//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 - "Her Name Is Skybird!" 
// Story: Broken Wings 
// by Colonel Walther 
//------------------------------//

It's early morning in the land of Equestria. At the maternity ward of Ponyville's hospital there is a mare ready to give birth. Her name is Sunflower, a yellow mare with brown mane. She seems anxious, but not because she's about to give birth, something else is worrying her. She keeps staring at the medical staff as they pass by her room as if she wanted something from them. A nurse that was passing by noticed her anxiety and walked inside her room.

"Don't worry, Miss Sunflower, everything will be alright" said the nurse while she was adjusting some medical equipment.

Sunflower looked sad, starring with a blank look at the room's floor. "I'm worried for my baby,” she said in pain. “My family has a medical history of genetic diseases, I don't want my baby to have the same fate."

The nurse smiled at her, placing her hoof on Sunflower's shoulder. "I understand what you're feeling right now, Miss, but there's no use in worrying about it at the moment, don't you agree? Now please take a big breath and try not to think about it."

"Emm... Nurse?"

"Yes Miss?"

" I think my waters just broke."

"Hold on! I'll call the doctor."

A few hours later, her delivery was in progress at the delivery room.

"Keep pushing, Miss, it's almost through. Just keep pushing a little more," said the doctor.

A loud baby cry bellowed from the newborn foal "Congratulations, it's a girl! A healthy little pegasus," said the doctor while carefully holding the beige coloured filly. She had a dark brown mane and two tiny light blue eyes. As soon as the filly was given to her mother she immediately stopped crying and went to sleep in her mother's arms.







"Hello there, little one. I've been waiting for you for quite a while," said the mother, exhausted from the delivery.

"What's her name?" asked a nurse while writing the stats of the newborn baby.

Sunflower took a few seconds to think about it "Skybird... Yes, her name will be Skybird."

"What a lovely name!" another nurse said.

"You're my light, Skybird! You're my Little Birdie!" said Sunflower with a big smile while cuddling her daughter.

A few minutes later...

"Miss Sunflower, we need to take your daughter for some medical check-ups. Now you must rest, you'll see her again soon," said the doctor while a nurse took away the filly from her mother.

Skybird started to cry as soon as she was taken from her mother. "Don't worry, Mommy won't go anywhere, go back to sleep..."

Sunflower fell asleep from the exhaustion. When she woke up she received amazing news: her daughter was fully healthy! Sunflower was so happy she cried tears of joy.



Two days passed. After being discharged from the hospital, Sunflower went home holding her baby in her arms. Skybird was sound asleep in her white blanket, warmed by her mother's touch. Sunflower opened the home's front door without a sound and carefully closed it. She then brought Skybird to her new room and laid her gently on the cot and left her sleep peacefully after her mother gently kissed her on the forehead.

"Is it her?" whispered a purple mare standing by the window.

"Yes, it's her. Merry Berry, meet my daughter Skybird."

"Look how cute she is! She looks just like you, Sunflower."

Merry Berry was Sunflower's neighbor. A good friend of the family, she was Sunflower's best friend, always there for her ever since school days. She was a very comprehensive mare and honest with everypony.

They left Skybird's room quietly and sat in the living room while having a nice cup of tea.

"So, how are you?" asked Merry Berry.

"I'm in heaven!... She's healthy, no diseases at all. I'm so happy for her."

"No, I mean what the doctors said about your situation? Your disease?"

"I... I didn't ask... It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Excuse me? You're a mother now and you say it's not a big deal? If you don't care about yourself, at least do it for your daughter's sake!"

"The doctors said nothing about it. I think we shouldn't be too worried about that right now, I'll be fine."

"You're saying that now, but one day you might regret such carelessness. You have a foal to raise, for Celestia's sake!"

"You might be right…” Sunflower sighed. She then took a deep breath and continued “ I'll do some medical checkups, but not right now"

"I hope your daughter isn't as stubborn as her mommy," said Merry Berry smiling while sipping her cup of tea. They both burst out laughing, but were soon interrupted by Skybird's crying.

"Oh, she must be hungry, it's about dinner time for her." Sunflower jumped from her couch.

"Oh, great! Like if I had nothing else to do," said sarcastically Merry Berry with a smile while putting her cup on the table.



Skybird was very affectionate to her mother. Every time she couldn't see her mother she'd start to cry till she arrived. However, this was a big problem for Sunflower: she was a gardener at Canterlot's Royal Garden, and without fast transportation between Ponyville and Canterlot, Sunflower had to be absent from home for several days after the maternity period.

Thankfully Merry Berry took care of the young filly during her absences, even though she had a hard time dealing with Skybird's tantrums due to her mother missing. With time, Skybird began to trust the purple mare, thinking of her as part of the family rather than just some babysitter.

One day, Merry Berry had to travel for a month and Sunflower didn't know what to do about it. Hiring a babysitter was an option, but that would mean Skybird's trust with strangers would have to start from scratch, it would take her a long time before she stopped having her tantrums. Asking to stay at home to take care of Skybird would probably result in Sunflower being fired: Princess Celestia had announced an important party to celebrate the arrival of spring which required the presence of all the gardeners. Sunflower had no choice but to take Skybird with her. She wrapped her in a blanket, took a suitcase and started her journey on hoof to Canterlot.

"I must have gone crazy," Sunflower said to herself. "What am I doing taking my baby with me? What will my superiors do if they find out I'm taking my daughter to work?! Let's hope the Princess won't find out." She stopped for a moment and took a look at Skybird. She was sleeping peacefully. Sunflower smiled and kept walking. "At least with me you won't cause any trouble." And, indeed, Skybird was very quiet during the whole trip.

The next day, Sunflower put on her uniform, took her gardening tools bag and another bag filled with diapers and bottles of milk, tied Skybird to her neck with her blanket and proceeded to the Castle's main entrance like it was nothing. At the entrance, the working personnel was asked to show their working ID as usual, but when came Sunflower's turn the guards were shocked when saw her with a little filly.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but we can't let you enter with a baby," said one of the guards.

"Why? What's the problem? I don't think a little baby can pose such a threat to the Princess."

"Your daughter needs an ID to enter. Rules are rules, Ma'am."

"Yes, I know, but I have nowhere else to leave my daughter: she won't stop crying if I'm away from her and there's no other way to make her stop, it's the truth! Unless, of course, you take care of her while I'm working. That means when she wakes up - which she eventually will - you'll have to not only feed her and change her diapers but also hold her for the rest of the day while she cries. Or you could just let me in and avoid any of that..."

The guard sighed. "Fine... But if your superiors see her, I'll deny I've ever seen you reporting to duty today. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

Sunflower headed to the garden and began her work with some bush trimming and by watering flowers, always hiding whenever one of her supervisors was nearby. Her extra weight didn't prevent her from doing her usual good quality work.

But all of a sudden Skybird woke up and started to cry loudly.

"Are you hungry, my Little Birdie? Don't worry, I've got some milk for you." Sunflower took the milk bottle from the bag and gave it to Skybird but she didn't want to drink. She also checked if Skybird needed to change her diaper "Nope, it's not the diaper either... What's wrong, Little Birdie? Mommy's here, please stop crying, sweetie!..." But Skybird just kept on crying.

"What's going on over there?" said a loud voice in the distance.

"Oh no! This is bad!"

Sunflower was befuddled by Skybird's crying. Could it be the work uniform? Couldn't she recognize her mother? Sunflower quickly took off her cap hoping it'd do the trick. And yet Skybird still kept crying.

"Now what is a baby doing here?..." a voice exclaimed.

Distracted with all the crying, Sunflower failed to notice the voice she had heard earlier kept getting closer and closer, and now its source was right next to her. She saw a pair of hooves in front of her and when she looked up she realized the pony staring at her was none other than was Princess Celestia herself!

Sunflower was shocked! This was the very first time she ever met Princess Celestia! She gulped nervously and stood up with a guilty expression.

"I-I'm sorry, Your Highness!” Sunflower’s voice was trembling. “You see, I had to bring my daughter to work because she won't stop crying when I'm away from her... so, in order to keep my job I saw no other alternative. Please, Your Highness, I really need this job just as much as my daughter needs me. Please don't fire me, I beg you!"

Celestia took the little filly with her magic. "What's her name?"

"Skybird, Your Highness."

As soon as Skybird gazed at the princess she stopped crying. She looked at her with curiosity at her mane, and she started to play with it.

