Looking out his window, his head resting on the arm of the sofa. Sumac Apple watched as the falling snow laid a fresh white blanket upon the city of Ponyville. Curled into a warm, scaly lump beside him was Boomer, who let out smoky snorts while she napped the snowy afternoon away. A fire crackled in the fireplace, and warm air blew out from the baseboard vents. The new house was perfect in every way that Sumac could think of, and he was thankful to have a nice place to convalesce.
Wrapped in an afghan shawl, Twinkleshine sat on the sofa with him in amicable silence. She was reading, her nose was buried in a spellbook, right to the point where it wasn’t, and she looked up at the clock on the mantle. Blinking in surprise, Twinkleshine’s mouth fell open while her book snapped shut, the two actions standing out in contrast to one another.
“Magic lesson! I almost forgot your magic lesson! I’m so sorry, Sumac!” Twinkleshine lept from the sofa and landed upon the floor, her hooves clattering against the bare wood. She danced in place for a moment, trying to relieve her panic, and then she hurried off to the closet by the front door to get Sumac’s protective winter clothing.
“I forgot too,” Sumac said to Twinkleshine. “I was watching the snow fall.”
Helpless, almost unable to move, Sumac waited for Twinkleshine to return with his coat, scarf, hat, and blanket. He was able to turn his head though, just a little, and as he did so, he thought back on the terrible day that had left him this way. Oh, he would heal, he had been promised that, but for now, he was bad off. He and Vinyl both had to heal.
The waiting was the worst part.
“Twinkleshine, I gotta go potty.” Sumac, embarrassed, hated this part most of all, and when he looked into Twinkleshine’s eyes, he became all too aware of their mutual embarrassment. Sitting up on the toilet was impossible, and he couldn’t even be left alone in the tub on his own. “How long is this gonna take?” His voice became an awkward squeak and for just a single second, Sumac felt some unwanted self-pity, which he drove away.
“Sumac, nopony knows for certain. Remember, just try to be—”
“Grateful that I’m not paralysed from the neck down. I know. I hear it every day.”
The corners of her mouth sagging, Twinkleshine’s eyes became glassy with tears and she stared at Sumac with her ears drooping. Returning to the sofa, her hooves dragging over the wooden floor and leaving scuffs on the planks, Twinkleshine set down Sumac’s winter clothing. Hooves still scraping, she came over to where Sumac lay, and using her magic, she lifted him, doing so with the utmost care and gentleness. Boomer, half awake, lept up to Twinkleshine’s horn, curled around it, and dozed off once more.
“Why?” Sumac asked, the only word he could manage to say at the moment, the word that summed up everything inside of his head.
As usual, Twinkleshine had no answers, and while she carried Sumac off to the bathroom, a few tears slid down her cheeks and onto the floor. The floor had seen many tears recently, from quite a few ponies. Tears of joy for having a house again, tears of frustration, tears of anger, tears of pain, and tears that fell right now, tears of sadness.
The house, comfortable and modest, offered a short walk to the bathroom.
Snow crunched beneath the wooden sled and Sumac watched the ponies of Ponyville as they went about their day. Twinkleshine was getting better at pulling the small wooden sled that Sumac was carted around in, there were a lot less bumps now, so much so that the ride was almost pleasant. Sumac was wedged in with a bunch of pillows, and Boomer functioned as a portable space heater.
She was awake now, Boomer, and her head was poked out from beneath the blanket that covered them both. Sometimes, if a snowflake got too close, she’d snap at it, which never failed to make Sumac laugh, or at least smile. Reclining in his sled, he wondered how Olive was doing, how she was dealing with her own long recovery.
Queen Chrysalis had hurt many that day, and perhaps Discord most of all. The draconequus had holed himself up in Fluttershy’s cottage, turned himself into a fancy, lacy pillow, and refused to leave Fluttershy’s couch. He hadn’t moved in—how long had it been? Sumac had lost track. Discord hadn’t spoken, either, even when Sumac had begged him to say something.
