(Steel’s P.O.V.)
Watching the trees rush by in a mostly semi-conscious but still alert state, I could feel various parts of my body throbbing, but nowhere as bad as my ankle. While I knew it had been sprained, I wasn’t sure of the condition it had been in after the injury, and even then, I wasn’t sure what condition it would be in now; after having walked, ran, and even fought with its condition. But while my injuries were critical in their own rights, I had other needs that I still had yet to attend to, and those needs would still need to be put off even after we made it back to the library. Once we arrived, I planned to take care of Celestia’s wounds, and after she was patched up, then I was going to take care of myself.
When I felt a light nudging sensation, along with my helmet being moved slightly, I opened my eyes, and looked to the side. What I hadn’t expected to see was for Princess Celestia to be the cause of the movement, and it was from her rubbing her head alongside my helmet while her eyes were closed; she was nuzzling against me. Feeling a bit of heat flush into my face as she let out a quiet sigh, she asked just as quiet, “Will you take off your helmet now?”
Feeling a slight tightness in my chest, I wanted to decline, but after she pulled her head back, the expression in her eyes was enough that I couldn’t find it in me to. Looking past her slightly, I saw just a fraction of her forces flying around us in a narrow formation; a formation that would be able to protect us should anything happen.
Nodding reluctantly, I reached my hands up, and I grabbed my helmet, before I started to take it off. It was a bit harder than usual, as now that I was finally granted a chance to properly relax my weary muscles, I was aware of just how I had weak I truly was. No food since leaving Canterlot, very little decent sleep, and running, fighting, and being injured since being in the forest nonstop was taking its toll on my body. I just feel so... drained...
Lowering my helmet to my side, I looked over, and saw Celestia gasp sharply as she looked towards the side of my face with a deeply concerned expression. Whatever she was looking at, it must’ve been bad, as her eyes not only dilated, but they seemed to start watering up as well. Before I was able to say anything however, she raised her hoof up, and gently caressed the side of my face, and that was something that caused my face to flush with even more warmth.
I looked away as her hoof actually felt soothing against my face, and while I wanted to ignore the feeling, it was rather comforting to feel her soft fur rubbing against my cheek; it felt almost as soft as Vicuna wool. Instead of pulling away, I found myself leaning into her soft touch as my hand slowly found its way against her foreleg. I wish I could feel her fur with my fingers...
It wasn’t until she pulled her hoof away did I look back towards her, and I saw the red ting that appeared faded into her cheeks. However, something that caught my attention more than her blush was the dried blood that was covering her hoof, and as I looked at it, I knew there hadn’t been dried blood on her before. Then it clicked into place as I recalled that she had literally just been caressing my face with that same hoof just moment ago; that was my blood. And if that was my blood on her hoof, then that meant there was plenty more adorning the side of my face.
Looking down into my helmet, it was then that I saw the amount of blood that coated the side of my helmet, and it appeared to not be that much. Even though there wasn’t much blood on the inside of the helmet, that didn’t it wasn’t all over the side of my face...
Sighing as I realized I probably looked worse off than I felt, I looked into Celestia’s eyes and said with a tired, but still humorous tone, “I probably look like I just got in a bar fight, huh?”
“Steel, what happened!?” The distress was hard to not hear in her voice, and while she appeared royal and regal when we had been in Canterlot, she looked absolutely mortified right now. The tone of her voice sounded like she was feeling pain that she shouldn’t have, and she moved forward to try and offer some form of comfort, but before she was even halfway, she flinched herself as her damaged wing moved a bit too much.
Feeling a bit of guilt for her pain, I looked away, and that was when I saw we were coming in for a landing near the library. It wasn’t crowded too much, but I could still see the dozen or so ponies milling about near the perimeter the guards had made. Leaning back a bit, I answered her last question exactly on how I had for myself, “I don’t know...” It was sort of humorous that I didn’t know exactly which incident that my blood wound on head was caused; but then again, I should’ve been worried.
