Firestorm escorted his friends to the new restaurant, The Salad Garden, arriving promptly at 8 o’clock. The manager had personally showed them to their table where he and Firestorm helped the mares into their seats. Once Firestorm took his seat the manager smiled warmly at all of them, “Where is Miss Fluttershy?”
“I’m afraid she won’t be able to make it tonight, her pet rabbit is sick and she didn’t want to leave him,” Twilight apologized.
“I understand. Could I ask one of you to deliver a salad to her for me when you decide to leave?”
“I would be happy to,” Rarity said.
“Thank you, and thank you all for all the help you’ve provided me. If there are no objections, I have prepared a special meal for you all. A Chefs Special Salad with your choice of dressing, warm garlic buttered bread rolls, celery soup, and for dessert, flaky cinnamon and sugar apple turnovers made with Miss Applejacks’ finest apples.”
Everypony exchanged quick glances before Twilight looked to the manager, “That sounds wonderful.”
“Excellent, I will have a waiter bring you all a glass of water and a bottle of wine from my private collection,” the manager said with a wink, “I cannot express how honored I am to have you all here and I cannot thank you all enough for your help with my restaurant. Please excuse me everypony, enjoy your meals. Oh! And let me know when you are preparing to leave so I remember to prepare and package a meal for Miss Fluttershy.”
Once the manager disappeared into the kitchen a waiter appeared and placed a glass of ice water in front of everypony at the table. He then poured a generous amount of red wine in each wine glass before he left, leaving the wine bottle at the table. Everypony looked at Firestorm as he downed the entire glass of wine.
“So… umm… you just got here and you somehow already helped the manager with his restaurant before it opened, what did you do?” Rainbow Dash asked with no subtlety whatsoever.
Firestorm sipped his wine and once the glass was empty he hit it against the table with full force, though it failed to break, “That’s what I did,” he said with a smile.
Twilight levitated the glass in her magic, “It has a damage control spell on it,” she said before looking around the table, “Every dish and every cup has a damage control spell on it. You did that?”
“Yep,” Firestorm said plainly.
Rainbow Dash tapped Firestorms’ shoulder and leaned next to him, “That little brat you set straight yesterday, her dad is on his way over to our table.”
Firestorm didn’t even flinch he simply smiled and waited.
Filthy Rich cleared his throat as he approached the table where Firestorm and five out of six Elements of Harmony were seated. Everypony accept Firestorm graced him with their attention, “I apologize for interrupting you ladies but I request a word with the stallion at your table.”
“What seems to be the problem?” Twilight asked.
“My apologies Princess Sparkle, but my daughter tells me your guest threatened her the other day, and I would like to clarify with him the events that transpired.”
Firestorm got out of his seat and slowly trotted directly up to Filthy Rich. His approach was obviously meant for intimidation as well as for sizing himself up to Filthy Rich, which wasn’t difficult considering Firestorms’ build was noticeably larger, “We can be civil about this, but lets not ruin the ladies evening, shall we?” Firestorm asked gesturing with his hoof towards the door.
Filthy Rich nodded and made his way towards the door. Firestorm looked at Rainbow Dash, “Tell them about what happened, I’ll be back shortly,” he said before following Filthy Rich.
Firestorm stepped out onto the empty streets; everypony who was going to be eating at the restaurant was already seated inside while everypony else was at Vinyls’ concert on the other side of Ponyville. Firestorm looked to his right where Filthy Rich was waiting for him with a look of hostility on his face.
“How dare you threaten my daughter! I don’t know how you nearly engulfed her in flames but quite frankly I don’t care! If you hurt her or even threaten her again, I won’t waste my money on a lawyer or press charges, I’ll deal with you myself!”
A sinister smile crept across Firestorms’ face and as he cocked his head slightly to the left his eyes began to glow yellow and his wings began glowing red. Before he could even comprehend what was happening, Filthy Rich found himself pinned against the wall, his body engulfed in Firestorms’ red aura.
Firestorm moved closer to the restrained stallion, “Here’s the deal. I was with the fillies known as The Cutie Mark Crusaders when your daughter and her little friend showed up and started picking on them and making fun of them. I bet she forgot to mention that little detail. When I displayed my pyrokinetic abilities to her it was merely to drive home a point when she accused me of being a pervert,” Firestorm dropped Filthy Rich from his telekinetic grasp with an audible thud before he continued, “Go back inside, enjoy your meal with your family, and when you get home, ask your daughter what really happened at the lake. I really don’t have time for this.”
Filthy Rich had a blank expression on before he shook his head clear and then nodded to Firestorm. Firestorm reentered the Salad Garden and returned to his seat. A moment later Filthy Rich trotted past with his tail tucked firmly between his legs as he returned to his own table. Twilight glared at Firestorm who was calmly sipping a freshly poured glass of wine, “What? Push came to shove so I knocked him on his flank…” He explained as if his untold actions were justifiable.
“Rainbow Dash explained to us what you did for Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that again…… ever!” Twilight said diplomatically though firmly.
“I can’t make any promises,” Firestorm replied downing the last of his wine.
