I also normally don’t leave notes at the beginning of the chapters either, but this one warrants a bit of special consideration. This chapter is totally and completely optional. If you are content with the story as is and the outcome of Mender’s journey, you may stop reading here and lose absolutely nothing. The story is concluded successfully in its original ending.
Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Now if you weren’t happy with the prior ending, don’t lose hope. Mender has grown on me significantly, and a lot of new ideas came over the weeks of posting this story. It was a fun ride, and I learned a lot. But part of me thought that maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t giving him a proper end. Maybe he deserved a little bit more?
Thus the sequel was born. The new ideas pieced together nicely into a new storyline to expand upon the thoughts and feelings of the old one. But then I hit a snag. Due to the ending of the last one, I couldn’t exactly have a sequel. So now you have a new ending as well. The old one is still canon, and this ending occurs chronologically after it and leads directly into the sequel. It could easily be considered a prequel, in fact.
So I say once more. This ending is entirely optional. I leave control of the outcome of Mender’s journey directly in your hands. You decide whether he becomes a memory eternal, or gains new breath to continue on with his adventure. If you’re happy with the first ending, just walk away now. If you wish to see him adventure once more, learn more things about himself and the world around him, and maybe even find love, all you need to do is read on.
Regardless, I thank you for reading my story so far from the bottom of my heart. Even if you don’t comment or say anything, the fact that you’re here right now and getting enjoyment makes me happy. So without further ado, here’s your new epilogue!
* * * * *
Twilight Sparkle sat at her desk in the quiet upper floor of her library. A dim, overcast sky greeted her out the window over the desk providing a mediocre light to see with. Her quill floated by itself, dancing lightly across the page as she wrote. "Dear Princess Celestia," was clearly visible across the top of the paper. Her handwriting was normally as condensed as possible to conserve paper but she always made that lead in larger, as if she were afraid a smaller variant would offend.
"Recently I learned a very important lesson about friendship. It’s one that I’ve learned before in a different situation, but all new subtleties have presented themselves now. Everyday interaction with ponies tells barely a fraction of their inner selves. Judging them based off appearance or first impressions robs you of so much potential. That I’d learned before. Now I realize just how much you can lose however. You never know how much somepony can contribute to your life from simply looking. That said, second chances are something everypony deserves and I’m glad that I’m allowed one now," she wrote punctually.
A momentary pause then, as she considered her words. She smiled softly a few seconds later, and continued, "Moon Mender's body is almost fully healed now. He remains unconscious but is rapidly recovering his health. One of us has been in there every day but he is yet to awaken. Tomorrow will be a week since the incident. I know I spoke of it to you directly but I wished to say it again, regardless. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping pull him back to us. If it had been just me at that moment, I'm not sure I would have been fast enough."
She stopped, losing her smile momentarily. "I still feel badly for leaking confidential information without his consent, however. I know he'll find out upon waking up and find myself apprehensive as to his reaction. I still have those well, issues I spoke to you of and discover myself seeking approval, even when he's unconscious and cannot give it," she added, exhaling quietly in relief afterwards, as if the words were infinitely harder to write than they appeared.
"Fluttershy has been keeping up with his health reports more than I have and indicates that Nurse Redheart thinks he should be waking up any day now, based off his body's regeneration and responses to my magical healings. I'll keep in touch and inform you upon his full recovery, and let him know you wish an audience," she finished, smiling and examining her work. It wasn't entirely a friendship report but she looked proud of it regardless.
"Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle," she signed, then rolled the paper up and wrapped a soft ribbon around it, sealing it with a stamp. It drifted gently in the air as she stared at it, seemingly contemplating it quietly until a light scratching came slowly up the stairs a few moments later.
"Twilight? We should probably get goin'. Are you done with the letter?" the tiny purple and green dragon asked quietly, as if afraid to break the silence of the room.
