The hospital, despite having been made aware of his occupation, and being sworn to secrecy by Luna herself, were in quite a tizzy when he waltzed right in with a knife still in his chest.
In hindsight, that may not have been the most tactful thing to do.
Eh, he'd done worse.
He was admitted into his own little double room for the night, with the curtain on his right pulled closed despite not having a patient.
It was a quaint little room. Painted in sky blues with a white tile floor. It certainly gave Emerald a quiet, sterile feeling.
Of course the 'quiet' part of it was ruined when the door was all but kicked open, and several familiar mares trotted into the room. They didn't notice him, on account of the curtain beside him, but he managed to spot them carrying in Crash of all mares. From the looks of things she'd certainly lived up to the nickname, given the bandage wrapped around her wing.
Emerald sighed, fidgeting around slightly, ignoring the sharp pains still in his chest. He'd been bandaged up, similar to Crash, although he was certain his injury was significantly more severe than hers.
He was glad he didn't need stitches, though. Just the thought of those needles they'd need sent shivers down his spine.
Damn his trypanophobia.
"When's she gonna wake up, doc?" the accented voice of Applejack asked, turning to the brown stallion who'd admitted both himself and, apparently, Crash.
"Well, it should only be a few minutes," he said, the sound of paper flipping, likely he was checking the clipboard, "It's only a minor sprain. It's the injury to her head that's keeping her here. Though, with how many crashes she's had over the years, I'm sure she'll be out in a day or two. Like our other patient here," he added under his breath, likely throwing a glance in Emerald's direction.
"Oh, I'm so worried!" the quiet voice of Fluttershy continued, not hearing the doctor's last statement.
"Is her face gonna stay like that?" Pinkie's high pitched voice spoke up from beside Fluttershy's. Emerald blinked. Her face?
Well, according to the doctor, she did hit her head.
A sudden spur of motion, followed by a scratchy groan, signaled Crash's awakening.
"Great! How long am I gonna be stuck here?" Crash asked, sounding oddly desperate,
"That mostly depends on your recovery," Stables said, "But, like I just told your friends, it'll only be a few days at most,"
"A few days! I got things I need to do, Doc!" Like sleep? "You girls gotta get me outta here! I'm gonna climb the walls if you don't!"
"Ooh! Just like a spider! Did the crash give her super spider powers?!" Pinkie asked, turning to Stables at the end.
"No," he deadpanned, "Nor did it give her amazing healing powers. She will be staying here for a few days so we can make sure there's no permanent brain damage," he said.
"A few days?" Crash groaned, "Might as well be a few months. Or a few years!"
"Oh don't be so melodramatic, Rainbow Dash," Stables said, before a blue glow lifted up the clipboard hanging off of Emerald's bed, "It could be much worse. You could've been stabbed in the chest after all," he said, walking over to Emerald's side of the curtain, staring at him deadpan, which caused Emerald to roll his eyes.
"Stabbed? What moron would get themselves stabbed here in Ponyville?" Crash muttered. Emerald saw Stables shake his head, before he set the clipboard down.
"As for you Mr. Skies, you're lucky. The knife didn't hit anywhere vital, so you won't be having an extended stay here at Ponyville General. That being said, it's still a knife wound. Usually, it would take, at most a few weeks, but seeing your recovery so far, I'm inclined to say that you'll be out around the same time as Miss Dash over there, if not tomorrow," he said, jerking his head to the side.
Emerald's only response was a sigh, leading the doctor to chuckle a little.
"Well. Get some rest. I'm sure the girls will leave soon, so you'll hopefully have some peace and quiet. Though with Rainbow Dash as a roommate, I honestly doubt it," Stables said, giving Emerald a cheeky grin, before he turned and left the room.
Emerald deflated slightly at the thought. Honestly, he'd rather just leave now. It's not like the injury would keep him down. He'd pushed through far worse for far longer, a knife wound was really nothing in comparison. And even then, who knows what could happen tonight? Oh, that'd be fun. Having one of the Bearers get killed or taken while he was stuck in the hospital.
But, of course, Luna had a point. If the Cakes ended up telling anyone, which he knew they would, there'd likely be questions from Pinkie as to why he hadn't gone to the hospital. And if Pinkie got involved, it wouldn't take much more to get the other five interested in his business. And how would he explain himself? He couldn't just tell them he'd been through worse. Sparky alone would likely try to find out if her curiosity got strong enough. And, while he most certainly could just tell a bunch of lies, he knew that if he told too many he'd eventually lose track and everything would come crashing down.
No, it would be best if he stuck to telling half-truths at best.
"-roommate!"
The curtain beside him was suddenly drawn back, revealing him to the six mares, with Pinkie being the one to pull the curtain.
"Emerald?" Sparky asked, staring at him incredulously.
"Hey," he said, leaning back against his pillow,
"What are you doing here?" she asked,
"It's a hospital," he snapped, "Why do you think I'm here?" he asked, gesturing to his bandages,
"Oh my, what happened?" Fluttershy said, walking over to him with a look of honest worry on her face. Slightly surprised by her actions, Emerald answered with a smirk,
"I got stabbed in the chest," he said, noting out of the corner of his eye that Crash winced.
"What!?" Sparky shouted, "Why?!" she asked, pushing past Rarity and Pinkie until she was standing beside him. He blinked, before sighing,
"There was an attempted robbery at Sugarcube Corner," he said, recalling the story he'd told the Cakes, "I was on my nightly walk when I spotted some ponies breaking in. I ran in to help, managed to help knock 'em out, but one of them stabbed me in the chest with a knife. I came here afterward,"
"They didn't mention a robbery..." Pinkie muttered, looking concerned,
"Where are those fiends now?" Rarity asked, also walking over to him. He noted that Crash looked annoyed when she saw her friends moving over to him.
-----
What the hay were they doing!?
Yeah sure he got stabbed, but who cares!?
She was gonna be stuck here for a couple days!! She should be out there practicing her moves for the competition in a couple weeks! Not stuck in some stuffy hospital! Now her friends were leaving her for some stranger who she was absolutely certain was a spy!