Sunflower was petrified. "Skybird, don't!!" she panically ordered.

But Princess Celestia calmed Sunflower. "Don't worry, I'm not going to fire you for bringing your daughter to work. It seems she also stops crying when I'm around... I'll tell you what, I'll take care of your daughter while you work so that you don't have to do two things at the same time"

"I... I'm honored, but I can't accept it, I don't want your Highness to waste your time by taking care of a subject's daughter"

"Don't worry, my dear, it will be a pleasure, honestly. Not to mention I can do something other than political decisions. Your daughter reminds somewhat of my own sister." Princess Celestia's expression became sadder. "I wish she was here..." But she quickly bounced back. "Well, let's both get to work! I'll take care of your daughter, she's in good hooves" the Princess winked.



The years passed and the young filly had grown up without a father. In fact, Skybird never asked about him, the only thing she knew about him was that he was a Pegasus like herself. But none of that mattered, her mother was the one she cared the most.

Skybird and Sunflower spent most of their time at the park. Sunflower usually laid on the rich flower field and admired the natural landscape, occasionally taking naps under the big trees. Skybird, on the other hand, loved to fly around and play with animals around her, especially birds. Sometimes she played with them, sometimes she just followed them, and some other times she'd chase or playfully scared cats and dogs.

One day she went to the park with her mother to feed them with pieces of bread from the picnic basket while her mother slept in the field, and silently flying away. Two little sparrows on the edge of a fountain caught her eye and she immediately hid behind a tree in order to not scare them. She then cut off the bread in smaller pieces to throw at them. The birds noticed the pieces of bread Skybird had thrown, but instead of eating them they looked at them confused.

"Why aren't they eating it? Are the pieces too big for them?" she thought.

The birds then noticed the presence of Skybird, but they stayed in their places. Skybird put on her hoof some other pieces, but the birds flew away to another tree. Watching them fly away made her sad, she couldn't understand why they flew away.

She could hear them chirping, though. That gave her an idea: she decided to imitate them. To her surprise it worked: the two sparrows landed on Skybird's hoof and starting to eat the bread. A few seconds later even more sparrows joined in. Even when all the bread was gone the birds didn't leave her. So many where the birds that she was almost covered all of her.

When she rejoined her mother she acted like nothing had happened. While gathering the stuff going home, her mother noticed an image of a sparrow on her daughter's flank: she had got her own cutie mark! Sunflower was so happy she even cried and happily embraced her daughter.



Skybird's special talent was useful to her in several occasions. All she had to do was whistle and any birds in the surrounding areas would help her. If she got lost, they'd help her find her way back. If Timber Wolves or any other dangerous creature threatened her, an eagle would come to her rescue diving from the sky and strike them; the eagle would be by her side. One day her mother baked a broccoli cake that Skybird didn't like it. When her mother wasn't talking Skybird would whistle softly and a few birds would almost instantly come to help her eat the rest of the cake for her.

Skybird spent more time with her mother during winter since her services weren't required in that period of the year. On that year Skybird saw snow for the first time. It was something magical to her, like literal magic flakes falling from the sky. From her window she gazed at the field covered in snow in amazement. Sunflower thought it'd be a good idea to take her daughter outside and let her enjoy the snow. She gave her a blue knit scarf that she had knitted for Skybird during the recent time she stayed at home. The colour of the scarf matched the colour of Skybird's eyes.

As soon as Skybird got outside she just dove into the snow in excitement and played to her heart's content; she didn't even realize how cold the snow was. Her mother, on the other hand, felt cold even with a scarf and a wool hat, trembling like a leaf. But even though she'd rather be inside she decided to stay outside a little longer seeing Skybird so cheerful, even playing with her by throwing snowballs and making a snowpony together.

When they returned to home to warm up Sunflower has made two cups of hot chocolate with whipped cream for Skybird. Only a few minutes into taking the hot chocolate the doorbell rang: it was Merry Berry with a gift.

"Hi, Merry Berry! Would you like to join us and drink some hot chocolate?" asked Sunflower.

"No, thanks. Where's the little Skybird?"

"Here I am, auntie Berry!" cheerfully replied Skybird.

"I brought you something for Hearth's Warming day," said Merry Berry while giving the present to the young filly.

"Thank you, auntie Berry, but you didn't have to..." the young filly shyly replied.

"Oh my... you already don't like getting gifts? Enjoy them while you can, or you'll regret it when you get older, Skybird," Merry Berry winked. She then turned to Sunflower. "Hey, Sunflower, what the hay did you tell your daughter about presents?"

"I don't think I ever said anything of the sort to her," Sunflower wondered.

"Well, anyway... how about I have some of that hot chocolate you promised me?" Berry asked with a big smile.

"I thought you said you didn't want any..." Skybird replied with a playful smirk "How come you changed your mind so quickly?"

They all burst out laughing.

But the laughter wouldn't last long. Just as they entered the living room, Sunflower started to cough loudly and felt to her knees, her coughing getting worse and worse.

"Mommy? Are you alright?" Skybird asked worried.

"Don't worry, Little Birdie, I'm all right.” When she stood up, Merry Berry was staring at her in rebuke.

"Shouldn't you go see your doctor?" she sternly advised.

"I'm fine, Merry Berry, I just forgot to take my medicine, that's all. Don't worry, I'll go see him next Monday," Sunflower assured a worried Merry Berry.

Fortunately, she didn't had any more relapses that night and they all spent a merry day of Hearth's Warming eve.



Skybird's first day at school was, as with most colts and fillies, difficult to say the least. For the first time she had to meet ponies other than her mother and auntie Merry Berry. She felt very nervous and felt really shy. She walked with her mother rather slowly and even trembling slightly. Sunflower had to encourage her and sometimes even push her with her muzzle. When Skybird saw another young pony at the school's front entrance she immediately hid behind her mother. Sunflower looked at her with a smile, perhaps reminding of herself on her first day.

"Is there something wrong, Little Birdie?" she asked her daughter kindly.

"No... I just... don't want to meet other ponies..." replied Skybird with a trembling voice.

"Now why is that?" asked her mother kindly.

"Because I'd rather stay with you..." Skybird sheeply said staring at her mother.

"Look, Little Birdie,” said a compassionate but also stern Sunflower, "I can't be with you all the time. Someday you'll have to live your own life without your mommy around, and you'll have to meet other ponies in the future whether you'll like it or not."

She paused and looked at Skybird. "Now promise me you'll at least try to talk to your classmates."

"But, Mom... I'm scared," she replied, still staring at the floor.

"It's normal to be scared at first," her mother said smiling, "but only by facing your own fears will you be able to defeat them and become stronger. Promise me you'll try."

"Ok, mommy... I promise,” agreed sheeply Skybird, finally looking at her mother.

But once she looked, she immediately realized there was something wrong with her mother's cutie mark, an image of a sunflower next to a watering can. But now it looked more opaque, less defined than it used to be. Skybird didn't say a word about it, and kept her promise to talk with the young pony in the entrance.

She still felt really shy but somehow managed to talk to them and even make conversation, trying to impress her mother who was looking at her from a distance. The school bell rang and all the students were taken to their respective classes.



The school years were very thought for Skybird. Despite her promise to her mother, she never managed to even talk to other classmates, let alone make conversation or bond with them. It might have been due to her being bashful, but most of the time she never had anything to talk about.

Her classmates noticed that bashfulness. They thought she was just ignoring them out of arrogance, so they started to make pranks on her. Skybird had no experience whatsoever regarding pony relationships, even the most simple ones, so she didn't even know what a prank was; this made her think her classmates were making fun of her, so she decided to bring it to the teacher's attention.

Those were nothing more than pranks in the teacher's mind, so he innocently decided to explain it clearly to Skybird. One of her classmates heard the conversation and told the rest. This gave them an idea: keep making fun of Skybird and whenever a teacher noticed it and scolded them they'd just excuse themselves with a 'it was just an innocent prank, promise!'

Skybird didn't know what to do. Whenever she was made fun of or was verbally abused by her schoolmates and reported it to the faculty, they'd just scold her because they were starting to get fed up with her constant whining. Worse still, some even began to think she was just trying to get attention.

It was an enormous, never-ending vicious cycle. Even if she was the best behaved and the best achieving student of her class, she still got no help or compassion from her teachers. She didn't even had any friends to help her. So the taunting persisted and she began to trust no pony...

