//------------------------------// // Revalations, And A New Threat // Story: A Great and Powerful Love Story // by DragonMaster24921 //------------------------------// Canterlot General Beeps could be heard as an unconscious Shuffle Suite laid on the small emergency room bed. Next to him sat his mother, whom upon being informed about the situation, rushed away from work, blazing a trail of tire tread and wheel marks directly towards the hospital. A few minutes of silence passed as she sat there. Doctors came in to regulate Shuffle’s monitors and the blood bags that were needed for his transfusion. “If he was even four minutes late, he would have been in serious danger; praise be he showed up with the girl in time,” The doctor said, jolting Tesla from her idle state. “As long as he and that girl are alright, that's all that matters,” Tesla replied, silently staring back at her son’s stitched arm. Outside the room, time flowed at the normal pace, but for Tesla, each second was unbearable. Finally, after an hour of sitting in silence, the door opened, revealing Trixie Lulamoon. Her head had been wrapped in bandages, and her parents followed behind her. Tesla focused on the teen girl, who returned the gaze with an apologetic glance as she went to the other side of Shuffle, sitting down in a chair directly opposite of Tesla. “What are you doing here Trixie? I thought the hospital wasn't discharging you until tomorrow.” “They are holding me, Ms. Suite, but I wanted to come to see how Shuffle is doing.” “The doctors said thanks to you two showing up when you did, he probably wouldn’t just be in the holding area of the ER.” Trixie looked down at the boy, tears enveloping her eyes, the memory coming back in flashes; even though the haze from her head injury, she could see Shuffle fighting, then subsequently dragging her to her car, but not much else. “I'm so very sorry for having your son get involved with my ex-boyfriend and his security team.” Tesla gasped. Shuffle single-handedly took on a small team of grown men and only came out with a gash on his arm. Thank the fates above that she enrolled Shuffle in self-defense classes. “I don't blame you, dear, from the way Shuffle was carrying you inside the hospital, I could tell right there everything that transpired wasn't in your control,” Trixie looked to Tesla in confusion. “What do you mean?” Tesla pulled out her phone, which had the recording of Shuffle physically carrying an unconscious Trixie before collapsing himself. Trixie noticed that when Shuffle collapsed, he somehow made sure he didn't land on top of her already injured body. A few seconds pass, as a few EMTs came by with stretchers, ready to take the pair for medical attention, but even unconscious, Shuffle didn't let go of her without some kind of resistance. Tesla paused the video in the middle of the scene. “That right there proves to me you didn't do anything wrong, Trixie. He might not talk to many people, nor willingly seek out friendship, but Shuffle has always been a good boy, always looking out for others before himself.” Trixie leaned back in the chair, trying to process this new revelation. At school, Shuffle had gained this reputation of being angsty and overly passive aggressive towards others, yet thinking about it, she noticed he was toned down, even sometimes chuckling when she would show off. Silence resumed as the two women sat there, both trying to find words about the situation. Just then, a scuffle could be heard as Shuffle finally started sitting up from the bed. “Holy hell, can I get the number of the truck that hit me?” the teen groaned, his eyes fluttering open. After a few seconds, Shuffle noticed the pure white room, along with the constant smell of disinfectant; he deduced he was sitting in the hospital, and also noticed that his mother was sitting beside his bed, though Trixie went unnoticed at the immediate moment. Tesla was the first to move, diving for her son and embracing him in a death grip hug, finally giving in to the urge to cry. Shuffle returned it at the cost of most of the oxygen in his lungs. “Mom…. Can't breathe,” he barely got out. Tesla let go after a few more seconds, and Shuffle took in as much air as his chest could. “Okay, not that I'm not grateful for the hug, but what happened? The last thing I remember was being in an alleyway with those guys and Trixie!” Without thinking, Shuffle moved to get out of his bed, but his mother stopped him. “Don’t worry, she is fine, and what happened was you and she showed up to the hospital, you were bleeding from your arm, and Trixie had a head injury, but you both pulled through.” “Oh yeah, that guy, he said he was some kind of security head to, someone called Blueblood.” Trixie finally spoke up. “That's Lariat Cross. He used to be a Mixed Martial Arts teacher before Blueblood’s father hired him as a personal guard; now he follows Blueblood around, but it's been so long since I've seen him. He really let himself go.” Shuffle cringed midway through Trixie’s statement. Lariat Cross is a legendary name in MMA, and as a teacher alone he was known as one of the most brutal, but if you could stand through his training you’d be one of the greater fighters in MMA. “So what happens now? If this Blueblood guy is really in control of someone like Lariat, what will we do?” Shuffle asked. Trixie sighed. “Now, Blueblood will try just about anything to get back at anyone that says ‘No’ to him. Wouldn't surprise me if he didn't already have someone watching us as we speak.” Tesla looked around worriedly. This wasn't good for each family; if Blueblood found out where she and Shuffle lived, they wouldn't be safe. Tesla spoke up after a few minutes. “Does Blueblood have a tendency to “dispose of” anyone in his way?” Trixie shook her head. “No, the best he’ll give is arrogant threats or property damage, murder is too big of a crime for him.” Shuffle turned back to Trixie. “Well then, looks like until this blows over you’re stuck with me.” Tesla stood up immediately. “Oh no, you don't! If anything it would be smart if the two of you laid low for a few weeks.” “Mom, I love you and all, but this dude could target us at any point, and at this point, I bet Blueblood already has something planned, but he doesn't know about you, so you're relatively safe at the moment, whilst Trixie and myself are going to be his primary targets, so if we just watch each others’ backs, at least until this spoiled brat gives up and moves on, acting like we don't know he’s watching would be the most ideal.” Tesla opened her mouth to shoot down her son's plan, but it was actually pretty solid. “Fine... sometimes I curse the fact that you inherited my intellect.” “Then that's the plan; starting the moments we get out of the hospital, Trixie and I will stick together.” Trixie scoffed, incredulous of the fact she was left out of the impromptu plan. “I AM sitting here, you know. What about if I don't like this idea?” “Because, if he's gunning for you, wouldn't you want someone there to back you up? It was lucky I even saw them follow you around the corner. What happens next time, huh? What if I'm not there to save you again?” “...On second thought, this plan sounds fabulous, but as my personal shadow, you shall be automatically be called on when I perform.” Shuffle groaned. “Fine...” Trixie beamed, satisfied with her conditions being met. Meanwhile Sitting in a lounge, a slim pasty man with blonde hair and blue eyes sat in a chair facing a fireplace, enjoying a warm cup of tea and a book. Out of nowhere, in barges a man yelling obscenities towards the men who “escorted” him to the room. “So, I have a question, Mr. Cross, why have you returned to my manor without my prized tonight?” the man said calmly. “We did have the little bitch, but this guy showed up and beat my men.” “Did you at least get a picture of his face?” “No, but I do know something about this boy that's unique to him; not only have we seen him hanging out with Trixie, but I noticed he had two different colored eyes.” “Interesting... that reminds me of that one man, that card player… Royal Flush! That's it. If you would please bring Mr. Flush here, I have some questions for him.” The man left wordlessly. “Now, Ms. Shine, about your daughter's hand in marriage…” Blueblood looked over to the other seat, revealing Trixie’s mother Star Shine, holding a briefcase of money. “As long as you keep up your end of the deal, I don't care,” star responded, too invested in the briefcase. “I shall just be warned... I hear widows take a long time to grieve,” Blueblood said, chuckling sinisterly.