//------------------------------// // Chapter 45 // Story: Forgiveness Pending // by Kiroberos //------------------------------// It was somewhat interesting watching them wash the clothing. Not because the process fascinated me, of course, but because they were so adept at manipulating things using just their hooves. It must take a lifetime of practice to get that skilled with your hooves! Carrot Top deftly folded another wet towel in half, and then hung it on the line to dry a moment later. Towels appeared to be the most used thing that required washing, I noticed. It made sense, ponies not normally wearing clothes. I still felt better in Rarity's saddlebags, though. Well, technically my saddlebags. It was hard to think of myself owning any property apart from the book. Ventosus Lacuna gave a pulse at my side, both reminding me of its existence, and further pointing out that I technically 'owned' it as well. It didn't make sense, as I wasn't part of the original creator's 'bloodline', but if the blade was intelligent, maybe it understood the situation? Prudentia seemed beyond intelligent, being capable of full on sapience. "It still astounds me. I saw what that, well, thing did to the library. To hold off such a creature while badly injured is amazing!" Carrot Top complimented, causing me to sigh. She had wanted to hear from the source what had happened that night, of course. That appeared to be the most popular topic for ponies to ask me about. I knew it wasn't every day that an alien attacks Equestria, but I still wish they'd branch out into another topic occasionally as well. I'd even take the weather at this point. I shook my head weakly, looking down into the stream. "I'm an inventor. Being able to fight isn't exactly what I'd consider a bragging point," I muttered, looking into my reflection's eyes. The area under them was darker, hinting at the stupid nightmares that were becoming more and more frequent when I actually bothered to sleep. That monster loved to come out during my sleeping hours and make sure the details of the torture, combat, murder, and loneliness were as detailed as possible. "I'm sorry for asking. It's just got everypony on edge still. We're used to having problems, but all of them until now have come from somewhere in Equestria, not from someplace beyond. It's scary, but you being good at fighting isn't the point," she explained, folding another towel up. I gave her a curious, if not tired, glance. I hadn't known her for very long, but there were definitely familiar vibes coming from her. Her attitude reminded me a lot of a more relaxed Applejack. She caught my questioning glance and nodded, hanging up another towel before explaining, "I know it's rude of us, but I know I'm not the only one. Having somepony capable of not only knowing about these things, but defending against them is a huge relief. Before I knew what you'd done, I wouldn't even let my little filly out of the house!" It took me a moment, but I finally nodded. It kinda made sense. "I understand that much. That's technically not why I'm in Ponyville, but I'm extremely dedicated to making sure nopony gets hurt by any malicious attack, be it from an alien or otherwise. That much I'm sure of," I assured, staring back at my reflection in the water. Once a soldier, always a soldier. If that was what I was going to be stuck as, I might as well face it with dignity. This cause was a hell of a lot better than my last one, regardless. "Yes, I sometimes forget about your amnesia. Twilight is helping you recover from it, isn't she?" Carrot asked in a much softer, more hesitant voice. There hadn't been any stigma I'd encountered over the amnesia aspect so far, but there was indeed an extreme desire to not be rude from most of the ponies I'd talked to. It felt like she was more not wanting to offend me rather than thinking less of me because of it. "That's what it started as. Now I'm staying in Ponyville because of Twilight and Fluttershy. And most of my friends are there, as well," I elaborated, smiling finally. That was a positive, that was for sure. I didn't even have to struggle to disguise that one with fake optimism. She smirked, and I saw it coming. "Yes, I'm pleased the rumors were true all around. A secret agent of the crown, and dating two of the Elements of Harmony!" she cooed, tone impish and amused. I rolled my eyes, but felt a little heat enter my cheeks anyway. It wasn't as bad this time due to having seen it coming, thankfully. "It's not exactly a secret agent if everypony knows. I'm just a friend of the princesses and in a position to be of use to Equestria," I corrected, giving her a skeptical glance. She laughed, to my surprise. "You try to play down everything. Sheesh. I would have expected Rainbow Dash to rub off on you by now," she chided playfully. My cheeks flushed even harder instantly and I winced, crushing my eyes closed tight. Maybe if I couldn't see her, she couldn't see me? Bad thoughts! It took her a second, but she burst into more laughter a moment later, followed by, "Ha! Not like that, Mender! Oh ho ho, you're a perverted one!" I groaned and shook my head rapidly. "It's just the situation, I swear. Ugh, and an awkward talk earlier. Sorry," I apologized, opening my eyes again but rapidly looking away from the mare. It was still easy to see her eyes widen in the sides of my vision. "Uh oh. Did she actually try it? I knew her heats were bad, but dang! Maybe she should rent out one of the love shacks here, too!" she suggested, sounding equally surprised and amused. "No! Just, I accidentally overheard her talking when I shouldn't have. It was, uh, awkward for both of us," I corrected, being as vague as possible. Wait, love shack? Oh, probably a cute nickname for the couples’ cabins. The meaning was kinda lost on me, though. She’d told me more about them earlier anyway, amidst explaining that she was here with her husband, Written Script. Some couples or herds just prefered to get away from the ‘pheromone cloud’ that was Ponyville, as she worded it. I suppose I could see her point. He probably couldn’t focus very well on anything there anyway. Carrot Top snorted and shook her head, going back to washing a moment later. "Come now, Mender. Everypony has fantasies. She didn't act on them, so you should cut her some slack. That's the important part," she pointed out rather sagely. Fantasies? I thought about it for a moment before realizing I'd indeed never thought about it before. Sure, I was attracted in that regard to both Fluttershy and Twilight, but there was nothing