If You Hear Me, Let Me Know

by SolidFire

Get Well Soon

Get Well Soon

Steel slowly opened his eyes. His head throbbed, and he desperately needed a glass of water. Much to his delight, he found one on the nightstand next to his bed. He looked around the room he was in, and it didn't take him long to figure out that he was in a hospital.

Buuuuck...What did I do this time? he thought to himself. He heard gentle breathing below him. He leaned over the side of the bed to get a look, and his eyes shot open.

"Autumn?" he whispered. He rubbed his eyes, noticing the bandages on his right foreleg. When he looked back down, she was still there, sleeping soundly on the floor. After a more careful inspection of her, he noticed a bandage just above her left eye. A feeling of regret flooded through him, but he never took his eyes off of her.

She's so cute when she's curled up like that, he thought with a smile. He lowered his head and looked away. I don't deserve her. He heard the door to his room open, and when he looked up he saw Winter Wind standing in the doorway.

"You're awake," Winter began. "Autumn will be pleased to know that."

Steel was disturbed by the lack of emotion in Winter's voice. He couldn't bear to look him in the eye.

"You should take her home. She deserves better than to be stuck in a room with me," Steel responded. Winter sighed.

"Steel, I don't know why you did what you did, but Autumn has faith in you. If her faith is well placed, there won't be any problem between you and me. If you hurt her again..." Winter gave Steel a stare that seemed to pierce through his soul, his eyes unwavering. "If you hurt her again, I’d better not see you anywhere near her. Do you understand?"

Steel looked away. He couldn't meet Winter's gaze. "Then you should just take her home. I... don't want her to be around if... if I lose it again."

The voices of the ponies in the room talking slowly brought Autumn out of her sleep. She looked around the room, soon noticing her father's icy gaze and followed it to Steel. As soon as she saw that Steel was awake, she hopped up and stepped away from the bed. "Steel... how are you feeling?"

Steel brought his gaze to meet Autumn's, but immediately drew it away.

"I... Autumn..." He felt his eyes welling with tears. He didn't care anymore, he just wanted her to know how he felt. "Autumn, I'm so sorry. For whatever it's worth, I can't tell you how awful I feel. I—" Steel wasn't able to finish his sentence before Autumn had wrapped her forelegs around him in the most loving embrace he had ever remembered receiving.

"I'm so happy you're back, Steel." Autumn had buried her face into Steel's chest, his coat getting wet from the joyful tears streaming down her face. "I was so worried about you. Please Steel, tell me what's going on. I want to help you."

Steel was overwhelmed with emotion. He wrapped his forelegs around Autumn's back. Why is she doing this? Is it possible that she still cares about me? She should hate me for what I did to her...

"I'm okay now, Autumn. It's over. Well, it almost is. I don't—"

Autumn pulled away from Steel. It didn't take a genius to see that she was pissed. "No. You're done keeping me out of the loop. Steel, tell me what's going on so I can help you."

Steel felt anger well inside him, but it quickly subsided. He gave in to his defeat with a resigned sigh. "All right, I'll tell you. It's a long story though..."

---

Scootaloo trotted through Ponyville with a bag in her mouth. Inside the bag were eleven delicious pastry treats; she had bought a dozen, but that apple fritter looked WAY too good to pass up.

"Where you headed with that bag, Scoot?"

"Jimmy, I'm pretty sure it's not for you."

"It won't be if I don't ask, Sweets."

Scootaloo laughed at Sweetie and Jimmy's argument. It always warmed her heart seeing the two of them together. "I’m fickim up Fteel fir—"

"Scoot? You might be able to talk better if you set the bag down."

Scootaloo gave Sweetie Belle a knowing glance, and she nodded before enveloping Jimmy with a magical aura. Scootaloo set the bag down and Jimmy attempted to lunge for it, making no progress. "Dammit Sweets, let me go! That looks delicious!"

"You have a problem, Jimmy! They're bucking pastries!"

"No, they're bucking AMAZING pastries!" he cried out, struggling in desperation.

Scootaloo laughed. Jimmy's addiction to Sugarcube Corner pastries was well known amongst Ponyville citizens, and it was no surprise he had tried to take her treat for Steel at his first opportunity.

"Sorry Jimmy, these are for Steel and me. We're going to have a nice ‘brother-sister bonding day’ to celebrate his release from the hospital," Scootaloo explained.

Jimmy and Sweetie each gave Scootaloo a curious look. "What's Steel in the hospital for?" Sweetie asked.

"Why are you bringing him Sugarcube Corner for that?" Jimmy asked. Sweetie Belle hit Jimmy on the top of the head.

"Does it matter? Her brother is in the bucking hospital!"

"But—"

Sweetie and Scootaloo facehoofed simultaneously, stopping Jimmy from finishing his sentence.

"To answer your question, Sweets, Steel hurt himself last night. Pretty badly."

A look of concern washed over Sweetie Belle's face. "What happened?"

Scootaloo sighed. She hated thinking about what her brother had done. "He cut himself. And he dug pretty deep. He didn't hit an artery, but he lost a fair amount of blood."

