Rising Sun

by Jet Howitzer

Chapter 32: An Explanation

You floated peacefully through the depths of your mind, content to flow where the will of the world took you. You spread your wings, and through vistas more beautiful than you could imagine, you flew. You soared effortlessly, knowing that all before you was your domain. Sadly, knowledge of being in a dream does nothing to aid you in waking. For a time you rebelled against the confines of your mind, demanding release.

It was for naught, though. You were trapped inside your mind, unable to reach anypony, and unable to be reached by anypony. After what felt like an eternity you had descended deeper into your mind, trying to make sense of who you were. What you found disturbed you. You found a tiny part of your mind that was blocked off, even to you. It manifested itself as a black sphere, simply floating against the serene background of your mind.

All of your attempts at accessing it were met with failure. You stood before it, and just stared. As you stared at it, you noticed a small crack running along its otherwise flawless surface. You slammed a hoof against it, and the small crack began to spread. A smile graced your lips, and you pulled back to pound against it once more. Before you can hit it, though, a purple aura surrounds you, and you hear an exclamation of success.

You opened your eyes, and you were blinded by a massive light above. Blinking rapidly, to clear your vision, you heard several voices coming from around you. You can’t make any of them out clearly, but they all sound excited. As your vision finally clears, you sit up, and wince in pain. Every head in the room looks your way, and you see Pinkie, her five closest friends, Daring Do, and even Luna.

“What happened?” Your throat feels exceedingly dry, but you manage to choke out your words.

Pinkie is the first to respond. “You saved me from that pony.” She is on the verge of tears, but she manages to hold it in. “When you told me to run, I did. I got help as fast as I could, but by the time we made it to where I saw you last you were gone. I didn’t know where to go next, but I ran through town till I found you outside of the Library. There was so much…” She can’t finish, but you can imagine what she saw.

Twilight speaks up next, elaborating on what happened. “I heard Pinkie shout out, and when I came out you were on the ground next to some black pony I had never seen before. At first I thought that it was the other pony’s blood, but when I looked closer I saw a huge cut on your back. I got you to the hospital as quickly as I could, using teleportation spells.”

“How long have I been out for? And could I get some water? My throat feels like sandpaper.”

Applejack hands you a small glass of water, and you quickly down it. Rarity answers your question, though. “Well, it’s been almost a full day. The only reason you’re awake now is because Luna was around.”

Luna takes a step forward, and she gives you a small smile. “After your visit to the farm I wanted to see how the other Elements were doing, and I happened to find them all here. When I discovered why they were here I knew that I needed to do something. I can’t just let you die, now can I?”

“Thank you, Princess.”

“Well, it wasn’t all my work. I merely closed the wound. Were it not for Miss Pie you would likely be unconscious still, or worse.” You raise an eyebrow, and she elaborates. “She donated blood to help you recover. Your body was dangerously close to being past the point of no return. You had lost almost forty percent of your blood. Were it not for Pinkie’s donation you may not have even made it.”

You just look at Pinkie, and she blushes. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you, is all I can think to say, but that doesn’t even seem enough.” You try to sit up straighter, but the pain in your back prevents it.

“Please don’t try to rise. The cut on your back did do quite a bit of damage, and I’ve only just recently finished mending the muscles. Given your stubborn nature, though, I’d say that you can be up and about in a few hours. Just wait for Celestia to arrive, and then you can go.” As Luna finishes, she turns to go. “Now, though, I must return to Canterlot. The nobility tends to grow restless when neither me, nor my sister, are present in the castle.” She gracefully makes her way out of the room, and the attention of all six mares shifts back to you.

“So, what happened, exactly? We heard what happened before you saved Pinkie, but what happened afterwards?” Rainbow speaks up, her voice lacking its usual confident edge.

“I heard a scream as I was heading back to my house, after my visit to Daring. Rushing to the scene, I saw Pinkie being attacked by that black stallion. I swept in, and stopped him from hurting Pinkie. When she ran, I readied myself to fight. He said something about coming here to kill somepony. He managed to get me, but at the time I didn’t realize just how serious it was.

