//------------------------------//
// Chapter Eight 
// Story: The Little Sister 
// by Z-A-C 
//------------------------------//


Elaine's POV


I woke up gasping for air, and heard a howl next to the bed. I nearly jumped out of the bed because of it. I looked over and saw Sparky looking at me, whimpering. Wait... A bed? I don't remember falling asleep on a... I don't remember falling asleep at all actually! What happened!? Seth walked in rubbing his eyes. It looked like he hasn't gone to sleep yet. I looked out of the window, and saw that it was still day time.

"It's about four, in case you were wondering." He said as he walked closer. He sat down on the bed. "You better now?"

I sat up and nodded my head, which was a mistake. "Except for this headache, I'm fine." I looked over at him. "What happened to me?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Well, you were acting like a crazy person, and I had to knock you out. Probably why you have a headache..."

"You what!?" I shouted.

"I tried talking to you but it was like you lost in your own little world, saying 'I'm sorry' over and over again." He stood up. "That was all I could do! So please, don't yell at me."

"Sorry."

He sighed. "It's fine, just... Don't say that again for at least a day. At least not to me." I just nodded my head. "Good. I have Twilight coming over to take a look at you, just to make sure there's no mental damage but... I'm glad you're feeling well." He yawned. "I'm going back to bed, Twilight should be here within the next five minutes or so." He started to leave.

"Wait." I said. "Do you want me to let her in?"

"No, she told me that you 'Were under no circumstances, allowed to leave your bed.' She nearly yelled it at me." He shook his head. "But no, either Sparky will let her in, or she'll let herself in. Doesn't matter to me. Sleepy time for me now, wake me up in two hours, okay?"

"Okay." And he left. Sparky followed him out as well, and left me alone. I sighed and laid back down, trying to figure out what to think of this new world.

"Do you not remember anything, mistress?" I suddenly heard a voice, which made me sit up again. "Do not be frightened, it is just me."

"Cassie?"

"Yes mistress."

I rubbed my temples. "Could you please not call me that?"

"What may I call you then?" She asked.

"By my name maybe?"

"Are you sure that's okay?" I just sighed and held my head.

"Nevermind, just do what you wish..."

"Do not worry about this strange world, young mistress. I am sure that your brother can guide you." She said with was an attempt t reassurance.

There was a pause. "I'm not sure I can trust him though..."

"Why not? He is you family, is he not?"

"He is, but he's not like what I expected."

"And? What did you?"

"I don't know not some... Zombie fucker. Necrophilia and bestiality at same time? What kind of creep is he?"

Cassie hummed in thought. "Maybe you have learned too much, too soon. I am sure your brother is trustworthy."

"Is he?" I scoffed at that. "How can you be sure?"

"I can sense it." There was a pause. "The one called Twilight is here, but before I silence myself, may I tell you something?"

"Sure..."

"Do not be so judgmental. You don't know what he has been through to change him so drastically. Talk to him and hear his stories, before acting like your mother."

"What did you just say!?" But there was no response. I'm not acting like mom, am I? Before I could think about that any longer, Twilight walked into the room.

"Hello, Elaine." She greeted warmly. "Seth told me what happened, are you feeling okay?" I nodded my head. "I see. I would like to run some tests."

"Are you a doctor?" I replied in a rude tone.

Twilight took a step back. "Well... no, but I-"

"Twilight just do the tests!!" Seth yelled from the other room. "Elaine, quit being a fuckin' baby and let her! You two are being too loud, and I'm trying to FUCKING SLEEP!!!"

Twilight used her magic(?) to quietly close the door. She chuckled nervously. "Now then, shall we?"

"...Fine..." Twilight's horn lit up, and then so did I. "Is this safe?" I asked.

"Yes, I have had to act as a medic a few times. I have cast this spell on Seth many more times then I would like to admit."

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Medic?"

She nodded her head. "I've had to go out on missions with him, and... Well, he can be clumsy sometimes." She chuckled. "That's not the only reason though." I was going to ask a question, but a full diagram of the human body appeared above me. "Princess Celestia has sent him off on a few dangerous missions," She continued. "And sometimes he would come back a bloody mess."

My eyes widened. "So, he's-"

"Unstoppable? No, but he might like you to think that." She shook her head with a frown. "Undead? Yes. A jerk? Sometimes. A good friend? Most days. But not unstoppable." She sighed. "Through his career, so far, he has been on forty missions in total. Twenty of those were standard Over-Watch missions, protecting my friends and I. Ten are classified, and the other ten myself, or one of my friends, joined him on. Ten out of those forty he's come home injured. And he's come close to dying on the remaining five." Twilight lightly shook her head and looked at the diagram. "Hmm...It seems there are blank spaces that need filled in, but that can wait." There was a pause. "It seems like you're alright. No trauma of any kind! But I do recommend some rest, though." The diagram disappeared, and she looked at me with a smile.

