Strange Yet Wonderful

by Bionic Slime

Ch. 31 Visiting Hours

Chapter 31: Visiting Hours

“Ah, Count Crescent; Lady Kuru,” the cloaked pony mused, “We’ve been expecting you. I trust you understand that once this begins, there is no turning back. Do you still wish to proceed?”

Count Crescent looked to his wife nervously. He was a tall, firmly built colt with royal blue colored fur and grass green hair. His goatee was strangely enough; a few shades darker green than his hair. The count wore a gold rimmed monocle across one of his teal eyes. A wood colored vest adorned his upper torso, silver trim adorning the collar and cuffs. The stallion’s cutie mark was a faint yellow crescent moon. The mark also had two silver shapes that resembled eyes: one was on the moon itself and the other was next to it on the flank’s open surface.

Lady Kuru was rather short compared to her husband. Her vibrant, reddish brown hair shimmered brightly next to her husband’s goatee. Kuru’s fur was a creamy yellow color, fainter than Fluttershy’s color but darker in tone. The wrinkles in her cheeks and under her eyes indicated great deal of stress from tears flowing recently. Her lavender eyes were filled with overwhelming fear and agony. Kuru’s cutie mark displayed the iconic comedy and tragedy masks, each mask displayed artistic amalgamations of black and white color schemes. A small bundle wrapped in a white silk sheet was being carried in Kuru’s hooves.

“Yes, we understand the risks of this ritual Lord Cabal,” Crescent explained, “but I want it made clear that we are NOT doing this because we believe in your ideals. Were only doing this because we have no other choice and if we wait any longer, it’ll be too late.”

“Here…this is the part where everything falls apart.”

“I’m right here with you Moonstruck Just take a deep breath, we’re in this together.”

KABOOM!

As a tower of light burst from the confines of the summoning circle, the cult members gaped in awe of their long awaited success. The energy grew stronger, larger; building more and more magical force around the child.

“It’s happening…it’s really happening,” Cabal whispered hoarsely. He was overwhelmed with pure joy. Everything the society had worked to accomplish was finally taking shape.

Count Crescent looked to Lady Kuru. They nodded secretly to one another.

BZZT!

The count blasted the cultists away from the circle with a gravity spell from his horn. Lady Kuru rushed into the circle, stuck her hooves into the glowing tower of light and grabbed her child.

“W-w-wait a minute, what’s going on?”

“What do you mean? Isn’t this what you remembered?”

“No…this part’s different. I just remember an explosion and everyone dying. This must be what I was missing; the gaps in my memories.”

“NO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!? You can’t interrupt the process NOW!” Cabal shouted fearfully. His stunned eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Kuru and Crescent took their baby from the circle and ran for the exit. “Stop them before they kill us all!” he commanded.

The cultists overcame their shock and charged after the fleeing ponies. Crescent used his magic to drop stalactites from the ceiling to slow them down. Kuru kept her child close up against her chest. Bright glowing energy surged from his tiny body.

“Were almost there, I can see the exit,” Crescent said.

A flash of teleporting cultists cut off the family’s escape route. They were surrounded by a sea of black robes and scowling faces. Kuru and Crescent kept their backs pressed against each other; the mare still keeping her radiating son against her breast.

“You IDIOTS,” Cabal stormed towards the couple; glaring enraged eyes towards Kuru and her son. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!? You’ve killed us all!”

“This was never about us Cabal; you knew that from the beginning. This was always about our son,” Crescent said.

The infant Moonstruck started to cry. The light emanating from his body grew brighter and brighter, lightning and thunderous fissures started erupting all around them. Kuru knew she couldn’t hold onto him much longer.

“Disrupting the spell has brought about disastrous consequences. Not just for us but for your little brat as well, there’s no telling what will happen to him now,” Cabal snapped.

A number of cultists panicked and ran towards the exit. The unicorn’s teleported while the Pegasai flew; all ignorant to the fact they could not escape their inevitable fate.

“Yes, there is,” Kuru said proudly. She unwrapped the glowing bundle and looked at the small, purple infant with green hair; crying and wailing. Crescent smiled alongside his wife. “He will live,” she crooned as she kissed his forehead; one last time. “That’s all we ever wanted for you little Moon Pie…for you to live.”

The explosion instantly vaporized the loving couple and the cult leader. Scorching shockwaves engulfed every member of the Horn and Wing Society; obliterating them completely and leaving nothing left but piles of ashes…and the child.

The scene froze like a photograph. Twilight and Moonstruck stood amongst the tomb like cave; idly strolling through the living memory.

He sniffed back his tears. A few splashed onto his hooves, he shook his head and tried to compose himself.

