//------------------------------// // The Not-Quite Goodbye // Story: Wild Card // by Barrel-of-fun //------------------------------// A thousand and one thoughts swirled through my head as I moved through the corridors of the hospital. I wasn’t sure what to feel over Lady Luck’s little deception. At first, anger seemed to be the clear winner but, after applying a little thought to the situation, I realised I wasn’t really angry at her. I was annoyed sure, mostly over why she didn’t just appear to me honestly and just talk to me, but not truly angry. It was only after I managed to get a reign on my emotions that I realised why she had decided on such a convoluted route to advise me. If she had appeared to me, in a dream or hallucination or whatever, to explain herself I probably would have just blown up at her. I’ll admit, Melody's death had hit me hard. Was still hitting me hard in fact and would probably continue to do so for some time. I would have been too emotional, not acting entirely rationally and, when it comes to dealing with both family and all-powerful goddesses, rationality is kind of a must have. The general theme of the whole Golden Fortune deception wasn’t lost on me either. Look at people’s motivations rather than their actions. The Lady’s motivation was pretty clear, even to a emotionally dead rogue like myself. She did what she did out of love, that one unreachable emotion that I have always looked down on in the past. It didn’t seem such a pathetic emotion now I’ve got to say. In fact, it seemed to be the most important one in the world. I shook my head to clear it of these strangely pervasive thoughts. I could deal with my messed up family life later, right now though my friends are laid up somewhere in this hospital and I was going to find them. I was fully prepared to break down doors, shout at ponies and generally be very threatening until someone took me to my friends. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately since I was quite looking forward to kicking down some doors, the Magical Care ward was quite easy to find. The hospital had plenty of directional signs littered about the place, not to mention the fact that there was arrows painted on the floor that actually lead you to the various wards. Provided I looked confident and kept up a brisk stride, no one even questioned why I was there. They all just assumed that a person as determined and certain as myself must know what he was doing. Breaking into this place was almost laughably easy. I was sort of disappointed to be honest. Upon arriving in magical care, I strode up to the nearest bed and yanked the curtain back. Lying before me was a rather scared looking stallion absolutely covered in bandages. In fact, I was simply assuming he was male; the amount of bandages covering the pony’s body actually made it impossible to tell. His eyes, the only part of him that was visible, looked at me with a mixture of fear and resignation. “What horrors have you been through?” I muttered. “Mfffhglghl.” The pony responded with a small body spasm that could, if one was being liberal, have been called a shrug. “You wouldn’t happen to have seen a minotaur and a unicorn around here would you?” I asked, not entirely sure about the quality of response I would receive, “Minotaur’s about yay tall, goes by the name of Iron Will, shouts a lot. Unicorn’s called Summer Storm, she’s…” I paused, unsure how best to describe Summer, “Feisty.” “Mhuhhurhshdl,” The bandaged pony said with a miniscule nod of his head to the right, “Thufrhtigh.” I peered around the curtain divider and at some of the other beds, each one also closed off by a curtain. “They’re in one of those?” “Mhuhu.” “Thanks, you’ve been great.” I prepared to back out before a thought struck me, “Here, let me help you as well.” A quick search of the ward revealed a perfect target, a young-looking nurse who, judging from the huge smile on the face of the elderly stallion whose chart she was currently looking over, was quite attractive by pony standards. It probably helped that she was wearing a nurses outfit. Not sure what it is about nurse outfits but no matter what species you are, men seem to go crazy for them. Must be magic. “Oh nurse, over here please.” I shouted in a sufficiently commanding voice. The nurse looked up from her chart and hurried over. After all, the only person who would be shouting commands in a hospital must surely be a doctor, right? “‘Ow can I ‘elp you Doctor?” She asked in a sweet voice. An accent? This is even better than I planned. Though I can’t for the life of me place where the hell that accent is from. “It’s this patient Nurse. He requires an immediate sponge bath and your utmost attention.” The bandaged stallion’s eyes widened as he realised what I was doing. “Although it looks like a big job, do perhaps have someone who can help you?” “Well, I do ‘ave a twin sister ‘ere working ‘ere in ze ‘ospital.” “Of course you do.” I replied with a smile. Of course she has a twin sister in