When Auntie Twilight's balloon touched down and the basket opened up, I was the first one out and I practically hugged the grassy hill we landed on. "Sweet, sweet ground."
"Ooohhh," Skyla said as she walked over to a tree with dull red apples on it, though they looked a bit smaller than the kind I'd seen back home.
"Remember, Skyla: the Apples can punish you if you eat their crops," Twilight reminded her. "And they're all very strong."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Have fun, girls!" Auntie Twilight took off in the direction of her castle.
I looked up from where I was praising the solid ground in time to see Skyla spread her wings and start to slowly flap them. "Skyla, what are you doing?"
I could easily imagine her salivating. "I want to eat that apple."
"Don't do it."
"Just a single bite."
"Do not eat that fruit."
"I'm going to eat it."
"No!"
"But-"
"Stop wanting!"
Skyla took off, but before she could get the apple, a rope wrapped around her and pulled her down to earth with a hard landing. "That apple ain't yours, Princess," Applejack stated as she walked over.
"It's just one!"
"Even if it is just one, you shouldn't. Besides, those ain't ripe yet. They need some more time to grow."
"Is that why they're so small and dull?" I asked.
"Yep. You can't harvest them too early, otherwise, nopony would want them. If you don't mind me asking, why are you hugging the ground like that, Inova?"
"I don't like Cloudsdale. It's too high and I can't fly."
Applejack let out a solid laugh at my answer. “Same here, Sugarcube. Ah understand. Now come along. Let’s get you familiar with the farm.”
After a couple days of working with Applejack and her visiting family, Skyla and I were both aching. "I want to go home," Skyla said one morning after Big Mac casually flipped her out of bed just past the crack of dawn. I didn't need any help getting out of bed, since Aunt Celestia had apparently decided that her sunlight would land directly on my eyes to wake me up. It was very rude.
"Me too." The soreness I felt in my body was way worse than anything from our general fitness class, and it hurt.
"At least the food's really good." She got to her hooves and did some stretching. "That makes it better, right?"
"A bit. Let's get going." I took the lead in going downstairs to wait for breakfast with everypony else. By my count, there were about fifteen ponies in the house aside from us, and it was a smaller house than home.
I made no attempts to talk with anypony as I found a spot at the table. The novelty of Skyla and me staying there had worn off quickly for the guests, and we were now mostly just there with them.
Applejack and one of the visiting mares brought out a spread of food. Any tiredness Skyla still had faded away as it was set out.
After the three of us took care of a field of tomatoes, Applejack began her lesson on honesty with us under an apple tree. "Ah'm sure Cadence and Shining have already told you to be honest, but Ah can tell you how important it really is."
"Honesty looks pretty simple," Skyla said as she looked up at the fruit hanging above. "I just need to not lie, right?"
Applejack shook her head. "Dishonesty can be more destructive than a tornado, and it's deeper than just not tellin' lies." She cast a quick glare at Skyla to make her focus on the lesson. "If we weren't honest with each other on the farm, things would break down and nopony would have anything to eat. Things that needed fixing wouldn't get fixed, and the problems from that would get worse and worse. We also have to admit when we can't fix something and get somepony else to help us. Honesty is all about stating things as they are."
"What about just not saying something?" I nervously asked. There was something on my mind.
"That would be, in fancy speak, a lie of omission, and can be just as bad as telling a lie, or even worse. It's better to admit the truth and face the music." I made a mental note of that. "On that note, there's one pony above all others you must be honest with."
"Is it mom?" Skyla asked.
"It's yourself. If you can't be honest with yourself, you'll have a hard time being honest with anypony else. If you can't face your own problems, how can you help somepony else with theirs?"
"Like my hoofwork, magic, and flight difficulties?" I asked.
Applejack nodded at my question. "Yes. Ah heard you've been workin' real hard on that. How's it going?"
I grimaced as I answered her. "I hate it. I keep tripping, I keep flopping, and I'm making almost no progress on simple levitation! I just want to run, fly, and cast like anypony else can. Why is it so difficult for me? Why can't I just do it?" As my tirade ended, Skyla gave me a hug, which did help calm me down a bit. "I just want to do those normal things."
