//------------------------------// // Day 15: Roommates // Story: The Problem With Magic // by deathtap //------------------------------// Soft.   That was the first conscious thought that came to my mind. Soft.   Slowly, my eyes opened. It was blinded by light. I squinted and waited as they adjusted to my new environment. When they did, I let them take a good look around to absorb my milieu, surveying my current location. On a bed, tucked in neatly with a bright white sheet, a blue blanket covered the lower half of my torso. To my left was a sleeping Aiden sitting on a stool his head sprawled on the bed, his drool soaking the area near my leg. In front of me I saw a blank white wall, with a long sofa leaning against it.   “Ah, glad to see you’re awake. Welcome back.”   My head turned to the right, and the last person I thought I’d ever see was sitting up in a bed next to mine displaying a wide grin, “Brian?” I asked, astonished.   “The one and only,” He furled his wrist and made his head bow a little, “We’re roommates. Well, for now at least.”   “So, I did make it back…” I leaned back into my pillow staring straight up at the boring, uniformed ceiling. Never has ceiling tiles looked so good.   Brian said nothing for a while. Then he closed a book he was reading, “I heard about what happened. You’re one lucky Pony.”   Was I? Was I really?   “Your daughter…”   “She said she spotted your ‘light marker’, something about you and magic bracelet?”   Brian was being really friendly and wasn’t being mean or hostile. I told him about the magic, the bracelet, and the three spells I learnt from it – carefully void avoiding the activation spells with the excuse that the fewer people who knew about it the better.   “Well, let me tell you what happened afterwards. After you passed out, Rainbow flew you straight here. You were completely gone, so the doctors decided to operate on you without using any anaesthetic…”   “Operate?” I asked, bewildered.   “Oh yes. Take a looked at your chest…”   My fur on my entire right was shaved off, and a nice new scar decorated the right side of my body. It was long and narrow, except for a tiny bit in the middle where it was rough and uneven.   “You have to admit, the medical services here in Ponyville are bar none – well, maybe except for Canterlot. When I had my wings removed, a doctor from Canterlot did the oprations. The doctors here took good care of me and helped me recover,” Brian looked at me, and my expression must have asked the unasked question, “Oh, I had wings at one point. Those were the days.” He looked up, and sighed. He must have had a wave of nostalgia.   “What happened?”   “It was a one-time spell, and it took me a while to get used to flying. In retrospect, it probably was for the best. For a while, I was an angel. Flying with my daughter, soaring through the skies,” He laughed at that, “Makes me wish I was born a bird!”   We chatted for a bit, making small-talk. He told me more about himself, about his days on Earth after he had adopted Rainbow Dash, their lives together; the part where they had to be separated was particularly painful to hear. Then how delighted me with his antics after he had come to this world, how he had adapted to his life here and his days in Equestria.   The more I knew about him, the stronger the feelings of guilt flooded through me. Before, I had thought of Brian as a desperate failure eager to get away from his life on Earth using his daughter as a convenient excuse. Now I knew better. He wasn’t a failure at all, and in many ways he was by far a better man or Pony than I was. He was the perfect father, a father that I wished I had. He was a father that was there for you, a father that you could look up to and respect. He gave up everything for Rainbow because that was what fathers are supposed to do for their children, to be there for her without question.   The last memory of my father was of him shoving a blade into my chest.   My depressing recollection was interrupted by a gentle knock on the door.   “Come on in!” Brian called out, and in walked the gang; Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Spike, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Lavender, Amethyst, Derpy, Applebloom, Rainbow, the Cakes and their two children, Fluttershy and last of all Big Mac.   