//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 - Ryku turns Blue // Story: Ain't No Rest For The Wicked // by GatheringFriendship //------------------------------// ~Ryku’s under the weather...~ It was the monday after Satin’s failed magic show. I looked up at the sun overhead. It was approaching noon, which meant I’d been working for about six or so hours at the farm, bucking apples as per the usual. I gave an irritated sigh as I scratched my right thigh. Damn it... this itch just won’t go away... I looked at the leg I was attacking. It was starting to discolor, though I was sure it was just from me scratching it for the past four days. “Alright, everypony! Lunch is ready!” Applejack’s familiar drawl sounded from the farmhouse. I smiled, I was starving. I made my way up to the house along with Big Mac’, and wandered through into the dining room. Atop the dining table was the usual assortment of apple based delicacies, ranging from apple pies to the famous Apple family cider. (They kept a few barrels for themselves after each sale). Applejack was standing on the far side of the room, and a gentle smile stretched across her face. “Well, what’re ya’ll waitin’ fer? Dig in!” She said as Mac’ and I greedily piled our plates with food. We ate until we couldn’t eat anymore, and then I stretched myself out on the couch. The itch from earlier came back again, and I furiously scratched at it. I didn’t realize it, but it was then that a certain orange mare made her way into the room. “Y’alright there, Sugarcube?” She began, startling me. “Ya’ve been itchin’ that there leg for quite a while now. Ya want me ta take a look at it?” She offered. I blushed slightly at the thought of her getting so close to me, but shook it off and looked back at her. “Nah. It’s just an itch. I’m sure it’ll be gone soon enough.” She didn’t seem convinced. “Well, iff’n ya say so, Ry’. Just don’t let it go unchecked if it gets worse. Ah can’t be havin’ ya get sick on mah watch, ya know.” “I’ll be fine, AJ. I just... need to get some rest or somethin’. Anyways, I’d better be getting back to the apartment. I want to make sure Satin hasn’t burned it down yet!” We laughed. “Thanks for lunch, AJ! See ya tomorrow mornin’!” I nodded to Granny Smith and Big Mac’ on the way out, and headed down the road to Ponyville. As I walked, the itch in my hind leg came back yet again. I grumbled to myself and did my best to ignore it. It’s just an itch, Ryku! Get over it! It persisted for the entire first half of the trip in to Ponyville. Damn it... What the hell is this stupid itch? I stopped and sat down on the edge of the path as Celestia’s sun shined brightly down on me and the offending limb. “Alright. Let’s see if I can’t get a closer...” I cut myself off as I looked at my thigh. There, where there had been no mark or blemish before, were a few bluish bumps. “...Look... Alright. What is that?” I finished my sentence and scratched at the strange-looking blemish, relieving it somewhat. “Ugh. Whatever it is, it had better go away soon. I don’t have the patience to sit around all day itching...” I picked myself off the ground, and a chill as cold as ice shot up my leg and down my back. “Brrrr... What was that all of the sudden?” I looked around. I couldn’t see a breeze blowing on the leaves, and it certainly wasn’t THAT cold this time of year. Alright... I NEVER get cold... not even in the winter normally... but that felt cold... what’s going on? Eh. I’ll figure it out later. I shrugged the feeling off and continued my walk to town. (~~~~~~~~~~~~~) ~SATIN~ I have a theory, the closer it is to the time you have to actually get out of bed, the comfier your bed gets, and my bed was currently at... big freaking pile of puppies. I slowly clenched the pillow I was currently spooning, more for warmth than comfort, and curled up, becoming a smaller and smaller ball of warm pony. It was great, and I was just about to drift back off, when I heard the door to the apartment fly open. It sounded like he was rustling about looking for something. Just stay in bed, Pillow will never leave me wanting... Pillow-inkie? Pillonkie? Pillow-Crystal? Damn, none of those work well at all. And then the yelling started. “How in Tartarus do you completely destroy an apartment in a week?!” No, don’t get up. It’s a trick, I’m going to get up and then -bam-, I’m going to have to work or move or something even worse... like... not go back to sleep. I buried my snout deeper into Pillow’s... well I can’t say... I heard a clopping sound, as the fiery-headed maniac got closer and closer to my door. Sweet Celestia, don’t let him come wake me up. The door to my room flung open as the intruder entered. Sweet Celestia, don’t let him be angry in my general direction. “You need to get your flank up and CLEAN THIS DAMN APARTMENT!” Sweet Celestia, don’t let him be talking to me. I brought in the covers closer to myself and let out an appropriate moan of laziness. That should be enough of an answer. The covers began to slip rapidly down to the lower end of my bed as I tried to desperately cling to them and Ms. Pillow at the same time. I saved my darling sleeping companion, but I failed in keeping my nest of warmth together. I stared at the perpetrator, my comforter still hanging out of his mouth. My clean bedding, nooooooooooooooo! “What are you going on about? I’m trying to enjoy life. Stop it!” I said, trying to keep myself wrapped around the warmth the Missus was still giving off. “Alright, you lazy stallion. Get the hay up! You have work later, and I think I might have to go to the hospital.” Rikky said sternly. “I’m not hay and I don’t work at a hospital.” I said sleepily, as I rolled over trying to protect Ms. Pillow from the verbal onslaught. Come on, just call it Pinkie Pillow... or Pillow Pinkie... PP for short, regardless. The irritated orange stallion walked around the bed until he was closer to me. “Seriously, Satin. Have you ever