Yet again, the brown Unicorn Stallion looked up from the blueprint as he heard his name. He gave a small sigh of annoyance, and set the prints down. "What is it this time? I'm a little busy at the moment, and all of you know why." He lifted a hoof over his face and gently pushed a few strands of his mane back from his eyes. He was going to need a manecut soon. Odd, it felt like it had only been a few days since his last one. Personally, having his mane long didn't bother him. It seemed like such a silly thing to have it so short all the time. But, regulations were regulations, and he would rather just whack off a few extra centimeters if it would keep his superiors from bitching at him. Sitting, or laying, rater, on the hospital bed, (really, it couldn't be considered a bed. It was more along the lines of a few planks of wood with a blanket thrown haphazardly across it.) Was a grey-and-red Alicorn. It was odd, really, to see an Alicorn in such a state. They were supposed to be immortals, with no regret, and no fear of death. They were the ones depicted in whispered legends, constantly riding into the blazing point of dawn, against all odds, and returning without a scratch. And yet, here on the bed, lay one of the very beings, in a state that either made him look like a true hero, or a victim of the terrible price of war. On the surface, there wasn't much wrong. A few broken ribs, cuts, and scrapes were nothing to an Alicorn. If that was all it took to get into an infirmary these days, then this place would be full of pansies. That, however, was not the extent of the injuries. Everything else seemed fine about him, unless you were to look at his left Foreleg. Or what was left of it. Just past the knee, the foreleg abruptly ended in a stump. Such was the cost of war today. It was this very Alicorn, known as Lunar Shadow, that had been calling him. "Pulse." He repeated, just as the stallion ambled into the tiny room.
The Stallion sighed. "Yes? This better be important. I was just wrapping up what the base would be able to support based on the materials used in creating it." He stated matter-of-factually.
Lunar couldn't help but manage a smile. Typical Pulse, head always in his line of work. "It's pretty important." He said, as he pointed with his good leg. What it led to was a small, snow-white Pegasus filly sleeping on a separate bed, with an orange mane that was bright enough to rival a torch.
The unicorn's expression immediately softened upon this, his tone dropping considerably. "Is... Is she alright?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
The alicorn nodded, a small hint of a smile playing across his muzzle. "Better than that... She's waking up. Finally."
The filly was young, about the same age as Scootaloo or Apple Bloom. She was curled up tightly in a small blanket, one of her tiny wings sticking out as she shifted quietly. It was odd, really. Seeing someone as gruff and Gung-ho as Pulse being softened up by a child. But none of the others were there to witness what he had witnessed... Well, none of the other's besides Rarity. She was the only one who he felt as though really understood what he was feeling. whether that was because she was there to witness it for herself, or that she tried comforting him afterwards, he wasn't sure. But that didn't matter to him now. He didn't want to think about that nightmare again. That... Manifestation. Demon, Entity, whatever the buck it was, was gone now... And the little filly was safe again. Of course, that didn't stop the unfortunate unicorn from having nightmares afterwards, but, at least now he had something to reassure himself with. Still, she was starting to finally wake up, after everything seemed to return to normal. Almost everything, anyways. Lunar, of course, had lost his leg, and both Pulse and Rarity were scarred mentally. The filly probably was to, but whether that would affect how she grew up remained to be seen. His mind snapped back from the memories he was going through to find that almost everyone in the room, including the filly, was now staring at him.
"S-sorry. Zoned out." He said, as his eyes slowly found the filly's. She was staring at him intently, her eyes casting a look of curiosity, fear, and wonder. Slowly, ever so slowly, the brown unicorn took a few steps toward her,sitting down so that they were at eye level.Neither of them spoke for the longest of times, until Pulse broke the silence. "H-hey there..." He said slowly, as if not to confuse the filly. "You... You remember who I am... right?"
The pegasus stared back at him intently for a few moments, before nodding. "Y-yes... I remember you, mister."