particularly specific I thought about habitually. I snapped out of it in time to notice her staring at me. "Oh, sorry. I just realized I'd never really thought about it before. I don't really have any fantasies that I can, well, remember, so I guess it's hard for me to put it in perspective," I admitted, frowning lightly. Rather than look amused as I expected, Carrot looked a little sad instead, but nodded. "I'd never realized how thorough your amnesia was. The list of what you can remember is a lot smaller than the list of what you can't, isn't it?" she murmured, going back to distracting herself with the washing. "Almost everything was gone from my mind when I woke up in the forest. I wasn't even sure what my name, gender, or species was. At this point, I've given up trying to guess what I was like before, and am just trying to start a new life for myself," I explained. It wasn't so bad because I didn't know him in the first place. He could have had any personality, honestly, from just the few bits of memory I have that are directly his. Does it matter? No, I think I like who I am now, rather than what I might have been like before. "I'm sorry, Mender. If there's anything any of us can do, just let us know. Most of Ponyville feels the same way," she reminded, smiling at me again. I gave her a weak one back and nodded, of course. "I know. Thank you, Carrot Top. I just wish I knew what I did to offend whoever made those fliers. It's obvious that not everypony likes me." It had bothered me off and on since the accident. The use of enchanted fliers and the pure timing involved led me to believe it wasn't done just as a smear story. Bad publicity is one thing. A violent mob is on a whole other level! She outright snorted, to my surprise. "Whoever came up with that idea is a miserable little creature that should crawl back under whatever rock they came from. Such underhooved tactics are disgusting! If they have a problem with you and Twilight, they should step up and show themselves. That way all of us could get a chance to buck them down a few pegs," she growled, sounding outright hostile this time. My eyes widened as I looked at her, and she flushed a moment later, suddenly looking sheepish. "Oh, sorry. Dirty tactics get me riled up, especially if they're being used against one of my friends. I do hope I can be your friend, Mender," she offered, smiling gently instead. That choice was easy, and I gave her a double nod and smile. Friendship was magic, as Twilight would say. "Of course, Carrot. It's not your fault about what happened with the fliers, that's for sure. I'm sure between Fancypants, Princess Celestia, and Twilight, they can find out who was responsible," I assured calmly. She smirked again and shook her head, lowering the next towel towards the water. "You even know Fancypants, and saved all those ponies at the party, too! You really are something," she muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. I rolled my eyes. Of course, I couldn't just come out and say I was probably at least partially responsible for the chandelier falling without admitting that I have a mostly repressed density somewhere a few magnitudes above a white dwarf star. That would probably be awkward. Almost as awkward as her face a moment later, as she shoved the towel directly into the mud instead of the river. I frowned, and watched hesitantly as the river dwindled rapidly, becoming nothing more than a little trickle running through a muddy channel within seconds. Well, that probably wasn't a good sign. "Oh, you're kidding me... What's going on?" she asked, frowning as she looked to the other three questioningly. They looked as confused as she did, however. My mind whirled into action. It was a rather simple issue, I realized. "There's only one thing that could have happened. Something's blocked off the flow further up the river. I'll follow it back along its bank and check it out," I said, standing again and stretching gently. The Whitetail Woods were considerably safer than the Everfree, and I was perfectly confident that even there, I could walk through it in the middle of the night and be totally fine. I guess there were perks to being a scientific abomination after all. "Are you sure?! What if it's something dangerous?" Carrot asked, whirling back around with wide eyes as I finished talking. "Then I'll take care of that, too. Just stay here in case you're right. I'll hopefully be back in a few minutes," I instructed, not wanting witnesses in case I had to extend a few tentacles, after all. To my extremely honest surprise, she nodded obediently and sat back down, looking more than a little worried. I wasn't used to ponies actually doing what I said, and it was more than a little awkward for a moment before I forced it from my head. Giving her a nod, I turned around and headed upstream towards the edge of the woods where it entered. Hopefully it was just a rockslide or something. To my surprise, Big Mac was already at the edge of the forest and turned, looking over at me. We exchanged nods as I walked up, and he asked, "Goin' in ta investigate? Ah'll tag along if so. Plum curious happenin', honestly." He already knew about what I was, so that much didn't concern me. Seeing what he did to his door a while back when Applejack was in trouble also reminded me of what the excessively large stallion was capable of, and I nodded. "Yeah. It's probably just a few rocks that fell over or something, but we'd best be careful just in case," I warned absently, heading past him and into the forest. I heard his snicker of amusement behind me as he followed, surprisingly quietly for a stallion of his size. "Ah doubt we need ta worry too much. Whitetail is fairly tame," he reminded. I noticed his habit of lopping off any unneeded words from his statements. He really didn't like talking. Hopefully appealing to his personality, I just nodded back to him and started my silent tracking of the source of the problem, my weak leg shifting to armor after we got well away from the cabins... * * * * * It didn't take us more than ten minutes to find the source of the problem with the river. It's not like we were exactly rushing, but it was an extremely noisy problem that could be heard from considerable distance away. "Aaaah, no, row the other way! You're gonna flip us!" I heard Scootaloo shout in obvious distress upon getting close enough. Oh. I should have known, honestly, that it would have something to do with them. I gave a questioning glance back at Big Mac, but he just sighed and wearily shook