//------------------------------// // Act VI: Anew // Story: Fade Away // by JoeBobWhitney //------------------------------// Cole had lived through the worst of many things, the Blast Sphere, getting shot at, blown up, utterly broken apart by the Beast, frozen, clawed at, burnt by acid and even been thrown large distances. He was a very unkillable person, as Luck always kept him alive. That can either be a curse or a blessing in one light or the other. But what had taken place made him think that he was dead. He literally drained EVERY little drop of his electricity on Discord, then was utterly bombarded with rocks, debris and rubble. He couldn't feel anything anymore, he didn't feel any limbs present either. He felt as if he went through Hell and back, twice. But, that didn't break his stride. No, if he was dead, he would not try to return to the living. He would die a hero, somewhat. "So, this must be Purgatory. As I'm sure I don't belong in Heaven or Hell, technically." Cole sighed and continued thinking. However, those thoughts were interrupted by a loud sound of someone clearing their throat. Cole turned his "head" at the sound. And what was there, made him jump. There was a being with a dark hood cloaking most of it, covering feet and head but not it's bony hands. In it's right hand, it held a long dark scythe. The heel of the Chine had a Skull cover most of it. Death, The Grim Reaper. "Heh, you're just how we imagined you." "I take many forms depending on the soul, mortal. This was the most fitting for Humans, however." He explained. Cole just simply nodded in response. "Anyway, I am her-" "To take me to either Heaven or Hell, right?" "No. Let me finish. In fact, you have been given life. As it was not your time, just yet." He clicked his tongue (somehow) in disgust. "Oh, that's awesome." Cole exclaimed, smirking. "I hope you're gonna be happy with that. As Equestria is where you're going to be, with your 'friends'." Death raised his scythe and ripped a hole in the darkness. He then grabbed Cole and pushed him in the rip with the butt of the Snath. Cole was blinded by the bright light that now shrouded him rather than the darkness. He heard Death say "Farewell" before pushing him out of the Afterlife. Cole slowly opened his eyes and noticed that he was in a Hospital with a heart monitor beeping beside him. IV's and many other things were hooked into his arm and they all were pretty useless as he could heal by Electricity. He shook his head, smirking. He cautiously removed the needles that fed him drugs from his arm. Once he removed all of them, he felt a bit cold and still drained. "I wonder if anyone is around." Cole then turned at the opening door to see Zeke walk in. They both smiled, with Cole's being weak. "So. Nice to be alive, isn't it man?" "Yeah, sure." Cole joked as he stretched, cracking his neck, spine and knuckles for new comfort. "You really were worrisome. Your heart monitor went from a beat every few seconds to every thirty. You really scared us. But, hey. You're up, now." Zeke told him, Cole just laid back down. "Yep. Oh, I talked to Death, by the way." Cole flatly stated. "What?" "Yeah. Cool dude, just really impatient to us. And really disgusted by God's methods. But, I am up and that's what matters." "When you're ready, I can go get the girls for ya." Zeke stood up, awaiting his answer. "Send them in a few minutes." "Alright. Later, brother." Zeke walked out, leaving Cole to his thoughts once more. He was on the brink of death but the combined efforts of Death and God effectively stopped that from happening. What really interested Cole was why he was given another chance, not that he wasn't grateful, mind you. He was just confused. Was he really that important to the ponies? Why was he important? Couldn't of they survived on their own? Maybe, they really couldn't. Maybe that was why he was sent here, to be a eternal guardian. Again, his thoughts were paused by the sounds of a door opening. There was a light pink pony with a light red mane staring at him, on top of her mane was a nurse's cap. "Mister MacGrath. You have guests." She explained. "Send them in, please." Cole answered, wanting to see his friends once again. The pony nodded and opened the door completely, the Elements walked in. All of them, including Zeke. "Hey guys, what's-" He was quickly choked by the Elements of Laughter hugging him at tight as she could muster. "Cole! You should of scared us like that. I mean, who doesn't like being scared but that was too much!" Pinkie rambled as Cole felt his trachea close up as his face actually started to change colors. Red to yellow, green to blue, purple to red again. "Pinkie dear. I think Cole requires air for his lungs like us, you know." Rarity told her over-loving friend. She released her vice grip and backed away. "Thank... you... Rarity." Cole gasped, feeling O2 