The unicorn allowed the flicker of a smile to cross his muzzle. "Don't worry. You don't have to call me Mister. It's not like I deserve much respect anyways." The smile widened a bit. "My name is Pulse Strike." The filly gave him a nod. Another awkward silence. The stallion paused for a moment. "And... what's your name?" Another silence. Did he say something wrong? Was she taking offense? Would he be able to-
"I don't remember..." She whispered, as she looked away. Forgotten? It didn't seem possible. How in Tartarus do you forget who you are? Pushing these questions aside, he decided to try a different approach.
"Alright... Do you know who your family is...?" Another silence. No, you're kidding! You can't possibly say that-
"G-gone..." She said, so softly that it was almost inaudible. His ears perked, unsure if he had heard what he had just now heard.
"Wait... gone?"
"Gone."
"Do you remember when-"
"No."
"What about how-"
"No."
"Did you see who-"
"NO!"
He shut up. The filly was giving him a glare that could curdle milk and peel paint, tears clearly visible in her eyes.
"I... I don't remember anything! Nothing! I don't know who I am, who my friends are, where I am, nothing! I'm lost! I'm So lost!! I'm just... Just..." She couldn't finish the sentence, because right then and there, she broke down, collapsing in a pile of fur and tears. Pulse could feel all the eyes in the room trained on him. He thought... KNEW... that he should do something. But at the moment, his mind was drawing blanks, each idea he thought of somehow sounding worse than the last. With another sigh, he reached out with a gentle hoof. With the pressure of all eyes on him, he gently drew the filly close, and moved her head to his broad shoulder. With a stillness that could give a gargoyle a run for it's bits, he waited ten, fifteen, Twenty minutes for the child to cry herself out. Eventually, the tears stopped flowing, and the sobs ceased. Her eyes were red rimmed, but overall, she seemed a tad relieved to let all the pent-up emotion out of her. He gave another smile, this one warmer, and reassuring. With his free hoof, he gently reached up and wiped a few stray tears from her eyes.
"Pulse..." Lunar was the one to break the silence this time. He turned his head to face the alicorn. "She needs a Family." He stopped, and everything stood still. Him? How in anypony's BUCKINGmind did this seem like a good idea. Yes, he had managed to comfort her in her time of need, but him? Caring for her? As a father? How in Tartarus did that sound like a good plan?! He didn't even have younger siblings to care about when he was her age. How the Hay was he supposed to-
His thoughts were cut off as a hoof came to his shoulder. Pausing his mind-rant, he turned toward the source. Standing behind him, a hoof on his shoulder, was Rarity. How much of the conversation she had heard, or how long ago she had come in, he wasn't sure. But they both knew the problem at hoof. The pair stared at each other for the longest of times, before the white unicorn gave a single nod, as if to say, "Do it. Take the chance." He turned back to Lunar, then to the Filly. Finally, back to Rarity. Without taking his eyes off of her, he said three words.
"I'll do it."
The white unicorn gave a smile. "We'll do it."
He slowly stood back up, the filly on his back. "We'll... First thing's first... We have to think of a name for you." The filly was slowly starting to smile as well, until she replied.
"I... I actually thought of one." The stallion looked at Rarity, neither of them sure of what to make of the announcement.
"Um... Alright... What did you think of?" The pegasus looked at him with bright eyes, before uttering a single word.
"Sadie." She practically bounced upon saying it. Sadie. The name seemed to fit her. He smiled.
"Alright. From now on, We'll call you Sadie, unless you want to change it." She continued smiling at him for a few seconds,before it faded.
"Do I have to call you by your name?" She asked, her head tilted.
"Well... I suppose not. Why?"
She looked away shyly. "I... I sort of had something I wanted to call you."
"That being?" Her response was too low to be heard. "I'm sorry, what was that?" He asked, turning to face her.
She looked back up at him, as if unsure how to pronounce it, before she repeated. "...Daddy." Had the stallion had any less discipline, he would have broken down then and there.
Rarity was beaming at them both, tears in her eyes. "Of course you can." He said, his smile wider than it had been all night. He gave the filly a nuzzle, Sadie giggling and hugging his face. He smiled, both Rarity and Sadie hugging him now. "Welcome to our little family."