Firecracker slept in more than he anticipated. The feathery bed was delightful compared to what he was used to before arriving in Canterlot, and the service staff had left a large bowl of fruits on a table by the bed. The curtains were drawn back, letting sunlight into the room.
The grey unicorn looked over his shoulder. Peach Cobbler was still sound asleep in the bed; it made his heart flutter when he saw how peaceful she looked. She stayed by him the entirety of the day before, not saying anything, at least until before they all retired to their own rooms.
“Can I… stay with you? For the night? I don’t want to be alone…” she asked timidly. She seemed embarrassed, shy, and unsure, but Firecracker smiled and said, “You can stay with me as long as you’d like. You don’t need to be alone anymore, you know.”
They fell asleep in each other’s hooves, the exhaustive journey north having finally taken its toll. And that’s all that they did that night: sleep. Firecracker wasn’t anxious to try anything with the beautiful mare, possibly risking the valuable trust she had in him. He wanted to take this relationship slow. He truly felt a connection with her, and sincerely hoped that there was a possible future for the two of them.
“Mr. Firecracker. Good morning to you. I bring you a message from the Princesses,” a pony said from the doorway. He levitated the envelope over and read the contents.
It was a formal invitation to a feast and celebration for the safe return of the staff and residents of the burned down Conversion Bureau. Apparently in their absence, the news found out about the fire that burned down the Bureau and painted the HLF as the perpetrators. It had been feared that everypony inside had died, and the fact that there were survivors was sure to make a wonderful story both in Equestria and on Earth.
“Thank you very much,” Firecracker said before the messenger left the room. “Before you go… can you tell me where Jasmine is? Pink coat-“ he began.
“She left in the middle of the night, sir. We did not ask her where she was headed.”
“Thank you.” Peach Cobbler began to stir in the bed from the commotion; she sat up, stretched her forelegs to the sky, and let out a long yawn.
“Good morning,” Firecracker said, walking over to the pink mare. Abashed, she tried to hide her muzzle from him. “There’s some fruit for breakfast over here if you’d like some. How are you feeling?”
She dropped the sheets and frowned. “It still hurts. It hurts so much…” she said, covering her heart with her hooves. Firecracker slipped his hooves in and pulled her hooves out from her chest and gave her a hug. She wrapped her hooves around his neck and gave him a hug as well. When he pulled his head back to look her in the eyes, her beautiful red eyes, she kissed him square on the lips.
---
“Good morning, Sunshine,” the colt giggled.
“Is that ever gonna get old for you?” the blue pegasus asked.
“Mmm, nope,” Spotlight said, kissing Sunshine on his nose.
Sunshine hopped out of bed and onto the marble floors of their room that they asked for (discreetly) the night before. When they were finally alone and in the sheets with each other, they did a little bit more than just sleep together. Sunshine was very surprised at how dexterous hooves could be when they were used carefully and delicately. The thing that surprised Sunshine the most was that it was Spotlight who started fooling around with him.
Sleep eventually overtook them, and they got as much as they could out of it. When they came to, a bowl of fruit sat waiting for them along with an invitation to a dinner and celebration for their safe return to be held by the Princesses.
“A party?” Spotlight asked, concerned. “For us?”
“Seems like it,” Sunshine said. “But that isn’t until much later. How about in a little bit we go check up on Jay?”
Spotlight raised an eyebrow. “And what are we going to do for that ‘little bit’ until then?” he asked, as if he didn’t already know. Sunshine leaned in and kissed him on the nose before leaping back into the bed and under the covers. He waited in anticipation as Spotlight climbed up and found him.
---
“What was that book you were reading last night?” Primrose asked. Jay propped it up with his hoof.
“Astrology. Apparently it’s a big thing here in Equestria, especially before the Merging. Pretty wild stuff in here.” He flipped through a few pages and showed her some of the passages he was reading. Some of it went over her head, but she paid attention anyway since it was the first time Jay’s spirits had been up since the fire.
“’Trine’,” Jay said out loud. He smiled and closed the book. “What do you think?” he asked Primrose.
“About what?” she asked.
“My new name. I’ve been trying to think of one since my conversion, and… I like it. Trine. That’ll be my new name.” A sense of something came over him at that time. It felt like completion, or just a sense of welcome.