seen something like this?” He asked, showing me his hind right leg. I looked at his hind leg, to him, and back again, “It’s too early for me to be looking at your flank...” Rikky smashed his face into the bed. “Ugh... two things wrong with that sentence. One, it’s like, one in the afternoon. Get up! And two, it’s not my flank I’m askin’ you to look at! Can you tell me what those little blue bumps are? I’ve never seen anything like ‘em, and they itch like crazy. Whenever I scratch ‘em, I seem to get colder too...” He said, finishing his spiel. I let out a groan and rubbed my eyes as I tried to focus on Rik’s flank. I’ve seen this before... ugh, stop with the gay overtones. “How in Equestria did you get...” I reached out grabbed his back hoof as I yanked it for a better look. “What? Get what, Satin? Should I be worried? And let go of my leg, damn it!” He said, a hint of worry in his voice. “No, not so much worried as... yeah worried actually works in this situation. How long have you been sitting on this?” I said, inspecting the blue rises in his skin. “Well... it started last friday... a little while before your little magic show...” He said, looking at me to hopefully tell him what was going on. My face turned into a mask of concern, “You need to go the doctor fairly soon, you’ve only had it for 3-4 days but it looks like it’s been there for 2 weeks. It’s progressing way faster than it should...” Rikky got a really frustrated scowl on his face before speaking again. “Well, that’s all well and good, but you still haven’t told me what on Luna’s moon it is!” I hopped out of bed and announced, “Buddy, you got a bad case of the Freezles.” ~Ryku and the Freezles~ I trotted quickly into the doctor’s office after I’d arrived and waited in the front lobby for them to call me in. I sat on the hospital bed and waited for the doctor to see me. I’d sent Satin to go let Applejack know what was going on, since she’d noticed that something was bothering me before. I looked at the clock. Geez. I was in the waiting room for like, an hour. They better be about to help me with these... what did he call them? Freezles? After about five or so minutes, the doctor came into the room. “Hello. I’m guessing you must be Ryku. I’m Doctor Stable. What seems to be the problem?” I got up and pointed to my hind leg. Several more blue bumps had risen around the first few, and that limb was beginning to stay cold instead of just making me shiver. He let out a long, drawn out ‘hmmm’ as he began inspecting the infected area, “Well, you seem to have caught the ever-so dreaded Frostbillivirus. Treatment is simple... or.. would be, if we had the correct medicines. Frostbillivirus isn’t common in this area, so we don’t have the ingredients on hoof. I’m very confused as to how you actually contracted it.” I stared at him for an awkward minute or two before replying to what I’d heard. “Okay... so basically what you’re saying is you can’t do a Celestia-damned thing about it?” “No, no, no. We just have to order in the necessary items and whip up an inoculation for you in a jiffy. No fuss, no muss.” “Alright. How long will it take for the ingredients to arrive? My friend told me that he’s never seen this thing spread so quickly. It started last Friday.” I stated. I didn’t exactly know what this disease was going to do if it lasted too long. Doctor Stable stopped suddenly as he stared intently at me, “Started Friday? That can’t be! It takes weeks for a case to get this severe. We better get that ingredient order expedited!” He said as he turned to leave. “So what am I supposed to do in the meantime? This thing seems to be getting worse every passing minute. What exactly does this disease do?” I asked, now thoroughly confused as to what I could do to fix this. “Frostbillivirus is a nasty little bug that, usually, will creep through your body slowly and freeze you solid. Like frostbite, but in slow motion. Best thing you could do, nothing. Just sit on your hooves and wait. No work, no exercise, no nothing. Movement will just exasperate it further. As for the spread of it, just don’t go actively sneezing on ponies and everything will be alright there.” He said, matter-of-factly. I sighed and nodded to him. “So basically, bed rest and more bed rest, huh?” “You got it.” He said as he shuffled some papers around in my file. “Everything should be here, in a week, tops.” “Well, that sucks. Alright. Thank you for your time, Doc’.” I said as I walked out the door past Doctor Stables and down the corridor towards the main lobby. When I reached it, I found Satin sitting there with Applejack. Uh oh... I was hoping to have a little while before I had to tell AJ what was going on... “Um... Hey. Didn’t think you two would be back just yet...” “Yay us? Everything cleared up? Yes? Let’s go!” Satin let out nervously. Applejack lightly punched Satin’s shoulder. “Hey, now! Ah wanna know just what’s goin’ on, Ry’. Satin ‘ere said that ya got somethin’ called the Freezles? Are ya gonna be alright?” She asked sincerely. “I don’t know. The doctor seems to think I need bed rest and to wait for a certain ingredient to come in, but if what Satin said about it progressing as fast as it is being strange, I might need some kind of treatment much sooner than that.” Satin rubbed his forehoof, “Right, let’s just treat it on our own. That means we can leave, right?” A nurse walked by pushing a cart of medical instruments as Satin began to turn green. I laughed a little at Satin’s expense. “Yeah. Let’s get out of here. We can think of something after we get home. The doc’ said even moving around too much can make it worse...” I involuntarily shivered as another spike of cold ran up my leg. “...And I don’t think I need this to get any worse.” I said as I started out the door with Satin and AJ right behind me. ~~~~Satin in the Sky with Diamonds~~~~ I have seen some coddling in my day, I’ve experienced my fair share. All of them pale