Twilight was about to give Firestorm a lecture but stopped when she noticed Rarity subtly shaking her head. Twilight sighed and took a sip of wine from her glass. Applejack seized the moment to convey her own gratitude to Firestorm for standing up for her sister, which led to Rarity doing the same. Lively conversation began among the friends and continued throughout the dinner. About half an hour later, a waiter arrived and delivered dessert to everypony. Rainbow Dash quickly finished her dessert, drank an entire glass of wine in one gulp, and began shifted nervously, “So, do you have a marefriend?”
“Rainbow Dash,” Rarity gasped, “that was bold even by your standards!”
Rainbow blushed, “I was just asking! I mean, he’s great with kids, a good flier… I was just wondering…” Rainbow stammered as her blush grew more intense.
“Not to mention he knows how to treat a lady properly,” Rarity added.
Firestorm smiled and placed his hoof on Rainbow Dash’ shoulder, “No I don’t have a marefriend,” he said with a faint smile, “but I’m not looking for a relationship either,” he finished withdrawing his hoof.
“Oh, may I ask why not?” Rarity asked noticing Rainbows’ disappointment.
Firestorm took a deep breath, “I’ve been in a couple relationships before, and I decided I didn’t want to get that close to a stallion or mare just to outlive them…”
“Wait; did you say mare or STALLION?” Twilight asked.
Firestorm simply nodded.
“Ya roll in the hay both ways there, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked.
“In a matter of speaking,” he answered as he looked at Twilight. In a flash of blue flames Firestorm was still looking at Twilight but now he was a she. Firestorms’ mane had grown longer, his build and facial features loosing much of their masculine traits as they became definitively more feminine. Firestorm looked at Applejack, “My barn door swings both ways just as long as I don’t have the same crops in my cart as the other pony,” She said attempting to mimic Applejack.
Rainbows’ gaze, while still locked on the now female Firestorm, began to drift downward to confirm he really was a she. As her eyes fell on Firestorms’ belly, Rainbows, head was suddenly jerked upwards and turned towards Rarity whose horn was glowing and her head shaking. Rarity released Rainbow and looked at Twilight.
Twilight looked Firestorm over, “That’s changeling magic! Do you know what this means? Twilight asked, almost unable to contain her excitement. Firestorm smiled, “I do. Why don’t you explain to your friends what it means?” Firestorm suggested with a genuine smile on 'her' face.
“Yeah Twi, what does that mean?” Applejack asked.
Twilight cleared her throat, “Well, I had sensed several forms of magic within Firestorm, one being changeling magic. Changelings, as we all know, can take on the form of anypony they choose. What I’ve recently learned though, is that when a changeling mimics another pony they inherit the gender of said pony. While most changeling drones are male, if they mimic a female pony their gender changes in accord. Theoretically, a male changeling mimicking a female pony could conceive, carry, and give birth to a foal as long as they maintained the form of that pony,” Twilights’ eyes suddenly went wide and she turned to Firestorm, “Did you ever…?”
Firestorms’ ears fell back and a sorrowful look mad itself evident as all eyes fell on her, “Once, I had been a mare for twenty four years. I met a stallion, we started dating, we didn’t get married but our close relationship led me to become pregnant. He loved me and I was really excited and nervous about having a foal. I had every intention of having the foal but…” A tear crept down Firestorm’s cheek, “I had a stillbirth.”
Pinkie Pie had been on her best behavior the entire night, not yelling, sitting calmly in her chair, and eating her food with proper table manners as Rarity had pointed out. Though Twilight had her suspicions of Firestorm of using a mild sedation spell on her as his wings had a constant subtle glow to them, but she didn’t say anything as she had enjoyed the peace. However, at the mention of a word she didn’t know regarding foals Pinkie perked up and asked, “What’s a stillbirth?”
Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie, “A stillbirth is when the foal dies before it is born,” she explained as simplistically as possible.
Pinkies’ ears folded back and her now saddened eyes fell on her half eaten dessert, “Oh…”
For the longest time nopony said anything as they each processed the information, Twilight spread a comforting wing over Firestorms’ back, “I’m so sorry.”
“Me too, after that I was so depressed I broke off my relationship with my coltfriend after I told him what happened and tried to get over it, but you never do,” Firestorm explained as she fought back more tears, “Sixty years after that I took on this appearance,” another burst of blue fire and Firestorm reverted back to his male form, “my true form, and pushed anypony away who began getting too close to me. I love children. I wanted one of my own since I was twenty years old, but I found out I couldn’t have one with a mare when I was a stallion, and after I had the stillbirth as a mare I knew I never would…”
“Why couldn’t you have a foal with a mare?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Firestorm simply shrugged his shoulders.
“It’ because his genetic and biological construct is to complex and extensive for any mare to complete,” Twilight began, “Both a stallion and a mare contribute fifty percent of their genetic traits, namely chromosomes, to their foal, Firestorm has an incalculably higher percentage more chromosomes than a typical pony given his hybrid status, biologically integrated magic, and…”
”Twilight!” Rarity exclaimed.
Twilight realized what she had been saying and turned to Firestorm, “Sorry.”