"Ah'm sure you'll figure it out in time. And Skyla, Ah've heard good news about you too."
"Is it about how many friends I've made?" Skyla asked without releasing me.
"No, it's about the progress you've made on your appetite."
I saw Skyla glance upwards to the apples on the tree. "Uh, yes?"
"Ah heard you ain't running around trying to eat everything anymore. It's just what's in front of you, and since you haven't eaten any crops, Ah think you're doing even better than that."
A disappointed sigh escaped me. Skyla making better progress on her appetite than I was with my issues bummed me out. It made me feel like I was that much further behind her than I already was.
"Inova, hurry up!" Skyla called out. "We'll get to talk to the cows again!"
"I'm- oof!" My third attempt at running to catch up ended in a third faceplant in the dirt.
"You ain't gonna be herdin' the cows at this rate, Inova!" Applejack said. "You got this!"
"Yeah, right." I got to my hooves and tried yet again to run, but my legs got tangled up as usual and my face was introduced to the ground for a fourth time. "Why?"
Applejack came over to me as I got back to my hooves again. "You okay, sugarcube?"
"Yeah." I took a moment to spit out some dirt that had gotten in my mouth. "Is there anything I can do without needing to run?"
She looked around and thought for a bit. "Well. . . There is somepony important coming over. How about you go back to the house and clean what you can?"
"Who's coming?" I looked back over the hills I'd crossed and saw the long trek back to the house ahead of me.
"Ah think it'll be better if Ah don't tell you. Go on, then."
I walked back to the house by myself while Applejack and Skyla continued out to herd the cows. While the cows were smart enough to hold a conversation, and were agreeable to lots of things, they apparently had a stubborn streak with their grazing locations, and had to be herded from one pasture to the next regularly before they ate all the grass and started eating the dirt.
There wasn’t much to clean, so I was able to quickly wash the dirt off my face once I was done. I climbed onto one of the rocking chairs on the porch after that. It creaked as it went back and forth, and paired with the wind rustling a nearby tree, made things feel very serene and peaceful. It was nice enough for me to almost take a nap.
Before I could doze off, a light yellow mare with a red mane and tail showed up with a big pink bow in her mane. “Howdy, Inova!” She happily greeted me as she approached.
“Uh, hi.” Everypony knew who Skyla and I were, and I’d known that for a while, but actually experiencing it was still weird.
She came up on the porch and held out a forehoof. “I’m glad to meet you in person. I heard you really like my work.”
I warily shook her hoof. “I do?”
“I’m Apple Bloom.”
I gasped in surprise as I realized that my favorite author was in front of me. “Really?”
“Really really. I’ve got somethin’ for ya, but work comes first. Let me see if Mac left that list I asked for.” She went inside, then came out with a clipboard in her mouth. “Cm un,” she said around it.
I got out of the chair and eagerly followed her before tripping up and faceplanting yet again. “Ow.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I got to my hooves and shook some dirt off my once clean face. “I just trip when I run.”
"Oh. Well, let's take it easy for now and just walk."
I followed Apple Bloom out to a barn in a happy and comfortable silence. I never imagined I'd be in her presence, and it made me too nervous to talk any further.
I looked at the yoke Apple Bloom put on me. "What's this for?" It was a little loose on me, but otherwise fit alright.
"We're fixing the lift system for the barn, but I can't do it easily by myself," Apple Bloom explained. "I need you to be my operator until I get it fully repaired."
"But why me? Why not Applejack or Big Mac?"
"Well. . . They're busy with other chores, and from what Apple Turnover said, you're really not cut out for the work out there."
I winced at the explanation. "But. . . I tried my best. . ."
"AJ said that in the notes. Unfortunately, the farmwork out there waits for nopony. Now, you know how to use your earth pony magic, right?"
"Kind of." I still felt the sting of Apple Turnover's description of me, but the change of topic was an alright distraction.
