Chapter 29
Drifting in an out of sleep as if caught up on a free-floating raft on the currents had become the norm. It was so much worse than my first hospital visit in Equestria. Today was no different, as I'd barely spent two hours awake as of yet. Clocky, my affectionately named pop up display clock, appeared in the lower right corner of my vision again at my mental request. It was now decorated in yellows, pinks, purples, and indigos. I got really bored last night and those colors appealed to me for some reason.
Mentally chuckling to myself, I resumed considering the flood of questions that drifted through my head as I floated in the pseudo empty space. Well, technically I was in my head anyway, but giving the questions a visual avatar sounded amazingly annoying. Unless, of course, I made them little versions of Twilight and Fluttershy. Although, then I'd spend more time watching them than actually thinking about the questions, I had a feeling.
I digress. There were indeed all sorts of important questions revolving around everything that had just happened. I'd been focusing so far on the extremely obvious ones with no luck at all. What was I exactly? What did Nirru and Keela know about me? How was I to find a place to fit in anymore? There were no answers to some, and the rest I didn't have access to. Still, maybe I was being too obvious. Another good thing to find out would by why I was created in the first place. If I knew what purpose I served exactly, maybe that would make the 'how' and 'what' a little bit easier? Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure only Doctor Kyliona could answer that fully, so that was mostly out of the question. Maybe once the video finished repairing itself, I'd learn more.
Finding out everything Keela knew would also help. She had obviously hidden things from me. Still, I hadn't heard a single extra-dimensional peep for a day and a half. There was this sneaking suspicion that she was avoiding me, too. Well, technically Rainbow and Applejack weren't avoiding me if they didn't realize I was awake and listening to anything that entered my room. Still, they hadn't visited even once. Pinkie hadn't either, but I truly had no idea as to why with her.
Not that I was one to talk about avoidance. I'd spent the last thirty-six or so hours hiding inside of myself, barring all outside senses minus hearing. I just wasn't ready to face them. Hell, I wasn't ready to face me. Further, I refused to use the links to either Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash to listen in. It felt too much like eavesdropping and I respected their privacy. The only thing I allowed myself to listen to was what was within earshot of my still snoozing body.
Speaking of, that brought me to the biggest and most important question of all... Where in the bloody hells was the King of Hearts?! I glared at the full cascade of cards I had going. If I could find the other red king, I could move the entire stack and get at the last unrevealed pile! Damn it. Knowing my luck, the card I needed was in the pile itself. This was an extremely frustrating game! Wasn’t it supposed to be easier than that blasted mine thing? After blowing myself up two hundred and thirty six consecutive times in a row, I had decided to switch to cards.
"Are you sure the doctor said he was, um, healing up all right? I thought he was supposed to wake up like normal. Oh, not that I'm doubting the doctor's knowledge or anything! I'm sorry!" I suddenly heard murmured from the body's audio input. My mental ears twitched and I looked upwards, as if that would somehow help me hear it better. I caught myself a moment later and snickered. That voice sounded remarkably like Fluttershy. She was still here?
There was a light sigh, followed by, "Yes. It's okay, Fluttershy. The doctor said that it was very much possible for him to spend several days asleep. His body took a huge shock." Twilight, who was apparently there with her, had also been visiting a lot. Fluttershy visited more in-between taking care of her plethora of animal friends and visiting with Rarity and Twilight, from what she'd told me so far.
Well, she didn't really 'tell' me. When she was by herself here, she'd often talk to me as if I were awake. That I honestly tried not to listen to for her privacy, but some of it was really hard to not hear! I blushed lightly at the thought. While it was adorable that she was feeling safer around me, I hadn't realized exactly how nerve-wracking everything had been to her. She was scared, and I wish I knew what I could do to help her through it.
"Does anypony know more about what happened yet? It's simply dreadful to think of what went on that night! I can't imagine what he felt like; actually getting foalnapped by that brute!" Rarity sympathized dramatically a moment later, although a little more solemn than I was used to. I was just glad to hear her talking to Twilight again after what had happened.
"No. That's the frustrating thing. Neither Princess Celestia or Princess Luna will tell me anything more than the public statement they released. They thanked me for my research into the creature that supposedly defeated my duplicate, but they still won't let me see the, uh, body of it," Twilight replied, sounding both perturbed and annoyed at the same time.
Fluttershy let forth a low whimper, adding, "I still can't believe Princess Luna had to, um, kill it." I closed my nonexistent eyes gently, momentarily drifting in the darkness. There was nothing I could do for her, though. It would be so much worse if she knew that I was the creature instead. No, her believing that it was dead was ideal.
A moment of silence passed, my ears picking up only a quiet rustling noise. Movement maybe, but I couldn't tell what it was with my eyes still closed. A murmur followed, and a knock at the door shortly after that. My ears perked at the new development. A split second later, I mentally winced as I realized my real ears had also twitched and rotated.
If anypony had noticed, they were silent about it. "We are sorry to interrupt, girls, but my sister requests an audience with thy Elements of Magic and Generosity," was suddenly spoken in an elegant tone. Given the wording involved, I didn't need to really hear the voice in order to realize it was the Princess of the Moon.
"Oh? Why just us, Princess?" Twilight asked, sounding curious, but with a certain level of excitement in her tone that she kept hidden carefully. Ah yes, of course she'd be excited to go see Celestia.
My thoughts drifted back to that night and I inwardly sighed. After all of this time and everything she said to me, she had still kept things hidden. Princess Celestia had told her things involving myself, apparently, that Twilight had neglected to relay. From the sounds of it, it had been some sort of warning about me.
I was a little bitter, admittedly. I didn't fully trust the lavender mare, or her alicorn tutor. If they would simply share with me everything that they knew, it would be perfect. I didn't even know why they felt they needed to keep it a secret in the first place. Still, at least she hadn't been ordered to spy on me again; at least not to my knowledge. Happy thoughts, Mender!
"-worry. I can keep an eye on Mender. It shouldn't be too hard seeing as he's asleep, right?" Fluttershy timidly asked, me coming back in the middle of it. I smiled, wondering what she'd do if she knew I wasn't asleep.
"Of course, Fluttershy. We have no doubt at all of your capabilities in watching over Mender, worry not. We shall return after our conversation with Princess Celestia has been concluded, of course," Rarity assured as I heard hoof steps heading towards where I knew the door to the room was located. Wait, was I in the same hospital room as before?
"I just don't understand what more we can add. Didn't she already get the report from the ponies who cleaned up the chandelier?" I heard Twilight question, the position of her voice shifting out of the room alongside the hoof step noises.
There was a faint giggle from Luna that made me a little suspicious. This suddenly felt like a set up. "Oh, of course. My sister trusts you very, very much and would like a full report from both of thou directly, however. She feels that some aspects may have been, well, glazed over." Well, it made sense that the construction team probably wanted to cover up the somewhat sloppy job they had done, but this seemed a little too convenient, timing-wise. Biting the bullet, I slid the solitaire game to the side and, for the first time in over a day, drew myself back to full consciousness.