Primrose kissed Trine on the cheek and smiled. “I like it. It fits you.”
“Mr. Jay? How are we feeling this morning?” the doctor asked as he walked in. Trine had found out his name was Doctor Stable, and he was one of the more affluent doctors in Canterlot.
“I’m feeling fine. And I decided I’m going by Trine now.”
Doctor Stable jotted something down onto his clipboard with a pencil and cleared his throat. “Well let’s go get you fitted for your prosthesis.”
“My what?” Trine asked.
“A new leg. So you can walk without needing to hop every step or have to use a wheelchair. A gift from the crown.”
Doctor Glitter, the female unicorn who comforted him the day before and performed his horn removal, trotted in with a wheelchair for him to ride. With Primrose’s help, he freed himself from his sheets and dropped his rump into the oddly shaped chair.
They wheeled him through the hospital and into another wing of the building. There were ponies here in hospital gowns like he was wearing, but they were performing all sorts of activities. Physical Therapy, he told himself. He was not looking forward to learning how to walk a third time.
They wheeled him into another room in the wing. Doctor Glitter fetched tub filled with water and a sack. "Go ahead and dip your amputated leg into the mixture when I say so and keep it still,” Doctor Stable told him. Glitter poured a white powder from the sack into the water and mixed it until it took a strange milky white color, and when she gave him the go ahead, he bent his good legs until the stump was mostly submerged in the fluid.
“Jay!” somepony shouted from the door behind him.
“Who’s that?” Trine asked, unable to turn around from where he stood.
“It’s Sunshine and Spotlight! We’re here to see how you’re doing!” the pegasus said cheerfully.
“Oh, by the way, I changed my name!” Trine said as the two ponies entered his field of vision.
“What is it?” Spotlight asked.
“Trine!”
“Suits you,” Sunshine said.
Trine noticed something about Sunshine. Something about the way he carried himself, something about how cheerful he was, something…
“Wait… you two are a thing now?” Trine asked. Both of their eyes went wide as they looked at each other in confusion.
“Wha-“
“You two are standing close enough that you’re grazing his wing,” Trine said to Spotlight. “And neither of you are moving away from the other.”
“Uhh,” Sunshine muttered. He looked over to Spotlight who was trying not to draw attention to himself.
“Good,” Trine said, breaking the silence. “I’m glad you finally found somepony to be with!”
Sunshine smiled as he shyly pulled Spotlight in with his wing. “It means a lot to us. Thank you.”
“You two are cute together,” Primrose said. “Did you two share a bed again?” she asked with a grin on her face.
“Frankly, I don’t really need to know what you two do behind closed doors,” Trine said before they could say anything. Sunshine gave him a thankful smile.
“Wait!” Spotlight said suddenly, after a few minutes of silence. “Where did your horn go?”
“Whoa! I didn’t even notice!” Sunshine said, seeing only a brown mane on Trine’s head.
Trine frowned and said, “I had it removed. What good is a unicorn with no magic?” The pain was clear in his voice to everypony present. Losing a leg as well as the one thing that made him unique… it was a wonder Trine didn’t break down crying all over again in front of everypony.
“It’s okay, Jay, er, Trine. You’re still you. Nothing can change that,” Sunshine said, nuzzling his friend.
After a few more minutes of letting the fluid set around his leg, Trine was finally allowed to stand up, pulling his stump from the coagulated jelly. It made a mold of his amputated leg, and Doctor Glitter cut out the section that held the impression. “We’ll have it ready for you later tonight. For now, we’re just going to give you one of the standard models. It’ll get the job done, but it won’t be the prettiest thing in the world.”
She levitated out what looked a bit like a crutch with a cup at the top; the cup had a Velcro belt around it that tightened depending on the size of the user, and the leg was adjustable. It also housed a spring to ‘simulate’ true leg movement, but Trine wasn’t so sure.
It took only a minute for Doctor Glitter to get the tightness right and the length set, and it took Trine only a few seconds to fall flat on his face like the first day he had hooves.
“Why don’t you take your time with it…” Doctor Glitter said, leading Trine and his friends out into the main physical therapy room. He started walking with Primrose on his left, so he could lean on her as he got used to the resistance of the spring and the general motion he had to use to walk close to normally.