"I'll need you to use that for a bit." She picked up a rope and tossed it over a beam before wrapping one end around part of a platform. After that, she tossed the other end back over the beam and threaded both ends through a dual pulley. "Hold still for a moment." I watched as she somehow tied the rope to the yoke. How she made knots with hooves was a mystery to me. "When I tell you to, just walk forward."
"But that looks really heavy." The platform was solid wood, and there were boxes of metal parts on it.
"The pulleys will make it easier." Apple Bloom went to the platform. "Now walk forward."
I got ready and tried walking forward. The yoke shifted a bit, I felt some resistance, and then I started putting more effort in. After a few steps, I was feeling the strain. "What happened to easy?"
"I said 'easier,' not 'easy.' You've got it started, now keep going!"
I glanced back and saw that the platform was already a couple feet off the ground. That bit of progress gave me some encouragement, so I kept putting one hoof forward at a time. Progress was slow, but I knew that each step was a little bit more height on the lift, and that kept me going.
"Okay, hold it! Stay right there!" Apple Bloom ordered. "Won't take but a minute."
"But. . . I'm getting tired."
"Think of heavy things and hold steady. That's how I do it."
I took Apple Bloom's suggestion and started thinking of heavy things. Eventually, my mind settled on a train engine, and that also made me feel stronger somehow. I couldn't help but ponder it.
"Okay Inova, I need you to slowly back up until you feel the yoke loosen."
I slowly backed up. Keeping a steady pace was a bit tricky since I was fighting gravity, but I managed it and felt the yoke loosen before long. A relieved sigh escaped me as I slipped it off. My legs and body hurt from the strain, but it wasn't quite as bad as some of the other work I'd done.
A foreleg was draped over my shoulders. "Good job, Inova. Wanna try the lift?"
I looked up to Apple Bloom. "Are you going to pull this time?"
"Nope. We'll ride it up together." She walked back to the lift and I followed.
I looked over the lift and saw an odd machine on it. "How do I use it?"
"You know what a bicycle is?"
"Yeah." I didn't have one, but some ponies in the Empire did. I'd overheard numerous complaints about them in the market before, but mom and dad never took any action on it one way or the other.
"It's like that, but with your forehooves. Stand on this side and pedal like you're walking forward."
I made my way over to where Apple Bloom pointed out and put my forehooves on the pedals. "So I just spin it?"
"Yep."
"Will it fall if I stop?"
"Nope. I just fixed that. If you stop, so will the lift."
I took a calming breath and started pedaling. The lift moving up startled me a bit, but I kept going. Getting it up with the pedals was a lot easier than pulling, and it wasn't long before we were at the top. "That was fun."
"Now go to the other side and pedal it down."
I did as she said and pedaled the lift down. "That was fun too." I remembered something important. "Don't you have something for me?"
"It's in the house. We've got some other things to fix first, though. The sooner we get it done, the sooner you'll get it."
With the promise of a reward from her, I felt more motivated and followed Apple Bloom around as we fixed things.
I looked on the bed where I'd been sleeping during my time with the Apples, and I felt only unbridled joy and happiness. "Is that. . ."
"My next book, not in stores yet," Apple Bloom proudly explained. "I even signed it for you."
I snatched the book, Mechanics of Moving Machinery and More, and hugged it tight. "This is amazing! Thank you!"
"You're welcome." She gave me a hug, even as I hugged the book.
Skyla, with her legs, body, and muzzle roped up, got tossed on the floor of the house, drawing my attention from my days old new book. "Did she try to eat something?"
"Try?" Applejack asked in an exasperated voice. "While we weren't lookin', she went and ate a whole row of jalepeños. Ah don't know how she's not feeling the spice, but she did it."
"Sounds like Skyla to me. She can eat anything. Does that mean she's going to miss dinner?"
"Eeyup." At that confirmation, Skyla's eyes began watering up. "You already ate, so you don't need dinner, little filly." Applejack turned back to me. "Weren't you supposed to be helpin' make dinner?"
Apple Fritter came out of the kitchen at that moment. "Inova tried her best, but she couldn't keep up, so she left at my direction."