Sweetie and Jimmy's jaws dropped. "Sweet Celestia, is he okay?!" Sweetie Belle almost screamed.

"He's better now, but he's been asleep for the last sixteen hours." As if on cue, Scootaloo yawned. "And I haven't been."

Sweetie Belle and Jimmy jumped to Scootaloo's side. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at the couple. "What are you two doing?" she asked.

"We're going to see Steel with you. Duh," Sweetie responded. Jimmy nodded.

"What she said."

"I think I'd rather—"

"You begin that sentence as if we're giving you a choice," Sweetie responded.

"I appreciate the offer, but—"

"Scoot, we're more worried about Steel than you. We know you can handle this, you're a grown mare. Steel's still a colt. We want him to know that he has our support," Jimmy cut in.

"Whether he likes it or not," Sweetie Belle finished, nodding in agreement.

Scootaloo smiled, finally relenting to their insistence. It was times like that when she was happy she had the friends she did. "Thanks. I'm sure it will mean a lot to Steel. As long as Jimmy can stay somewhat mature through it all."

"I think I can manage," Jimmy said. Although he enjoyed goofing around as much as the rest of Iron Pony, he did know when the time called for him to be a stallion... most of the time anyway.

"Well, now that it's settled, I say we get going!" Sweetie chirped. Scootaloo was surprised to see her skipping along like she was a foal again. She then understood when she watched Sweetie and Jimmy lean against each other as they walked.

That's gonna last... and I'm okay with it, Scootaloo thought to herself with a smile.

---

It wasn't long before the three ponies were making their way down the halls of the hospital to Steel's room. Upon opening the door, they immediately noticed two things: One was a large white stallion who stood completely speechless while staring at Steel. The other was a small filly quietly sobbing into Steel's chest.

Oh no...He told them...Well, this is gonna be interesting, Scootaloo thought to herself. She trotted over to Steel's bed and set the pastry bag down next to him and Autumn.

"You lovebirds hungry?" she asked nonchalantly.

Autumn and Steel looked up at Scootaloo, but didn't say anything. Steel gave Scootaloo a look that said "Give us a minute." Scootaloo responded with a look that said "Okay, but just one."

Scootaloo stepped back and watched the scene unfold. It was strange for her to see, and she wasn't sure what to feel. It was heartwarming to see that Steel had opened up to somepony outside of their family about what was going on, but she knew there was something going on inside of Steel's head that nopony else could see. Scootaloo opted to worry, just as any sister would. For now she kept it to herself, knowing she’d talk to him about it later. She was about to step forward when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned to see Winter Wind motioning with his head for her to follow him outside. Scootaloo obliged. She imagined he would have a lot to ask.

Scootaloo stepped outside of the room and gently closed the door behind her. She gave him a knowing glance. "Steel told you and Autumn our family history, didn't he?" Scootaloo started. Winter nodded.

"For two ponies as young as you and your brother are... that's enough to break most ponies."

Scootaloo let out a bitter laugh. "Believe me, we're no exception. You know what Steel did, and I still get a voice in my head whenever I do something wrong."

"How do you two keep going? I don't think I could stay on my hooves after what you've been through."

"When I was a filly, I went through a lot of therapy. I actually kept going until I was 19. Steel went through a series of therapy and anger management classes, but he wouldn't open up enough for the professionals to be much help. Really though, the most important thing for both of us is our strong support net that our close friends provide. Steel hasn't had too much of that because he won't open up to anypony though. I'm surprised he opened up to you and Autumn. I'm glad, but I'm very surprised."

"I don't think either of us were ready to hear that story. I can't imagine going through that even now, let alone when I was his age. It still doesn't excuse what he did to my daughter, but I think I can overlook that if he gets proper care."

Scootaloo sighed. She wanted Winter to know that her brother wasn't a bad colt, but she knew that by "proper care" he meant professional help.

"We're not sending him to a professional. We've tried that many times before, and every time ended with him in a worse state than he started in. We're going to help him as his family. That's what he needs. I just wish we had figured it out sooner. Maybe we could have prevented all this."

Winter was obviously displeased with Scootaloo's response. "Now, Miss Dash. I appreciate what you're trying to do for your brother, but he needs a professional. I can't imagine what he's gone through, but—"

"Then you can't possibly know what he needs. Don't try to tell me how to handle this again." Scootaloo knew that Winter was trying to convince her to give Steel the best help he could get, but there were some things a pony had to experience to understand. Winter had no idea what was going on in Steel's head, but Scootaloo did. And she knew that no professional was going to be able to convince Steel to open up and allow them to help.

Winter took a step back. It was obvious he had crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed, and he knew when to quit. He nodded politely.

"I can't begin to understand what you and your family are going through right now. If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know."

Scootaloo smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Wind. I appreciate that."

Winter nodded. Deciding there was nothing left to discuss, he walked back into Steel's room. Scootaloo followed close behind. She wished that Lightning didn't have to coach right then. It would have been nice to be able to lean on him for a while.