Primrose was constantly supportive. She helped him back up each time he fell, gave him small kisses each time he was able to walk on his own, but the most precious thing was what she said when Trine had finally been able to walk out of the Hospital on his own: “No matter how you look, no matter what happens to you, I will always love you.” Trine felt a tear begin to drip from his eye, but he brushed it away with his hoof. With all of the weight on his temporary prosthetic, he sunk down a few inches as the spring compressed, drawing giggles from the two of them.
---
“Jay!” Firecracker shouted as he saw him and the group from across the lawn. “You’re looking… swell,” he said, noticing the new leg.
“It’s temporary, the doctor said. And my name is Trine now.”
“Oh,” Firecracker said. At first, Trine thought it was because of the choice of his name, but he noticed Firecracker and Peach Cobbler were looking up at his mane; the mare was covering her mouth with a hoof. Trine felt a wave of shame wash over him.
“I’m so sorry, Ja- Trine,” Peach Cobbler said, wrapping her neck around his and nuzzling his mane.
“So… nothing left?” Firecracker asked.
After a long sigh, Trine said, “Nothing.” He just wanted nopony else to bring it up anymore… he was ashamed at what he was now, and he didn’t want to be reminded of it each time he saw somepony else. Was he still a unicorn, even with no horn anymore, or was he an earth pony, without the magic that makes them special? What was he?
“It’s good to see you again, Peach,” Trine said as they parted.
“It’s good to see you, too.” The mare looked much more lively and bright than the last time he saw her on the island. It was a good sign that she was still staying close with Firecracker.
“You all coming to the dinner tonight?” Firecracker asked. ‘
“Of course!” Primrose said, proudly.
“The what?” Trine asked. He had been left in the dark.
“Oh, horseapples, I forgot to tell you. A messenger came this morning with an invitation for it this morning while you were asleep. Sorry,” the blue mare said.
“It’s okay. Is it really that big of a deal?” Trine asked.
“Big deal? It’s only a party thrown by the Royal Sisters in OUR honor!” Firecracker said, his voice rising. “Of course it’s a big deal!”
“Oh. Sorry,” Trine said, taken aback from the response he got.
“It’s nothing to be sorry about! You should be excited!” Firecracker said with a wide smile. “Oh, we're also getting fitted for suits soon, so we should head downtown for that.”
“And you!” Peach Cobbler said, pointing at Primrose. “You’re coming with me for dress shopping!”
“Dress shopping?” Primrsoe asked. “I thought we were just going to go like this…” she said, looking down at her blue coat.
“Naked?” Firecracker asked. “If it was a casual party, sure. But this is a formal Canterlot party. Dress to impress, as they say.”
Peach Cobbler dragged Primrose along the lawn with her as Firecracker led Trine, Sunshine, and Spotlight to get their suits.
---
Peach Cobbler and Primrose walked through the wide hallway and took a left, heading back towards their rooms. Prim hadn’t even seen this part of the castle yet; she had gone straight to Trine’s room at the hospital the night before.
“Palm Breeze’s room is right… here!” Peach said, pointing to the door they just reached. Primrose knocked on it with her hoof and waited for an answer.
The door swung open and Palm stuck her head out. “Oh, uh, hi Peach, hi Prim! What’s up?” she asked as she stepped out to see them.
“Wanna go out with us to get our dresses?” Primrose asked, smiling.
The look of confusion quickly evolved into elation as Palm bounced into the air. “Of course!” she said. She pulled the door shut behind her and pranced out of the castle with the other two mares and into downtown Canterlot.
The castle was the main part of Canterlot, but there was a great part of it that was taken up by ponies who had moved in nearby and opened up businesses outside of the castle walls. It had grown into its own miniature city in a way, but it was still dwarfed by the grandness of the royal castle that loomed overhead.
“The letter said that we can get our dresses from ‘Ribbon’s Boutique’, but we were also allowed to go wherever else we wanted in the mean time,” Peach said, recalling the note the deliverypony left for her and Trine at the hospital.
“Anything?” Palm Breeze asked. “We have a while before the dinner tonight… why do we have to get our dresses right now?”
“What do you have in mind?” Peach Cobbler asked. “I’m not too familiar with Canterlot.”