Her classmates started to make fun her own name, taunting her about her personality and the way she talked made ponies laugh at her. She was always picked last at sports despite being good at it. She became more and more isolated, so her classmates began to outright ignore her.

Skybird never had the courage to tell her mother about her problems at school. She didn't want her to become sad or worried, especially because her mother was getting sick, her medical condition deteriorating by the day. Her cutie mark was almost completely faded-out. Every time Sunflower coughed a few drops of blood would come out of her mouth.

Skybird fell into depression. She began to wake up later and eating less and less. She didn't know what to do. When no pony was watching she'd usually start crying for hours and pretend it was nothing.

Some teachers also started to downright ignore her whenever she raised her hoof during class for help or solve doubts. One day, after the correction in class of a written test, she approached alone her teacher to rightfully point out that there was a correct answer marked as wrong. Her teacher gazed at her furiously and yelled at her about being accused of incompetence! Her teacher's attitude only made her even more confused. Once the teacher left the classroom she kneeled to the floor and began to sob.

The unfairness and hate Skybird felt around her was enormous, her little but broken heart absorbed it like a sponge, engulfing her in a deep sadness... Isolation was her only escape, to the point of one day even wanting to take her own life. Fortunately, she never had the courage to do so. She was lonely and without friends... but at least she still had her mother.



Sunflower spent most of her days at work. She was too busy to notice the uneasiness of her daughter. To make matters worse, Sunflower's illness kept spreading through her body. Her coat became pale and she coughed more often. She felt weak and tired everyday. But the most astonishing thing was that her cutie mark had disappeared! She had become a blank flank, as her daughter's bullies used to call her.

One day, Skybird returned home and put down her school bag as usual when she saw her mother talking to Merry Berry. Skybird, worried about the subject being discussed, decided to eavesdrop on the conversation leaning her ear on opposite side of the living room's wall.

"What is going on, Sunflower? How is it possible your cutie mark just disappeared?," Merry Berry asked, raising her voice in anger.

"I have no idea, it just faded away..." replied Sunflower, scared of what was happening to her.

"What was the doctor's verdict?"

"He said it's a reverse process of the cutie mark, or something like that..."

"Please tell me there's a cure!"

"I'm afraid I'm the only pony with this disease, according to the doctor. Since there's only one infected pony there's no reason to begin medical research of the illness. Apparently no doctor can cure the disease."

"Did you stop taking your medicine?"

"Of course not! It's the only thing that keeps me alive!"

"Are you still working full hours at the Palace? Do they even know of your condition?" Merry Berry asked, getting increasingly worried about her friend's condition.

"They can't give me sick leaves. 'A royal gardener must always be present', they say." Sunflower started to feel angry. "It's infuriating how they don't notice my poor health, which, to be honest, doesn't seem to get any better. But I must confess... I'm worried for Skybird."

"Why?" asked Merry Berry, widening her eyes in worry due to that unexpected fact. "Is there something wrong with her?"

"She keeps waking up late and barely eats..." Sunflower answered with very sad eyes. "She's seems so sad, she never wants to talk about it." Her eyes began to fill with tears. "I wish she was happy... like when she was younger and we used to go to the park together. But now my work is killing me, this DISEASE is killing me!..." Merry Berry was disheartened with the whole situation.

"I only wish I could spend more time with her." Sunflower continued. Teardrops began to flow down their face. "If I die, I want her to have a happy life... I miss her... I... I-I..."

Sunflower felt a sharp pain in her stomach, closing her eyes. She brought a hoof to her belly while holding her chair trying not to fall with the other hoof. Suddenly she coughed blood and fell to the floor. Merry Berry held Sunflower on her arms in shock.

Skybird stared at her mother even more shocked. "MOMMY!" she shouted in despair.

Merry Berry took Sunflower to the couch. She was unconscious. Skybird ran in tears to her mother. Merry Berry checked Sunflower's temperature on her forehead with her hoof.

"She's burning with fever, I'll call her doctor," Merry Berry said with an apparent cool, although she was almost shaking with fear. Skybird put a blanket over her mother and brought an ice bag for her head.

The doctor arrived a few minutes later. He checked her vital signs: blood pressure, temperature, heartbeat…

"Well, Doctor?..." asked Merry Berry deeply concerned for her friend.

"I can't tell, to be honest... She must be hospitalized for more medical checks, but for now I can't say... She seems ok now, but it's better to keep her under observation."

"What should we do?" asked Skybird in tears.

"You can see your mother tomorrow at Ponyville hospital. Don't worry, everything will be alright," he told Skybird in a reassuring tone.



The day after Sunflower's predicament, Skybird went to Ponyville's hospital after school to see her mother. Sunflower was lying in her hospital bed with an IV tube attached to her left hoof. Her eyes were closed, she looked in slight pain. Her beautiful mane was the only thing that wasn't pale, although it was a complete mess, disarranged all over her pillow. Skybird tried to arrange it.

When Skybird touched her mother's mane, Sunflower moaned and, keeping her eyes closed, asked with a faint, tired voice: "Skybird... is that you?"

"Yes, Mom, it's me," she replied.

Sunflower opened her eyes and saw the sad face of Skybird looking at her. Sunflower raised her right hoof and touched her daughter's cheek. Skybird let out a tear.

"Why are you so sad, Little Birdie?"

"I'm worried about you, Mom... What are we going to do?"

"Don't worry, Little Birdie, mommy will be alright, I just need some rest."

"When you'll come back home, mommy?"

"Soon, my dear, soon we'll be back home, don't worry."

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Little Birdie." She couldn't bear seeing her daughter so sad. "I don't want to see you sad... I know it's not easy, but could you try and smile for me? Please?" she asked with a faint smile.

"How can I smile at a moment like this?"

"I know... but look on the bright side, Little Birdie: I'm still here with you and that's all that matters. You must be happy with what you have."

"Like if I actually had something..."

"No, Little Birdie, you don't understand. You still have your whole life ahead of you," she said, trying her best to keep her faint smile. "Now do mommy a favour... and let me rest..." she told Sunflower, closing her eyes, about to fall to sleep.

Skybird left the room and approached the doctor whom was waiting for her.

"How's my mother?" she asked agitated.

"We cannot say for sure... Your mother is in a very unstable condition, it's almost impossible to make an accurate diagnosis. We'll have to keep your mother in for a few more days until we can determine the best course of action."

"Will she make a full recovery?"

"It's too early to say. For now we can only wait and hope for any signs of improvement..."



Three months passed...

Skybird went to the hospital after school as usual to visit her mother. Sunflower had been hospitalized for quite a long time and the doctors didn't allow her to get up, let alone go outside, so Skybird brought some flowers for her mother so she could look at them from her own bed.

She made a flower bouquet of Sunflower's favorite flower: white roses. Skybird took her time to pick the best ones. When she got to her mother's room, she saw somepony, an old stallion, talking to her. Her mother was sitting beside her bed holding her IV support. Skybird decided to peek inside.

"I'm sorry but we cannot keep paying your salary while you're hospitalized," said the old stallion.

Sunflower couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You mean after all these years of service this is how you repay me?! I'm not here on holiday, you know! I didn't choose to be this sick for so long!" she angrily replied.

"You must understand that it's very expensive for us to keep paying your sick leave for so long."

"Oh, you're all the same, it's always about the money, isn't it? I wish I could get back to work sooner, but the medics still won't give me discharge!"

"Sunflower, we have had a high directive to cut on expenses, and we cannot pay you anymore."

"So you won't help me until I get back to work, is that it?"

"No, Sunflower..." he paused. "We're firing you."

"That's just great... and how am I supposed to pay my medical bills?!" shouted Sunflower in desperation.

"I happened to see your daughter at the park today. It was easy to recognize her as your daughter, you look very much alike. I believe she's old enough to get a job to help you with your medical expenses."

"She's still three months away to finish school, I can't ask her to stop her studies just like that!"

"In that case we'll pay you for another three months. After that you won't receive anymore payments."

Sunflower angrily hesitated but agreed to the deal, frustrated. "Well, I guess it's better than nothing..."

"I hope you recover soon, Sunflower. Good day." The stallion replied as he left the room.

Skybird entered the room and headed to her mother.

"Hi, Mom! I've brought you some of your favorite flowers! So that you won't miss them!" she said with a smile.

"Oh, honey, they're gorgeous! Thank you, Little Birdie, there are so many of them!" her mother replied with joy.