the hospital. She’s a young, accented nurse with a twin sister, who will probably turn out to be a maid or something. “Why don’t you go and fetch here and then you can both...assist this patient.” I continued. “Right away Doctor!” She replied with a grin before zooming off. My work here done, I looked back at the lucky stallion and winked before setting off to find my friends again. Wait, did I just help set up the beginning of a porno? Holy crap, I think I did. Well, my job here in Equestria was supposed to be to spread luck. I guess that was a rather liberal interpretation of that job description but I think it works. After all, someone is going to be getting lucky pretty soon. It was actually fairly easy to find Iron and Summer after the muffled direction’s I’d received. I simply carried on in the direction the pony had indicated until I came across a curtain divider large enough to house two beds. Barring a few mildly embarrassing incidents of me poking my head into curtained beds of other ponies, it all went fairly well. I mean, it was only after I found them that I realised I could have just asked the nurse rather than the guy who was gagged by bandages. That would have been way easier. The moment I poked my head in and beheld my friends, my heart sank. Summer looked far from great. Her coat was paler than usual, seeming to be almost white rather than the proud electric blue it usually was. Her mane looked stringy and unkempt, seeming to have lost some of it’s natural luster. What was most worryingly though was the strange machine the doctors had her hooked up to. It looked like what would happen if a crystal pony fell in love with a clockwork automaton. Gems hovered at the centre of the device, spinning of their own volition and emitting rays of light, whilst pipes and tubes led from the machine itself into Summer’s body. Despite this, the strong unicorn was awake, her weak eyes lighting up the moment she saw me. Whilst seeing Summer like that was heart wrenching, Iron was in an even worse state. For one thing, the minotaur wasn’t even conscious. The machine that he was hooked up to lacked the mysterious crystals but compensated for it by having a large set of what seemed to be bellows, moving up and down inside the machine in time to Iron’s breathing. With a start I realised what they were doing. They were actually controlling Iron’s breathing, keeping the seemingly invincible minotaur alive. What hit me worst though was his arm. I don’t know what happened to them, what they went through whilst I was away, but it must have been bad. Iron’s arm seemed to be made entirely of metal, a perfect iron simulacrum of the minotaur’s closed fist. What happened to them? Maybe if I had been there... Staring at Iron, my friend, it was difficult for me to even comprehend him in such a state. This wasn’t the raging beast I had fought in the diamond dog Pit, nor was it the mighty warrior whose strength had supported us in our escape. Iron was mortal. Even with his vast strength, he wasn’t invincible. My eyes turned back to Summer, who was looking at me with a curious expression now. Like Iron, she too was mortal. Her magic was powerful and her mind was determined but she wasn’t like me. She didn’t have a goddess watching out for her all the time. And now here she was, paying the price for for following me. “Ace,” Summer said, “Are you alright? You’re acting a bit weird.” I realised that I must have looked rather strange, coming in here and just staring at them, not saying a word. “Sorry, sorry.” I managed to mutter, “It’s just...it’s a lot to take in.” “It looks much worse than it is.” Summer said with a smile, some strength returning to her voice. “The docs say that I’ll be up and about in about a day.” “And Iron?” Her smile fell as she looked over at the minotaur, “They’ll be waking him up in a week, see if he can breath on his own then. Ace,” She choked out a sob, a tear making its way down her face as she stared at Iron, “What he did...Oh Celestia…” I was immediatly by her side, her hoof in my hands. “Summer, tell me, what happened to you two? How did this,” A wave of my hand encompassed the two of them, “happen?” Summer, to her infinite credit, managed to suck up her tears as she told me what she knew of the story. With a voice that wavered only slightly she told me of how she found Sargeant Brick, how they took a ship to pursue my kidnappers and how they were attacked by Rustjaw. I looked into her watery eyes as she told me of Brick’s sacrifice, of her subsequent loss of control and how Iron held her. I barely managed to repress my anger over Rustjaw’s transformation and what Summer and Iron both gave up in order to defeat him. The Black Water. It all comes down to that in the end. It keeps showing up and hurting people, no matter where I go. Someone is going to have to answer for this. I didn’t even notice the death grip I had on the metal rail to Summer’s bed, nor did I notice that the unicorn had stopped her tale and was staring at me