"Oh, shoot! We were supposed to meet Fluttershy at the hospital. Yeah, could you send this while I get ready?" Twilight asked, sounding panicked as she hurled the scroll at the purple dragon and dove for her closet.
Spike’s eyes widened as he barely managed to catch the high velocity scroll. He held it softly and rolled it over in his claws a few times before smiling and shaking his head. Various shoes, scarves, and designer saddles were launched out of the closet haphazardly and he decided it might be best to give Twilight some privacy while she changed. More out safety concerns than modesty of course.
Five minutes later, Twilight was headed down the stairs in a comfortable looking saddlebag and light covering. It was getting a tad nippy outside. She stopped towards the bottom of the stairs, a light blush forming as she saw the new notches in the wood in the last couple steps. She smiled shortly after however, and hurried towards where Spike was waiting while holding the door.
* * * * *
Fluttershy was already waiting at the clinic when Twilight got there. Both mares smiled at each other and entered at the same time. “Has there been anything new happening?” Twilight Sparkle asked quietly to her yellow pegasus friend. Fluttershy gently shook her head as they headed down the hall and into Mender’s room, the nurse giving them a friendly nod on the way by.
The blue and silver earth stallion lay in his bed as he had been for a full week. The stillness and silence of the room was absolute as his breathing could barely be seen in the dark. An intravenous injection was hooked into his upper foreleg that slowly fed him nutrients and fluids, just as a tube ran from under the blankets to handle the outgoing fluids. Both mares stopped and just stared into the dark at him for several moments before Twilight turned on the lights. Fluttershy seemed content to simply stand there, however.
"It's weird that he hasn't woken up yet. You're sure they said there were no head wounds?" Twilight asked quietly as she slowly entered his room further.
"Oh dear. Do you think it's a c-coma?" Fluttershy suggested timidly, as if afraid to say the word out loud.
Twilight sighed but shook her head. "I'm more worried that it has something to do with his other self not making it," she reasoned, sounding a little uneasy. She stepped a little closer and examined him from the side of his bed.
"Is that why we're doing this um, test today?" the yellow pegasus questioned, tilting her head at her lavender friend as she peeked into his eye while holding it open.
"Yes. I wanted you here in case something goes wrong. Pull my horn from him if so," Twilight explained before swallowing lightly and climbing up onto the bed, settling in next to him and folding her legs under her.
Fluttershy blushed lightly and nodded. "Um, are y-you sure the nurse won't m-mind?" she asked, looking back and forth between Twilight and the room door. She hesitated for a second before gently closing it with a back leg.
"She doesn't need to know, now does she?" was the lavender unicorn's reply, a wink in Fluttershy’s direction tossed in for added effect.
The blush deepened on Fluttershy's cheeks as she watched Twilight lean in and gently rested the underside of her horn against his forehead, closing her eyes. "I hope s-she doesn't come in when you're l-like this. It looks like you're trying to k-kiss him," Fluttershy worried quietly, not taking her eyes off the scene.
Twilight gave a light smile and blushed a little this time while nodding against him. "You want a turn after this?" Twilight asked, opening her right eye and looking over at Fluttershy in amusement.
The pegasus made a light squeaking noise as the blood rushed to her face. "Ah uh, um, n-no, it's o-okay!" she stammered, shifting back and forth on her hooves. Twilight gave a knowing glance as the wings lightly started to rise to either side of the pegasus, but decided against saying anything.
"Anyway, get into position. I'd like to at least take a peek before the nurse runs us out of the clinic for being 'naughty' with her patient," Twilight added impatiently.
Fluttershy tilted her head in light confusion. "Position?" she inquired.
"Yeah, get onto the bed on the other side of him. To hold him in if he spasms and to knock my horn away if need be," the unicorn explained.
The yellow pegasus lost her blush and looked surprisingly more concerned suddenly than embarrassed. “What do you mean, spasms?” she asked, slowly approaching the other side of the bed and tentatively feeling the mattress.
