A/N - Howdy everypony! This here's the second part of this week's double-update, hope you enjoy!
The three of us were sitting in Zecora's hut, the girls sipping tea and recounting the tale of our journey into the woods to the friendly zebra. I, on the other hand, was busying myself with relieving the flower of its petals for the striped mare, so that she didn't have to worry about coming into contact with its deadly toxin.
The girls had only just gotten to the part of the story where I exited the temple when I plucked the final, blade-like petal from the otherwise deadly plant. I stuffed the remains of the flower back into the knapsack's pocket, intent on burning the both of them when we got back home to ensure no one accidentally came into contact with whatever kind of toxin it was that made the flower so deadly.
"It seems like quite an ordeal you went through. Come, give me the petals so I can make the potion that will heal you." I passed the bowl to Zecora, and she trotted over to one of the many shelves lining her walls, humming a melodic tune as she searched for the ingredients she would need.
I watched her for several minutes, trying and failing to see if I could identify any of the liquids she was perusing. I did manage to make out some sort of large bird's feather, a walnut, and what looked like baby's breath as she plucked them off the shelves though.
She turned around and trotted over to a large mortar and pestle, dropping in the feather and the baby's breath and grinding them up. "This potion will take about three hours to complete. In the meantime, why not have yourselves something to eat?"
"That sounds like a good idea Zecora, I am a lit-" I stopped mid-word as somepony started frantically pounding on the door to Zecora's tree-hut.
Before any of us had a chance to react, the door burst open, revealing Applebloom's panting form. "Zecora! Ya gotta come quick! Scootaloo's-" The little filly stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me sitting ion one of Zecora's chairs. "Blake! Yer back!"
Applejack, shaking off her surprise, got up out of her chair and rushed over to her baby sister. "Applebloom!? What in tarnation are ya doin out in tha Everfree so late?! Y'all know it's dangerous out there!"
Applebloom's words and her frantic look sunk in, and I got up out of my own chair. "Applebloom! What were you saying about Scootaloo?! Is she alright?!"
Applebloom's eyes went wide as though she just remembered something important. "Oh yeah! Scootaloo's in trouble! Ah tried ta stop 'er, really Ah did! Y'all hafta come quick!"
I put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down some. "No one here is mad at you Appleloom, but you need to tell us what happened, why is Scootaloo in trouble, is she hurt? Is she out here too?"
Applebloom turned back towards the door. "She wanted ta help ya Blake! She came out into tha Everfree ta find ya, and she got surrounded by timberwolves!"
My blood turned to ice in my veins as I heard the words, and my mind went into overdrive. I scooped up Applebloom and sprinted out the door, calling Falathiel to me as I went, the sentient sword responding without even the need to cast a levitation spell on her. The instant my foot touched the cold, loamy soil of the forest floor, I called my armor to me and used its enhancements to hurl myself through the underbrush of the forest at breakneck speeds.
Applebloom got over her surprise in an instant and pointed off to my left. "They're over that way! Hurry Blake!" I may still have been tired, my body and mind both pushed to the limit from my adventures in the temple as well as the flight home, but all that was forgotten with the thought of my daughter in danger. I could faintly hear shouting behind me, but I didn't pay it any mind, knowing that I couldn't stop or even slow down, because Scootaloo could lose her life at any second.
I could feel the soil of the forest practically caving in at my powerful strides, but I didn't pay it any mind. I ran for what felt like days, but was really probably less than a minute, before I came to a less dense patch of the forest and skidded to a halt. I dropped Applebloom to her hooves before I ever stopped, and took in the sight even as my legs went back to work; Scootaloo was lying in a small puddle of what could only have been her own blood, unmoving while a trio of timberwolves snarled at her fiercely.
An instant later, I realized that they weren't growling at her, they were growling at the small form that stood between them and their prey; Aurora. She was crouched down low, tiny fangs bared in a defiant stance. Without thinking further, I pulled Falathiel back and launched her at the lead timberwolf, cleaving its head clean in half before latching onto her with levitation and bringing her back, severing the head of the second wolf completely.
The third wolf watched its two companions slump to the forest floor and burst into pale, green flame. Before I had a chance to bring Falathiel to bear against it, it turned tail and ran, disappearing into the Everfree like a ghost.
I dropped to my knees as I approached my daughter's prone form, skidding to a stop on my armored knees before her, and started checking her. I let out an enormous sigh when I saw her still breathing, but my relief didn't last long as the severity of her injuries sunk in; unless she got medical attention soon, she wasn't going to make it. Her entire body was covered in bite marks and deep gashes, all of which were leaking blood and adding to the puddle below her by the second, and one of her legs was twisted in the wrong direction.