I nodded and sat up. "You said you joined him on ten missions, and on fifteen he was injured or worse?"

Her ears went back as she sighed. "How many were I apart of?" I nodded. "Only five. But I joined him on the one where he almost died."

Seth almost died? "What happened?"

She looked down at the ground. "I don't like to talk about it, but he was probably going to tell you anyway." She sighed. "It was actually our first mission together, long before I became a princess. We were sent to the Badlands to investigate a new Changeling Hive. Everything was going well, and what intel we had was correct. We were investigating after all, so we didn't have much." She paused and I remained silent. After a few seconds she continued. "They were extremely hostile. As soon as we told them who we were, they swarmed us. We fought for so long that Seth ran out of ammunition, and had to switch to his knife. By that time, I had already tapped into my magic reserves. And I was running out, fast. We got separated, and I got outnumbered.

"By that point my magic reserves were empty, and I was getting beat up pretty bad. I'm not really a hoof-to-hoof combat type of pony, being a unicorn and all. I called for help, and there was this massive roar. I thought it was another enemy, but then Seth barreled through them and stood over me."

"He protected you..."

She nodded her head. "Long enough for me to regain enough magic to teleport out of there. And that took fifteen minutes." She held up a hoof to stop me when I opened my mouth. "I know it doesn't sound like long, but it was intense. Intense, stationary fighting. The last thing I saw before I retreated, was the Hive's Queen behind him."

"You just left him there?!"

She shook her head with a stern expression on her face. "I would never!!" She yelled, causing my to wince. "Besides, He would have killed me if I had. No, as soon as I was able, I provided sniper support for him. I kept the Changelings from getting to him while he battled the Queen. He had to use some pretty crude and desperate strategies." She saw my questioning stare. "Throwing sand in they're eyes and others, but they started using countermeasures. He got angry and won the battle. He killed all of the drones, he spared some of the females or so he tells me. But the last time we went there, the remaining all starved to death..." She shook her head. "Anyway, Seth collapsed and I teleported over to him, and... From everything I have learned, he really should have died while has was protecting me. The stab wounds, magical injuries, the blood loss! There is absolutely no reason he should be alive today. That's the first time I had to act as a medic."

"How did he win?" I couldn't help but ask.

Twilight winced at the question. "He... ripped the Queen's head off." I felt my eyes widen. "He broke the exoskeleton around her neck, grabbed her horn and an ear, and just started pulling. He didn't stop until muscle and tissue tore away and the spine snapped. All the while have spells being thrown at him and being stabbed with horns, on top of all of his other injuries..." She shook her head. "That's the mission where he almost and should have died on." She sighed and smiled. "But I'm glad he didn't, I don't know what I would have done if he did." There was a long awkward silence for awhile after she told her story. Twilight suddenly  took a deep breath and looked up. "But the true miracle is: Seth still likes Changelings."

"Even after all that?!" Twilight nodded her head. "How?!?!"

"I honestly don't know. Us ponies hated them for invading Canterlot, and we didn't see that type of hostility! Not even anywhere close. And yet Seth recovers and is released from the hospital, and the first thing he does is go to our Changelings friends' house and hangs out with them for an hour!" She shook her head with a sigh. "Anyway, you need rest. Try to take a nap and I'll be back to check on you in an hour, okay?" I just nodded my head. "Great! See you then!"






Seth's POV


I woke up to the front door closing. I groaned as I got out of bed. I opened my door and walked into the kitchen. After drinking a cup of water, I walked back towards my room. I heard talking from Elaine's room, so I went over to the door and knocked. "Come in." A tired voice said. I opened the door and walked in, Twilight was having Elaine fill in the blanks on the medical diagram.

"Having fun?" I asked with a small grin on my face.

"Just finishing up, actually." Twilight said and turned to me. "Why are you awake? It's only been two hours."

I shrugged. "I don't know, but it doesn't matter." I gestured to Elaine. "How is she?"

"Why don't you just ask me yourself?" Elaine said in an annoyed tone.

I raised an eyebrow at the tone, but didn't say anything. Twilight cleared her throat. "She fine. Everything looks perfectly normal as far as I can tell."

"Hospital?"

She shook her. "No, she's fine to walk around."

"Cool. Thanks Twilight."

She nodded her head. "No problem. I have to go, will you be visiting when you give her the tour?"

I nodded my head. "Probably."

She smiled. "See you then!" And she left. I turned towards Elaine.

"I'm going to make a few sandwiches, eat, and then we can leave afterwards. Is that okay with you?"

She nodded her head. "Where are we going to first?"

"Match and Ganger's house." I said as I left and walked toward the kitchen. I hope it goes well.