//------------------------------//
// Chapter 18: Revitalization  
// Story: Forever Is a Long Time 
// by Hoosier Brony 
//------------------------------//


Twilight trotted quickly out of her library. She had heard a rumor recently that the bookshop in town had been closed for a few days and that the owner hadn’t been seen by anypony for a short time. Over the past couple of years, she and Rapid Quill, the shop owner and aspiring author, had developed a friendship, one of her many friends in Ponyville, and she was worried about his state.

As she walked around the corner, she saw that the rumor was true. A “Closed” sign hung from the door of the book store, which was odd because he would usually keep the store open even if he wasn’t there, trusting the good ponies of Ponyville to the honor code. She tried peeking inside the windows and, what little she could see, was treated to disheveled bookcases, a small pile of orders inside the door, and dust everywhere. The store hadn’t been closed for a short time, but for quite some time.

Hurrying over to his house, Twilight began to really worry about Rapid Quill’s health. She banged on his door a couple of times, briefly pausing before assaulting the door again. About the time she was thinking about getting help to break in, there was a shuffling from behind the door, and a slight cough. The door slowly opened and Twilight found herself unprepared for what she found.

To say the earth pony was messy would be an understatement. His mane was matted in places, sticking up in others, and even thin at times. His face showed signs of stubble, obviously having not been groomed in some time. There were stains on his coat, though she tried not to stare to figure out their origin. But the worst part was his eyes, which sagged on top and drooped below. He yawned largely and, with an attempted smile, asked the unicorn how she was feeling.

“What?” Twilight said, having missed the question as she was still taking in his appearance. After he repeated himself, his throat a little scratchy, she replied, “Oh, uh, I’m ok. But I’m worried about you. Your store is closed, nopony has seen you in days, and you look terrible.”

The author nodded, taking in the bluntness of the pony at his door, and replied, “Yeah, sorry. I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep recently and I’m afraid it might be affecting my daily life.” He motioned for her to come inside, if she wished.

With a hesitant step, Twilight entered the once orderly house. Looking around, she saw furniture out of place, cushions fallen to the ground, food splayed across the floor, and a musty odor that she couldn’t help but trace back to her friend. She politely refused to sit down, looking sideways at the options presented to her.

“What’s the matter? You say you aren’t sleeping that well? When was the last time you slept all night?” Twilight asked, watching Rapid Quill’s reaction with genuine concern.

“Yeah,” Quill said, laying himself down across a cushion on the floor. “I guess you could say that. It’s been three weeks since my last good night’s sleep.” Hearing the unicorns gasp, he responded, “I don’t know, I just don’t want to sleep, I guess.” He sighed heavily and stared at the floor in front of him.

“Well,” Twilight said, unsure what to say from here. “So, what have you been doing instead? Are you still working on your story?” Usually she would’ve asked because she was a curious reader of his story he had been working on for almost two years now, but this time it was for bigger reasons.

Rapid Quill barked a short laugh, turning towards her and saying, “Yeah, no. I can’t write that story anymore.”

Twilight walked over to the pony, looking down with a sad look, “Can’t write it anymore? Why? Oh my gosh! It wasn’t because we suggested reading it to the whole town was it? Because we don’t have to do that. It’s your story, you don’t have to share it.”

“My story?” Quill said, sadness appearing in his messy look, “I can’t say it is my story. It has nothing to do with the reading idea you suggested. I… I’ve been dreaming a lot about Justice. It’s actually where I get most of my ideas. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s almost like watching a movie? I see what’s happening and I write about it.”

Twilight gave in, sitting down in front of the pony and trying to get him to sit up. “So, you’ve been dreaming most of your story? Well, what happened? Did the dreams stop?”

Quill felt a tear well up in his eye. “No… That’s the problem. I keep having the same nightmare. It’s all to do with Justice’s life, at this point in the story. I… I don’t want to write what I’m dreaming, it’s just too much.” Looking at his friend’s face, and seeing an expression that implied he write something different, he continued, “But I can’t write anything else. I’ve had that nightmare every time I’ve fallen asleep for the past three weeks. I can’t sleep, or I see that, and I can’t write about it, because then it becomes truth.”

Twilight patted the distraught pony on his back. “Well, if the dream won’t go away until you’ve written it down, maybe you just need to write it down? I mean, that’d be the easiest fix, wouldn’t it?” The pony shrugged, his tear falling down to the carpet below. “Or, I know! I’ll talk to Princess Luna! She’d be able to help w-“

“No!” Quill said, with a start. “I mean. No… Don’t bother the princess for something as small as that. I think I’ll take you up on that suggestion. Maybe if I write out the next part, the nightmare will go away. But, oh no. I think I’ve lost my last couple of scrolls.”

Twilight smiled, glad that Quill was considering working through his problem. “Well, I could let you write at the library. I’ve got plenty of quills and scrolls that you could use. And,” with a look around the house, she continued, “I think it might help you to get someplace a little more…organized?”

