Beep… Beep…. Beep…
Pain. This was the first sensation Kyle felt as the darkness released him, slowly dragging himself back to consciousness. His arms and legs burned, his head throbbed, and his chest was on fire.
Beep… Beep…. Beep…
Kyle’s second sensation was that of warmth. He was laying on something soft, and covered by something even softer. He was also dry, which registered in his clouded mind to mean that he was no longer lying out in the rain.
Beep… Beep… Beep…
Kyle slowly opened one eye, quickly snapping it shut again as the bright light sent white-hot needles of pain through his head. He braced himself for the pain before opening his eyes once more, barely cracking them at first and slowly opening them more and more as they adjusted to the light.
His vision was blurry and distorted, but as his eyes opened more, coherent shapes began to form. He blinked and turned his head, wincing slightly as his stiff neck muscles proclaimed their displeasure at the sudden movement. He was lying on a bed in a sterile-white room, with his head propped up by a soft pillow. He lay underneath several layers of blankets, and he could already feel himself beginning to sweat from the heat of the covers.
Beep… Beep… Beep…
Kyle turned his head in the direction of the infernal beeping that had awoken him. To his right, he saw a number of machines, each displaying various graphs or numbers. As he watched, one machine beeped, and the green line running across it spiked upwards before coming back down. He stared blankly at the machine for a moment before realizing that the machine beeped, and the line spiked upwards, in time with his heartbeat. Looking down, he saw that a small bracer made of plastic had been wrapped around his wrist, and that this bracer was connected to the beeping machine.
“So I’m in the hospital.” He thought, his mind finally beginning to warm up. He looked past the machine that was monitoring his heartbeat and noticed another machine. This one had a small green button upon it, along with a piece of paper. Kyle reached over and picked up the paper and brought it to his face. For a moment, his brain seemed unable to comprehend the words upon the paper, but as he began to fully awaken, he could read the message.
Mr Slater -
If you should happen to awaken at a time when an attendant is not present, you may press the green button located next to this message, and I shall be summoned to see you.
Dr. Cast
Kyle read and re-read the message several times before setting the paper aside. He groaned and rubbed his head - his headache was making it difficult to think straight. He reached over and pressed the green button. A small ding could be heard from somewhere to his left, and the button lit up for a moment before returning to its unlit state.
Kyle closed his eyes once more as he waited, hoping that shielding his eyes from the light might alleviate his headache. Unfortunately, it did not seem to be the case, as his headache was still just as painful when the door to his room opened.
Kyle turned his head towards the door and watched as a chestnut-colored Stallion walked in wearing a lab coat. “Well well well. Mr. Slater, you seem to wind up here quite often,” The doctor chuckled, setting aside a clipboard he had been levitating in front of him. “Three times in two months. Granted, one of these visits was for a demonstration, but even so…”
“Hey doc,” Kyle wheezed. His voice was dry and raspy from lack of use, and he coughed and cleared his throat before speaking again. “Before we go any further, got anything for pain?” he asked, his voice much clearer this time. “My head’s killing me.”
“Certainly,” Dr. Cast smiled. He closed his eyes, and his horn lit up with a brown energy. A second later, a column of jade mist rocketed from his horn and swirled around Kyle, seeping into his skin. Kyle sighed in relief as the mist soaked into him, relieving not just his headache, but the burning in his arms, legs, and chest.
The flow of mist faded, and Dr. Cast opened his eyes once more. “I must thank you for that demonstration you gave us a while back, Mr. Slater,” he smiled. “That particular spell has allowed us to alleviate much pain for our patients.”
“It’s a good one,” Kyle agreed, pushing the covers back. He sighed again as the cool air rushed over him, replacing the stifling heat that multiple layers of blankets had created.
His stomach growled loudly, causing Dr. Cast to laugh. "Hungry?"
"You have no idea."
"Well then, it's a good thing it's time for dinner," Dr. Cast chuckled. His horn lit up once more, and a moment later a tray floated in through the door, landing on Kyle's lap. Upon it was a few pieces of bread, a pile of corn, an apple, and a glass of orange juice.
Kyle quickly drained the orange juice before taking a large bite of bread. “So, give it to me straight Doc," he said through his mouthful. "What’s wrong with me, and how long am I out of commission for?”
“Considering what you’ve just been through, you are extremely fortunate, Mr. Slater,” Dr. Cast said, levitating the clipboard in front of him again. “You’ve suffered no serious or lasting injuries. During your battle, you overexerted yourself. You drained yourself completely dry of mana, and were extremely weak when you first arrived. Thankfully, in the time since, you’ve begun to recover your strength. You should be able to leave within a week.”