his head. Yeah, he probably had that thought, too. "This ain't ah canoe, Dodo! Ah'm usin' mah hooves tha best Ah can, but we're goin' in circles!" I heard Apple Bloom yelp a moment later. What the hell did they do, make a lake? "But, I can't swim! Oh no, oh no..." Sweetie added. Aww, crap. My biomechanical parts took over in my leg as Big Mac nodded to me, and both of us burst into a sprint towards the direction of their voices. "Calm down, Sweetie. Grab hold o' me, an' Ah'll swim fer both o' us if we fall in," Apple Bloom tried to assure. That wouldn't be a good idea with a panicking filly! Apple Bloom probably knew how hard it would be to swim with Sweetie if the little unicorn was freaking out. Ten seconds later, Big Mac and I skidded to a halt in front of a somewhat sizable drop. To my surprise, the entire indent below us was flooded with a considerable amount of water, and the three fillies floated in the middle of it, stuck to a log that looked like it drifted free from the larger chunks. A makeshift dam had been constructed from mud, rocks, and branches, it looked like, and it was actually nicely put together. I didn't have time to admire the details, however, and scanned down into the water. Five meter drop, and at least three meters deep. Plenty. "I'm gonna go get an adult! We need help!" I suddenly heard. I looked back up and spotted, to my surprise, two other foals on the opposite edge of the shore from us. It was the young filly who said that. She was a raspberry color with a slightly darker mane and tail. The colt, who was smaller than her, was a light tan with darker brown for his. Further, he sported a camera?! Damn it! My leg shifted back to normal almost instantly as I looked over at Big Mac. "Got ah plan?" he asked softly, sharp eyes examining the situation and looking along the dam. There were plenty of loose logs we could snag them with, of course. There was still a current as the water had gone over the top of the dam at this point, but it didn't look that strong. I frowned, and considered the options. "Can you swim?" I asked him, walking further to the left and sliding down onto a lower ledge. "Eeyup. Work yer way down. Ah'll get ta tha dam an' head 'em off," he offered, going down the other direction. I noticed they were spinning in that direction, slowly getting pulled by the water flow. "No! Don't go get an adult! We're gonna be in enough trouble as is!" Scootaloo called back, halting the other filly in her tracks as she paced. Then her eyes widened as she spotted both of us sliding down the cliff. Sweetie perked at her expression and turned to look, gasping as well. "Mender! Big Mac! Help us! I can't swim!" she called out, waving towards me as the log spun. No, don't do- The waving motion was all they needed to go over sideways, Apple Bloom letting out a frantic yelp as the log spun. Scootaloo held on hard and rotated completely under the water, coming up the other side soaked and missing the two other passengers. Shit! "No! Hang on!" Big Mac shouted, running along the dam now and rapidly getting in front of the log. No, that would be too slow. They might not be able to get back onto it! Out of options, I jumped. Inhaling sharply, I kicked on my rebreather as I dropped the two and a half meters into the water, slipping into as best a dive as I could. The impact stung like crazy on my left leg, but I slipped under the water an instant later and looked around for any sign of the two fillies in the murky fluid. Damn it! Particles from the newly created ‘lake’ were stirred up everywhere, and I could barely see a meter in front of me! It took almost five seconds for me to get over to where they were when the log flipped, and I spotted somepony sinking slowly and kicking, righting themselves in the water. Apple Bloom knew how to swim, so I guessed that was her. I kicked sharply, redirecting my momentum and launching myself into her from underneath and a little bit behind. She flailed in surprise, but I propelled both of us back to the surface, pushing her against the log we'd come up next to. She burst into coughing and hacking, and then looked back at me with bewilderment. I didn't have time to answer anything, and kicked the log towards the now wading Big Mac before diving again. At least he was in a position to grab the thing before it went over the other side of the dam. Damn it, Sweetie! Why were you even doing this if you couldn't swim?! Ten seconds passed, then fifteen and I grew desperate. Clocky had shifted to a timer of how long it had been since Sweetie fell in. Twenty seconds was enough for somepony who actually inhaled before going under, but... My eyes flared up and I switched over to particle scanning through all the crap in the water, frustration taking hold as I couldn’t find the small filly. I made my way back to where the log had first spun again, but she was nowhere near where Apple Bloom had been. Damn it! Left and right I looked, the particle scanning barely able to pick up anything in the flurry of movement that was the dirt and wood particles in the water. I had plenty of air in my ‘tank’ from after depositing Apple Bloom, so I sank further down into the water. Thirty seconds had passed now, and I was starting to panic. Finally, after thirty five seconds, I managed to find her. Amazingly enough, she had sunk like an admirable rock, which actually took skill to do. She'd managed to sink down to the absolute deepest part of the lake, and I saw her mane tangled around a dead log wedged into the dirt. I carefully shifted my angle downwards before performing a couple calculated whips of my back legs and shooting myself down towards the thrashing filly. Sweetie Belle was upside down, and didn't seem to realize that as she flailed in blind panic, a flurry of bubbles coming from her. Her mane got wrapped around her foreleg however and whipped her sideways instead, ineffectively spinning in the water as I got closer. No bubbles came from her muzzle though, which was open in the water as her eyes were wide with panic. Shit! I hit against her a moment later and wrapped my hooves around her waist. Her eyes opened even wider and she struggled against me, flailing and hitting my left foreleg with her hoof, hard. I winced, but maintained my hold on her, deciding to attempt to get her pointed upright before breaking her free of the log. Her struggle weakened by the time I got her spun around, her eyes losing their focus as they started to roll up into her head. Forty five seconds. Her lungs were probably flooded with water at this point. Damn