CHAPTER 30
"... I really can't thank all of you enough for saving me from Nightmare Moon. Again." Lulu pawed at the ground a bit with her hoof. She looked unimaginably guilty. I put my hand on her shoulder, and I felt a smile creep across my face.
"Don't worry about it. But I promise you, next time we fight Torrie, I'm gonna rip off his head and plant it on the handle of my club, and parade it around for all to see." Lulu stared at me for a moment, but then she giggled a bit.
"Oh Kyle... You're quite the character. One minute, your a kind, gentle person, and the next, you're..." She trailed off, unable to explain me in my crazy, bloodthirsty I'll-bash-your-head-in-with-a-fairway-driver mood.
"That I am... Ouch..." My right arm dangled uselessly on my side, small surges of pain shooting through it every once in a while. "Hey, does anybody have a stick and some gauze? Oh, and some tape."
Fluttershy trotted up next to me. "I have gauze, and I'm sure you could get a stick and tape from just about anywhere, but... Why?"
"Oh, I'm gonna make a splint for my arm. I'll also need a belt or something to use as a sling-" Twilight picked me up with her magic, and started marching me towards the exit of the castle. "Woah woah woah! What're you doing?!"
"I'm taking you to the hospital, you stubborn boy, you! You want to make a splint for yourself instead of seek medical attention! What's wrong with you?! Are you nuts or something?!" Twilight was apparently upset at me for putting myself in danger all the time.
"Well, the last bit I'm not so sure about, but as for stubborn... Yeah, that works. I just don't like hospitals, since I spent so much time in them back on Earth... So much time spent on the Internet..."
"The what?" Twilight looked at me and cocked her eyebrow. I could see the curious scientist starting to show.
"It's like a virtual reality, of sorts, where people go to spend time doing all sorts of things. Work, reading, watching funny things... Heck, I used to write fanfi-" I shut up right there. "The LAST thing I need to do is tell them that they're being watched by millions of people all the time. No, this secret goes with me to the grave."
"What was that last one?" I wanted to shake my head and wave my hand, but I was locked in place by the telekinesis.
"Nothing. I was remembering something else. It was- Er... A bad memory." Twilight nodded in understanding, and focused on hauling me away to a doctor. "Uh, Twilight? Do you think you could let me go? I don't need you carrying me everywhere."
"Oh. Right... Heh, sorry." She put me down, and I took a moment to stretch all of my non-broken limbs.
"Oh, that feels good..." I cracked my neck, and then we were off. "OK then... What other questions do you have for me? I've never really told anypony about my past, have I?"
"Well, I have a few, but if you don't wanna talk about it-"
"Nah, I'm fine! Go ahead, ask away." I shoved my hand in my pocket.
"Alright... Well, how do you know how to improvise this medical stuff?"
I chuckled a bit. "Oh, that's easy. I've had to do it before. I've gone to the hospital in situations where I just couldn't fix myself. Like when I got bit by a dog, or when I had my knee collapsed. But there was one time when I broke my arm when I was twelve. It's not a good idea to go sledding down a hill covered in tree stumps... My arm caught on one of those stumps, and I felt something crack, and I fell off of my sled, started rolling down the hill. It hurt, it really did. So what I did, was I went home, and I took a rod from my basement, and I pushed the bone back into place, and put the rod on it to keep it from moving, and I used tape to hold it in place. It healed up pretty well."
"You were bit by a dog? Why?"
"I was looking for my ball that I was playing with. I was about... Eight, I think. I went into someone's backyard to get it, and they saw me, so they let their vicious dog out of the house, and it bit me right on the leg." I pointed to the upper part of my right thigh. "It tore the skin all the way down to the bone. Human bones aren't white, like most people think. They're grey." Twilight looked like she was going to be sick.
"Why was the dog vicious, though? Did it have rabies or something?"
"No. It turns out, the family beat the dog and starved it and stuff like that, so that it would become vicious and protect their home. It's sick, I know. There are sick humans back where I'm from. They're not ALL bad. It was just because I lived in a really bad place."
"That's... Awful. How could you live in a place like that?"
"Like I said, not all people are bad. There are people like me, like Vince, like Rose-" I had to stop. I saw all of my memories of her flash through my head. I started to feel guilt build up in me again. I'd left her behind, even with everything we'd been through together.