Once the chariot touched down on the ground, I very carefully stood up, and since my helmet was off; it was very easy to hear all the murmuring that had risen from the crowd. I know I was a strange sight overall, but I knew I had blood on the side of my face now, so that was only an added bonus to the entire strange, and possibly intimidation factor that they were going to most likely receive. When I had first encountered Princess Luna inside her bedroom, or truly encountered her, she was more curious than frightened.
“Steel, that injury must take priority over-”
“Your wing?” I asked, and I looked at her with a raised brow look. She may think I needed the care more than her, but she was the one that had priority in my mind. “Celestia, your bone is exposed... no matter what you say, I won’t take care of my injuries until that wing is fixed up. And Magic won’t fix it... not without causing you more pain.” Walking off of the chariot, I started to make my way towards the entrance of the library door with my limping gait.
It didn’t take long for Celestia to start walking by my side, and when the ponies shifted the attention I was receiving to their Princess; gasps were heard. Shaking my head lightly, I glanced around and at the crowd, and my gaze caused a few of the gathered ponies to flinch or shrink back in fear. You know, if they have a holiday similar to Fright Night, then I will have a really enjoyable time spooking them all... ah... good days...
By the time I reached the door, it was encased in a purple aura, and when it slid open, Twilight was standing there, with the other five mares along the far innermost walls. Smiling a bit, I walked past Twilight as I gave her my thanks, but she either didn’t notice, or was probably too fazed by the blood on my face to properly respond.
Quickening my pace until I was standing over my bag, I realized I was now closer to the white mare, and she seemed ready to faint by the time I noticed her proximity. Ignoring that, I continued to rummage through my bag for the proper supplies while I called over my shoulder, “Princess Celestia, please come here so I can get to work.”
Grabbing a white medical cloth on the ground, I placed a syringe atop it, before placing a bottle of Morphine beside it, along with a bottle of antiseptic spray, gauze, more medical cloth, and a role of medical tape. But something that was reserved for special cases was brought out as well, and I placed a slim vial of Instant Stitch down, but aside from the main materials I had placed out on the cloth. Everything that was needed was right here at my side, and as Celestia’s white hooves came into sight from the corner of my vision, I pointed at a spot beside me and said, “Lie down... please.”
Grabbing the syringe and taking the needle guard off, I grabbed the Morphine bottle next, and inserted the needle into the top of the soft lid. While I wasn’t sure how much Morphine to give Celestia, I estimated that since she was roughly a little bigger than me; that I should give her the same amount as I would to myself. Looking over at her just to make sure I was getting a safe amount, I looked over her body, and while it was a professional overlook, I still noticed how slender her body was compared to that of all the other mares. She had a streamlined figure, and while I looked that over with more consideration, I heard the white mare say quietly to one of the others, “I do say, that is so ungentlecolt like of him to check out the princess in her state.”
Taking my gaze away from her body as my face flushed lightly, I reminded myself that I wasn’t truly looking at her in that sense; I was just... evaluating her body stature. But even then, the heat didn’t leave my face, so I let my breath out, before taking in a steadying deep breath. Locking my eyes with the white mare, I saw her eyes widen a bit, before I said, “I am only making sure I am getting enough medication for her body mass. Too much will have less than pleasant effects, and too little, she will still feel the pain.”
Turning away once she herself was flushing in the face, I noticed the orange mare next to her shifted a bit, but I didn’t read her expression as I focused on the task at hand. While I measured out the proper amount of Morphine, I changed the amount to that of a slightly smaller human size, before I called out, “Twilight, can you supply a clean wash rag and a bowl of warm water?”
Pulling the syringe from the bottle, I heard Twilight answer back with a quick ‘sure’, before the sound of hooves moving out of the room was heard. Testing the delivery system by squeezing out a small amount of Morphine, I didn’t remove my gaze from the Syringe as I asked, “Princess, don’t you have any medics inside your guard?”
“Yes, but they aren’t trained to deal with broken wings... while most wounds can be simply healed by magic, more severe wounds, such as broken bones, are better left to naturally heal.” She said, and I looked over at her, and smiled lightly. Shifting my weight a bit, I moved closer to her side, but I set the syringe down on the ground, and began to take my gauntlets off. While I was able to use my medical training with them on, I wanted to make sure I didn’t strike a bone during the insertion of the needle.