Twilight swallowed, looking uneasy before shaking her head. “Like I said, it’s a precaution. I don’t know what I’m going to find in there. If it looks like either of us are in any sort of pain or like things are going badly, separate my horn and his forehead as fast as you possibly can, okay?” she explained a moment later.
Fluttershy sighed and slowly eased herself up onto the bed before pushing her side into his back. She couldn’t seem to get her wing comfortable however. After a moment’s hesitation, she extended it up and across his side, angling it for Twilight’s horn in case she needed to extend it and knock her friend to safety.
After the yellow mare settled in, Twilight gave a warm smile and nod before resting her horn back down against Mender’s forehead from the side. Her eyes drifted shut as the horn lit up with a magical glow. With no further distractions, she slipped into his still sleeping mind.
* * * * *
The 'peek' expanded from there and took the better part of an hour. The nurse came in a few times to bring the mares drinks, interestingly enough. She either knew what they were up to, trusted Twilight rather unconditionally, or had a very unusual set of fetishes herself.
"That's what's wrong then," Twilight muttered after lifting her head up again.
Fluttershy started but smiled, peeking over her relaxed wing that was draped over Mender before asking, "Oh? Did you find something?"
"It took quite a lot of searching but I found his consciousness. It's dwelling in a not-so-nice place it seems. He thinks he died in the explosion that destroyed the Grosh ship," Twilight explained, frowning.
Fluttershy looked confused. "Is there um, something we can do to help?" she asked quietly.
"There is. We need to get him to realize he's still here and alive. I might need your help," Twilight elaborated, averting her gaze and blushing slightly.
"H-Help? What do I need to do?” she asked timidly, suddenly looking uneasily at her friend’s flushed cheeks.
Twilight hesitated, but nodded quietly to herself after a few seconds. “I need you to go in with me, using the spell. You’re extremely empathic and might have better luck coaxing him out of the false reality. He got really, really scared when I tried it,” she explained.
The yellow mare’s eyes softened at that and her fidgeting stopped. “Oh. That I can probably help with. How do we do this?” she questioned quietly.
The lavender unicorn sighed and motioned Fluttershy over towards her. Her horn glowed at the same time and gently shifted Mender backwards. Fluttershy’s eyes widened as her wings flipped open rapidly and she did a light hop over Mender as they swapped places. “Um, w-what?” she asked, looking confused.
“You’re going to push your forehead against his instead and I’m going to cast the spell into you. That will let both of us go inside of his psyche,” Twilight reasoned, light flush yet remaining as she looked away.
“O-Oh. Oh,” Fluttershy muttered before joining her friend’s blush. She swallowed painfully and closed her eyes. A second passed in uneasy silence before she nodded to herself and opened them again, acknowledging, “If it w-will help him wake up, t-then I’ll do it. F-For him, of course.”
Twilight smiled warmly and nodded to her friend, who then got into a laying position similar to the unicorn prior. She hesitated but extended forwards a second later and gently pressed her forehead into Mender’s. Twilight nodded and rested her horn against the nape of Fluttershy’s neck, earning a squeak. She ignored it however and started focusing on the magic again.
“Just relax and close your eyes. You’ll feel a tugging. Accept and go with it, alright?” she requested as the purple glow expanding across Fluttershy’s body.
Fluttershy nodded gently before closing her eyes shut and extending her wing over Mender from the front this time. The room grew quiet as the ambient glow expanded to include the blue earth stallion as well this time. Both mares slipped into his consciousness less than a minute later.
* * * * *
Fluttershy was still wiping tears from her eyes while Twilight wiped her own forehead off from the exertion. "That's a lot harder than I thought it would be. Keeping you in the spell while maintaining the connection takes a lot of energy," she muttered.
"That nightmare is horrible! And his memories… I'm s-sorry it took me so long but he's n-not responding normally," Fluttershy replied, still looking sad and maybe a little traumatized.