“Don’t be, you’re probably right…”
Pinkie Pie began shaking violently, her ears fell back, her fluffy mane expanded and then seemed to burst and deflate like a balloon. She looked at everypony at the table, “We need to go see Fluttershy, now.”
Twilight called for the manager, everypony thanked him for the wonderful meal, he gave them a to-go box with food for Fluttershy, and they left together for Fluttershys’ cottage.
Pinkie trotted ahead of everypony; she was unusually quiet. Applejack trotted beside Rarity while Rainbow Dash flew overhead. Twilight and Firestorm trotted together a short distance away from the rest of their friends.
Firestorm looked to Twilight after a while of silence, “If my memory serves, a mare has to worry about her mane getting frizzy from humidity, I’ve never seen someponys’ mane spontaneously go flat…”
“Pinkie Pie has a very special ability that even I can’t explain caller her Pinkie sense which can be identified by odd movements and twitches from her body. They’re never wrong.” Twilight explained.
“Why do we need to go to see Fluttershy?”
“I’m not sure if you remember, but her pet rabbit, Angel, is sick, I think it has something to do with that.”
“You’re more certain of it than your letting on Twilight.”
Twilight sighed, “Fluttershy is really good with helping animals, but nopony can help every animal with their every problem. I looked up his symptoms in one of my books, I thing he is suffering from organ failure.”
Firestorm stopped moving and lowered his head. Blue flames slowly licked over his body until he had altered his anatomy to female once again, “If that is the case, Fluttershy is going to need emotional support from her friends. I know she’ll be confused, but trust me, she’ll feel better being comforted by mares. She could misinterpret my condolences for attempting to take advantage of her in her emotionally weak state if I were a stallion,” 'she' explained.
Twilight nodded, “You’re probably right…”
The journey continued in silence until the six mares arrived at the tree that was Fluttershys’ cottage. Twilight made her past her friends and gently knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” asked a weak voice.
“It’s us Fluttershy, your friends, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Firestorm is here too if that’s alright?” Twilight answered.
“Yes, come in.”
Twilight opened the door with her magic which revealed the timid yellow pegasus on the floor with her back to her friends. Everypony made their way inside and found Fluttershy was lying on her stomach with a large pillow beside her. On the pillow was her rabbit, Angel. His breathing was labored and short in breaths, his ribs were visible through his skin as his fur was thinning out, and his eyes seemed to wander from pony to pony. Fluttershy looked at Twilight, her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet from crying, “He hasn’t been eating… I can’t make him… he... he can’t keep down what he does eat” she choked through tears.
“What can we do to help?” Twilight asked lying down beside Fluttershy and draping a warm wing over her back.
“I don’t know; I’ve tried everything I can think of to help him but nothing I do works!”
The other ponies in the room sat down having made a semi-circle around Fluttershy and Angel, with Twilight completing the circle. Everypony knew Fluttershy was unmatched with her fondness of animals, yet given the situation, Twilight dared to ask, “Have you taken him to see a vet?”
Before Fluttershy could answer Firestorm stood up and cleared 'her' throat. Firestorm had been sitting between Rainbow Dash and Applejack but moved herself so she was now beside Angel directly across from Fluttershy. Even though Fluttershy remembered Firestorm being a stallion the last time they met, she recognized the expression on her face, the expression of compassion and wanting to help. From that simple look, how Firestorm had become a mare didn’t matter anymore to Fluttershy. All that mattered was that Firestorm wanted to help. Firestorm turned her gaze to Angel, “You already know what’s wrong, don’t you?”
Fluttershy nodded.
“I know this is painful and difficult for you, isn’t it, to see your friend in so much pain?”
Fluttershy nodded again, more tears began to fall.
“But you have to realize, he is in more pain than you are, he is suffering.”
Fluttershy tightly closed her eyes and nodded, her body starting to shake.
Firestorm took a deep breath, fighting to maintain her strong composure, “I can take the pain away, but he will not get better and it will not prevent what will happen to him. If I take away the pain you’ll prolong your own suffering until his pain ends on its own. Or, I can make his pain stop, I can guarantee it will be soothing, and your suffering will eventually end. I know it’s a difficult choice, but you have to consider what is best for him. No matter what you choose, we, your friends, will all be here for you.”
Fluttershy looked around the room at all her friends, each one nodding in agreement with Firestorms’ assuring word. She looked back at Firestorm, “I don’t want him to suffer anymore…”
Firestorm nodded 'her' head and looked down at Angel. 'She' slowly began to extend her wing.
“Wait!”
Firestorm withdrew 'her' wing slightly and looked at Fluttershy who was fighting back tears with all her strength. She looked down at Angel, “I love you Angel. I don’t want to do this but it’s because I love you that I am. I’m so sorry, can you forgive me?” she asked placing her hoof within reach of Angels’ paw.
Angel looked down at her hoof and rested his paw on it; he looked up at Fluttershy and nodded. Fluttershy looked at Firestorm, who, seeing the look in her eyes, covered Angel with her wing. Only a second passed and she slowly withdrew her wing. Angel lay motionless on the pillow; his eyes were closed and his labored breathing had stopped, his suffering had ended.