again. When she leaned over and placed one hoof on my hand, I almost leapt back from her. Restraining myself, I calmed my breathing and looked back at her, nodding once to show her I was calm. “When the pegasus guards managed to get their clouds under control, they navigated back to us. The fire that you started on the pirate’s ship helped guide them back after which they simply picked us up and took us back here.” “And the pirate’s themselves?” “Safely locked up and facing a trial for their crimes. Not like one is really needed though, there’s so much evidence against them that the entire procedure is practically unnecessary. We even got a the captain’s log and personal diary, which should speed up the procedure slightly.” Summer’s words echoed in my mind, resonating with another set of words that were bouncing around the inside of my skull, unforgettable no matter how hard I tried. “Cabin. Bo...book.” My face must have revealed my thoughts to the world since Summer’s face immediately dropped, her eyes filling with painful understanding. One of her forelegs stretched out and grabbed my shoulder lightly, drawing me into a hug. Even though her touch was light and her fur soft, why did I feel like it was an executioner's blade being placed against my neck? “Ace...we found the body.” Her voice was close, whispering in my ear as she held me tightly, and yet it seemed so far away at the same time. I wasn’t truly in the room with Summer then, I was back on the ship. Vibrant Melody was staring up at me, gasping for breath as her lifeblood soaked into the deck. “...did what you had to do.” Summer finished, snapping me back to the present. I nodded mutely, hoping that she would accept this. I couldn’t tell her that her words were like poison to me, soaking into an open wound and infecting my thoughts. No amount of comforting platitudes would remove the memory of Melody’s pain-filled eyes and assurances like ‘self-defence’ and ‘it was necessary’ just made things worse. A cold, logical part of me acknowledged that it was all true, both what Lady Luck had told me and what Summer had essentially backed her up on. Melody had chosen her own path and, in the end, her death was the only option. Yet a much louder, more emotional, part of me screamed in impotent fury over the unfairness of it all. It roared in rage at the logical side of me and, once it had expended it’s supply of anger, it wept for something lost. “So what are you going to do next?” I asked as I eased out of Summer’s hug, wanting to switch subjects as quickly as possible. Summer looked surprised by the sudden question and, for a moment, I thought she was going to ask more about Melody before she seemed to accept the subject change and continued. “I’m thinking of staying here actually.” She said, her voice filling with hope. My heart dropped out of my chest at her words, so innocently spoken. She wanted to stay? But why? Wasn’t she having fun adventuring with me? “Manehatten needs me, now more than ever,” She continued, “With Brick...gone...the Guard’s don’t have anyone with the experience necessary to lead. I’m now the highest ranking member of the Manehatten Guard and, as such, am now the Honorary Captain until we can establish contact with High Command again.” She smiled, her pearly teeth gleaming in the hospital lighting. “Even then, I think I have a pretty good chance of getting the job permanently.” I wasn’t sure whether to smile and be happy for her or weep and beg her not to stay. I’d never truly had friends like Summer and Iron before; people who are willing to go to ridiculously extreme lengths to help me, people who get along with me and are willing to accept me. Sure, I’ve had friends before but all those relationships have either been so weak as to whither over time or break entirely, being proved false in the end. In my line of work at least, you don’t really make many friends, just contacts and acquaintances. “I…” My mouth began, trying to fill the silence before my brain managed to compose anything to actually say. “You could stay as well!” Summer blurted out, evidently noticing my indecision. “I mean, if you want to. We could certainly use someone of your skills, not to mention your intimate knowledge of the sort of people we are trying to catch.” Wait, did she just call me a thief? I am more than that! I...am a specialist. Still my mind was torn. On one hand, I would get to stay with Summer and Iron, work with them on a daily basis even. On the other hand though, it’s Manehatten, a city now jam packed full of way too many memories for me. “I don’t know if I can.” I eventually answered, my heart tearing in two again as her eager smile slowly drooped down. “There’s still so much left to see, so much left to do and this city…” I trailed off, unsure of how to explain it. To my surprise, Summer’s smile returned, this time less eager but full of understanding. “Okay Ace.” She said, “I won’t say that I’m happy about you leaving...but...if you feel you have to do this then so be