in comparison to what I was witnessing in my apartment that day. Applejack was literally waiting on Rikky, and I’m surprised she wasn’t wearing a waiters outfit... or a maid outfit. Yeah, I like the maid outfit idea better. She was even cleaning the bucking apartment, so I don’t have to! Score! The first legitimate meal was cooking in our small kitchen, so the apartment smelled wonderful. I must say, Rikky getting sick definitely has it’s upside. I walked over to Rikky’s bedroom door and was going to knock but *WHACK* Applejack hit me over the head with a ladle. I rubbed my head vigorously as I hissed, “Why in Equestria would you do that!?” “Ryku needs ta rest, Satin. Ah’m not gonna be here ta do this everyday, so Ah need ya ta promise to give ‘im his rest and don’t go botherin’ him unless ya need ta, alright?” She stated more than asked. I glared at her, “And if I refuse?” “Ah work on a farm for a livin’. Ah think Ah can convince ya otherwise.” She said, staring me down. “You’re going to bribe me with apples?” I asked, confused. The orange mare deadpanned. “Ah... Look, jus’ leave him be. Ah got nothin’ ta say about what you jus’ said.” She finished, rubbing the back of her head. “Alright... soooooooo, not to be rude or anything, but why you sticking around? He just needs to stay in bed, and I’m on the whole nursing duty thing. Don’t ya need to get back to the farm or something?” I asked as inconspicuously as possible. “Honestly? Ah kinda feel a little responsible. Ah noticed ‘im itchin’ that there leg last saturday, but Ah jus’ kinda dismissed it.” She said, lowering head a bit. “And Ah don’t need ta be back at th’ farm ‘til later tonight. So I figured Ah’d make it a bit easier on y’all, at least for this afternoon.” I shrugged off her response, “So if I can’t hang out with Rikky, you wanna chill for a bit?” “Well, Ah guess that wouldn’t hurt. Ah want ta make sure he’s doin’ alright before Ah go anyway.” She smiled. “Alright!” I announced happily and waved her on towards the dining room set that came with the apartment. I ran into the kitchen and yelled back, “Would ya like any tea? I’ve got all sorts! Jasmine, honeybush, honeysuckle, lemon-ginger, peppermint, green, and some regular black... somewhere...” I said as I began looking for my small arsenal of flavored teas. Applejack chuckled a bit. “Jus’ surprise me, Sugarcube. Ah’m not too picky.” I grabbed the only two mugs in the apartment, rinsed ‘em out, and began brewing some of my favorite honeysuckle tea. It was work, but that wouldn’t stop me from keeping up a conversation, “So Applejack, this is a neat little town. You enjoy living here?” “Well, of course! Ponyville has been mah home all mah life, and Ah wouldn’t want ta live anywhere else!” She said happily. “Oh so you’d know most everypony in town then, wouldn’t you?” I asked as I brought the cups to the table along with a small container of sugarcubes. She grinned as she put three cubes into her tea. “Well Ah certainly hope Ah do! Why, got somepony you’re wonderin’ about?” “A bit, do you know a mare named Pinkie?” I said, stirring the sugar into my tea. “Pinkie Pie? Yer darn tootin’ Ah know little miss Pinkie! She’s one of mah best friends!” Applejack said, happy to be talking about somepony she knew very well. “Ah fantastic!” I tried to come up with a way to ask this so I wouldn’t seem desperate or creepy, “I guess I should come right out and ask, does she have a special somepony?” I asked, putting on my friendliest smile. Applejack seemed taken back at my abruptness but recovered quickly and put on a sly smirk, “Why Satin, are ya gettin’ sweet on Pinkie?” I tried to keep my smile from faulting, “It-it’s just a question...” “Well, Pinkie is an odd girl. She doesn’t make a heck of a lot of sense most of th’ time, but she’s always tryin’ ta make everypony smile. An’ ta answer yer question; no, she doesn’t have a special somepony at th’ moment.” Applejack said with warm smile, as she talked about her friend. My smile grew wide, “Luckily, sense isn’t what I look for in a mare.” I let out a little laugh. We both grew quiet as I contemplated the folly asking Applejack for personal information about Pinkie, but decided to trudge ahead. “So... does she have a favorite food? Favorite color? Favorite singer/song-writer/artist? Favorite ‘arty’ artist, like with a brush?” I blurted out, super tactfully. AJ raised an eyebrow at me. “I mean, would she even be interested in a stallion like me?” I said, with a pained expression. “Well... Ah’ve known Pinkie for a long time an’ she’s never had a coltfriend in that whole time... So Ah don’t know what ta tell ya.” I frowned, “You mean she’s...” “Oh no, no... well, maybe. Ah just mean she’s never had somepony special.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Well alright!” I took a little sip of victory out of my cup. “So is there anything you wanna ask me about?” I could see a little blush creep up on her, “No! Ah mean, no.” I smiled at her, “You sure~” She nodded fervently. “Well alright... by the way, this is just between you and me, right?” “Ah don’t keep secrets, Sugarcube.” She said bluntly, her demeanor quickly changing to a much more guarded expression. I chuckled, “Eh, whatever. Moving on then, anything super fun to do in town?” Her smile returned. “Well, as long as ya got a friend or two, Ah think jus’ about anything around town can be fun.” “That seems like a no, I mean I’ve been to Club Pon-3 and Sugarcube Corner. Any other interesting things to do in town?” I asking, trying to get her to tell me more about the town. “Well, there’s the spa, run by Aloe and Lotus... Carousel Boutique is a clothing shop, run by another good friend of mine, named Rarity... The library is th’ big tree near the center of town, run by Twilight Sparkle, yet another good friend of mine... Ah suppose iff’n yer a pony lookin’ for some adventure, we’ve got Whitetail Wood fer some explorin’... and then there’s the