“They didn’t give up on me, they didn’t just let those monsters have me…they tried to save me…and I…and I,” he sobbed miserably. He couldn’t get the words out without crumbling into a heavy sob.

“It wasn’t you. It was them and only them; okay?”

He nodded to Twilight.

“I’m glad you got to see this Moonstruck, but more importantly, I’m glad I got to see this with you. Because now you can see what I’ve always seen from the beginning: you are a good soul and are not capable of murder. All these lives lost were not your fault, just like Khan wasn’t either. Your parents loved you more than anything else in this world and I know they’d gladly give their lives up again if they could if it meant you got to grow up to be the pony you are today.”

Moonstruck wanted to speak but couldn’t. He smiled sadly to his beloved princess and nodded once more. It was the best he could offer right now.

“Wiser words have never been spoken, son. You’d do well to listen to your beloved.”

“I’m still tripping out over the fact our boy bagged a princess. Talk about a crowning achievement!”

The scenery morphed into a blanket of endless blackness. The grizzly graveyard of ashes and despair vanished in the blink of an eye. Moonstruck and Twilight turned curiously towards the sound of the two new approaching voices.

One was male; proper, dignified and had an elegant Canterlot-esque tone. The other was female; giggly, playful and full of pig like snorts.

“I d-d-don’t believe it. It’s…it’s…my parents,” he said breathlessly.

Out of the shadows appeared Count Crescent and Lady Kuru. They approached the purple pair as if they were just as alive as any other pony. The unicorn couple smiled fondly at their stammering son.

“This is unbelievable! We’re looking at actual living memory spectrographs: memory images that retain the essence of their forms. Even I wasn’t able to accomplish that when I flashed back to Celestia and Luna at the tree of harmony,” Twilight exclaimed.

Crescent was prepared to comment but was interrupted by the sounds of Kuru’s snorting laughter. He groaned dully at his wife’s uncontrollable snickering. She placed her hoof over her mouth in a vain attempt to keep her giggling down. Twilight and Moonstruck failed to see what was so funny.

“It’s been a long time my son, but finally at last; here you stand,” Crescent beamed. The stuffy unicorn closely examined his son. He pulled back and chuckled softly; pleased with what he saw. “What a fine young man you’ve grown into,” he said with pride.

“Come give your momma a hug! Don’t be shy now,” Kuru squealed. She grabbed her son by the neck rather forcefully and nuzzled his face against her neck and upper chest. She sighed contently despite her son’s resistant wriggling. Kuru examined Moonstruck’s hair and burst into another series of giggles.

“GAH MOM, have you always been this crazy? Geez! What’s with the hair?” he asked; wrestling himself free from her abrasive bear hug.

“Oh, sorry about that, it’s just I wanted to see if what they said is true. And it turns out it is!”

“See if what was true?” Twilight asked.

“To see if the grass is greener on the other side!”

Kuru burst into a sea of hyena like laughter. She clutched her hooves over her chest and barreled over; laughing harder and elbowing her husband in the side. He grunted gruffly at her laughing fit.

“You get it? You get it? Because he’s on the other side and he’s alive and-”

“Yes, I got it honey, thank you!”

Twilight and Moonstruck glanced at one another and shrugged in confusion. Neither one had a clue what was going on with these two.

“Mom, Dad? I know this is all some kind of weird hallucinogenic Alicorn freak out dream thing but…there are some things I need to ask you guys; things I’ve needed to know for years,” he asked wearily.

“Of course my boy, fire away,” Crescent heartily replied.

“Well for starters, where did I come from?”

“Our family was born in Stallionvania. My bloodline has always been that of royalty. I served as count and your mother as my countess. Though we tried many times after, you were the only child born from our love. However, everything changed when you contracted the Thanatos virus; an illness so rare and so deadly that no pony ever survived long enough with the virus for any pony to discover a cure,” the count explained.

“We bankrupt our legacy into trying to restore your health through any means: science, magic, rare herbs and natural remedies; we even tried mixing dragon blood into a potion but nothing worked. Then one day, a stranger calling himself Cabal of the Horn and Wing Society came to our doorstep with the promise of a ritual that could cure you of your illness and allow you to grow up and live a long lasting life like we always wanted for you.”

“But-but didn’t you think it was dangerous putting me in the hooves of those lunatics? I was just a baby and you just gave me to them without realizing how seriously bad this could all go?” Moonstruck protested.

“Of course we did dear,” Kuru piped in, “but we were out of options and that’s no joke. We knew the risks and knew something horrible could happen, but if we did nothing than you wouldn’t be alive here today.” Moonstruck calmed down. Kuru smiled sadly; placing a hoof on her son’s cheek, “So we did the best we could and tried to stop the ritual before you became…whatever it is they were trying to turn you into.”