My real eyes opened after their voices disappeared down the hall. Fluttershy was perched up on one of the visitation chairs with her hind legs on the seat and her forelegs resting on the windowsill. She shyly peeked out through the blinds, her head tracking the large yet regal midnight blue wings outside as they stretched gently. Her tail swayed upwards and curled at the base of her back hooves as she did so, her ears lowering somewhat. I smiled lightly at her adorable display, and exhaled quietly to calm my nerves.
The act of breathing out caused a mild ache along my torso and I frowned. No, it made sense that I was still sore. They'd been adding things to the IV that caused my regenerative capabilities to go into overdrive, but I still had to recover from an intrusive chest surgery and several broken ribs. My left foreleg was also beyond most of their medicines. From the mutters of a couple nurses yesterday, they sounded shocked that I even had the leg still in the first place.
I glanced at the bandages around the leg while Fluttershy was distracted. Due to the nature of my newly discovered electronically supplemented body, I knew the state of my leg under the wrappings. I contemplated adding 'ugly as sin' to my status readout, honestly. The skin was rapidly regenerating and becoming thicker again, but the muscles would take a while to recover. The fancy computer bits in me stated a good three weeks at my current regeneration level. Of course, I also had the option of 'supplementing' the regenerative process with the massive amounts of, well, mass inside me, but I had so far refused. It didn't feel like 'my' mass. It had been forcibly taken from a few billion Keldarians.
"Relax, Fluttershy! You're confident and he's already perfectly stable, right? It's not like you're going to have to worry about anything happening," Fluttershy suddenly muttered, dropping herself roughly back down to her haunches as she shook her head. I smiled again, for real this time, as I saw her ears twitched back and forth nervously. She was always so adorable. Some days it felt like I'd be perfectly content with just watching her little movements forever. Other days, I wanted to bound up and pounce on her, hugging her until she was lulled to sleep. Yet other days...
My eyes drifted away from her tail and I blushed softly. Focus, Mender. Do you really want to do this? I had the sneaking suspicion that this was set up intentionally. Was it possible that Luna knew I was awake the whole time?
Regardless of the truth, I did have an opportunity now, didn't I? After everything that had happened, I hadn't really wanted to talk to Twilight. Especially not the second I 'woke up', as she'd probably pepper me with questions. I was also a little wary after hearing about the Celestia thing.
Fluttershy, however, presented another set of problems. Her link to me and natural empathy made it very difficult to hide things from her. Further, she was likely the last pony I wanted to find out about, well, what I was. Still, just her being here caused me to feel almost compelled to talk to her. Maybe that was what Celestia and Luna wanted?
Fluttershy wobbled a bit, but slowly turned around on the cushion. She managed to keep her balance as she relaxed against the back of the chair, her wings fanning out and stretching with a little shiver. Those lovely teal eyes opened fully as she shifted them. I made my choice, keeping my eyes open as she looked over at me.
Predictably, she froze an instant later. Her eyes slowly widened as I made sure not to meet them directly with my own. If she saw directly into my eyes, who knew what she'd be able to see. Maybe I was a little paranoid, but I heard an expression somewhere saying that the eyes were the 'window to the soul', if I remember correctly. "Hey, Fluttershy. How are you doing?" I asked, feeling both awkward and extremely lame. What exactly was I supposed to say? My voice came out in a raspy whisper anyway due to disuse, I guessed.
A moment later, I realized that I had misjudged her overall reaction almost completely. Her wings flitted out and she hopped the distance between the chair and bed with a gentle gliding motion. I tilted my head as she hit the covers into a stumble, falling forward and lightly falling against my chest. My eyes widened and my cheeks got warm again as she gently squeezed me upon coming to a stop. Oddly, she felt practically weightless against my body, the collision almost non-existent.
"I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried. Please, um, don't do that again! Uh, if you can help it, that is. Not that I'm saying it was your fault!" she rapidly started to request, then backpedal. Well, some things hadn't changed. I smiled and averted my eyes before she could look up, slipping my still functioning right foreleg around her back gently.
"I'm sorry for worrying you, Fluttershy. Are you okay?" I asked softly, barely a whisper. Talking left a light stinging sensation in my throat so I kept the volume down.
Fluttershy nodded against my chest before adding, "I'm okay. I was just worried about you. I, um, really, really like you, Mender." She had stiffened when I touched her back, but with a timid glance backwards at my leg, she smiled softly and relaxed against me.
My blush picked up again, but I just rubbed her back a little bit more, continuing to look away. I didn't think there were any outward signs, but I didn't know if Fluttershy would just 'tell' that I wasn't a pony by empathy alone, so I avoided her eyes still. "Um, I'm a little behind on what happened after I lost consciousness. How is everypony else?" I inquired, wondering why I hadn't seen Pinkie yet. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were probably just avoiding me.
"Oh! I'm sorry. I forgot you just woke up and probably have lots of questions!" the timid yellow pegasus squeaked out a moment later, holding a hoof to her mouth while her ears twitched in nervousness again.
How could she forget that I'd just woken up that fast? I contemplated a deadpan look, but she was just too adorable to stay mad at for long. Smiling, I shook my head gently and assured, "It's okay, Fluttershy. I've been awake off and on, and just resting for the most part. I haven't seen Pinkie yet and was worried, was all."
She momentarily looked surprised before smiling again and giving a shy nod. "Pinkie is okay. Well, actually she's going stir crazy, but she's in good health, I mean. She cracked a rib in the explosion because she knocked Applejack out of the way instead of dodging it. She's stuck with bed rest for four days while Zecora's potion heals her," Fluttershy explained quietly, watching me with interest. I didn't even try to fathom how Pinkie could manage to get Applejack out of the way of a point blank explosion and escape with almost no damage. Some things just weren't worth breaking your mind over.
I exhaled and nodded. She was okay. "I'm glad she's all right," I muttered, closing my eyes again and resting back against the pillow. Fluttershy's light form followed me down, resting lightly against my chest as she pulled herself closer.
"Um, if you don't mind me asking, why didn't you ask about Rainbow and Applejack? Uh, you don't have to answer if you don't want to!" she asked a moment later before releasing a shiver against me. Her closeness was strange, but entirely welcome. I hadn't expected her to suddenly pounce like that. Normally she didn't get this physical with me.
I shook my head, shifting my gaze down to the mixture of fur between us instead of off to the side. "I figured Applejack and Rainbow were avoiding me after what happened," I explained softly. Actually, I was glad she was this close. I didn't have to put as much effort into exercising my sore throat.
Fluttershy watched me for a moment, her pink mane swaying lightly as she tilted her head, and then nodded. Her eyes were massive and seemed to almost draw mine in. I resisted as best I could, earning a frown. "Well, um, I'm not sure about Dash. Applejack's been, well, she hasn't been doing so great. Most of her time has been split between apple bucking for harvest and taking care of Pinkie as best she can. I tried to talk to her but, um, she only got quiet instead." I listened through the whole thing and sighed weakly afterwards. I was glad she was taking care of Pinkie, but part of me was sad over everything that had happened.
"I'll talk to her today again, I think. Maybe she'll change her mind once she knows you're awake?" she continued a moment later, seeing my hesitation.
I swallowed and nodded. "I wish none of it had happened. Seeing all of that must have been..." I furthered, trailing off as I decidedly couldn't find an adjective to apply to it.