How could he get a letter to the princess otherwise?
Her friends were obviously being fooled. Just look at him!
'Oh, I saved Sugarcube Corner from some robbers and got hurt.'. How stupid! Did he think they were idiots or something?! Everypony knew that nopony would be dumb enough to take on herself, and her friends, in a fight!
They stopped Nightmare Moon! What was a bunch'a ponies compared to that?
Besides, who'd want to hurt them? They saved Equestria! They were heroes! Sure the princesses wanted to keep it on the down low, but everypony knew who they were!
Now he was tricking her friends and she'd be stuck with him for a couple'a days!
Could this get any worse?!
-----
"That reminds me. How'd you get a letter to the princess anyways?" Sparky asked once he'd finished telling them a false tale about Luna's arrival last night.
"Hmm?" he looked up, finding all five of the mares giving him inquisitive looks, with Crash trying, and failing, to burn a hole through his head, "Oh. I have a younger sister who lives up in Canterlot. I sent the letter to her, and she managed to get it up to the princesses during their respective courts. Why?" he asked with false casualness. Sparky gave him a strained smile as the others looked away with shameful expressions on their faces,
"Oh, we were just curious is all," she said, with an obviously false air of indifference.
"Rainbow Dash thought you were a spy!" Pinkie Pie happily interjected, oblivious to the glares she received from the other mares, "Isn't that crazy!?" she asked. Emerald chuckled,
"Definitely. If I was a spy, I'd be a pretty poor one with all this attention on me," he said, internally laughing at himself. Finally fed up with a lack of attention, Crash spoke up,
"Hey! I'm still here you know!" she shouted angrily, causing her friends to look over to her,
"Oh relax, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said, giving her a calm smile, "We're just making conversation is all. Don't tell me your jealous that he's getting all our attention?" she asked teasingly, causing Crash to go red, though he wasn't sure if it was an angry red or an embarrassed red.
"What?! No! I'm WAAAYY too awesome to be jealous of anypony, especially him!" she snapped, "Are you girls gonna help me get outta here or what!?" Rarity frowned at her tone, but Sparky rushed past her before she could speak.
Sparky stopped at the door, where a nurse pushing a book laden cart had just passed, before she turned back to the room, holding a book in her magic. Trotting over to her injured friend with a large smile on her face, she floated it over to her, where it landed softly in Crash's hooves.
"What's this?" she asked, "Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone?"
"Hooray, you can read,"
"It's about a treasure hunter named Daring Do and her bodyguard, Green Sky, who go around the world searching for it's greatest treasures! And it's the first one in the series!" Sparky said, ignoring Emerald, "I own all of them!" she added, grinning widely. Crash tossed the book to the side, conveniently landing right next to Emerald,
"Yeah, no. I sooo don't read," she said, "I'm a world class athlete. Reading's for eggheads like you, Twilight. No offense, but, it's undeniably, unquestionably, uncool,"
...
What... the fuck?
Emerald sighed to himself as the girls laughed at Crash. He spared a glance at the book she'd thrown, before he picked it up.
The cover boasted a simple design of a tan pegasus mare with a gray-scale rainbow mane and tail and red eyes hanging onto a vine. Her archeologist's vest clung tightly to her thin frame as she held on. There was an alligator underneath her, looking at though it had just lunged after her.
Of course it was ruined by the black thestral stallion currently pulling on it's tail with his fanged maw. His forest green mane and tail swayed in the wind, though his mane was mostly hidden by a pith helmet that didn't seem to fit him.
Emerald gave a light scoff at the sight of the cover.
'A.K. Yearling' certainly outdid herself with the design. It was almost a pity she had to hide both of their identities.
Yes, both. As it turns out, Celestia had assigned Emerald as a sort of bodyguard for the archeologist-turned-treasure hunting author. Daring, as was her true name, had been rather... against the idea at first, but she had no choice at the beginning, much like himself.
Thankfully, Emerald's plethora of knowledge about the outsides of Equestria, such as the Amarezon Jungle, where the book took place, got her to warm up to him rather quickly.
In comparison to most, at least.
Since then he'd joined her on several of her adventures across the world, some of which he'd spent as a friend, rather than a bodyguard.
...
He wondered when she'd call again, honestly.
After that stunt with the volcano, probably not for a while.
"Come on Rainbow Dash, reading is for everypony," Sparky laughed,
"Yeah, who doesn't like readin' a bang up tale from time to time?" interjected the farm pony,
"It's almost as lovely as silk pajamas on a Sunday morning. Heh," Rarity added, tittering sheepishly at the looks she received.
"Yeah! I love reading, and my head isn't even close to the shape of an egg!" Pinkie gushed,
"Especially after all those apples hit it," Emerald couldn't help but add, earning a laugh from the pink mare.
"Alright everypony!" came a voice from the doorway, where a pale pink nurse stood, "It's time for Rainbow Dash and Mr. Skies to get some rest. You can all come back tomorrow though!" she said, waving each mare goodbye as they passed. Sparky stayed behind for a moment however,
"I think you'd like Daring and Sky, Rainbow. They're a lot like you. Adventurous, fierce, and undeniably, unquestionably, unstoppable!" she said with a wide grin, before she began towards the door. The door shut behind her and the nurse, however Emerald managed to catch Sparky engage the nurse in a conversation.
"Could you make sure the stallion in there, Emerald, eats all his food?"
"Oh, is this about his malnutrition?"
"Yes! I'm sure you understand how serious that is?"
"Of course! I wouldn't be doing my duty as a healthcare provider if I just let somepony starve themselves. Don't worry, myself and the rest of the staff will do our very best!"
Emerald chuckled lightly.
Her concern was genuine, it seemed. To talk to the nurse about that behind closed doors, without the knowledge of his high hearing, was almost definite proof that she actually felt concerned.
It was... nice.
He supposed he could spread that particular sentiment to the other mares as well. Fluttershy had been the first one to approach him and ask if he was alright, and Pinkie, from what he saw, was too busy staring in shock at his bandages to do more than just stand there, even if she managed to snap herself out of it at the end. The only one who didn't express any sort of positive reaction, was Crash.
