//------------------------------// // CRISIS: Equestira - Chapter 28.5 // Story: CRISIS: Equestria - Bonus Chapters // by GanonFLCL //------------------------------// CRISIS: Equestria Chapter Twenty-Eight-and-a-Half: Interlude It was late in the evening when Queen Blackburn decided it was finally time to make her move. The hospital staff had been carefully diverted in one way or another, and Blackburn had ensured, with Gadget’s assistance, that Lockwood’s room would not be disturbed further for the remainder of the evening. Blackburn could only wait so long, after all; but she felt that at the very least, Lockwood deserved to wake up to have his first visitor be his best friend and adoptive brother, Flathoof. The other mare, Fluttershy, that was a different story. That she was with Flathoof at all—that Lockwood’s brother thought that mare deserved first visitation over the others in their group, even Twilight Sparkle, who’d performed surgery on Lockwood, was confusing at first. Then, she thought about it; if Flathoof hadn’t been here, she’d have made sure to be here first; everything she was about to do, she’d done hours ago. First, there was her outfit, both before and after arriving in the city. Before, her skirt was too short and made her look like, in the bluntest terms, an escort; one that appealed to a very specific crowd that liked innocent-looking mares, but one nonetheless. Her new outfit—which had been bought on her bits thanks to Briarthorn—was decidedly less-so, but that didn’t mean much. She’d been particularly concerned about Lockwood when she observed the goings-on at the gate, too. Then, of course, Lockwood’s injury. Lockwood wasn’t one to let himself get injured without good cause; he wasn’t a great flyer, sure, but he didn’t have a habit of crashing that badly. He’d gotten it in the Blood Mire, that was obvious, and, knowing Lockwood as well as she did, Blackburn made a very simple guess: he’d protected the mare from one of the creatures that inhabited that place and had been crippled doing so. Blackburn wasn’t going to speculate too far beyond that without more information, but at the moment her mind was racing with possibilities. The mare clearly felt concern for Lockwood beyond that of many of her comrades, and it was a fairly worthwhile guess that it was guilt driving a great deal of that concern. But she knew, oh, she knew there had to be more than guilt there. But she had no proof just yet. So, when she, Gadget, and Crossfire snuck through the hospital hallways to reach Lockwood’s room, Blackburn put the thoughts aside; there’d be time for it later. She reached his hospital room’s door and gave it a very distinct knock: their special knock. “Come in!” Lockwood called back. Lockwood lay in his hospital bed looking only somewhat comfortable, a calm smile on his face. Blackburn and her entourage entered the room and closed the door behind them, so they could be alone and have the privacy they needed. “Lockwood…” Blackburn murmured, giving him a sympathetic look. “How are you feeling?” She already knew the answer and knew it was a dumb question, but she couldn’t help herself from asking it. “Oh, just fine,” he replied with a grin; she knew when he was lying, unless he’d gotten better at it over the years. “Sorry I didn’t write ahead of time but—” “Not my concern,” Blackburn dismissed. “You’re here now.” “And you’re hurt you stupid idiot,” Gadget huffed, stepping forward and gesutring at his crippled wing. “What happened to ‘staying safe’, huh? I thought I made you promise me that you weren’t gonna do anything stupid and get yourself hurt.” Lockwood frowned. “I did the best I could, Gadget. Circumstances got kind of… out of control. I made my choice, and I don’t regret it, but… yeah, I’m sorry.” “An’ ya look like y’all’re barely more’n bones,” Crossfire snorted, walking over to the other side of his bed to point at his thin frame. “Dagnabit, Lockwood, y’all were s’posed ta eat right ‘n’ healthy but ya look like ta haven’t eaten in weeks.” “Well, that’s pretty close to the truth, actually,” Lockwood said with a polite, embarrassed grin. “We, uh… we ran into a lot of trouble on the way here, lost our supplies more times than I can count. The others didn’t eat anything either—” “They have now,” Blackburn interjected. “On my bits, courtesy of Briarthorn. New clothes as well, on my bits, courtesy of Briarthorn.” She snorted and shook her head. “Going to throttle him next time I see him.” “Don’t be too hard on him, Blackburn, he means well,” Lockwood said