//------------------------------// // Full Recovery // Story: Eternal Love, Life, and Death // by Fiction Quill //------------------------------// Lance awoke the next morning feeling well rested and surprisingly great. Normally ever since the explosion, Lance has woken up feeling sore and a bit in pain but nothing he can't handle since he has been stabbed and shot in non vital area's before. For some reason though, Lance didn't feel any pain or discomfort. Lance got out of the bed and noticed that not only were his bandages gone but so where his wounds besides the obvious scar. Lance was ecstatic. He could finally walk without requiring assistance. He could run, jump, swim and even fight without worries. Lance had to wonder though, how did he recover so quickly? The doctors said it would take at least a full week for him to recover and it has only been a couple days. There's no way his wounds could heal that fast, unless someone used magic to heal him. Lance got dressed and exited his room and began to wonder the halls. The castle guards were already informed of Lance by Cadence and Shining Armor so that Lance could walk around the castle freely. Lance began to approach the kitchen and dining hall and began to smell the delicious aroma of sweets and steamed veggies. As Lance approached the dining hall he ran into that stallion again who gave him that hateful glare the other day. "Hello sir. What would your name be?" The stallion sighed not wanting to make conversation with Lance but he didn't want to draw attention to himself for being rude to Lance. "It's Crystal Clear. So you're the human that the whole castle is talking about?" Lance nodded. "Yes. My name is Lance. We walked by each other in the halls yesterday." The stallion sighed again. "I remember. If you will excuse me I have to meet with the others to do some studying until our mentor arrives. The Prince and Princess along with your friends are already in the dining hall waiting for you." Lance nodded as he walked past Crystal Clear into the dining hall. "Thank you Crystal Clear, have a nice day." Crystal Clear huffed. When Lance was out of sight Crystal Clear, Roman in disguise gave out a sigh. "I have to meet up with Sombre to let him know of the situation." Roman galloped away in the direction of the cave. Lance smiled as he saw everyone patiently waiting for him. Twilight was the first to notice his entry. "Lance! Good morning!" Lance smiled. "Good morning Twi and everypony else, Spike as well." They all waved to Lance and Cadence smiled. "Did you sleep well last night Lance?" Lance nodded. "I sure did. By the way was it you that healed me Cadence?" Cadence shook her head. "No it wasn't me." Lance scratched the back of his head confusingly until he heard a familiar voice behind him. "It was me Lance." They all turned toward the door to see Starlight and Sunburst standing at the entrance. Lance looked at Starlight. "You healed me? When? How?" Starlight giggled and blushed. "Well you see after our activities last night, Sunburst and I decided that we wanted to give you a proper thank you for your advice that you gave me yesterday, but we didn't know how. Then Sunburst remembered that you were injured and I told him how you were training to be Captain of Twilight's royal guard, so we headed back to the castle early in the morning. Sunburst told his trainees to study until it was time to begin their training for the day. Sunburst asked the guards to show us to your room and he scanned and healed you early this morning. Which was a few hours ago." Everyone looked at the couple slightly shocked while Lance beamed. "We know that wouldn't be enough to repay you for getting Starlight and I together but we thought it was the least we can do." Lance ran up to Starlight and Sunburst and gave them a hug. "Thank you two so much! You have no idea how happy you have made me! I can now run and jump around without having to worry!" They both smiled and hugged Lance back. Sunburst got a serious look on his face. "You may have been healed, but the injuries still caused some serious problems and if you get into a fight you need to protect those injured areas. While they might be healed they can still be the cause of you getting hurt again or worse. Think of them being like a weakness for you. You will still be able to do the things you want but you must be careful to not let anything hit them." Lance nodded as he took his seat beside Twilight. "Yeah, I can feel that my bad leg feels a lot weaker than my good one. So I’ll be sure to be careful. I’m sure some muscles or possibly even some tendons were destroyed when that lead pipe went through my leg." Twilight winced as she remembered first finding Lance in his condition. Shining nodded. "Well you’re alive and well now, that's all that matters. Now let's eat." Lance smiled and nodded as they began to eat their breakfast. Lance knew the ponies of Equestria were kind and caring but he never truly understood how much until coming here himself. The more Lance thought about it the more appealing it sounded to stay in Equestria. He felt at home. He felt like he belonged. Back on earth most people who ended up discovering that he was a brony ridiculed, criticized, and discriminated him. Here he could be himself and not have to worry about any of that. Sure there will be ponies who won’t like him for being different and there will be some who will always find him strange, but he never had