“How about a trip to the spa?” Palm said. The idea of getting pampered and feeling clean and beautiful… it was too much for Primrose to say no to, and the same went for Peach Cobbler. The three mares trotted along the streets towards their first destination of the day.
---
The tailor was named, appropriately enough, Tailor Made. He ran the premier stallion’s clothing store in Canterlot, and the Princesses had informed him of their coming as well as all of the other stallions that had made it back from the island. He was a well-mannered unicorn who somehow managed to know exactly what went well with the colors one had. His chestnut brown coat gleamed in the light, and his black mane had a sheen to it from constant care and upkeep.
“Good afternoon, gentlecolts. I believe you are here to get fitted for your suits?” he asked in a formal manner. The store itself was on the smaller side than what Trine had expected. Back on Earth, stores were usually great big multi-story buildings with just about everything that you’d need in them. Very few times had he actually been in a store that sold only one kind of thing.
But this kind of change of pace was refreshing to him. The old stores were always crowded and never pleasant to be in. “You,” Tailor Made said, pointing at Spotlight. He had been admiring some of the tuxedos on a rack when he heard it.
“Me?”
“Yes, you. You first. Come over here and stand on this podium.” The podium was situated in front of three mirrors that reflected Spotlight from different angles. His yellow coat seemed brighter and more vibrant than what he remembered on the island. Maybe it was the fact that he had cleaned himself that morning.
“Let’s see…” Tailor Made said as he levitated a measuring tape along Spotlight’s features. He had his neck measured, his forelegs measured, even his belly and his shoulders measured. It all seemed a bit excessive to Trine, but Spotlight didn’t seem to mind.
“I’ve been fitted for suits my entire life. First time as a pony, though,” he commented as Tailor Made looked him over.
“Really? I’ve been meaning to get out and see some of these human fashion trends some of my friends keep raving about.”
“Don’t get too excited. Nothing made there comes even close to the quality you have here.” The praise seemed to make Tailor Made glow with pride. “Sure, they can make them faster and make tons of them, but they just don’t fit properly unless you go all out and buy the top of the line stuff. Even those suits are itchy and uncomfortable.”
“Well, I promise you will not be disappointed, good sirs.” The stallion then measured Firecracker and Sunshine, but when he came up to Trine, he paused when his eyes fell on the prosthetic leg.
“Hmm, this one is going to be a bit trickier, to be honest,” he said, helping Trine up onto the podium. Trine attempted to hide his shame by thinking about Primrose, and it worked. He felt a smile creep onto his face when he remembered how much she cared about him, regardless if his leg was real or not.
“I got it!” Tailor Made dashed behind a door and came back out with a roll of fabric. It seemed to be a roll of wool, or some other kind of thick material, but when he began wrapping it around Trine’s leg, it made sense. “I was worried your hardware was going to damage the suits I was going to make for you, what with the metal and the screws and everything. By wrapping it in this, it’ll look fine in passing and it will protect the sleeve as well!”
Trine was relieved, and grateful for Tailor Made’s ingenuity concerning the leg. He also picked out a tie or bow tie for each pony; a gold tie for Firecracker, a silver bow tie for Sunshine, orange bow tie for Spotlight, and a green tie for Trine.
“I’ll have these done up for you fellas and delivered to the castle later this afternoon. Thanks for stopping by!”
They gave the unicorn their thanks and walked out onto the sidewalk of Canterlot.
“That was quick,” Sunshine said.
“What now?” Trine asked as they walked down the street.
Firecracker walked ahead, clearly with something in mind. “Follow me.” He gave them all a sinister grin and they followed.
---
“This. Is. Delightful.” Peach Cobbler relaxed in the warm bath with Primrose and Palm Breeze, their manes up in towels. The warm, soothing waters eased their aches and soreness away from the past few days; it was distressing to know how good it felt after not realizing how bad they were to begin with.
“I could sit here all day,” Palm breeze moaned. Steam was rising off the surface of the water in wisps and curls, and the scented candles burned around them, filling the air with pleasing scents.
Primrose looked over to Peach Cobbler. “Peach?”
“Yes, Primrose?” she asked, lifting her head up.
“I’m sorry about how cold I was to you. You know, after that whole thing with you and Trine back at the bureau. I feel awful.”