Fluttershy cut me off regardless, surprising me by raising her hoof up gently in front of my face. My eyes snapped to it, then widened as I realized hers were right on the other side of the hoof. She tricked me?
"That's better," she whispered, slowly lowering her hoof as she kept her eyes locked dead center with mine. I froze in place, unable to look away in the slightest. She almost seemed to pull me out of myself with her gaze, the warm teal washing out my surroundings. "You're in a lot of pain, I know. But, um, please. Don't blame yourself, or Applejack. Please? She made a really, really bad mistake and I can tell she is hurting really badly for it. I don't want to see anypony I care about suffer like this," she continued after thoroughly locking me in place.
I shivered and snapped out of it as she finally closed her eyes gently, letting out a soft hum from deep inside herself. Her wings expanded slightly, fluttering out around my leg and relaxing over my shoulder a moment later. "I'm, well, surprised though. I didn't think that... The way you're holding me..." she muttered, sounding unsure of herself. I realized I'd been gently rubbing her back in a small circle. My grip on her had strengthened a little while she was talking, I noticed. My eyes widened. Had I been too rough?!
"I'm sorry, Fluttershy! I didn't realize I'd held you too tight. Um, I'm sorry, " I rapidly apologized, easing up instantly and releasing her back as best I could.
Her wing gently held my foreleg down against her fur, however. "No! I mean, um, please keep this up. I'd always heard that stallions were, well, rough. They’re stronger, which meant they were supposed to be less, um, gentle, I guess?" she explained, tilting her head at me.
I frowned, contemplating pointing out that Applejack could probably break most stallions in half outright with little effort. Still, I had a feeling she was generalizing. "Not that I'm saying you're weak! Oh no. I'm sorry," she murmured a second later when I didn't say anything.
Snickering quietly, I shook my head. "I guess I'm just a little unsure on if I'm in the right or wrong?" I reasoned, frowning slightly myself. It didn't help that neither of us were apparently very gifted in the speaking department.
Fluttershy surprised me yet again by outright blushing. "You're so gentle with me. I was really worried that you'd be rough or insensitive, even if you didn't mean to be. This is, um, really different from what I was expecting, but in a very, very good way," she explained further, settling down against my chest again. Her blush remained, giving her a warm tint as she smiled up at me.
Suddenly, my existential problems seemed a little further away. She didn't see anything in my eyes after all, so maybe, just maybe I could at least pretend to be a normal pony? I smiled finally and shook my head towards her after realizing I was hesitating.
"I'd never be forceful with you, Fluttershy. I care about you a lot and would never hurt you on purpose," I assured. Any time I hurt the feelings of these ponies was definitely accidental.
Her eyes widened slightly, the pink in her cheeks shifting to a light red instead. The smile gracing her features remained, however, as she asked, "Really? I trust you, Mender. No matter what anypony else says, you're a good stallion. I, um, really want to be your fillyfriend too, I think. I'm going to ask Twilight about it tonight." My eyes widened, earning another giggle from her as she watched my shocked reaction. I felt a familiar heat rush into my cheeks and knew I probably mirrored her blush now.
The surprise only magnified as she gently slid forward, brushing a forehoof to each side of my face as she pulled herself upwards. My eyes extended to maximum size as her eyes softly closed, muzzle pressing timidly into mine with the utmost care not to jostle me. I couldn't help it really. My right foreleg pulled her closer against me as I kissed back. The feeling of her body's heat radiating into me mixed with the burst of happiness her empathic link betrayed. The combined effect was enough to bring a new wave of heat to my cheeks, even without the need to realize what exactly was happening. She was kissing me! On the lips!
Seconds passed before she slowly eased up. I let her break away at her own pace, withdrawing a few centimeters but not quite retreating. Her heavier breathing teased my snout as she relaxed against me again with a shiver. "You meant it. You really are gentle, and want me to be at ease," she murmured a moment later, teal eyes opening softly as they re-focused on me. Oh. She felt me through the link, too.
"Yes. I want you to be comfortable, Fluttershy. I..." The thought drew forth hesitation as I swallowed weakly. The shaking sensation drifted into my working forehoof again. I was scared. If she knew what I was, she wouldn't be here. It wasn't me attracting her, but the mask I'd thrown up to trick her. What did that make me, regardless of what I actually was? My eyes closed again and I looked away from her, no longer able to face her gaze. Tricking such an amazing, wonderful mare was shameful at best.
Fluttershy noticed my shaking almost instantly, pulling herself a little closer to me as a result. "Mender, what's wrong? Are you, um, okay?" she inquired timidly, sounding unsure of herself again. I wanted her to be comfortable, but maybe I didn't want her to be comfortable around me?
"Fluttershy, do you think you could wait to ask Twilight about being my fillyfriend? I don't want you to hastily make a decision that, well, you'll end up regretting." Annoyingly enough, I couldn't prevent my voice from shaking as I said it. I swallowed again, feeling myself get antsy. My eyes widened as a flickering image of claws tearing through Twilight's face flashed through my mind. I jumped as it passed, gone an instant later. No! That wasn't Twilight. I wasn't going to do that to my friends!
A moment passed in disorientation before I glanced back at Fluttershy. My surprise spiked when I saw that she was pulling the sheets up over both of us, settling down against my front while I lay on my side still. Despite being careful of my damaged left foreleg, I winced a little as she settled in, pulling the bandaged limb back before giving her a questioning glance. When had she gotten under the covers? I felt out her connection and found it fully intact. I'd lost a couple of seconds, but it was still Fluttershy; she was no imposter.
"I'm, um, staying here, Mender. I'm going to stay with you and help you through this any way I can, uh, if that's okay with you. Um, I really want you to get better!" she confessed, tucking her wings in and gently pressing her muzzle against my chest. I blushed again, my mind not fully processing this new predicament. It kept trying to tell me that Fluttershy was in bed with me and snuggling! Totally ridiculous.
"F-Fluttershy, you don't need to worry about me. I just want you to be happy and, um, I'm not sure if I'd be the best stallion to do that for you. You can still be with Twilight, of course," I assured, wondering if that was the reason she was being so insistent. Hell, if I told them, Twilight probably wouldn't want to be with me like that anyway, which would solve any sort of jealousy issue that might be worrying Fluttershy in the first place. The thought hit me like a bag of apples at high velocity, and I swallowed the lump in my throat again. Why? Why couldn't I just be a normal pony?!
Ultimately, I couldn't see a way out of this. If I kept everything a secret from everypony except those that knew already, I'd be living a lie, forever hiding what I really was behind a mask. They wouldn't love me, but some close resemblance of me instead; one with less flaws. But if I told them, they'd all see me for the abomination I actually was. Was it even possible for them to care about something that was fake? I was a scout, weapon, and key from another dimension that, at the very least, represented a passive threat to everything they held dear. Worst case scenario, I was a ticking time bomb waiting to destroy the universe as they knew it. How does anypony treat 'that' as an individual? How would they really see me as anything but a monstrosity?
The warm lips kissing under each eye snapped me out of it again. Fluttershy kissed lightly, brushing away drops of liquid on my cheeks that I hadn't realized were there to begin with. "Just let it out, Mender. If you feel like talking about everything, I'm, um, here, of course. But you have me now, no matter what you say or do. Twilight too. I can feel it," she spoke softly, sounding surprisingly sure of herself. What did she mean?