"I really wanted to help, too." I closed my book and set it down. "I'm just too klutzy for it. If I turn too fast, I fall over." That new degree of klutziness really frustrated me. "It's better if I just stay out of the way."
"Ah see. Pardon me while I take Skyla to her room." Applejack picked up my tied up sister and took her upstairs.
Apple Fritter watched the two leave. "You two leave tomorrow after breakfast, right?"
"Yep," I answered. "She almost made it without eating the crops."
"But why the jalapeños?"
I shrugged. "Probably because that's where she was."
Applejack walked with us through town. "Rarity's a fancier pony than us Apples are, and she'll probably have you do some kind of frilly stuff at some point. It ain't bad, but Ah don't really enjoy it mahself."
"Are we going to dress up?" I asked.
"Ah wouldn't be surprised if you do. Skyla. . ."
"Yes?" Skyla warily asked.
"If Rarity needs me to, Ah can come back and punish you. Ah promise you won't like the taste of soap."
My sister straightened up immediately. "I won't do anything, I promise!"
"Ah hope not." Applejack looked ahead to a round building with very fancy purple designs on it. "Here we are. Rarity's expectin' you, so go on in."
I took the lead and went through the doors. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, girls," Rarity gracefully greeted us as we walked in. "I'll be teaching you two about what it means to be generous."
"Oh, I know this one!" Skyla called out, her worries about Applejack apparently gone. "It's about giving without asking for anything in return, right?"
"Yes, it is. It's about doing good for others, whether it's by giving things or time. It's very similar to kindness like that. However, it's possible to go overboard, or be wrongly generous."
"By giving away things that aren't yours?" I asked.
"Exactly, Inova! You wouldn't give away Skyla's dolls, and Skyla wouldn't give away your blocks, right?"
"Nope!" Skyla and I said at the same time.
"Another part of being generous is making sure you have the resources for it, and knowing who you're giving to. Inova, if one of your friends asked you for 50 bits, and you had it with you, would you give her the money?"
I gave the question some thought. "Well, I'd start by asking her when she became my friend, since I don't have any."
"Mhm, asking what it's for is-" my full answer finally seemed to hit her. "Wait, you really have no friends?"
"Nay nay nay, not a one." I sang out the answer since I felt like it. Apple Bloom didn't count, since she was an author I admired, which was totally different from the friend category.
"Well, that's no fun. . . Skyla, what about you?"
"I spend all my bits on lunch at school, so I don't have any I can give away," Skyla said. "Lunch is my favorite part of school."
Rarity was at a loss for words, but managed to collect herself. "Well. . . Being generous isn't as easy as it sounds. You have to work hard in order to be generous materially and to have the freedom to give your time. Put simply, you have to put your own well being first before you can really give things away. Otherwise, you won't be in a position to help anypony at all.”
I watched bolts of fabric fly by in front of Skyla and me as we stood on a platform. It had been at least half an hour since the first bolt flew by. "Uh, Rarity?"
"Not this one, not that one, certainly not dark green. . ." Rarity said as she moved a huge number of bolts. "Maybe something floral. . ."
"Rarity?" Skyla asked, sounding concerned.
"No, floral patterns won't work. There's got to be something that'll do the trick."
I decided to try something. "How about a plain dark gray?"
Her attention was caught. "Absolutely not! Not only does that contrast badly with your coat colors, it's a terrible color for a sundress! At best, it could be an accent, but even then, it detracts from the casual feel that a sundress is supposed to have."
"Blue?" Skyla asked.
"Blue would go well with both of you, and could be used for nicer dresses later, but that's too cool of a color for being out in the sun." She put all the bolts back where they came from in their neatly arranged layout. "Perhaps we should go for a stroll and a spa treatment."
My sister was ecstatic. "Spa trip yay! I love the spa!"
"But. . . What about the sundresses?" I asked. The sudden change of direction, while far from unpleasant, was confusing.
"There are times that you need to step away from a project and take a moment or two for yourself," Rarity explained as we left the building. "Sometimes, it's during those breaks that you have a flash of inspiration and then you know what to do."