“Prim, it’s okay. He and I were thrown into a tight spot, and we saw each other, and… Well, we promised to stay friends after realizing that’s all we really were, nothing more. Even when we were, well, ‘together’, I still noticed how he looked at you.”
Primrose’s ears perked up. “Huh?”
“Oh yeah. He was pining over you. I doubt that he ever thought ill of you, even for a moment. He is such a kind and compassionate colt; you’re lucky you have him.” Peach gave Primrose a sweet smile.
Prim had never realized how badly Trine had cared before. Sure, he risked his life to save her, and she never once questioned his love. But was he always that enamored with her? Where he could think of nopony else even if he tried?
It wasn’t his doting and attention that made her start to cry, but her negligence and ignorance. She had ignored his attentions and advances in lieu of somebody… Primrose could scarcely remember why she had ever felt anything for Andrew before. Even the name was trying to be forgotten in her memory. Thinking back, she saw so few redeeming qualities and traits in that human that it made her sick to even think about kissing him.
Not that human. That man. Primrose had to correct herself. She didn’t hate humans; she was one before. Primrose the pony was built on Chloe the human. Primrose could only be alive because Chloe had been alive before. And Chloe wasn’t gone; she had all of her old memories and her mannerisms, but she was also Primrose the earth pony.
“Prim? Are you okay” Palm Breeze asked, scooting across the tub to comfort her.
“Yeah,” Prim said between sniffs. “I’ll be fine.” Palm Breeze still gave her a big hug, and Peach Cobbler even came over and gave her a hug too.
When Primrose had finally cheered up, the mares followed up their soak with massages, mane trims and styling, and what was known as a hooficure. It was strange and alien to Prim and Palm, but once the spa staff began, their concerns faded away.
When they left the spa, the three felt refreshed, relaxed, and beautiful.
“Should we go get our dresses now?” Peach Cobbler asked. The two other mares agreed and they maneuvered down the street towards Ribbon’s Boutique.
---
“On three. One, two, three!” Firecracker threw his head back and downed the glass, followed by Spotlight and Sunshine. The latter two began coughing and hacking immediately afterwards and took quaffs from their glasses of water. “I never said apple whiskey goes down kindly.”
Firecracker had led the four of them to a popular bar called Shots’ Shots, run by the aptly named Shots. The nickname his patrons gave him was ‘McDrunk’, since he would always serve his customers while he was drunk himself. The nickname had stuck, and the orange earth pony just changed his name to McDrunk outside of formal occasions.
“Hoo-boy, you two boys look like you’re ready for another round!” McDrunk shouted. “It’s not erryday you get an open tab from the castle!” He reached down and grabbed the whiskey bottle in his teeth and poured the three another round. “How about you, boy? Want some liquid courage?”
Trine recoiled in his seat from the rancid breath of the pony and shook his head fervently. He had only a glass of water that he sipped from while the others enjoyed their ‘liquid courage’.
“This stuff tastes like detergent!” Spotlight gasped after his second drink.
“Who done told you my secret?” McDrunk said from across the bartop. “Jus’ Kiddin! I make all this apple whiskey myself!”
“I come here whenever I’m in town,” Firecracker said. He drank another shot, and as Sunshine and Spotlight made faces from the burning taste, he didn’t even react to it. “You get used to it, I promise you two,” he said. Turning back to Trine, Firecracker asked, “You sure you don’t want to try some?”
“Yeah! Try some!” Sunshine said as he whirled around on his chair. His breath was making Trine feel sick, and a lot more so than he expected.
“No, I’m fine with my water.”
“But it’s fun!” Spotlight said, swinging around and leaning over Sunshine.
“I’ll pass.”
“Try some!” McDrunk said loudly. “Jus’ a little sip! C’mon! Jus’ one sip!” His breath was dripping with the liquor, and Trine began to feel himself in physical pain from it. He lurched off of the bar stool and onto his prosthetic leg, which gave out from under him. He picked himself up and ran clumsily out the door and vomited on the sidewalk.
A well dressed unicorn couple recoiled in horror as they saw Trine, and scoffed. “Honestly. These ponies drink and drink, and when their bodies say to stop, they drink some more. Sickening,” the stallion said before walking off, kicking dirt into Trine’s face.
Firecracker burst out the doors and found him. “You okay? What’s wrong? Something in the water not agreeing with you?”