“But it’s because of me that you two are dead.”

“But you’re here and you’re happy; that’s all that really matters to us. As long as you have love in your heart, that demon will never beat you,” Kuru cooed sweetly.

He smiled and nuzzled his mother’s cheek. She kissed his and playfully ruffled his hair; trying to straighten it out like his father’s. Moonstruck laughed and brushed off her nagging motherly ways. It’s funny how surprisingly natural it felt to have a mom nagging him.

“While we’re on the subject, any chance you guys know how to exorcise this thing from me, or something?”

“Unfortunately the specifics of the ritual Cabal conducted are a complete mystery to us. I do know that if we hadn’t interrupted the ritual, you would have been fully possessed by the demon,” Crescent shuddered at the thought, “everything that makes you who you are would cease to exist and only he would exist inside of your body.”

“We were hoping we could yank you out before the demon took over but AFTER your sickness was cured. Obviously it didn’t work out quite the way we planned,” Kuru said with a sad laugh. She shrugged it off and stuck her tongue out playfully.

“I can see now where Moonstruck got his natural knack for gravity magic. That spell you used to knock those cultists away was impressive Count Crescent. I’ve read many books on gravity at my library but I never found any spells as forceful as the one you used,” Twilight commented.

“Please, call me Crescent,” he chuckled softly.

“You know, I once read a book about anti-gravity. It was so good…I couldn’t put it down,” Kuru snorted. The yellow mare once again burst into a giggle fit.

Crescent groaned in annoyance. Twilight and Moonstruck attempted to ask him something about Kuru’s laughing fit, but he raised a hoof and shook his head in dismissal.

“That’s really…eh…funny…mom but I’ve still got-”

“Wait, wait, wait, I’ve got one more; one more! You say you got a library, right?” she motioned to Twilight, “Well I once tried to reserve a room at a library for the night but they couldn’t get me a room, ask me why?” Kuru asked; giddy with excitement. The mare had such a strange, impish grin on her face. She looked like she was going to burst out of her fur if Twilight didn’t ask her.

“Um not to be overly critical or anything Lady Kuru…”

“Yeah right when has that ever stopped your anal retentiveness,” Moonstruck grumbled.

Twilight growled and elbowed her boyfriend in the side; shutting him up.

“As I was saying, actually, libraries don’t allow anyone to reserve a room due to-”

“No, no, no! That’s not how you set up the punchline. You’ve got to ask me why. Come ooooooon. Ask me why,” she insisted.

Twilight continued to try and explain how it was ridiculous for someone to reserve a room at a library to Kuru, but she continued ignoring the princess and insisting she asked why. Kuru proceeded to elbow Twilight and repeat “eh,” over and over and over again.

“You know, she’s not going to stop until you ask,” Crescent groaned.

“But there’s no point! I’m not going to answer that, she can’t do it forever.”

“Honey, I’m an ageless spirit floating in my son’s drug induced hallucination memory flashback, I can LITERALLY do this all day,” Kuru said bluntly. Twilight attempted protest but Kuru continued to elbow her and repeat “eh,” over and over again.

“Ugh FINE! Why wouldn’t they let you reserve a room at the library?” Twilight asked; exasperated.

Kuru paused for the briefest of moments. She bit her lip and let the silence and awkwardness of the scene to fully set in; setting the mood just right. It was time for the punchline.

“Because they were…overbooked,” she chuckled.

Moonstruck, Twilight and Crescent could only offer irritation and morbid silence in reply.

Kuru found this joke to be the funniest one yet. She rolled vividly on the ground; thrashing with maniacal laughter and pounding her hooves. Despite being nothing but a shadow of a memory, she was laughing so hard she could barely breathe. She annoyingly tapped Crescent’s right hoof with her own; encouraging his own laughter.

“Yes, yes; very funny darling,” Crescent sluggishly sighed.

Not content with stopping there, Kuru levitated herself a few feet off the ground and proceeded to spin around in a circle. She laughed dizzily as her red hair flopped across her eyes throughout her spin cycle.

“Wheeeeeee! Look my love, I’m rollling over in my grave!”

“Simply hilarious dear,” he replied drolly.

Eventually Kuru calmed down and got back to the discussion. Shockingly enough, Moonstruck couldn’t think what else he wanted to ask his parents. He knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and there are millions of things he could ask, but for some reason, nothing was coming to him.

Twilight decided to step in.

“I actually have a question, though it may seem strange to ask: how did you two meet?” the phantom unicorns blinked curiously at the princess. “I think that’s something that not only would Moonstruck like to know, but I would as well,” she asked with a tender smile.

Moonstruck nuzzled his beloved princess on her cheek; mouthing “thank you” to her.