Quill nodded, taking the helping hoof offered to him and standing. With a quick trip to the bathroom, to clean himself up to be presentable, he followed the unicorn back to her study. Once inside, Twilight set out a scroll and quill and walked towards the door. “I’ll let you get to it and make sure you don’t have any distractions, ok? You can ask Spike for anything, he'll be happy to assist.” She left, a plan in place that included helping in more ways than one.

Rapid Quill nodded to the pony, watching as she left, and then turned towards the scroll. Begrudgingly, he sat down and picked up the quill. ‘Guess I’ll get this over with,’ he thought, ‘I know it’ll help, but I really don’t want to do this.’ And he began his newest chapter.


Life after Devin Cook’s death took some adjusting. The house, even as secluded as it was, seemed quieter still without the third pony in the tight-knit family. Beaming Justice and Daisy Cutter continued to mourn the passing of the pony, Daisy taking her father’s death especially hard. They had begun to move on, getting life back to normal, when Justice had dropped the surprise on his wife, suggesting that they should try having a foal. The two felt so happy, planning a future family together.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work out so simply. They had worked towards the foal for some time, modifying the house for the new arrival and reading up on the care of an infant. The two stepped up their efforts in having a foal, but after a year of trying, found themselves unsuccessful. As they grew weary of seeing the pregnancy strips come up negative, they decided that some additional help would be necessary.

Arriving at the doctor’s office in Vanhoover, the couple grew nervous, as the doctor was taking his time looking over their case. They had wanted a foal so bad for so long and were afraid of what the doctor would say. Finally, as the two were embracing each other for comfort, the doctor walked out.

“I’m baffled,” he said, sitting across from the lovers. “I’ve looked over everything and cannot find a reason that you two shouldn’t be able to get pregnant. I could run down all the tests we’ve done and the results, but they all point to one thing. You two seem perfectly compatible. I hate to not be able to give you better advice, but I’d say keep trying.”

With slouched shoulders and gloomy demeanors, the two thanked the doctor for his help and made the trip back to their house. They were frustrated, having not received a definitive answer as to what the problem could be, and decided to continue researching what they could do to try to make an effort successful. 

Two more years had passed, the couple having attempted to move on. They were disappointed that the dream they had wouldn’t get to become reality, though they kept trying, but at some point, they knew they would need to continue on with their lives. Justice feared it had something to do with his curse, feeling terrible that he was holding his wife back. 

One day, while out working his small field, Justice was thinking just that thought, cursing his situation and growing enraged at Nightmare Moon, he heard a call from the house. Daisy called out his name, sounding surprised and happy, and came running out to meet him. He rushed over to her, a smile on his face, for this was the happiest he had seen her in recent memory.

“Look, Justice!” Daisy said, holding out a pregnancy stick. “Our prayers have been answered! Thank Celestia!!”

Justice looked down, seeing the first pregnancy test that didn’t end with a negative response and felt his knees going weak. “We… we’re pregnant?” He asked, bursting out into a relief-filled laugh. He picked up his wife, swinging her around as the two shared a deep kiss. Finally he relented, her requests to stop for the baby’s sake finally getting through. The two decided to celebrate the night with a special dinner in town. 

As they returned home, after enjoying a fancy dinner, a nice stroll along the seaside docks, and a stop in to some of their acquaintances with the good news, they two embraced again, tears flowing down their faces. They had given up all hope of ever getting the foal they wanted and were now getting their hope back. They began discussing names for the foal.

About six months into the pregnancy, the two found themselves in nervous contemplation, silence deafening inside the carriage. They were approaching Princess Celestia’s castle for the second time in less than four years, but this time was even more nerve-wracking than the last. There had been a complication with the pregnancy, and the two decided Canterlot would have the best chance at figuring it out. As they hurriedly trotted over to the doctor’s office, Justice began to hear a voice he had long ago dealt with creep back in to his mind.

You know what the problem is, Nightmare Moon’s voice laughed, causing him to shudder. He kept rushing with his wife, intent on getting her the help she needed, but he couldn’t resist hearing the voice. You can hope for the best, but you know it is all your fault, don’t you?!?

Making sure that Daisy was ok, trying to calm her concern, he left her with the doctor and sat in the waiting area, trying to remember how to shut out the voice in his head. The problem was the voice was just telling him things he had already thought. Daisy had been seen by the town’s doctor, who had been monitoring the miracle pregnancy, as he had termed it, from the beginning. The pregnancy had been progressing wonderfully, showing signs of development and growing in size, until a day the doctor noticed no changes. He monitored the unborn foal for a week, expecting to see the growth continue, but was distraught to find absolutely no changes.

Why? Justice thought, biting down on his hoof to stop from crying. Is it something wrong with me? Is this all my fault? He cringed as he heard the voice from the monster in his past cackling again, yelling horrible things to him. He began to sweat, his teeth wearing grooves into his hooves, as he struggled with the inner monologue.