entering his lungs once more. "And I'm glad that you cared about me. It's nice to see someon-pony who cares." "Of course we care.!" Rainbow spoke up quickly. "Why wouldn't we?" "Oh, you know. After freeing Discord and partaking in destroying some of Canterlot-" "Nonsense! Princess Celestia forgives all of that, darling." Rarity assured Cole, he smiled at this. Knowing that the Princess would be forgiving was a load off his back. He hated unveiling the hatred behind someone so kind. Anything as kind as her ALWAYS has a dark side that no-one dares to provoke and awaken. He mentally shuddered but ignored it. "Yeah man. Celestia is a bit ticked off at the damage that was caused but she doesn't blame you. Trust me, if you were in trouble, I would of helped anyway." Zeke declared. "Thanks. Anyway, what did the Doc say about my recovery?" Cole asked, they all looked away with uncertainty. "What?" "Cole. You ain't getting out for at least a month." "A month?" He replied, in shock. "Did you see what happened to you? Let me go over what they said. A fractured femur, humerus. Some muscle around your shoulder called a deltoid was torn. Oh, your jaw was fractured. That was RD, though. To add on top of that, your body is absolutely covered and littered in cuts, gashes and bruises. You ain't leaving for some time, brother." Zeke sadly explained, Cole stared at them blankly. "That. Sucks." Cole sighed. "Listen, a month shouldn't be that long for you, right? The Doc will bring him some things of lightning for you to speed up your recovery and they'll give some other stuff and you'll be good to go." Cole just stared at the wall, still disappointed at this revelation. "I'll be out in a month? Should be good, I guess." "Alright'y then. Doc said we had a few minutes and we just burned that up. Later." And with that they left, once again leaving Cole to his thoughts. For the next month, he laid in bed simply thinking and reading the books that either Twilight, the Hospital or even Rainbow gave him. She was always in to this... Daring Do. He looked at the cover and this "Daring Do" looked like Rainbow except with different colors. He told Rainbow that, but she thought it was a compliment rather than a statement. He simply ignored that and continued to read. Twilight gave him books related to Equestria itself. Laws, history and even pony related stuff. Did you know that Carrots can't be grown with Potatoes in the same farm? Cole didn't know that and he was surprised to see that law. After so many weeks, Cole got to explaining some stuff about Earth to Twilight. She was really interested in Technology. Then came to question about Magic and Cole heavily explained that thoroughly. She was confused about that. The hours, days and weeks passed actually pretty quickly and he got to know the Nurses, Doctors and regular patients that were there. "Later Redheart. I'm finally getting out." "We're gonna miss you. Just... try not to get yourself hurt THAT bad again, okay?" "I'll try." He joked. He took his final look at the hospital and went out the doors. Fresh, unscented air met him as the blue sky welcomed him to freedom. The bright sun stared back at him and he knew that this was where he was stuck. He should accept it but Cole had difficulty doing just that. He didn't let that dim his bright mood. The day of his release from the Hospital, he got a note saying to go to Sugarcube Corner. He took his time making his way downtown as he wanted to take in the scenery and maybe meet a few ponies along the way. Just... relax as he always wanted. Peace was something Cole or Zeke could never really get. They were always dealing with something as it was. Either it was the Corrupted, Militia, Vermaak 88 or just normal day saving. There was always something keeping Cole busy. Not to long, after some waves from ponies and little "Hi"s, he finally arrived to the place. It was open but the lights were off. The sign said "OPEN" anyway. Cole shrugged his shoulders and opened the door. He was then blasted with confetti as ponies jumped out and yelled. "SURPRISE!" There was a banner hanging from the roof that was labeled. "Happy Recovery from the Hospital/Welcome To Equestria/Thank you for defeating Discord Party" He chuckled at that. "Uh... thanks?" "So, after so long, Pinkie had to idea to throw you a big party. First, just the hospital, but then she remembered the other ones. It's nice to get out finally, you know? I'm sure it got boring. So, happy recovery-from-the-hospital-welcome-to-Equestria-thank-you-for-defeating-Discord. Ready to party, man?" "Sure." And so it began anew. Cole's new life began with this and now he face every challenge that shows his face to him. For now, he can rest easy. But, for him, evil will always be around the corner. Simply waiting for it's turn on the giant chessboard that is life. We are it's pawns and we must abide by it.