"Have you?" I asked softly, opening my eyes again and searching hers for emotions. A big, fancy computer in my head didn't help me figure ponies out any easier, I noticed.
She smiled, expression softening as she relaxed against my pillow again. "No matter what you say and no matter what I say, you let me see who you are. I like what I, um, saw. I don't know why you want me to reconsider but, well, I'm sorry! I won't," she explained, closing her eyes after and wincing, acting as if I'd get mad at her for speaking her mind. I smiled, finding her adorable instead. Confusing, but very adorable.
It lingered on the edge of my tongue. I tasted it; rolled it around in my mouth as my thoughts drifted. Instead, a compromise of sorts came out of me instead. "Even if I was a monster? The scariest monster you can think of?" I asked, my energy draining out with each word forced free of myself. Dash's horrified look flashed through my mind again and I shivered, pushing back the memory again. I already saw her answer.
"If you were a big, scary monster, I'd probably panic for a moment. But you're still you, Mender. The you in here is what makes me feel safe, no matter what you look like," she explained further, resting her forehead on my chest before asking, "I know you'll be, um, gentle and care for me. Why be scared of that?" I paused, trying to fully grasp what she meant.
"Is that what you meant what you said I have you?" I asked, wondering what this meant to her.
She smiled fully and raised her head up again, actually looking somewhat emboldened. Well, emboldened for Fluttershy, anyway. "You're stuck with us. Twilight is smart. Neither of us are going to let you get away now that we know what you're like," she added, blushing afterwards. Her surprising amount of comfort with the declaration surprised me. Of course, she undoubtedly knew I didn't want to get away in the first place, but it was still a new level of trust she gave me. Smiling, I gave her a gentle squeeze. If she was speaking truthfully, which I was inclined to believe, that gave me a bit more hope for the future. Having a pony that cared about me was worlds better than being alone with the cacophony of madness in my skull. Even if I was a monster, I'd tolerate it for Fluttershy.
"Thank you," I muttered into her ear as she let out a pleasant sounding sigh against me.
Her eyes didn't open this time, but she smiled and nodded against me instead. "Rest a bit, Mender. We both need it," she whispered back. I blushed but couldn't make myself deny her request. She seemed to be truly okay with being here. I wanted her. Her warmth felt amazing and I wanted to just squeeze her and snuggle for all of eternity, honestly. It felt so simplistic, carefree, and absolutely amazing. Her wanting even just a drop of that was more than welcome. I decided I wasn't about to say no, anyway.
For the first time since Luna found me, I willingly let myself drift to sleep. This time I wasn't lonely, and had a smile on my face.
* * * * *
“Fluttershy!” sounded out in a distinctly Twilight Sparkle voice in the echoes of my mind. Groggily, my systems restarted and I stirred as I felt the warm, furry body next to me give a violent start of surprise. I felt Fluttershy sit up rapidly and look towards the door of the room. Murmuring in a whisper, I wanted to just bury my face in her nearby tummy and go back to bed. Why was Twilight raising a fuss? Wait, something told me I should know this.
“Ah! Um, hello Twilight! Rarity! Uh, this isn’t what it looks like,” my now fidgeting bed companion excused, making it extremely hard to lull myself back to sleep with her sporadic movements.
There was a low sigh, followed by, “I know you do so enjoy Mender’s company and are obviously considering joining their herd, but you really should get permission before crawling into bed with him as he sleeps.” Rarity spoke calmly, a reasonable counterpart to the other unicorn in the room. Oh yeah, I should probably do something about that accusation.
“Um, but he-“ Fluttershy started to profess, grinding to a halt instantly when I opened my eyes against her and gently raised my head, turning to look at the two newcomers. Both Twilight and Rarity shifted to startled shock almost instantly, but I held my tongue. Rarity was in a simple button vest, undoubtedly to fashionably combat the increased colder temperatures outside. Twilight looked far more frazzled with a bit of her mane misplaced here and there. I’d seen that before when she got stressed out over things. She was halfway through setting aside a scarf and promptly dropped it upon seeing me awake. Both wore a similar wide-eyed, mouth slightly agape expression however.
After half a second of sleepy observation, I shook my head and sighed, looking down at the blankets again. Rarity and I had departed on somewhat awkward terms, and having personally murdered a doppelganger of Twilight no less than forty-eight hours prior, it felt a little awkward looking at her, too. Plus there was the whole 'lying to me' thing again, but sadly, I was getting used to that. A part of me blamed Celestia regardless.
"I gave her permission. She was keeping me company," I elaborated, finally breaking the silence of the room. Rarity recovered first and closed her mouth again.
I saw her form a hesitant smile out of the corner of my vision as she relaxed into a gentle sitting position again. "Well, that certainly makes it all right then. I'm very pleased to see you up, Mender," she agreed politely, letting Fluttershy finally relax against me again. I pushed my forehead into her chest and nodded against her softly, enjoying the feeling of her coat on my face. She squirmed for a moment as if tickled, but settled in and wrapped both forelegs over my shoulders. I wasn't about to start complaining about her newfound cuddly nature, that was for sure.
Twilight hadn't said anything yet, however, so I glanced back over at her. Her gaze was locked onto Fluttershy, blank look adorning her face. She hesitated, noticing my attention a moment later and straightened her pose. "Um, yeah. I'm glad you're awake, too, Mender. Princess Celestia asked to be notified of when you woke up, so I'll run and get her real quick," she informed, turning towards the door again.
"Twilight Sparkle!" Rarity exclaimed, the surprisingly harsh tone giving Fluttershy another spasm and causing me to widen my eyes slightly, shifting my attention over to the rather annoyed looking mare. Twilight froze and winced as if burned, but slowly shifted herself around. "What do you think you're doing? You know what you promised," the pearly unicorn continued a moment later, giving Twilight a harsh glare.
She swallowed nervously and backed away from Rarity's gaze before rapidly shaking her head, "I... I will talk to him about it! Just, well, does it have to be right now?" she pleaded, eyes drooping as she looked away from her friend.
"Yes. I shall go and talk to Princess Celestia instead. You're not backing out of this," Rarity spoke softly, but with a certain air of finality as she walked past the lavender unicorn and headed out the door in a brisk trot.
"Rarity, please!" Twilight called after her, seconds before a light blue aura grabbed the door and pulled it shut right in front of the bookish mare.
Fluttershy looked just as confused as I probably did at the moment as we both watched the proceedings. What was that about? Twilight shivered lightly and slowly rotated around, turning her gaze towards me again an instant later. Half a minute passed in awkward silence before she finally shook her head and sighed. "Um, I'm sorry about all that, Mender. You do really deserve the truth, though," she finally spoke.
A sudden, horrible thought shifted into my mind an instant later, however. Fluttershy and I were alone in the room with her. No, I wasn't going to make the same mistake again. "Wait. What's Rainbow Dash's favorite book series?" I asked coldly, staring at her for any shift in posture at all. My back stirred as I prepared to take her head off in an instant if I had to. I knew this was Fluttershy against me, and nopony was going to hurt her while I was here.