“I said Mr. Justice!” the doctor said, his hoof landing on the pegasus’ shoulders and snapping him out of his trance. “There we go. I wanted to talk to you about your wife’s condition.” He motioned for the pegasus to follow him into an observation room, where he would discuss the situation and bring in Daisy. Justice followed, his inner turmoil continuing.

“I can’t say I’ve seen this one before,” the doctor started, Justice insisting they begin before Daisy entered. “What appears to be happening is that the baby has just stopped growing. I know that is what your doctor in Vanhoover suggested as well, but I don’t mean just in weight. The foal has not gained on any of its measurables, has no signs of weight gain, and isn’t even developing its mane or tail, which it should have begun.”

“So, what does this mean?” Justice asked, fear trembling through his question.

The doctor shook his head, “I don’t know. As it stands, if the fetus doesn’t develop more, I’m not sure it would prevail after birth. I’m honestly not sure what kind of effects this situation will have on Daisy’s health if the pregnancy is taken to full term. I apologize for the bad news, sir. Let me go check on what’s taking so long with Daisy.”

As the doctor left the room, Justice sat and stared at the wall, the realization of the situation sinking in at the same time the cackling in his head reached a peak. It’s me. It’s all my fault. Our foal isn’t growing, isn’t aging, and it’s all my fault. He shook his head, trying to cover his ears from the laughing within. I’m ruining her life! I’m killing her dreams! After all our work, all our hopes, and it all comes back to me!! He grimaced and began crying in frustration.

Daisy was led down a hallway by the doctor, who had begun telling her of the issues that had been discovered. She was confused and scared, unsure what the doctor was saying and suggesting. Finally he led her to a door and, opening it and holding it for her, said, “As I’ve explained to your husband, the big proble-“

“Where is my husband?” Daisy asked, looking around the empty room. She turned to the doctor, her confusion and fear intensifying. The doctor’s confused look didn’t help her state of mind as realization dawned on her. “He left…” She sat on the spot and burst into tears, unable to withstand all the news of the day.

At that moment, as the doctor was beginning to rush out to try to help find the distraught pony’s husband, Justice ran into the room.  “What’s wrong? What’s the matter?!?” He ran right up to Daisy, checking her from a few feet away to make sure everything was ok with her.

Daisy’s crying stopped, she looked over at the worried face of her husband and pulled him into a hug. She hugged him tightly, feeling herself starting to build back up, her fear of his absence giving way to the relief that they were together. She pulled back, looking into his eyes, those ancient, scarred eyes and struck with all her might, hitting him very hard upside his head. The doctor yelped, hearing a cracking sound he would later wonder if he imagined, from across the room and shouted for assistance.

Minutes later, after Justice received attention for his head wound, the doctor still amazed that the pony was seemingly fine, let alone standing, the room was emptied of all ponies except for the couple. Justice looked over to his wife and smiled lightly, touching the very sore part of his head, covered by a bandage where he’d been cut, and winked at the mare, “That’s one hell of a left hook.” 

Daisy couldn’t resist a smile, though she was still upset. After collecting herself, she looked at her husband and frowned, “Where were you? Why did you leave? What were you thinking?”

Justice’s smile faded, his look going distant, and he shook his head slightly, wincing at the pain that action produced. “I won’t lie, I left because I was scared. The doctor said the foal isn’t growing, that it just stopped developing… It’s got to be my fault. It’s my curse that’s killed our foal, our dream. It won't let me grow old, and now it won't let our foal grow at all. I’d thought that if I left, you might be able to find a new love, somepony who could help you have a foal.”

Daisy’s frown intensified, “You seriously left because you were scared? What do you think I felt? I also found out that my foal,” she started cracking up, tears streaming down her face, “my foal won’t survive. And worse yet, my loving husband, who is my rock when I need him to be, has disappeared? What do you think I’m supposed to do then?”

Justice reached out to hug her, trying to comfort her for his mistake, but hesitated. It really was all his fault, and now it was his fault that she felt abandoned. “I decided to come back, because you mean so much to me. I couldn’t abandon you, couldn’t run away from this problem. And then I heard you crying and was so worried that you were hurt. Joke’s on me, huh?” He punctuated the last part by lightly touching his wounded head again.

Daisy burst out laughing, again involuntary. “Justice, don’t joke. Make me a promise, don’t you ever leave me.”

Justice teared up, this time fully reaching out to support his wife. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry that I’ve ruined our dreams again. It’s all my fault. You’d be better off without me.” He began to feel his tears falling down on her mane as he held her close.

Daisy felt comforted in her lover’s embrace, breathing in his scent on his chest as she buried her face. “Shut up, you idiot. Do you understand that living a life with you, without a foal, is still preferable to living a life without you at all? Do you not see that?” She wiped her tears away, looking up at her husband, and shared a sad kiss. 



