//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14- Recovery 
// Story: Of Heaven and Earth 
// by Garuda IV 
//------------------------------//

Things had gotten confusing for Sol rather quickly. One moment he was in the arena with Cheap Shot approaching him, and the next, Luna had teleported in front of him. Whatever happened after that was beyond him as he became increasingly sleepy one second and fell asleep the next.

Feeling the sting from his left forearm and chest, Sol let out a pained groan as he started to come to. Aside from the pain, the first thing that he noticed was that he wasn't laying on the sand-covered stone floor of the arena. Instead, he found himself laying on something much softer and more comforting, including something equally soft and warm draped over his body. The next was that there wasn't any noise, indicating further that he'd probably been moved somewhere out of the Coliseum.

Cracking his eyes open, Sol looked down to see that he was laying in a large bed with a red blanket and comforter draped over him, and his left forearm wrapped in bandages. In front of him on the opposing side of the room sat a dresser and writing desk, to his right was the door, and to his left, the light of the full moon illuminated the room through a glass window that opened to a small balcony. As he looked around the room, he started to shift and try sitting up, but was quickly groaned in pain as the burn and skin tear on his chest prevent him from getting very far, forcing him to lay back down with a pained sigh. Recovering from the pain, Sol lifted the blankets covering him with his right arm and saw in the moonlit room the white bandages wrapped around his chest.

"Well, this is rather unfortunate," he sighed, dropping the covers back down on him. "My first day back to Equestria and this happens."

"It could have been a lot worse."

Ears perking up, Sol looked to his direct left and saw Luna sitting in a chair beside the head of his bed.

I forgot how stealthy she can be during the night. "Aunt Luna?"

A small smile crept up on Luna. "Good to see you awake, Sol. You were starting to worry us."

"Worry? Why?"

"Mostly because you slept all throughout yesterday. The spell I used on you before we left the Coliseum did put you to sleep as intended, but it shouldn't have kept you under for that long. I was starting to fear that something might've went wrong."

"I actually didn't get much sleep before we came here. Maybe a total of two hours, plus another two and an half on the train ride over here. Could that have something to do with it?"

"Yes. That very well could have."

Sol nodded, but then blinked as he recalled something she said. "Wait. Did you say that you had to put me under?"

"I did," Luna confirmed with a frown. "And it was a good thing I did too. I'm not so sure that you would've taken very well to the burns you'd received otherwise."

"Why? They're just burns."

Luna began to scowl. "I'm afraid not. Those burns that that stallion inflicted upon you were actually a curse."

"A curse?"

"Yes. It's meant to look and act like a normal burn, but unlike other burns, this curse spreads it, both over the surface of the skin and beneath it until it consumes the entire body." Luna shuddered. "It's a very painful and cruel spell, one that my sister had deemed forbidden and locked away in the royal archives."

Filled with worry about being afflicted with such a gruesome curse, Sol started to eye his covered burns.

"I'm not going go die from it, am I?"

"No. Though the two burns you sustained did spread, we were able to find out what it was and stop it before any permanent damage was done to you."

Sol let out a loud sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Actually, you have Twilight to thank," Luna smiled. "It was because of her that we were able to figure out what it was and how to counter it."

"Heh. I guess I owe her my thanks yet again."

Luna nodded. "Twilight Sparkle is one who's willing to help a pony in need... of course, I wouldn't be surprised if she also helped because she was interested in the kind of spell that was used against you."

"By the way, where is she, mother, and the others?"

"Tia is resting right now, obviously," she said with a good-natured eye-roll. "Otherwise, she's been checking up on you whenever she can. Twilight has some question for you for when you awoke, so she and Starlight decided to remain here in Canterlot Castle. As for Spike and the other Elements, they've all returned to Ponyville."

"Alright." Sol paused for a moment and blinked as he remembered something. "What about Blueblood and Cheap Shot?"

Luna scowled. "Both of them have been thrown in the dungeons personally by Celestia until she can think of a fitting punishment for them. And knowing how protective she can get... I shudder to think what might befall them."