Twilight jumped at my interruption and widened her eyes. The mare against me gave out a squeak at my tone shift and looked at me curiously instead. A moment later, Twilight's distinctly lavender eyes softened and she answered, "Daring Do. I was the one who got her hooked on it." Oh. That was an interesting tidbit of information. I relaxed and nodded, calming my new back muscles again. Twilight liked fiction, too?
"You are you, then. The only ponies she could have possibly copied would be you, Rainbow, and Applejack. Only you're in the room, though, so I had to be sure," I explained softly, feeling Fluttershy tense against me a moment later. Twilight nodded and looked down, brushing her hoof along the ground before finally sitting down.
"Mender... Please don't worry about that anymore. The Princesses are here and have used magic to protect the town," Fluttershy assured, giving me an assuring squeeze.
The lavender mare looked up again as well before nodding. "They're fully shielding us with my brother's help. He's in town as well. I don't think the dimensional shift they used before will work inside of the shield, so you're safe, Mender. I'm really me," she added, walking up and sitting back down right next to my bed. We locked eyes for a moment, and a pang of regret danced across hers a moment later. "I'm sorry, Mender. I should have just told you, but Princess Celestia warned me that your old existence might still be a threat."
I took a moment to process that. It was more vague than I realized, but there was a possibility she was lying to me again. "Why didn't you just say something, Twi?" I asked softly, watching her as my body grew sleepy again.
Her ears flattened down against her head and she looked away again. "I was... It was foolish of me. I was frustrated because I couldn't find anything wrong or detect anything with my magic. But you still kept insisting that there was something there. I didn't want to believe that there was something there that my magic couldn't pick up," she admitted slowly, seemingly considering each word with great care.
"T-Twilight! Um, doesn't that mean we could have prevented this?" Fluttershy asked ahead of me, sounding surprised and oddly, a little upset. I'd never heard Fluttershy really angry over something, so the tone shift was surprising.
"There was a lot I should have done. I know that and I, well, I really screwed up. All I could think of was that Mender was traumatized and simply having flashbacks," she furthered, still refusing to look up at me again.
I closed my eyes softly. Well, it was just a confirmation of everything I'd already suspected had been going through her mind. She seemed to actually treat me better as of late, so I could only guess that this was what she thought before the change of heart. There was no sense in backtracking. I'd kept secrets too, and had a big one now.
"If we're revealing secrets, I should probably let you know that I was in communication with one of my old race, the Keldarians. She was a research and development specialist called Keela," I revealed, resting my head back down on the pillow.
Twilight's eyes shot open an instant later and she looked back up at me, startled. "Why were you-?" she started to ask before I raised my right forehoof to halt her.
"I was working with her to get rid of the link forever. We found out what was causing it and were well on the way to making sure it never bothered us again," I added, curbing her question before she could ask.
Her reaction surprised me however as her ears flattened back and she looked away. "Mender, why didn't you ask me to help you? I could have helped to get rid of the link, and this might not have happened," she asked softly.
"Twilight..." Fluttershy muttered, but I shook my head. She really wanted to know. She probably knew already and just wanted somepony to say it. Fine, then.
"You thought I was insane. Telling you wouldn't have done anything," I pointed out, possibly a little colder than I had intended.
The lavender mare winced and lowered herself a little more, partially sinking below the level of the bed where I couldn't see her. Silence dominated, and the gentle forelegs quietly pulled me closer again from behind now, me having rotated around to face Twilight. Almost a full minute passed in dead quiet before a light sniffling noise sounded out. What? Finally, the lavender mare lifted her head back up again.
"I know. I knew that before, and deserve everything you want to say about me. It's probably too late, but I'm sorry, Mender. I really am," Twilight apologized softly. Tears ran freely down her cheeks now, and she looked away, wiping at them with her left forehoof. I'd never seen Twilight cry before. The anger bit back at myself and I suddenly realized I might have been too harsh on her.
Sighing, I shook my head and reached out with my right foreleg, hooking her left one and pulling it away from her cheek as she brushed her fur. Her eyes widened and she looked back at me as I wiped it off myself. "I'm sad that you don't trust me, yes, but I'm not going to stay mad forever, Twilight. Don't be so hard on yourself. I don't think any of us saw this coming; not even Keela," I spoke, trying to calm her down. It was partially my fault, too, regardless. I had given too much information to Keela, not even considering the lab might have been bugged.
"That wasn't Keela that pretended to be Twilight?" Fluttershy asked softly against my neck, causing me to smile lightly as her breath tickled my fur.
After regaining my composure, I shook my head and returned, "No. That was her older, and now revealed to be sociopathic, sister. Her name's Nirru. She tricked Keela into helping her get here to 'talk' to me." There was no point in lying about it anymore.
Twilight's eyes narrowed as she watched me again, definitely looking irritated this time. I was confused until she asked, "Is it true then? Applejack said that you'd told her she tried to seduce you."
"She what?!" Fluttershy squeaked out, sitting up again and looking over me, at her friend. I couldn't see her expression, but I felt the surprise drift through the link. She hadn't known about that, then?
I nodded regardless. "Yeah. She wanted to mate with me to get at the Keldarian DNA inside of myself. That's why she made herself look like you, Twilight," I confirmed. The lavender mare blushed, surprisingly enough, and looked away.
"But we haven't even done anything like that yet! Did she really think-" Twilight tried to protest. This, I'd seen coming, however.
"That's what made me catch on to her so fast. She only got me upstairs before I started getting suspicious. She did manage to, well, kiss me once. I caught on after that," I admitted, wincing as I closed my eyes and looked away from Twilight.
There was a long pause before she let out a quiet sigh. Fluttershy's forehooves massaged into my shoulder before she leaned down and gently nuzzled the side of my head with her snout. "Mender, it's okay," she assured from above me, giving me a gentle shoulder rub.
I opened my eyes in time to see Twilight lean forward and gently kiss me on the nose. It surprised me, and also tickled a little. Both mares giggled as I crossed my eyes to stare at my nose, wiggling it around a little to hold back the sneeze.
"Please give me another chance, Mender. I'm an open book now. Even if Princess Celestia tells me to, I'm not going to lie or hide anything from you anymore," she promised, actually surprising me with that one.
I stared at her, undoubtedly looking shocked as I searched her eyes for feeling. She locked eyes again and confidently nodded before slipping into a familiar motion. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," she recited, gently pressing her right hoof up against her closed eyelid to finalize it.
Fluttershy stiffened but nodded vigorously a moment later. "Um, me too! I promise that I'm not going to be afraid of you anymore. There's no reason to be," she added, also tying herself to the surprisingly solemn promise. For such a nonsensical pledge, it certainly held a lot of meaning here. Still... The image of an enraged Pinkie Pie flashed through my mind and I shuddered. Okay, maybe there was merit to not wanting to break a Pinkie Promise.