Everfree Forest on the outskirts of town, but that there forest is a little too dangerous fer most ponies.” Applejack said, listing off a few of the places in and around town. “I actually worked up at the spa for a bit, yup I’ve got maaaaaaaaaagic hooves.” I started laughing as I began waving my hooves in a ‘mystical’ fashion. “A boutique, huh, don’t know if thats quite up my alley, clothing has never been my strong suit. And I’ve been up to the library, it’s a nice one! ‘Find the library’ is like third on my list for when I get into a new town, you know just in case I need a book or it’s raining all day and I don’t have a place to crash yet. As far as adventuring goes, I’ll probably have to wait till Rikky is well again to do anything like that. Don’t wanna go running into the Everfree alone like a headstrong colt.” The southern mare put a look of thought on her face before speaking again. “Well, Ah’m not too sure what else ta tell ya, Satin. Best thing ya can do is jus’ take a look around. Ah heard you got the new radio host job. Today gonna be yer first day?” You forgot it was going to be your first day, you idiot. “Yeah actually, it sounds like a lot of fun. Getting paid a good bit to talk on the air and play music I wanna listen to. Sounds like the easiest job ever!” I hastily checked the clock. I wasn’t late yet, but I would be soon. “I gotta go! Try to keep that whole Pinkie thing under your hat a bit longer? Pleaaaaaaase?” I tried to give her sad, puppy dog eyes while still getting ready to go, I don’t think it worked all that well. “Heh, Ah’ll think about it. You just get ta work, Satin. Ah’ll stick around here fer a little while longer an’ make sure Ry’ is doin’ okay. Goodluck on yer first day, Sugarcube!” I let out a relieved sigh, “Thanks AJ, it means a lot. And take care of him, I’m sure he’s already itchin’ to get out of bed and go find a cure himself.” I waved goodbye as I left to go for my first day on the job. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Torque Rises AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was sitting behind the bar, talking to Bacchus. Other than the two of us, nopony was in the club. For good reason too, seeing as how the club wasn’t due to open for at least another 4 hours at the earliest. I had taken to the habit of showing up early to sit and talk. It couldn’t be much past noon, and the town was fairly quiet. “Hey Torque, it’s pretty quiet around here, wanna go grab the radio from the office?” Bacchus nodded towards the back and continued cleaning the glasses. I looked around the club, surprised that there wasn’t an actual radio receiver anywhere in the place, and shrugged. “Sure why not, it’d be nice to listen to some normal music anyways, and I really don’t want to run the sound system.” “My thoughts exactly. It’s just in the back, on the top shelf, don’t worry, it’s nice and small.” He chuckled at his own comment and set the now clean glass down where it belonged. I got up and trotted to the back office. “Huh, this is really a small office now that I look at it.” I thought out loud, spotting the portable reciever shortly after, fluttering up and grabbing it. I feel kinda bad for Crystal, how does she run this place from this tiny office? It would drive me nuts. I thought to myself, making my way back to the front of the club. I set the radio down on the counter. Bacchus plugged it in and adjusted the antenna, and the static soon became a clear radio station. A gruff voice came over the sound waves as the station name was said. “Welcome to 88.3 k-Colt, this is your announcer, Filthy, bringing you the sounds of smooth jazz all day.” Somepony in the background shouted ‘IT’S SO SMOOTH!’ making me chuckle. The announcer continued for a brief moment before the music came back on. Bacchus closed his eyes, relishing in the smooth sounds of the jazz, and I nodded my head along with the music, rather enjoying it. The serene moment was ended abruptly when the door crashed open and a yellow unicorn walked in, looking positively terrible. “Mornin’ Crystal, how’d you sl...” “Not now Bacchus, coffee. Please.” She grumbled out, cutting him off. He simply nodded and went about making the elixir of functionality for the grumpy mare. I smirked and opened my mouth to speak, but never got the chance. A yellow hoof was shoved into my maw, accompanied by a fierce glare from the owner of said hoof. “No.” Not wanting to fight, I nodded and she removed her hoof. I spat slightly, trying to get the taste of ground out of my mouth. The jazz ended and the announcer once again chimed in. “Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. And now, a new portion of k-Colt, Current Chatter, with our new recruit, Satin!” I looked up at the radio, my face in total disbelief. I heard a slight choking noise coming from Crystal’s direction, and looked at her. She shivered once, and then cleared her throat. “Uhm, Bacchus? Make that coffee with a shot of AJD. NOW, please.” She didn’t seem all that thrilled to hear the name of the one colt she despised. The radio chimed back in, this time with a voice that was rather smooth, but undeniably Satin’s. “Thank you Filthy, for that... riveting introduction. Today on Current Chatter, I give you some info on the town of Ponyville. The freezles have risen again!” There was a quick cut to a sound of a mare screaming before the chuckles were heard from Satin. Crystal finally had her drink, and she knocked it back rather quickly, motioning for another. “I’m only kidding. It’s nothing to worry about, it’s just one case. In fact, the victim of the illness is my buddy Rikky. But he’s got moi to take care of him, so he’ll be ok. I promise. Hmmm, what else do we have? News from the crown, Princess Celestia says the sun is going to rise tomorrow because, and I quote, ‘I said so.' And now time for our weather report, and guess what? We do what we want, we control that bucker! Also, there is a new