 
Rapid Quill needed a break, one of the hardest parts of his dream having passed. He felt much better getting it down on paper, feeling like the memory of it was slowly creeping from his mind, but still felt despair re-reading the last segment. When he had first seen the two ponies struggle with the loss of their life’s dream, their physical representation of their love, and then Justice’s cowardice to run away, even if only at first, he had felt like he would never be able to write the scene down. Yet here it was, sitting neatly in a scroll, the inkwell and quill still sitting nearby.

He asked Spike for a glass of water, the dragon assistant confused as to the tear stains on the author’s face, and got back to writing.


In the cozy city of Manehattan, a bustling little port town built on the north eastern part of Equestria, life was continuing on as usual for Summer Dawn. She was walking her colt, Dusk Ryder, through the large park in town and saying hello to all of the acquaintances she met throughout the park. She called out to Dusk and told him it was time to go home, his protestations bringing a smile to her face. She so loved that he had so many friends in the city.

As they headed home, and Dusk was telling his mother about the fun his friends and he were having, Summer couldn't help but sigh happily. She enjoyed her life, raising Dusk taking most of her time, but she had desired more. She thought back to when she was a florist, her fond memories of the happiness customers showed when she exceeded their expectations, and couldn't help but wonder when, if ever, she would be able to go back to that time.

Her husband, Key Drift, and herself moved to Manehattan seven years earlier and settled down to a happy life, a colt expected and a life of hope and wonder ahead of them. After a while though, the spark had faded. She did still have some affection for Drift, but recently he had spent more time at his practice than at home, and her affection had turned more to one of a past lover and not a current one. Conversations had become quite forced, it felt, and leaned more to trivial matters and farther and farther away from the romantic things they used to talk about.

Lost her thoughts, Summer didn't hear Dusk as he called out about the moving van. Startled when he nudged against her, she looked around, finding herself much closer to home than she realized, and finally saw the moving van. "Well! Look Dusk! Somepony is moving in across the street." She smiled, missing her colt's annoyed eye roll, and strolled over to meet the new ponies. She was surprised to find out that the ponies were not present, the movers coming in advance of the couple that would be moving it the next day. Must have some money to hire movers themselves, Summer had thought, leading her colt home.

That night Drift had not come home, spending yet another night at his practice, the final patient leaving rather late and a morning appointment coming early the next day. Summer sighed sadly at the news and prepared dinner for Dusk and herself, followed by getting the colt to bed. Yet another day passed where she raised her colt seemingly alone and filled her time with nothing but her thoughts. What made this day different was her thoughts had substance, the new neighbors, who she hoped would be kind.

The next morning, as Summer was walking Dusk to his school, which ran only half days during the fall, they took their usual path through the park. Summer particularly enjoyed this time, as Dusk was usually still too tired to be too talkative and the park was less crowded, the early morning keeping most ponies away. She listened to the birds chirping, appreciated the coolness of early morning, and smiled as the sun was rising over the nearby buildings. 

As she was taking in the sights, she heard a faint galloping on the nearby cobblestone. In the distance was a morning jogger, nothing new to see, but not one that she had seen before. The pegasus stallion that was jogging on the other side of the park lane was quite the specimen. He was a rather muscular and fit stallion, one who had broken into a slight sweat, but was hardly breathing heavily. She admired his gait and was wondering who he was when she felt Dusk at her side. 

"Mom, we need to hurry or I'll be late!" Dusk said, pushing at his mom's leg. "Mom, why did you stop? We need to go!" He laughed at his silly mom, who shook her head and smiled down at him, proceeding onwards to the school. 

Summer went about her daily errands, going to the market for the groceries she'd need for later in the day, stopping in at Drift's practice, though he was too busy to visit, and getting a small brunch before heading back to Dusk's school to pick the foal up at midday. When she was at the market, she had noticed a new pony across the way. Always one to be social, she wandered over and introduced herself. "Hello, you must be new in the area, am I right?"

"Why hello there," the earth pony said, turning to smile warmly. "Why yes, I just moved here in fact. However did you know?"

"Oh well you see, I come to this market just about every morning and hadn't seen you before. You have such a wonderful look! And that accent, where might you be from, if you don't mind? Oh my stars, I never introduced myself! My name is Summer Dawn."

The pony smiled again, reaching out and shaking hooves. "I don't mind at all. I'm from Vanhoover and my name is Daisy Cutter. It's nice to meet somepony new in the city. I must ask, where do you live? I'd love to chat sometimes."

Summer told of her house and was excited to find out that her new acquaintance was the new owner of the house across the street. They had agreed to meet for tea later in the day, as Summer needed to move on to the rest of her errands. During the afternoon, after she got Dusk settled with his lunch and set him to his homework, she was pleased by a ringing at her door. "Daisy! I'm so glad you came over. Please come in."

The two mares chatted most of the afternoon, about Vanhoover and Manehattan, their hobbies and jobs, and a surprise visit by Dusk moved the conversation forward to more personal matters. "You have a colt?" Daisy said, smiling warmly at the young unicorn as he received a snack. After he had left, she turned back to Summer, "He's adorable."