"I, uh... I've also heard your conversation with that stallion" she said in a more serious tone.

"Sigh... You did, did you... Well, he was one of my supervisors at the Royal Castle. I didn't want to, but I might need your help if the doctors keep me for more than three months. I know you're very busy with your final exams but I'm going to ask you to get a part-time job."

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll find a job in no time, you'll see!" Skybird cheerfully interrupted her mother to cheer her up.

Sunflower hugged Skybird, closing her eyes. "Everything will be alright, Little Birdie, you'll see."

A doctor entered the room carrying medical equipment.

"Good afternoon, Miss Sunflower. How are we feeling today?"

"I feel fine, doctor," she replied.

"Yesterday's exams showed an unstable heartbeat, so we're setting up a heart rate monitor for you in order to register and keep track of your heart rate as a precaution."

"How much longer is my mother going to stay? When will you discharge her?" Skybird interrupted impatiently.

"We can't tell at the moment, Miss Skybird, we're doing everything we can to cure your mother. We'll let you know as soon as your mother is ready to go home. But for now you must have patience and let us do our job..." Skybird was frustrated but understood, nodding in agreement.



Two months later...

Skybird was studying for her final exam at a cafe, drinking a glass of strawberry milkshake. She was so absorbed in her studies she failed to notice somepony starting to sit at her table right in front of her.

"Excuse me, is this seat available?" the mare asked.

Skybird looked at the mare, surprised at her sudden appearance (and for not having noticed her, of course), the drinking straw still in Skybird's mouth. The mare had a white coat, with a blonde and aquamarine striped mane and light blue eyes.

"Yes..." replied Skybird with some hesitation. "Who is this mare?" she thought.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but, you see, this was the only free seat available" said the mare while sitting and dropping her books on the table.

"Are you studying for the final exams too?" shyly asked Skybird after seeing the mare's books.

"Actually, no. I've already graduated from high school last year, I'm now going to university"

"Cool! What is your major?"

"I'm studying Medicine. Even though the amount of study required is almost endless..."

"Oh... medicine..." Skybird said, immediately losing all interest in the topic at hand, her expression becoming sad in an instant.

"Is everything alright? Did I said something wrong?" the mare asked, confused at Skybird sudden expression change.

"With all due respect for your major, I don't believe in medicine. After seeing so many different doctors not finding a cure to my mother's illness, I believe they just don't WANT to simply because she's the only pony with said illness. My mother's been in hospital for five whole months, and now I don't even know how to pay her medical bills. Her bosses won't pay her sick leaves anymore and are even going to fire her because her work absence... Like she's in any condition of going to work..."

"I'm very sorry to hear that" said the mare with remorse. "What can you tell me about her sickness?"

"She looks pale, sometimes she feels very bad but then the next day she starts feeling good, then the following day she starts spitting blood, then it starts all over again. And she also lost her cutie mark"

"How is that even possible?! I've never heard of such a thing! There's no reference to any of that in any of my books!" said the mare, checking her books.

"And what's worse... at the moment there are nearly no jobs with big enough salaries to pay the medical bills. And the only one that has requires me to move from home for a long time, preventing me to see my mother."

"What's the hospital your mother is at?"

"She's at Ponyville's Hospital."

"Well, that's convenient... I'm going to do an internship there as a nurse as part of medical school. The doctor informed me they're hiring anypony from my course as a nurse."

"Yes, but there's a slight catch: I'm not going to medical school, I'm still finishing high school..."

"Don't worry, if I put in a good word for you nopony will ask you about your studies. You would have to act like if you go to my same course."

"Well... I really appreciate it but I just couldn't possibly accept..."

"You'd get paid at the hospital your mother is, you'd be able to see her every day and check her recovery... Tell me where is a better offer than the one I'm making you?!" interrupted the mare.

Skybird hesitated. She knew doing that wasn't exactly the most correct thing to do, but she also realized such a job offer could pay the bills, and more.

"But what would you want from me in return? Why are you helping me? We're not friends, we've never even met before..."

"For starters, I can show you that medicine isn't such a selfish thing as you think. And second... why? Why must we require something in return for helping somepony?"

"Thank you so much for your kindness!" Skybird said gratefully.

"And speaking of friends, why couldn't we be friends? My name is Anna Belle, by the way" she presented herself while rising from her seat, blinking at Skybird with a smile.

"I'm Skybird, nice to meet you."

"Then, Skybird, I'll see you soon at the hospital. When you feel ready just ask about me at the reception."

"Thank you, I will!"



The next day, Skybird went to the hospital to see her mother. She kept looking for Anna Belle through the corridors to verify if she actually worked at the hospital. Down the corridor she saw a white nurse passing by.

"That might be her," she thought, starting to walk faster towards her. But when she met her she realized it was just another nurse with a light pink mane.

"Can I help you?” the nurse asked.

"Oh, um... no, I was looking for somepony else, sorry." The nurse politely nodded and carried on her business.

"Hmm,” Skybird thought to herself, “perhaps she hasn’t arrived yet. Maybe I should look for her in another week or two.”

"I was looking for you, young lady" said a familiar voice. It was the doctor. "There has been a problem with your mother."

Skybird’s heart skipped a beat. "Is she fine?!" she asked in panic.

"Your mother started to have difficulties walking recently. We're transferring her to another room. She won’t be able to leave her bed and will need a wheelchair for transportation until her legs recover."

"Where is she now?" she interrupted the doctor.

"Room 64, on the second floor."

Skybird rushed to her mother's room like a medical staff rushing to an emergency.

"Mom!" she shouted while slamming the door open.

Her mother jumped of her bed in surprise, confused at the same time. "You scared me, dear! What's with all the commotion?"

“I just found out about your legs”. She was really worried. "What happened?!"

"It's nothing, Little Birdie, my legs just aren’t functioning as they should. It's not that important, really. The doctors said it's just a temporary condition."

"Not a big deal?! How can you be so relaxed?!"

"It's only temporary."

"Yeah, that's what the doctors said... like we could trust them…"

"Now let’s just calm down, ok?” With a stern look, her mother continued. “Could you please try and trust the doctors for once? I'm really disappointed at you, young lady. I know you're very stressed with everything that’s happened and your final exam, but that's still no reason to act like this. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mom... I'm sorry," Skybird replied, trying her best to contain her anger.

"Now please, you must go home. You need to study instead of wasting your time here everyday," ordered Sunflower.

Skybird took her schoolbag and went back home.

And so, Skybird studied really hard and managed to graduate from high school. But she knew that was just the beginning of her ordeal, for she still had her job, she still had to work hard for her mother’s sake. Skybird could only hope for the best.

The next day she went to the hospital to give her mother the good news. But when she entered the hospital, she shyly headed to reception.

"Good day, Miss Skybird. What can I do for you?" the nurse asked.

"I came to meet Anna Belle. She told me she was doing her internship in this hospital."

"Indeed she is. Would you like me to call her?"

"Yes, please."

The nurse pushed the intercom button. "Nurse Anna Belle, you’re needed at reception. Nurse Anna Belle, you’re needed at reception."

A few moments later Anna Belle showed up with a smile on her face.

"Skybird! I'm glad you came!"

"I'm glad to see you too, Anna Belle," Skybird replied back with another smile.

"So, are you ready to start?"

"Sure!"

"Then please follow me".

Anna Belle took Skybird to the hospital director’s office. Once they got there, Skybird felt very nervous. She took a deep breath and both went inside.

"Good morning, Mr Cobalt,” Anna Belle said, “this is Skybird, she's one of my course colleagues who wishes to work here."

"Is she's also here for internship?" asked the old pony.

"Yes, indeed."

The old pony turned to Skybird. "So, Miss Skybird, would you like to introduce yourself? Do you have any previous experience in other hospitals?"

"No, I don't have any previous experience, I'm just a regular mare that likes helping other ponies, always doing my very best at it."

"Hmm... I like your attitude. Tell me, is it true that you took the same course as Anna Belle? Because I have the impression I might have you seen here already, and you don't like a mare who worked in healthcare before… no offense."

"I..." Skybird didn't know what to say. She had never lied before in her whole life, because she always had this conviction that lies are pointless, lying in itself is plain wrong. “Why should somepony lie about anything?” she thought to herself. “Lies don’t help others, lies don’t help oneself!”

