//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Welcome to Ponyville! // by CharcoalShift //------------------------------// A week has passed since the battle with Discord. A large crater stood in the center of Ponyville Square and has yet to be repaired, and the houses surrounding it have been patched up. Since the event, Discord was nowhere to be found. Many have thought of him to be dead, but with no body, nopony knows for sure. Princess Celestia managed to fully recover from her injuries thanks to her sister. Twilight, Shadow Blast, and Fluttershy are in the waiting room of the hospital. Doctors and Nurses pace back and forth from room to room, taking care of all the ponies that were injured. "How is Rainbow Dash doing?" Shadow Blast looks at Twilight, who looks on in the direction of the ICU. "They said she only suffered a concussion and two fractured ribs. She should be okay." she said. "What about... Charcoal?" Fluttershy said quietly. The lavender mare only looked down "He's still in a coma... Applejack has been in there with him for the past couple of days. He's lucky enough to be alive after what he just pulled." Twilight placed her hooves on her face "It's no surprise he didn't come out unscathed." "W-what do you mean Twilight?" Shadow looks at her with worry. In the ICU, Applejack sits next to the dark stallion that laid in bed before her. Her eyes were distant as she held her hat to her chest. "Please come back Charky... Everyone misses you... Ah miss you...” she leans forward and gently places her head to his. She heard a small groan, and felt a small stir. The country mare looks up and sees the comatose stallion finally open his eyes. Tears welled down her eyes as she saw him wake up from his week long slumber. "Charcoal!" She wraps her hooves around him and nuzzles her head against his neck. "Where... am I?" he mumbles before a screeching pain hits his head and the left side of his body. "Take it easy Charky... Yer at the hospital. You were out for about a week. Nopony thought you were going to make it out alive...” She lowered her voice down to a whisper. It took him a brief moment to take in what he just heard. Out cold for seven days, from an event so catastrophic that it should have killed him. "Where's Discord?" "Nopony knows. The royal guard's been searchin' for days. Couldn't find a thing." "That's just great..." He huffs. Nurse Redheart trots into the room and smiles, carrying a clipboard. "You're a very lucky stallion Charcoal." She beams "So I've been told." He sighs "Still have that spunk I see. That's a good sign." her voice changes into a more serious, and saddening tone "We managed to do all we could to save you... but it came with a cost." Charcoal didn't understand what she had said until he realized that he felt much lighter than he used to be. He couldn't feel anything from the left side of his shoulder, downwards. He removes the blanket and his eyes narrow from what he sees. Applejack looks away as the panic stricken stallion yells out of fear. His entire left foreleg is completely gone, and what's left of his shoulder is bandaged up. "W-where is it? What happened to me?!" he screams "You're left leg was mangled beyond repair... We had to amputate it." Redheart said calmly "Your horn also took some damage as well. You no longer have any feeling there, and the crack that trails from the base to the tip cannot be fixed...” Charcoal didn't care about his horn, since he had no use for it, but he was still in shock from what she said about his leg. He looks down and his fear begins to fade. "So this was the price I had to pay..." he mumbles quietly. Applejack grabs his hoof and looks up at him. "You saved hundreds, thousands even... Yer a hero Charcoal." "Hero...” The word rung in his head. As flattering as it was, it only stirred up something he didn't want: Unwanted attention and pity. Especially pity. Everyone would start to feel bad for him now that he has become nothing more than a handicap, something that was branded upon him when he was much younger. Redheart replaces the empty IV bag with a new one and stands in front of his bed. "We can make a prosthetic leg for you, and you'll be good as new." she says "No...” Charcoal shakes his head "No? We have all the equipment needed to--" "I said no...” he cut her off "I can build one myself." Both Applejack and Redheart look at him in surprise "I'm not going to be no pony that'll be pitied upon. I did what I can to make it this far, and I'm going to keep doing just that." He removes the IV needle from his right leg and wobbles a bit as he stands off from the bed. There was a short silence as he looks out the window to see Ponyville and its denizens cheerily going about their business. "Ya can't do this alone Charcoal." Applejack looks at him concerned. The dark pony grinned and gave a slight chuckle. After these past few months, he has gone through some serious events that changed him on the inside. He felt a sense of renewal, and a sense of peace. "Never said I was going to." he turns and smiles "I got friends nopony could ever as for to help me out." THE END