I glanced off to my right as a whimpering sound caught my attention and I saw Aurora limping over to me. My heart sank even further than it already was when I saw that the poor pup was missing one of her front legs, with some sort of fluid seeping from the wound.
"Blake! Are ya- what in tarnation happened?!" I didn't respond to Applejack, instead I gingerly scooped up Scootaloo's limp little body and stood up, cradling her gently against my chest. "Is that… Scootaloo… no…"
I nodded, suddenly feeling very frail and weak. "We… we need to get these two to Zecora, she might be able to help them…"
"Go Sugarcube, Ah'll get Applebloom and Aurora back ta tha hut myself." I nodded to her and turned, finding my own deep footprints to use as a guide to take me back to Zecora's hut, and took off into the forest.
For once, I was glad that I relied on my aurasight instead of my regular sight; as I practically flew through the forest, hot tears, which would have blurred my vision and made it impossible to see where I was going, welled up in my eyes and started running down my face, dropping down onto my daughter's tiny, limp little body.
I burst into the clearing where my zebra friend's home rested, and made my way to the door, opening it with my levitation and bolting inside, immediately spreading out my aurasight to find the striped mare.
It only took a moment to find her, and before I could even say anything, she rushed over to me, a small gasp escaping her lips as she saw the state Scootaloo was in. "We must help her without delay! Come, bring her this way!" Zecora turned and trotted quickly off towards one of the only doors in this place. I followed her through it to see that it led to her bedroom. "Set her down just there, and then, you should go and get some air."
"But Zecora, I-"
She raised a hoof to silence me. "This matter is not up for debate. You will be of no help to your daughter in your current state." I knew she was right; I was so worried about Scootaloo that I couldn't think straight, and I knew that I'd only get in her way if I stayed there with her.
The door to Zecora's hut slammed opened right as I opened the door to her room, and Applejack rushed inside, carrying a whimpering Aurora on her back, who was little more than a curled up ball of sticks as she licked the stump of her missing leg. Zecora paused in tending to Scootaloo and looked over her shoulder. "Bring the wolfling into this room! I shall tend to her injuries soon!" She turned her attention back to Scootaloo's unconscious form even as she finished speaking, mumbling about sutures and poultices as she went back to work.
I stepped out of the way and held the door open for Applejack to trot through before leaving the room and walking straight out the door to the hut altogether. I could hear Twilight calling to me as I went, but my mind was numb, and I couldn't force myself to reply.
I stopped in the middle of the clearing and just stared upwards, into the void of nothingness beyond the range of my aurasight. There were so many emotions surging through me that my mind started to rebel at trying to sort them all out. I cut off my aurasight and allowed myself to fall into the inky blackness, not thinking, just feeling.
"Blake… are you ok…?" I heard Twilight speaking next to me, but my mind refused to force my body to acknowledge her.
I felt her tuck her head under my hand and press herself against me, my arm now draped over her side. "Why…" It was little more than a choked whisper, but it was all that I could manage.
"I-I don't know…" Silence filled the clearing for a moment. "But… I do know that Scootaloo wouldn't be in better hooves even if you had taken her clear up to Canterlot… Zecora will do everything she can to make sure she's alright…"
I stroked a hand across her side gratefully. "I know Twi… I'm just worried that… that…" The sudden surge of thoughts of what might happen flooded my mind, and I felt my knees buckle under me, sending me to the ground. I pulled back a fist and slammed it into the soil, not feeling the pain or the impression I was making in the soil, or even registering that I had at some point dismissed my armor. "What if it's not enough?! What if she dies?! Dammit! Why did this have to happen to her?! She's a sweet kid, and she never did anything to deserve this!" I kept pounding my fist into the ground, ignoring the warm, sticky liquid that coated my digits as I put more and more strength into each hit.
"Blake!" I heard Twilight's voice, but it sounded like it was far away. "Please! You've got to calm down! You won't do Scootaloo any good if you keep hurting yourself like this!" I could feel her tugging on me, trying to get me to stop.
I finally paused, halting my barrage of blows to the unfeeling earth, and activated my aurasight, focusing it on my damaged hand. I could see bone peeking out through the split skin of my knuckles, and I could tell that at least one of the digits was dislocated, though there didn't seem to be any breaks. It was strange though; even with all the damage, I didn't feel a thing, my hand, as well as the rest of me, was completely numb. Twilight gasped next to me when she saw just how bad the damage really was.