“And just how long have I been here?” Kyle asked as he took a bite out of his apple.
“You have been unconscious for two days.”
“Lovely,” Kyle muttered under his breath. He swallowed his bite and took another swig of from his glass of juice, which had been magically refilled.
“So, now that you’re awake, I’d like to check your vitals to make sure everything’s still working right,” Dr. Cast continued, moving over to the bank of machines next to Kyle. He peered into the monitors and began scribbling on his clipboard as Kyle finished his meal. “Well… given the species difference, it’s hard to tell for certain, but everything is stable, so I’d say your vitals are alright,” he finally said, backing away from the machines.
“So Doc, I have to ask… I mean, I wasn’t the only one in that fight,” Kyle began, a feeling a dread forming in the pit of his stomach. He pushed himself up slightly and leaned towards the doctor. “Lyra and… and Scootaloo. How are they?”
Dr. Cast sighed. “Lyra has only recently awoken as well. From what we can tell, she has no memory prior to about twelve days ago, and is recovering. One of her friends is currently visiting - which reminds me, you have visitors as well. As for Scootaloo…” he peered down at his clipboard and flipped a couple of pages.
“Yes?”
“One moment… Aha!” Dr. Cast exclaimed. “Again, fortunate. Very fortunate indeed.” Kyle let out a great sigh of relief and slumped back against the bed. “She was struck by lightning, but she took it fairly well. She was only knocked out for a time. She awoke not long after she arrived here. We monitored her for a couple of days, and she was released earlier this morning.”
“Thank the light,” Kyle murmured, sending a silent prayer. Memories of her unmoving body lying on the cobblestone street flashed through his mind. If she hadn’t made it… If she had died while fighting beside him…
“There was one thing, but… Well it’s not life-threatening. I’ll let her tell you,” Dr. Cast interrupted Kyle’s thoughts. “Well, we’d best not keep your visitors waiting any longer. Remember, don’t exert yourself too much. You’re still recovering. I’ll send them in now.” He walked over to the door and opened it. Instantly, Kyle could hear several voices speaking at once. The door closed again, muffling the voices for a moment. They suddenly went quiet, and a moment later, the door burst open once more.
Within seconds, six Ponies were crowded around his bed. Kyle grinned weakly as his friends jostled for position, each one trying to get closer to the head of the bed. Finally, they stopped squirming, and all eyes were locked on him. Rarity and Applejack were eyeing him with concern, and Fluttershy looked like she had been crying. Twilight’s expression also bore concern, mixed with fear, sadness, and… anticipation?
Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, was bouncing up and down excitedly. “Woo hoo! Now I get to plan a ‘Good job not dying’ party!” she exclaimed happily, pulling out a party hat seemingly from nowhere. She jammed it onto Kyle’s head and snapped the string around his chin, making Kyle yelp as the string struck his chin.
“Pinkie, darling, this is neither the time nor place for your shenanigans” Rarity scolded, levitating the hat off of Kyle. “How are you feeling, dear?”
“Gonna be honest with you all - I’ve been better,” Kyle chuckled. “But it’s gonna take more than that to put me down.”
Rainbow Dash, who had been quiet up to this point, smirked from the foot of his bed. “See? I told you all,” she exclaimed with a smug grin. “Told you he’d be just fine.”
“Ya gave us quite a fright there, Kyle,” Applejack scolded. “Ah thought you were dead when we first got there.”
“If Pinkie hadn’t shown up when she did, I would be,” Kyle admitted.
He suddenly found his next words cut short as a yellow blur wrapped itself around him. Kyle watched as Fluttershy sobbed into his shoulder. He suddenly felt very awkward as everyone else present stared. “Hey hey now, what’s wrong?” he asked.
“Oh my goodness… I just…” Fluttershy began, but was cut off by a choking sound. She cleared her throat before trying to speak again, her hooves still wrapped around Kyle in a hug. “I… I sh-should… should have been faster!” she wailed. “If you had died because I was too slow…”
“Hey now, do I look dead to you?” Kyle asked, wrapping an arm around the sobbing Pegasus. “You weren’t too slow. I’m still alive and kicking, and so is everyone else.”
“But i-if I h-h-hadn’t m-made it…”
“Don’t think of what could have happened,” Kyle soothed. “To ask what could have, should have, would have happened, is to walk a road of doubt and despair. Focus instead on what did happen. Everyone’s alive, the Sha is dead… we’re halfway there.”