it, there wasn’t any choice! Adjusting my internal pressure, I inverted the value for the second and third airway on the rebreather, a vacuum forming in my lungs before I pushed my muzzle into hers, forming as tight a seal as I could. Her body spasmed weakly, but she didn't look coherent enough to even react, going limp against me. Come on, work! The pressure difference between us sucked the water from her lungs in a few seconds, and I resisted the choking sensation as it got shoved into the practical black hole that was my stomach a moment later. That was… unpleasant. The second the water stopped coming, I switched over to the rebreather instead, and felt the fresh oxygen flood into her body. At first, nothing happened apart from her lungs slowly inflating and her eyes gradually closing. Sweetie! My right hoof whipped around and whacked her in the side of the shoulder lightly. Her eyes shot open again and she gasped into an inhale against my muzzle, sudden focus shifting back into her eyes as they locked with mine. Yes! Thank you! Her eyes widened as she went rigid instead of limp, looking down at where our muzzles connected and drifting there against me with her mane and tail billowing about her in the mud. Slowly, her forelegs wrapped around my neck as I held her there, pushing as much air as I safely could into her. Seven or eight seconds later, I used my hooves to clamp her muzzle shut as I pulled back and nodded to her. It hardly took any time at all to smash apart the water-soaked log with my back hooves, and I kicked off the floor of their newly formed lake. She held on around my chest as hard as she could, and we broke through with two gasps, hers followed by coughing and hacking as she got the rest of the leftover water out of her lungs. Damn, that had been way too close! My left foreleg gave a powerful throb of protest as I winced. I turned, shoving her onto my back with my right foreleg instead, and drifted gently towards the recovering fillies and Big Mac on the dam. "Sweetie! Yer okay!" Apple Bloom called out, sitting up as she spotted us. All three of them looked like soaked rats, which I had no doubt Sweetie and I shared. She didn't reply, instead wrapping her forelegs around my neck and shivering there. It took me a second, but I heard her start to cry through the sloshing of the water in my ears. Damn it. I wished I'd been faster in finding her. Big Mac nodded towards me, then hooked my right foreleg with his and hauled me up and out of the water when we washed up at the dam. He was utterly soaked, and the sight of the log on top of the dam suddenly made me realize he'd dove in and hauled them both up along with it. Apple Bloom pounced on Sweetie instantly, but couldn't manage to dislodge her from my back. "Sweetie! It's okay. Yer safe now," she assured. Scootaloo sat up half a meter away and gave us a sad look as well. The little unicorn refused to move, however, shivering against my back and openly crying now. Frowning, I rotated her around to my front easily enough due to being soaked, and wrapped my right foreleg around her. She desperately buried her muzzle into my neck and just shivered, giving out soft sobs every few seconds. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both went quiet as they shifted forward to gently massage her back. Big Mack shook his mane a moment later, wringing some of the water from it before sitting down next to us and frowning at the little filly. He knew as much of what to do as the rest of us, it would seem. I'd seen it before, though. Almost dying was terrifying, as an understatement. Soldiers that are gravely wounded but survive went into shock sometimes, realizing exactly how close they came to dying. I'd imagine it was the same for accident survivors, like in this case. All you could do was offer comfort and support to them. I hugged her gently as the other two foals ran up as well. It didn't take long for me to be temporarily blinded by an intense flash of light. "Oh no, are you three okay?!" the pink filly asked, sliding to a stop right next to us. "I'm soaked, and freezing," Scootaloo complained, pushing harder against Sweetie and me for warmth as emphasis. Apple Bloom looked close to tears herself as she shook her head and hugged Sweetie's back. "No, we're not," she admitted weakly, pushing her nose into Sweetie’s neck as the little unicorn continued crying against me. I looked over at Big Mac and shook my head. "They need to dry off and warm up. Can you carry Apple Bloom and Scootaloo on your back?" I asked, gesturing back in the direction of camp. He nodded gently and lifted them both off me in an instant. His little sister looked like she was used to being carried, but Scootaloo looked even less pleased about the situation. "I can walk, you know," she complained weakly. "Yer in enough trouble," Big Mac warned, shutting her up instantly with the shortest sentence possible. I smiled to him as I stood up with Sweetie Belle, slipping her onto my back again before following Big Mac up the slope with a sharp limp. My left leg throbbed with each push of pressure I put on it, and I knew it would be swelled up by the time we got back to the cabins. Great. Stopping, I frowned as I turned around, looking back at the dam as the other two scampered past me. My left hoof tapped gently against the dirt and a flare of magic shot along the ground an instant later. I felt a little tired afterwards, but a small, circular hole was cleanly sliced into the bottom of the dam. The water started to pick up speed again and become like the river it was before as Big Mac and I stepped out onto the bank. "Ya sure yer gonna be able ta make it?" he asked, nodding towards my left foreleg. I glanced back at Sweetie, but she only winced and held onto me tighter, as if hearing my mental thought. Guess there was nothing else for it. I turned back to him and gave a small shrug, to which he actually smiled and nodded. "Come on, then. Ya can rest all ya want when we get back," he assured, turning and heading back towards the path. Another flash of light hit me as he moved out of the way, and I winced, blinking at the spots. "Featherweight! I know you want to put this in the paper, but stop blinding him!" the pinkish filly chastised irritably. I glanced back up at Featherweight a moment later, and he gave me a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I get excited sometimes! You're Moon Mender, right?" he asked in a rather soft and high voice, cutting in next to me as I continued walking. The second she said paper, a creeping