At the farm Apples Sweet Acres was back air of serenity: The young cadet Elias Schützen after a moment of fear created by the unknown fate of their loved ones on Earth, had found comfort and safety thanks to the support of her new friends. Elias could not help but smile as his eyes rested on those young pony that he had known only that morning, but for a reason mysterious to him, he felt a strong bond that joined them. Although for the young cadet an event of this kind was not entirely foreign, in fact the boy remembered that twice he felt a sensation similar to what he was feeling at that moment: when he met Eren after the clash with the bullies who were tormenting Armin , and when he met Sasha in the first days at the military academy.
"So Elias, you said you had this innate ability to get you into trouble." What did you mean? " Sunset asked, resuming the speech that had been interrupted before.
"See Sunset, when Sasha first told me this thing I asked her what she meant, and she told me that I had an innate talent in getting myself into battles that were not mine, and I must admit she was right." The cadet answered.
"What do you mean, darling?" Rarity asked, intrigued by the answer given by Elias.
"To quote a few examples: This morning when we met, the battle between you and Scarlett was not my deal and despite everything I stepped in and fought at your side when I could very well ignore the whole thing and go about my business. Another example it is when I helped Eren against the bullies who were tormenting Armin. I did not know Eren and Armin at the time and in that situation normally nobody would have interfered, but I threw myself headlong, not to mention the various situations in which I found myself in fights where some idiot said or did something against the soldiers or those who were weaker, and it was thanks to the latter that I had several chances to meet Rico. "
"We're a little bit troublemaker, are not we?" Rainbow Dash said with a little sneer.
"As a certain pegasus of our knowledge, is not it Rainbow?" Applejack said about the polychrome pony.
"What is not true!" Rainbow answered slightly angry "I'm not a troblemaker!"
"Sure." The orange pony said sarcastically. "You're just an impulsive hot head."
"I'm just an impulsive hot head? Ok farmpony, come here to tell me in the face if you dare!" Rainbow said, posing as a fight. But after a few seconds she found herself overwhelmed by the laughter of Elias and her friends.
"I'm not a hot head, nor a troublemaker." Said the polychrome pony with a pout and a red face embarrassed. Elias after recovering from laughter and having dried the tears for the curtain started by Rainbow he started talking.
"I would not say really troublemaker, this title fits much more to Eren than to me."
"Why?" Fluttershy asked.
"You see, Eren has always been the most impulsive and irascible between the two of us, in fact because of his temperament were two situations in which I was often when I was with him: or I had to try to calm the minds or I found myself in a fight because Eren's level of patience was as big as a peanut. Which is also why I was one of the best in my class in the fight with bare hands? " The cadet asked himself thoughtfully. "However, I am more the type who prefers to have a somewhat more peaceful and diplomatic approach, although I confess there are times when impulsivity prevails over me."
"Moments like that with Father Nick and when you met Eren, right?" Sunset asked.
As I said before, I just can not digest the Cult of the Walls and when they give those airs of superiority they make me want to take a bat and smash all their teeth. " Elias said mimicking the gesture of hitting someone with the aforementioned bat. "And then I have never endured those who take it with the weakest by pretending to be strong, for it is in fact that some of my subsequent meetings with Rico have occurred."
"Have you ever met in calmer circumstances?" Asked Twilight.
"Yes, in fact it was thanks to these quieter circumstances that we learned to know each other better, in fact I learned that she had become a soldier to show that even a small woman like her could be strong and independent, I learned from her the importance of work team even in circumstances of disharmony of the group and that even if it does not seem the type, she likes the stories of love. But above all I learned that his biggest dream was to create a family of her own, which was not easy for her." Elias said in a melancholy tone at the last statement.
"Why was not it easy?" Pinkie asked, intrigued by the statement of the cadet.
"Because from the outside, Rico looked like a strict woman, unfriendly and too independent to some pigs who sought obedient and" weak woman "can be controlled, when she was much more than a simple soldier loyal to his duty. And then ... sterility. " The albino soldier added.
"Sterility?" They asked the ponies in chorus as they exchanged confused looks.
The boy, before continuing, took a deep breath, the event he was about to tell for him was important because he had made a change in his life, but he could not help but think that his turn took place through the pain of a another person, his future mother.
"One afternoon, I was taking a walk when I see Rico in civilian clothes for the first time, sitting on a bench with a broken look on a piece of paper she was holding in his hands, I honestly did not know when I saw her in that state to do: a part of me said that I had to leave because probably she wanted to be left alone, but on the other hand ..."
"He said to go to her, is not it?" Fluttershy said in an apprehensive voice.