Crescent and Kuru looked at each other. They chuckled adorably and turned back to the young ponies, smiles never leaving their faces.

“Believe it or not, your mother was not of noble birth. We first met at one of my father’s ghastly dinner parties that he held every year. She was actually a hired barmaid; serving dessert trays at dinner time. Of course, she had this nasty habit of eating what she was serving and then telling bad jokes to the guests who tried and failed to take food from her tray,” Crescent said; chuckling merrily.

“Hey! I was serving them comedy gold, not my fault they wouldn’t know a good joke if it dropped an anvil on them,” Kuru puffed haughtily.

“Anyways, she was annoying all of the guests and was a daunting distraction for my senses; so I went to tell her to straighten up or else she’d be fired,” he said with a cough.

“Buuuuuut old stuffy-butt was getting distracted for all the right reasons,” Kuru growled flirtatiously at her husband. He blushed darkly as she pressed forcefully against his side. “He was the only guy who had the guts to say something to me. Everyone else just talked dirty under their breath to me and shot their snooty noses up.”

“You were…unusual to say the least, my dear.”

“I wasn’t the only one getting the goo-goo eyes treatment. I noticed plenty of times how miserable he was at this party. He was dressed like he was one of the club but deep down, he looked like a St. Bernard dying to howl at the moon and bust out of his penguin suit,” Kuru teased. Crescent blushed even harder after that.

The proud unicorn coughed loudly to dispel that adorably unflattering image of him in his youth.

“Long story short: we spent the rest of the night talking, laughing and getting to know one another. I warned her though that my parents would not make it easy for us if we courted. Not to mention the fact that I’m quite a few years older than your mother is. I always reminded her she that could do better with a younger man,” Crescent said.

Kuru smiled sweetly to him. She stood up and kissed him on his cheek, he rubbed it fondly. “But I showed up right on time for every date, didn’t I?” she said slyly.

“That you did my dear that you did.”

“I figured: if his royal status didn’t bother me, why should his age? I always knew there was more to this handsome hunk than that pretentious shell he hid behind, just had to sneak in through the cracks,” she giggled with a snort.

“And the rest as they say is history.”

The glossy backdrop became unstable and wavy. The potion was wearing off and very soon, Twilight and Moonstruck would flash back to the present…and Crescent and Kuru would be gone.

Moonstruck wrapped his hooves around both of his loving parents. They held him tight and pulled Twilight in for one last big family hug. Tears softly trickled down the phantom couple’s cheeks.

“Mom…Dad…I always hoped I’d find out my parents were good ponies. But you guys are way more awesome than I ever imagined. Thank you for everything, thank you,” he said emphatically.

“We couldn’t be more proud of you if we tried, son. Please take care of this lovely pony and allow her to take care of you in return. I know the two of you will be very happy together,” Crescent proudly beamed.

“And don’t forget, we’ll always be with you no matter where you go…in spirit,” Kuru said; sputtering into chuckles shortly after.

“I just wish we had more time. I only just found you and…and now you’re leaving, it feels like such a raw deal,” Moonstruck sighed sourly.

“I’m just glad you got some time together. It’s not every day someone gets to see their lost loved ones from beyond the grave,” Twilight said sagely.

Crescent and Kuru nodded in joyous agreement. They waved goodbye, said their final farewells and in the blink of an eye; Moonstruck and Twilight were back in the present. Zecora and Celestia looked curiously at them.

“I trust the potion was a success, and that your fears about your past can be put to rest?” Zecora inquired.

Moonstruck slowly nodded.

“Thank you for all your help Zecora, and thank you Twilight for helping this prince find peace and happiness in the wake of my irredeemable mistake,” Celestia said humbly.

“I told you princess, I already-wait; did you just say…PRINCE?” he said alarmingly.

“Why of course! All Alicorns become princesses after their transformation, so it is only fair that all Necricorns become princes after theirs. I know you will serve Princess Twilight, her friends and Equestria well as the prince of friendship,” Celestia happily declared.

“T-t-t-thank you princess Celestia, this is such a huge-”

“AH! I just saw the time! We’ve got to get to the hospital and check on how our friends are doing before visiting hours are over. I didn’t realize we were in that memory for so long,” Twilight shrieked.

“Calm your wings Crackers. As a princess, I’m sure they don’t mind if you-”

“Princess or no, we have rules and schedules for a reason now let’s move it buster!” she commanded.

Twilight quickly thanked Celestia and Zecora for their help, grabbed Moonstruck before he could make another snappy remark and teleported to the hospital as quickly as possible. The royal mare and rhyming zebra looked at each other and chuckled in amusement.

---

Meanwhile at the hospital…

The nurse pony tightened the straps on Rainbow’s hospital bed. She made sure the colorful Pegasus wasn’t getting out of bed anytime soon. Her fore hooves were raised and strapped against the headboard of the bed.