sensation drifted into me. The last picture they got of me was manipulated into looking like some sort of monster. I sighed, but nodded. "Yes, I'm Moon Mender. You can just call me Mender, though. Featherweight, right? I'm guessing you're a reporter?" I inquired wearily, not looking at him as I focused more on not screaming every time I put my left forehoof down. Sweetie had quite a kick! Although, it would probably be hurting even if she hadn’t hit it while struggling. Glancing back to check on her again, I noticed she’d gone silent and was just shivering, clinging to my back now. She held on far tighter than she needed to, as if she’d be yanked away from me if she eased up even a little. My eyes softened as I watched her. Damn it. "Well, I want to be when I grow up! Right now I just report for the school newspaper, and give Ponyville's news a few pictures every once in a while for a bit of extra bits," Featherweight explained suddenly, snapping me out of my daze somewhat. "He doesn't give any pictures to the Canterlot papers, don't worry," the young filly said to the other side of me. Heh, she was a sharp one. I relaxed slightly, and nodded to her, getting a smile back. "I'm Berry Pinch, by the way! Just Pinch is fine. I don't think anyone from Ponyville will be giving the Canterlot newspapers much business for a while, don't worry," she added, smile widening as I snickered. "Admittedly, that wasn't a pleasant experience for me. I don't know what I did or who I upset..." I agreed, pulling up my positioning system to check where I was and how long until I could fall on my face and go to sleep for a while. I said I wanted exercise, but damn! The little filly snorted irritably and shook her head. Featherweight raised his hoof gently towards her before she could say anything, though. "Relax, Pinch. I'm gonna make sure the truth gets reported, at least in our school newspaper," he promised, noticing her irritation. She sighed at that and absently nodded as they both followed after me. It was strange, really. Honestly, I admitted that I just wanted to be a normal pony, but I guess I'd have to settle for working towards just a normal day instead. That would be tricky enough... * * * * * Admittedly, I fully surprised myself. I'd locked my jaw to prevent myself from having the urge to cry out and scream at the top of my lungs by the time we got back to the cabins. Ten minutes had expanded into almost thirty at the speed I was forced to go as the leg got worse and worse. Big Mac looked considerably concerned by the time we broke the clearing, as both my knee and ankle swelled to the point that the frame of my brace was pushing into the skin. The tissue underneath was inflamed, and I felt the blood pooling towards my hoof with every angry, hot throb. Thankfully the muscles themselves were mostly numb at this point. "Ah! You're back! You must have gotten the blockage fixed and, uh, oh no!" Carrot Top called out, grinding to a halt as she saw that five of the seven ponies walking towards her were miserably soaked. To my surprise, Nurse Redheart was not only outside, but standing by her cabin and watching the woods with a full medical supply? She perked up, then frowned as she saw us coming towards the camp, then snatched the supply saddlebags and galloped towards us. Heh. Somepony must have told her I went off into the woods, and she predicted this. Relief hit me, and my left foreleg stopped moving of its own accord. It was like I just hit a brick wall with it, and all the energy just left the muscles all at once. It refused to listen to anything more and gave out against me. Wincing, I wedged the hinge on my brace and used just the metal to support myself on that leg while I rebalanced, trying not to rouse the sleeping filly on my back. Carrot Top just turned and grabbed her entire towel basket, running over to us at the same time Nurse Redheart got there. "Lie down, Mender!" Redheart ordered, sliding to a stop in front of me. That I couldn't do. "No, Redheart. I'm sorry, but please check out Sweetie Belle first. She almost drowned," I requested, kneeling slightly to show her the soaked and unconscious filly who was still holding onto my neck. Her eyes shot open in surprise before she pulled the little unicorn off me. "Ah, no! Mender!" Sweetie screamed out practically as soon as she was lifted, snapping awake in an instant and lashing out for me in panic. W-What? "Sweetie, calm down! You're on land now, and I'm not going to take you away from Mender. I need to check you out for a moment, okay?" Nurse Redheart cooed in a gentle voice. I started to smile before the ground shook slightly and I heard a muffled yelp to my left. Eh? I hadn't been paying attention to Big Mac or the other two fillies at all. Both other Crusaders were wrapped up softly in towels, but I was surprised to discover that Big Mac had been solidly tackled to the ground by Carrot Top, who was literally making him dry off and wrap up in towels. "Y-You just cleaned these, Carrot!" he tried to protest weakly, struggling to rise again without hurting her. She smirked on top of him and rapidly shook her head, focusing her weight on awkward to turn locations on his hips and shoulders. "No problem, Macky! You need to dry off, and I won't take no for an answer," she stubbornly 'assured' in a playful tone. I snickered, realizing that Applejack's stubbornness had apparently rubbed off on Big Mac as well. They acted awfully familiar with each other, though, but I remembered that Big Mac was single. Family, maybe? In my distraction, I didn't realize my brace joint pop the other way. As it jarred me and I started to tip, I just sighed and resigned myself to the fate, attempting to land as flat as I could against my side. Spreading out the impact zone if you had to take a fall was a good way to reduce damage, I remembered. Both Nurse Redheart and Sweetie Belle yelped as I fell onto my side with a dull thud, wincing and sliding a few inches before coming to a rest. My side heaved with my breathing and I just let my whole body relax, the dull throbs dancing across my injured leg like a parade of hyper Pinkies wearing climbing spikes. Aaahh, damn! Regardless, not moving had never felt so good before. "No, Mender!" Sweetie called out, struggling against Nurse Redheart. The mare turned her over so she couldn't get traction with her hooves, and lightly pressed the stethoscope to a different location on the filly's chest. "We're almost done, Sweetie. Hang on. You've got a wheeze, but that's to be expected. No pressure damage, and it sounds