CHAPTER 22
(Third Person)
"I can't believe it... He had a heart attack?" Dashie was pacing back and forth in Kyle's hospital room, worried sick.
"Yeah." Sean leaned back against a wall. " He has arrhythmia. He never told you that?" Twilight cocked her eyebrow. Dashie puffed out her cheeks in anger.
"No, he didn't! Why would he keep something like that away from me?! I'm his wife!" Dashie was... Well, you can tell that she was mad.
"Well, maybe he didn't want you to worry. I mean, he loves you, so why would he tell you something that hadn't effected him for a while? He didn't want to trouble you." Sean pushed himself away from the wall he was leaning on, and looked Kyle over. "Still, I wish he would have been a bit more careful. He knew that Windigo was a hologram..." He'd told everypony about showing Kyle the vault. "With how chill he was being, I didn't expect him to throw himself to the ground like that. I'm sure he'll be alright, though. He's pulled through worse." Everypony nodded, and then Nurse Redheart walked in.
"Excuse me, but you all need to leave, visiting hours are almost over."
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(First Person)
"Well... Fuck." Everypony left the hospital room, and Nurse Redheart pulled the curtains around my bed shut. "I guess it's high-time I rest... How am I not resting now? Is it because I'm semi-conscious? Whatever..." I saw my already dim view of the world around me fade to black, and I went to actual sleep. I felt a familiar falling sensation, and next thing I knew, I was in the Lunar Dream, the name I'd given the dreams I had where Luna spoke to me.
"Hello, Kyle. It's bit a while. Hey, that rhymes." She giggled a bit, and I cracked her a grin. She noticed how pale and sickly I looked, and her grin faded into a look of worry. "What happened?"
"I had a heart attack." She put a hoof over her mouth in shock. "Yeah, this is the third one I've had in my entire life. The first one wasn't as severe, and it was caused by stress. The second one was caused from being hit in the chest, as was this one. I threw myself to the ground, and due to a simulated image, no less. If there's one thing this ordeal proves, it's that I'm an idiot." Luna shook her head.
"No you are not. You're quite intelligent, from what I can tell. You're just brash, and you act on instinct most of the time." I nodded in agreement.
"Yep. That's the truth... It's funny. All of my friends were there... It reminds me of when I had my second heart attack." Luna cocked her eyebrow, and saw what memory was rising from the depths of my mind.
"Ah... Rose Shannon. You think quite highly of her, don't you?" I smiled, and blushed a bit.
"Uh... It's a bit more complicated than that. You see, she and I were boyfriend and girlfriend before I came here. But, I decided that since I couldn't go back home, I had to forget about my past... And that plan clearly failed. I have Dashie now, and I'm happy with her, but I still sometimes think about what could have been." I leaned my head back a bit, and closed my eyes. "I know it's wrong that I just shoved my past away and tried to forget it. But I couldn't think of any other way that I could start a new life here, other than forgetting about the old life I had on Earth. What I wouldn't give to at least get to say I'm sorry..."
"Say you're sorry? Whatever for?"
I opened my eyes, and felt tears welling up. "For being such an insensitive jerk. You see, there was this thing I was writing back on Earth in my spare time, and I put Rose in it... And she really didn't know what to think of it, because it portrayed my true feelings for her. I actually forgot I put that in there when I showed it to her. I shouldn't have ever shown it to her... Or even put her in it, for that matter. Like I said: I'm an idiot. I know that a lot of ponies think highly of me, but they really shouldn't. Dig into my memories a bit, and look at what I did to Rarity." Luna closed her eyes, and I saw her start to grimace. When she opened her eyes, she looked at me, but her look was understanding.
"Do you think I am without guilt? Do you know about my banishment to the moon, and my descent into madness?" I nodded. "Then you must realize I did wrong to be banished." I nodded again. "I tried to bring eternal night to Equestria... Nopony appreciated my beautiful creation. At least, that's what it seemed like to me. They just slept through it. Well, this slowly began to bug me, and when I asked Tia about it, she said that the night is for signaling the end of the day, no more, no less. But she didn't, and still doesn't, understand. My night is so much more than that... It is a work of art. I work so very hard to get the alignment just right every night, and even create new stars, or be rid of old ones when I see fit, and nopony appreciates it. Well, asides from you." She smiled warmly, and I couldn't help but smile back. "You're a kind soul, unlike most other humans. I've peeked into your world from time to time, and it is quite disturbing. You most likely know of what I'm talking about." I nodded again, but before she could continue, I raised my hand up to silence her.
"I know that, Luna. But not all humans are bad. There are a lot of good ones out there, too. You've got me, and you've got Rose. I know that's not much of an example, but I assure you that not all humans are bad. Earth isn't even that bad of a place, either. You've just got to find the right place to live, is all. Honestly, it's actually a pretty nice place. There are loads of beautiful places, especially in the more northern parts of the planet. You can see an Aurora Borealis from time to time in those places, and when you add it to the already wonderful night sky there... It'd knock you right off of your hooves. But that's not the point. The point is, Earth is actually a pretty decent place, despite all of its flaws." Luna smiled at me again.
"Despite all of the horrible things people there did to you, you still speak well of them... You truly are a good soul. but you're the Element of Love, so why am I surprised?" We both laughed a bit, and Luna walked up next to me, and sat down, which I did as well. "I'm surprised of how forgiving you are towards them."
"I still resent what those people did to me, but I can't really do anything about it now, can I? So, why not forgive them?" I suddenly thought of Hoops. I know he's a dirtbag, but I couldn't help but pity him a bit. I never even once stopped to think about WHY he was being such a jerk. I felt even more guilt stack onto me.
"You are thinking of the stallion you've harmed in the past. Maybe you should try diplomacy next time he confronts you?" I nodded, and slowly slipped into deep thought.
"She's right, I'm not the worst guy in the world, but... I've done so much bad stuff in my life... I don't know what to do anymore. I've caused so much pain. Even if I've caused good, it's not worth it. I'm not good, but I'm not evil either... I guess I'm corrupted. I'm twisted..."
"I can hear all of that, you know that, right?" I snapped out of it, and looked at Luna, who had a very upset look on her face. "You can't think of yourself like that. No matter what you, or anypony else thinks, you're a wonderful person. I demand that you stop thinking so lowly of yourself. Not as a princess, but as your friend." I paused for a moment, and I felt tears welling up in the corners of my eyes.
"... Thanks, Luna. You're too good to me. You're right, I'm a good person... At least, to others. And I guess I need to cheer up, for everypony else."
"That's right..." Luna closed her eyes for a second, and then opened them again. "We still have plenty of time. Would you like to just stay here and talk?" She smiled warmly at me, and I gave her a hug.
"Yeah... Thanks again, Luna." I broke away from the hug, and Luna stared off into the darkness surrounding the platform of stars we stood upon.
"Please, call me Lulu." I chuckled a bit.
"Alright then... Thanks again, Lulu."