Placing both gloved gauntlets down and closer to my bag; I reached over, and tenderly touched the base of Celestia’s wing, before gently rubbing away, and around it. Instead of bones, I felt tight muscles, which meant that the Morphine would kick in sooner, rather than later. Briefly noting the shiver that ran beneath my fingers as I continued to move my fingers around her back, I noted the softer spot between her muscles, though it was very small, that meant that I should probably avoid that area.
Once the sound of hooves striking wood began to come closer, I glanced up, and saw Twilight emerging from the other room with the stuff levitated in her magic. Nodding towards her, I looked away as I reached for the syringe, “Place those beside me, but close to her wing.”
Bringing the Syringe up, I heard Celestia ask, “What do you plan on doing that will mend the bone of my wing?”
Placing the syringe over her back, I glanced over, and saw her watching. “Look away if you won’t mind... this will only hurt as much as a pinch.” Looking back towards her back as I slowly brought the needle closer to her skin, I continued, “As for your wing, this medication will make it to where you won’t feel as much pain during the procedure, but I am going to realign your bone so that it will heal properly, before I spray your wing with a formula that will stitch your skin together, before wrapping your wing up so that it can properly heal.”
She nodded briefly, before she asked, “How long will it take for you to apply the medication to my wing though?”
“I'm already done. It should be taking effect soon anyways...” I said as I grabbed the needle protector and placed it back on, and when I did, I made sure to pull a clear strip from the side of the vail; marking it as used and ready for discarding. Looking over, I saw Celestia looking at her back in shock, before I added, “When someone is talking, it is almost unnoticeable...”
“N-Not that... why does my wing suddenly feel warm and fuzzy?”
Smirking a bit, I said, “That is the Morphine taking effect... just tell me when you can no longer feel any pain and I will begin working...”
...
Twenty minutes later, I am now finished with wrapping her wing, and as I now finished putting all my medical supplies to the side, I looked over towards Twilight, who had a sickly look on her face, before asking, “Is there a restroom that I can possibly use?”
She nodded her head, while she said, “Y-Yes... upstairs, first door on the left...”
Nodding my head, I began to dismantle the armor on my upper body, and it was now that I noticed a few dents here and there, but the majority of it was covered in some kind of plant matter. While I worked on getting the pieces of metal off, I was feeling slightly better with every pound of armor that came off, though it did nothing for my lower body. I wasn’t going to take all my armor off, but enough that I could move around comfortably.
After placing the last of my upper body armor down and on the ground, I looked over and found Celestia was actually eyeing me, but I still noticed the lazy eyes as the side effect from the Morphine I had given her. Most troopers are absolute asses after being injected with that stuff... I wonder what Celestia is going to be like... hopefully not too bad.
Walking up the stairs, I kept a hand on the wall the entire time so that I could take faster steps without too many consequences.
...
Walking down the stairs, I saw that only the orange mare and Twilight remained downstairs, aside from the lounging Celestia. But the more I came downstairs, it was then that I noticed that a guard was inside and standing near the entrance to the library; all the while casting confused glances towards Celestia.
Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, I began to walk towards my medic bag, but while I did, I noticed a light, but still noticeable tension in the air. It wasn’t as thick as after an argument, but the confused expressions that everyone, well, except for Celestia, wore, then I knew I obviously missed something. Hmm... well, I think I will just quietly make my way over my bag, and start to take care of my ankle...
Quietly was an understatement, as every step was accompanied by a muffled metallic clicking noise, which was soon followed by a dull thump sound of the base of my boot hitting the ground. All heads were instantly facing me, and it was a bit unsettling with the varied expressions, so I just let my eyes remain locked with my bag.
Getting down to my knees, I rolled my hips over, before I sat down. Reaching towards my boot armor, I was just grabbing the top half of it when I felt something extremely soft and warm rubbing along the side of my face. I heard a humming sound, and when I glanced over with a confused look in my eyes, and more so in my mind, I saw Celestia’s muzzle enter my vision. Yet while she did that, her eyes were closed, and I could only ask, “Is there something you want, Princess?”
“No, that is alright Steel... hmm...”