like an amazing amount of water is already gone from your lungs. You're a very lucky filly," Redheart reported after another half a minute of listening. Sweetie's eyes slowly expanded more and more as she looked at me from an upside-down perspective. "Try not to think about it, Sweetie. Just rest and think of fun things," I whispered softly to her. She hesitated for a moment, but gave me a shaky nod, a soft pink tinting her cheeks a moment later. Eh? I honestly didn't want to ask what she'd suddenly decided to think about. Pinch and Featherweight attempted to circle around me, and tried to unhook the clasp on my leg brace with very little success. "Dang! How do you get this thing on and off by yourself?" Pinch asked after trying three times to get her hoof under the catch for it. "I use my magic," I shot back simply. It wasn't that far fetched for me to realize that a lot of ponies probably didn't immediately jump to the conclusion of an Earth Pony manipulating something with spells. It was probably fairly consistent in their culture that doing so was a Unicorn thing. "Mender! Big Mac!" I suddenly heard Spike call out from the direction of our cabin. A second later, I remembered that he had fingers. Wincing, I looked up at him and nodded, gesturing him towards me as he ran. His eyes widened as he saw my leg all puffed up, and he shifted his direction, skidding to a stop in front of me. "Ah! I'll get the brace off," he assured instantly, assessing the situation just as quickly as I expected from the number one assistant of Twilight. It took almost no time at all for him to snap the clasps open and unhook the brace with his claws. They were surprisingly dexterous, I realized. Sweetie embedded herself against my chest again as soon as Nurse Redheart let her go, almost running the little dragon over to get back to me. "Whoa! What happened?!" he asked after falling out of the way of the charging filly. I caught her and hugged her gently as she pushed her face into my fur again. This was starting to get a little disconcerting. "Mender s-saved my life," Sweetie Belle revealed, not moving an inch as Pinch wrapped a blanket around her from behind. Featherweight surprised me by covering me up with one as well while Redheart looked at my leg. She sighed a moment later and shook her head, giving me a skeptical look. "You walked all the way back here on it with Sweetie Belle, didn't you? Mender, you have to take it easy or you're going to damage your leg," she warned, surprising me with an uncharacteristic level of seriousness and concern. Apple Bloom yanked Spike back by the tail before he could say anything else, as I looked away from Nurse Redheart, wincing. I knew it was a bad idea, but I was worried about Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo sat next to us as well, silently watching Apple Bloom whisper into Spike's ear. She was undoubtedly relaying what happened in private so Sweetie didn't have to hear it again. At least I guessed as much, as his eyes got wider and wider the longer the filly whispered. Redheart pulled my attention back to her with a soft nudge to my shoulder a moment later. "Mender, I don't mean to sound harsh towards you. I'm just worried for you, is all. You're, well, you're not just technically my boss, but you're my friend, too. You don't take good enough care of yourself," she explained, eyes softening as she watched me. I was used to the teasing, joking Redheart, but I guessed she definitely had real aspects to herself as well that were more serious. It actually caused my respect for her to grow a bit more. I nodded to her and relaxed, gently letting my leg rest. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be reckless. I couldn't let anything bad happen to anypony, but I guess I don't often consider myself in that regard," I admitted, flattening my ears back a bit, sheepishly blushing at my own silliness. My nurse giggled and nodded in return before glancing to the side. To my surprise, I hadn't seen Noteworthy walk up next to us. A stretcher rested on the ground next to me, and I saw it coming. "I'm going to keep an eye on your leg for a couple hours, to make sure the swelling goes down properly. The three fillies involved in the incident also should come along. I'd like to check everypony for injuries," the nurse explained, standing up again fully. Noteworthy smiled and nodded to me as he helped slide me over and onto the stretcher. I coughed lightly and looked away from him, a little embarrassed that I'd managed to injure myself yet again. Thankfully, he just snickered and shook his head. "You're really something, Mender," he noted. The way he said it, I couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing. A glance showed Nurse Redheart moving around behind me and hooking the other end of the stretcher as they lifted Sweetie and me up. For half a second, I could have sworn I saw her looking at my flank. She caught me looking at her, however and rapidly looked ahead, steering towards her cabin that doubled as the medical facility. Seriously? This was going to be a long two hours... * * * * * One hour, twelve minutes, and forty-five seconds later, I was checking the clock on every five-second mark. It had gone agonizingly slowly as I rested on a cot, the pain having long since passed in my foreleg. Sweetie Belle stayed tucked against my other foreleg, resting there and not paying much attention to the outside world. Apple Bloom sat on the cot next to us, switching repeatedly between concerned glances at Sweetie and annoyed stares at Scootaloo. Scootaloo, however, well... "Gah! This is sooooo boring! We won't go anywhere near the forest, Sweetie Belle. Let's just go out and do something! Anything!" Scootaloo continued to complain. It had been almost non-stop for the last twenty minutes, and I was starting to shiver from the blaring headache. I was tempted to flick my gravity 'just' enough to yank her tiny head into the bar of the cot and knock her out, but she was just too adorable, regardless of how annoying it was. Sure, I could just mention I had a headache and Nurse Redheart would have a dozen varying types of pain medication to me within seconds, but she was kind of scary at the moment. Even with my head down, I could hear her hooves on occasion. From the sounds of it, she was still hovering nearby, just waiting for me to request something or complain that something was hurting. I mean, dang. I thought she took medication to lessen this?! I made a mental note to never get near her when she was in full estrus. "You three can go outside if you want. I'm sure Spike wouldn't mind keeping you company," Nurse Redheart suggested softly. What, and leave me alone with her? I swallowed uneasily but didn't say anything. Sweetie Belle rapidly shook her head, however, making no effort whatsoever to even shift positions. Okay, this was starting to be a little on the strange and worrisome side. "Sweetie, are you okay? I know what you went through was scary, but you don't have to sew yourself to me, you know," I asked gently, trying to raise her head up with my hoof. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo perked up at my voice, and Scootaloo turned to look as well. Sweetie looked back up at me a moment later with absolutely massive eyes, fidgeting a little with her hooves. "B-But I don't, um, I don't feel... Does that mean you want me to leave?" she asked, eyes softening as they started to get watery instead. Aww, damn it! "Don't be silly, Sweetie Belle! He ain't gonna kick ya out. Yer just startin' ta worry us ah bit. Yer actin' weird," Apple Bloom assured to her friend, hopping off the cot and jumping up next to me, letting Sweetie Belle see her. The little unicorn's ears flattened back and she frowned, eyes starting to get more watery instead of less. I felt my chest tighten and I swallowed, really wishing she'd stop crying. "But he, um, Mender saved my life! Don't you understand? I would have... I would have drowned if it weren’t for him. I wouldn't be here!" she exclaimed, the anxiety skyrocketing in her voice as tears slipped down her cheeks again. "Now you're starting to sound like Spike did! You saw how awkward the two of them got. Do you want to freak out Mender like he did with Applejack?" Scootaloo asked, back to sounding irritated. The ears hit the back of Sweetie's head at that, and she started openly crying again. Gently, I wrapped my right foreleg around her again but she pushed it away and crawled forward instead, getting right into my face before asking, "Please, Mender! Anything. Is there anything I can do at all? I don't want to, um, be a burden and if you want me to leave, I'll go. Please!" I swallowed uneasily, trying to pull my head back into the pillow as far as it would go to keep space between us. Nurse Redheart intervened, however, walking up and sliding the little filly backwards and away from me. "No!" she squeaked out, grabbing onto my right foreleg and not letting go. "Sweetie, stop this. Relax. Did you know that Mender technically saved all of us?" Nurse Redheart asked softly. I froze for a moment before remembering that technically everypony in the room knew the majority of my secrets. The unicorn stopped struggling and gave her a questioning glance backwards. The nurse just smiled and nodded to her, making me relax a bit. She was helping? "Yup. If he hadn't stopped that female the night of the incident, she would have destroyed Ponyville. None of us would be here right now," she explained. Eh? Why was she telling her that? "Hey, yeah! We all should thank Mender!" Apple Bloom suddenly exclaimed, looking like she just realized that in the first place. What?! Nurse Redheart snickered and shook her head gently. "As much fun as that sounds, you three are about two years too young. But do you see anypony else trying so hard, Sweetie? I know it's more personal for you, but maybe you could truly pay him back by just being there for him and being friendly?" she suggested softly, giving her a soft smile. Despite being unsure of her intent with that first part, I smiled and nodded to the second. I saw what she was doing now by trying to remove the personalization. A bit backwards compared to the logic I was used to, but if it worked, who was I to argue? Sweetie Belle looked hesitant, then glanced back at me after a long few seconds. I gave her a gentle but assuring smile, hopefully. I was still uncertain of my expressions with a muzzle, despite having been here for a while now. It was the subtle things that were hard to grasp. "But, Mender-" Sweetie Belle tried to interrupt. Nurse Redheart shook her head, cutting the filly off with, "No, Sweetie Belle. You're not staying this close to Mender for Mender's sake, are you? This is for you." Eh?! Wait, why was she staying here with me if not for me? Was she still frightened over what happened? "What? Yes I am! It's just-" she tried to continue. Apple Bloom cut her off this time. "Sweetie, yer not bein' truthful. Ya know better than this. Tha rest o' us know why you're doin' this," she pointed out. Oh, they did? I weighed the social stigma around asking them why she was staying. Would that be rude? I couldn't decide, and didn't want to offend any of them. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and sighed, also adding, "After Rarity kissed him, you've been talking a lot about it, remember?" Sweetie Belle flattened her ears back further, backing away from them and back into my chest as she blushed lightly. Rarity? When she kissed me? "Wait, she what? Is Mender's herd 'open' in that regard?" Nurse Redheart asked suddenly, widening her eyes a little. Open? Eh, I was getting confused, so I just decided to ignore her for now. Sweetie Belle was having trouble with Rarity, then? What in Equestria did that have to do with me?! My brain wracked itself trying to think of anything at all I'd heard between Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Twilight had mentioned a really bad fight a while back where they almost stopped being sisters, but I thought that had been patched up. Oh! Oh... Oh no. I suddenly realized what she was talking about! "But I... he... under the lake he-" Sweetie started, before I interrupted her this time. "Sweetie, if you're having a fight with Rarity, you really need to patch it up. I know I don't have a little sister or anything, but that doesn't mean it's okay to declare me a big brother or something. Rarity is your actual sister, so you need to work things out. I can try talking to her if you want," I offered, attempting a reassuring but stern tone. Four blank looks greeted me, and I hesitated, coughing lightly a moment later. "Um, what?" Nurse Redheart asked awkwardly, tilting her head in confusion at me. Okay, had I gotten that wrong? "Ah! No! I don't want you as a big brother, Mender!" Sweetie Belle squeaked out in shock a moment later, before suddenly smashing both hooves into her muzzle and blushing rather impressively. Scootaloo started snickering in amusement, and I frowned. That was a rather… negative reaction to that. Was she…? "Oh, um, it's okay to tell me, Sweetie. If