But now, facing such a question, she felt forced to lie, she had no other option if she wanted to get this job. Skybird looked at Anna Belle for help. To her surprise, Anna Belle looked very confident, with a big grin on her face.

"Yes, it’s true, I've started the same course a month ago and she offered me to work here. I might not have given the best first impression, but I'm not here to impress anypony, I'm here to work."

The old pony seemed satisfied. "Very well, then.” He turned to Anna Belle. “Anna Belle, would you be so kind and show her the place and teach her all about her new position.” He turned back to Skybird. “Miss Skybird, you may start your work immediately. You may go. Good day.”

"Thank you, Mr Cobalt”

Both left the office, Anna Belle immediately giving her opinion on how things went in a coy manner.

"’I might not have given the best first impression, but I'm not here to impress anypony, I'm here to work.’ Not bad from somepony with such a big grudge towards Medicine."

"It was the first thing that popped to my mind," Skybird replied, blushing a little.

They arrived at the locker room. “Alright then, this is the locker room. Your locker is this one next to mine” she pointed with her hoof. “Always remember to wash your hooves before you start your shift. You also need to wear a nurse cap, tie your mane like I do.”

Skybird looked troubled. "There's one slight problem with that... My mane is too long, I can’t tie it like yours." Skybird’s mane was very long on one of her sides.

"Don't worry, I might have the solution for it."

Now Skybird was getting worried. "As long it doesn't involve scissors…”

Anna Belle quickly tied Skybird's mane, hiding the long part her mane and leaving only the front mane like if the long part was cut off.

"Where did the rest of the mane go?,” Skybird asked confused. “I told you not to cut it."

"I've just tied both part back here with the rest of the mane."

"How did you?..."

"It’s magic!...” Anna Belle said too cheerfully, then pausing on purpose with a sarcastic expression. “Of course it’s not magic, I'm not a freakin’ unicorn. But I do I have my own tricks."



Anna Belle became Skybird’s nurse tutor, showing her how to treat patients, how to give them the correct medicine and how to assist ponies with complex problems. Anna Belle did so always with a smile, like an older sister.

"And that’s all" said Anna Belle. "Even though...  you should learn more about Medicine, just in case you have to deal with a medical emergency, but for now let's keep it simple. For the moment it’s more important for you to familiarize with the place first and with your new tasks."

"Are we done?" Skybird asked impatiently.

Anna Belle glanced at the wall clock. "Well, our shifts end in ten minutes and I've shown you everything you need to know for now, so… yes, I guess we're done here. I'll be waiting for you at the canteen to go home."

Sunflower was reading a magazine in her bed when she heard somepony knocking at her door.

"Come in” she said while putting away the magazine she was reading.

"It's time for your medicine, Miss Sunflower!" said Skybird entering the room holding a tray with a glass of water and her mother’s medicine, hovering in midair while flapping her wings.

"Ohh!... My, my, Skybird, what are you doing?" her mother laughed.

"I have two great news, Mom: first, I graduated from high school and second I now work here!"

"I thought you hated Medicine!"

"True, but couldn’t come up with a better solution at the moment, so… here I am! Besides, Merry Berry told me that you also hate medicine . I guess now I know where I got my hatred to Medicine."

"Oh, that Merry Berry! Sometimes she gives me even more problems than yourself" her mother joked.

"But at least now I'll be able to pay your medical bills."

"Oh, Little Birdie, I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, Mom."

"Look at you… your nurse cap, your haircut, you’re really pretty" said a touched Sunflower while touching her daughter's mane.

"Uhm... thanks?" Skybird blushed.

After giving the medicine to her mother, Skybird went downstairs to the canteen, where Anna Belle was waiting for her, standing next to the vending machine.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" Anna Belle offered Skybird.

"No, thank you, I'm fine."

"Are we ready to go?"

"Yup."

"Then let's hit the road!"

The two young mares started to walk home.

Skybird decided to break the silence. "So, where do you live?"

"I’m from Canterlot” Anna Belle replied, “but right now I'm sharing a house with a friend of mine. We share the expensive. What about you?"

"I live with my mother in the outskirts of Ponyville."

"Have you finally changed your mind about medicine?"

"Not yet. It's not that easy to change one’s opinion, you know…"

The two mares kept talking till they reached an intersection.  Anna Belle interrupted the conversation

"My home is this way," Anna Belle said pointing the right path.

"Ok, see you tomorrow," Skybird replied and went straight on.

"See you tomorrow. Don’t be late."

"Don’t worry, I won’t."


Skybird and Anna Belle always worked together. They also had meals together and always helped each other. Anna Belle always looked happy and cheerful when she was next to a patient. She was one of the kindest ponies Skybird had ever met. She had the costume of giving some of her lunch to young foals who didn’t like the hospital food, knowing very well a nurse shouldn’t do such a thing. But she would risk her job for those foals just to see some happy faces of her patients.
However, she was also very firm and determinate in her convictions: she wasn’t afraid of complaining and facing the senior staff or the doctors when she felt sure they had made a wrong diagnosis or a big mistake towards any patient. She used all her breaks to study hard, burying her head in her Medicine books whenever possible.

Anna Belle was an inspiration to Skybird. In fact, she was more than that: she was her friend. They talked a lot and spent all of their time together. Skybird couldn't believe she had made a friend for the very first time. When Anna Belle was close to her she would immediately feel happy and forget all of her problems.

One day, Skybird saw Anna Belle sitting at a table studying hard. She was more tired than usual, she was about to fall to sleep.

Skybird sat in front of her and asked: "Anna Belle, are you alright? You look very sleepy today."

"Yawn... I'm so sorry, sir... I'll bring the patience to the surgery room," replied Anna Belle while looking up from her books, her eyes still half closed.

"Anna Belle, it's me, Skybird!"

"Oh! Sorry... Were you talking about a tumor liver?"

"Uh… no…” Skybird frowned a bit, suspicious but also worried about her friend. “Anna Belle, what's going on? I've never seen you like this before!"

"I'm sorry, I guess I'm been studying too much lately. I didn’t sleep yesterday."

"What?! How long have you been awake?”

"Uhm... about 40 hours from..." she slowly replied, using her books as pillows to rest her head.

That only confirmed Skybird’s worries. "40 hours?! Are you insane?!"

"I'm... I don't know what to say, honestly... I just love Medicine so much that I sometimes forget to sleep."

"That's not an excuse," Skybird frowned at her friend.

"I'm not making up excuses, it's just the way I am."

"Ok, but our break will end in five minutes and you’re in no condition to work."

"And why not?"

"Come on, Anna Belle, you must wake up, I NEED you to wake up! How about I bring you a cup of tea or some hot chocolate from the vending machine?"

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not! Urgh, you’re so stubborn!” Skybird was getting very frustrated but she still felt sorry for Anna Belle. “Alright, I’ll tell you what: I'll do your work as well for today; that way you can rest a bit in the waiting room."

"Thanks.... I owe you one," Anna Belle replied while falling to sleep.


Skybird was busier than ever doing the work of two nurses. Eventually she ran out of medicine and medical equipment, so she had to go to the storage room to get more, holding a paper with the patient’s required medicine. She took what she needed and flew off in a hurry.

While getting back to the patients, Skybird grabbed hold of a conversation that seemed to be about her mother. Her ears straightened out immediately when she heard her mother’s name. Skybird decided to stop and listen to the rest of the conversation, leaning on a wall as she was used to do back home with her mother's conversations. In the room there were three doctors who fortunately failed to notice Skybird's presence: a male zebra, a mare with long dark brown mane and a short mane stallion.

"Six months have gone by and we still haven’t come up with a diagnosis!" said the Zebra doctor in frustration, slamming some papers onto the desk.

"Tell me about it…” the mare doctor replied, “Every day’s a lottery: 'which new symptoms will the patient show today?’"

"Crickey!” said the stallion doctor ”She must be one the toughest cases we’ve ever had. She’s going to cark it if we don’t come up with something, but…” He was starting to give up.

“Come on, let’s focus," the zebra insisted, “what could it possibly be?"

"Cancer?" the stallion doctor tried his luck.

"No, it can’t be cancer, the cancer test results came back negative," the zebra replied.

"Then maybe it's a small, tiny one? So small we’d miss it?"

The mare doctor rolled his eyes at him. "And just what kind of cancer could possibly make a cutie mark disappear?"

"A cutie mark cancer? Perhaps it's a new one, mate!" the stallion insisted.