"Yeah, me too," he agreed before remembering that he left behind in the Coliseum. "My cloak! It's still back in the Coliseum!"

"Easy there, Sol," Luna calmed him. "First Strike came over today to discuss with Tia about our interfering with the match and brought your cloak back with him. I've gone on ahead and placed it in the dresser drawer for you while you were asleep. Good thing that First Strike returned it too. If Rarity found out, I'm sure she would be rather furious with you."

"Thank you, Aunt Luna. So, what did First Strike come to discuss?"

"The Coliseum works with its own unique set of rules, one of which being that Celestia and I cannot interfere with their matches."

"So you two are in trouble then?"

Luna shook her head. "Not this time. Due to the circumstances involving the curse, and by extent, the attempted murder, they decided to let it pass."

"That's good to hear," he sighed. "I wouldn't want you or mother to get into trouble with them because of me."

Now having him caught up with just about everything, Luna frowned at Sol.

"Speaking of getting into trouble," she began with a disapproving tone, "now that that's out of the way, perhaps you would care to explain to me why you decided to agree to a duel when you knew that you were mentally, physically, and magically fatigued?"

Uh-oh, Sol thought with a gulp. "I didn't think that Blueblood looked all that tough and I could take him regardless?"

Letting out a loud and tired sigh, Luna got up and began pacing around.

"How many times have Tia and I told you to be careful when it comes to picking your battles, Sol? We all know your views of honor and upholding them, and confronting those who blatantly disregard it, and we both are proud of you for that. However, you have a very bad habit of not thinking things through before acting in that regard, and it usually tend to end up with you getting yourself into some dangerous or life-threatening situation because of it. It happened when Queen Chrysalis and her changelings first deceived us, when King Sombra betrayed Equestria and began his tyrannical rule over the Crystal Empire... and don't even get me started on Discord."

A flash of anger crossed his expression. "He had that-"

Sol's argument was quickly quelled by Luna's sharp glare.

"I'm not going to disagree with you, Sol. True, Discord did have what was coming to him, but don't forget that thanks to you and your tunnel vision on the matter, something was lost."

Luna maintained her stern glare even as Sol's features wilted. She suspected that this might still be a bit of a sore spot for Sol, but she felt like it had to be done regardless to get her point across. Even so, she did feel bit regretful for having Sol remember it and react to it like this. Letting out a sigh, Luna reached over the bed and gently placed her hoof on his shoulder.

"Look, Sol, we just don't want for you to get hurt," she calmly said. "Your mother and I both love you very much and hate to see this happen to you, even if it's for a good reason. Remember what we used to tell you?"

Sol gave a small nod. "Even the most good of intentions can turn bad and lose their meaning if taken too far," he recalled before sighing. "I'm sorry, Aunt Luna."

Happy that he remembered, Luna leaned over and placed a kissed his forehead.

"I know, Sol, and so does Celestia. And despite all of this, we do hope that you'll never change."

Sol smirked slightly. "Even if I might do this again? Even if by accident?"

Luna rolled her eyes in good nature, seeing what Sol was doing. "Yes. Though I'd prefer that you don't."

Chuckling lightly, Sol reached up and hugged Luna. "I'll try."

"Good," Luna said, returning the hug for a moment before pulling away. "I know that you've been asleep for the last twenty-eight hours or so, but you should probably get some more rest. You look like you could use it, and you'll need to let your injuries heal."

Sol let out a yawn. "I suppose so."

"Good. Then I'm heading back to do my nightly duties. If you need anything, there are a pair of guards stationed outside your door that you can call for aid."

"Alright. Goodnight, Aunt Luna. I love you."

Luna paused by the door and looked back with a smile. "I love you too, Sol. Have a goodnight, and I shall see you in the morning."

With Luna now gone and the room all to himself, Sol laid still on his back and closed his eyes. Despite the soreness from his chest and forearm, it didn't take him long before he soon fell asleep once again.