to worry about hiding himself anymore. He still wasn't sure about his decision yet but he had plenty of time to think about it. After they ate breakfast Cadence and Twilight went to go pick up Flurry Heart while Shining Armor put Lance through some real training. Spike was eager to help out Lance and Shining while Starlight went to observe Sunburst train his trainees. Shining Armor and Lance were currently in the middle of an even more serious sparing session. "Man you are a lot harder to fight than I thought Lance." Shining said panting. "Remember I had to hold back before so I wouldn't reopen my wounds." Lance was also panting. Shining chuckled. "Fair point. Seems to me we are evenly matched." Lance nodded "It would seem so, but I think we should stop for now. I’m sure the girls will be back any time now and I don't want to smell when they return." Shining Laughed. "Another fair point. Come on, let’s go get cleaned up and don't worry there is more than enough hot water for us to take separate showers at the same time." Lance chuckled as he headed towards the bathroom he used last night. After his shower Lance met up with Shining and Spike in the throne room waiting for Twilight and Cadence to return with Flurry Heart. They didn't have to wait long. "We're back!" Cadence yelled from down the hall with the sound of a giggling infant. Once they entered the throne room Lance saw Flurry Heart and started gushing over the sight. "Sweet Celestia! Flurry Heart looks much more adorable in person!" Lance cooed as he started tickling the infant and Flurry Heart giggled and laughed in delight. Cadence couldn't help but find the scene heart warming. "You must really love kids Lance." Lance nodded enthusiastically. "I sure do! They’re so adorable! I was an only child so I don't have any nieces or nephews. The only kids I got to be around were..." Lance immediately stopped talking and became depressed over the memory of his dead friend. Twilight and Cadence immediately noticed. "Were who Lance?" Cadence was curious but Twilight had a feeling. "My friend Roy's kids..." Tears started to form in Lances eyes. Twilight was the only one who noticed this time. "Oh I’m sure they are wonderful! Celestia never mentioned your friend Roy. I wonder why that is?" Cadence asked herself. Lance could barely hold back his tears as he ran to the room he had been staying in. Twilight ran after him. "Lance, wait!" However Lance didn't stop. Cadence and Shining Armor looked on with confusion and worry. "What's wrong with Lance?" Spike sighed. "Roy is Lance's closest friend and he died just before Lance arrived in Equestria but we don't know how or why." Cadence gasped when she realized what she had done. "I need to go apologize to him!" Spike stepped in the way. "That's not a good idea right now Cadence. Guys like to be alone when we are emotional like that with the exception of one. Give him time to calm down and I’m sure Twilight can help with that." Cadence sighed. "Alright. Just let me know when he calms down so I can apologize." Spike nodded. "I will have Twilight let you know when he calms down." Cadence nodded as she and Shining Armor went to their reading room. Twilight was surprised at how fast Lance was running considering he was on two legs, but Lance did say he was the best in the police force on earth and this must be one of the reasons why. Even so Lance still wasn't much faster than Twilight and she got inside the room before he could close the door. "Lance talk to me. Look, I understand you are upset that Roy is gone but I need to know, why do you keep getting so upset at even the mention of his name? I can understand you being a little sad, but it's like you are blaming yourself for his death." Lance sighed fighting back the tears. "Because I AM blaming myself Twilight. You wouldn't understand." Twilight's anger started to boil. "You shouldn't blame yourself Lance! It’s not your fault!" Lance's own anger began to rise. "But it IS my fault Twilight! If you were there you would understand!" Twilight stomped her hoof down in frustration. "Then help me understand Lance!" Lance turned around and glared at Twilight. "IT IS MY FAULT BECAUSE I GOT HIM KILLED!" Twilight was awestruck. Not just because of what Lance said but because of how he yelled at her. Lance sighed as he couldn't hold back his tears anymore. "I got Roy killed. It's all because of my principles that he is dead. My superiors told me that the orders were shoot to kill. They didn't even want me to try to take Roman in they just wanted him dead, but I didn't listen to the orders. Instead I followed my principles, even my friend Roy was telling me to just shoot him but I couldn't and because of that Roman tried to kill me but before he could fire his weapon, Roy stepped in the way and took the hit. He didn't even need to because I was wearing armor underneath my clothing but I didn't tell him that. Another reason why it is my fault that he is dead. It is all my fault." Twilight remained silent for a moment and then she flew up to Lance and slapped him across the face with her hoof. Lance looked at Twilight dumbstruck with both of their eyes filled with tears, but before Lance could say anything Twilight wrapped her hoofs around his neck and brought him into her warm embrace. "Don't you ever say it is your fault Lance. You were just doing what you believed was right and Roy did the same thing. Roy protected you because you were his friend. He