//------------------------------// // 21 - Demons of the past rise // Story: Ponyville Fire Department // by Rescue Sunstreak //------------------------------// Applejack looked at the group gathered around her. It was near midnight and no one had found Rescue yet. “Y'all listen up now. Rescue is in a bad place if my gut is right. You find him, don’t go trying to take him on your own. You call Twilight and me, or one of the others to back ya up. Now,” She pointed at Dash and Soarin who had been ‘visiting’ Dash. “Y'all sweep out along the edge of the Everfree, look fer any sign you can” she watched them nod and take off. Turning to look at Rarity and Pinkie, “You two look in tha north end of town. Check alleyways and such.” It was Twilight who piped up then. “AJ, I am going to grab a book. I think I can cast a location spell if I get something of his from Ailan.” Applejack gave a nod. “Good thinking, sugarcube,” she went on to give the rest of the search parties their locations and headed off on her own areas to look. --- Lyra was the one to answer the door. Twilight trotted in and noted Ailan holding Pipsqueak on the sofa, with Bon Bon staying close by. He looked up with such worry in his eyes. “Any news?” She shook her head and explained her idea. Pip had struggled out of his father's grip and ran off, returning with one of the most personal things Rescue owned. His badge, holding it up to the purple alicorn. “F-find my dad, please.” It was really all she could do to hold it in, not that she had any tears left after the morning of putting Archer to rest and helping console everypony she could. She didn’t understand how could Rescue do this to his family, his friends—himself. Then again, Applejack had tried to explain it, but where the fire pony’s mind was right now was a dark, dark place. Shaking it off, and swallowing the lump in her throat, she took the badge and looked down at the little brave paint. “I will, Pip. I pinkie promise, I will.” Turning, she nodded to Lyra and Bon Bon before giving Ailan a little nuzzle, hearing him sniffle but hold in things for the foal’s sake. Heading outside, she looked over at Spike who yawned tiredly. “Spike, I want you to go home and wait for Princess Luna to send a letter, if she can. You are tired, and being out here isn’t helping.” “But, Twilight. I am… Okay, but you will come get me, right?” She smiled at her number one assistant, or some may even say a son to her. “As soon as we have news,” A thought came to her, she said. “Spike, make coffee, a lot of it. The searchers are going to need it. Have Starlight help you set up a table outside and I will guide tired ponies to the castle to rest and get a drink.” He beamed and gave a little mock salute. “Sure thing!” and off he went running. --- It took her almost a hour to get the spell to work perfectly. Standing in front of Berry’s bar, she could see the goldish glow of earth pony magic on the ground left behind. Two paths, one went back into town, the other one headed west. She couldn’t fly very well still, as she wouldn’t see the path left behind. It was faint at best. Not thinking about the fact she should get a partner to go with her, the alicorn started trotting along slowly, head down and following the path of the glowing hoofprints on the ground. It kept going right over a bridge and out past the edge of town. She frowned but kept going, pausing to look up and around to see if anyone else was near. Half a hour later, she was still going, This was heading out to Ghastly Gorge. A thought of worry raced through her mind, what if he—no, even in the state he was in, he would never hurt Ailan, his son, and his friends like that... would he? She had to believe he was okay. He was a friend, and she admired the fire pony, despite how dower and stoic he tended to be. Looking around again, she recast the spell and saw the prints heading for a small grove near the edge of the cliffs. Frowning more with concern, she picked up her pace, tired but eager to find him and put his family’s worries to rest. Coming around a small stand of trees, she found him, lying there among some rocks with two empty glass bottles near him. One smashed, the other still clutched in his hoof. Twilight gasped, she could see the pool of vomit and the bits clinging to his mouth. She could see his breathing was not normal at all. It was shallow and rough, so she kicked his hoof. “Rescue, wake up!” in a voice that was almost as loud as the Canterlot royal voice. He did not respond, not even a grunt or twitch. This was bad, this was very bad. She was no medical expert, but she knew anypony ingesting that much booze that fast, was not long for the world. She had to do something, but what? “Come on Twilight, focus, think. Of course, get him to the hospital!” She said to herself. It took her under a second to calculate the distance, the weight of the big stallion and herself, the amount of magic she would have to use, then snapped off the spell. In a blinding flash of white, the two ponies disappeared from the area. Right at the front doors of the emergency room, another white flash of pure light exploded, she and Rescue appeared once more. Instantly she cried out into the doorway as it opened. “Hurry, he is hurt!” Seeing a nurse half asleep suddenly snap up and look at her, then hit a button on the desk and start galloping for where the draft stallion laid on the ground. Twilight watched as two orderlies and a doctor came rushing, picking up her friend and rushing him into one of the rooms. The nurse asked in a soft voice. “Should we send for his family?” Twilight gave a shake of her head, then turned. From her horn shot a beam of purple energy that popped in the sky, a bright star of brilliant magic that lasted for a few seconds. She knew every Pegasus that saw it would come rushing to aid any unicorn who sent up a distress signal like that. Sure enough, first there was Rainbow Dash, with Soarin at her side. Not two or three seconds later, several others arrived looking worried and alert. “Rainbow, go and get Ailan. Soarin, go find