I felt her throw her hooves around me in a tight hug. "Blake… please… let's go inside. I'll do what I can for your hand while Zecora helps Scootaloo and Aurora. You wouldn't want Scootaloo to know that her Papa hurt himself because of her, would you?" The question rocked my mind; I knew that Scootaloo would be devastated if she found out that she caused me any pain, even if it was my own fault, just like I would be if I did the same to her.
I slowly made my way to my feet, with Twilight's support, and she led me back inside and sat me down in one of Zecora's chairs. I suddenly felt tired, and shut my aurasight off, not bothering to pay attention to what Twilight was doing as she searched for things to use to bind my hand.
In my mind, I wanted to ask her how she could still want to help me after a display like that, but my heart already knew the answer; she loved me, and she forgave me for my rash and stupid actions… it wasn't any different from the way I loved and forgave her for what she had told Shining Armor and all of Ponyville.
I suddenly felt a mix of emotions wash over me; anger, resentment, and a seething hatred all aimed at the white stallion, but I didn't understand why at first. While Twilight was busy fussing over my injured hand, I was busy trying to figure out why I suddenly hated her brother almost as much as I had hated my own father, and then the realization hit me; just as my father had killed my sister, robbing me of a life with her, Shining Armor had taken Cadance away before she could teach me how to use my healing magic, robbing me of the tool I needed to save my own daughter's life.
"There… all done." I activated my aurasight and looked up to Twilight, who was giving me a worried look, and then back down to my bandaged hand.
I flexed my fingers a few times, and there was a sickening 'pop' as a dislocated digit suddenly slipped back into place. "Thanks Twi… I'm sorry for being so stupid before…"
She leaned forward and wrapped her hooves around me in a loving hug. "You don't need to apologize Blake… I love Scootaloo too, and I know that it's nothing compared to how much you love her… so I can only imagine how painful this is for you."
In a flash, my dark feelings towards Shining Armor were replaced with anger towards myself; I wasn't the only one suffering, and I wasn't the only one who was scared and worried, but here I was, acting selfish and lashing out like I was the only one. I wrapped my arms around the purple mare and returned her hug. "Twilight… I was such an idiot…" I felt fresh tears flowing down my face. "I… I didn't even consider your feelings… I was being selfish and you put your own pain aside to comfort me."
She pulled back and looked me in the eye. "That's what ponies do when they love someone Blake…" I wanted to say something, but she placed a hoof over my mouth. "Shh… it's alright. What happened isn't your fault, and neither is how you reacted. I don't blame you, and I don't think any less of you for it."
It was at that moment that the door to Zecora's bedroom swung open, and the striped healer trotted slowly out with Applejack close on her heels. My breath hitched in my chest, and it felt like my heart stopped as I watched Zecora pad towards us with a slow, measured gait. Every step she took felt like an eternity, and my mind began playing all the worst things she could possibly have to say. I could feel sweat beading up over my entire body at the anticipation of what she had to say.
Finally, she drew up to us and let out a sigh. "Your little timberwolf will eventually regrow her limb, but for young Scootaloo, the news is quite grim." Her words hit me like a freight train, and everything suddenly went numb. "I wish I did not need to say this, but I will not lead you amiss; I want it to be no surprise that she may soon be saying her goodbyes…" I didn't even notice as Twilight backed off of me, placing a hoof to her mouth in shock.
I stood up and turned towards the door to the room that contained what would likely be my adopted daughter's deathbed. I took a step, then forced myself to take another. When I took my third step, my foot bumped into something. I looked down and saw that it was my knapsack, and I watched as it slumped over onto its back. Something came tumbling out of it, and my mind took a moment in its shocked state to identify the object; the heart of the Quagon'Leth.
I turned back to Zecora as my mind started to work again and a spark of hope flared in my chest. The three mares in the room also seemed to be staring at the flower's discarded heart, though I couldn't tell if they had the same thought as I did.
"Zecora…" My zebra friend looked up at me. "You know what you have to do… please… hurry…" She nodded without a word and went to her work shelf, picking up the bowl that held the ingredients to a certain potion that had been forgotten in the commotion.
I turned around again and made my way into the room. I looked around the likely dimly lit room and saw Aurora lying on a small, makeshift bed of blankets, seemingly sleeping. I walked over and petted her gently, realizing she was actually awake when she leaned her head into my hand. "Thank you for trying to protect my daughter Aurora… I can't ever repay you for that."
She mewled softly and curled back up into a ball. I took that as my cue to move on and stood up, stepping over the low bed that Scootaloo was now inhabiting. I sat down and rested my back against the wall before reaching out and taking her small hoof in my hand.
