“Hey, B, wake up.” Rhyme Buster nudged Broken Heart’s shoulder. Rhyme had stayed with his friend the previous night, and slept on the floor.
The gray stallion stirred from his sleep. He turned and say the tan Unicorn by his side. “Rhyme? You’re still here?”
“Stayed all night,” replied Rhyme. “I gotta go to the Tribune, put a want ad in the paper. Want some coffee or something?”
Heart shook his head. “No, I’ll be alright. You go ahead.” The stallion stood up and stretched. “I got some orders to work on.”
Rhyme nodded. “A’ight, B. Take it easy, though. I’ll see you later.” With that, he trotted out the room and down the stairs. Before he left the building, he dusted off a sign behind the counter and put it in the window, its bright red words visible from the other side of the street: Help Wanted.
Rhyme Buster trotted at a leisurely pace toward the headquarters of the Steel Tribune, the local newspaper. “you were a good friend, yeah that’s so true,” rapped he in a somber tone. “A friend and a sister, we do love you. Taken down, such beauty and youth. Much too early, that is the truth. Only knew you for a month, and somehow yet, you somepony we’ll never forget.”
As he rapped, Rhyme arrived at the building and entered. He sat down at a table to fill out the form for the advert. A copy of the day’s paper lay open before him, and a page’s headline caught his eye. He read it, and then charged out the building at full gallop.
The front door to Tick Tock Teck burst open as Rhyme Buster ran through the doorway and stopped, almost tripping over his own hooves.
Broken Heart felt his heart skip a beat as the door crashed open. “What the hay, Rhyme? You almost gave me a heart attack!”
“Sorry, B,” apologised Rhyme between heavy breaths. “But we gotta go somewhere, fast. No time to explain. Come on!” As he finished the statement, he was back out the door.
Heart followed, albeit much more slowly. “Slow down, Rhyme!” called he to his friend, a few metres ahead, “I can’t keep up!”
After several strenuous minutes of running at full gallop, the pair arrived at the destination. Heart was too worn out to look up as he followed his friend through the main door. Slowly, a loud ringing noise filled the stallion’s ears, and he began to feel light-headed. As he fell backwards, he felt Rhyme’s hooves catch him.
Heart couldn’t hear what his friend said through the ringing, and his eyes were blinded by the light above his head. He felt Rhyme hoist him up onto his back and carry him off, through a few doors, into and out of a lift, and through another door.
As they moved, the ringing in Heart’s ears dulled, and he could make out some of Rhyme Buster’s words. “Take.. time, B... Wake... Be fine.. Okay?” He couldn’t help but nod as he felt fatigue get the better of him and he fainted.
“Hey, B, wake up.” Rhyme Buster’s voice faded into Heart’s perception. He slowly opened his eyes, and his friend’s face was inches from his own.
Heart put a hoof on his aching forehead. “Where are we, Rhyme?” asked he, looking around. The pair were sitting on a bench in the corner of the white room. In the centre of the room lay a bed with several monitors on either side. As his vision was still blurry, he couldn’t identify the pony who lay in the bed.
“We in the hospital, B,” answered Rhyme. “We visitin’ a friend.”
Many thoughts crossed Heart’s mind at the answer. “Which friend?”
As Heart finished the question, the pony in the bed began to stir awake. “I think you about to find out, B.”
“Huh, what?” said the pony in a faint, almost inaudible voice.
Heart’s ears perked as he heard the voice, and recognised it instantly. “It.. it can’t be...” He stopped mid-sentence as he hopped to his hooves and trotted to the side of the bed and looked upon Rosy Rivet, her coat messy and covered in soot. Her gray dew rag was gone, showing her short, straight rose mane.
“Heart?” questioned Rosy as she opened her royal blue eyes and looked upon the gray stallion.
Heart’s eyes filled with tears as he embraced the mare. “Rosy!” shouted he. “You’re alive! I can’t believe it! I absolutely cannot believe it!”
As Heart calmed down, Rosy shook her head rapidly. “What.. what happened?”
Heart shook his head, still completely awestruck. “I.. I don’t know.”
Rhyme Buster chimed in as he trotted to the mare’s bedside. “Perhaps I can enlighten you,” said he. “You were in the paper, Rosy. Your apartment caught fire early yesterday morning, which I’m sure you knew.”
“Yeah,” said Rosy as she nodded, remembering the events. “I.. I.. my mom was still in her room. I tried to wake her up, but she.. she..” Her eyes began to well with tears as she remembered.
“You got out while you could,” said Rhyme, putting his hoof on the mare’s shoulder.
“Wait, your mom?” questioned Heart.
“I didn’t know either, until I read the article in the paper.” Rhyme shrugged.
Heart rested his head on the bed’s rail. “I had no idea,” said he, sorrow in his tone. “When I saw the body bag, I thought... I’m so sorry, Rosy.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” said Rosy reassuringly. “I should have mentioned that I lived with her. I’m the one who should be sorry.” Her voice trailed off as she began to sob silently.
Rhyme stroked the mare’s mane. “Hey, hey,” said he in his calming tone, “it’s okay, Rosy. Now seems like a better time than ever to tell us about her.”
Rosy dried her tears with her blanket. “Her name is Diamond Eye,” began she. “Her Cutie Mark was a jeweler’s glass and a diamond, and her talent was jewelry. She was an expert jeweler, and absolutely loved her job. The one thing she loved more than that was her daughter.” She began to tear up again as she continued. “She was the best mother a pony could ask for. She cheered me on my whole life, and fully supported every decision I made. She picked me up when I fell, helped me up when I was down, and, most of all, she loved me.” Rosy lost her composure, sobbing openly into Rhyme Buster’s chest. “She loved me, and I loved her!” cried she.
Broken Heart embraced his two friends lovingly. As the trio stood there, the door opened. They looked to see a dark gold Unicorn Stallion with cyan eyes and a green and red striped mane. He wore a white lab coat, and a clipboard levitated in a cyan glow next to his head.
“Rosy Rivet,” said the doctor, looking at the chart. “The tests came back, and, other than a few bumps and bruises, you’re completely healthy. You are free to go.” With that, he left.
The green mare looked down and sighed as she got off the bed onto her hooves. “Free to go?” mused she aloud. “Go where? I’m homeless now.”
Heart smiled. “You’re not homeless, Rosy," said he. “You’re welcome to stay at Tick Tock Teck with me.”
“And my apartment’s got a spare room,” added Rhyme Buster.
Rosy smiled half-heartedly as she looked at her friends. “Rhyme Buster,” said she, her smile brightening, “and Broken Heart. My friends. I love the both of you.”
The trio embraced again. “I love you, too, Rosy,” said Rhyme Buster, “like a sister.”
“Likewise,” said Heart. “And, remember when I said we have things to discuss?” When Rosy nodded, he continued, “no need to discuss it. I’d be honoured to have you as my apprentice.”
“Really?” Rosy’s eyes and smile beamed brightly.
Heart nodded. “With my help, you’ll be the best artificer Equestria’s ever seen.”
The three ponies walked out of the room together and exited the hospital. The bright midday sun shone on them as they looked around them at the city.