surprised when the first papers within held a note from Tia, a photo, and a small notebook. Oh? I quickly read over the note, quite curious now.

“Mender. After a bit of consideration, I guessed that you’d probably be interested in more than just BEID itself, and gathered up a few additional things to give to you. Being their only foal, you should have them regardless. The photo was on your father’s desk, and the notebook is your mother’s journal that she kept for the duration of her stay in BEID, including meeting your father. The packet of information under them was everything I could find on your family. I’m sorry there’s not more, but those were bad memories for a lot of ponies, and loss is felt for many generations for us. I didn’t want to pry where I shouldn’t. Let me know if there’s anything I can answer for you, however. Signed, Tia.”

I read the note twice before fully absorbing the information. My birth parents. Under the note was a single picture, showing a large and imposing earth stallion looking surprisingly gentle and happy, and the unicorn mare posing in the picture next to him smiling and waving at the camera while snuggling into his side. She held a surprisingly sharp contrast to him with her creamy white coat color to his much darker bronze. His mane and tail were kept neatly trimmed and styled, I noticed, and were charcoal black in color, slivers of silver mixed in. I reached up absently and slid my braid over from the right side of my muzzle, looking at the silver color mixed in with it, and smiled. My eyes shifted to her instead, seeing a much younger and wilder look to her, with her creamy blue mane and tail lying where it stayed whenever she got up in the morning. To my surprise, Bastion's eyes were my own, a rich amber gold in color as he stared at the camera. Gemstone's were a pretty soft blue tone, which matched well with her coat.

I had no idea how long I stared at the picture, feeling very small. These were my parents, but I didn’t know them at all. I didn’t know what their voices sounded like, or how they acted, or what they would have thought of me now. At the same time, they looked so happy, and clearly cared for each other very much. Seeing them now, I wanted to know them. But that wasn’t possible, was it?

Swallowing, I slid the picture to the side, putting it gently on top of the note from the princess. The notepad rested on the top, bound in old looking fabric-covered wood, surprisingly enough. The image of a pink gemstone with a ribbon wrapped around it was on the cover, hidden by the picture and note when I had opened the folder. I glanced back to the picture of the couple and saw the same marking on her left, visible flank. Neither of his was shown, however.

The book was old but very carefully maintained and cared for. I was almost afraid to open it and risk damage, but the contents were important. I paused at that, considering what ‘important’ meant for a moment. Surely, the contents of the book had next to nothing to do with the case and current investigation of BEID. Neither did the picture. Tia knew I had a personal investment, however, and that made both important, if only to me. Smiling, I made a mental note to thank her when we next met.

The larger file behind the book was still a bit smaller than the file itself, of course. Opening that up, I was a bit surprised that it appeared to contain a collection of information on the two ponies, gathered from both official bio information and what looked like letters that Tia had written to families. Had she done this recently, just to get the information for me? I remembered how she had helped me when I was struggling with myself in the hospital after what happened with Nirru, too. And how she’d given me good advice in regards to my memories and interest in Twilight, despite already knowing at that point that I was a cyborg. She was incredibly nice to everypony she met, and truly a good pony at heart, I realized. I appended my prior note to really, really thank her the next time we met, and chuckled at my own silliness. Rarity stirred slightly on the cushion nearby, and I held a hoof up to my mouth, holding still until she settled again, as if that would somehow make me less noticed.

She didn’t wake, thankfully, and I relaxed again before looking over the generic information on them. My mother’s name was Gemstone Weave, and my father’s was Bronze Bastion. They were age twenty-two and twenty five, respectively. He was a technical engineer assigned the entirety of the building projects for the group, and she was a crystal resonance expert that apparently was assigned under him, to construct the actual crystal arrays they were using to build the portal device. Interesting. I skipped over the medical information and various bio tidbits and examined the director’s notes on them. He was selected for excellence in the field, specializing in extremely detailed construction on a fine scale, despite being an earth pony. His professional and courteous attitude extended into working well with others, and that got him the leadership position.

My mother’s recommendation was less shining, it would seem. She was selected reluctantly due to her excellence in the field, and being one of the only crystal resonance experts with the advanced magic qualifications. Her personality was somewhat unpredictable, though, known for high energy and wavering levels of work ethic. ‘No Discipline’ was underlined three times, and I couldn’t help but smirk a bit. She sounded like a firecracker.

Looking back at her journal, my curiosity piqued and I sighed softly. Okay, it couldn’t hurt, could it? I didn’t even know why I had hesitated before anyway. Sliding it back over, I slowly unwound the tie around the clasp of the notepad. On the front page, written in tightly formed but slightly sloppy script, was, “No Reading This! Property of Gemstone Weave!” I smirked at that, then widened into a full smile at the addition under it in slightly brighter pen color. “(This especially means you, Bastion!)” Maintaining the happy outlook, I carefully flipped the page…

Next Chapter: Chapter 77 Estimated time remaining: 19 Hours, 5 Minutes
Return to Story Description

Login

Facebook
Login with
Facebook:
FiMFetch