knew what would happen if he protected you but he did it anyways because you two were best friends. I know Roy wouldn't blame you for this and I know he wouldn't be angry. Roy cared about you and did what he believed was right. It is not your fault." Lance was stunned by Twilight's words for a moment but then buried his face in her mane and wrapped his arms around her as he cried all of his sorrows away. "Twilight, Thank you" Twilight smiled warmly as she stroked his back soothingly. "I am here for you Lance. Anytime you need somepony to talk to." Lance nodded as he tightened his arms around her. Lance and Twilight stood like that for about 10 minutes. It didn't feel awkward to either of them. After Lance got done letting his emotions out he let go of Twilight and began to wipe away the remaining tears from his eyes. When Lance was able to see clearly again he and Twilight locked eyes. Neither of them could turn their gaze. That's when Lance noticed something. It was only for a second but he could have sworn he noticed a spark in Twilight's eyes. Neither of them said anything as they began to close the gap. Twilight's breathing began to pick up a little as her heart raced with anticipation and excitement. As they got closer to one another, Lance could feel Twilight's hot breathe and it smelled of daffodils. They began to come even closer as their lips were inches apart. Twilight and Lance went to close the final gap when... there was a knock on the door. Twilight and Lance quickly moved away from each other before Spike stepped in. "Hey Lance just checking on you to make sure you have calmed down." Lance nodded slightly blushing. "Y-Yeah everything is fine now." Spike smiled. "Good. Because I told Cadence that I would send Twilight to get her when you were calm so she could apologize. Anyways I’m going back to hang out with Shining Armor." Twilight who was also blushing nodded just before Spike left the room. "A-Alright. I-I will be right back Lance." Lance smiled warmly as Twilight went to go get Cadence. Cadence sat and waited patiently while playing with Flurry Heart. Cadence hadn't meant to cause Lance to become upset. Cadence handed Flurry Heart to Shining Armor and was about to go see if things were alright when Twilight walked in. "Oh Twilight! Has Lance calmed down?" Twilight simply nodded doing her best to hide her blush but to no avail as Cadence could clearly see the blush on her face. Luckily Shining was too preoccupied with Flurry Heart to notice. Cadence looked to her husband. "Shining me and Twilight are going for a walk. Some girl-talk before I go apologize to Lance." Shining smiled. "Take your time." Cadence smiled back and nodded as she and Twilight went to Shining's and her bedroom. When they had arrived at the room Twilight quickly dashed in and Cadence calmly walked and closed the door behind her and locked it afterwards. "So Twilight, tell me what happened. Why do you seem so nervous? Did something happen while you were talking with Lance?" Twilight nervously nodded. Cadence sighed. "Alright Twilight tell me everything that happened." "Well obviously he was upset from our previous discussion about Roy. You see he blames himself for Roy's death, but i will let Lance explain that to you himself." Cadence nodded. "Me and Lance got into heated discussion about why and well... I slapped him." Cadence gasped. "What! Why did you do that?" Twilight sighed. "If you heard the things he said then you would understand Cadence but that's not what has me so flustered. After I slapped him I pull him into my hooves and comforted him, in which he cried for a while which I don't mind... and after I told him that I would be there for him when he needed somepony to talk to... I... almost kissed him." Cadence looked at Twilight in confusion. "I am sorry, what was that?" Twilight fidgeted. "I said I almost kissed him." Cadence shook her head. "Twilight you need to speak up I can't hear-" Twilight suddenly cut her off by casting a soundproofing spell. "I SAID I ALMOST KISSED HIM!" Twilight quickly put her hooves to her mouth out of shock from her outburst. Cadence on the other hand was a bit shocked but at the same time excited as she pulled Twilight into a tight hug. "Oh my gosh Twilight! That's great! So now you know he likes you!" Twilight gently pushed Cadence away. "I doubt he does Cadence. He was probably just caught up in the moment. Why would he ever like me?" Twilight started to tear up a little as Cadence looked at her empathetically. "You know Twilight. I thought the same thing before me and Shining first started dating. I mean I KNEW he liked me but I thought it was just because I was a princess like all of the other stallions in Canterlot, but I decided to find out for myself. So I let him take me out on a date and he proved that he did like me not because I was a princess, but he liked me for me. Now you might not be able to find out if Lance likes you with the same tactic that I did with Shiny, but I know you will figure something out, plus if he didn't like you I doubt he would have let you get that close." Twilight smiled appreciatively. "I really hope your right Cadence. Oh! And please don't bring up what I just told you to anyone, especially Lance. If he does find out about my feelings I want to be the one to tell him." Cadence smiled warmly as she went to go apologize to Lance. Lance sat on his bed, the most recent event running through his mind