it. Just know that you will always have a place here, no matter what.” I nodded once again, not sure if I would ever end up accepting that offer, “What about Iron?” Summer looked over to the comatose minotaur, her eyes full of worry but her smile hopeful, “Back on the ship, Iron and I had a little moment, I guess you would call it. I was a bit out of the loop from using so much magic and ended up demanding that he take me to dinner.” Despite the pain in my heart, I felt overjoyed at the news, a wide smile breaking onto my face. I had wondered how long it would take the two of them to actually talk about their feelings and it looked like it had only taken a giant mutant serpent to force them to confront each other. “And?” I asked enthusiastically, “What did he say?” “I’m fairly certain he said yes,” Summer replied, “Though I would really like to confirm that when he wakes up. I hope he did say yes though, I don’t know if I have the courage to ask again.” Her shoulders slumped slightly as she spoke, her own neurotic worries getting to her. This time, it was me who pulled her into a hug, “Summer, I have something really important to tell you about men. A secret that I should really not be exposing to a female.” Her eyebrow raised, “Oh, what’s that?” I took an exaggerated breath, as though preparing for some dramatic revelation, “Men...are really dense. Like, ridiculously dense.” Summer snorted, “We already knew that. This isn’t really news to us girls.” “What!? How?” I demanded, whipping my head around as though searching for some invisible informant. “Who told you? There must be a mole in our ranks!” Thankfully, this got the correct response from the mare as she burst out into giggles, which escalated to full on laughter as I joined in, dropping my act. Laughing with a friend felt really good, our worries drained away as we chuckled ourselves hoarse. Eventually we calmed down and we both took a few deep breaths to regain some measure of control over ourselves. “Seriously though,” I said through breathes, “I know that Iron likes you, and you clearly like him, so there’s no need for anymore silly running around. If there’s any problems, just be clear and talk to him. Like I said, men are dense, we aren’t good at reading signs. Hell, we can’t even read maps.” “I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.” “You do that,” I smiled slightly sadly, “There’s one more thing though. I was wondering if you would be able to hold on to something for me, at least until I come back? Think of it as collateral if you will, to ensure my return.” I began to rummage around in my pocket, my hand eventually closing around the object. Even then, I still had trouble actually drawing it out and looking it in the face, so to speak. “I don’t think I can keep this with me anymore. It seems so heavy. Would you be able to look after it for me?” “Of course I will Ace.” “Thanks Summer, you’re the best.” With a flick of my wrist I cast the offending object onto the bedside table. “And I promise you, I will be back one day. I just need some time to get things together.” “I understand,” She leaned back, her eyes staring into the distance as she remembered something, “It was the same for me, once upon a time. I needed to get out, to find myself out there away from my father’s shadow. I found more than just myself though,” Here she looked at me before turning slightly to gaze lovingly at the sleeping minotaur beside us, “and now I’m ready to settle down. I hope that you can also find yourself, and maybe a little more.” I felt my eyes watering again but managed to keep myself together, “Thanks Summer, that means a lot.” I paused uncomfortably, “I guess this is goodbye then?” “More like ‘see you later’.” “Right, right.” I looked down and shook my head, “Give my best to Iron won’t you? And tell him about my promise?” “Of course Ace, now get out of here.” She gave me a rueful smile, “Technically, I’m still a Guard and, technically, you are still a thief.” “Oh? You gonna hunt me down?” I raised an eyebrow, “What are you going to tell the higher ups about me by the way?” “The truth. That you are an exceptionally devious individual who managed to work his way into my confidence, trick a large portion of the Guard with your superior intellect before utilising your exceptional dexterity to escape in an epic pursuit.” I glowed at the compliment, “Thanks Summer, have I ever told you how awesome you are?” “Several times I believe, but it’s always nice to hear,” She grinned, “Now go. I can already feel strength returning to my legs and I’d hate to have to run a thief out of town on my first day officially back in the Guard.” “Aye, goodbye Summer.” I paused, “No...see you soon.” With that I turned and strode away from my two best friends, unwilling to let them see the tears once again streaming down my face. Thus I missed Summer looking over at the Ace of Diamonds that I had left upon her bedside table and missed her looking sorrowfully at me as I walked away. “See you soon Ace.”