Trine tried to hide his face as he wiped the bile from his muzzle. The stench of whiskey on Firecracker’s breath was weak, but it reminded him of something. Something horrible.
“My… My dad smelled like that when he tried to kill me. He always drank that stuff when he would hurt me.” Trine felt awful, both physically and for ruining the trip for everypony.
He tried to stand up, but was still shaky from being sick. Firecracker helped him up the rest of the way. “Just stay here. I’m going to go get those two before McDrunk accidentally lights them on fire from his fumes alone.”
Trine was recovering from his daze, and the taste of vomit in his mouth was less than pleasant. When Firecracker came back out, the two stallions were clearly drunk from the whiskey from their inability to stand still without wobbling from one side to the other.
“You want something to eat?” Firecracker asked, careful to avoid getting his breath near Trine’s face. The beige pony nodded.
Firecracker led the four of them to Pony Joe’s, a small donut shop run by a portly pony named, well, Joe. Firecracker ordered each of them deluxe glazed chocolate donuts with a mug of hot chocolate to wash it down with.
“Hey!” Firecracker yelled. “You two. Hooves on the table.” Spotlight and Sunshine lifted their hooves from under the table and began to eat their donuts. Trine wasn’t eager to know what those hooves were about to do.
The donut cheered Trine right up, and made him feel better. He vowed to himself that he would never go to McDrunk’s bar again, no matter how much he was forced. Sunshine and Spotlight were finally starting to sober up as they were leaving back for the castle.
The sun was beginning to set, and it seemed everything was getting busier. The roads were crowded and filled with ponies, but it didn’t stop them from reaching the castle gates.
---
Trine rested on his bed. His actual bed; not the one from the hospital, but a genuine king size bed with cotton sheets, fluffy pillows, and easily the most comfortable bed he had ever even just sat on.
Primrose had finally come back from her shopping trip with Peach Cobbler and Palm Breeze when a pony brought two boxes with him: one addressed to Trine, one addressed to Primrose. He had told them to be in the grand dining hall in an hour for the opening speech by Princess Celestia, and that she had something for all of her guests of honor.
Primrose and Trine decided to spend half of that hour in the bed together. She had helped him remove his prosthetic leg, so not as to damage any of the sheets with it. They just laid there in each other’s hooves, and in all thirty of those minutes, no words were spoken. The feelings that enveloped them closed them off from everything else in the world; they were perfectly content and happy. They kissed and held each other and rested, the two of them savoring the feeling of being wanted and loved.
When Primrose saw the clock said that they had twenty-five minutes left, she vanished into the washroom with her box. Trine heard the sink go and all sorts of other things but paid them no mind.
He pulled the lid to his box open with his teeth and gazed inside. On top was his green tie; it was going to be very tricky for him to get that on by himself. He placed that on the bed and began slowly dressing himself. He had to reattach his leg before doing anything, and that took a good five minutes of his time. He slipped the woolen sleeve onto the leg and slipped it gently into the white dress shirt. He awkwardly propped himself up on the bed to get his other foreleg in, and buttoned it down with a clever trick with his teeth and his tongue.
The jacket was considerably easier to manage after dealing with the shirt. He left the two buttons undone at the bottom until he had his tie on; he was going to ask for Primrose’s help for that. He walked over to the washroom door and gently knocked on it. “Prim? Can you help me out?” he asked.
When the door opened, his jaw dropped to the floor. Primrose had her mane styled up in curls that cascaded down on both sides of her face and along her neck. Her dress was a dark scarlet silk with dark rubies along the neckline. The back end of the dress hung over her rump and ended in a brighter red seam. Around her neck she wore a string of bright pearls; it contrasted the subtle darker tones of her dress and just left Trine speechless.
Trine did in fact lose all recognition of everything but her for a few moments. And because of that, he fell flat on his face before her. She was stunning, and as he used that word to himself, he felt that it didn’t do her justice.
“Your tie?” she said, knowing exactly what he needed. He simply looked up and nodded with his mouth still hanging open.
After a few maneuvers by the two of them, Trine’s bright green tie lay flat against his chest and his coat was buttoned up. Two flaps hung over his rump, and as he looked over himself, he felt so naked compared to Primrose.
They stepped out from their room and followed the steward to the grand hall for the speech from the Princesses.