Well, he'd put that out of mind for now. As of now, he, like Crash, was stuck with nothing to do, for at least a day.
...
Shit.
Eight hours.
That was how long he'd had to deal with Crash being an annoying piece of shit.
She'd managed to rope the staff into getting her a rubber ball, which she'd spent about two hours just bouncing it back and forth between herself and the wall. Then another two hours were spent with her trying, and failing, to get Emerald to laugh at her atrocious jokes. Then she played around with her food when dinner came around for an hour. Then the last three were spent in a mixture of her messing with her lamp, and slamming her head against the headboard of her bed.
He really hoped she had brain damage at this point.
And when it was time for lights out, he was hoping she'd just go to sleep so he could sneak out and get to work, consequences be damned.
Now he was stuck, in a vain attempt to get some sleep himself as she continued slamming her head against the board. He was about six more hits from snapping at her, regardless of his injuries.
Then, as if Faust herself heard his prayers or, more likely, his curses, she stopped.
Only for her to pick up that damnable book!
"'Daring Do wasn't having the best day. She wasn't sure how it happened, but she somehow had gotten roped up with some bat-pony bodyguard.'" she read aloud, causing Emerald to twitch, "'Now she was stuck in some Faust forsaken forest with a busted wing and some annoying company. At least he had bandaged it up, she thought, but now she couldn't fly for a couple days. Days. Might as well be a few months, or even years!'"
"SHUT! THE FUCK! UP!"
Her mouth snapped shut at his yell, just as she recoiled away from him, his seething glare burning into her very soul.
"If you're going to read," he began, his voice low in a deathly whisper, "Then read. Quietly. Or else," he finished, snarling at the end.
Feeling satisfied at having cowed Crash for a moment, Emerald allowed himself to flop back into bed.
Forget patrol. He was sure Ponyville would survive one night without him.
-
-
"Dammit!"
*CRACK*
"GAH!"
"Hehehehahahaaaa!"
"Quit laughing!"
"Fat chance! That was fucking funny!"
Daring growled at the amused thestral, her eyes promising bloody murder if he didn't shut up. While her attitude certainly needed some adjustment, Emerald could admit that Daring was an interesting pony to be around. Her reactions were certainly funny as well.
She growled at him, before turning to her bandaged wing and pulling out a few twigs that had gotten lodged in her feathers.
That hadn't been his intention when he'd pushed that branch out of his face, but, at the same time, it was her fault for following so closely behind him!
"It's not my fault you've broken your damn wing," he repeated, as it was the primary reason for Daring's pissy mood, "Ahuizotl's the one who chucked that rock at you. You'd be dead if it wasn't for me," he said, grinning at her cheekily.
"This coming from the uninjured thestral," she growled at him, plucking the last leaf from her wings, "Whatever. My fault or not, why are you still here?!" she snapped. Emerald rolled his eyes,
"What, that rock give you brain damage too?" he snarked, "You know as well as I do that Celestia's orders are damn near absolute. She tells me to go with you, and you ain't getting rid of me,"
The statement only seemed to further her awful mood, as evident by her heated glare, but it vanished as they finally got moving again, having paused at Daring's shout.
The Amarezon Jungle was always an interesting place to visit, Emerald mused. Trees taller than any he'd seen in Equestria, plants and animals whose bright colours and animated activity made him feel almost out of place despite the fact that he blended in so well.
It had actually been rather entertaining to spook Daring a few times during their trip, via disappearing and popping back out in front of her. If anything, it kept her on her toes.
"If I'm remembering that damn map right, the temple shouldn't be far off from here," Daring muttered, aware he'd hear,
"Really? And two months was all it took?" he replied, not bothering to lower his voice, "Hmm, I'd've thought Ahuizotl would've tried a lot harder to drive us off," Daring didn't reply, but she was honestly thinking the same.
Ahuizotl, the strange creature who'd tried making her life a living Tartarus ever since she managed to force him behind bars. Before his escape, that is. As it was, the creature had been recently hunting for an artifact known as the Sapphire Statue.
Though, she really didn't care. Princess Celestia had called her in for help, oddly enough. She'd been on plenty of expeditions with her fellow archeologists, and had helped discover some of Equestria's premier artifacts, but this was the very first time she'd been called in. Alone.
'This is my chance!' she had thought. The idea that she could pull away from her peers and make a real name for herself in the scientific community had been a dream!
But then she got sent on this trip, and not alone.
She'd been imagining talking to the locals, searching the sites, and then finding and digging up the statue, not venturing into giant forests seeking some long lost temple, while having to deal with some lunatic hunting the treasure she sought and an aggressive, annoying, ass of a pony-sorry- thestral.
Though, she'd admit it wasn't all bad. She had fun! Really, she hadn't thought being this hooves-on with the whole thing would be as entertaining as it was! And, perhaps most surprisingly, was the thestral currently behind her.
While aggressive and somewhat annoying, Emerald had proved to be a highly intelligent stallion. Identifying flora and fauna on sight, as well as providing much needed information regarding them, including weaknesses, dangers, uses, and a small bit of history, which was a skill very few ponies she knew held. Couple that with his skills in hunting, foraging, scouting, fighting, and all around survival, he was, perhaps, the best possible companion she could've asked for on this journey.
He was also pretty easy on the eyes, but that was more of a bonus than anything.
If only he was a bit more approachable, they could probably be decent friends.
So lost in her thoughts, she nearly walked straight off of a cliff, if Emerald hadn't grabbed her tail and snapped her out of it,
"Hey! I know you broke your damn wing, but did you forget?!" he snapped at her,
"Wha-?" she stuttered, before looking downward, "AH!" she yelped, hopping back, sending her flank straight into Emerald's face. He grunted, but pushed her off without issue,
"Watch it!" he snapped, before directing his gaze forward, "Hmm... well, would you look at that?" he muttered.
Daring followed his gaze, her eyes widening at the sight. Across the chasm was a large structure, standing higher than the trees surrounding them. Made of dark brown, almost jagged, rock, a fanged face stared back at them, it's glowing ruby eyes glinting with a malevolent light.