DJ in town, after Vinyl left to go on tour, so go check out Club Pon-3, and tell the cute yellow unicorn that her lover sent you. She’ll give you a discount and...” CRASH! I jumped in surprise as the receiver flew across the room, sliding across the dance floor with an ungodly clatter. Though it seemed relatively unharmed, the radio was no longer transmitting. I looked back to see Crystal standing there, horn illuminated with her green magic, and her mouth set in a hard line. She took a deep breath and the magic stopped flowing. “If ANYPONY comes into the club and says that, they are never allowed back. EVER. And that blue creature is gonna get castrated if I ever get my hooves on him.” She was positively seething, and I wanted nothing to do with an angry boss. “Hey, uh, I’m gonna go stop in Ryku’s place, see how he’s doing. He seemed like a nice pony, and since Sa...” I stopped, thinking better of my phrasing. “He’s alone right now, so I’m gonna go check on him, ok?” Crystal only swished her tail once, and I took that as the yes I needed. I quickly turned tail and flew out of there as fast as I could. I looked back as the doors closed, to see Bacchus pouring a shot for Crystal. He looked up and shot me a smile. It’ll be fine, Bacchus can handle her. I gulped deeply, flapping towards Ryku’s home, which wasn’t too far away. “I hope.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Rikky gets a HOUSE call~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling. Again. DAMN this is boring... and it hasn’t even been an entire day yet... I thought as I looked around my room. Applejack had been here for several hours now, caring for me. I felt awful making her work more than she already had to today, but I couldn’t really go anywhere, and any company that wasn’t Satin was welcomed, so I couldn’t bring myself to tell her to leave. Suddenly, I heard the door open, and then I heard a familiar accent. “Hey, Sugarcube. Ya doin’ okay in here? Ah haven’t heard more than a cough from ya fer nearly an hour.” The farm pony said. I grinned and scratched at my hind leg again, then shivered. “Yeah... just tired of bein’ cooped up in this bed already.” She smirked. “Yeah, Ah couldn’t jus’ lay around all day doin’ nothin’ neither. But, what’re ya gonna do? Doc’s orders.” “Heh, yeah. Doc’s orders. Hey, AJ? Thanks. For stickin’ around and helpin’ me. It means quite a bit to me. Ya didn’t have to.” She chuckled and turned to go back out of the room. “Ah know Ah didn’t have ta. Ah wanted ta. After all, the quicker we git ya back ta feelin’ like yer old self, the faster ya can come back ta the farm! An’ honestly, Ry’, Ah don’t mind helpin’ ya out a little bit. You’ve helped me an’ my family out a lot while you’ve been workin’. Ah’m gonna go make some soup. Call me iff’n ya need me, Sugarcube.” She finished, tipping her stetson. “Alright. Thanks again, Applejack.” I said with a smile. Another fifteen or so minutes passed and I stared blankly at the door to my room. She sure is somethin’ else... I shook my head quickly. Did I really just think that? I shook my head again. I could hear her out in the kitchen of mine and Satin’s apartment, moving dishes and working the stove. I couldn’t figure out why she was doing so much for me. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to think about it long, as I heard a knock on the front door. Scratching my leg again quickly, I listened to see who it was. “Oh, hi there, Applejack! I’m looking for Ryku. I heard he was sick.” A faintly familiar voice said to the southern mare. “Well, howdy there, Torque! He’s in his room. Jus’ be careful not ta touch him, an’ you’ll be fine. Ah’m gonna keep workin’ out here in th’ kitchen.” She said. I couldn’t tell what Torque’s response was, but it must have been a nod or something, because soon there was a knock at my door. “Hey, Ryku? It’s Torque. Remember? From the party a while ago? I heard you were sick over the radio, and wanted to see if you were doin’ alright.” Oh crap... Satin told everypony over the radio? “Alright. Just come on in, then.” I said with faux-boredom. It was nice to have a visitor, especially seeing as I had nothing else to do. The door creaked open and in stepped the black pegasus that I’d met a little over a week before. “Hiya, Ryku! Yeah, so Satin said you had the... what did he call them?” “The freezles.” I said, shivering again from the strange sensations the sickness brought on. “Right. Those. Well, I wanted to see if you were alright. I don’t know much about sickness, but I figured since Satin said he was taking care of you, you miiiight need my help.” The DJ glanced back out towards the kitchen and grinned. “But, seeing as Applejack’s here, I guess I was wrong, huh?” I blushed a little. “Hey. It isn’t like that, okay? She’s just been here helping me while I’m not able to do things on my own.” Torque chuckled softly to himself. “Heh. Alright, Ry’. So, what is this freezle thing you’ve got?” He asked, walking up to the side of the bed. I showed him my lower side, where the bumps had spread to since I’d been to the doctor’s office. “Looks like the walk from here to Ponyville General and back was enough to make it spread up my side a little bit.” I resisted the urge to scratch the bluish bumps as Torque glanced at them. “So. How EXACTLY did you get these? You weren’t doing anything you regret, were you?” Torque smiled mischievously. I face-hoofed. “No. It just kinda showed up today. I’ve been itchin’ my leg for a while now, though. The Doc’ said I’d have to keep still has much as possible if I didn’t want it to spread too much more. So I have to sit around on my flank and do nothing for an entire week. I can’t stand being idle like this! I wish there was a faster way to get this over with...” I glanced out the window with an irritated expression. Torque’s smile slid into a slight frown. “Yeah. I can see that, what with you working on the farm and all. So, a week, huh? What