Chapter 6: The Hero
Beep-beep
Beep-beep
Beep-beep
“Ugh...” Midnight groaned, “This is familiar. If I'm in another world again, I'm going to be mad.”
“Sorry,” said the familiar voice of Nurse Redheart as she came to check on him, “You're still Equestria.”
“And you still kinda look like cats,” retorted Midnight, the white earth pony giggling at the joke. He groaned as he tried to readjust in the bed. “What happened to the others? Is Scootaloo okay?”
Nurse Redheart's face fell at the inquiry. Midnight could tell right away it was bad, but as for how bad...
“Please... Did she make it?” he pleaded.
The medical pony nodded her head, strapping a blood pressure cuff to the patient's leg, “She's alive, but...” she bit her lip. “I'm afraid she'll never see again. That... thing... ripped her eyes out... its... oh Celestia, I've never seen anything like it.”
“Can I see her?” asked Midnight.
“I'll ask Doctor Hooves, but no promises,” answered the nurse, “He, uh... doesn't really trust you. You know, with the whole 'other world' thing.”
“Makes sense,” said the stallion, “Do you know what happened? Did anyone else get hurt?”
“I don't know details of the actual events,” Redheart placed a thermometer in Midnight's mouth, “but Sweetie Belle fractured her leg in the crash, she's at home. Other than that, you, and Scootaloo, there were only some minor scratches and bruises.”
Midnight waited until the instrument was removed to speak again, “Is there anything magic can do for Scootaloo?”
“Not that I'm aware of, no. You should ask Twilight Sparkle or even Zecora. What about your magic?”
Midnight thought for a moment, “The magic of my world, kind of. There are runes that might be able to help in some ways, but I'm no rune smith. All I know are a few basic ones and those are needed for... my profession. None can be of use to her.”
Redheart sighed, “I'm sorry to hear that. That poor filly's life is hard enough. Now, it's just going to get worse.”
Midnight sighed, “I've heard.”
“Well, try to get some sleep, Mr. E,” the nurse giggled at the old nickname, “Twilight will be here in a few hours for you.”
Midnight chuckled, “Do you ever get the feeling of deja vu?”
“Let's just try not to make this a habit, m'kay?”
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Twilight once again lead Midnight through the halls of Ponyville Medical, though this time they were heading toward another room. Midnight was still a bit sore, but nothing to worry about. He was more concerned about a Scootaloo at the moment. As they approached the filly’s room they were stopped by a brown earth pony stallion.
“Where are you two going?” he asked.
“I'm taking Midnight to see Scootaloo,” Twilight replied.
“Absolutely not,” he said, trying to hide his disgust, “I can't allow a potential threat to see patients.”
“Potential threat?” Twilight was taken aback by his comment, “He's the one that saved her life. How dare you-”
“I am the head doctor here, and my decision is final. He's not getting in.”
“Ahem,” a gentle clearing of a throat brought the three ponies' attention to an alicorn and her guards that had just arrived.
The stallions blanched slightly, as Twilight ran up to greet the great alicorn.
“Princess. I'm so glad you're here,” said Twilight.
“Excuse me, doctor,” the ruler of the day spoke calmly, “Does this hospital normally refuse to allow heroes to check on those they save?”
“Y-y-your highness, my apologies,” Doctor Hooves stammered, “but this stallion is unstable. He's already injured several ponies.”
“My, that's quite the exaggeration,” Celestia looked at him with disappointment, “He injured one pony, and it was minor. The one he struck in the chest wasn't injured, only bruised, and the other was only hit with a sleep spell. That only happened because of the extreme shock.”
“But-but-but Princess, I still feel-”
“I will accompany him to see the filly myself,” Celestia gave him a look that screamed the finality of her decision.
“Yes... Princess,” He said, defeated, and walked away to check on other patients.
As he walked away, Celestia continued, “Now that that's been taken care of, Let's go see Scootaloo.” they entered the room to see the filly sitting up, face scrunched up in deep thought as her hoof gently felt the bandages on her face. Her ears swiveled around as they walked in.
“Doc?” she inquired.
“No, it's me, Twilight. I brought Midnight and Princess Celestia.”
“The princess?” Scootaloo exclaimed, “Can... can you make me see again?”
Celestia slumped a bit, “I'm sorry, my little pony, but there is no spell to give you your sight. I could repair the eyes, but... you have no eyes to repair. Forgive me.”
Scootaloo didn't look as upset as they expected, “Oh... I didn't think so. Hey... I'm tough. I can live with this, right?” She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than anyone else.
Celestia gave a warm smile, “You know, Scootaloo, I heard of what happened. You pushed Applebloom out of the way. You saved her life at the cost of your sight. Do you know what that makes you?”
Scootaloo scoffed, “A stupid, blind little foal?”
“No,” Celestia beamed, “It makes you a courageous hero.”
Scootaloo turned toward them with an expression of shocked confusion, “Really?”
“Hay yeah you are!” said another voice from the doorway.
“Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“That's right, kiddo,” said the pegasus as she squeezed through the small crowd, “I saw that monster you faced down, and I gotta say, you got guts. When I was a filly, I would’a wet myself. You know what that means? It means you are officially ten times more awesome than I was at that age. In fact, you might be a little cooler than I am now.”
“No way,” Scootaloo, despite the circumstances, actually looked a little happy, “Y-you're just saying that to cheer me up.”
“No way,” Rainbow assured the kid, “You are officially awesome. So awesome, in fact, that I decided something.”
“What?” Scootaloo's curiosity showed despite half her head being covered.
Rainbow Dash pulled out a small stack of papers from under her wing, Scootaloo's ears following the sound.
“Can you take a guess what these are?” asked the athlete.
“Um... Wonderbolt posters?” ventured Scoots.
Twilight gasped, “Is that what I think it is?”
Rainbow nodded, “You know Scoots, I've been selfish. I know you're a tough girl, you always have been...but you need somepony to take care of you.”
“What are you saying?” Scootaloo's curiosity was mixing with a touch of nervousness, “What do those papers say?”
“These papers, Scoots, are adoption papers,” Rainbow Dash answered. The filly's mood lifted as she realized what was going on.
“Y-y-you mean..?” a bright smile spread on Scootaloo's face.
Rainbow Gently pulled the filly into a hug, mindful of her injuries, “It means you're coming home with me from now on.”
Scootaloo's smile faltered as a thought hit her, “But... how am I going to get to your house?I can't fly.”
“I bought a plot of land and anchored my house to the ground,” Dash explained, “I've been thinking about doing that anyway, letting my friends visit sometimes.”
Scootaloo squeezed Rainbow Dash harder, “I... I finally have a family...”
“I'm sorry it took something like this to get it in my thick skull that you need me,” Rainbow Dash apologized, “I... I might not be the best mom, but I'll try my best.”
“So... can I, um,” Scootaloo fidgeted a little in the elder's hooves, “Can I call you mom?”
The proud, strong pegasus couldn't hold it back. Those five words unleashed so many emotions in her that she no longer cared if there were others in the room. She let her tears of joy run free as she said, “Yeah, Scoots, you can call me mom.”
A loud sniff drew the prismatic pony's attention. The fact that one of her best friends, an alien, and the nation's ruler were watching the little exchange suddenly came back to her and her cheeks' went from blue to red in ten seconds flat.
“Come, Twilight, Midnight,” Celestia wiped a tear from her own eye, “I believe we should leave them to their privacy.”
“Wait!” Rainbow stopped them, “Midnight... I just wanted to say thank you. You saved Scootaloo's life, and almost got killed yourself. Look, I still think you're dangerous with your head all messed up, but... I guess you wouldn't hurt anypony on purpose, so... get better soon. I don't want you to flip out again and hurt somepony for real.”
Midnight chuckled, “I'll try.”
The Princess, the student, and the soldier took their leave, heading for home.
Home? Did I really just think of this as home? Midnight looked around that place of healing as they made their way through the halls. In one room, a mother was holding her colt. He was struggling to hold back tears as the doctor cleaned a deep cut. In another a small group of friends laughed with a young mare in a cast. In another a middle aged stallion sat beside an elderly mare's bed talking about family.
These ponies are so full of love and compassion. Do I even deserve to call paradise home? Thoughts of that monster in the Everyfree forest sprang to his mind. Then again, there are terrible things in this world, too.
“Midnight, you seem distracted,” Celestia stated plainly, “Twilight, go on ahead. I'd like to speak to our foreign friend alone.”
“Oh... Okay,” Twilight complied as Celestia led Midnight to a vacant room.
“What has you so troubled?”
Midnight sat in silence for a moment, trying to put his thoughts into words. Finally he said, “It's just... these ponies seem so pure and innocent, naive even. What would happen if a monster like that decided it wanted to attack Ponyville?”
Celestia's warm smile wavered slightly, “I will be honest with you, they have before. My ponies are stronger than they may appear.”
Midnight chuckled, “I know that, they saved my ass out there. It's not that I think they aren't strong enough to defend themselves. I read that Twilight and her friends are national heroes. How many times have any of them killed?”
Celestia saw where this was going and sighed, “None, and hopefully it will stay that way but...”
“But you're smart enough to know that it won't,” Midnight finished for her. “I'm not sure what these Elements of Harmony are, but it makes them protectors of this world. I don't care how peaceful a world is, if you're a protector long enough, you're going to have to kill, and these girls are too pure to stain their hooves with blood.”
“What are you saying?” Celestia said with a curious look. She knew exactly where this was going.
“I'm saying I've come to a decision,” Midnight's eyes hardened, his steely, demon tainted gaze actually startling Celestia a little, “If any monsters want to try to hurt one of these wonderful ponies, they'll find a real monster ready to add a little more blood to his already stained soul.”
Celestia watched as the man turned stallion walked back out. As soon as he was out of sight, a shiver ran down her spine and a grin found her lips.
“No they won't, Midnight Star. They will find a guardian, willing to pay any price for what he has so soon come to love.”