//------------------------------// // 21 The Guardsmen Come // Story: Not Your Average HiE Story // by Aegis Steelshield //------------------------------// Twilight finishes the letter, and sends it off, before sitting down next to me. She opens and shuts her mouth a few times, before settling on hugging me. "I'm sorry you got hurt saving us." I take a moment to think, before shaking my head. "It's fine. Live and learn. Stop letting things hit me." RD snorts. "You... You let things hit you?" It's the first time she's smiled since we got out of that mess. "Well, yeah. Do you really think I'd take a hit if I didn't? I move at near super sonic speeds." I roll my eyes at her. "Why in darnations would you let something hit you?" AJ asks. "I like to let my enemies know they don't stand a chance." I say, raising the ax, "But, if they have things like this... Probably shouldn't. Doesn't seem so smart anymore." The joke gets a few soft chuckles, and I can't help but smile. "So... What now?" RD asks. "Do... Do we just let them get away with foalnapping us...?" There's a clear tone of worry in her voice. "My brother knows about it now. I... He'll likely rouse the guard, and take care of it." "Yeah, about this brother of yours? When are you going to tell us about him?" Rarity asks, leaning in with a wolfish grin. "It... Never came up." She says weakly, blushing. "Okay," I begin, frowning, "Disregarding Sparkle's family issues-" "Hey!" "-I think it's important to find out where this came from. If it's griffon, then those dogs didn't make it. Either someone sold it to them, or they stole it." I twist the blade around with my good hand. "I hate to say it, but I'm going to have to go back, and explore those caves." "You aren't going to go alone." Rainbow says forcefully, as Applejack nods. Almost like she senses what I was about to do, Fluttershy hops onto my lap. She stared into my soul, and in a soft voice, she says, "No. You aren't leaving, not right now, and not alone. You are going to stay here, let me finish your hand, and then you're going to be checked out by the medic that comes with Twilight's brother. Let me see your hand." My hand glides to her all on it's on, and she breaks eye contact. I glance down, and see that my hand's bled through the bandages all ready. "This isn't healing fast enough, we need to find a way to stop the bleeding. Stitches won't work, so... We need to cauterize it." Seeing me flinch at the thought didn't do their bravado any favors. Just a few weeks ago, a house fire broke out in the middle of a storm. I ended up trapped in a collapsed building, and was gravely injured. Luckily, whatever rules this universe has, one of them kicked my natural healing up a few notches, and all that's left to remind me are some wicked scars across my body. Even those seem to be fading with each passing week. I take my good hand, and run it down the wicked scarring, sighing deeply. Taking another deep breath, I steadied my nerves. "No. I've had worse, and healed fine. Give me the bandages, and I'll rebind it." Leaning over to take the meager first aid kit, Fluttershy took my hand. "Nighthawk... Please." She whispers softly, looking into my eyes. She looked sad, and lonely. In that moment, I don't think I could of said no. Luckily, that moment, a loud crack, and a burst of light appeared outside of the library. Several armored ponies pushed their way into Fluttershy's home, standing on the sides of the room. A unicorn in purple armor enters slowly, eyes narrowed. His gaze lands on Twilight, and she lets out a soft gasp. "Shiny..." She whispers. "Twily." His voice sounds strained. "I was so worried. Are you okay?" "I am... Thanks to Nighthawk." She nods to me, and I lift my hand in greeting. He looks me over, before standing aside, and looking at a smaller Earth Pony mare. "Private, get him some salve for his hand. I'll debrief the Elements." He turned his attention back to my friends. "I need you to line up, and head outside. I need to know what happened, and how." They slipped outside as the Earth Pony stepped forward. "Private Mayflower." She introduced herself, with a slight bow. "May I?" She gently reached for my hand, and I offered it. She applied some sort of clear ointment, that made the hand tingle. She tightly bound the wound with clean bandages. "It's a general antiseptic." She said in a soft, calming voice. "It'll prevent infection." Looking at her for a moment, I nodded. "Thanks." I replied in a slightly less gruff tone. She gave a soft smile, before returning to her comrades. They seemed to be checking the cottage for anything the dogs might of left behind. I relaxed in my seat, rubbing the bridge of my nose with my good hand. Before long, I was asleep.