"But what if you don't get that flash of inspiration?" Skyla asked, voicing my question as well.
"Then it may just be that it'll take more time. The flash of inspiration can sometimes go the other way, telling you that the project isn't worth the effort."
I looked up at the sign over the place we were going one afternoon. Of all the places for Rarity to take Skyla and me, I was not expecting a dojo. I didn't know what a dojo was, but it felt like something that had to do with fighting.
"Welcome to the Subtle Hoof Dojo, girls," Rarity said as we walked in. "I was able to talk the owner into letting you two try some martial arts here for free."
"How did you do that?" I asked as I watched a group of colts and fillies going through what looked like punching and kicking motions at a stallion's direction.
Rarity dabbed at her forehead to clean up the sweat from the day's exercises and practice in the dojo. "Mr. Subtle, I'll be watching over a couple of fillies for a bit over the summer. Would it be okay if they take a single lesson for free with you to see if they like the martial arts?"
"You know the rules, Rarity!" The earth pony stallion countered. "No free trials!"
"What if I told you it'll be Princesses Skyla and Inova?"
Subtle Hoof gave it some thought. "No. Not even Princesses get free trials. If you want that for them, you'll have to beat the dojo master!"
"You said it." Rarity dove at the stallion and thus began the duel. Hooves flew up, down, left, right, forward, and back. Anypony looking at the combatants would think Rarity had a terrible disadvantage, and the truth was that she did. However, there was one thing she had much more of than Subtle Hoof did: work ethic. His talent for martial arts certainly gave him an edge, and he'd worked hard as well, but Rarity had been training under him for years, and she had Discord as a training partner outside of the dojo.
After a long minute, Rarity emerged victorious. The duel had been difficult, and the stallion had tried his best, but alas, he fell to the floor in defeat. "So, can they get a free session?" Rarity asked as she used her levitation to help the stallion to his hooves.
"You beat me, so I'll allow it," Subtle Hoof begrudgingly admitted. "But only one session!"
"That's all I ask for. I'll see you next week."
"Peaceful negotiations," Rarity said. "I used the power of words to achieve what I wanted."
I raised an eyebrow at what she said. Something didn't seem fully truthful about her explanation, but I couldn't figure it out. After pondering it a bit longer, I decided to drop the line of thought and followed her further into the dojo. The floor changed from wood to a padded surface that felt soft underhoof, though not as soft as a cloud.
The stallion saw us approach, then turned to the foals in front of him. "Keep going without me."
"Yes, Mr. Subtle!" All the foals said at the same time as they continued their routine in sync.
He nodded once and approached us. "So, today's the day." He turned his attention to Skyla and me. "What do you two know about the martial arts?"
"Uh. . ." Skyla had no clue.
I took a guess. "It's. . . It's about fighting without magic or weapons, right?"
"On the surface, perhaps," Mr. Subtle said. "It's also about discipline, fitness, and awareness. Without those, any fighting moves you know become less effective."
Skyla raised a forehoof. "Why should we know how to fight without magic?"
"Magic is powerful, but it takes focus to use, and if you become magically exhausted, without martial arts, you'll be more vulnerable."
I didn't need to give it much thought to understand what he meant. I didn't see how it could help me against Nightshade, since I was still a klutz, but it seemed like a useful skill.
"In fact, to show you how useful martial arts can be, I will challenge you two: I'll blindfold myself and you two come at me. No spells." A blindfold floated over to him in Rarity's magic and he put it on. Just as with Apple Bloom, I had no clue how he tied it with hooves. "Go ahead, don't be shy."
Skyla let out what she probably thought was a battle cry and ran straight at Mr. Subtle. He stopped her with a single forehoof, booped her snoot, got his foreleg under her, and flipped her away. "Try again." At his words, Skyla got back to her hooves, and tried again.
I saw no chance for me to even land a single hoof on him as Skyla tried more approaches, and since there was a chance he could move, I decided my best course of action was to sneak away. As slowly as I could, I moved one hoof at a time and made my way around the foals that were still going through their exercises. Thankfully, nopony did anything to give away my presence.