with a smile. Blackburn paused, then moved forward, unable to keep herself back any longer, giving him a loving hug. Gadget and Crossfire joined in the hug, which was kind of awkward given their positions, but it was done nonetheless. When she broke from the hug, Blackburn wrinkled her nose. “Alcohol. You’re not supposed to be drinking.” Lockwood gulped weakly. “Listen, Blackburn—” “No, you don’t have to explain. Your brother, not a drinker as I recall. Other mare: Fluttershy.” She shook her head, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves; it was taking a lot of effort not to show how angry she was. “Trust that it wasn’t your idea.” Lockwood blinked. “No, it wasn’t. I tried to stop her—” “Don’t. Explaining further will just get me angrier.” She sighed and gestured towards the gauze over his eye. “Wish to see it.” “No, you don’t—” he started, looking away from her so as not to meet her eyes. Blackburn put her hoof against his; his embarrassment and shame were unwarranted, and she wanted him to know that. “Yes, I do. I want to see everything that happened. Your friends want to know what happened.” Gadget and Crossfire both agreed with nods and smiles. “Really, it’s not—” Lockwood started again. “Lockwood. Please.” Blackburn repeated. “Whatever happened will not affect my love for you. But I need to know. I have to see.” Lockwood took a deep breath and sighed, then nodded and removed the gauze. Gadget gasped; Crossfire grunted quietly in disapproval. Blackburn, however, was reactionless, despite the sight. The white of his eye was completely red; his iris and pupil had shrunk dramatically into just a small black dot. Blackburn recalled the information she read in Doctor Heartthrob’s notes. His wing was, at least to Lockwood, a relatively non-issue; for a pegasis, Lockwood spent too much time on the ground for his own good anyway, and Blackburn knew that, with time, she could get some developments done to get him a functional, artificial wing. Other pegasi used them here and there, but Blackburn would get Lockwood the top of the top-of-the-line. The eye, however, was a total loss. Lockwood could no longer see out of it, despite the pupil still focusing where he was looking as if nothing had happened. Artificial eyes could be used, certainly; a high-class contact lens might even suffice. But no matter what they did, he couldn’t see from it ever again, and the eye had lost the beautiful gold that Blackburn had fallen in love with. Inwardly, Blackburn was both absolutely livid that Lockwood had been injured so grievously protecting somepony else, and horrified at the extent of the injuries he’d received. But she didn’t show it; over the years, she’d made many hard decisions, spoken with many ponies whose loved ones had died because of her actions, and through it all, she’d become better at keeping her emotions in check. There was little these days that phased her enough to make her react. “Will discuss options with you on treatment,” Blackburn said quietly. “I was thinking maybe an eyepatch?” Lockwood said, replacing the bandage. “After all, your little city here has a bit of a reputation as being home to a bunch of traitors, pirates, and savages. Might as well complete the image, eh?” “Silver linings? Ha.” Blackburn shook her head. “Even now you joke.” “Would you have it any other way?” “Never.” There was a brief moment of quiet. “You’ve been in the hospital long enough,” Blackburn continued. “Cleared you to leave.” Lockwood raised an eyebrow. “Already? Wow, you do work fast. Can’t say that’s surprising...” He smiled. “So… I take it you’re moving me to some nicer digs, then?” “That would be accurate. You need your rest; only right you do it someplace comfortable.” Lockwood glanced to Gadget and Crossfire. “I guess we’re saving a little get-together for later then?” Gadget pat Lockwood on the shoulder and smiled. “Don’t you worry your little head, Lockwood. There’s gonna be plenty of time to catch up and such after we get you feeling all better, right?” “An’ makin’ sure them new friends o’ yers get ta where they’re goin’,” Crossfire added with a nod. “So you’re going to take care of them?” Lockwood asked, looking to Blackburn. “Making plans to have them shipped out tomorrow,” Blackburn confirmed. “NPAF scheduled to attack following day, want to get them situated before then if only to prevent Briarthorn from charging my account further.” Lockwood smiled. “Thanks, Blackburn.” “Clearly their goal is important,” Blackburn noted. “What it is, unimportant to me, but