"Do you mean that, Twilight?" came from the doorway in a familiar, soft voice. Twilight went rigid, eyes widening in shock as Princess Celestia herself walked in through the doorway, two guards and Rarity trailing closely behind her. Fluttershy squeaked immediately and pulled herself up into a bowing motion on the bed next to me. I didn't quite know what to do myself. Twilight rapidly spun around and bowed as well. In my current position, I couldn't flex enough to bow in the first place with my hurt ribs. Still, she had told me to treat her like a normal pony, so maybe I should? Did she honestly deserve my allegiance, of course? She had saved me once, but only to lie to me and set Twilight and me against each other. At this point, I had no idea what her intentions ultimately were. Going with that, I decided to just watch.
"W-What do you mean, Princess?" Twilight hesitantly asked, looking back up at her mentor a moment later. Celestia gestured to rise, and everypony in the room minus me did so immediately.
Celestia smiled down at the unicorn before sitting down as well. "If I asked you specifically to keep something from Mender, or to watch him and report findings to me without his knowledge, would you?" she asked outright, eyes locked onto Twilight intently. I raised an eyebrow but stayed silent, unsure of what she was hoping to accomplish. Regardless, she didn't once direct her attention to Fluttershy or me.
Admittedly, I'd never seen the lavender mare so flustered. She shivered, and then surprised me by looking over her shoulder at me instead. I looked back without much energy, keeping my expression as neutral as my insides felt. If she wanted to save face in front of her teacher, I wasn't about to stand in her way. She swallowed, and then rotated back around to look at Celestia.
"Um... I'm sorry, Princess. I wouldn't. You'd need to find somepony else," Twilight muttered finally, causing my eyes to widen. Fluttershy murmured lightly to my left, holding a hoof up to her muzzle as she watched the scene unfold. Rarity looked far less surprised behind the Princess, however, a soft smile forming on her expression.
The tension hung on the air for a long ten seconds as Celestia stared down at the sunken Twilight Sparkle, gaze almost burning through her in intensity. I exhaled softly, opening my mouth to finally interrupt; to say anything that might spare Twilight any further pain. Celestia giggled first, however, cracking into a smile and nodding, snapping the room back to life with just that simple motion and sound.
"I'm pleased, Twilight. I have no desire, nor need to have anypony spy on Mender anymore, anyway. Regardless, I'm pleased that your feelings on the issue have drastically changed, and you now trust him," the Princess assured after everypony relaxed.
Twilight smiled softly and looked back up at Celestia, but the white alicorn had already looked past her and up at me instead. "Good afternoon, Mender. It's been a while since we've gotten to talk," she spoke gently, gesturing with her hoof as she did so.
Pleasantly surprised would be an understatement at that point. I formed a light smile and nodded to her as well. "Good afternoon, Tia. How are you doing?" I asked politely, a bit of amusement being sparked by the sudden memory of my ill-considered lunch date with her.
Rarity gasped immediately, eyes bulging out, but 'Tia' just laughed, nodding to me as well. "You remembered! I'm quite pleased that you've decided to treat me like a normal pony. I do have quite a bit to talk to you about, of course. I'd like to believe that you're about the only pony that knows what happened a couple nights ago," she reasoned, probably fairly accurately. Everypony here had a piece or two about the night, and I'm sure she'd already talked to Dash and Applejack, but I did have not only pieces that nopony did, but the entire picture. However...
"Didn't Luna give you the full report?" I questioned, watching her carefully. She had to have at this point. But Luna herself said that Celestia had warned her about me ahead of time. Had she even needed the Moon Princess' report?
As expected, Celestia smiled towards me and nodded. The gesture was fleeting; barely a shift in posture and eye position as she watched me, but I saw it. She knew, indeed. "Yes, she did. I'll only ask a couple of questions, as you're undoubtedly tired," she returned a moment after. Questions?
"Firstly, I'm told that you know specifically of the individual responsible for the violence. Only you have the information on her, however. May you share it?" she asked carefully, after seeming to consider it for a moment.
Oh. She was intentionally avoiding asking questions about me. So far, anyway. "Her name's Nirru. She's the older, considerably more psychotic sister of Keela, the Keldarian I've been in contact with," I explained simply, trying to be as thorough in answering as I could. She had me in a bad position, knowing what she did, so staying on her good side would definitely help in the long run.
Celestia nodded pleasantly, seemingly amused by something for a moment before continuing with, "I assume you were attempting to work with the Keldarian for a reason as well. I'd hazard a guess as to wanting to remove the link you still have?" Another simple question. Oddly, I kept waiting for the punch line. The question that would cause everypony in the room to suddenly hate me.
"Yes. The link is connected to a book in their dimension. Her plans, before the incident, were to send the book here, thus severing the link forever," I elaborated, technically not giving much 'new' information on top of what she already had suggested. Twilight looked curious for a moment, but continued watching me from the side, shifting her attention between Celestia and myself. Fluttershy relaxed openly again, slumping before resting against my side in a lying position. Rarity still looked momentarily flustered, but I saw the interest starting to build again in her eyes as she sat next to the Princess instead.
"I see. This is admirable; seeking aid yourself when you couldn't elsewhere. I approve, even though it turned out poorly. This was not Keela's fault, however, I'm guessing. What do you know of the creature that attacked Nirru in the forest?" she asked next, causing my heart to skip a beat. I stared at her, a bit of uneasiness settling into my chest as everypony shifted their attention back to me. She hadn't connected me to it. But she knew I'd know almost everything about it at the same time. Clever. But how much should I tell her?
"Mender, um, are you okay?" Fluttershy whispered softly, brushing her wing up along my side in assurance as she rested there. I looked back over and smiled weakly at her, feeling tired suddenly. No matter what, I couldn't shake the exhausted sensation. It felt like my body was a shell; some sort of hollow moving statue pretending to be a pony. Pretending. I looked back at Celestia and noticed she was watching me with a more solemn expression, looking a little sad instead.
"No, he's not, Fluttershy. My sister reported he was gravely injured, undoubtedly receiving some of the wounds from the creature itself. I apologize, of course. It can't be a pleasant memory," Tia interrupted quietly, not breaking eye contact. A lie? No, technically the 'creature' had injured me. The very knowledge of its existence hurt more than I could ever realize.
I nodded softly before finally replying. "It was a little larger than a full size stallion; vaguely pony-shaped but with layered, chitinous armor. It didn't have a coat, but the armor was dark gray in color. It seemed to have a wire-like mane that twisted and lurched of its own volition. Its eyes were glowing blue, and eight elongated tentacles with various bladed parts extended off its back," I described carefully, staying vague. Fluttershy had brought up both forehooves to her mouth by the time I was done and timidly watched me with her eyes shivering. I could tell she was scared, and hardly blamed her. Rarity looked more horrified and disgusted than scared, reminding me of Rainbow's reaction to actually seeing me. The image flashed through my mind again and I winced, quickly looking away. Twilight seemed more curious than disgusted, however.
"Did you manage to see its hooves or the tentacle weaponry? Did any of them have a curved, scythe-like blade shape?" Twilight asked me almost instantly, looking absolutely fascinated. Well, at least I wouldn't need to worry about her running away from me in a panic. Instead, I only had to be concerned that she might dissect me while I was still alive.
"Its hoof claws matched your diagrams exactly, Twilight," Celestia answered instead, shifting her attention to the now excited looking unicorn.