Applejack. The rest of you, spread out and find the searchers. Bring them here.” Dash lowered her ears. “Is he—” Twilight put a hoof on her friend's shoulder. “He is alive, for now. Go fast, Dash. He needs his family, and they need him.” She saw the determination in the rainbow-maned mare’s eyes, then spun and was off, not quite breaking the sound barrier, but darn close to it. Twilight was surprised as she turned, while others left, to see Thunderlane land in the lobby. “Did you find him?” She gave a nod and put a wing tip to his shoulder. “I did, but, we need to talk. Go find Big Macintosh, I think he will need to hear this from both of you,” she gulped and whispered. “If... he makes it.” Thunderlane’s eyes grew wide then closed tightly in pain. He gave a single nod and took off without a word, leaving Twilight, the Princess of Friendship, to look back at the emergency room and wonder, if she was about to have to go through this all over again. --- Sounds that were far too loud as Rescue started to come up out of the coma of sleep rung in his head. His mind was pounding, his whole body ached. His first thought was, where was he? Rescue slowly started to try and open his eyes, only to wince at the light and shut them tightly again, letting out a very pained groan as he did. “Don’t try to move around, you have several IV’s in you. If you feel like you are going to puke, there is a bucket to your left.” Came a voice he couldn’t place right now, but it had sound advice. Throwing up, he wasn’t about to—yes, he was. Turning his hoof, he reached out and found the bucket, stuffing his muzzle deeply in it just as his stomach gave a lurch and something vile and burning raced up his throat and out his mouth. He heaved three times hard, before the feelings faded off. Rescue felt the bucket be taken from him and heard it set down within reach with a slight slosh. Daring to try to open his eyes, he could make out somepony slightly gray. A blur, but gray, closing his eyes again. “W—where am I, what time is it?” The blob waited a moment then said. “You are in a hospital bed, it's almost noon.” Pondering that, he remembered breaking into the bar, that was around six the previous evening. He didn’t remember too much after that, then felt a small tube tucked into his mouth. “Sip, rinse, spit, do not try and drink it right now.” Rescue did as he was told. cool, very pure water flowed through the straw and into his mouth, he fought the urge to gulp he swished then parted his eyelids enough to find the bucket and spit out again, looking at the figure it came more into focus. “Thunderlane? W-where is Ailan, Where is—” “Rescue, shut the hell up and lay back. You and I are going to have a long talk.” Slumping back into the pillow, Rescue frowned, but for now he would have to play along. “There is a whole swarm of ponies out in the waiting room that all want to come in here. Some to yell at you, some to wingslap you, some to kick your ass, and some to hug you.” The big stallion turned away and worked on trying to get his eyes fully open. “You were brought in by the Princess, they had to pump your stomach and get you on extremely powerful drugs. You quit breathing once during the procedures, but started back up on your own. It's the only reason you are not intubated right now.” Rescue flattened his ears as he listened, not quite daring to speak up just yet. “Rescue, I am going to lay this out to you, and then leave. Big Mac is going to come in here after me and lay out some other things then leave. After that, you will lay there and take what is coming to you.” Thunderlane exhaled deeply and looked out the window. “You know how much it hurts to hit someone with a wing? It's like getting kicked in the balls. It hurts bad, but it's how we pegasi discipline our loved ones. Ailan said he never explained it all to you, so, I am doing it. You keep that in mind in the next few hours, you understand me?” Rescue turned and looked over at the gray pegasus then offered a bit of a nod, seeing Thunderlane lift the water cup again and bring it to his lips. “Tiny sip, don’t try to gulp, this time you can swallow it down. The doc will be in soon, but you have others to talk to first.” Rescue could see the frown, as well as the pain behind it too. As the pegasus stood and put the cup aside, he turned to leave and spoke, facing the door. “Rescue, you hurt a lot of ponies, but you hurt one of our flock, and your son the worst.” Watching him walk out, the words were like a kick to the gut, almost bad enough to make him throw up again. Rolling over onto his back once more to stare up at the ceiling, the sound of the door opening again made him glance over. A large red draft stallion moved in and shut the door behind him, sitting down at the bedside, glaring down at him. “I—I screwed up big time.” “Eeyup." Rescue lowered his ears some. Then, to his surprise, the big apple pony spoke more than he had ever heard him say at once. A deep, clear tone, while kind of attractive, he had to admit. However, he knew Mac didn’t swing that way. “Rescue, you dun screwed up. It ain’t bad enough we just put one of our own in the ground. Then, you had to go off and get drunk. Now...I know what it is like. Heck, Applejack slipped up a few times herself.” Rescue turned to look back up at the apple pony’s eyes directly. “However, you not only hurt everyone, you almost died. You ever think for a moment what that would have done to your family? And I ain’t talking about just Ailan and Pip.” He gestured with a hoof. “That family, all of them. They watched you be the rock for them. The team, the foals, the whole town watched you keep yourself steady. Now, ah ain’t gonna lecture you too much, you got a hell of a lot coming to you. You just keep this in mind as ya lay there. Every single one of them that walk in here, do and say what they will, because they love you." Standing up, he turned and left without another word, leaving Rescue to look at the door and then back out the window, and then to the door again. He watched it start to open, and gulped deeply.