“He managed to get away from me after a brief struggle, and then I took flight to catch him. I tackled him to the ground where you found us, and then I passed out. The last thing I can remember seeing is a pink blur.” You look at Pinkie, and you can see the tear on her face. You have no doubt that it was her, but you were amazed at just how fast she had found you. Or, perhaps, how long you had been lying on the ground before passing out.

“Who was that mysterious pony that I tackled, anyway?”

“Nopony knows. Your hit knocked him out, and he hasn’t managed to recover yet,” Twilight answers. “Although the doctors have told us that as soon as he wakes we’ll be informed.” As Twilight finishes a soft knock comes from the door. Every head shifts to look at the newcomer, and it is none other than Princess Celestia herself. All six mares bow, but you look on, unable to bow. Not that you would, but that’s besides the point.

“Rise, my little ponies. I came by to see how our hero fares after his valiant rescue of Pinkie.”

“Well, I have a new scar, and a throbbing pain in my back, but other than that I’m feeling peachy keen.” Your voice drips sarcasm, but Celestia shrugs it off.

“Good to see that your humor survived intact. Now, please explain to me what happened.” You go through the events once more, and Celestia listens patiently through your explanation. Just as you finish a doctor comes into the room.

“Our mysterious pony just woke up.” The princess is the first to respond.

“I’ll see to him. You six stay here.” She follows the doctor out of the room, and you lay back on the bed, still feeling tired. Quite some time passes, all of it in silence. You are just looking at the ceiling, when you hear the faint sounds of hoofsteps. You look to the door, and you see Celestia coming in. She looks at the others in the room, before she looks at you. Only then do you notice that all six mares have fallen asleep in the room. They’ve probably been up since I was hospitalized…

Celestia makes her way next to you, and she gives you a small smile. “He wasn’t here for any of you. He was sent by a stallion that your grandmother upset quite some time ago. Something about some artifact, or another. It’s nothing to be worried about.”

“But my grandmother is in danger, of course there’s something to be worried about.” You’re both keeping your voices low, but the urgency in your voice is unmistakable.

“I spoke with her, and she says that she’ll be fine. She may be old, but she’s still got quite a bit of fight left in her.”

“But what if…” You stop as Celestia shakes her head.

“She’s been dealing with this for the past sixty years. I’m confident she’ll be fine. You, on the other hand, really need to stop being hospitalized all the time. Your bills are adding up, and I’d much rather not have to pay for them all.”

“You’ve been paying for my trips here? I thought I just had a running tab, or something.” You chuckle a bit at the absurdity of your statement.

“No, I have been paying for your trips to the hospital, but I’d appreciate it if you could come here just a bit less often. I don’t much like having to spend so much on you.”

“I’ll do what I can to avoid coming here, but I’ll have you know that I never come here on purpose, and it is always for a good reason.”

“I can’t argue with that. Now, get some rest. I trust that you’ll be able to explain what I told you to the others?”

“Of course.” With that Celestia made her way out of the room, and you laid back, ready to get some rest. I was certain that Discord would be behind this. Ah, well. I’m not going to complain.

You quickly fall asleep once more, this time to calm dreams, and a lack of mysterious floating orbs.

Comments

[Mcyav]

Boom! That was a nice chapter, at least it keeps 'me' up to speed on events.

[Melancholy]

OMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM
chzbronies.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-brony-i-cant-eat-them-fast-enough.png

[Jet Howitzer]

508552 I... What?

[skyscraper123]

HAhASJHAhAHgasfssdgnksdngkjsdfhHAHAHAHAHASSDKSKDFJNSKFJHNAHAHGHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!AHAHAHAHAHHAH508552

[Jet Howitzer]

508681 I still don't understand!

[skyscraper123]

508686 I don't either but it is still funny as FyayK

[FIREDRA6ON]

Why was the black pony attacking Pinkie if he wanted to kill Daring Do/Grandma?

[Jet Howitzer]

509553 Pinkie got in the way. Circumstances led to him finding Pinkie first, and since she's never seen him before, she wanted to throw a party for him...

[Viper9172]

508552 Eh, Que? What...what? What am I looking at?

[Hearthfire]

508552
Wut?

[Lazaro Sol]

But I like mysterious floating orbs

[Lucky424]

Is it that blue monkey cat thing?

[NightDancer]

509553. Idk... doesn't like the color pink?