It didn't take long after my escape for Skyla to call it quits. "I'm done," she said as she flopped onto the padded floor. "I give up."
"That's one down," Mr. Subtle said as Rarity levitated Skyla away. "Now, where's Inova?"
I stayed still and kept my breathing slow and quiet. Skyla's quiet approaches from the side hadn't worked, likely due to him feeling her through the floor or hearing the way the floor sounded with her approach. I was able to feel when the foals' hooves hit the floor, so there was no reason he couldn't either.
He began walking around the front half of the room as he tried to find me. Skyla slowly went from sad to smiling as she watched him keep searching. Her forehooves went to her muzzle as she tried not to laugh. The foals around me were also starting to smile as it went on. Finally, one of the fillies lost her composure and fell down laughing. That breakdown caused the other foals to start falling down laughing. Skyla and Rarity weren't immune, and they started laughing as well.
Mr. Subtle raised an eyebrow and lifted the blindfold, which Rarity levitated away once it was off. "There you are, Inova. You do realize you didn't land a blow on me, right? You didn't win."
"Neither did you," I countered.
"She's got a point," Rarity chimed in. "You beat Skyla, but didn't land a hoof on Inova."
Mr. Subtle looked around, then let out a hearty laugh of his own. "Well done, both of you! Skyla, you kept trying, and that's admirable. Inova, you had the best defense possible: not being there. Both are different aspects of martial arts and self-defense. Come, do some stretching and join the class!"
Skyla and I accepted his offer to try the martial arts. It looked like it could be fun, and the foals already there seemed excited about it too.
"Have fun, you two," Rarity said as she got up. "I've got some business to take care of in town, but I'll be back in an hour."
An hour later, true to her word, Rarity was waiting for us. Skyla and I were both worn out, and neither of us were smiling, but for different reasons. "How did they do, Subtle Hoof?"
"Oddly," Mr. Subtle said. "Skyla seems to have some natural skill with martial arts, but she lost her enthusiasm pretty quickly."
"The repetitions are so boring!" Skyla cried out. "It's just the same thing, over and over."
"On the other hoof, Inova was clearly driven and motivated. I'd even say she wanted to enjoy it. But. . ."
"I'm klutzy," I glumly said, still upset at my performance in the class. "Just say it."
"Yes. She fumbled around more than any other foal I've ever trained, and that kept on frustrating her. No amount of encouragement from me or the other foals, including Skyla, helped her."
Rarity rubbed her chin in thought for a moment. "Well, at least they tried and stuck through the whole class. I'm glad you gave them a chance. Thank you."
"It was an honor. Will you be back next Thursday?" His question sounded a little less professional and a little more hopeful than I expected.
"I can't promise it, since I'll still be watching these two." Her answer had an odd bit of remorse to it, almost like she didn't want to miss it. "Have a good day, Mr. Subtle."
"You too, Rarity."
We left the dojo and the sun felt great on my aching body. I couldn't enjoy it for long, though. There were pegasi flying around and moving dark gray clouds into place, casting shadows on the ground. "Are we going anywhere else, Rarity?" I asked.
"No, we're not," Rarity said. "We're heading home, you two will clean up, rest up, and we'll figure out what to do after that."
I was just sitting around Rarity's workshop, browsing the myriad of magazines she had, when a thought and a memory crossed paths in my head to make a realization. "Rarity?"
"Yes, Inova?" Rarity asked without taking her eyes off the lace she was sewing onto something.
"What happened to making matching sundresses for Skyla and me?"
"Ah, that. You know how I said that sometimes, the inspiration says that a project isn't worth doing?"
"Is that what happened?"
"Yes. The best color I could come up with was yellow, but even that has problems with the different ways it complements and contrasts with you and your sister."
"Oh." I looked upwards as I imagined what she was talking about. On me, the yellow would be close to my orange coat, but it would greatly contrast my mane and tail. On Skyla, it was almost a full opposite color with her, except for the yellow parts of her mane and tail. Individually, both of us looked fine, but side by side, it didn't look as good. "I see."
"Sometimes, that's just how it is."