repeatedly. The more he thought about that moment the more his face began to heat up. Lance actually almost kissed Twilight! Sure Lance has kissed other girls before but they didn't mean anything to him. Lance could never feel a connection with any of the girls he dated. Lance could feel it in the air this time. He knew he wasn't in love but these feelings are still stronger than any he may have had with any girl on earth. "I can't believe that almost happened. Did Twilight actually want to kiss me, or was she just caught up in the moment?" Lance scratched the back of his head as he began to contemplate the scenario. Lance began to chuckle and talk to himself. "Come on Lance why would Twilight have liked you? Sure she may consider you a friend but she likes Flash." Lance cringed at hearing Flash's name. By no means did he hate Flash, but he was extremely jealous that Twilight liked him. Lance hated having these feelings of jealousy toward the pegasus guard, but Lance couldn't help it. It was then Lance heard a knock on the door. To Lance's expectations, it was Cadence knocking at the door. "Hey Lance. Listen, I wanted to apologize if I upset you earlier. I had no idea your friend passed away." Lance shook his head. "No it's alright Cadence. It's just hard knowing that my friend is gone. I never told Celestia about him because I was still too upset to mention it. Twilight, Spike, and Starlight are the only two that knows about him excluding you and Shining armor now." Cadence nodded in understanding. "Twilight also mentioned that you blame yourself, why is that?" Lance sighed. "I am not ready to talk about that yet. In time I will but not yet. I only told Twilight because we got into a slight argument and she was being persistent about it while I was upset." Cadence giggled. "I can tell by that red mark on your face." Lance chuckled as he rubbed his bruised cheek. "Yeah she really gave me a wakeup call." Both Cadence and Lance shared a laugh. "Are you sure you are alright though?" Lance gave her a thumbs up. "Yeah I’m fine and you didn't have to apologize either. After all how could you have known since I never told Celestia?" Cadence smiled appreciatively. "Thank you Lance. But I still want to make up for it regardless so how about I treat you to dinner tonight?" Lance waved his hands. "There is no need for that Cadence." Cadence smirked. "Oh but I insist. Don't worry I will bring Twilight with me. Since you know about our world you know I am with Shining and I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize our marriage. This is just a simple way to make up for upsetting you earlier." Lance Laughed. "That wasn't my point. I just see no reason why you have to go through all of that trouble over something that isn't your fault." Cadence blushed from slight embarrassment. "Well still I feel like I need to. Besides it's no trouble at all. Plus I think you deserve a little reward for making my sister in-law happy." Lance looked at Cadence with confusion. "What are you talking about?" Cadence giggled. "I am talking about how you made her happy by actually paying attention to her when she is teaching you." Lance chuckled. "Alright, I guess there is no arguing." Cadence beamed triumphantly. "Good. I already had a talk with Shining about it and he doesn't mind. He actually wants some brother time with Spike anyways. Those two and their comics." Both Cadence and Lance shared another laugh. "Alright I might as well get ready. Should I wear something nice or wear something casual." Cadence thought for a moment. "Wear something nice. I am taking you two to an even more fancier restaurant this time. It's not necessarily high class but still I would suggest wearing a tux regardless." Lance nodded as Cadence left the room and Lance proceed to get ready for tonight's dinner. Little did Twilight or Lance know that Cadence had her own plans for the two love birds this evening. If they didn't know about each other's feelings now then they definitely should by tonight. Back at the cave, Sombre was patiently waiting for any news of Roman's progress. Sombre heard footsteps getting closer. Sombre recognized the sound of the footsteps and immediately knew who it was. It was Roman currently back in his human form. "So how is the progress going Roman?" Roman cackled. "Things are going according to plan, but we may have a slight problem." Sombre raised his eyebrows. "What kind of problem?" Roman gritted his teeth. "Turns out my suspicions were confirmed. Lance is alive and is in the Crystal Empire as we speak." Sombre merely shook his head. "No matter. It can't be helped. You will just have to be extra careful now." Roman scoffed. "I am sure he has told the rulers about me already, although things are going so well right now it shouldn't be much longer until we can move forward with our plan." Sombre snickers evilly. "Excellent. How soon will we be able to strike?" Roman cackles again. "Give it a few days after Lance leaves the Crystal Empire. We will be able to strike then." A pleased grin appears on Sombre's muzzle. "Perfect. Soon I will have my revenge and my empire back, then afterwards we will work on getting your revenge." They both share an evil laugh. "I had better get back before they start to get suspicious." Sombre nods. "Alright. Let me know when Lance leaves so I can prepare for the upcoming attack." Roman nods as he heads back to the Crystal empire. "Soon my dear crystal slaves. Soon."