My hope in the outcome of this was better than it was. The colors in my wings were still diluted, though, and it did dampen my spirits a little. My perpetual cold was beginning to bug me. The sniffling I could deal with, but all the sneezing does get to you after awhile.
"HehCHMPH!"
"Bless you."
"HehSSHHHMPH!!"
"Bless you."
"Heeeeh-"
"Bless you."
"TCHMPH!! Ugh, I hate it when you do that." Chance smirked for a second before looking concerned again. "Oh, come on! You don't need to worry about me. They need us more." I gestured to Twilight and the others, who were managing a little better now that Chance and I could also use our magic to get food. "Hehtchmph!!" Not that my spells were always carried through.
"Geshuntight!" Applejack called. I blushed.
I was contemplating a way to escape our magical prisons. I figured that a simple anti-shielding spell couldn't hurt to try. I gathered the necessary power at began to cast my spell. It would take a minute, but hopefully it would help some.
The spell was in full swing when I felt my nose itch. "Haaaah-Heeeeh-" Chance jumped in surprise.
"Oh, no! Not now!" I tried to hold it back long enough to finish my spell, but--
"HeeeeeeehTCHEEEWW!!!" An explosion emanated from my horn. The castle around us was demolished, as well as our magical prisons. I bet Sam felt that one. I looked around. Thankfully nopony was hurt.
"We....we're free!" Chance cheered, kissing me on the lips. I pushed him away slightly. Everypony was looking at us.
"Chance, you're probably gonna catch my cold now," I warned, turning away with a "HeeeehTCHEW!" I sniffled and rubbed my nose. "This is not fun at all to have."
"Totally worth it." He smirked at me, and I blushed. Everypony was still watching us.
"We sh-should get g-going..." I stammer, trotting towards where Ponyville would be, "Don't want Sam to come back and lock us up again..." I sneezed several times before anypony tried to follow me. Chance galloped to my side. Celestia and Luna caught up on my other side. The Elements of Harmony trotted along behind us.
"Do you feel well enough for battle, sister?" Celestia asked.
"Of course!" I replied incredulously, "It's just a cold, other I can't hand-...handle...ha-...Haaaaah-HeeehTSHEEW!!"
"Bless you," Chance said, "Maybe you should sit this one out..." I stopped dead.
"No! Last time I wasn't around to help, everypony got locked up." I sneezed several times.
"But I don't know if you'll do us much good, Carmen. With all the sneezing and such... It seems a bit distracting." I had to admit that yes, it was.
"Well, I suppose--" I sighed, "You're right. I'll probably just be a liability." Ponyville came into view. It was shrouded with rain of course, but still there. "HeeehTCHEW!"
"Bless you."
"Thanks. I-...I-...Haah....HeeehTSSHHEW!"
"Bless you. No need to thank me, Carmen."
"R-right." We entered the library, everypony shaking the water out of their coats.
"Spiike!" Twilight called. The baby dragon raced down the stairs.
"Twilight!" he cried, "Where did you go? Why were you gone so long? Do you know about Princess Storm?" Twilight hugged the little purple dragon fondly.
"Yes, Spike. She captured us. I'm sorry. We just recently escaped." She turned to the other Elements. "You should all go reunite with family and friends. I'm sure their all worried."
"Twilight Sparkle? Do you mind if we stay for awhile?" Celestia asked, "We can't go back to Canterlot. Not yet. And I'm not sure we would make it tonight. We're all very tired."
"Oh, sure! We have plenty of extra pillows and blankets."
"Thank you, Twilight."
"Yes, th-...thank-...heehtchew! Thank you." I found a tissue box levitated in front of my face as I said this.
"You're welcome. Here, you might need this." I blushed and pulled one out of the box, blowing my nose.
"Thanks again."
"No problem."
Twilight got the extra blankets and pillows for us. Celestia got the spare bed, naturally, and Luna got the couch. Chance and I curled up on the floor. He put a foreleg over me. I sniffled a little, but otherwise, our sleep that night was not disturbed. I felt so happy. So peaceful and safe.
When I awoke, I knew the sun was up. The curtains were shut, though, making it darker in the library. I stumbled into the bathroom to brush my mane. As I came into the room and closed the door, a tickle started in my nose, but I couldn't sneeze. I suffered in agony for a moment before magically turning on the light in the bathroom. I looked up at it, the light forcing the sneeze to explode from me. "HeeeeeehTCHEEEWW!!!"
"Carmen?" a slightly groggy Chance asked from the other side of the door, "You feeling okay?"
"Yeah, just some sneezes. Nothing knew..." I opened the door, revealing him, "...Oh..."
"What?" he demanded.
"Sorry," I apologized, "It's just that you...you look awful. I warned you that you would get sick, Chance." He gave me a little wicked grin and sniffled lightly.
"Well then, there's nothing keeping me from doing this..." He swept me into a kiss. I kissed him back, only pulling away to sneeze again. "Bless you, my love."
"You need to stop doing that..." I said, "It's embarrass-....embarra-...e-emba-...e-em-... Ehh-...HeeeehTSHEEW!" I sniffled. Levitating over a tissue, I blew my nose harshly and rubbed my snout. "I hope this sneezing doesn't last." He nodded.
"Me too," he agreed, "It kinda makes me feel bad to see you feel so dreadful."
We walked back to the main library, where we curled up again. "We should get some more rest. Maybe it will help." We fell asleep again in each other's arms.