“Oh! I just remembered!” Pinkie exclaimed. She bounced over to Kyle as Fluttershy unwrapped herself from her embrace and slid back into place, still sniffling. “This is yours!” she giggled. She reached back into her pocket - “What is it with clothesless creatures having pockets?! First Discord, now Pinkie?” - and emerged with a dark crystal in her mouth. She hopped up next to Kyle and deposited it into his lap.
Kyle picked up the crystal, staring into it. Just like the last two before it, Misery’s crystal was swirling with dark energy. A cruel voice echoed faintly through his head from the crystal, demanding to be released, yet the voice held no power. Like its brethren, the Sha of Misery was trapped for eternity.
“Another gem thingy for your gem thingy collection!” Pinkie beamed, hopping off of the bed again.
“Thanks Pinkie,” Kyle smiled, depositing the crystal on his bedside table.
“So, Kyle. The doctor tells us that you’ll probably be in here for another week while you recover your strength,” Twilight explained. “In the meantime, I’ve been working on a bit of surprise for you.”
“Oooo! I like surprises!” Pinkie exclaimed. “What is it? Is it a card? A party? A party made out of cards? A boat? Oh I’ve always wanted a bo-mmph!”
“Hush girl,” Applejack shushed the energetic mare. “Let Twilight talk.”
“So… a surprise?” Kyle asked. Twilight nodded, and Kyle felt a small smirk form on his lips. “What is it?”
“It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I told you, now, would it?”
“Oh come on! A little hint?”
“You’ll see it when you get out of the hos-hmm?”
Every head turned as a knock echoed from the room. A second later, the door opened, revealing the source of the noise. Bon Bon stepped into the room, her face expressionless.
“Looks like trouble,” Kyle could hear Rainbow Dash murmur to Applejack, who nodded in agreement.
“I’d like a word with Mr. Slater,” Bon Bon announced, her expression still unreadable. “Alone.”
“Whatever ya got t’ say t’ him, ya can say it in front o’ us.” Applejack replied coldly. She had apparently noticed Bon Bon’s disdain for Kyle over the past two weeks, as had the others, who all nodded in agreement.
“Girls, I’ll be fine,” Kyle interjected. “You all go on home. You all look like you need some rest. Especially you,” Kyle added with a nod towards Fluttershy.
“Are you sure?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I mean, this is -”
“Bon Bon. Yes. I know,” Kyle interrupted. “I’ve not gone blind. And yes, I’m sure.”
“Well… alright then,” Twilight replied, backing away from the bed. The others did the same and began to exit the room. Rarity gave one last nervous glance over her shoulder before closing the door, leaving Kyle and Bon Bon alone.
For a long moment, there was silence, broken only by the steady beep of the heart rate monitor. Kyle leaned back and closed his eyes, taking the time to compose his thoughts. It was no secret to anyone what Bon Bon wished to talk about. Whether she would be angry or not was another question entirely.
Finally, the soft clip-clop of hooves on tile broke the silence. Kyle looked over to see that Bon Bon had stepped closer, her face still blank. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again, staring directly at Kyle.
“I’m sorry.”
Kyle did not respond, but simply laid there,looking directly at Bon Bon. She, on the other hand, averted her gaze, choosing instead to look at her hooves. “I shouldn’t have been so angry with you,” she continued. “You didn’t really do anything wrong…”
“Well, I thank you for being so upset with me,” Kyle interrupted. Bon Bon looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. “Your anger is what prompted me to go pay Lyra a visit,” he continued. “If you hadn’t spoken to me about it, then it’s likely we wouldn’t have known about Lyra and the Sha until it was too late.”
Kyle fell silent. For a moment, neither he nor Bon Bon spoke, neither knowing what to say next. Finally, he opened his mouth once more. “How is she?” he asked. “Is she alright?”
“She can’t remember anything before two weeks ago,” Bon Bon replied. “Probably for the best, really. Just being told what happened horrified her. I can’t imagine how remembering it first hoof would affect her.”
“And… how is she mentally?”
“No worse off than before this whole thing happened, as far as I can tell,” Bon Bon sighed. “You’ve probably already heard that Lyra’s a bit… odd.”
“Yeah, I’ve been told.”
“The thing that’s really bugging her is… well, you,” Bon Bon continued. “She’s afraid you’re going to hate her now for her involvement in this mess.” She sighed again, shaking her head. “I told her she was being stupid, but…”
“I’ll make sure to drop in on her once I get out of here,” Kyle assured her. “You’re right - I don’t hate her for what happened. Thousands have succumbed to the Sha, many of them far stronger than Lyra or I. I suspect very few could ever resist their influence.”
Another knock at the door punctuated Kyle’s words, causing him to roll his eyes. “No one seems to notice the Human while he’s up and about, but knock him down once and suddenly everyone’s visiting,” he muttered, a trace of amusement in his voice. “Come on in,” he called out. The door swung open to reveal the latest visitor.