Twilight rushed over to me, “How are you feeling?” She sounded frantic.   “Fine,” I replied, smiling gently, “Sorry about what happened. I was… I didn’t think. I should have kept doing laps around Ponyville, not run away from it. It was just… I thought you guys were in danger and… yeah, I just didn’t think.”   “Well, we’re just glad you’re okay.” Twilight put her hoof on mine, “We were all worried about you.”   “I didn’t mean to make any of you worry. I’m sorry.”   “We weren’t that worried,” Rainbow replied rolling her eyes, “We knew you’d be safe.”   I couldn’t help but chuckle at that, “Thanks, Rainbow. It’s nice to think that you have such faith in me. And thanks for lugging me all the way back here. I think you saved my life.”   She just blushed, chuckled a little bit and rubbed the back of her neck.   “Speaking of lifesavers,” Aiden interjected, sitting up and blushing as he wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, “I have someone here who wants to say hello.”   “Tessie!” I yelled as she leapt out of a small bag that Aiden had and hopped onto the hospital bed before running up to me so she stood just to my left. She gave me a squeak as I pet her with my hoof, relieved to see that she was safe and sound.   “A rat?” Twilight asked more than a little confused.   “She saved me. Without her, I very much doubt I’d be here,” I pat Tessie again.   I probably shouldn’t have said that… too soon.   “Would you care to explain?” Twilight demanded when I didn’t elaborate.   For the next hour or so I amused my friends with my tale, starring little Tessie. Suffice to say, they were shocked with just how vital she was to my survival. I left out the part where I stood overlooking a ravine with lava at the base. Even with my selective omissions my tale was pretty unbelievable. Plus, I didn’t really want them to know just how close or how many times I brushed against ‘death’ – and that was another thing that confused me. Tutela had protected me before, when I had leapt out the window in Canterlot. But nothing happened this time around. Not even when I was swatted across the caverns by the Ursa Majors. Did she trust that I could escape that time, or was there another reason? I would have to talk to her about that.   “Incredible. I had no idea such a large community of Ursas lived in the Everfree Forest.” Twilight thought for a bit, “How far away was this cave?”   “Pretty far,” Rainbow stated, “Only the fastest and most awesome Pony in Equestria can make it there and back in one day…”   “Dashie, we talked about this, remember?” Brian gave his daughter a keen look, but he had a small knowing smile on his face that betrayed his stern tone, “Grace and humility.”   “Aw,” Rainbow blushed a little, “Yes, dad.” She fluttered over to him and nuzzled his neck.   I couldn’t resist a short chuckle.   “We’ve brought you a cake,” Mrs Cake stated, her husband carrying a beautifully wrapped box, “It’s from your friends at Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie made it herself!”   Pinkie smiled at me from where she stood as I looked at her. Why was she standing so far away? Was she still mad at me? “Thank you all.”   As I opened the box, what I saw blew me away. It was me! In cake form! The likeness was uncanny. The chocolate cake had a huge smiling face where the teeth were made of icing. My mane and tail were made from a delicious looking chocolate frosting. It was beautiful. The best present I had ever gotten from anybody.   “Thank you,” I choked. I was… crying? “I’m sorry…” I wiped the tears with my hooves. They wouldn’t stop! They continued to flow down my cheeks, and no matter how hard I tried to stop them, they just kept on going. “I’m so, so, sorry… I don’t know what’s wrong with me…”   Thing was, I wasn’t apologizing for crying. It wasn’t from the fact that I was so happy, which I was – they were all so damned wonderful. I cried because they’ve done nothing but open themselves to me, drawing me into their lives. I’ve only been here for two weeks, and already they treated me with more respect and tenderness than I’ve felt in my entire miserable existence. They really cared for me. And yet, my whole time here has been a lie. And that’s what really hurt. They had befriended a lie, and there was nothing I could do to change that.   “Forest, you don’t have to cry over one silly cake,” Applebloom laughed, before brandishing that super-cute smile.   