Twilight sighed and nodded. "Compared to the rest of his life, that looked rather peaceful really. I have all new appreciation for being in Equestria now," she agreed tiredly.
"He's like a scared animal. I think he was starting to believe me but..." the yellow pegasus mare muttered, visibly calming herself a little.
"I admit, I had my suspicions this was the case. That's why I asked you to help, actually. Your empathy and his feelings for you were invaluable," the other mare revealed, smiling proudly.
Fluttershy predictably blushed but reminded, "He likes you too. That makes us a good team for this, right? Don't forget what Rarity said."
Twilight snickered softly. "Well I think we always make a good team, Fluttershy. And I haven't forgotten the lecture," she assured.
"We did um, get a little carried away."
Twilight shook her head. "No, I freaked out. Your only fault was not noticing his feelings," she disagreed, looking away.
"We pushed you too hard as well," Fluttershy reminded, frowning at her friend.
"Fluttershy, you don't need to take the blame. Relax," Twilight muttered, nuzzling the pegasus on the wing that was being pulled back over Mender as the pegasus unwrapped herself.
Fluttershy smiled warmly at her friend and nodded. "We're both at fault. How do we make it up to him? And each other?" she questioned, sounding better regardless.
Twilight smiled and shook her head. “We can’t do anything about him until he wakes up of course. But we should treat ourselves to some hanging out time. Maybe something to calm our nerves?” she suggested after a second or two of pondering.
Her friend nodded and smiled, looking better by the second. “Yes! But only after we make sure he’s going to recover. We should come back tomorrow after some rest and try coaxing him more.”
“Yes, I was already going to suggest that. Let’s just try to remember what Rarity said. Even after he wakes up, give him some time to recover and recoup from all this,” Twilight agreed, looking back down at the still sleeping stallion.
Fluttershy hesitated, but nodded. “O-Of course. After what I s-saw today, I’m just well, I just don’t know. I’d like to talk to Rarity a-again as well. She has good advice,” she considered, eyes pleading towards Twilight again.
The lavender unicorn nodded but frowned, looking at her friend with concern in her expression. “Yes. We need all the advice we can get. Do you want to talk more about this over supper? It’s on me if you don’t mind restaurant food,” Twilight offered after another moment’s consideration.
The yellow pegasus smiled again and nodded before standing up and getting off the bed. Both mares broke into discussing their own hanging out time as they walked out of the room, hitting the lights as they left.
* * * * *
Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy met every day for three days straight afterwards. The treatments were taking longer than anticipated. Fluttershy purposefully took it slowly, coaxing his consciousness back out like she would a scared bunny from its burrow. The stallion in question would probably dislike that comparison. By the third day, the nurse reported him finally stirring a few times when she checked on him, indicating a definite improvement.
They had told the rest of their friends about the treatment by then. The added good news about him potentially waking further excited matters and Pinkie Pie reacted accordingly, starting to gather party supplies. Twilight, while still acting apprehensive, sent another letter to Princess Celestia explaining the issue and her steps to fix it.
Three days passed by, bringing Mender’s total stay in the clinic to a little less than two weeks. On the fourth morning however…
* * * * *
Consciousness stirred. That fundamental spark of awareness. With it, came a sensation of waking up from a long nap. I felt old and dried out, immediately aware of how stiff my muscles were. But there was a new feeling, wasn't there? Or more accurately, a lack of something. That urgent sensation. It took me a moment to realize it but it was gone.
Smiling, regardless that my body felt like one big bandaged bruise, I opened my eyes. I felt the pupils of my eyes contract sharply as the light hit them and winced. Several seconds of adjusting later and sunlight from a brand new morning greeted me through the window. I appeared to be alone in a very familiar looking clinic room.
Equestria. I was still alive? For once in my rather short life so far, I just took the moment to relax and let in the light. I felt like I’d been given a second chance and I was most assuredly going to take it. The first morning of my new life had begun.
To Be Continued...