"Who's Rose?" I stopped walking, and Twilight looked up at me, her eyes full of worry. "Kyle? What's wrong?" I was completely still at first, but then I felt myself start trembling. I suddenly felt a warm wetness running down my cheeks. I was crying. I fell to my knees, and let the memories pass.
Memories.
That's all they are now. Thoughts of the past. I can't go back. I can never see her again. Even though I still have Dashie, I love Rose. I took a deep breath, and tried to explain it to Twilight the best I could.
"She was the only person who was there for me when I was alone in the world. I had nobody. My family was either living far away, or resented me. Everyone in school hated me or wanted me dead for no reason. At first, I tried to drive Rose away. I ran away from her, I avoided her, I ignored her... But she kept on coming back to me. No matter what I did, she would come back, ready for whatever I was going to throw at her. So I gave up, and let her into my life. We became fast friends. We had the same interests, and we always managed to strike up conversations with each other. Our friendship slowly strengthened, and we were always hanging out. Of course, my parents didn't approve of me dating a 'freak.' Rose only has one hand. She lost it in an accident." Twilight looked like she wanted to do something to comfort me, but she couldn't think of what. I took a deep, shakey breath, and continued.
"One day, she got a really bad fever She was admitted into the hospital, and she'd fallen into a coma-like state... I was there for her the whole time, waiting... Praying. I didn't want death to claim the only good thing left in my life. She was still conscious of the world around her, and I told her how I really felt about her. I told her that I love her. Whenever she woke up, she didn't know what to think of my feelings, so she stayed away from me. I was crushed. Destroyed. I felt dead inside. I went on automatic. Woke up automatically, went to school automatically... I wasn't actually there. She was all I could think about. One day, she finally started talking to me again... And she didn't share my feelings. I still felt a little sad, but we were friends again." I smiled a bit, thinking back to all of this was probably good for me, no matter how painful it was.
That changed the next day. After school, she came up to me, and she didn't say anything. It's what she did that told me she'd changed her mind. She kissed me, right there. No warning, nothing. It was an amazing feeling. We started dating after that, and it was wonderful. We were ridiculed, yes. We were called names, like 'The Disabled Duo' and 'Lovey-Dovey Losers' and things of the such, but we didn't care. We had each other. We didn't need them. There were times where our relationship would sour a bit, the reasons for which I don't want to talk about, but we worked through those problems... Together. But about a week before I ended up here in Equestria, we'd gotten into an argument. I don't remember what it was about, but we didn't speak for about a week... And my birthday came along. I thought that skydiving would calm my nerves and help me think a bit... And I never saw Rose again..."
The tears came at full blast, and I leaned my head back, staring into the sky. I'd come to Equestria, and tried to completely forget all of my past, but I knew I'd never forget Rose. I'd found love again, but I still loved Rose. I couldn't help but wonder what could have happened if I would have never came to Equestria. Would we still be together? Would we be married? Would we spend the rest of our lives together? Sadly, none of those questions will ever be answered. I felt a warmth wrap around my neck. Twilight was giving me a hug.
"It's alright, Kyle... Just be thankful for the time you had with her. I'm sure that she's moved on, and that you can both be happy. You have Rainbow Dash now, and you two love each other very much. From what I can tell, you still care a lot about Rose, and you have every right to. But you can't just break down like this. Me and everypony else love you, and it breaks our hearts to see you like this."
I leaned in and hugged Twilight back. The warmth of her body was very soothing. "Thanks... I don't deserve you girls, I really don't."
"Yes you do. With everything you've been through, you deserve friends." I closed my eyes, and smiled. Twilight was right. I always sell myself short, and I need to stop.
(Stop the music)
"Now come on... Lets get you to the hospital. Or even better, I could take you to Vince. He'll probably be better at fixing you up than ponies. You know those little machine things in his blood? Well, I used a spell on him, and they adapted to my magic, and they let it flow in his body, and he can harness it. I've taught him some healing spells, he'd be able to fix you right up!" I let go of Twilight, and slowly stood up, and stretched my legs out.
"Alright then... How about you teleport us? I don't think it'd be smart to walk all the way back to Ponyville." Twilight nodded, and put her hoof on my hip. Her horn began to glow, and the world around me melted away.