“Oh come on! Is this really necessary? I told you, I’m not going anywhere. You don’t need to anchor me down like this,” Rainbow griped. She flexed limply against the binding straps.

The nurse grunted and ignored Rainbow’s protests. “I’ve had enough Pegasai flying out the window for one night. If you crazy kids aren’t going to stay put, then I’m going to make sure of it,” she scowled.

Between Hopeful and Rainbow bailing before their injuries were fully healed, it’s not at all surprising the hospital staff would react this way.

“Can’t you at least leave me a book or something? It’s bad enough you got me strapped in but I’m gonna be super bored without something to do, and how am I supposed to eat like this?”

“Hmph! Ask your new roommate. Maybe he can convince you to stay put too.”

The cyan mare was about to ask who her new roommate was, but the disgruntled nurse stomped out before she could. Arrowhead suddenly stepped into the room. Like Rainbow, he was heavily bandaged and had trouble moving, but unlike Rainbow he was free to hobble around the hospital.

“Before you say anything, there’s something I need to tell you. I just need you to listen…no talking just listening…all right?” he asked cautiously.

She locked her lips shut; albeit reluctantly. Rainbow did have much she wished to say but she wanted to hear what he had to say more. She nodded and waited patiently.

“I-I…lied to you…I lied to you about you being the inspiration for my speed,” Rainbow’s eyes widened, “the real reason behind why I developed my speed was too humiliating; so I made something up that played to your ego, and I’m sorry,” Arrowhead sighed achingly. He loathed himself for being dishonest with her; it sickened him to his core. “The truth is you were right all along…I am…boring. There was nothing ever special about me. My grades were average, my skills were average; even my colors are average. That’s why I improved my speed, so I could draw pony’s attention to me and get them to notice me…but that didn’t work either. So I used my speed to run away from my problems instead. I kept on running so much I never connected with anyone and whenever things got hard, I just turned tail and ran some more.

“I ran from you too. I was so scared of looking like a nobody in front of you that I pushed you away when you were trying to fix things between us. But you were right, you were always right. I’m a dime-a-dozen; another face waiting to be lost in a crowd. There’s nothing special about me, there are millions of “Me’s” out there. That’s why I went to go find Khan…because I knew the world wouldn’t lose sleep if something happened to me. But Equestria can’t lose you Rainbow Dash, you’re too-”

CLANG!

Arrowhead was struck in the head by a flying food tray. Chunks of pudding and mashed potatoes were splattered across his white locks. He blinked in surprise. Rainbow had used one of her wings to slip under her food tray and catapult it across the room, which was quite impressive considering she was still strapped to the bed.

She had the most disbelieving, disproving look on her face.

“Why are you always hitting me in the head? Seriously, it’s a wonder I don’t have head trauma from all the-”

“YOU STUPID BLOCKHEAD,” Rainbow sobbed thunderously. Enraged tears dripped down her cheeks. She looked explosively mad and miserably sad at the same time.

He nearly jumped out of his fur in shock. He’d never seen her so upset, not even when Tank had to do the “H” word.

“Do you have any idea how freaked out I was when you left?!? You could’ve been hurt, trapped under a rock, paralyzed or dead…or…or…got caught by Khan and viciously torn apart in some sicko torture chamber. I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again and all I could remember was the fighting, the stupid; horrible fighting we did…and I didn’t want that to be the last real moment we had together. Don’t you see what I’m trying to say? I don’t care if there are a million of you, I don’t even want a million of you…I just want you. You have been the most awesome and loyal guy I have ever met and you kept sticking with me after I was so rotten to you.

“You had no reason to accept my apologies, no reason to stick with a nutty mare like me…but you did and I’d be even nuttier if I just sat here and let you talk down about yourself. You-you nearly died for me, you almost died for my friends too. You gave a super powered psycho everything you had and took a bullet for the mare that ripped your heart out. You’re not a nobody…you’re a hero…and more importantly…you’re my guy,” she beamed passionately.

Arrowhead didn’t know what to say. He felt his own tears tearing up; overwhelmed by Rainbow’s raw, moving words. His tough guy exterior broke into a series of silent, sobbing sniffles. He approached Rainbow and nuzzled his face against her bandaged chest. She giggled softly as she hugged him with her wings.

“Hey, hey, come on now. You’re not getting all blubbery and mushy on me now, are ya?”

“Sorry it’s just…you started crying and then you said all that beautiful stuff…and I just-”

“Heh I know big guy, I’m just giving you a hard time. Just don’t tell any pony.”

Arrowhead took in a few deep breaths before nodding. His weary smile brought one to Rainbow’s lips as well. The two were grateful they could have this moment alone, they continued holding each other tightly and enjoying it as long as they could.

