//------------------------------// // Prompt #3: An Injury Most Grievous // Story: Twinkle/TOCP's Thirty Minute Ponies Stories // by Twinkletail //------------------------------// The prompt: Twilight is grievously injured and only Pinkie Pie can save her. Twilight sat quietly on a mountain of pillows, books upon books laid out in front of her. The books were her idea. The pillows were Pinkie's. The bookish unicorn had always insisted that she was quite comfortable just lying on her bed, her couch, or even the floor to read, but the pink baker would not hear it. She wanted her favoritest pony in the whole wide world to be as comfortable as possible. Not that Twilight really minded much; these pillows WERE quite comfy. It was just a luxury that she felt she didn't need, though she did appreciate Pinkie's desire to lavish her. Twilight gazed upon the pages of the Master Mare's Manual to Monsters Magnificent and Malevolent. She sure hoped that she wouldn't have to deal with any of the beasts described within its pages, but with the frequency at which she and her friends were called upon to save Equestria or venture into the Everfree Forest, one could never be certain of the ability to avoid them. The purple unicorn briefly glanced over at Pinkie, who was lying on top of her own pile of cushions. They usually sat together, but they had just finished an epic pillow war, and each was claiming their own fortress as their place of relaxation for the moment. Twilight was surprised with how well Pinkie was able to fight back in a pillow war, especially since she, being an earth pony, lacked the magical element that Twilight had employed to bombard her with fluffy ammunition. Even after all this time knowing Pinkie and all these months being her special somepony, she still found ways to surprise her. Twilight turned the page with a quiet "ouch." This wasn't typical of her. She usually didn't say anything upon turning a page, since studying required the majority of her attention and speaking would likely take her out of it. This time, however, the cause of her unusual utterance was a tiny laceration on the soft flesh at the bottom of her hoof. In her haste to be expedient and turn the page quickly, she had sacrificed prudence, and sustained a minor papercut. The purple unicorn let it be. Papercuts were not too uncommon for somepony that read so many books, and she thought nothing of it. Pinkie did not share her mindset. "OH NO!!" Pinkie bellowed, upon hearing Twilight's verbal recognition of her minor pain. Before Twilight knew it, the pink pony was practically on top of her. The baker grabbed Twilight's hoof and turned it over roughly, an action which caused Twilight slightly more pain than the papercut. "Your poor hoofsie!" Pinkie lamented, cradling it in her own. Twilight stared at Pinkie, baffled. This was quite the reaction. "It's fine, Pinkie..." Twilight tried to tell her, but Pinkie would have none of it. Before she knew what had happened, Pinkie had lifted Twilight onto her back. "Don't you worry, Twilie!" Pinkie said. "Pinkie Pie's here to make the hurty-wurty go away!" Twilight tried to protest, but Pinkie was determined. "I have a first aid kit at Sugarcube Corner! C'mon!!" The purple unicorn did not even have time to inform Pinkie of the bandages that she had in her own bathroom. Pinkie was already out the door. The pink pony galloped at full speed through the town, a stark difference from her usual casual bouncing. In her haste, she nearly bowled over Fluttershy, who had been out for a nice stroll. "Oh my..." Fluttershy squeaked as Pinkie skid to a halt to avoid collision. "What's the matter?" "Fluttershy!" Pinkie exclaimed. "You're good at taking care of injured animals, right?" The yellow pegasus nodded nervously. "What about injured ponies?" Fluttershy looked back and forth between Twilight and Pinkie, so very confused. "Um..." Fluttershy started. "Good enough!" Pinkie responded. She quickly loaded a meeping Fluttershy on top of Twilight's back and continued zooming towards Sugarcube Corner. The yellow pegasus looked at Twilight with the most confused expression the purple unicorn had ever seen. Twilight just sighed and shook her head. Moments later, the three ponies had arrived at Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie placed Fluttershy on the ground, then plopped Twilight down into yet another large stack of pillows. Pinkie always kept piles of pillows all around Ponyville, in case of pillow emergencies like this one. "Give me the injured hoof!" Pinkie demanded. Twilight raised a brow and stretched the cut hoof in Pinkie's direction. Fluttershy looked over to inspect the injury. Even to a meek, nervous pony like Fluttershy, the injury didn't look bad at all. "Quick! Fluttershy! Bandage!" Pinkie blurted out, stretching a waiting hoof out. The yellow pegasus blinked a few times, then gently passed a bandage into the outstretched hoof. The pink pony applied the adhesive strip, then stretched her hoof out again. "More!" "More?" Fluttershy asked tentatively. "More!" Pinkie responded. "Don't you think this is a little silly, Pinkie?" Twilight asked. "More!!" Pinkie shouted again. Fluttershy acquiesced. A few minutes later, Pinkie was finally satisfied. Twilight sat there, looking quite perturbed. Her hoof was very heavily bandaged and wrapped in gauze. "You're lucky I was there for you, Twilie!" Pinkie said, beaming. "Who KNOWS what could have happened?" Twilight just sighed. At least she could take solace in how much Pinkie cared for her.