"Well, no-"
Whatever Emerald had been trying to say was cut off as he whirled around and sent the charging tiger back to the treeline behind them, and audible crack signaling that he'd broken it's jaw.
"Well, I think we've been found," he muttered, glancing at the felines before them. A large, jet black puma, a tan lynx, a lean cheetah, an unconscious tiger, and... a kitten all stared back at him, snarling and baring their fangs. He frowned.
Ahuizotl's pets certainly weren't friendly, but it's not like they mattered. A single swipe with his spear and they'd trouble no one anymore. Though Daring was, unfortunately, a cat lover, so she forbade him from doing so, and, as her bodyguard, he'd listen to her, for now.
Regardless, he could just fly himself and Daring ove-
Or... she could do the dumb thing and swing across on a vine. Yeah, that worked.
Sighing to himself, he followed the mare's poor example and crossed the chasm, but chose to use his wings instead. He landed next to her, causing her to sheepishly laugh at the sight of his extended wings.
Apparently, she'd forgotten.
He groaned, this was going to be annoying.
-
-
Emerald groaned a little as he woke.
Odd... his bed felt dif-
Adrenaline shot through his veins and he was up and awake instantly. In fact, the only thing that had prevented him from leaping out of bed was a sharp pain in his chest, causing him to recall the previous day's events.
Right. He was stuck in the hospital because of some insignificant wound in his chest.
He groaned a little, shifting around in the bed as the adrenaline wore down.
Hearing some shuffling, he glanced to the side, finding Crash still reading that Daring Do book from yesterday.
At least she was quiet now.
Returning his attention to himself, he felt... odd. It had been so long since he'd gotten a full night's rest, he'd forgotten what it felt like to be so... refreshed.
In fact... now that he was putting his attention into it, he felt lighter, more awake than usual, which, he knew, was to be expected.
Shame he wouldn't get to feel this good again for a long time...
There was a loud series of knocks on the door, causing both Emerald and Crash to look up, although Crash immediately shoved the book underneath her blankets, for whatever reason.
"Hey Rainbow Dash!" came the unified voices of Sparky and Fluttershy as they walked into the room, "You too Emerald," Sparky added after a moment.
"Oh, of course..." Fluttershy added quietly, giving Emerald a small smile, before hiding behind Twilight.
"Anyway," Sparky began, rolling her eyes at Fluttershy, "We brought your favourite board game, Battleclouds!" she said, levitating a box into the hoof of Crash's bed. Said pegasus looked beyond nervous, carefully nudging the book she'd hidden with her leg.
"You came at a bad time," Emerald interrupted, causing the three to look at him, with Crash doing so almost appreciatively, for some odd reason.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Fluttershy began, "I didn't realize-"
"Why? What's wrong?" Sparky cut her off, throwing her an apologetic look after,
"Crash over there was busy reading that book you gave her. Looked like she was trying to burn a hole through it with how hard she was staring at it. Pretty sure she read all night, too," he said, completely ignoring the furious glare Crash was sending him.
"What?" Sparky asked, looking at the mare in question, "Is that true Rainbow?"
"Wh-whaaaat?" the pegasus asked, laughing nervously as sweat began to form on her brow, "No way! Reading's for eggheads, Twilight. And- h-hey! Fluttershy!" she snapped. While she was busy trying to cover up the book, the shy mare had apparently spotted it and, in her innocent curiosity, grabbed it and took it out, revealing it to the studious unicorn.
"Oh my gosh, Rainbow Dash!" Sparky gushed, happily taking the book in her magic, "You actually read the book!?" she asked. Crash sighed,
"Yeah, alright. I admit it. I'm an egghead," she sighed, glaring at the wall to her left,
"What?" Fluttershy asked,
"You heard me, Shy. An egghead. I like reading okay?! It was just so awesome reading about Daring Do's awesome adventure, how she and Sky traveled through the forest, how they fought amazing monsters, and how cool it was when he straight up punched a tiger in the face!"
"What?" Fluttershy asked in her small voice, "Why would anypony-?"
"I know!" Sparky gushed, unintentionally cutting the shy mare off, "Daring and Sky are such amazing characters! And so realistic too! I really feel like A.K. Yearling based them off of real ponies in her life!" she added, before stopping, suddenly putting a hoof to her chin in thought, "Though, I wonder where she got the idea to use a vampony in the story, and change it so much too,"
"A vampony?" Fluttershy asked, directing her gaze to the cover of the book. Emerald payed particularly close attention to her reaction, and found it satisfying. Rather than stare at it in wonder, or even fear, her eyes widened in some minor recognition.
"Oh my," she whispered, her voice going even quieter than usual as she stared.
"Something the matter?" Emerald asked, keeping his voice low as to the not disturb the two fanfillies in the room. Fluttershy jumped slightly, but otherwise didn't react as she turned to him,
"Oh! Um... no, not really,"
"Really?" Emerald pressed, "'Cause if I didn't know any better, I might've thought you recognized that thestral," Emerald had to suppress his grin when he saw her eyes go wide when he finished talking.
Fluttershy stared at him as if seeing him for the first time. She gently trotted over to him, her shyness apparently forgotten in lieu of this revelation.
She hopped onto her back legs, leaning her front hooves against his bed as she stared at him, absolutely in awe,
"How do you know about thestrals?" she asked quietly, sounding stupefied, but relieved. He smirked,
"I'm related to a few of them," he said evasively, although she obviously didn't pick up on it if the widening of her eyes meant anything.
"Really!" she asked excitedly, although her voice still didn't raise, "I-I am too! Is one of your parents a thestral too!?... I-if you don't mind me asking, that is," she said, lowering her gaze at the end as she finally regained her senses. Emerald gave her a gentle smile, one much more sincere than most he'd given,
"My... my Father," he admitted, figuring it'd be easier. Fluttershy raised her head, her wide teal eyes glimmering with unshed tears,
"M-mine too," she said, smiling, "I-I never thought I'd meet anyone else who knew about thestrals," she added. Emerald nodded, believing her instantly.