I covered my eyes with my arm, “I know! I know… it’s just…” I couldn’t find the words.   “What’s going on in here?” An angry voice questioned from the door.   Nurse Redheart walked in with the doctor. They both looked at everypony there with a mixture of amusement and annoyance.   “I know everypony here is eager to see Forest, but this isn’t a place for social gathering. You’re all welcome to visit in small groups,” Nurse Redheart reprimanded them.   “I think due to these unique circumstances, we should excuse them just this once,” The doctor replied placing a gentle hoof on her shoulder and giving her a wink, “They’ve been through quite a lot of worrying.”   Nurse Redheart took a long, deep sigh. “Very well. But only this once. Remember you are in a hospital and there’re patients next door that need rest. That means no noises and no partying. Am I clear, Pinkamena Diane Pie?”   Pinkie just grinned nervously before nodding.   “So, how’re you feeling, Forest?” The doctor asked walking over to me, “And what is that?”   “I’m fine, sir. And this is Tessie, she’s… my pet.”   “Please, ‘sir’ is my father, call me Dr Stable. Have you already forgotten me? Anyway, pets aren’t allowed in the hospital, so please ask your friends to take her away when they leave.”   He stood by the side of my bed and pulled the blanket back. I felt naked without fur covering my torso, but he inspected the stitched wound. He nodded, “It’s healing well. Were you crushed?”   I nodded, remembering getting smooshed by the Ursa’s eyelid.   “One of your ribs on the right-hand side of your body was broken, while the rest have been cracked. The broken rib was protruding from your body causing some bleeding. Luckily, Rainbow Dash brought you here quick enough for us to operate and close the wound.”   My eyes found Rainbow who grinned at me. I nodded to her in thanks.   “You had suffered a significant amount of blood-loss, which is why you’re in this room.” Dr Stable looked over at Brian, “Brian is your blood donor.”   “Wha-?” I asked shocked.   “You both have low Magical Affinities, something that you brought to our attention a few days ago,” Dr Stable shook his head, “I never thought that human and Pony blood would be compatible.”   It can’t, I wanted to say. “How is that possible?”   “Magic,” Dr Stable replied.   “That makes no sense,” I retorted.   “Well, that’s the problem with magic. There’s always a mystery behind it.” This time it was Twilight who spoke.   That shut me up.   Dr Stable continued, “It will take time to heal, I’m afraid. That means you won’t be able to run that Race next week.”   My heart sank. All that hard work and effort was going to go to waste! That really sucked.   “I told you to be careful!” Lavender slapped her hoof against her face, “Now I’m going to have to run it!”   “Sorry, Lav…”   “No. Don’t apologize. I guess we all have to thank you for saving the town and all,” Lavender shrugged, “In your own way, as inane as it was to run away from the town. These things happen.”   “And I’m pulling out of the Race as well,” Twilight confessed, “The princess has asked me to oversee organization of the events, so Amethyst will be taking my place.”   As if on cue, the other Unicorn stepped forwards and gave me an awkward wave.   “Ooh, ooh! I’m making a theme song for our team!” Sweetie Belle put in, “I’m calling it The Ponyville Posse!”   “That sounds pretty cool. I can’t wait to hear it,” It sounded like a fun song.   “It’s not done yet,” Sweetie Belle blushed.   “Where’s Derpy?” I asked curious as to why she wasn’t here when the rest of the team were.   “Oh, she’s still delivering letters. She’ll visit later on,” Scootaloo answered.   At the back of the room next to Pinkie I saw Spike trying his hardest not to look at Rarity, and failing miserably. She, on the other hand was either completely oblivious to Spike or was very good at acting as if she didn’t notice. Either way, it was comical to see. The Cakes two children were sitting on a sofa next to Spike, they looked really bored.   “Okay, everypony. Let’s let Forest rest. You can come back later, it’s time for him to eat,” Nurse Redheart stated.   “Forest, save some cake for me!” Rainbow called to me while floating over to her father giving him a peck on the cheek. “I’ll be back later. Weather duty,” She explained.   “Okay, sweetheart, take care,” Brian answered, reluctantly letting go of his daughter’s hoof.   “Oh… um… Forest… I can take care of Tessie… if you don’t mind,” Fluttershy bashfully offered.   “That’d be great, Fluttershy. Thank you.”   Tessie understood the situation and jumped onto Fluttershy’s back and the two Pegasi exited together. The Cakes and their children were the next to leave; the kids were completely bored out of their skulls and elated to be leaving. Apparently I was not entertaining enough. Understandable.   Pinkie walked to the foot of my bed, and smiled shyly at me. She looked like she wanted to say something, but wasn’t able to.   I should apologize to her, but I want to that privately. I thought to myself as we looked at one another for a long moment.   “Can I throw you a welcome back party?” She suddenly burped out. I could barely make out the question.   It had completely caught me off guard, “Of course, Pinkie. If that is what you want.” I could only laugh. Ouch. It hurt to laugh. Maybe my painkillers were wearing off.   A huge grin appeared on her face. “Yippee!” She cheered.   Nurse Redheart gave her a sombre look before placing her hoof on her lips, “Sh!”   “Sorry,” Pinkie whispered right after.   I couldn’t help but laugh some more at her. That was Pinkie for you. Ouch. Again, the laughing hurt my ribs.   “Out, out, out! The rest of you go on!” Nurse Redheart began shuffling them out the door. “You too, Mr Fomaio,” She stated looking right at Aiden.   Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Spike and Rarity exited along with Lavender and Amethyst. It was obvious that Lavender was seething with either anger, or annoyance – most probably both. Angry that I couldn’t race and annoyed that her hard work training me was going to waste. I had thought that she’d be happy! She obviously trained hard for it, and wanted it more than I did.   At that point, Aiden got up and stretched himself. He walked out the room, but after a second he popped his head through the open door, “I’ll be back later on in the afternoon. Try not to get hurt in the meantime.”   “Very funny,” I declared impassively.   Twilight pushed Aiden out the door followed by Pinkie, who paused and flashed another wide grin. Pinkie’s mood had picked up quite considerably when she had talked to me. I mean, she went from silent Pinkie to normal Pinkie, and I was glad for that.   Still had to apologize to her though, that was important.   With everypony else gone, only the three Apples remained. Applejack had not said one word to me while I was there. She stood silently staring right at me, a morose expression on her face. She looked like she was in a lot of pain.   “Applejack, are you alright?” I asked, “You look sa-”   Her lips cut me off as she took the three steps to me and placed them on mine. My heart leaped in my chest, and as she pulled away, my face burned. That was… amazing. But, she didn’t smile. In fact she looked upset. Really upset.   Was it my breath?   “What’s wrong?”   “Forest… I’m sorry, but I can’t be with you.” She looked away from me.   “Wha-?”   “Please, just… I can’t, okay?”   I couldn’t think, nor respond. Did… did she just kiss me and then tell me she wants to breakup with me? Although, technically we weren’t a couple… but still! What? Why? Even Applebloom was visibly shocked. Everyone in that room was shocked! Even Big Mac’s eyes were wide open in genuine disbelief.   “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” She whispered. With that she turned and ran out of the door. I saw tears in those eyes.   “Applejack!” Applebloom shouted and was right on her heels.   Big Mac heaved a heavy sigh, nodded towards me and exited the room.   I sat there with my mouth half open. What just happened? It was all too sudden for me. I didn’t get it. What happened? It didn’t seem… real. The shock hadn’t settled in yet.   “Oh, that poor girl,” Nurse Redheart said shaking her head, “And here we thought you’d be the one to fix her broken heart.”   “Fix… her heart?” I was so confused.   “Nurse, please. I think that Forest deserves to hear it from Applejack’s own lips.” Brian looked at me, “Sorry, buddy.”   