"Yes, he's my pride and joy," Summer said, sighing happily. "Of course I forgot to ask, are you married or dating?" About that time there was a knock on the door, a firm stiff couple of taps. Summer excused herself and went to answer the door. She was taken back, pleasantly, at the sight of the attractive pegasus that had been running through the park. Summer felt her heart skip a beat, a dazed smile spreading across her face.

"Hello, my name is Beaming Justice. Is my wife here?" he said in a deep voice. He was answered from within, Daisy coming over and embracing her husband. She turned to her new friend and introduced him. The couple had decided they needed to go, unpacking still left to do, and Daisy departed, thanking her neighbor for a good chat.

Summer was happy to see that Drift came home that night, making a big dinner for the small family. As they sat around the table discussing their day, the subject turned to the new neighbors across the way. Summer explained about her nice chat with the brown earth pony mare named Daisy Cutter and then began to talk about her husband Beaming Justice. "I haven't had a chance to get to know him, but he seems nice. I think he might be ex-military, because he is pretty fit." 

How she had hoped the unknown pegasus from this morning had been single. She caught epherself suddenly, embarrassed at her inner thoughts, and decided to kept quiet. Drift didn't show signs that he had noticed, probably ignoring most of the conversation as usual, so she tried to return her condition to a normal one. It had helped that Dusk had begun to ask his father about the patients he had seen today. 

A couple of days had passed, and other than a few small passing conversations, the two couples had not had much interaction. The weekend rolled around, meaning that Dusk wouldn't have school and even Drift was opening his practice late into the day. Summer awoke happily, rolling over in bed to get more comfortable, thinking about sleeping in herself, when suddenly she realized the bed was empty yet again. The problem was that Drift had been home the night before. She cleared the sleep from her eyes and looked around, trying to find her husband.

Out in the park, Key Drift was jogging slightly, having found less time to keep up his exercises ever since moving to the city and taking up his practice. His gait was strained, an old wound causing him some discomfort, but he struggled through it. There was a secondary reason he was taking laps in the park and, with a determined smile, he saw his target from afar. His wife had talked about the dark grey pegasus, who was well fit and jogged through the park every morning, so he knew this pony was the one she had talked about.

"Good morning," he had said, jogging up to the pony as he ran through. The pegasus slowed a bit, noticing the struggles the unicorn was having, but with a grunt, Drift kept up the pace, making the pegasus run back up to speed. "My name is Key Drift, I believe you've met my wife Summer Dawn?"

Justice nodded, a little perturbed at the interruption to his morning exercise and the prideful way this pony was hurting himself for posterity reasons. "Yeah, my wife has talked about her a lot. I believe they are developing a pretty nice friendship."

"Yes, I know she's talked a lot about you," Drift replied gruffly, his struggles intensifying, having pushed his leg injury too far. "I thought we could get to know each other, since our wives are getting so close. I was wondering if you'd like to come over for dinner tonight."

Justice slowed to a stop, forcing the other pony to stop as well, a very slight grimace around the corners of his eyes. Justice thought about it and nodded, "I think we'd love to. I'll let Daisy know and we'll be over this afternoon. Can we bring something?"

Drift smiled, little emotion in this empty expression, and shook his head, "No, no, that's fine. Please just bring yourself and your wife and a good appetite. Summer can cook up a mean meal." With that, the two shook hooves, both with stern, powerful grips. With a nod, they parted and went their separate ways. Justice continued his exercises and Drift slipped off slowly to his office for some medicine, his leg flaring in pain. He was sure his wife was correct in her guess. This pegasus was ex-military of some sort, and he wanted to get to know him better that night to find out.

That night, the two families got together for a small cookout, Dusk, Justice, and Drift off throwing a hoofball around while Summer and Daisy chatted and prepared the food. Eventually the meal was set, and the stallions came in, and there was peaceful conversation around the table. The conversation spun its way to how the two couples met, Justice and Daisy talking about their trapping excursions, and Summer and Drift talking about how they met in highschool.

"Trappers, huh?" Summer asked, nodding. "That explains why you two look so good." With a blush, she apologized. "I'm so sorry, that was rather forward of me."

Daisy and Justice laughed, explaining that there was no reason to be embarrassed. They were proud of their past as trappers and were hoping to continue that tradition, if there was a need in the city. "Oh, I believe there may be some opportunities for ponies such as yourselves." Drift said, smiling. "Though I hate to prod. I can't help but think that you might've been in the military, Justice?"

Justice chuckled a little, "Yeah, I served for a while, but that seems so long ago." His chuckling stopped when he received a slight kick under the table from Daisy. Luckily the other two ponies missed this action as Dusk was excitedly shouting out about Drift's previous experience. "I mean, I've been retired for a few years, my life with Daisy taking precedence. You served as well?"

Drift nodded, a genuine smile spread across his face, "Yeah, I served for a couple of years, until I was forced to retire. But enough about me, where did you serve? I'm having trouble picking out your accent."

