Revelations.

"Sonofa-" Courier mumbled as he once again woke up in a hospital bed. Looking at his new injuries, he found that they were very minor. A few bandages on his arm and leg were the only indication they'd ever been harmed. He noticed seven ponies in the room with him, sleeping fitfully. Scootaloo and Applebloom had fallen asleep at the foot of Courier's bed, while Lyra, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack leaned against one another in chairs. Sweetie belle was curled up in another hospital bed nearby, with gauze around both of her hooves.

"Fucking monsters must've gotten her when she was climbing." he thought, gritting his teeth. He begins thinking of all the people he could've saved had he been slightly faster or stronger, or had one more bullet. Yeah, he'd been lucky this time, but what about the next disaster? or the one after that? Courier couldn't stand it, once again it was his ass getting pulled from the fire by the girls. He loved them, but felt that if he couldn't protect them, he didn't deserve them. Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy had already saved the world several times! What use would they have for him huh? This wasn't the wasteland. Here, they had magic and abilities far beyond anything he'd ever been able to do. Hell, Even in the wasteland he'd relied on them. Applejack could spot even the most well hidden lie. Rarity could convince damn near anyone of anything! Fluttershy had TALKED deathclaws out of massacring them all. Lyra was even a better shot than he was! Courier just sat there, his mood darkening with every passing moment.

"Mr. Shield?" Whispered a voice. Courier snapped out of his reflection and looked towards the door. a nurse was had poked her head in and had noticed he was awake. "You have a visitor. I'll send her in now" she said simply as she walked away. Courier was a little confused. Most, if not all of the mares he knew were here. Who could be visiting? His confusion was cut short as princess Celestia strode into the room.

"Good Evening Mr. Shield." Said Celestia, Sporting a worried smile as she closed the distance to his bed. "I see that things have been...exciting...To say the least."

"Aw shove it princess. I'm useless." Muttered courier, rubbing his face. "I couldn't even stop a bunch of angry wooden sticks from hurting that girl or filly or whatever ya call'em. Before that, I got my ass handed to me by a bunch of punks because 'magic'. I can't even do the job I had, the one thing I was good at, because my leg's gone." Courier couldn't hold back the tears now. "I pretend I'm ok, but I can't help but feel useless. The sheriff made me a deputy, but if things really hit the fan, I wouldn't be able to keep up." Courier was sweating now, taking deep shuddering breaths while Celestia patiently listened. "I'm a useless fucking cripple. I can't do anything right...." Courier trailed off

Celestia reached down and wiped a tear from Courier's eye. Smiling a sad but motherly smile. "You're a kind and thoughtful young man who has been through much. Many who have been in similar situations would have broken much sooner. However, My reason for visiting is twofold. The elements have some rather dangerous tasks ahead of them, and despite my hesitance to use violence....It may come to that." Celestia shivered, unnerved by the mere mention of combat. "As one who has..." Celestia swallowed "...Killed... I would ask you to join them on their missions. To provide some modicum of protection from those who would ham the elements."

Courier was dumbfounded. Celestia, the magical princess of a peaceful land, was asking him to end lives. Courier slowly nodded. "I...I would....But wouldn't I just slow them down? Besides, I got beat by a bunch of timbre-wolves! How could I protect them from something bigger, or stronger?" Courier asked. The princess just turned her head and coughed into her fist.

"I may have...weakened you a bit..." She said, her horn glowing. Courier Instantly felt stronger and hardier. His vision became Sharper, and his reaction time seemed to speed up...which he found out because he accidentally slapped himself in the face when he was trying to raise his hand. Courier was Initially mad, but he calmed himself, realizing that the Princess had only meant to protect her people from an unknown. Hell, if an alien Appeared in front of him, Courier'd make sure he was disarmed too!

"You and I are gonna have a nice long talk sometime Princess...But it can wait. Looks like my other visitors are wakin' up." As he said that, Celestia disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Courier alone with his friends and loved ones.

Author's Note

Gah! The writers block hit hard, and I got really caught up in several other fictions. Hopefully the next chapter won't take a month eh? I've also been working on a side project, called the Spectral knight. When it comes out, I hope y'all will enjoy it ~Whiskey