"Yes! I was right in the measurements then! But wait, how could a creature like that evolve so quickly and spontaneously? It's almost like it evolved from a pony by the description, but unless serious magic is involved, that shouldn't be possible. There's no way that could happen naturally!" Twilight continued, starting to shift her exceedingly sharp mind in the exact opposite direction I'd hoped she'd go in. Damn it. If she started asking questions like that, I had a sneaking suspicion that the clever unicorn might just uncover my secret on her own.
Celestia shook her head, however, still smiling. "It matters little, my student. My sister dealt with the creature, and you don't need to worry about it any longer," she assured gently, not breaking her expression even for a moment. Suddenly, I kind of wondered what she'd be like playing cards. 'Poker' had been popular in the barracks, if I recalled correctly. I had a feeling she could win with a hand comprised entirely of Uno cards instead. I made the mental note to inquire later if those two games existed here as well. If they did, I was going to be seriously creeped out!
Twilight looked less than pleased with the answer, but gently nodded to her teacher. That probably meant I'd be blasted with questions later, instead.
"Excuse me, but now that the patient is awake, I need to go over a few things with him and get his medicine set up," I heard called out from the hallway a moment later, in a familiar sounding mare's voice. Oh! I hadn't told any of the medical staff that I was awake. Oops.
Nurse Redheart slowly walked in seconds later, giving a gentle bow to Celestia before turning to me instead. Seeing her in this room again brought back memories of my first hospital visit in Equestria. Not that it was all that long ago.
"I'd like to go over the details of your chart and get you some food. Can I have a moment of privacy with him?" the nurse requested politely. I was a little uneasy, but felt secure in my ability to defend myself if needed at this point. Besides, if she wasn't really Nurse Redheart, I'm sure Tia would have picked up on it immediately.
"Oh, of course. I'll drop by tomorrow after you've rested up more, Mender. I have to go check on the reconstruction project at the library," Celestia excused, nodding to me with a smile. Reconstruction? Oh. Oh yeah, the FTL reaction.
"Thanks. I am getting rather tired," I agreed, taking note of the sleepiness again. Regrowing your leg must take a lot of energy.
"Um, can I come back afterwards?" Fluttershy asked politely, standing up on the mattress next to me.
Twilight perked up and nodded along, adding, "Me too." Nurse Redheart glanced between them before snickering and turning to me instead.
"Do you mind if your herd stays with you after visitation time?" she asked pleasantly. My cheeks warmed a little bit, but nowhere near as badly as Fluttershy's. Twilight's smile widened, much to my surprise.
I shook my head regardless. "No, they can come back in." It was a little strange how everypony just assumed after the rumors had circulated. Although, oddly enough, neither mare involved denied it. Maybe rumors had a way of becoming real after a while? Of course, I doubt the rumors had much to do with it beyond simply making it easier to go with the flow.
I snapped out of it a moment later, only to see the tip of Fluttershy's tail as it left. Shifting my attention back to Nurse Redheart, I saw she wore a gentle smile as she set a clipboard down on my bedside table from her side pouch. "All right then. I just want to inform you of the status of your health, and then talk to you about what we're going to do next to get you back on your hooves!" she exclaimed in an extremely cheerful manner.
"Aww. I missed you too," I joked, smiling softly at her. She momentarily looked surprised before bursting into laughter. I followed soon after, probably earning a few questioning stares from the mares in the other room, but I hardly cared. After everything that I'd been through in the last few days, I didn't really care about a whole lot, I discovered. Did that make me happy or sad?
"Yes, Mender. You know you can visit me without putting yourself in the hospital, though, right?" she pointed out, snickering as she poked me in the shoulder with her hoof.
I simply stuck my tongue out, earning another grin before she peeked back at my chart. "Besides, after you hear all this, you get treated to hospital food and medication for desert. Isn't that awesome?" she offered, smirking at my elongated groan. Well, at least I got my wish. If you could call it such, spending days in the hospital was about as 'normal' as I could seem to manage. Some days, I really hated my life...
"Stop flirting with my coltfriend!" Twilight suddenly shouted from the other room. Nurse Redheart paused for a moment in surprise before bursting into even more laughter.
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2793017 - MuffinTop
No, there's a chapter this week. It's up now. Sorry!
2793307 - Afanc
Whoops. Did I say next week?
2793101 - Nikto
That is... disturbing.
2793363
Nothing Can Stop the Smooze.
What can I say, G1 was part of my childhood.
I did not just read 10,000 words that fast. Next Friday won't come soon enough.
Welp, things are finally calming down from the chaos. Still waiting for the bomb to be dropped though. 99% certain Celestia is aware of his secret, and I know for a fact Mender wouldn't be able to hold it for long.
I am confused. Does Celestia know all about what he is, or is she trying to figure it out?
this was a nice chapter, loving this story, cant wait for more
Every time I'm nearing the end of a chapter, I'm expecting something unexepected to happen then for the chapter to end. Congratulations, I am now forever paranoid that everything you write ever will end with a cliffhanger.
Once a week is killing me. I've never been dependent on serial-style TV or anything, so this is a first for me (waiting for weekly updates). I really expected Mender to spill the beans this chapter.
I like that last line on Twilights part XD. This was a very heart warming chapter. Very touching, And I felt it was worth the extra few hours of waiting. Very nice work, once again, and I am eagerly awaiting more.
What? No cliffhanger, I was getting used to them.
2793363
Thanks, you posted it seconds after I asked
Another great chapter! Hope you feel better soon. I half expected Mender to cave and start gushing after meeting Fluttershy's eyes. Guess not though. Still, I'm guessing he doesn't last long and that either Dash or Luna gets him to spill the beans.
I'm just waiting for that moment when Mender tells the others what really happened. Having eight chitinous legs could prove might useful in his everyday, personal life. Twilight would have a field day with that discovery.
ahhhh, the feels..
i needed this chapter, i really did
heartfelt thanks to you Kiro
I know we're on a relaxing chapter and getting over a bombshell; but I can't wait for shit to go down when he reveals his secret.
Yay! Answering questions and patching up drama for a change!
Seriously, though, good stuff.
Great Luna last week, more awesome Celestia this week! And good ol' Fluttershy cuudles for dem feels. Still "rooted" to this fic!
Very nice chapter. Gotta say, favorite part was at the end. Mender definitely has to add Nurse Redheart to his herd
Okay so here's what I don't understand: It's been established that Mender was the one who left those claw marks on that tree, which was said to be a creature who had been lurking in the Everfree Forest recently. But when exactly did this happen? When had Mender turned into that creature prior to his fight with Niiru? I'm a bit confused here…
I've got to say as I read through all these chapters which are great by the way. I always have a thought. Well more a What if question really. What would happen If Mender the Bio Pony (Which I think is a fitting title since I don't really see him as a Bio Morphic Weapon) meet my character from the story I'm in the process I'm writing. (I haven't started posting it). I think they would be friends but also help them with each others problems. But oh well. I felt like bring this up. So anyway. This chapter I've got to say does really help smooth over a lot of the tenseness between every one. But I still think Mender needs to really explain the full truth to everyone. But I'm going to have to wait another blasted week to find out what happens next.
2793866
I personally am going to have to vote no on that idea. I know its not my story but every story I've read where there was a cross over of characters, always felt wrong. Like the story lines had to shift to accommodate the characters from the other story and neither author could replicate the true character of the characters from the other story.