Justice looked on in empathy, expecting the obvious injury to be the reason his fellow ex-vet had to retire. "Uh, oh! Canterlot, actually. Nothing huge, just part of the guard there." He had to laugh when Dusk's eyes got bigger and his mouth hung open. As the little colt was asking questions left and right, not waiting for answers, Justice couldn't help but laugh, even as Summer tried to get her foal to settle down. "Let's see. I believe the answers are: yes I wore the cool armor, no I never got into too much trouble, yes I have seen Princess Celestia a couple of times, and no I did not receive any medals."

Dusk beamed, even as he was being shushed. "My father has a couple of medals. He won them because he..."

With a stern hoof, Summer clamped her foal's mouth shut, stopping him in mid-sentence from talking about things that Drift didn't want discussed. Summer herself wasn't completely aware of what all had happened in Drift's time in the service, as he had remained distant and quiet ever since returning. She wanted to be a sympathetic ear he could turn to, but he never did, and the distance was beginning to form between them.

Needless to say, conversation became a little more awkward after this exchange and, with a little relief, Summer announced it was time for Dusk to go to bed. As she was shuffling him off to get ready, Daisy and Justice decided they should head home as well, not wanting to overstay their welcome. With lot of appreciation, they excused themselves from a lovely night and returned home.

Daisy looked on at Justice, after he had closed the door, and noticed his sad expression. "I feel bad for them. They seem nice, but don't you get the feeling that Drift was a little too distant with his own family?"

Justice nodded, "Some ponies just have trouble talking about the things in their past that they wish could be different. I wish there was something we could do to help them." He pulled his wife into a hug, kissing her softly on her forehead. "But I'm glad that we've made some new friends already."

Daisy smiled, enjoying the warmth of her husband's embrace. "Me too. But I'm pretty tired. Think you might carry me to bed?" She laughed like a filly as she was swept up into the arms of her lover and flown up the stairs to the bedroom. The two held each other close as they fell asleep, both smiling at their love they shared.

Across the street, Summer finished tucking Dusk into bed, reading another chapter of his favorite story and kissing his almost asleep cheek before turning out the light. She set about cleaning up after the dinner party that had seemed to go so well, until the end. As she was doing the dishes, she heard a sound behind her and turned to see Drift, standing at the door and wrapping a scarf around his neck. "Where are you going? Back to work? It's too late, darling."

Drift turned to look at her, a slightly pained look around the corners of his eyes. "I told you I have a very important appointment tomorrow morning, I need to make sure that I am there. I'll be back tomorrow, I promise. I just need to prepare for my patient." Barely stopping to blow her a kiss, the unicorn opened the door and left for the night, leaving his wife alone to finish the dishes.

Summer turned back to the sink, her body cleaning the dishes, but her mind a blank slate. When she had finished, she walked as if in a daze to her room and, gently getting under the covers, she turned out the light and closed her eyes. As she waited for sleep to come, she finally broke down and began to cry, silent so as not to wake her son.

A week had passed and fall break was upon the school ponies. Dusk was running around the house, excited for the extended time off, and Summer was just about at wit's end trying to keep up. She had finally gotten him to settle down for a second to eat when horror struck her. I don't have the ingredients for next week's holiday feast!! She ran around the house, trying to figure out what all she would need and then caught her eye on Dusk's empty chair. After finally tracking down the colt, who was playing his favorite hiding game, she decided she would need some help if she was going to make it to the store and back.

Knocking on her neighbor's door, and pleased to see that Daisy had answered, she begged, "I am so so SO sorry to ask you to do this. I just realized that I need to run to the market and get all the food for next week's feast and I cannot seem to control Dusk today. Is there any way, at all, that you could watch him, just for a few hours? It would mean the world to me!"

Daisy smiled at her friend and patted the young unicorn's head. "I would love to look after little Dusk here. Anything to help you out. Don't worry, Justice and I have you covered." She received a warm hug from her neighbor pony and smiled as she waved goodbye. Turning to the young colt at her side, she said, "So, what should we do first? Do you want to read a book? Or maybe draw a picture?"

"Can't we just play a game, ma'am?" Dusk asked, his manners and pleading face making the earth pony smile warmly. As Daisy nodded, Dusk ran off, shouting a challenge as he went, to find a good hiding spot. Daisy laughed lightly, covering her eyes and counting to fifty and then set off to find the young colt.

After a good five minutes of searching, and to no success, Daisy began to get frustrated with herself. At that time, Justice walked around the corner and, with a bemused grin, asked his wife, "What are you doing?"

"I'm playing a game, and not very well," Daisy said, her frustration showing. "I'm trying to find Dusk, but I can't believe how well he's hidden himself." She looked on, upset at the laughter from her husband.

"You?" Justice said, still laughing in between words. "The great hunter and trapper Daisy Cutter can't find a little colt? Don't you see the humor in this?" Daisy did not, explaining that the new house was so fresh and clean that there was no hope for hoofprints or broken items. "Domestic tracking is a little harder than forest tracking, huh?" Justice said, stifling a laugh.