Fluttershy spent a lot of time on her sofa, hugging the pillow, all while whispering kind words to it. Sumac too, had spent some time on Fluttershy’s sofa, sitting with the pillow, and trying to have a conversation. He had felt stupid, but Discord was… his friend? It was hard to tell, and harder to say. Did Discord even have friends, other than Fluttershy? He was so antagonistic, and Sumac had seen him more as a tormentor. But now? The colt wasn’t sure.
A lowly bug had upset the Lord of Chaos and had suffered the fate of bugs everywhere.
Boomer was coiled around his right foreleg, and he could feel a tickle, which made him happy. Being able to feel anything in his legs made Sumac feel happy, and the sensation came and went. Even with all of the reassurance that his spinal cord was fine, Sumac still had some doubts. The doctor had told him that right now, after healing, his body was ‘resetting the connections’ and it could take awhile before movement and fine motor control were restored.
Vinyl suffered the same fate, leaving them both with a lot in common.
Tarnish’s house was now a fortress, and it seemed like every day some new defense was added. Twinkleshine didn’t hesitate as she approached, because she was expected. Sumac’s mind drifted back to that day, the day when he had been taken, that awful, dreadful day. Queen Chrysalis had planned and prepared with so much care. A long range teleportation gate had been constructed in the Everfree to aid in her escape. Moondancer had been replaced before Sumac’s arrival in Ponyville.
He had eavesdropped on the adults in his life, even using magic when necessary, with the hopes that he might learn more. Princess Celestia had somehow seemed to know that he would be special, that he was interesting, he was a pony of interest—and even though she didn’t know why he would be special, he had been watched. This caught the attention of Queen Chrysalis, who had also watched, waited, and bided her time, because she wanted revenge.
Moondancer’s doppelganger sabotaged all of Ponyville’s protections against changelings, while leaving the illusion that those protections still functioned. The changeling posing as Moondancer had also appeared as Twilight Sparkle and others on a number of occasions, though Sumac did not know the specifics.
Sumac and the power of his voice had been Queen Chrysalis’ undoing, at least, that is what the adults said behind closed doors. Queen Chrysalis had been undone by the power of the grift, though Sumac was uncertain of the meaning of all the words said. Wardens had become involved in the investigation, and they had reconstructed the crime, whatever that meant. There was a lot that had been said that Sumac simply did not understand. Flam’s informant was actually a changeling posing as a pony, though Flam was not aware that said pony was a bug. The con pony had been conned, it seemed.
It seemed the changelings had high hopes of blackmailing Flam and turning him to their cause, whatever that meant. A lot of words had been said between adults, and Sumac had much trouble understanding them all. As the sled slipped over the snow, Sumac hoped that he could see Moondancer again, as soon as possible. They had become friends during their mutual recovery, and he liked her a great deal. He could make her laugh, he could make her feel better, he alone seemed to be the one that could convince her that everything would be okay when the fear and doubt overtook her. For whatever reason, Sumac knew just what to say to talk away her troubles.
As Twinkleshine approached, the gate opened, because they were expected.
Pebble’s embrace made everything better for some reason, though Sumac could not explain why. She was gentle and strong, which was reassuring. The filly was also warm, and her soft body was pleasant to cling to, so much so that he didn’t care about embarrassment. It was difficult for Twinkleshine to pull his winter clothing off with Pebble huggle-snuggling him, but Twinkleshine didn’t complain.
“Sumac,” Pebble said, whispering her words into the colts ear, and causing it to twitch. “I got a telegram from Princess Cadance. Well, Daddy did… I’m getting a sister for Hearth’s Warming.”
“What?” Sumac let out a squeak and there was a distinct moment of fear when Twinkleshine pulled his coat free. For a second, it felt as though he was going to fall off of the couch, and falls were terrible when you couldn’t move on your own. He felt Pebble give him a reassuring squeeze, and a few high-pitched wheezes escaped from him.
“I don’t know the details, but I have a sister. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m kind of excited.” Pebble didn’t sound excited, but that might have been because she was in full blown deadpan mode at the moment. “Daddy and Mama won’t tell me anything and they talked about it in their room with Auntie Vinyl and Auntie Octavia.”
Leaning her head down, Twinkleshine gave Sumac a loud smacker of a smooch on his head. Then, perhaps as an afterthought, she smooched Pebble as well, and the filly looked up at the mare that had kissed her. The two eyeballed one another for a time, sharing some silent female conversation that Sumac was oblivious of, and then both exchanged a nod.