Light streamed through the windows as Sol stirred awake, feeling well rested and relaxed. Letting out a yawn, he started to sit up in bed when he felt the sting from his chest burn once again, forcing him to gently lay back down. Wanting to sit up and not lay on his back anymore, he rolled over to his right and slowly propped himself up from another angle. While it did hurt a bit from doing so, it wasn't quite as bad as sitting straight up like he first tried. After a few moments, he was finally able to get himself sitting up with his back resting against the headboard.

Sitting up in his new position, Sol let out a relieved sigh before he began looking around the room in the daylight. After a few minutes, he heard a knocking on the door.

"Hello? Sol? Are you awake?"

Sol smiled as he immediately recognized the voice on the other side.

"I am. You can come on in."

Soon as he finished, Celestia opened the door and walked in, along with a half-asleep Luna, and a blue unicorn mare with green eyes, a white mane, and a red cross for a cutie mark, who had what looked like a medical box floating alongside her.

"Good morning, Sol," Celestia smiled. "Luna told me that you had awoken last night. How are you feeling?"

"A bit sore from sitting up, but otherwise alright," Sol replied with a small groan. "Good morning, Au-"

Sol quickly caught himself and cautiously looked at the unicorn mare.

"It's alright, Sol. You can trust her," Celestia said, noticing the look Sol was giving the mare. "This is Doctor Cura. She's my and Luna's personal doctor."

"The Princess has already informed me of who you are," Cura said as she approached him. "I still can't believe that you're actually her kid."

Sol blinked and looked to Celestia. "You told her?"

"She did after I called her out on it," Cura answered for Celestia, earning her a confused look from Sol, to which she rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on now. I'm Celestia and Luna's personal doctor, and the pony who does their physicals. The first time she came to me, I noticed that Celestia had signs of having given birth at least once. Since she couldn't really hide it from me after that, she went on ahead and told me about you. Never though that I'd actually get the chance to meet you."

"... did I really need to hear that part about mother and her physicals?" Sol cringed.

"Oh, stop being such a foal about it and grow a pair. You're a grown stallion."

Hearing chuckling, Sol turned to Celestia while Luna snorted at Cura's wording.

"As you can plainly see," Luna smirked, "Cura isn't exactly what one would call a formal pony."

"And you can thank your sister for that, seeing as how she's the one who encouraged it," Cura said before facing Sol. "Now then, let's have a look at your arm. Hold still now."

Listening to her, Sol held still as Cura set the medical box on the nightstand and carefully removed the bandages on his injured forearm. Once it was removed, Sol could see the reddened flesh that it had covered and winced when he felt the light breeze of Cura's breath touching it as she examined it.

"It's looking a little better," she observed, "but it won't be completely healed for at least another week."

"I can walk on it just fine though, right?" Sol questioned.

"As long as you don't put any unnecessary strain on it, then yes." Opening the box, Cura levitated a bottle of burn ointment and gently applied it on Sol's burn before she wrapped it back up with a new set of bandages. "Okay, now your chest."

Sitting up straight, Sol watched as the bandages on his chest were removed. Much like with is arm, his chest was reddened from the burn, and stun just as much. However, along with the burn, there was an opening in the skin that had bled.

"This is going to take a little longer," Cura mused out loud. "Probably about two weeks with the skin tear."

"But he'll be fine otherwise, right?" Celestia asked.

"Yes, he'll be fine, but he shouldn't do any heavy lifting or anything strenuous for at least a week. If he does, then the tear on his chest could open again, which may then require stitching, depending on how bad it is. In my opinion, just to make sure that he doesn't re-open it again, I'd recommend that he spend the next few days in bed resting."

"A few days of bedrest just for a burn?" Sol questioned.

"I agree with Doctor Cura, Sol," Celestia said.

"What?"

"You heard your mama," Cura smirked. "Now, be a good colt and hold still while I bandage you back up."

After applying the burn ointment, along with a healing ointment for the torn skin, Cura then wrapped Sol's chest back up, just as she did with his forearm. With both now having new bandages covering them, Cura packed her things back into the box and levitated it alongside her.