“Oh, come on! You’re just going along with the first guess our boss told yesterday. Don’t you have a mind of your own?”

“Now look here, Missie, I have a mind of my own!” the stallion retorted annoyed. He then turned to the zebra. “Well… how about lupus?"

"Nah... it's never lupus," the zebra said. The stallion doctor rolled his eyes in frustration.

But the mare insisted. "We know for a fact that we’re dealing with a genetic disease. Maybe it's a DNA's mutation?"

"A mutation that changes the patient’s symptoms every single day? You’re still on that? That’s what you said yesterday, mate” the stallion retorted. “In order to have a mutation she’d had to have been exposed to high doses of radiation, the DNA cannot mutate by itself."

"But it explains her changings symptoms and the disappearance of her cutie mark."

The zebra suddenly had an idea. “Unless… That’s it! Radiation isn’t the only way of causing DNA mutation... a virus could do the same!"

"The ‘cutie mark virus’, we should call it," the stallion chuckled.

The mare reacted with annoyance. “Ugh…” She looked at the zebra. “But that might be a good idea.”

"Ok, we’re all in agreement, then… Before we start treatment as a viral disease I want you to take all the samples: blood, skin, catarrh, urine, feces... I’ll deal with our boss when he arrives…“



Skybird recoiled from the wall in shock.

"A virus?! Could it really be?" she thought. "I must ask Anna Belle about this when she wakes up."

Skybird resumed her work in a rush, there was still a lot to be done. She kept her mother for last, right before her shift ended. But when was about to enter her mother’s room she was halted by a doctor.

"I’m sorry, Miss Skybird, but you cannot enter," the doctor sternly ordered.

"But why not? I'm giving my mother her medicine, doctor," she replied confused.

"We're trying to limit the period of time with your mother as a safety measure."

Skybird raised her eyebrow and, with a suspicious look, asked "Is that so? Won't you tell me what is actually going on? You're not quarantining her because she might have a virus or something, are you?"

"I cannot say precisely, we're still running some tests to finally determine her illness."

"Is it going to take very long?” Skybird was getting sarcastic. “Like six more months?..."

"Look, Miss Skybird, we're doing the best we can" the doctor reassured "Now please give me those medicines, we'll give them to your mother later.” The doctor took her tray.“You may go now."

Skybird went downstairs to the waiting room, Anna Belle was sound asleep on the couch. Skybird shook her shoulder slightly to wake her up and both exited the hospital.

The journey home was very quiet. Skybird looked very pensive. The atmosphere was a bit awkward.

"So... well...” said Anna Belle, breaking the silence, thank you for taking my share of work.”

"You're welcome" replied Skybird very quickly, turning her head but without making eye contact.

"So why are you so taciturn?"

"I'm thinking."

"Thinking about what? I bet it's about your mother, that expression of yours usually involves her.”

"I heard the doctors talking, they think it might be a virus of some sort."

"A virus?? No way, how could they have even thought that? A virus doesn’t take that long to spread; if it really was a virus, there’d be several symptoms of it. Plus your mother's doctor said your mother had this disease since she was a foal. If it was a virus all along, excuse me for being blunt, but your mother would be dead a long time ago and you wouldn’t have been born.”

"So what's your diagnosis, then? What could it possibly be?”

"Look, Skybird, I do like Medicine, but I’m studying to become a nurse, not a doctor. Making diagnosis isn’t part of my job."

"Well, to me you seem to have a better understanding of my mother’s disease than the doctors themselves. I think you’re the only one who might be able to give the right diagnosis. I’m not saying you should impose your opinion on the doctors, I just want to hear you out."

Anna Belle stopped for a second and took a deep breath. "Fine... I think she might have a chronic condition: an illness that cannot be cured and which ultimately ends with the patient’s death."

Skybird’s chest suddenly filled with fear and anguish. "No, it can't be!"

"Skybird, your mother hasn’t shown any signs of improvement no matter the treatment given to her.”

Desperation nearly took control of Skybird. "I mean, come on, Anna Belle! Certain death?!...” Her voice started to tremble, “I... I need time to think…" Skybird sat on the ground, her legs weakening with fear.

Anna Belle sat by her side; she put her hoof on Skybird’s shoulder to comfort her.
"Skybird, I can’t promise you I can find a cure for your mother’s illness, but I can promise you this: I’ll be there for you. Your present ordeal won’t last forever; your mother is a very strong mare. All she needs right now is you: your courage, your kindness and your smile." She gently placed leaned her other hoof under Skybird’s chin. "Your beautiful smile…"

Skybird looked at her and smiled.

"Thank you, Anna Belle, you're right."

"Ok... now I actually don't know about you... but might I suggest we resume our journey back home? Sitting on this icy road is freezing me!"

Skybird chuckled. "You're right, we should get going.”



The next day, while going to work as usual, Anna Belle suddenly stopped and looked at the sky with a surprised expression.

"Wow, look at the sky!" exclaimed Anna Belle.

Skybird moved her eyes towards the clouds and noticed that snowflakes were falling down softly.

"Uh... That’s strange. Did the weather factory decide to make snow earlier this year?" Skybird wondered.

"Oh, come on, you're a Pegasus, you should know when it snows."

"Not always. I’m not like those crazy Pegasi from Cloudsdale that always know when it rains. And the few times I do get some information about rain they change the schedules immediately afterwards. Their delays don’t help either. The weather service is terrible, too unreliable, and…” Skybird was interrupted by a snowball thrown at her face.

"Yeah, just like snowball in your face" giggled Anna Belle with another snowball on her hoof.

"How did you make a snowball so quickly? It just started to snow!”

"Because, while you were busy dissing the weather service, the snowfall increased. Come on, let's make a snowball battle!"

"But we've to go to work, remember?"

"Getting a little bit late won’t harm anypony."

"Alright, I guess we could spend some few minutes figh-..." another snowball hit Skybird's face "Hey! No fair! I wasn't ready yet!!"

"Then you’ll have to give your best to catch me," said Anna Belle with a daring voice and sticking out her tongue out.

The two mares kept playing with snowballs for a while. They laughed and chased each other like two young fillies.

At Ponyville hospital, Nurse Redheart went to the reception. She was mad. "Where the heck are those two?!"

"Who?" asked the receptionist.

"You know who! Those two nurses from the university!"

"Oh... you mean Nurse Anna Belle and Nurse Skybird?"

"Exactly. Do you know where they are?"

"They haven't checked in yet."

"Where could they possibly be? They’re twenty minutes late! Unacceptable!"

A few seconds later, Skybird and Anna Belle walked in grinning like fillies, laughing out loud.

Nurse Redheart saw them and approached them. "You two young ladies are late! Come on, get dressed and get to work!"

"Yes, Nurse Redheart" they replied.

After the pink mane nurse has left the room Skybird and Anna Belle walked to the reception to check in.

"Nurse Redheart is in a bad mood today, isn’t she?” asked Anna Belle.

"She was just looking for the both of you” the receptionist replied. “Where have you been?"

"Well... We kind of suffered a small delay due to snowfall."

A stallion with a cane walks towards them. "Doctor House checking in."

"Great... Doctor House is in the house!" Anna Belle said jokingly to the doctor.

"Ah! Anna Belle, you're still here? I thought your school had already rejected you as a failure by now," said the doctor sarcastically.
Anna Belle played along. "No, not yet, doctor…"

The doctor notices the mare next to her. "Oh, you must be Skybird. Anna Belle can't stop talking about you. Haven't you strangled a few pigeons lately?"

"Uhm... no, doctor, I haven’t" replied Skybird shyly but also a bit grossed out at the imagery formed in her mind.

Doctor House noticed Skybird’s expression. "I see. Now I know why you're both late."

Anna Belle rolled her eyes. "Here we go...” With a defiant look, she asked “And just what do you think we both have been doing?"

"You had a snowball fight.”

Anna Belle expression changed instantly, she was very surprise. "How did you know?!"

The doctor proceeded with his explanation in his usual arrogant fashion. "Your friend here still has some snow inside her ear and inside her wings. Normal snowfall doesn’t accumulate in those places on its own. Also, when a Pegasus is flying the snow is removed from the inside of the wings, unless a dumb Pegasus flew through a huge snow storm. Anyway, it can only be either the snowball fight or you friend falling on the snow, but considering you're 20 minutes late I guessed it was the first option.” His expression changed from arrogant to stern and commanding. “Now go, you have work to do.” he said to both mares, then turning away from them without the slightest manners. “See ya. I have to go and meet the ‘Fantastic Three…’ he sarcastically said.