I am generally concerned with the fact that Celestia either A. knows Menders true form and is just waiting for him to say something or B. she doesn't know and only Luna knows. I want to know....
Awesome chapter. Hope we get to see Applejack and Rainbow Dash next week. I'm really curious about how they are taking it. Maybe we will get to see Vinyl and possibly Octavia. Being abducted by aliens is kinda a big deal, I imagine Vinyl will want to meet the abductee especially since Mender is her friend.
2793852 it was when mender first had contact with keela, if I remember correctly he had a panic attack and passed out or something, furring which his body must have went in a self deference auto pilot state.
Great chapter my heart needed it. Hope we get Aj's and Dash's Introspection next chapter.
All mares must join menders herd! I command them
Slow-Mo -> Bullet Time -> Pinkie Time
The evolution of fast reflexes is not reacting... but knowing.
And speaking of knowing... the goddess of the sun seems a bit more knowledgeable than she is willing to let on. Just how much does this creepy lady know?
It's did me good to read this chapter. I'm glad things are finally looking up for mender!
I think you mean
You might want to change the 'she' to Celestia, seeing as how the implied antecedent is Nirru. Took me a second read-through to understand who it was.
Whenever I finish a chapter, I always check to see if I've given it a thumbs up.
I almost wish that I hadn't, so that I could give it a thumbs up now.
We need more thumbs.
Wait, wait, hold up, what is this?!?!?!
Mender DIDN'T get injured this chapter 0.o?
Great chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.............
Notes!
1. Loved the heart to heart between Mender, Twilight, and Fluttershy. Oh..... The d'awwwws.
2. Celly is such a troll!!! Forever and always.
3. Hehehe, nice try, Redheart.
4. Yeah, 'Griffin the Griffin' and 'Echo the Diamond Dog' are two of my favorite fics. HIE, except they are, well, a Griffin and a Diamond Dog.(And they're paired with Gilda and Daring Do, respectively.) and Firewall is from the story, 'Through the eyes of another Pony'. A recommend them all!
5. He's not Slenderman... He's MenderMane!!!!!
6. I don't dislike Flutters, but I prefer Twilight.
Hmmm... I guess that's about it. Oh, and if you haven't seen Equestria Girls yet.... See it. It's a freaking masterpiece.
....
Maybe not a masterpiece, but it's still good!!! Vinyl's red eyes are canon now!!! :)
2793963
Ever read Echo the Diamond Dog and Griffin the Griffin? It's not perfect, but with a well thought out character, it can work.
I almost think mender should court Nurse Redheart into the herd at this point, if only to save on his medical bills.
Yeah, I sense more shit is coming yet. The truth will come out, it's only a matter of time.
Tia. Playing poker. With Uno cards. We need this as a picture, but I can't draw for shit. And I bet when she lays her hand (hoof?) down, her wings spread out, and the using the Royal Canterlot Voice (TM), shouts out
'JENGA!!!!!'
2794290 Now you know how Lyra feels!
Loved this chapter, the one-on-ones with Twilight and Flutters was amazing. After everything thats happened, its good to see something good finally, even if it may just be temporary
They need some mender emote face things
Fluttershy's to adorable, and i liove the fact that Twilight is actually trusting/telling the truth to him. But I'll say it once again, probably short lasting once they find out what he is (it has to happen eventually, I predict either next chapter, or it'll be a more long term thing)
Definitely one of the better chapters, it's even better thinking back on all the horrible crap Mender has been through. Continue your great work. (and Luna not telling Tia the truth? She either wants Mender to tell everypony himself or she really is trying to protect him)
Also if you haven't seen Equestria Girls, its brilliant, go watch it, and I think it could easily play as a lead-up to Season 4
I love how you picture Nurse Redheart this chapter! Every other story I read she's way to serious. The fact that she laughed surprised me
Well, I'm glad that things are calming down for now and Mender will get some of the happiness he needs after all that physical and mental trauma. I'm also glad that Twilight FINALLY trusts him fully. No offense, but it was almost agonizing counting all the times she takes a step forward, but loses all the progress she made with the relationship. I get that she is inexperienced, but it still took an unreasonable amount of time to reach this point in my opinion. Again, just my opinion though.
Good job with the cuddly feels in this chapter with Fluttershy. It just served to endear her more to us. As always, eagerly awaiting more.
He still has all dat mass?
Welp, that explains why he has his own gravity.
...and apparently he's also a pony Homunculus.
2794599
Those were some (not all) of the stories I was basing my opinion on. Rust was able to keep his story up (great story by the way. loved it) but at the cost of Blackwing's Griffin character (didn't even mention griffin being from earth). Blackwing? Well... lets just say that I've read some of his stories and I'm not a big fan of his writing style so I wasn't impressed with the way he portrayed Echo. He didn't capture what makes Echo, Echo.
yeah. I'm not going to lie.
2795046 Dat mass.
(Also, good fma refference :3)
2795235 I dunno as of late both Griffin and Echo have been loosing my interest. They don't seem as good as they used to be. Does anyone else feel this way?
Everypony does.
This story can be romance one chapter about an alien finding love, than the next chapter about an alien/cyborg fighting off other aliens from different dimensions.........
And you know what....
I F%$*ING LOVE IT!
So, the Grosh are an entire species of genocidal maniacs, hell-bent on killing everything that isn't them. They've been at it for a loong time, have amassed vast resources in their conquests and at this point are all but unstoppable. Am I getting this right?
And suddenly, Mender discovers that he has powers that could Make A Difference(TM). And said powers appear completely unique to him because nobody else can figure out dr. Kyliona's crazy mad science. I wonder if Mender will realize that the desire to leave his old life behind now conflicts with his apparent instinct to protect those in need.
This could also lead to some awkward conversations.
Mender: Hey, Keela. I thought I'd send you this DNA stuff because why not. But no bioweapon specs for you, sorry.
Keela: Ahaha, thanks, but I have a weird favor to ask. Could you, um, maybe visit me in person, we'd have tea and crumpets, talk about the old times a bit and then you'd go out and mercilessly slaughter our enemies? Because, really, you are our last and only hope here.
Also:
Am I missing something here? Couldn't he use the link with Rainbow to verify her like he did with Fluttershy? And why not Pinkie Pie or Rarity? That's just the main 6.
I'm surprised nopony asked about his leg, unless they just passed it off as a side effect of all the regenerative potions and healing magic he's been exposed to since his arrival.
Fluttershy.....HNNnnnngh! Soooo cute.... heart...failing. ...
Now that Mender is back on his feet(or at least more or less functional) it's about time for RD and AJ to make with them apologies. Free apple pies for life and free Rainbow Taxi Service would be a nice start.
Mender, he doesn't even need to try to expand his herd, he's gonna end up with all the mares! Alright, maybe not, but I loved Twilight's last line in this chapter. Until next time.
Thank god...where would we be without Pinkie's physics-breaking antics?
Man, I wish I could get some IRL Flutterhugs right about now...
Dawwww
who's a cute and cuddly little abomination? You are Mender 
that was some serious flutter-Dawww at the start of the chapter
And Twis Last line wrapped it up quite nicely