I squeezed Scootaloo's hoof gently and sighed; Zecora's words haunted my mind, and I prayed that she was wrong. I could feel my daughter's heartbeat as blood rushed through her hoof, and I could feel her little body shift slightly with each shallow breath she took in. I had no idea for how long I sat there; it could have been seconds or hours for all I knew, but eventually, I felt the small hoof twitch in my hand.
I sat up and focused on Scootaloo, afraid that something was wrong, and I nearly burst into tears when I saw her little eyes slowly start to open. "P-Papa…?" She tried to sit up, but I rested a hand on her chest, gently pushing her back to the bed. "Papa… if you're here, does that mean I…?"
I shook my head and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "No Scoots, you're not dead; we're in Zecora's bedroom right now. She patched you up, and she's making a potion to make you all better, so I need you to do something for me while we wait, ok?" She nodded weakly. "I know it's going to be hard, but I need you to stay awake for me."
She nodded again, and tears started welling up in her eyes. "Papa… I-I thought… I was so scared that you'd never come back!"
I squeezed her hoof tighter. "Shh… It's ok Scootaloo, I did come back, safe and sound. And tomorrow, we can all go home together."
She sniffled, and I wiped away the single tear that rolled down her cheek. "I… I'm so sorry Papa… I wanted to help you, so I made up a plan to come find you. I got Applebloom to convince Big Mac to let her stay over at our place, and I got Derpy to let me stay at hers… we… we got a late start, and Applebloom told me we should wait till morning, but I didn't listen to her." She sniffled some more and started to cry softly.
I leaned down and hugged her the best I could without picking her up or putting too much pressure on her. She calmed down eventually, and I sat back up. "Papa, can… can I lay in your lap?"
I knew it was probably a bad idea, but I gave her a little nod and helped her to scooch over in the bed and onto my lap. She whimpered quietly in pain the entire time she was moving, but it seemed that Zecora had given her something for the pain while she was still unconscious. "What happened out in the forest Scootaloo?"
"I- we… we didn't get very far in before we heard howls. Applebloom kept trying to tell me to go back, but I was too scared for you to go back. We went further in, and three timberwolves jumped out of nowhere! I was so scared… They surrounded me, but Applebloom managed to get away. They… they started playing with me… batting me around and tossing me with their mouths…" She sniffled again. "It hurt so much, and I was so scared… but then Aurora jumped out of a bush and started attacking them. I… I hit my head on the ground, and then I woke up here…" I knew talking probably wasn't the best thing for her, but I knew it would help her stay awake while Zecora finished the potion to heal her.
I stroked the top of her head gently, being careful to avoid the bandages that looped around her head, which were already starting to soak through with blood. "It's ok Scoots, Zecora's going to be in here any minute with that potion, and you're going to be just fine."
She whimpered again and snuggled into my chest. "Papa… I feel really tired… can I just take a quick nap?"
"I… I really wish I could let you kiddo, but right now you need to stay awake. If you fall asleep in your condition, we…" I had to choose my words carefully; I didn't want to scare her, but I needed to understand how serious this was. "If you fall asleep when you're this hurt, you might not wake back up again…"
Her eyes widened a little. "Y-You mean… I'd go to sleep like you did after Nightmare Moon attacked? When the doctors couldn't get you to wake up again?"
That was one possibility, but I was more afraid of the other. "Yeah Scoots, like that. And we don't want you to go to sleep like that. Why don't we talk about something happy for awhile?" She gave me a little nod and rested her head in my lap. "Ok. How about you tell me about all your adventures with the Cutie Mark Crusaders while I was gone? I bet you four did all kinds of fun things trying to get your cutie marks."
She nodded again. "Yeah! Applebloom thought we should try being cave explorers, but we couldn't find any caves…"
We sat there for some time, I listened to her stories of adventure and excitement, and laughed at the surprising number of times they ended up covered in tree sap. I felt a pang in my heart at every turn as I thought of all the memories I missed with her and the others, and it grew worse when my thoughts turned to the fact that I might not get to make any new ones with her. I kept trying to push the thoughts away, but her shallowing breath and rapid heartbeat reminded me that she was badly injured.
I had to shake her awake more than once as her eyes started to drift closed, and it became harder and harder each time to wake her up again. Every time she would wake up, she would apologize and start talking again, though sometimes I had to remind her of where she was.
I started as the door to the room suddenly swung open, and a certain striped mare walked through, truly a sight for a sore aurasight. Though I suddenly became aware that Scootaloo hadn't even twitched.