Skybird was a bit uncomfortable with the doctor’s personality. "Don't worry about him, he might be a jerk, but he’s a very good doctor" Anna Belle said to reassure Skybird. "Now let's go, we do have work to do.”

After work, in the late afternoon, Skybird sneaked into her mother's room. Sunflower was still sleeping in her bed, Skybird woke up her with a gentle nudge.

"Mom, listen, I don't have much time, if somepony caughts me in here I'll be fired," she whispered in haste to her mother.

"What?...” she replied, still a bit groggy. “It's everything alright, Little Birdie?"

"Yes, Mom, I just brought you a piece of cake Merry Berry made for you."

"Oh, how sweet of her, she didn't have to…"

"Yes, but since it’s been quite a while since she last visited you... Anyway, I want to ask you something.”

"What is it, Little Birdie?"

"I want to know if you have any new symptoms? Is there any other part of your body that aches besides your leg?"

Her mother become suspicious. "Skybird, why are you asking this question? Have you become a doctor all of the sudden?"

"No, I'm trying to make your diagnosis with a friend of mine."

Sunflower’s face filled with joy. "Oh, you have a friend, Skybird? I'm so glad to hear it!" She tried to hide with her hoof the small tears of joy forming in her eyes.

"Yes, Mom, it's Anna Belle, the nurse that helped me get a job at this hospital. She's also studying medicine and she's the only one whom I trust, but that’s beside the point…”

"Oh, of course, sorry.  No, since last time I haven't felt anything different..."

"Hold on!" Skybird interrupted in shock.

"What? Is there something wrong?”

Skybird took a small flashlight from her pocket to check her mother’s eyes. She was horrified with what she saw.

"These are not tears... It's blood!"

Later, at the staff room, Skybird tool Anna Belle the horrifying discovery she had just made.

"Blood tears? That Haemolacria! It’s incredible! It could be a sign of Neoplasm or TB, which stands for Tuberculosis in case you didn't know" said Anna Belle, thinking while sitting backwards on a chair of the staff room.

"So... does it help figure out what is my Mom’s disease?"

"To be honest? No, it does not. It's like your mother was a sponge that can absorb every disease that everypony could possibly throw at her. And they seem to be all combined. Before your discovery I’d say your mother’s immunity system was weak, but now it’s not the case, apparently."

"So what’s going to happen to her?"

"I don't know, Skybird... Your mother's case is indeed the hardest and weirdest case I've ever seen. I don't blame the doctors attending her. In comparison, a cancer patient is easier to cure than your mother because at least cancer shows us the reason why the patient is dying."

Skybird began to lose hope. "So she's going to die, isn't she…"

"No, I don't think so” Anna Belle said in a nonchalant tone. “The mere fact that she managed to handle all these symptoms and pain so far shows your mother is a very strong mare.  Only if she showed any signs of trouble while breathing, but even so she wouldn't die so quickly. She really is one tough mare."

Time passed but Sunflower’s condition remained the same. The days went by so fast that Skybird would have forgotten about Hearth's Warming Eve if it weren't for all the lights in the reception and in the waiting room.

"You look surprised, Skybird. Haven't you ever seen Hearth’s Warming Eve decorations before?” inquired Anna Belle while signing her check in at the reception front desk.

"I forgot today is Hearth's warming day...” Skybird replied. “Doesn’t it bother you having to work during holidays?"

"Why should it bother me? There's nowhere else I wished to be at the moment."

"So you prefer to stay here dealing with patients rather than with your family?"

"This hospital has become my family. It reminds me that there are less fortunate ponies like your mother that can’t enjoy Hearth’s Warming Eve because they’re hospitalized. Now let's go, Nurse Snowheart has made a fantastic apple pie in the staff room for the whole department, and at 6 p.m. there’ll be a group photo with the entire medical staff". She grabbed Skybird's hoof and dragged her to the staff room.

Skybird could not help noticing the extreme happiness of her friend. Her joy was contagious that everypony around her would become “infected” with happiness. During the party, Anna Belle soon began to sing and dance with patients, while Skybird, on the other hoof, stared at Anna Belle’s wide smile, like a moth attracted to the light. Like Anna Belle, there wasn't any other place she wanted to be in that moment.



Time passed, all of the snow melted and everypony was busy with Winter Wrap. Likewise, there was a lot of work at Ponyville hospital, as usual.
Anna Belle and Skybird got the night shifts. This was not easy at all for Skybird; her first days were really hard for her, she was always tired and sleepy. Anna Belle, on the other hoof, dealt with the night shift as if it was nothing; she was already used to it because of her late night studies. Anna Belle managed to keep Skybird from falling asleep and kept her company to compensate for her sleepiness while watching the corridors for incoming ponies; Skybird looked more like a standing guard than a nurse. Furthermore, most of the time they had to help patients with insomnia to relax, or help doctors during night surgeries.

One night, after their shift, Anna Belle and Skybird were changing at the locker room.

"I'm so tired tonight" Skybird said while yawning, stretching her front hooves.

"Uh? What did you do tonight?" asked Anna Belle.

"I had to carry a shipment of new medicine all the way to the second floor, I had to use all of my wing power to lift those heavy medicines." Skybird kept stretching her shoulders.

"Were they that heavy? They’re just medicines."

"I also had to carry other medical equipment, like weight scales, IVs, stretchers, wheelchairs etc..."

"I get it now. How are you feeling?"

"My muscles are aching a bit, I think I've have pulled a muscle or two with all that heavy lifting."

"Would you like me to give you a therapeutic massage?"

"A therapeutic massage? When did you learn that?"

"I took a few classes of naturopathy at the university. Would you like one?"

Skybird looked confused. "Well... I guess I could give it a try."

"Then, Miss Skybird, would you please lay down on the bench" said Anna Belle joking and covering the bench with a towel.

Skybird started to feel embarrassed. "I feel a bit awkward, to be honest." She lay down with her stomach facing down.

"Now just relax," said Anna Belle with a very soft voice.

She began to massage Skybird's shoulders with her hooves back and forth, then proceeding to slide her hooves from the back of the neck to the end of the spine. Then she moved to her front hooves, slowly massaging her front legs and touching the sensitive areas of the inner hoof. The wings were next. Anna Belle preened her feathers, removed any remaining dirt, then proceeding to the wing bones. Skybird moaned and felt really relaxed. She wished the massage never ended. Anna Belle began to massage the rear hooves like she did with the front hooves while slowly touching her flanks. Skybird was really enjoying that massage when all the sudden she felt a small crack on her shoulders.

"Ouch! Did you just crack my shoulders?!"

"In a way, yes. This is a Chiropractic massage. Don’t forget we’re in a hospital, not at a spa. It involves manual spinal adjustments to unblock the flow of energy and blood to the nervous system. So yeah, it might hurt a bit,” chuckled Anna Belle.

"Ow... you should have told me that before, if only I knew it before-" Another crack was heard. "Ouch! I wish it was nice and relaxing as it was before… Ouch!"

A few minutes and some more cracks later, the massage was done and both mares were sitting side by side.

"How do you feel now?" asked Anna Belle.

"I can't say if it hurts more before or after the massage," complained Skybird, stretching her neck.

"I guess you're not strong enough to deal with the pain," said Anna Belle coyly and chuckling a bit.

"Very funny... Anyway, Anna Belle, I wanted to thank you."

"You're welcome, let me know when you want to crack your bones again."

"No, I mean… Thank you for everything you’ve been doing for me. You gave me a job, you helped me whenever I had problems, you taught me a lot about Medicine..."

"And I gave you a massage to boot!" interrupted Anna Belle.

"Now I see what Medicine is all about: it's not just healing sick ponies, it's about the ponies themselves. We're here because nopony else would take of them. This truly is loving your neighbor as ourselves. The most important healing we can give them isn’t just some pointless medicines, but love. And you showed me that every day; you opened my eyes about Medicine. I cannot thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me."

Anna Belle was relieved to hear that and placed her hoof on Skybird's shoulder.

"You don't have to thank me, Skybird, I did what I felt was the right thing to do. Not everypony has the same luck. Some ponies are fortunate since they’ve been born, while other ponies can have their fortune increased only through somepony else’s generosity. And for me, you are that somepony else."