happens if you aggravate it too much before the cure comes?” “Apparently, I could freeze to death.” I said with a completely straight face. Torque’s eyes grew large as he backed up a few paces. I grinned at him. “Relax, Torque. It’s only contagious through physical contact. Well, that, and coughing on people, oddly enough.” He eyed me carefully and stuttered. “Y-Yeah, well, I’m not t-taking any chances, just to be s-safe. I don’t want to die.” I face-hoofed and looked out the window again. “The way your stuttering sounds like you’re already sick!” I smiled devilishly. He scowled at me. “Well. I just wanted to see if you were alright. Seems like it, so I’m going to go.” He said flatly. “Wait!” I said, wide-eyed. “Don’t go! It’s so boring in here all day long!” My plea was met with the slamming of my bedroom door. Damn unfeeling pegasus... sigh... I thought, laying there all alone once again. Soon though, I heard Torque chatting with Applejack outside my room. “What in tarnation was that all about? Did ya need ta slam the door?” Applejack asked. I heard Torque sigh. “I just wanted to get out of there after I heard what that disease does to a pony. I feel bad for him though; having to lay around and wait for a cure must be really boring.” “IT IS!” I shouted from inside the room. “...Anyway. Is there any other way you know of that could get him feeling better sooner, Applejack?” Torque finished. “Well... there is... one thing...” The southern mare sounded deep in thought. I got up and leaned my ear against the door to listen closer. “...there’s this zebra in the Everfree Forest to the west named Zecora. She’s a medicine mare, and knows all about herbs and the like. Ah don’t know fer sure, but she might know another way to fix ‘is problem.” She said. “Well, then why don’t you just take him there?” Torque questioned. At this point, I could tell Applejack was annoyed. “‘Cause, that there forest is dangerous, what with it’s Timberwolves, and Manticores, and Hydras and things. Not only could we possibly make his condition worse, but we’d also have to run through the Everfree quite a ways following the path, and bringing a sick pony in there is just plain stupid. We have a way to guarantee he’ll be alright in a week, so why bother putting him in so much danger?” She huffed. “I guess you’re right, but he really does need something to do. Why don’t you let me set up a radio or something for him? He’s missing Satin’s first broadcast, you know. A pony could go stir-crazy just laying about.” Torque offered. I rushed back over and laid back down on my bed, shivering. I heard Applejack mumble something, and a few minutes later, the DJ pegasus came trotting in with our living room radio. “Uh... Torque? What’s with the radio?” “Buddy, you are in for a treat!” He set it on my bedside table and plugged it in, as he began combing through the static looking for the station. “Satin’s first day on air, and you should be listening.” As he got to the right station, it was in mid-song. I frowned. “THIS is supposed to make me feel better?!” “Nah. Supposed to make you have something to think about. Anyway, I gotta go. Ciao!” Torque said, waving as he walked out my wide-open bedroom door. He nodded to Applejack, then left. Applejack walked into the room next, carrying a large bowl of homemade soup on her back. She set it on my bedside table and yawned. “Ah should be gittin’ home here sometime soon too, Sugarcube. Ah’d like ta spend some time with mah family before we start workin’ tomorrow. Alrighty?” “Okay...” I frowned, giving her a pair of puppy dog eyes. “Ya sure?” She chuckled at my attempt at begging. “Sorry, hun. Ah’d stay longer, but mah family needs me too. Ah’ll be here as soon as work’s over tomorrow, though. Promise.” She turned and smiled at me. “Git some rest, and we’ll have ya back in workin’ shape in no time!” With that, she trotted out of my bedroom and out the front door. I sighed. Ugh... Alone again... I looked out the window and thought. I wonder how far that Zecora character is from here... As the song ended Satin’s chipper voice began in, “And I’m back with Equestria’s breaking news. Rikky is still sorry that he lit my freaking stage on fire.” I froze and instantly grimaced. And now I have Torque to thank for bringing THAT in here... “Next song is a dedication from Rikky to Applejack.” Satin’s voice echoed. I started at the radio. “Oh boy... now what’s he gonna do...” “He says he’s so glad you could help him ‘heal’ through this sickness.” There was a severe emphasis on the word heal. The song began to play. My face flushed bright crimson and I smashed the radio before the song could get very far. I REALLY hope Applejack and her family doesn’t own a radio... I was ready to kill somepony... but first, I needed to get over these freezles. Now. Applejack said that Zebra was in the Everfree, if somepony just followed the path. I’m going to find her. If she can heal me, I want it now. I quickly ate my soup that the farm pony had made (delicious, by the way!), and got out of bed. Throwing on a green sweater, I trotted out to the front door of the apartment. Once I was outside, I glanced around to make sure no one that knew me was around. I then trotted briskly down the road, scratching my infected leg as I walked. ~Satin, the bearer of not so fantastic news~ It was turning out to be a really good day. I mean, Rikky might be dying but... BUT I have cupcakes! And Pinkie might have not have been at Sugarcube corner for me to stalk/hit on/try to ask out but... cupcakes? And work was really good, I’ve been told to stop making fake announcements from the crown but the fake announcements from everywhere else were apparently really funny and they really liked my song choices. So all over, just a fantastic day. And cupcakes! I trotted back to my apartment slowly, a half eaten 6 pack of donuts resting comfortably on my shoulder. One, not so well known fact about freezles, is