Rarity didn't seem to have her usual pep over breakfast. She still wore a smile, but her energy just wasn't there. Even after her morning tea, she didn't seem quite like herself.
Skyla was the brave one and approached her. "Rarity?"
"Yes, Skyla?" Even her voice sounded a bit dull.
"Did you want to see Mr. Subtle today?"
Skyla's question was spot on, and Rarity stopped in her tracks. "I promised that I would teach you two about designing, so let's-"
"What about generosity?"
"W-well, that's important too, but today-"
I stepped up next to Skyla. I didn't need a spell to tell we were thinking the same thing. "We'll try martial arts again if you want to see him."
Her objections became more energized. "Girls, I couldn't possibly make you do that again! Neither of you left with a smile last time, and I couldn't stand to see you leave looking sad and frustrated."
I pointed out the major flaw in Rarity's argument. "We're volunteering to do this for you. Isn't that generosity?"
She had no counter to my question, and actually seemed to brighten up a bit. "Well, if you're offering it like that, how can I refuse?"
Skyla and I shared a high hoof at our success. The knowledge of my klutziness inevitably striking made me start to second guess my decision, but it was too late to back down.
Mr. Subtle's reaction to seeing us walk in was one of what looked like a pleasant surprise. "So, the fillies want to try again?"
"Y-yes, they do," Rarity said, sounding a bit flustered. "They really surprised me with that."
"I think she just wanted to see you," my sister bluntly said.
"Skyla!" Rarity chided.
Mr. Subtle suddenly looked a bit uncertain of things. "W-well, it is just about time for Rarity's regular class to start up, and I did come up with some plans for Skyla and Inova, so they can join as well."
Skyla and I followed Rarity around to the padded floor again. The group of ponies already there were mainly adults, though there were also a few foals with them. There were gasps of surprise when Skyla and I were noticed, which made me feel a bit self-conscious.
"If I could have your attention, everypony," Mr. Subtle called out. "Your routines will stay the same. Start on those stretches!" As everypony else did as he said, he approached us. "Skyla, I'm sending you to the training dummies."
"It's not nice to call somepony a dummy!" Skyla objected.
"No no no, these dummies aren't actual ponies. See?" He turned Skyla's head so she was facing one of the side walls, where there was a pony shaped thing made of wood covered in padding. "Go ahead and start hitting it with everything you've got."
That got Skyla excited. "Really?"
"After you pull it out to the floor." As Skyla left to go drag out and fight the dummy, Mr. Subtle turned to me. "You get to do balancing exercises."
"Balancing?" I asked.
"Yes. Start by standing on three hooves." I picked up my right foreleg. "Now hold it until you feel like you can't."
"And after that?"
"Go through all your hooves that way three times. Don't use your wings."
"I won't." I knew what would happen if I tried.
"Good." With that, Mr. Subtle left us and went back to his regular class.
"My hooves hurt. . ." Skyla groaned as she rode out draped across Rarity's back. "Ow. . ."
I walked out with a smile. The balancing exercises actually made me feel like I made some progress against my klutziness, and I'd decided to do them more often. "I'm feeling great," I happily said.
"Good for you. . . Ow. . ." Even through her pained and exhausted voice, I could tell that she was glad for the progress I made and the path forward that I'd found.
"We are going straight to the hospital," Rarity stated, her tone and Skyla's situation leaving no room for argument. "Skyla, I hope you learned something from this."
"Not to hit so hard with my hooves? Ow."
"The importance of self-control. If you don't know when to stop, you'll end up hurting yourself and then you won't be able to help anypony."
"Got it. . ."
Rarity turned to me. "Inova, I'm going to rush your sister to the hospital. I need you to wait for me at Sugarcube Corner."
"Okay." I looked around and tried to find the place. "What's it look like?"
"It looks like, but definitely is not, a gingerbread house covered in candy, just ahead and to the left."
I looked ahead and saw the building in question. It really wasn't hard to miss. "Oh, so that's what that place is?" I'd seen it before, but hadn't gotten to go inside yet. Neither had Skyla.