He understood that pain. It was why most thestrals wore disguises in public. Most ponies, for whatever reason, still believed in those idiotic vampony stories from ages ago. Celestia, try as she might, wasn't able to do much about it, but, with Luna's return ponies were beginning to put aside those stories, along with Nightmare Moon. It was still a long way going, however.
But now, now he had a chance to find those answers he'd been hoping for!
"What's his name? If you don't mind," he asked, making sure he kept whatever anticipation he had out of his voice. She blinked at his question, but nodded,
"Oh, right, Mom did say something about clans..." she murmured, "His name was-"
"Alright everypony!" the door burst open, revealing the nurse from the other day, "It's breakfast time for Rainbow Dash and Emerald!" she said happily, "I'm afraid you'll have to leave for now, you two,"
Emerald glared at the nurse, feeling his inner fire heat up in anger, but it faded when Fluttershy spoke,
"Oh, well... I'm sorry. I-I can tell you later, when you get out. My cottage is a-a little bit away f-from Sweet Apple Acres, so Applejack can tell you where... if y-you want," He glanced over at Fluttershy, noting the almost reluctant hope in her eyes, which shined brighter when he nodded,
"I'll be looking forward to it, Shy,"
She gave him a small smile as she and Sparky left the room, allowing the nurse to bring in a small tray laden cart, filled with the...
Well, he supposed it was food, of some kind.
-
-
"So, how should we go about this?" he asked, ignoring the bone that snapped underneath his hoof. Daring jumped at the sound, and ended up glaring at him when she figured out the source,
"Obviously we just avoid the traps, grab the treasure, and get out before that Ahuizotl nut finds us again," she answered.
And she really hoped he didn't, especially not here. With dark brown tiling along the ceiling and walls, she had a bit of a hard time seeing if wasn't for the torch that Emerald had thought to grab.
She shivered slightly at the feeling of one of the many, many beetles on the ground crawl up her leg, before she flicked it off.
She really hoped this was a quick in and out.
Something under her hoof suddenly gave way, and she found herself being shoved downward, an axe barely scraping the top of her hat as it embedded itself into the wall to her left. Her legs were forced apart when a trap door opened up directly beneath her, and, thankfully, she was fast enough to jump out of the way herself, with Emerald right behind her, though with less panic in his motions.
Damn his fire resistance.
She went to move forward, but stopped when a dart grazed her snout. She was forced to duck and jump forward when more of those damn things started firing out of the wall. Her heart pounded as she found herself jumping and rolling forward, avoiding the darts with some help from Emerald now and then.
She wasn't an athlete, dammit!
Finally the darts seemed to end, and she nearly sighed in relief, when Emerald suddenly pulled her tail, just as a spike shot up from the ground, nearly impaling her. Any thoughts on scolding him were further disrupted when he suddenly lifted her onto his back and shot forward.
Emerald's hooves all but glided across the ground, outrunning the spike's shooting up at them. The door ahead of them had begun to close, but he managed to duck underneath the edge, long before it closed. Finding themselves in another long hall, he sighed.
"Damn. Hang on tight, Daring,"
"What? Wait, no! Are you gonna-?"
She didn't get to finish, her words lost as he ran forward once more.
Well that was fun.
He sighed again, tossing Daring off of him when the door shut behind them once more, ignoring her indignant 'Hey!'.
While he waited for her to get back to her hooves he took the time to inspect the room before them.
Wide and open, he could plainly see a large pedestal at the other end of the room, where a small sapphire statue sat, resembling a pair of conjoined Anubis. It was nice to look at, he guessed. Emerald frowned, noticing the ground before the treasure was made up of dozens of tiles, each baring a different image.
Though, he noted that, of the many different images, they were all various types of predators. Except for one.
Well, he just inadvertently solved the puzzle. Sighing, he took a second glance around the room. The tile floor didn't encompass the entire ground, he could easily shimmy across the wall and not touch it once. Or fly, he could easily fly to the other side, but he had a feeling Daring wouldn't let him.
Finally, after a few minutes, Daring rejoined him, stopping to his left.
"Huh, I guess it's the last trap," she muttered, Emerald nodded,
"Yep. If those holes in the wall mean anything, then one wrong move and we'd be full of arrows or darts, I'd bet," he added.
"Lion, eagle, wolf, tiger, rat," Daring muttered, glancing over the closest images, "The rat's the only prey animal, but it can't be that easy, can it?" she asked him. He shrugged,
"Let's find out," he responded, giving a nearby rock a kick. It flew forward and landed on a lion tile, which then depressed and caused a bunch of arrows to fire.
"Well, lion's out. So I doubt it's one of the big animals, leaving the eagle and rat. But all four of those kill rats, or might. And the rat can't kill any of those four. So it's probably the rat,"
"Well, then let's go," Daring said, putting one of her hooves on the closest rat tile. She froze for a moment, letting her weight sink in, but when she wasn't dead by arrows, she opened her eyes and gave him a cocky smile.
Which disappeared when she nearly fell over.
Glaring at the snickering thestral behind her, Daring jumped forward, landing on the closest rat tile, with Emerald following in her tracks.
A few more jumps later, and the two found themselves standing before the legendary Sapphire Statue.
Daring couldn't help but stare at it.
Then, she promptly grabbed it and took it off of it's pedestal.
She turned to him, chuckling smugly as she put the statue under her hat.
"How's that!?" she asked, oblivious to the mechanism behind her reacting to the statue's absence, a small cylinder being pushed upwards from the pedestal, no longer being held down by the statue's weight.
"I don't know. How's that?" he asked, pointing behind her. She regarded him, confused, but turned just in time to watch the cylinder fall back into the pedestal. The ground beneath them suddenly lurched as the temple began shaking, almost as though the statue's absence triggered an earthquake.
Stone began to crack away from the ceiling and fall, causing the tile floor behind them to break away, revealing a river of lava rising forth from the depths of the earth.
Well, Emerald supposed, it certainly explained why the temple looked like it was carved from a mountain.