Down the hall from Rainbow and Arrowhead’s room; another pair of ponies was resting. Hopeful Romantic was almost completely mummified in bandages; as well as strapped to his bed. The red Pegasus was unconscious however and doctors were uncertain what it would take to wake him up. Applejack snoozed protectively over him by his bedside. The doctors had told her multiple times to rest and heal up in her own bed, but they would always find her back by Hopeful’s side. Luckily, her wounds were not as severe as Hopeful; though that was largely because of his actions.

“Wha…muh…is that the doctor…eh?” she mumbled sleepily.

Applejack raised her head from Hopeful’s lap, eyes still heavily mudded by drowsiness. She could scarcely make out the Pegasus doctor that had come in to check on Hopeful. At least she thought that’s who it was; he looked more like a blurry blob than anything else. He was dark orange in color, wore a bright white coat and had black spiky hair with blue dyed tips. Applejack thought it was kind of strange for a doctor to have that kind of hairstyle, even stranger was his cutie mark of a bald Eagle being tackled in midair by some kind of force.

“Looks like a false alarm, he’s going to be just fine after all. And he thought I pulled some crazy stunts,” the blurry doctor chuckled. He curiously examined the bow on Hopeful’s tail.

AJ rubbed her eyes; trying to adjust them but failing. The doctor just wouldn’t come into focus.

“Could you do me a favor, miss? Please take good care of him…I can rest easier knowing he’s in your hooves,” he said; looking directly into her eyes.

As the light hazel color of the doctor’s eyes came into view, Applejack remembered why this doctor looked so familiar: she knew who he was! She flashed her eyes open and gasped aloud.

“What the hey…was that Wild-”

“Miss Applejack! We’ve been over this before; you really shouldn’t be out of bed. I know you’re concerned for your boyfriend but you’re still recovering too and this is not helping,” the doctor said irritably. He was accompanied by two female nurses; a white unicorn and a sky blue Earth pony.

Applejack blinked curiously. She didn’t understand why another doctor was coming to check on Hopeful, wasn’t there one in here just a few seconds ago? She was certain that was Hopeful’s younger brother…but he died a long time ago, so then who the Heck was just in here?

“It seems Mr. Romantic is recovering quite nicely; remarkable considering his extensive injuries. Whoever performed healing spells on him really knows their stuff. He’ll have to lay off flying for a while, after he wakes up of course,” the doctor rambled. He nodded to each nurse as they all jotted down some notes and flipped through their charts.

“Actually, mah friend Princess Twilight and Princess Celestia used their-wait what? Ya mean he’s not in some kinda coma?” she asked hopefully.

“No, nothing like that, he’s just out due to a concussion and overexertion. Despite his numerous injuries, I expect he’ll be waking up sooner rather than later. Miraculous, isn’t it?” he scribbled down a few notes. The doctor trotted to the door; still flipping through his charts. “Feel free to call for me or a nearby nurse if his condition changes,” he said as he exited the room. The nurses followed him out.

Applejack’s ears twitched, familiar voices could be heard approaching the room. One of them was male and one of them was female.

“Honey, sweetie, are you all right? We came right over as soon as we-”

Sweetheart’s voice stopped cold once she entered the room. Valentino was standing clingingly next to her; hooves intertwined. The southern mare felt her heart leaping into her throat. All Sweetheart had to do was take one look at her son wrapped up like a mummy and Applejack knew exactly where her attention would go to next: her.

“YOU” Sweetheart shouted.

She pointed threateningly at Applejack, identifying her as if she was the prime suspect in a murder investigation. Applejack turned ghostly white. Sweetheart whipped out that deadly, gleaming blade she had threatened her with before.

“AHHHHHH, SHE’S GONNA KILL ME!” she screamed frantically.

Applejack shoved past the parents and ran as fast as she possibly could. The blond mare didn’t get far though, she quickly ran into a dead ended hallway and found herself trapped with no way out. Sweetheart approached the cornered Earth pony like a lion licking its lips in front of a plump gazelle. A few patients and staff members tried to remove the blade from Sweetheart’s hooves, but her intensity forced everyone to back away in fear.

“I warned you what would happen if you hurt my baby boy,” she snarled murderously. Applejack’s terrified green eyes reflected vividly in the gleam of the razor sharp blade.

“P-p-p-please just wait. Ah-Ah can explain, Ah swear!”

Valentino tried to dissuade his wife but not even his words would deter her from raising her blade; preparing to strike.

“Hey there, aren’t you Hopeful’s mom and dad?” a cheery Pinkie Pie squeaked from behind.