Scootaloo poked her head in, looking around the room. She spotted Kyle on the bed and tentatively stepped into the room. She had dark circles under her eyes, and a layer of bandages covered her chest where the Sha had struck her.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Bon Bon murmured, backing away. “Thank you, Mr. Slater.” With that, she turned and exited the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Kyle alone with Scootaloo.
The filly quickly hopped up onto Kyle’s bed, nestling down next to him in the crook of his arm. For a long while, no words were spoken between them. None were needed. Scootaloo closed her eyes and rested, while Kyle held her close, smiling.
Finally, she spoke up, her voice barely a whisper.
“I thought you were dead.”
Kyle drew Scootaloo closer and held her tightly as the filly turned towards him. She buried her head into his chest and began to cry, fresh tears wetting his shirt.
“I’m not gone yet," he soothed. "I'm more worried about you. You look like you haven't slept in days. Are you okay?"
“The doctors… They told me that… that I’m alright, but…” Scootaloo’s voice cracked as she trailed off.
“Yes?”
“My wings… they’re too small,” She sobbed. “They said I’ll… I’ll probably never fly.”
Kyle felt himself grip the filly even tighter as she began crying again. His own vision became blurry as tears threatened to overcome him as well. All he could do was hold her as she released all the anger, the frustration, the sorrow that ran through her.
“Did I ever tell you about my friend Christian?” Kyle asked. Scootaloo shook her head, not removing her face from his shirt. “He and I were both stationed in Outland for our first deployment. He was chosen to join twenty-four others to fight against the colossal Demon Lord, Magtheridon. During the battle, Magtheridon stepped on his legs. Every bone below his waist was shattered. They had to remove his legs to save his life. Everyone said he would never walk again.”
“For three years he was confined to a wheelchair. Then, exactly three years after his legs were removed, our commander presented him with something that changed his life.”
“W-what was it?”
“A pair of robotic legs, constructed from pure Elementium. For three days, he was in surgery as a team of twenty master engineers and Druids attached them to him. By the time they were finished, he had a new set of legs to walk on. They said he would never walk again, but by the Light, he proved them all wrong as he wobbled out of that infirmary. Since then, he’s served in three more tours of duty, always struggling long after his comrades had lost the will to go on. It was he that defeated the Sha of Despair and freed Chi-Ji, the Red Crane of Hope.”
“So never give up hope, Scootaloo. Yes, the doctors are experts of medicine and Pony anatomy. Yes, they said you will probably never fly. But they are wrong. You will fly one day. I’ll make sure of it.”
Scootaloo lifted her head to look at Kyle, her eyes red and wet with tears. “You… You promise?”
“On my life.”
Scootaloo slowly moved up and wrapped her forelegs around his neck, embracing him in a hug as she began to cry again. For a moment, he considered reprimanding her for standing against the Prime Sha, against a foe she had no chance to defeat. But then again, how could he scold her for that when he had done the exact same thing? Instead, he smiled gently and stroked her mane. “You’ve more than earned the right to fly,” he soothed quietly. “I’m so proud of you. You stood against the Sha without fear, without despair. And we emerged victorious.”
“I was so afraid…” Scootaloo admitted. “I thought we were both going to die.”
“But you stood your ground anyway,” He reassured her. “Do you remember what I said before? ‘True courage is not moving on without your fears. It is moving on in spite of your fears.’ You felt fear, but stood and fought against it. That is true courage.”
Scootaloo buried herself deeper into Kyle’s neck, still sniffling. Silence descended as the light from the setting sun shone through the window, and then disappeared as the stars emerged and night descended. Kyle felt Scootaloo’s breathing slow, and he glanced over. Sure enough, she was fast asleep, curled up next to him.
A feeling of warmth descended over Kyle, and he couldn’t help but smile. Their friendship had always been strong, ever since he had purged the Sha from her, and watching his student sleeping, Kyle felt an even stronger bond now than he had before.
Love.
It was not the love that linked a parent and their child. Nor was it the love that two lovers would share. This love could only be shared by a mentor and student. A feeling of respect for her talents and ability, forged and tempered by the heat the of battle they had both just survived. A sense of pride for her accomplishments, the overwhelming want to see her succeed even where he had once failed. The desire to protect her from the evils of the world, and yet the knowledge that she would have to one day face them on her own. And the urge to train her, to prepare her for that day.
“She will surpass me one day,” he thought to himself as he closed his eyes, sleep beginning to call to him. “One day very soon. And who, then, shall be the teacher?”