Likely because it was.
While he wasn't too worried, given that it'd been a long time since he'd had a lava bath, Daring wasn't so lucky. She hopped back up onto the pedestal as the lava neared them, with Emerald casually walking upward, ignoring the molten rock covering his hooves.
The pillars on the sides of the room began falling over due to the quake, and Daring took the first opportunity to jump, with Emerald swimming after her, the lava having reached his neck.
It felt nice.
Like a very, very hot bath.
"Quit playing around Emerald, and help me!" she shouted at him as she ran to the top of a nearby pillar, which had gotten stuck on something,
"Says the one who took the damn statue in the first place," he muttered, "Just jump through the skylight!" he shouted, looking to the lone hole in the ceiling. Daring followed his gaze and, with a large intake of breath, jumped for her life, just barely latching on to the rounded edge.
Emerald swam underneath the hole, allowing the still rising magma to lift him upwards.
Unfortunately, the sudden expanse of hot air caused a heavy upwards lift to generate from the hole, launching Daring's light frame nearly out of his sight.
Dammit.
-
-
"Hellooooo, Rainbow Dash!" came the high pitched voice of a familiar baker, just as the door opened, "And helloooo to you too, Emerald!"
Pinkie skipped into the room, followed loosely by Rarity and Applejack. The pink mare skipped over to Crash, who was, seemingly, unaware of the presence of three of her friends.
Rarity, however, wasn't as oblivious.
"Rainbow Dash! Are you reading a book?!" That caught Crash's attention. She yelped in fright, almost throwing the book at Emerald a second time, before recognizing her friends,
"Uh, what?! N-nononono! Of course not!"
"She is. Has been all day, and probably all of last night too," Emerald interjected, earning, yet another, glare from Crash,
"Hehehe, so much fer readin' bein' 'only fer eggheads', huh Dash?" Applejack asked, laughing at the red that crept onto the athlete's face,
"Fine. Twilight and Fluttershy already caught me. Go on, call me an egghead," she muttered, crossing her hooves,
"Now, Rainbow, whatever makes you think we'll do that?" Rarity asked, frowning at her friend,
"Yeah! Just cause you like reading now doesn't mean we'll suddenly all be big meanies!" Pinkie happily added,
"Really?" Crash asked, sounding surprised, "Even after I made fun of it?"
"Eeyup,"
Crash smiled at the three of them, but turned away before they saw it,
"Thanks guys," she muttered, before huffing, "Well, enough sappy stuff, I gotta get back to reading about Daring and Sky!" she said, burying her nose back into her book, effectively ignoring everyone else, causing the girls to laugh.
Emerald closed his eyes and sighed. He really didn't understand ponies at times. Opening them back up, he was greeted by a pair of familiar baby blues,
"Pinkie, get out of my face," he deadpanned, earning a laugh as the excitable filly bounced backwards, giving him some space, although she kept staring at him.
"Pinkie, darling, it's not polite to stare," Rarity gently admonished, to no avail. She sighed at Pinkie's antics, but turned to Emerald, "I trust you're doing all right, dear?" he shrugged,
"Yes, why?" he asked. Applejack spoke,
"It ain't often somethin' like gettin' stabbed happens in Ponyville. Er, well, before Twilight came ta town, I mean," she laughed sheepishly at the end,
"Hmm, she's right, Emerald," Rarity said, "About the stabbing, not about dear Twilight," she clarified, before blinking, "Well, now that she mentions it..." she trailed off.
"The Cakes told me about what happened," Pinkie cut in, her voice a sudden contrast to it's usual peppiness. Emerald glanced back at her, finding that her smile was gone, replaced by a small frown, and her brow was furrowed in thought. The wild bunch of curls she called a mane seemed... deflated, somehow, and it seemed to give the usually happy mare a completely different air about her.
"Okay," Emerald said, noting the way Rarity and Applejack seemed to shift uneasily, "Is there a problem with that?" he asked. Pinkie continued staring at him, but eventually she stood up and walked over to him.
"Thanks," she said, before he was enveloped in a crushing hug by the pink mare. The strength used didn't bother him much, but the amount of affection did.
Especially when he felt her tears start hitting his shoulder.
"Thank you, thank you!" she sobbed, "I-I don't know what I'd do without them!... An-and if those mean ol' robbers took everything then they'd have to l-leave and I'd lose them!"
He fought off the instinct to just push her away and instead wrapped a wing around the crying mare, disregarding the awkward feelings it brought, as well as the way Crash whipped her head away from them, beet red.
It seemed that Rarity and Applejack were just as, if not even more, surprised than he was.
"Uh... you're welcome?" he said, uncertain. He didn't have to deal with sad ponies often. In all honesty, he was likely the reason a lot of ponies cried, rather than the one who made them feel better.
Pinkie didn't let go of him, rather, she seemed to squeeze him a little tighter, as if afraid of letting go. Eventually however, they were interrupted.
"Alright! Dinner time for- oh! I'm not interrupting something, am I?"
"Oh, um, no," Rarity answered for him, "Pinkie's just a little... emotional right now. Come on dear, it's time for us to leave," she said, that last part to Pinkie. Rarity gently placed a hoof on the mare's shoulders, which prompted her to finally let go of Emerald, but not before the puffy-eyed mare gave him one last smile.
It was smaller than her regular smiles, but, for some reason, he felt that it expressed her joy far more than any other ever had.
"Well, that's just precious," the nurse spoke up suddenly, "I suppose the dear will be happy to know that you'll both be checked out tomorrow morning Mr. Skies!" she said. Crash didn't react to the, admittedly good, news, likely still too engrossed in the book to listen properly.
The nurse left her dinner on the counter, while she watched Emerald eat his. Apparently, they were taking Sparky's suggestion seriously.
The knowledge made him feel... content.
For now.
He sighed as the fresh morning air hit him as he pushed through the hospital doors.
The crisp smell of morning dew helped him relax slightly, but it was quickly erased as a sense of purpose filled his veins.