“S-s-s-sorry to interrupt you’re…um…whatever it is your doing Applejack, but the doctor just told us Hopeful is waking up. We figured you’d want to know,” Fluttershy timidly added.

The yellow Pegasus and pink Earth pony had heard the commotion happening outside of their rooms and felt well enough to investigate. Any bloodlust and madness in Sweetheart’s eyes vanished the instant she heard her son was waking up. She and Valentino rushed back to the room; leaving a very confused Fluttershy and Pinkie and a very relieved Applejack behind.

After calming her throbbing heart down, Applejack and her friends joined Sweetheart and Valentino in Hopeful’s room. They were all infinitely grateful he was awake smiling; especially to see his fair maiden again. He quickly explained to his parents how he saved her life and vice versa and Sweetheart eagerly thanked the orange mare for saving her son. She also apologized for trying to chop her up like a salad; naturally.

Eventually, Rainbow and Hopeful were freed from their straps after Arrowhead and Applejack convinced the doctors their significant others weren’t going anywhere. Rainbow and Arrowhead even had their beds moved to Hopeful and Applejack’s room so they could all be together.

“How ya feelin’ Sugar?” the southern mare sweetly asked.

“Ugh…like my skull is split in two and my wings are made of broken glass. Everything hurts, but I am really happy to see your doing better fair maiden,” he said with a dry; groggy voice.

“Ah’ll feel smooth as glass as soon as yer fine self is out and about, lover boy. These scratches ain’t nothin’ compared to what you did fer me,” she purred. AJ planted a loving kiss on Hopeful’s bandaged cheek. Despite his mummy-like wrappings, his blush was quite visible.

“I’m just glad every pony is going to be 100%, super-duper, okie-dokie-lokie. And once were all ouchy free, I am going to throw Ponyville the biggest, most amazing, off the walls victory party/Hearts and Hooves mega celebration EVER!” Pinkie beamed.

“Oh, I hope no pony minds me asking but um; what were you two arguing about in the hallway, Mrs. Heart?” Fluttershy asked.

Applejack looked around nervously. She was about to attempt a vague answer before Sweetheart jumped in.

“Not at all dearie,” she replied, “I was just expressing to Applejack here in very strong language how concerned I was over my son’s well-being. After losing one child before, I may have gotten a teensy bit over protective of my remaining children…and sometimes I can get a wee bit scary.”

Rainbow nearly popped her stitches out from laughing. Sweetheart raised a curious eyebrow at the chuckling speedster.

“HA! You? Scary? Come on! How could someone like you be-”

“In the name of all that is good in this world, don’t say another word! You have no idea Rainbow, trust me. You. Have. No. Idea,” AJ whispered. She shivered uncontrollably; quaking at the thought of enraging her boyfriend’s mother again. Rainbow was clueless, as was everyone else.

Sweetheart shrugged it off and decided to pay it no mind.

“Girls, friends; you’re all here and safe,” Twilight announced. She and Moonstruck entered the room. Everyone greeted the ponies warmly and was very pleased to see Moonstruck was finally awake.

“Glad everyone’s here together. Twilight and I have something very important to tell all of you,” Moonstruck added.

“Actually, it looks like were short two.”

Twilight was right; Rarity and Spike were still unaccounted for. A quick check with the nearest doctor helped them locate their room number. Moonstruck and Twilight approached the door and gently pressed it open.

“Spike, Rarity; are you guys all right? We already checked on the others and we just wanted to make sure you-”

What Twilight saw caused her words to dissolve into dead silence. Spike and Rarity were in the same bed, hooves and claws locked lovingly together; their cheeks flushed with cherry red hues and their lips were mere inches away from each other. Twilight felt her face burning up. Moonstruck turned red as well but he didn’t seem as embarrassed as his girlfriend was. The flushed unicorn and dragon pulled apart from their embrace and looked anxiously to their friends.

“Darlings, please, before you say a word; I assure you we can explain everything.”

“We didn’t do anything mom, I swear!”

Rarity looked flatly at her scaly boyfriend. He shook his head; trying to come up with a better way to phrase his words.

“Okay, total honesty, we were doing something but it wasn’t that thing you gave me that special talk about.”

“Sweet Celestia no! It’s still much too early for that, besides, were still recovering from our injuries so it’s not like-”

“Just-just…stop….just stop,” Twilight interjected. She raised her hoof; silencing them before they could say anything more. She rubbed her eyes in annoyance and took a deep breath. “Were going to step out, give you guys a minute to…sort this out and join us in Hopeful’s room, and then I’m going to try and forget ANY of this happened,” she said through clenched teeth.

Spike raised a claw to say something. Both Rarity and Twilight flashed him lethal glares; convincing him to quickly put his claw down.

