My eyes open much slower this time though I once again find myself in the medical wing of Canterlot castle, probably in the same room I've been put in each time though this time I find more than just Rainbow Dash waiting for me.
"Look he is waking up" Comes a familiar voice off to my side and I slowly sit up looking over towards its source to see, though blurry, the unmistakable form of Princess Luna along with Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash and most surprisingly Princess Celestia herself. Luna though is quick to move, crossing the short distance between us quickly to place a wing against my chest and push me back down against the hospital bed. "Nay Prism. Do not try to move much yet, just let yourself and your senses focus"
I quickly do as bidden by my Princess where she immediately removes the pressure of her wing from my chest. "What..what happened." I croak out a few moments later
"The unicorn Starlight Glimmer had a mild freak out when you approached her and she teleported you into the sky above Canterlot. Reports say you managed to glide back to the city and barely managed to grab hold of its edge and pull yourself up. You were found moments later by several of my sisters day guards and proceeded to lose Consciousness. They brought you to the medical wing here and informed us of what had happened after one of them recognized you." Luna's response is said in such a flat regal tone that I turn my head to stare at her even though my vision hasn't fully focused yet.
"Princess...Princess Luna..some..something" I am cut off there by Twilight suddenly speaking from my other side.
"Prism Please you need to rest right now. Your body is suffering from magical withdrawal, its not severe but your new wings sucked up every ounce of pegasus magic your body had been able to generate since your test earlier. If you don't rest right now you could seriously injure yourself." I can hear the sincere worry and care in Twilight's voice along with what i would assume is the sternness of a mother telling her foal to do something and I am almost tempted to just do as she says but this is something I have to say.
"Some.. something happened.. to me whi.. while I... I was unconscious.. I.. I went somewhere, Somewhere beau..beautiful" my own voice fails me at this point as I devolve into a coughing fit. This time its Dash pushing herself up and over me who pleads.
"Please Prism just rest for now. Regain a little strength then you can tell us all about it ok." the sheer amount of fear I can both hear in her voice and smell coming from her body gives me pause.
'I've never heard Dash like this before. Can this really be that bad' is the first though I have hearing her, then looking into her large magenta eyes I find I can't say no to her. So with a nod I allow myself to sink into the hospital bed, though I do slowly lift my arm to lay it out over her. "St..ay with me."
"Sure big guy no problem" comes her rather soft spoken reply. The others quickly excuse themselves to allow me to rest. "Alright Prism try and rest ok. I promise I will be right here when you wake up again" with that i slowly close my eyes letting myself rest with Dash laid out over me.
It's sometime later when I regain consciousness again, judging by the fact that the darkness of night can be seen through the only window in my room. Dash as promised is still right there though she has slid off to one side of me. I smile softly looking over at her as she is curled up against my side a hoof or a wing twitching every now and then while she sleeps. I slowly raise my hand to stroke her mane finding myself oddly mesmerized by just how soft it is as my hand makes contact with her hair. After a few runs of my hand along her mane a strange thought enters my head and I find myself entertaining it.
'How did I ever get so lucky. If these mares hadn't come into my life I am afraid to think of what I could have become, the monster I could have been but now I've got so many amazing friends, I could probably count both of the royal sisters among them to. I have come to cherish all of my friends quite a bit, the honest Applejack always dependable when the situation gets tough, the rambunctious and energetic Pinkiepie always there to put a smile on anyponies face when they are feeling down, the lovely Rarity always there to help when it comes to fashion or just to lend a hoof in aid when it is needed, the shy yet incredibly kind Fluttershy who despite her fears would always support her friends, the incredibly talented and wonderfully friendly Twilight sparkle a fountain of knowledge and skill in both magic and friendship, and then there is RainbowDash. She is the single most loyal pony I have ever met, always there for her friends no matter what. When this is all over I am going to have to find a way to thank them all for everything they have done for me but Dash especially. She has been here for me like none of the others have, she has spent so much time with me, most of it here in this room, given up so much of her own time just to see me through these troubles. I have to find someway to do something extra special just for her to make things even'
My thoughts are broken there as I feel Dash stir next to me her eyes slowly opening as my petting of her mane has finally roused her from slumbers sweet embrace. "Prism your awake" she says half sleepily and half surprised
"Yeah and feeling much better" I reply with a smile once more running my hand along her mane.
The still half asleep smile Dash gives me in return is just to precious. "I'm glad to hear that Prism I was.. I mean we were all worried about you, which you seem to have a bad habit of making us do" her voice though stern is not overly so. "But I can forgive ya for it"
"Thanks Dash" I say with another smile to her along with pulling her into a soft hug. "When all of this is over, I am going to find someway to pay you back for everything you have done for me. Anything you want, anything you could wish for, I WILL find some way to either get you it or make it happen no matter what it is."
"Heh that's sweet Prism but all I really want is for Equestria to go back to the way it was, where the biggest things we had to worry about during the day would be what friendship problem the map might send us to or what kind of creature from the Everfree forest might come stalking out next. All of this business with fanatics, dark dragons and bloodthirsty monsters bent on nothing more than our destruction has been a bit much even for me" The look of longing in Dash's eyes for those happier days tears at my heart in a way I don't fully understand
"Don't worry Dash, I'm going to make sure that those days return soon and that they never get taken from you again" I find myself saying to her before the thought of saying it even enters my mind, before my mouth just keeps going without regard for my brain and its insistence to shut up "And since that's all you want. Well.. maybe after all this is done and over with, we could have a meal together. Just you and me, if your interested that is" I feel my face blush as I say that not knowing why I even brought this up.
The surprise that springs to her face is almost instant as she says "A meal together? You mean like a date"
"N..no, no. I mean unless you want it to be.." comes my rather fumbled reply to her question to which she giggles.
Dash's reply is almost instant the moment her giggles stop though "Sure why not Prism, I mean I've shown you a side of myself that not many other ponies have gotten to see and I've already seen you at your worst so it can only go up from here. Also if I'm being honest, I do kinda like you" She turns her head as a blush appears on her cheeks as she finishes speaking.
"Y..you do?" Now it's my turn to be shocked as I lay there simply staring at her.
"What is that so hard to believe. I mean we have cuddled so many times. Yeah sure at first it was because I was feeling guilty at having left you and then you being captured like that but it quickly changed as the days went on. I found myself becoming more and more comfortable with you not to mention the few times we have had some fun with each other" she stops talking there blushing deeply while she tries to hide it with her hooves.
I smile pulling her hooves away from her face gazing deeply into those large magenta eyes of hers as she gazes back into mine. "I like you to Dash. At first I just respected you for your flying prowess and the amount of loyalty you showed to your friends but then after I was taken and came back, you spending all of that time with me being there day after day and night after night barely ever leaving my side, well I came to care about you quite alot. If I do end up helping to saving Equestria from this current threat I honestly wont be able to say if its for my duty to the Princesses, my friendship with our friends, or for you specifically"
Barely a moment after we finish speaking I feel Dash plant her lips against mine putting her hooves around me tightly. My arms go around her after I recover from the surprise of it and I return her kiss finding myself enjoying this simple act far more than I ever thought possible to enjoy something. We stay like that just caught up in each others embrace for what seems like forever before finally our lips part and we both sigh contently still holding each other. It's another few moments before Dash lets out a small yawn to which I chuckle a little.
"We should probably get a bit more sleep tonite before the sun comes up" I suggest to which Dash nods laying herself out next to me though this time with a hoof and a wing draped over my chest as her head finds a comfortable spot on my shoulder. With another yawn she mumbles out a goodnight before quickly falling asleep. I myself though watch her for a few minutes before I let sleep claim me once again.