Uhm... Morphine probably? Or is this somehow related to how she was acting earlier?
Shaking my head briefly as she once again pulled away with a light sigh, I glanced over my shoulder, and while I looked at her, I saw the others, particularly the mares, were giving me wide eyed and surprised expressions. The guard however, wore a stunned and confused expression, though it only showed in his eyes, and not his entire face. Shrugging a bit before I went back to taking off my boot, I grunted a bit in pain as it slipped off, but I was instantly relieved when the tightness of my boot was no longer applied over the swollen ankle. I knew it had to be swollen, as the other ankle didn’t feel nearly as compressed as this one.
“S-Steel?”
Looking over as Celestia seemed to have a question, I was ready to answer whatever she wanted to ask; but her action was another thing entirely. As soon as I was facing her, a very warm sensation filled my face as she pulled me into a very tight embrace. While her hooves pulled tightly into my back, her cheek rubbed tenderly along my own, before she said in a barely audible voice, even with her muzzle being practically against my ear. “I love you Steel...”
Feeling my cheeks begin to burn with a fire I didn’t know they were capable of, I felt a lump form in my throat as my heart picked up and began to run a marathon. Licking my suddenly dry lips, I coughed lightly, before I said weakly, “Uh, Princess, you don’t really mean that... it is just the Morphine making you feel that way.”
This time, when she spoke it was in a much louder voice, and I knew the others heard now. “No, I do love you Steel. And I know you feel the same way. When Twilight entered your nightmares, she saw you cared for me as well. Isn’t that right Twilight?”
When she turned and faced a very stunned looking purple unicorn, I felt my eyes widen a bit, before I began to process what she just said. ‘Entered my nightmares’? Is that why Celestia was part of my nightmares... because a pony entered my dreams...? Wait a second... does that mean that Twilight... what if my dreams had been more private than that... that snoopy lil-
“Uh, umm... y-yes P-Princess Celestia... h-he did h-have your safety in m-mind during his dreams...”
I felt my mouth hanging open as I glared at Twilight, and she flinched away from my hard stare, and that was when she decided to look at anything that wasn’t remotely in my direction. Closing my throat as I swallowed, I was going to let her know about how... unpleasant, that thought of her invading my dreams was, but before I was even able to, I myself was stunned. Feeling a warm and soft sensation be planted on my cheek, I saw Celestia had closed her eyes once more, but this time, her lips were planted right over my own, instead of her cheek rubbing against my own.
It felt like my heart just skipped a beat.
The anger I had just vanished, as if it hadn’t been there at all, yet it was replaced by an icy cold feeling washing through my body, before an unfamiliar warmth spread from my chest throughout my body. This seemed so wrong, as I was a human soldier kissing the pony princess, yet it felt so right, and it strangely made me feel happy, yet lightweight at the same time. My eyes started to feel heavy, but the moment before they closed, I snapped back to reality, and while I wanted this to continue, I knew it shouldn’t.
Lifting my hands up, I gripped the edges of her shoulder muscles above her legs, and pushed her back firmly. And while she simply leaned her head forward to continue the kiss, she wasn’t able to lean towards me enough to remain in contact for very long. With what sounded like a disappointed sigh, she looked away with what appeared to be a pout, but I wasn’t able to tell. Turning and looking away from her as I felt my breathing and heart beating rapidly within my chest, I also noted the burning sensation in my cheeks. I did indeed feel light headed, and more than I thought would be possible from a simple kiss, yet it felt like it wasn’t just a ‘simple’ kiss. And judging from the looks of the only other three ponies in the room, it was anything but as simple as I was hoping.
You know, I can deal with the pain for a bit longer. I say I armor up again, get Celestia, and return to Canterlot... with my helmet on the entire ride back. If I need anything, I will consult Luna, if not another pony that isn’t under the effects of Morphine...
Doing precisely just that, I quickly began to assemble my armor back on, and it was then that I noticed Celestia yawn widely. That meant her body was working to burn off the Morphine, which was leaving her more tired than usual, and which also meant that within a dozen or so minutes, she was going to be passed out. Man... out of the woods, and into an awkward situation...
...
I wonder if she really does love me...