---

"Gentlecolts! I'm sure you're all aware that the stallion next to me has been shadowing me while I coached you all for the last couple of days!" Soarin' began. As he expected, his racers stood in line, but were goofing around instead of listening to him. He sighed. He was too old for this. "If you want to be a part of the next race, you're going to turn your attention to me right now!" he barked. His racers immediately snapped to attention. That was better. "Now that I have your attention, I'd like to introduce you to our new assistant coach! His name is Lightning Spark! He—"

"Duh, we know who Lightning Spark is, Coach. You don't have to tell us that."

Soarin' nodded to Lightning. Lightning kept a stone face as he walked toward the colt who had spoken out of turn.

"Do you know what my job is, son?" Lightning asked. The colt snickered.

"Son? You're what, ten years older than me and you're calling me—"

"MY JOB IS TO KICK YOUR ASS SO HARD THAT AT THE END OF PRACTICE YOU WON'T HAVE AN ASS TO KICK!" Lightning roared. The colt reflexively took a step back and lifted a hoof to protect his face. "Now, seeing as you have so kindly offered, why don't you demonstrate a Sunshine for me!" Lightning opted to use a bark for that order. The colt raised an eyebrow at Lightning.

"The buck is a Sunshine?"

Lightning grinned. It was going to be a fun couple of hours.

---

Lightning and Soarin' watched as worn out colts dragged themselves off of the practice field. For the most part, the racers liked Lightning—when he wasn't drilling them into the dirt.

"Nice work out there, Lightning. I think this group actually respects you," Soarin' started as they walked back to the locker room.

"Thanks Soarin'. I must say, I really enjoyed myself out there."

"I could tell. You did surprisingly well considering how distracted you were."

Lightning raised an eyebrow at Soarin'. "How did you know I was distracted?"

"Please Lightning, I could always read you like a book. What's on your mind?"

Lightning shifted. Steel was a little brother to him, and he didn't want to betray his trust. But Lightning also knew that what Steel needed now more than anything was a father figure. And nopony fit the bill better than Soarin'. "It's about Steel. Last night he... hurt himself."

"Oh? Is he alright?"

Lightning sighed. He stopped walking.

"I'd prefer it if this conversation didn't reach the ears of the colts on the team."

Soarin' nodded knowingly. "Alright Lightning, what happened?"

Lightning sighed again. "Steel... cut himself. I don't know everything, but from what I've gathered from Scootaloo's parents he felt he needed to punish himself for hitting his fillyfriend."

Soarin' nodded. If he felt any emotion from what he was being told, he wasn't showing it.

"I think what he needs more than anything right now is a father figure," Lightning continued. "He's had a lot of issues ever since he realized his father is dead, and I don't think he'll get over them without somepony playing the dad role. I've tried to step up and do that, but I'm too young to be anything more than an older brother."

Soarin' nodded. He had always maintained a close relationship with his father, so the prospect of growing up without one was something he couldn't stand the thought of.

"I think I could help with that," Soarin' said.

Lightning raised an eyebrow at Soarin'. "Are you sure about that? You already have your daughter to take care of, and—"

"Nonsense, Lightning. I'm always ready to help. Besides, Shy and I have another one on the way. If it's a colt, I want to have some practice."

Lightning's jaw dropped. "Wait, you and Fluttershy are having another foal?!"

Soarin' winced. "Keep it down, Lightning. We're waiting to make that announcement at Pinkie's next party. Besides, that's not the important part. If Steel's interested, tell him to meet me at my house tomorrow at eight in the morning. I'd like to spend some time with him."

Lightning smiled. He was incredibly happy with Soarin's offer. "I'll let him know."

Soarin' grinned. "Well, now that we have that settled, what do you say to some scotch and a cigar?"

"Yes to the scotch, no to the cigar. If I come home smelling like smoke Scoots is going to be pissed."

"Mares are such a pain sometimes, aren't they?" Soarin' said with a laugh.

"Yes, yes they are. I'll take you up on that cigar on a later date."

"Sounds like a plan."

Comments

[Celesteon]

Every creature, simmer down; it was about a year since chapter 15 of this book was updated, and some of us have been waiting fof its conclusion for years. Be patient

[CrimsonWalker]

Cool an update. Will read later.

[Nolamancy]

Oh. My. F***.

I thought this story had gone stagnant. I didn't really expect to see an update.

Good job. Keep up the good work.

[jxj]

Excellent, i'm glad to see you're still working on this a bit. I do have a question. Have you taken over writing from the original author yet? I don't remember this chapter being in the original.

[SolidFire]

9711802
I have not taken over writing this, nor do I really intend to do so. I've just been polishing up the chapters that he'd written. I don't actually know how many more are left. I'll try to put less than a year between the updates until it's done though.

~SolidFire

[jxj]

9712706

I have not taken over writing this, nor do I really intend to do so

ahh. I have no recollection of this chapter from back in the day so I wasn't sure.

I'll try to put less than a year between the updates until it's done though.

That's good to hear.

[Astral Empyrean]

Woo! New chapter! I've been following this for years at this point. :P

[PonyofEntropy]

Just found this series. Interesting read. Is it over? I’m assuming yes, since no more updates. Hope I’m wrong.