"Yes. The Cakes can keep an eye on you while I'm busy getting your sister healed."
"That sounds good." I followed Rarity to the building and went inside. The smell of delicious pastries filled the air, and there were ponies scattered about the dining area, idly chatting about things.
As I walked towards the counter, I noticed the chatter die down and suddenly felt very aware that everypony was looking at me. The only sound was that of my hooves, and after I stopped at my destination, the silence became very eerie.
A pegasus stallion showed up behind the counter and looked around the room. "Okay everypony, it's just one of the visiting Princesses, no need to stare." His words got everypony's attention away from me, and I breathed a sigh of relief. "You'd think a visiting Princess would be way below the weirdness threshold needed to draw everypony's attention in Ponyville. Anyways, how can I help you, Princess Inova?"
"Are you one of the Cakes?" I asked. "Rarity had to run Skyla to the hospital, I can't run, so I'm waiting here."
"Pound Cake, at your service." He looked out over the crowd again. "If you want somewhere more private, you can go upstairs."
"Thank you." Going behind the counter felt wrong, like I wasn't supposed to be there, but my want of being away from prying eyes motivated me to work past it.
Pound led me to an orange door. "My sister's in here with her foals. She'll be happy to watch you. I'll come get you when Rarity shows up." He knocked on the door. "Hey Pumpkin, I've got a lost foal for you to watch, and she's very polite!"
"Send her in!" A mare's voice called out from inside.
Pound opened the door. "Here you go, Princess."
I walked in and he gently closed the door behind me. In the middle of the brightly colored and furnished room was a light orange unicorn mare laying on the floor with two little foals, an earth pony colt and a pegasus filly, still in diapers, sleeping against her body. Tales of my crying loops jumped into my head immediately, and I stopped moving when I saw the filly move just a bit.
"They won't hurt you, Inova," the mare, Pumpkin, softly said. "What brings you here?"
I slowly approached her, and when I felt like I was close enough, I explained the day's events in a soft voice. I did not want to wake the foals and make them cry.
"Hm, that makes sense," she said after I finished my tale of the day. "How about I introduce you to my foals?"
I looked at the sleeping foals, both of which looked like they would remain asleep for a while. "Sure."
"My little filly is Tiramisu, and she has to be the most gentle foal I've ever seen. My little colt, Coffee, can switch between high energy and deep sleep very quickly. Their father, Lemon Tart, is out doing guard related work in Canterlot." She gave a wistful sigh. "I love that stallion, but I wish he'd find something a bit closer to home."
As time went on, Pumpkin and I just talked. Her foals, to my pleasure and delight, stayed asleep and quiet the whole time.
Almost an hour later, there was a knock on the door and Pound poked his head in. "Inova, Rarity and Skyla are here."
"I'm on my way." I thanked Pumpkin before heading out and following Pound downstairs. Rarity was waiting by the counter, and Skyla was on her back, her hooves and lower legs wrapped up in bandages. Before I got out from behind the counter, I was suddenly stricken with a case of silliness. I reared up and got my forehooves on the counter. "Hi, Rarity. Can I help you?"
She looked up at the menu above me and at the pastries on display. "Oh, hmm. . . I need something for a couple of very good fillies that did something very good for me today, and worked very hard, but I'm very not sure what to get. Can you make a suggestion?"
By my amazing, spectacular, and unbelievable powers of persuasion, I got Rarity to get some slices of cheesecake, which Skyla was fine with. Pound helped me and played along with my antics. After Rarity had the slices in a box in her levitation, I left from behind the counter and followed her. As we left the bakery, so too did the silliness leave me. "How is she?"
"She'll be fine in the morning, as long as she minimizes how much time she spends on her hooves," Rarity explained. "They had an ointment and gel treatment that they put on her before the bandages. It just needs to soak in so her hooves can properly heal up overnight. It's a good thing the damage was shallow, otherwise, I may have had to send her back home."
"Oof."
The cheesecake would not be eaten as soon as we got back to Rarity's place. It was placed in the fridge and then served up for dessert after dinner, and it was delicious.