one way to slow the progression is sugar! Lots of it! All the fiery energy it gives you stops the spread right in it’s tracks. I probably should have told AJ about that before I left... Oh well! I stopped at my door, briefly, as I brought out my keys and turned the lock carefully, trying to keep my noise to a bare minimum. If Rikky was asleep, I didn’t wanna be the one to wake up that pile of freezing angry. I didn’t hear any movement or any waking up snorts, so I carefully smiled to myself and shut the door. I crept across the hallways trying not to make the floors creak, knowing one fell noise could ruin my whole operation. I stopped at Ryku’s door and pondered the pros and cons of trying to leave the rest of the cupcakes on his nightstand as a midnight snack. Pro #1: He’ll get the cupcakes. Con #1: Pain the likes of Tartarus shall awaken if I wake him up. Pro #2: He gets the benefit of eating cupcakes. Con #2: I’ll eat all of the cupcakes and he won’t get any. Pro #3: He’d probably chill the buck out if he got some cupcakes. Con #3: If he finds out I had cupcakes and I ate them, he’ll set my stage on fire again... I decided to give it a shot, I mean he’d probably be ok with waking up when I got back to the apartment so he could hear all about my first day, right? I flattened my belly on the floor and opened his door slightly with my magic, dragging myself through the crack, making as little noise as possible. I thought about just floating the box with the remaining donuts over to his bedside table but immediately dismissed it, magic would make far too much light. I crept, slowly and cautiously to his bedside and, using my teeth, carefully placed the box on his nightstand. This was easier than I could have possibly imagined! I thought. As I turned to make my way out of the room though, my hoof landed on a rounded object, sending me crashing into the wall. “Well fu-.” I covered my mouth up, realizing I could have woken up Rikky. There is no way somepony slept through that! What’s going on here? I turned on his bedside lamp, his bed was empty. Messy and unmade, but still empty. Sad pieces of broken radio were scattered all over the floor. “Rikky! You better be in the bathroom or something!” I yelled out, hoping for an angry response. There was only silence. “RIKKY!” I yelled again, hoping he had gone slightly deaf. Applejack is going to murder me. I began searching his room desperately, checking under his bed, the bathroom, and in his closet. Damn, I was sure he was going to be in the closet. Gotta think like Rikky, what would he do? Obviously he’s playing some intricate game of hide and go seek... like a jackass, doesn’t he know that I’m somewhat responsible for him? AJ is not going to be happy with me if she learns that Rik has been up and about, helping spread that disease. I don’t even know what that mare is capable of, but I know she’s not to be trifled with. Alright, he has to be in this apartment SOMEWHERE! I turned the entire apartment upside down, checked every nook and cranny of every room, every cabinet, every pot and pan, the oven and the fridge. He wasn’t here, he had left the apartment. I am so bucked. She’s going to get a mob together and chase me out of town, capture me, throw me in jail, torture me for days, and worst of all, she’d kill any chance I had with Pinkie! “RYKU, YOU RAT BASTARD, WHERE DID YOU GO!?” I yelled out. An idea popped in my head, Magic! Magic always solves all of my problems! I scurried to my room and started going through my stuff, looking for my basic spell book from years at school. I flipped it open and went through it looking for a locator spell or something like it... Offensive spells, defensive spells, hmm... utility spells sounds good. I flipped to that section and scanned through it. Nothing! Cloudwalking spells, basic teleportation, advanced telekinesis. But nothing I needed! I tossed the book on my bed and let out an angry huff as looked around angrily, my eyes landing on the book on my small desk with the title ‘Making Fireworks: an idiot’s guide by Diwali’ and a picture of a happy zebra with fireworks going off in the background on the cover. “You know I bet the library has the spell I’m looking for.” I announced, before I grabbed my library book (and a to-go cupcake) and went to go return it, at a nice galloping pace. The Golden Oaks library was on the other side of town, but I made it there in a time that even a pegasus would be proud of, thanks to the wonder of teleporting short distances. But the sun’s last rays were shining over the horizon, and I didn’t know if it was going to be open. I began knocking on the door of the public library, just in case I wasn’t supposed to be there. I heard some laughing and some party favors on the other side of the door, and while normally I knew this was not the time to interrupt, that stallion that pays half the rent was out there somewhere and I needed to find him! So, I knocked harder. The festivities sounded like they died down a bit. The door was finally jerked open by a perturbed looking baby dragon, well he would have looked it, but he was wearing a tie on his head. “What?!” He asked angrily. I put on my friendliest smile and began my wee explanation. “Well Spike, I was just in the neighborhood and had this library book on me and was wondering if I could turn it?” I held up the book for him as he took it. “And?” He eyed me and noticed me sweating from the mad dash to the library. “Well...” I began, as I nervously itched at my forehoof. “Who is it, Spike?” The voice of the librarian asked. “It’s Satin, and it looks like he’s set something else on fire!” Spike yelled back as he let me inside. I glared down, “It wasn’t me the first time!” I hissed at him. I stepped past him into the foyer. An angry, tomboyish voice that I didn’t recognize put in, “Oh Celestia, not that featherbrain.” “Oh come on Rainbow, he ain’t that bad. He’s jus’ a lil’ rough ‘round