"I… I am? I knew nothing about Medicine before you tutored me, I've caused so much trouble, and I've wasted your time with my mother's illness. Also, after all this time I’m still not as good a nurse as you. I feel like I deserve a slap on the face for all the trouble you had with me due to my incompetence."

Anna Belle put her hoof on Skybird's hoof on the bench and gripped it tight. "You didn't waste my time at all, silly! I was very glad to help you deal with your tasks, it actually provided me a general revision of my studies. Teaching you was the least I could do. You were always kind and sweet to me. I couldn't ask anything else from you. Your smile is all I need to keep going. Not to mention you also helped me at work, so it could have never been a waste of time.”

Skybird was getting moved but also confused, she was not used to so much friendship. “But you always helped me, I've never had anypony that has ever helped me so much like you. I still don't understand why you're doing this…"

Anna Belle moved closely to her face, her eyes becoming googly, the atmosphere suddenly changing.
"I'm doing this because I’d like to see a beautiful mare like you happy. The only thing I want is to see your smile, nothing else matters. Like being here with you tonight."

Skybird blushed. Anna Belle kept moving closer to her face, her lips raised a little and she kissed Skybird. Skybird felt a warm feeling on her lips, her wings opened. Suddenly, realizing what was happening, she tried to push Anna Belle away.

"What the hay are you doing!?" asked Skybird in shock.

Anna Belle was confused and blushed. "I-I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Are you crazy or what? Wait... are you a lesbian?!"

Anna Belle felt ashamed and rested her hooves back on the bench. She looked down with a sad and embarrassed expression. "Yes... I am."

Skybird also felt very embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Anna Belle, but I've never thought of you anything more than just a friend. I never realized you had such feelings towards me... I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you…"

Anna Belle tried to be strong but tears began to slide down her face. Skybird stared at her for a few seconds before deciding to move her gaze away from Anna Belle.

"A-Are… Are we still… friends?" asked Anna Belle sobbing.

"I don't know... I need some time…"

"P-Please... I don't want to lose you... I really mean it!"

Skybird didn't say a word and quietly left the room, leaving Anna Belle crying. She didn’t see her the rest of the night.



The two mares didn't talk to each other for a couple of days and pretended nothing had happened on that night. By the third day, Anna Belle stumbled upon Skybird. She tried to force her to not run away.

"We need to talk!" she told Skybird with authority. Skybird felt too uncomfortable.

"I… I don't think we have anything to discuss..."

"Come on, it's been three days already since “that” happened. You've been ignoring me all this time. I want to know if everything is alright between us."

"I don't think this is the best time to discuss this, Anna Belle."

"Oh? And when is it going to be, then? Are you going to run away from your problems forever or will you summon the courage to face them?"

Skybird sighed. "Fine...  It's just that I really didn't want to talk about it, that’s all...."

"Look, Skybird, I admit I got confused at the time. When you told me all those nice things to me, my mind thought you were attracted to me just as I was for you. I… I  couldn't control myself...  My feelings got the better of me. I did think of you as more than a friend but I never meant to hurt your feelings. I understand if you don’t share the same feelings towards me, but please answer me this: are we still friends?"

Skybird felt very uncomfortable hearing those questions. Even before Anna Belle had finished her sentence Skybird just closed her eyes and pretended for a second that nothing was happening. Then, after a hard gulp, she gathered all the courage she could muster. "I... I don't know..."

Anna Belle continued in an even more serious tone while holding Skybird's hoof and looking her deep in her eyes while Skybird’s were averting Anna Belle’s eyes.

"Skybird... We've been together for a long time now. We shared moments that will last forever. You even told me that nopony else had ever helped you like I did. I'm not asking you to repay the favour, but do you really want our friendship to end like this? Is there really no solution to our problem? I miss you already, dear friend; I miss you and your smile. Please don't abandon me…"

Skybird kept avoiding her friend’s stare. "Please, Skybird, look me straight in the eye," Anna Belle begged in desperation.

Skybird finally looked her in the eye, still being uncomfortable.

"Do you really want to lose me?” Anna Belle insisted aggressively. “If you do, just say it and I'll be gone forever from your life... But I need it to hear it from you."

Skybird couldn't hold the tears that had been forming in her eyes any longer. "I-I... I don't want to lose you either...” she said while sobbing. “I always thought of you as a sister and your friendship means a lot for me... I'm sorry if I overreacted and hurt your feelings. I never knew you liked mares. Not that I’m judging you, it’s just that I felt you just wanted me to be your lover than your friend...” Anna Belle’s eyes widened. “I'm sorry if I've hurt you…"

Skybird burst into tears. Anna Belle hugged her and petted her head trying to comfort her friend.

"We don't have to be lovers if you don't want to," she said with a sincere smile.

“Everything’s ok now... I'm glad to hear you still want to be friends with me. Come, let's go have some hot tea at the canteen to calm your nerves, it will be good for you."

After a couple of tea cups, Skybird and Anna Belle started to act be like just before, smiling and talking like the way they were used to, and everything went back to the normality.

Days went by and the friendship between Skybird and Anna Belle was stronger than ever. Both felt happier than before.

Meanwhile, Sunflower's illness was still kept unknown. She had become even paler than before. She hadn’t left her bed for a long while. She coughed more often and felt constantly weak. Wrinkles began to appear on her face. But she was happy to be able to see her daughter so close to her.

On one silent night, Skybird went into her mother's room, opened the door slowly as usual and found her mother staring at the sky, almost not noticing her daughter’s presence.

"Little Birdie! Come here, darling, there's something I want to talk to you," she said with a smile.

"What is it, Mommy?" Skybird asked curiously.

"You know it's been almost a year since I was hospitalized. Do you know why I've asked to be moved here, to room 64?"

"No, Mom" she replied rather quickly.

"This was the room where you were born, Little Birdie. Back then this room used to be the delivery room. This is where I hold you in my arms for the first time. Looking at you makes me so proud-” she suddenly coughed harder than usual “… of what you've become: a beautiful Pegasus. My beautiful Little Birdie…”

Skybird smiled. But she sensed something was wrong. She felt her mother’s forehead.

"Mom, you have a fever! Shouldn't you lie down and try to rest?"

"I'll always have the fever, don't worry about it… It doesn't matter right now... I wanted to tell you that I don't know If I'll be able to keep going... I feel my end is near, Little Birdie."

Skybird was shocked to hear those words. "Mom, how can you say such a thing?! Are you in pain? Do you want me to get the doctors?"

"No, thank you, it’s alright… I've been in this place for too long. I couldn't stand having to live the rest of my life in here with all this medical equipment keeping me alive in a coma. I've been here for too long at your expenses, but now it's time for you to grow, Little Birdie; you'll have to live on your own. Live your life, Little Birdie…"

Skybird was looking down the whole time and shed a few tears. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Mom... I don't want to lose you! Please, don’t do this to me!"

Sunflower brought and hoof on her daughter's cheek. "Skybird, you must learn that you can't always hold on to something or to somepony. One day you’ll have to let them go. You made me proud of you many times and I know you'll make me proud even when I'm gone. I love you, Skybird, my Little Birdie... I always will..."

Without saying a word, Skybird brushed her mother's hoof with her eyes full of tears.

“Don’t be so sad Little Birdie, I don’t want to see you crying,” said Sunflower with tears in her eyes. “I want you to live Little Birdie… I want you to love. I want to try and never give up. I want you to see your smile again… I want you to live...”. She then looked at the sky once again, she felt instantly happier.

"Look, Skybird, don't you think the stars look beautiful tonight?"

Skybird tried to speak with a lump in her throat. "Mom, how can I..."

Skybird looked at the starry sky. The sky was a limpid blue and purple dress quilted with sparkling white dots like small diamonds. The stars were shined so bright, they covered and lit the night sky. Skybird never had time to look at the stars by herself, she never noticed the amazing view of a sky filled with stars. Watching so many stars warmed her heart. She was almost hypnotized by that gorgeous view that she stopped crying and smiled amazed at the view. She enjoyed it so much she couldn't stop staring.

"You were right, Mom, it is beautiful!" said Skybird still looking at the sky.

But Sunflower kept quiet. Too quiet. When Skybird looked at her mother she saw her lying down on her bed with her eyes closed and with a smile on her face. In shock, Skybird checked her pulse by pressing an artery under her jaw on the left side.
But there was no pulse. Her mother had passed away. Skybird fell to her knees and started to cry like she never cried before...