Daisy snorted in anger and challenged the winged pony to find the young unicorn. Justice's look turned to one of defiance, the challenge having been accepted, and he closed his eyes. He gave a few sniffs in the air, swiveled his ears around a couple of times, and spread his wings. Daisy looked on bemused, having not seen this technique before, but dropped her jaw when Justice's wing flinched in the direction of the food pantry. He confidently walked over and began to open the door. "He's not in there, I already checked," Daisy said haughtily.

Justice pushed aside the boxes of food in the back corner and, with an angry shout, Dusk was found. Daisy was dumbfounded, literally amazed that Justice had found the colt in such a good hiding spot. Then she laughed as the two got into a debate. Apparently Justice had watched the young colt hide and "promised" not to tell. "I didn't tell, I just found you," Justice said, with a grin. As the young colt walked off, grumbling about cheating, Justice grinned at his wife, eliciting a laugh.

The three ponies decided to play outside, as the day was a beautiful one, and Dusk and Justice set about playing tag. After a couple of hours playing, Summer returned, eternally grateful for the help the couple had provided. She smiled, watching the young unicorn and the pegasus chasing each other around the yard, and asked if it would be alright for Daisy and Justice to watch Dusk again.

Daisy smiled excitedly and patted her friend's shoulder, "We'd be delighted to. Anytime you need us, we would love to have Dusk over. I haven't seen Justice this playful before." She laughed as Justice was "caught" and tackled to the ground by the young pony. With a small attempt at pleading, Dusk was told it was time to go and left, begrudgingly, with a smile and a promise that he'd get to play some more a little later on.

A few months passed and Justice and Daisy were asked to help foalsit from time to time. This time had been irreplaceable for the couple as they enjoyed their time with their friends and especially enjoyed helping to raise the young colt. One day in particular, as Summer and Daisy watched Justice and Drift play in the snow covered park, Summer inquired, "Why haven't you two had a foal yet? You are still young enough, you totally should."

Daisy stopped walking for a second, a sad look touching her face. "Oh, well. We found out about a year ago that we can't. We had tried, but we lost the foal. I mean, I know it happens, but it was very painful for both of us. I just don't think we could stomach trying again." She looked up at her friend, noticing her pained expression. "Oh please don't feel bad! You didn't know, it's ok, really!"

Summer hugged Daisy, feeling the sadness deep in her heart. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry. I... I didn't know." After being calmed down, the two looked out at their boys. Justice had picked Dusk up and was flying him, low to the ground so as to not upset his mother, and depositing him on some of the only untouched snow left in the park, allowing the colt to be the first to make tracks. "It's such a shame too. Justice would make a wonderful father."

Daisy choked back a sob, receiving comfort and apologies again from her friend. "You're right. He really would." The two worked to calm Daisy down, before Justice would notice and worry, and set about to make the day as normal as possible, though it was futile. Daisy and Justice cried that night, a further reminder of their curse in life hurting deeply. With a little time, the two moved forward, again happy to have each other, even with the flaws that came with it.

As the winter drew to an end, Summer and Dusk would come over to their neighbor's house for visits often. Justice and Dusk would end up playing in the yard, either tag, war, or hide-and-seek, and Summer and Daisy would chat on the patio and watch from afar. Daisy had picked up the subtle clues that Summer was unconsciously showing and finally dropped the bomb one day. "Is everything alright between you and Key Drift?"

Summer looked off in the distance, a tear coming to her eye. "I don't know. No, something is wrong, and I guess I'm just fooling myself." She began to cry, hugging her new friend. Justice, seeing this from afar, shepherded his young playmate over, away from the scene on the patio, and trusted his wife to help. "I want to say there is still love between us, but I can't stand the distance. Do you know that Drift spends more time at his practice than at home? In the past week, I've only seen him for dinner twice. And... and..."

Daisy patted the distraught unicorn beside her on the back, wanting to help but trying to tread carefully. "You obviously still love him, or else you wouldn't be so upset about this." She pulled the unicorn back a little. "Tell me everything, I want to help you." As the day wore on, the two talked and talked, Summer relieved she finally had somepony to tell her problems to. After cleaning herself up, and calling for Justice and Dusk, Summer went home, thanking Daisy on her way out.

After a long discussion with Daisy, Justice was upset. He had seen the unicorn crying to his wife, but hadn't realized just how far deep Summer's depression was going. He marched out of the house, ignoring the protestations of Daisy behind him, and flew quickly to Drift's practice. He surprised the medical pony by coming in and, with a clearance in his schedule, set up an appointment. When the two entered the observation room, Justice immediately pulled back from the check-up and started his desired business.

"Is there something wrong with you and Summer Dawn?" Justice asked, the unicorn across the room giving him a stern look. "Because she seems to think so. Is it true you spend more nights here than at home? Do you not realize that you are losing your marriage?"