the corners.” A terrifying, terrifying southern voice put in. My eyes grew wide in horror as the realization of the horrible trap that reality just put me in, started closing in around me. “Uhh, nevermind guys. G-go back to your party or whatever, it can wait until morning.” I sputtered out as I tried to backpedal through the front door. As I turned, my vision filled with sudden pinkness. It enveloped me in a vice-like embrace as it let out, “Satiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin! Welcome to the party! You weren’t even invited and you made it! How super special is that?!” I’m ok with a death like this... The squeeze became tighter and tighter as Pinke began swinging me back and forth like a ragdoll. “Pinkie, let th’ poor stallion go.” AJ stated flatly, shaking her head as she joined us in the foyer. I took my first tentative breath as Pinkie’s hooves unwrapped themselves from around me. I coughed a couple of times trying to regain my voice. “W-w-what are you guys all doing here?” I sputtered out, nervously trying to formulate an exit strategy. AJ’s eyes narrowed as Pinkie jumped in front of her encompassing my vision. “We’re celebrating! Partying down ‘cuz Rarity just finished with her fall line!” “No, I meant why are all the ponies I’ve met hanging out in one room? Is Rikky, the red one, the brown one, the DJ, the bartender, the one that bet for me, the one that bet against me, the one that’s always angry at me, the others that are angry at me, Lyra, and… my mind has wandered.” I started to stare blankly into the setting of the library. “No silly! This is just for best buddy buddies!” AJ’s glare intensified, “How’s Ryku doin’ Satin?” My eyes twitched slightly, remembering what I was there for, “Oh you know, he’s just chillin’.” I then proceeded to chuckle nervously for about a minute. “Yer lyin’.” She responded simply. “…No I’m not…” She took a threatening step forward, “Yes, yes ya are. Now tell me what’s wrong with Ryku.” My heart began pounding, “He’s doing fine! He’s just… he’s... he. I have no idea where he is…” Her face instantly turned into a mask of concern, “Tell me everythin’.” “But I don-“ “Tell. Me. Everythin’.” She enunciated forcefully. “A long long time ago, in this galaxy, there existed two...” I sputtered out. “SATIN!” Applejack stomped, emphasizing her point and silencing the room, “Satin, if you don’t tell me somethin’ useful in the next 3 seconds, ah’ll buck ya all the way ta’ Canterlot an’ back!” I shrank back, my eyes grew big, and my heart began to race. I didn’t think she knew about the whole banishment thing, but it made the threat even more... threatening. “...but.” A cold deathstare interrupted me. “I-I-I-I was on m-m-my way from the the job thing and and and I stopped off at th-the bakery cuz I wanted to stop in and and and see...” I looked at AJ with a pained expression and quickly glanced at Pinkie. She rolled her eyes, “Go ahn.” “And she wasn’t there and I remembered that a short term fix for the freezles is loads of sugar because sometimes my memory sucks and there are things I can’t remember at the right time and sometimes I can’t remember important things like names or spells and sometimes when I’m scared or somepony is in trouble or I’m sober I can remember lots of things and-” I sputtered out, staring at the ground. “SATIN! GET TA’ THE POINT!” Applejack yelled. My ears flattened as I shrunk back against the wall, “I-decided-to-pick-up-a-dozen-cupcakes-for-Ryku-and-when-I-tried-to-sneakily-put-them-on-his-bedside-table-and-I-tripped-on-something-or-broke-something.” I took a deep breath, “I’m not really sure, and he wasn’t there. And I looked, I really did! I looked everywhere! So I went to a magic book to look up a locator spell and it was gone or missing or something and I came here.” She continued staring at me for a minute afterward, the uncomfortable silence held in the air the whole time. Finally, she nodded at me. “Alright, ah believe ya’. Twilight! You got one of them locator spells ‘round here?” It took a moment for the purple unicorn to respond, “Oh uh, yeah. I just have to prepare a few things.” She then turned and ran up the stairs to a different room. The next few minutes were a mixture of the other ponies in the room trying to comfort me and continued awkwardness. I just tried to sit still and not get yelled at some more. It wasn’t long before Twilight came trotting down the stairs with a book and a small ream of paper on her back. She unrolled a good bit of it and began drawing a series of small shapes all around in a circle. I watched, as she meticulously created what looked like a fancy compass. She worked in total silence and when the final mark was drawn, she looked up at me and said, “Alright, the last thing we need is a personal item of his.” I purposefully blinked a couple times, trying to think of something, before my mind remembered who the cupcakes were supposed to be for. I floated the, not so well preserved, cupcake to Twilight and asked, “Do you think this would work? I bought them for Rik and everything...” “Well the book said personal property so I guess it would work...” Applejack tapped her hoof impatiently. Twilight took the hint as she placed the cupcake in the center of the compass and looked at the book once more before lighting the cupcake up with her magic. Slowly, the light began to trace around the lines of the drawing as the whole thing erupted in magic. When the light dimmed, a little lit up square hovered in the air. A small red X was floating inconspicuously on one side of it. “He’s two miles out of town, east? There’s nothing out there! Why would he even...” Rainbow Dash said questioningly. Applejack released a huff, “Yer lookin’ at the map upside down.” Rainbow Dash looked hurriedly back at the map. “But that would mean...” The pegasus began. “Of course he’d be in the Everfree.” AJ said, as she gathered her things and began to walk out the front door.