"Well, my job here is done for now," she said. "Unless there's anything else you need me to do?"

"Thank you, Cura, but we are fine," Luna dismissed.

"In that case, you all have a good day. If you need me, I'll be in my office chugging a bottle of hard cider."

Celestia blinked. "Already? Isn't it a bit soon to be drinking? It's not even five in the afternoon yet."

"It is somewhere," Cura shrugged. "Besides, I'm still getting over the fact that your kid is actually here, and is part dragon to boot."

The three remained silent as Cura made her way out, leaving Celestia, Luna, and Sol with their eyes locked onto the closed door.

"So, is she always like that?" Sol wondered. "I mean, she's your personal doctor, and yet she drinks in the mornings? That doesn't sound very professional."

"To be fair, this is a rather unique circumstance," Luna defended for her. "Plus, I find her informality to us to be a pleasant change from all of the brown-nosers we have to put up with."

"That," Celestia added, "and I doubt that you will find any doctor better than her."

"Indeed."

Taking their word for it, Sol rested against the headboard before Celestia walked over, sat beside Sol on his bed, and wrapped a foreleg and wing around him in a hug. Melting into his mother's embrace, Sol snuggled against Celestia for a while before they heard a loud yawn from Luna.

"Oh, excuse me," she tiredly yawned. "I'm sorry. I'd like to stay longer, but..."

"It's alright, Aunt Luna," Sol smiled. "Thank you for coming to see me, and I'll see you later tonight."

"Yes. You two have a nice day."

Tired and drooping, Luna turned to leave for bed. When she opened the door, however, she was startled to see Twilight standing there with her hoof raised to knock on the door.

"Oh. Princess Luna. Sorry about that," Twilight apologized.

"It is alright, Twilight," Luna dismissed before letting out another yawn. "Please excuse me, but I must call it a day."

"Of course. Have a nice rest, Princess."

Nodding, Luna walked past Twilight and made for her room. With her now gone, Twilight looked into the room where she saw Celestia sitting beside Sol on the bed.

"Is this a bad time?"

"Of course not, Twilight," Celestia answered. "Right, Sol?"

"No, it's alright," he said. "Please, come in, Twilight."

With their permission, Twilight walked in and closed the door behind her.

"Thank you," she thanked, eyeing Sol's bandaged chest and forearm. "How are you feeling?"

Sol glanced at his wrapped burns. "A little sore at times, but otherwise I'm alright."

Twilight nodded and walked over and took a seat beside the bed.

"I hope you don't mind, but I was wondering if you would be willing to answer a few questions for me?"

"Aunt Luna told me last night that you wanted to ask me a few things, so sure. Go on ahead."

"Great!" Lighting her horn, a quill and ink well, along with several rolls of parchment appeared beside her. "I just have a few questions that I'd like to ask you."

Sol watched Twilight as she picked a scroll out from the others and unrolled it. However, what he wasn't expecting from the scroll was for it to fall to the floor, continue unrolling beneath his bed, and out the other side until it finally came to a stop against the wall fifteen feet off to his left. Blinking in surprise, Sol turned from the end of the scroll to Twilight, who was looking expectantly at him.

"This is what you call a few questions?" Sol asked in disbelief.

"Well it was less, but after seeing your magic in the Coliseum, and talking to Princess Celestia and Luna, I just couldn't stop myself," Twilight joyfully replied.

Feeling unsure about this now, Sol looked up to Celestia for help, only to see her holding back her laughter.

"Well, I think I shall leave you two be," Celestia said with a small smirk.

"Uhh, mother? You're not really leaving now, are you?" Sol almost pleaded.

"Sorry, sweetie, but I have my royal duties to get back to. Besides, I'd say that you're in very good hooves with Twilight here."

Letting a chuckle escape, Celestia kissed Sol's cheek and said goodbye to Twilight before she teleported out of the room.

"Okay then!" Twilight eagerly chirped. "Now, let's get started with those questions. Ready?"

Sol nervously gulped as he saw what he had now gotten himself into.

No... not anymore...