you don't like me, you don't have to keep doing this for appearances or anything," I explained, ears dropping back again. Was that what this was about? She appeared to really regret saying that. Apple Bloom slapped her forehead, and Scootaloo fell over sideways as she laughed hysterically. Ugh. Okay, I was just going to stop talking. I was just making an idiot of myself, I realized with a hint of bitterness. "No, Mender! I really like you! I really do... it... but under the lake you... you kissed me!" she squeaked, the blush getting worse suddenly. My eyes expanded rapidly, at the same time Scootaloo's laughter was disrupted by a choking, coughing noise instead. Apple Bloom's head shot up in a second, her eyes widening about as fast as mine. Redheart gave Sweetie a skeptical glance instead, however. "W-What?! Sweetie, that wasn't a kiss," I tried to explain, feeling myself pale a little. Oh hell. Was I in trouble for using the rebreather now?! "I'm guessing you suddenly found yourself able to breathe again at the same time?" Nurse Redheart asked, ignoring the ringing sound as Scootaloo sat up into the underside of the cot next to us and whacked herself in the forehead, yelping lightly. Apple Bloom relaxed on the mattress and nodded, eyes softening visibly. Sweetie nodded rapidly, however. "Yeah! He shared his air with me through a kiss! It was so romantic!" she exclaimed, eyes getting bigger again. I resisted slapping my forehead. Did she think I liked her 'like that' now? So she was staying close to me because she thought I liked it and owed me for saving her life? That didn't sit well with me at all. "Sweetie, I have a rebreather system built into me that can provide an air supply. You, um, weren't looking so good when I finally got to you and I didn't have a choice," I tried to explain gently, rubbing her on the shoulder with my right forehoof. Scootaloo was apparently just fine, as she started snickering again after Apple Bloom pulled her out from under the cot by hooking their tails. The little filly blushed even more and shook her head at me, edging closer. "No, I know it was needed. You saved me with it. I-I don't mind at all," she assured, the flush creeping up the bridge of her nose now, connecting the two tones on her cheeks. I suddenly wasn't entirely sure what the problem was, and got confused again. Nurse Redheart sighed and thankfully started talking before I could shove my hoof down my throat again. "Sweetie, it's a medical technique. It's not meant to be a kiss, and there are a lot of differences between the two. He was forming a seal with your muzzle so he could get you fresh air," she explained gently, pulling the little filly back and hugging her lightly around the shoulders. Sweetie's eyes widened a little and she shook her head rapidly. "No he... he meant it as a kiss, right?" she asked, suddenly sounding unsure. The blush faded and her eyes started to water again. My mind blanked for a second as I stared at her. Wait, she wanted it to be a kiss?! Wasn't she too young to want that sort of thing? It suddenly all snapped into place almost instantly. The reason she spent more time with me; the reason she stayed so close to me; it was all because she had a crush on me?! A little pang went through me as I realized that she hadn't been spending so much time with me exactly for the reason I thought she had been. "I, um, understand now. I'm flattered Sweetie, but," I started. Her ears drooped as she stopped fighting Nurse Redheart and sank lower. I swallowed painfully, but shook my head. "You're too young, Sweetie. You're a nice filly and I like hanging out with you, but I think you should wait a couple of years. Um, you shouldn't try to pursue just a crush anyway," I explained, struggling to find any wording I could to upset her the least. Her sudden frown told me distinctly that I had failed. "He's right, Sweets. Ah told ya that ya needed ta wait an' be sure, not ta mention it ain't legal anyway," Apple Bloom muttered, looking a little sad herself. Oh yeah, it wasn't legal, either. Yeah, that was important, too. I nodded in agreement. Sweetie looked downright angry now, glaring over at Apple Bloom before yelling, "It's not a crush, and I'm old enough! I, um, I love Mender! I'll share him with Fluttershy and Twilight and not get in their way! It can work..." I winced at the volume, while Scootaloo looked at her like she'd lost her mind. I chalked another day off the attempt at that whole 'normal' thing, and resigned myself to thinking of a way to appease the little filly. "Sweetie, you could get Mender in trouble by trying, and you don't want that, right? We understand you really do have feelings for Mender and, if you still feel the same in two years when you're old enough, I'm sure he'll talk to you about it then, okay?" Redheart suggested, sounding remarkably reasonable even with the awkward situation. I didn't know how true what she said was, however. I'd never even considered Sweetie Belle like that, as she was far too young in my eyes. Maybe if she were older, though. Sweetie hesitated, and then looked towards me again. I nodded, accepting the idea. It was just talking to her about it, and she was my friend. I didn't have any problem just talking to her and working through this. If I liked her then, well, I don't know. It was impossible for me to think of what I might do. Even two years older, she still felt a little on the young side, but I didn't know how much of that was me being biased due to her being really young right now. Did foals hit a growth spurt or something around this time? Sweetie Belle stared at me for a moment before her eyes softened and lowered. I hesitated, feeling like she just shoved a shard of ice into my chest. It looked like days of happiness wilted off of her in seconds before she managed a barely visible nod. My mind wracked itself trying to think of anything I could do or say to cheer her up. I saw another tear slip down her cheek and she suddenly winced as if burned by something. In one fluid motion, she spun around and dove off the other side of the cot. "Sweetie!" Scootaloo shouted out, leaping after her. Both fillies were gone out the door of the cabin in an instant, before I could even right myself into a stiff sitting position. My mouth remained hanging open as I blinked, then frowned at the sudden silence. Turning to look back at the other two, I saw both Apple Bloom and Nurse Redheart held a rather unsure look. Why did this keep happening to me?! With a frustrated groan, I fell forwards onto my face on the cot…