important to them, important to you. Wouldn’t consider anything else.” She turned to Crossfire and nodded. “Take him. Need to move quickly, before staff comes back.” Lockwood raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said I was cleared to leave?” “You are,” Blackburn said with a grin. “But nopony knows we’re together still. Keeping secret until ready to do otherwise.” “Ah. Very well then, carry on.” Lockwood sat up as Crossfire stepped beside the bed so that he could get onto Crossfire’s back. “Y’know, I’m starting to get really used to getting carried by big, buff stallions. Should I be concerned?” “Only if you prefer being below rather than above,” Gadget snickered. ***** The royal bedchambers were, in plain terms, fancy, lavishly decorated with purples, golds, and blues. The bed was large enough for ten ponies but clearly never had that many—it was too neat—and took up about a quarter of the room. There was a dresser next to the bed with a picture frame and a jewelry stand; another dresser on the other side had a lantern with a few scented candles—cinnamon—which was the only source of light at the moment. Blackburn opened the door so that Crossfire could walk in and set Lockwood on the bed; Gadget entered behind them and closed the door. Lockwood then crawled his way into the center and let out a contented sigh. “Y’all rest well now, y’hear?” Crossfire said with a smile. “After yer friends get all set up with a ride, we’ll all go ‘n’ get some grub.” “Just the four of us?” Lockwood asked. “Just the four of us,” Blackburn said with a nod as she approached the bed. “After the NPAF attack the following day, will host larger celebration, invite Virtuoso, Briarthorn, others. Lots of friends here now.” “Yeah, I heard Cookie Dough set up a restaurant here. Good for her… her dream finally came true,” he said with a wistful sigh. “Her assistance allows us to produce Dolor products more effectively here. No longer need to smuggle from the north; saves time, saves money, lowers risks.” “And Doctor Heartthrob was the one who performed my surgery with Twilight, I know that already.” “Yes. And many others.’ Blackburn smiled and let out a breath. “Will need to begin plans to move your adopted family down here. Already have space in the palace prepared, if they want it.” Lockwood smirked. “They might just take you up on that.” Gadget cleared her throat. “I will say that you did a great job keeping Crown Spectrum running while we were gone. I got confirmation about a month ago that all of our shipping processes are fully automated now. We shouldn’t have any trouble keeping our technology up-to-date with Pandemonium’s, and then some.” “It was hard, but I made it work. Had a lot of help, too.” Lockwood turned to Blackburn. “We still have some friends up north that we should get down here when we can. I know some are important to the refugee system, but… they deserve to live somewhere better, too.” Blackburn nodded. “Tea Sisters, Keeneye, Bookworm, among others, yes, I agree. However, will not force them; will make efforts to contact them, offer opportunity.” Blackburn removed her jacket and scarf and climbed onto the bed with Lockwood, nuzzling up alongside him gently; the gesture didn’t bother Gadget or Crossfire, though they did avert their eyes just a little; Gadget even put out some of the candles for them, darkening the room except for the bed for the most part. “I missed this…” she sighed, rubbing her muzzle into his neck. “I missed you…” Lockwood shivered as she kissed his neck. “I missed you too, BB. You have no idea…” “Think I have a pretty good idea, actually. Are you cold?” “A little.” Blackburn lifted the blanket off the bed and draped it over his back to keep him warm. “Better?” “Better.” Lockwood sighed and sunk down into the bed. “This… this is nice…” Blackburn smiled and lay atop him, as they had so often done before. “Get some rest, Lockwood. You’ve earned it.” Lockwood hummed comfortably. “Mmm… I love you…” “I love you too…” As Lockwood drifted off to sleep, Blackburn took a moment to watch him breathe, to listen to his breaths and feel the rising and falling of his body beneath her. Then, she closed her eyes and she, too, drifted off to sleep, the quickest, deepest, most comfortable sleep she’d had in five years. Once the couple were asleep, Gadget and Crossfire shared a brief look; the former gestured towards the door, and they left the room quietly. Not one of them could have ever known that the next day was going to be the worst day of their lives.