He'd have to due a few covert patrols during the day to analyze the events of what happened over the past two nights, check in on the Everfree predators and make sure they hadn't begun straying close to town, and check around the homes of the other Bearers. No doubt the Cult had figured Midnight and the other two failed when they didn't return, so it was likely they'd be ready to send more expendable ponies their way.
The only good thing about that, is that they likely didn't know that he existed and was the reason for those three's failure.
He needed to capitalize on that. The next time, if there was a next time, he'd have to capture and interrogate them. Assuming Luna hasn't already, which she likely would.
He headed towards town, intent on starting a small patrol. He'd have to inform the Cakes of his intentions, however. While it might be a cover, and they might now be aware that it was a cover, it was still a job he'd been given, and he would, at least give them a reason for not doing it.
Thankfully, as a cover, it was a part of his real job, so he didn't feel too obligated to do it. Not to the point of going out of his way, at least.
He paused as he entered the market, noting that there wasn't a single pony in sight. Alarm bells began ringing in his head, but he ignored them.
He had the strangest feeling he knew what was happening.
His ears twitched slightly, picking up the vibrations from further in town, and confirming his suspicions. He sighed.
Damn that pink mare.
...
"SURPRISE!!"
"Pinkie..."
"Were you surprised!? I hope you were surprised because you didn't look surprised at your last party! Ooh! I'm sorry that I didn't get to say hello at your last party because I was super duper busy trying to make sure everything was perfect and I forgot to say-!" a green hoof cut off the happy mare, courtesy of Emerald himself.
"I get it, Pinkie," he said, sighing. He looked around the room, finding a party very similar to the one that had invaded his home on the first day in town. The only noticeable differences between the two was the fact that ponies hadn't already begun dispersing like last time, all of them looking strangely guilty, and the large banner that read 'Thanks for saving Sugarcube Corner from a bunch of robbers!', rather than the welcoming it had once been.
He glanced back down at the bouncing mare, and took his hoof away.
"Well?" she asked, surprisingly calm given her previous excitement, "What do you think?" He blinked, finding the way she eagerly awaited his response strange, but sighed,
"... Why?" he asked,
"Because you saved the Cakes, duh!" Pinkie replied without hesitation,
"Yeah, but... why?" he asked again, gesturing to the party. Pinkie stopped bouncing, now looking confused,
"'Why' what?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Why would you throw a party just because I helped someone?" he clarified, frowning. She mimicked his expression, before giving him a gentle smile,
"Because everypony in town and I wanted to say thank you!" she explained. He stared at her, uncomprehending, before nodding,
"O-... okay?" he said, still uncertain. Pinkie grinned, before jumping up and turning around,
"Alright! Let's PAARRRTAAAYYY!" she shouted, causing the crowd to erupt into cheers.
Emerald stayed rooted to the spot, watching as Pinkie bounced into the crowd, with nary a care in the world. As he did so he felt a certain... warmth in his chest. One he'd really only felt with the creatures from the Facility who'd escaped with him.
One he hadn't felt since.
"You alright Emerald?" came the curious voice of Sparky, prompting sapphire eyes to meet amethyst, "You seem... out of it," she replied, a little more worried.
"I-I'm... I'm fine," he said, not really believing himself. Sparky didn't seem to either,
"You sure?" she asked again, "It looked like you were... confused, I guess," she said, furrowed her brow, "Like you weren't used to being thanked," she added, locking her gaze with his own. He felt tempted to look away, to avert his gaze from the hungering purple orbs that sought to devour his secrets and claim that knowledge for their own. But he didn't.
Twilight was worried. This strange pony had come into town, and, somehow, with every new discovery, another mystery revealed itself, just waiting to be solved. Even now, she knew next to nothing about his stallion, other than he moved around a lot, and was, for some reason or another, prone to malnourishing himself. Now here he was, seemingly uncomfortable with so many ponies wanting to thank him for something.
Just who was Emerald?
"I've been thanked plenty of times... I just... they never... I never felt..." he stuttered, apparently unable to find the proper word. Based on what he was obviously trying to say, Twilight had a feeling she knew the word he was attempting to find,
"Appreciated?" she asked. He blinked at her interruption, but nodded after a moment.
"Yeah... appreciated. I've never really felt... appreciated, before. Not like this anyways," he admitted. Sparky stared at him for a moment longer, before shaking her head,
"Well, you are now," she said honestly, giving him a smile, "Really, the Cakes mean a lot to the ponies here in Ponyville. I haven't been here anywhere near as long as anypony else, and I already can't imagine it without them here. So, thank you,"
Emerald blinked at her response, before a small grin made it's way onto his muzzle,
"Well it's no problem," he replied, walking past her, "It's just what I do,"
"W-would you like some tea?" the shy mare asked, already walking towards the kitchen,
"That would be lovely Fluttershy," Emerald replied, gently closing the door behind him.
Fluttershy's house was... odd. Bird houses lines the walls, nests hung in the rafters, and pet toys and play areas could be found littering the floor, especially towards the walls.
He guessed it was fairly nice.
He stepped forward, minding the few squirrels and mice that dashed between his hooves.
"So, um... I was hoping... umm..." the mare stuttered as she trotted back into the room, "M-my Dad left when I was a filly, and M-mom d-didn't like talking about him... S-so I don't know much about thestrals..." she trailed off. Emerald nodded,
"So, you want me to tell you about them? Assuming I know more than you," he said, inwardly grinning at the thought of actually teaching someone about his-their species. She gave a shy nod,
"Yeah... if that's okay with you," she muttered. Emerald nodded, smiling,
"Well, alright," he said, before hopping onto the nearby couch, with Fluttershy following his example, at a slower pace, "Well, I guess I'll start with the biggest things. For starters, are you aware of the thestral clans?" he asked. Fluttershy eagerly nodded,
"Oh yes! My dad made sure I knew about them," she said, frowning, "Although, I don't really know why they're so important," she added, fidgeting in place slightly. He hummed,
"Well, the clans are important for a lot of reasons, really," Emerald said, "For starters, Nocturne, the home of the thestrals, is located in the Tramplevanian Mountains. There's always been a lot of inherent difficulties because of that. So, the original leaders decided that it would be best of each clan dedicated themselves to one certain aspect of our society. Some worked as builders, farmers, and teachers. Others worked as guards, hunters, and explorers. Do you understand?" he asked, she nodded, "Good. Now, for the longest time, it stayed that way. And our government is made up of each of those families, with the head of the family working with the other heads to come to big decisions. Over the years the lines between those families have started coming down. Nowadays families that only had hunters might have farmers, or teachers may become guards,"
"A-are there families that take care of animals?" Fluttershy asked as he took a breath,
"Yes," he nodded, "There are also artists, musicians, caretakers, and others that I can't be bothered to mention," he stated. Fluttershy nodded,
"That's fine," she said, before looking away, "Um... do you think my father was a nice thestral?" she asked, Emerald shrugged,
"I don't know. What's his name?" he asked.