Drift just looked at the pegasus in front of him and snorted angrily. "How dare you! How dare you barge into my workplace and attack me this way. How dare you think you can meddle in my family's business as well. I have half a mind to..."

"Your family? Do you even realize your own wife if suffering because you spend no time with her? I think I've been spending more time with your family than even you are. Don't you think that there is something wrong with that?"

Drift charged forward, as if to hit the pegasus, but he stopped short, his rage showing as he quietly said, "It's you. My family likes you more than they like me. My wife is in love with you, my son idolizes you, and they both despise me." At the end of this, the unicorn's pain was showing through.

Justice took a step forward, putting his hoof out on the shoulder of the medical unicorn. "You're wrong. They don't despise you, they love you. More than you know, they love you. You just don't see it because you aren't around for them to share it with you." The unicorn looked up at him, questioning looks shining through his tears. "Your wife had an attraction to me, or so my wife says, but that doesn't mean anything. I swear to you that nothing will happen. I am happily married and have no desire to jeopardize that. But what you don't see is that your wife loves you still. She has said she misses you at night, that she wishes you were there to hold her, to love her. There is no love lost there.

"Your son absolutely idolizes you." Justice paused, a little upset at the snort from the unicorn. "Listen, Drift, your son cannot stop talking about you. Ever since he found out I was in the guard in Canterlot, he's told me so much about you. He told me about your service and, if you'll believe this, whenever we play war, he..." he choked back a little. "He gets an imaginary injury. I asked him why and he said, 'Because real heroes can fight through their injury and come home.'"

Drift fell to the floor, his tears flowing. "I don't believe you. My son said that?" Justice nodded and the unicorn was beside himself. Justice got him some water, giving the pony time to recover. Wiping away the tears he shed, Drift asked, "What can I do? You and Daisy seem to have the perfect marriage, but I'm afraid I've ruined mine. Please help me."

Justice felt for the pony beside him, he helped him stand and said, "Let me explain something. My marriage to Daisy isn't perfect. There are a lot of things that we have had to and will have to work on. But the point is to work on it together. What you've done is separate your relationship; it is destined to break. Go home, isn't there somepony who can run your practice for an afternoon? Go home and play with your son. Go home and talk to your wife. That's the first step. Then work on this."

The two shook hooves again, Drift cleaned himself up, and, while Justice left to head home, called his neighboring practice and asked if they would be able to see his patients for the afternoon. With that, he headed home early, surprising his wife and son. That day, he played catch with his son, chased after him during tag, and even outwitted him in a game of hide-and-seek. Summer watched from afar, baffled at the sudden change in her husband. 

She prepared a full meal that night, one that had knocked the rest of her recent dinners to the side. The three talked about their day, the fun they had had playing, and their neighbors. The conversation was a much more deep conversation than they had conducted for quite some time. Finally, it was getting late and Dusk had to get ready for bed. Summer walked him upstairs and prepared him for his bedtime. After putting the young colt to sleep, she come back downstairs to begin the dishes, her normal routine. 

Standing at the counter, most dishes washed and set aside, Drift turned to his wife and pointed to the table, where he had laid out a small bowel of her favorite ice cream, done up with her favorite toppings and said, "Sit, I've got dishes. I wanted to talk." As his wife sat and enjoyed her desert, the pony sighed, not sure exactly how to start. "I want to apologize. No, that's not enough. I need to explain something."

That night, Drift and Summer had a long conversation. The conversation was about Drift's time in the service, his injury caused by an Ursa attack, an injury he himself operated on in the field, and the resulting release from duty. He explained how he felt like less of a pony because he was physically scarred, physically limited and felt like a failure to his wife. He explained how late at night, whenever he had quiet to contemplate, he would hear the battlefield screams, see the Ursa attacking, and feel his injury again. It was his fear of showing his pain in front of his family that led him to spending so much time away from them. 

Summer embraced her husband, her love for him still strong, and explained that she didn't care about his injury. She explained about the pony that she fell in love with in the first place, the poet who used to write for her, the singer who would sing his praises to her, and the genius who could think through all problems. She was so proud of him when he went into the service, a sacrifice he made for her and their unborn colt, and was so scared everyday he was away. She let him know that when he saw a scarred, half-pony return from duty, she saw her husband, back and alive and blessed her luck.

The two sat together, making promises with each other to work on their relationship, rebuilding it back to where it once was. Summer understood that she would need to be patient and help Drift through his psychological issues that had developed and Drift agreed to spend more time with his family, working on being a better father and husband. As the two went to bed, holding each other warmly through the night, Justice and Daisy sat across the street holding each other's hooves and smiled, knowing that they did a good deed and hoping for the best for their new friends.



		
Rapid Quill sat back again, his hoof starting to cramp from one of the longest chapters to date on his story. He received another glass of water from Twilight's Number One Assistant and prepared himself for more writing, planning to finish the rest of the nightmares that had plagued him for weeks. With a heavy breath, he planned to continue his story, Justice's story.