Did… did Brian just call me ‘buddy’? I wanted to smile at that. But my heart hurt too much. Why would Applejack just… do that? I’ve only been gone a day, and…   “Well, Forest,” Dr Stable said trying to change the subject, “As I said, you are healing nicely. You could go home, but I’d like to keep you here under observation for today, if that’s okay with you.”   I would have liked to go back home, but that was because I wanted to see Applejack. After this episode the thought of seeing Applejack hurt! It felt… wrong, awkward and strange. Staying at the hospital for the day was probably a god-send – sorry, a Celestia-send.     “Thank you, doc.”   “My pleasure… just eat something, take the painkillers and get some rest. Oh, and try not to laugh. I know it’s hard when Pinkie’s around, but try not to.”   Dr Stable left with ­Nurse Redheart. She returned by herself moments later with a small cart with two plates on it. She placed a tray of food in front of me and Brian, and our pills at the side of our respective trays with a glass of water.   “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She turned and left.   The food didn’t look appetising at all. It looked like muck in sludge. Taking the spoon, I poked around the food for a while. I had no appetite.   “You should eat,” Brian advised before taking a large spoonful, “It doesn’t look like much, but it is really good.” He talked with his mouth half-full.   Gingerly, I took a little bit on my spoon and ate. Brian was right, it was delicious. But I still had no appetite.   “Those painkillers will feel wretched in your stomach if you don’t eat,” Brian stated.   “Why, Brian? Why would Applejack do that to me?” My nose tickled, tears threatening to leave my eyes.   He looked at me for a moment, before taking a long, deep sigh, “It’s not my place to tell you…”   “Does it have anything to do with a Stallion from her past?”   The look on Brian’s face made it clear that it did.   “Tell me, please,” I pleaded.   Brian thought for a moment, before looking back at me, “Let’s just say that a long time ago Applejack didn’t just have a coltfriend. She had a… fiancé.”   That was a shock. “She was engaged?” I shouted incredulously.   “I can’t tell you more than that, Forest. You’ll need to find the rest out from Applejack herself.”   And with that Brian returned to his book.   That was what Applejack wanted to tell me that night. She wanted to tell me everything, and I didn’t want to hear it! I thought that I was being kind to her, but in reality I could have just isolated her feelings more. This was my fault. She wanted to come clean right away and I had denied her that luxury. Why, oh why, didn’t I just shut my mouth and let her tell me?   “I’m an idiot,” I muttered out loud, “She wanted to tell me, but I didn’t let her.”   Brian looked up from his book again, but he didn’t say anything.   After a long period of silence, Brian put his book down and slipped the covers on him. “I’m taking a nap,” He declared.   That was a good idea. Perhaps a nap would help me calm down and think things through. I stared at the ceiling trying to guess what happened all those years ago with this mystery Stallion. She was to be wedded! She had somepony that she had cared enough for to marry. What happened?   I groaned and rubbed my eyes. This really sucked.   “… and you can’t blame him for being hurt.”   “I know, I know. I tried to tell Applejack that it wasn’t fair on Forest to let him down like that, but you know how stubborn she is.”   I was hearing voices whispering. They were talking about me. I opened my eyes and looked to my right. There was one of those privacy curtains that separated our beds from one another spread out so that Brian and company were hidden from my sight.   “Is he awake?” The first voice asked.   “Let me check.”   Somepony poked their head through the curtain. I pretended that I was still asleep.   “No, he’s still asleep.”   “Well, what are we going to do?” That was Brian’s voice, “I never expected Applejack to break it off. I thought she was over ‘him’, especially after seeing how frantic she was while Forest was gone.”   “It’s not that simple, dad…”   That’s Rainbow Dash, obviously.   “… Applejack believes that she’s the one that hurt Forest! She’s being stupid! Again!”   “But… why?” Brian asked.   “She thinks she’s curse, the silly mare. I don’t understand where she got that notion! Bad things happen, it’s not because of your feelings,” Rarity imparted. “She blames herself for what happened to Forest because she fell for him! It’s exactly the same as last time.”   “It’s irrational!” Twilight exclaimed.   “Sh! Forest is still sleeping,” Brian shushed them all.   “And here we thought that Applejack could finally get over it.”   There was a long lull of silence. That was when I let out a loud yawn, and sat up.   Rainbow pulled the curtain back hearing me.   “Did we wake you?”   “Hm? I heard whispering, and that woke me up,” That was true. I just didn’t tell them how long I had been listening for, “What time is it?”   “Late in the evening,” Twilight replied.   “Forest, I’ve got a proposition for you,” Brian asked, “I’ve been thinking, since you’re living with Applejack at the moment, and things haven’t panned out the way we would have liked, I’ve been wondering, do you want to stay over at my house?”   “You’d… you’d do that for me?” I was chuffed.   “There’s one condition though. You have to take care of my garden - and keep it clean.”   “That’s two conditions…”   Brian just gave me a look, “You want a place to live or not?”   I shut my mouth.   “Remember that it’s Dashie’s house, not yours.”   “Of course! Thank you, Brian. That’s really kind of you. I was actually… kind of worried about how I would be able to live at the farm with this… strangeness between Applejack and myself.”   “She’s just being a silly Pony!” Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Applejack is so stubborn!”   “Look who’s talking,” Twilight giggled in response, “You’re as bad as she is.”   “Am not!”   “So, Forest. How does it feel to be single again?” Twilight asked.   “Miserable.”   “Give Applejack some time. She’ll come round.”   “Thanks, Twilight. I think some space would be best at this point.”   “Well, I disagree,” Rarity interrupted, “You should go and comfort her. She’ll need her Stallion to be there for her.”   We all turned to look at her.   “When your heart is broken, being alone is the worst possible thing! Having your friends around always helps, but having that special somepony be by your side...”   “Rarity, I know what you’re saying, but it’s Forest.” Twilight looked over to me, “No offense, but Applejack just broke it off with him. Wouldn’t that make things… uncomfortable.”   “Oh, Twilight, you haven’t really dated, so I don’t blame you for thinking that. But, let me ask you this. If your feelings are hurt, then who would you rather be there for you? Us? Or your favourite Pony?”   “My friends, of course!” Twilight answered without hesitation.   “And what about your best friend then? The one who you want to spend every waking moment with? Wouldn’t you want them to be there?”   Rainbow Dash made a noise with her throat, “All this love-love talk is bo-ring!”   “I’ll… go…” I said to myself quietly.   They all stared at me.   “I’ll go and talk to her. I think I need to,” I looked up at them all, “Right now.”   “No, Forest. You’re not getting up. You need to rest…” Twilight began.   “The doctor said I could leave. I think that I can spare some time to go looking for… for… her. I have to talk to her. Rarity’s right,” I looked right at her, “I would like my most favourite Pony with me, even if they were the ones that hurt me. I need to hear her story.”   “You can do that after dinner,” Nurse Redheart stated wheeling in a tray of food. She placed a bowl of how soup in front of me, and then took a step back, “Make sure to take your pills.”   After finishing off the soup, I reached over and popped the two yellow-spheres into my mouth, followed by a generous helping of water.   “I’m sorry, Forest, but I can’t let you leave the hospital. Not until tomorrow,” Nurse Redheart said after I placed the glass down on the table, “You need rest.”   “I’m… fine, Nurse…” My head started swimming.   I shook it, trying to make the sensation stop. Then, my mouth felt numb, and I could feel my hooves starting to get numb as well. My eyes felt heavy, and were growing heavier with each passing moment. My head started to nod as I fought a huge urge of sleepiness envelope me. It took me a moment to realize what had just happened.   Nurse Redheart just drugged me!   My last thoughts of my fading consciousness were of Applejack, her smile, her beautiful voice, those eyes with that painful expression… and how she just turned around and walked away leaving me alone in the darkness that swallowed me whole.