"Dusty Skies,"
His breath caught in his throat and his blood turned to ice.
Dusty Skies.
That pathetic piece of shit!
Of all the thestrals to be related to, it just had to be his piece of shit uncle?!
He sighed. Well, now that he thought about it, Dusty Skies, while the worst possible parent, was also the most likely.
Most thestrals mate for life. In fact, it's become such a strong part of them, that a pair of thestrals actually breaking apart is all but unheard of. Though, that's usually because thestrals only mate with those they have the strongest connection too, so for any thestral to have an unhappy relationship is unlikely.
Dusty Skies, however, is a stallionwhore. Plain and simple.
Honestly, if he was Fluttershy's father, then she probably had about twenty or so siblings she'd likely never meet.
He was a disgrace to the Skies family name, that was probably the one thing that every single Skies member could wholeheartedly agree on.
But disgrace or not, it seemed that Fluttershy is a part of that family, and Skies stick together.
Mostly.
"Is something wrong?" she asked him, breaking him from his thoughts, "I-I didn't say something bad, did I?" her voice quivered, like she was honestly afraid of having offended him. Emerald shook his head,
"No, you didn't Shy. It's just..." he trailed off for a moment, "Dusty Skies is my uncle,"
Silence.
Fluttershy stared at him, uncomprehendingly, before her eyes widened suddenly.
"Wh-what?" Emerald chuckled, but there was no mirth,
"Hey, cousin," he joked. She continued staring at him, when her eyes suddenly started watering. A moment passed, and tears began rolling down her cheeks,
"Y-you're... my cousin?" she asked, her voice quieter than usual, he nodded, smiling slightly,
"Yeah. You're a Skies, just like me,"
"I-I'm a... 'Skies'?" he nodded, again.
"Family," he amended.
A moment passed, silent save for the quiet sobs coming from the shy mare before him. He sat there, not sure what to do.
And how would he? He didn't know why she was crying. Was the thought of being related to him that bad?
Before he could ponder any longer, Fluttershy darted forward, wrapping her thin, and surprisingly strong, forelegs around him. She held onto the stunned thestral-in-disguise, quietly crying into his shoulder.
...
What the fuck did he do now?
Carefully, he opened one of his wings and wrapped it around his crying cousin. It seemed like the right thing to do, as her sobs started quieting down.
Finally, after what felt like eternity to the confused stallion, Fluttershy stopped crying.
She didn't let go of him, however, until a few minutes after that.
"I-I'm sorry," she muttered, quietly hopping down from the couch, wiping her eyes with a hoof,
"It's... alright. I suppose it was... something unusual to take in," she shook her head,
"It's not that..." she replied, looking back up at him, her puffy, teal eyes still shining, "It's just... I never really knew anypony from my family. My Mom, my Step-Dad, and my brother... but never anyone from Dusty's side of it. Now... now I have someone. I never had anyone I could talk to about it! Mom couldn't bare to talk, and the others never knew. I couldn't even talk to Rainbow Dash about it because she'd never believe me!" she huffed, suddenly angry, "I had no one to talk to! I couldn't learn anything about him, about anyone!... About me," she lowered her head, breathing a little heavier, "I always thought I was a freak, because Mom never tried talking to me about it. There were some times, growing up, when I did something no other pegasus could. I could see in the dark, I could hear a lot better. I could even eat meat," she admitted, slightly surprising Emerald, "No one helped me, because no one could, or wanted to," she swallowed, before raising her head again, "But now there's you!" she said, her voice becoming stronger as she hopped onto the couch and stared at him hard, "You can help me! You can teach me, help me understand who and what I am!" her eyes began watering again, "P-please! Not even my friends can help..."
Emerald stared back into those watery eyes, stunned.
Before chuckling.
Even someone who seemed so shy, so afraid, could have a fire burning inside, just waiting to burn free.
She truly did have thestral blood in her.
"Of course I'll teach you, cousin,"
-
-
"So, how'd you end up here?"
"I'll tell you later, just help me!"
Emerald grinned down at his partner. Somehow, someway, Daring had gotten captured by that fool Ahuizotl, and, within a span of ten minutes, had been tied up in some chamber, and now the walls, lined with spikes, were closing in on her, as spiders and snakes swarmed the area, all the while it was slowly being drenched in quicksand.
Emerald couldn't help but think Ahuizotl was overcompensating for something.
Like a brain.
A moment passed with him just staring at the overly complicated trap, before he chuckled and hopped over to a nearby lever, likely the one that had triggered the, ah, 'clever' trap, and flipped it upward.
Almost instantly the walls began retracting back and the quicksand was drained into the floor below, allowing Daring the breathing room to tear through the, admittedly weak, bindings holding her.
"So, about you getting here?"
...
"Really?" he asked as the two adventurers bolted past rocks and ducked under branches, the sounds of cursing getting quieter behind them, "You just snatch the Statue away and leave?"
"Well what did you expect me to do?" the archeologist asked, "Fight him?!"
"No, but I was at least assuming you'd have thought of sabotaging some of his gear so he'd be at a disadvantage next time. Assuming there's a next time," Daring gave him a cheeky grin as they ran.
"Oh come on! This was fun! Hay, I might just write a book about this!"