"Yeah, I remember I stood there like a statue for a minute to decide what to do." The answer came shortly after, when Rico threw away the paper she was holding in her hands, without realizing it, she threw it toward my direction. Taken from the curiosity to know what could be on that sheet to make it so bad, I picked it up and read the contents."
"And what was written on it?" Twilight asked, even though she and all the girls had guessed what the contents of the sheet might be. Elias, before answering, closed his eyes, lowered his gaze and with a melancholy voice answered:
"That she was sterile, so she could not have had her own children." After giving the answer, the cadet opened his eyes and looked at his friends. "When I read the contents of the paper, I realized that it was a medical report and that the analyzes Rico had performed proved to be sterile, at which time I understood why she was so upset. She told me that one day she wanted to give birth to a child all of it, to feel that feeling of a small creature growing slowly inside her, but life has had other plans for her. " The seven ponies after hearing the answer, all saddened at the thought of Rico who had been stolen from the dream of becoming a mother. They could only imagine the pain the poor woman could experience when she was told of her sterility.
"And what did you do next?" Rarity asked.
"After reading the report I knew exactly what to do." I went to her. "The nervous cadet bit his lip, just like the day he had done many years before, a few steps away from the woman who would soon be take care of him. "When I went I did the only thing I could do at the moment, I hugged her. There were no words that could help her overcome this moment of pain and then hugged her to let her know he had my full support. I remember that we remained embraced at least for about ten minutes, I silently while she let out her sorrow with tears, when she cried, she thanked me for comforting her and decided to take me home."
"Home ... Wait Elias, after the collapse of the Wall Maria, where did you go to live?" Sunset asked, bringing a hoof to her chin thoughtfully.
"When the Wall fell Maria, all the children who had lost their families during the invasion were housed in an unused building that was converted into an orphanage. I still remember the shock of Rico, in front of the orphanage. It was then that i realized that, like her, I was alone too. "
Alone. For many nights a young Elias had not closed his eyes, with only a thought on his mind. He was alone.
But, at that moment, he was pleasantly convinced to admit to himself that, alone, he had not felt for a long time.
"She did not know, why did not you talk to her before?" "Sure, it's not a nice topic of conversation, but ... You were quite in tune, right?" Twilight gave voice to her thoughts and questions. She had often felt a sense of loneliness in the past but, since she had her friends, everything had changed. She always wanted to tell them everything that happened to them.
Which is not the same for humans? She found herself thinking.
The boy sighed, searching for the right words "No, Twilight, she did not know it, I never mentioned it to anyone, to be honest ... Anyone who knew it, knew it because it was part of the orphanage."
"And after what happened?" Pinkie asked, taken from the story. At Equestria they always had exciting stories of adventurous ponies with complicated lives and tears, but Elias surpassed them all.
"I said goodbye and without giving her time to say anything, I went back to the orphanage, and two days passed from that meeting, and something magnificent happened." The soldier had a smile on his lips and a beautiful memory in his mind.
"What happened!?" The ponies in the choir leaned toward him, their ear piercing more curious than ever, even if, the ending of the story, they had already understood.
"The person in charge of the orphanage came to wake me up and told me to get ready quickly because there was someone who wanted to meet me. She was a rather strict old woman, she had lost her only two children, no one blamed her for spending her days mumbling insults incomprehensible."Elias scratched his chin, looking over the window, before starting to talk" Even today I'm not sure but, that morning, I thought I saw a slight smile on his lips. Who knows, maybe he was happy for that Well, I certainly was."A small laugh escaped, making one thing very clear to the ponies: That was one of the best moments, or perhaps the most beautiful, of which Elias had made them participate. "When I stood in front of Rico, I was stunned, and at that moment I thought that she had come to see me, maybe she wanted to repay the company I had done in a difficult situation and, instead, my friends, she told me clearly that she was there to take me to At home. That moment, I, Elias the orphan, became the son of someone again. I'm not ashamed to admit that both of us could not hold back the tears. She had fulfilled her dream and I was no longer alone . "
His face shone, as the sun shone high in the sky that day. Elias was happy. Glad to have someone waiting for him at home, and he, never like in that moment, had a crazy desire to come back.
"We're happy for you, Elias, if there's anyone who deserves to be happy, that's you," said Sunset, pleased with the positive epilogue. She felt he was very fond of Elias, she could not lie to herself.
"Thanks Sunset" gave her a smile.
"I hope you're hungry, because lunch is ready and I want to see every single empty plate," exclaimed the grandmother of Applejack, peeping out in the hall where her nephew and her friends were busy talking
"Finally, it took three chapters to prepare this lunch!" "Come on, friends!" Let's get down, "exclaimed a joyous and hungry Pinkie Pie.
Those present turned at once to her, confused once again by what was passing through her head but, with a shrug, they decided that there was a more important question to be resolved: To fill their stomachs.