Twilight noticed Moonstruck was uncharacteristically quiet at the moment. She turned and saw the most ridiculous, goofy grin on his face. She figured he’d find the whole situation hilarious. He was biting his lip; trying to hold in his laughter.

“Not one word Moonstruck…not one word,” she scowled irritably.

“Man, can you believe the way they were dragoing at it? Eh? Eh?” he asked; elbowing Twilight.

THWACK!

“OW! Why’d you hit me with your wing?” he rubbed his aching temple.

“I told you not to say ONE word!” she protested.

“I didn’t say one word, I said like 12 words or something; completely different.”

“Ugh! Let’s just get this over with,” she pouted angrily.

Once she calmed down and Moonstruck joined her back at Hopeful’s room, Twilight politely requested if Hopeful’s parents and the other family members who came could wait outside the room for a while. They understood and left Twilight and her friends alone in the room. Twilight and Moonstruck explained everything to them: Night Terror, the Necricorn race, and the Horn and Wing Society. Moonstruck was unsurprisingly silent during this. He felt so alienated by those shocked looks on his friends faces; knowing all too well they had seen him at his worst when Night Terror took over. They requested everyone keep what happened on Foal Mountain a secret.

“Whoa partner, that’s quite a story ya’ll got there,” Applejack commented.

“Who in Equestria could have possibly imagined a ghastly society like that could exist during such peaceful times?” Rarity pondered aloud.

“I’m really sorry to hear that bro. I-I had no idea you went through all of that,” Spike said; slightly overwhelmed.

“And now you’re a prince too? Goodness, I bet it must feel really nice to have so much good fortune after going through all those hard times,” Fluttershy added.

“So then what’s with all the secrecy? If Celestia cleared Moonstruck’s name and he’s a prince now, then why worry about telling every pony about this Necricorn stuff?” Rainbow asked.

“Besides Celestia, we’re the only ponies who saw what Moonstruck was capable of as Night Terror. The ponies of Canterlot have just now started accepting him. If they find out about everything that happened to him with the Horn and Wing Society, he’d lose their trust again. Both Princess Celestia and I think it would be best if we all keep the specifics of what happened with Night Terror and Chimera Khan secret,” she stated. The other ponies looked curiously at each other.

“Look, I know what you guys saw me do freaked you out; I can see it on your faces. The fact you all see me as a friend means more to me than you’ll ever know. But I can’t lie and say Night Terror is gone for good; he’s still inside me…and he always will be. If that makes any of you uncomfortable and nervous, feel free to say your piece and I’ll understand if you feel the need to tell others out of concern,” Moonstruck sighed.

It didn’t take long for the mares and colts or Spike to come up with their decision.

Pinkie Pie stood up on her hind legs as she turned to Moonstruck. “If Twilight trusts you then that’s good enough for me, and I think I speak for every pony and dragon here when I say,” she paused and turned to the others. The party mare recited the Pinkie Promise while the others followed suit in chorus. “And no pony ever breaks a Pinkie promise,” she beamed proudly. Pinkie winked to Moonstruck and gave him a hearty slap on the back.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Twilight added. She gave his cheek a quick peck.

“Gee…t-t-t-thanks you guys…I…I don’t know what to say,” he quivered; tears rapidly forming.

“You already said it silly! You’re one of us now, and so are you” Pinkie pointed to Hopeful, “and you,” then to Arrowhead, “and when we’re all tanned and rested and done playing mummy dress up, I’m going to throw all of Ponyville the greatest, most sensational super-mega-awesome-we-survived-the-monsters-and-crazy-masked-guy-hearts-and-hooves-ultra-party-bonanza EVER!”

CRACK!

Pinkie leapt into the air for a victory cheer but halted mid-air and dropped like a sack of flour. She felt her back snap out of place. She twitched on the ground like a clipped bird.

“Ugh…looks like I’m not ready to party that hard just yet…totally worth it though…whee,” she grunted weakly.

Everyone collectively groaned; shaking their heads.

To be continued…

Comments

[kodak]

Love this story but I fear it’s coming to an end😭

[Lore Horse]

9028182
That's what sequels are for.

[Starlight Nova]

If the main OCs in this story were voiced, what would they sound like?

[Bionic Slime]

9106658
So glad you asked!

Moonstruck: Yuri Lowenthall
Hopeful Romantic: Greg Ayres
Arrowhead: Jason Douglas
Chimera Khan: Eugene Lipinski
Crowe: Robin Lord Taylor
Bubbling Cauldron: Tara Strong (Kitten voice from Teen Titans)
Moonstruck's Brain: Kyle Kinane
Rebel Streak: Vic Mignogna
Valentino: Raul Julia
Sweetheart: Kathy Najimy

[kodak]

Are you still going to be updating this story?