Yawning, Boomer looked around the room and seemed torn. The walls here were stone and she could cling to them with her claws, but Sumac needed her. In the end, loyalty won out, and she scurried up onto the couch to be with Sumac and Pebble. She stood up, bracing herself against the back of the couch, and she begged for her kiss from Twinkleshine, which she received in short order.
Hearing the sound of hooves, Sumac looked up and saw Octavia, who looked even more subdued than usual. Her movements were slow, graceful, and there was something about her dignified presence that lifted Sumac’s spirits. He loved spending time with Octavia, their quiet conversations, her gentle instruction in the social arts for introverts.
“Vinyl will be out soon,” Octavia said when she came to a halt near the couch. “There was a bit of an incident, and I fear that Vinyl behaved in a very foalish manner. She and Tarnish got into a paint fight with one another and made quite a mess.”
Unable to stop himself, Sumac laughed, and he heard a dissatisfied huff from Octavia.
“Daddy keeps painting zebra fertility magic symbols on Mama’s belly,” Pebble said, offering an explanation. “It’s just practice, she’s already with foal, but he says that he’s trying to feel the spark of magic that comes when you paint the symbol just right.”
“Zebras have fat, healthy foals for a reason,” Octavia said, her eyes on Sumac and Pebble, who held one another. She looked up, her gaze meeting Twinkleshine’s, and the two mares exchanged a knowing look. “Come, Twinkleshine, join me for a cuppa.”
“That sounds marvellous, it’s been a trying day,” Twinkleshine replied.
“Right then, off we pop. I’m sure the little ones would enjoy a moment alone together.”
Sumac, laying on his side with his head propped up on some pillows, closed his eyes as Pebble rubbed him down. She was good at this, and it seemed like she was getting better. The rubbing, the stimulation, it restored sensation to Sumac’s limbs, and it felt good too. Pebble was careful, never kneading too hard, but she did treat him like he was a lump of bread dough.
“I’m going to rub your stomach—”
“Pebble, no, that’s kinda embarrassing!” Sumac’s eyes flew open.
“Oh, shut up,” Pebble said, ignoring Sumac’s self-conscious protests as she rolled him onto his back. The filly only looked down at the colt for a moment, her expression blank, and then she stared straight ahead, looking at the paisley print upholstery of the couch.
Sumac started to protest, but fell silent and stared up at the ceiling.
“Hey, you’re moving your legs,” Pebble said, and she grabbed one hind leg in her fetlock while she kept kneading his stomach with her other hoof. She gave his leg a tug, a good one, and then moved it back and forth in a smooth, gentle motion. The colt’s hip popped a few times, and Sumac whimpered, but Pebble persisted, ignoring him.
This was something that happened almost daily and it was now routine.
“Somepony is getting a nurses outfit for Hearth’s Warming.” The deadpan voice belonged to Maud, and she stood beside Vinyl in the hallway.
“I don’t want a nurses outfit,” Pebble said, looking back over her shoulder.
“It’s not for you, it’s for Sumac,” Maud replied as Pebble turned the colour of black coffee. “I’m sure he’d love to see you in it.”
“Awful, mother, you’re just awful.” Turning away, Pebble fumed and her ears folded back against her skull while her face continued to grow darker.
“I know.” Maud turned to look at Vinyl, and the unicorn smiled back. “Hear that, Vinyl? I’m awful. Isn’t that great? Ah, the sweet, sweet satisfaction of motherhood.”
Sumac watched as Vinyl nodded, and he felt a keen sense of excitement. He looked forwards to his magic lessons, and was dying to know what Vinyl had planned for today. The little colt couldn’t do much, but he could do magic, and learning relieved his intense boredom. Sumac was so excited that he no longer cared that Pebble was rubbing his tummy and tugging on his legs.
Boomer, who sat up on top of the back of the couch, stuck out her tongue with a quick flick, and then licked her own eyeball, a feat that made everypony who saw it shudder. The little hatchling seemed to delight in her own act of supreme grossness, and she let out a proud, trumpeting cry—right as she went to lick her own eyeball once more.