As Rarity and Pinkie Pie made their way to Golden Oaks Library, Pinkie Pie bouncing and talking about this and that and waving at everypony on the streets, Rarity's thoughts started to drift. It was about lunchtime so many ponies were wandering about, buying groceries. The mixed scent of hay fries and fresh salad indicated that the Hayburger had already opened for business.
"I'm really glad we are doing this", said Pinkie, "I'm feeling really bad about Fluttershy being so scared but you should have seen the look on Priest's face after he tried to heal Derpy, he was like 'Aaaaaah Tartarus why can't I do this?' and Twilight was like 'It's not your fault' and Sugarcube Corner is a mess! I helped Mr and Mrs Cake to instruct the construction workers, hah, that sounds funny, instruction - construction, instruction - construction, - I wonder how long they are going to take to repair everything. Have you ever seen a wall explode like that? It was almost as loud as a Sonic Rainboom! I heard Rainbow Dash is working on some new tricks..."
I hope Priest is all right. He looked really upset about scaring Fluttershy. When we are finished talking to him, I need to check up on her, too. Maybe visiting the spa might do the trick. She will need some relaxation after all of this.
"...and then a barrel roll, and then she said, 'This is going to impress them for sure', and who's gonna argue with that, I really need to remember to bring her some of my new muffin samples, they are with rainbow sprinkles so I bet she's gonna love them..."
What is it with Priest's complexion anyway? I have never seen such a disturbing illness before. It must be of a magical nature... I wonder whether that is why he is staying with Twilight. Princess Celestia might have asked her to monitor his condition or try and find a cure.
"... noticed that the mail was awfully late today, I really hope Derpy is getting better soon, maybe we could invite her to join us on Nightmare Night, though then we'd have to invite Dinky and Time Turner, too, but I'm sure it's going to be even more fun with more ponies around..."
Nevertheless, he has a kind heart and I will not let my sense of aesthetics get in the way of our friendship! At least he has taken good care of his new ensemble so far, I would hate if he neglected it like Applejack would. No offense to Applejack, of course.
"...happy your order turned out so well, we missed you a lot during your project in Manehattan..."
I wonder what Pinkie Pie's plan is to cheer him up. And I wonder what conclusions she has drawn. I tried to withhold any suspiscious comments... well, we shall see.
"Here we are, knock, knock!", said Pinkie, banging her hoof at the library door multiple times.
For a moment, there was no reaction. Then the door opened.
Rarity eyes widened with surprise as she suppressed a gasp.
The undead's hair was almost as messy as when they had first met. He looked healthier than before, especially the tone of his skin had gained slightly more color, but his gaze seemed unfocused and distant. He frowned at them, then cleared his throat.
"Hi", he said evenly.
"May we come in?", requested Rarity, a polite smile on her face.
"Sure. It's a public library anyway. But if you're looking for Twilight, she's not here. And neither is Spike." He stepped aside to let them in.
"That's okay", said Pinkie Pie, "we're here for you!"
"Huh?"
"After yesterday, we wanted to see how you are doing", clarified Rarity, following Pinkie inside and closing the door with her magic.
Priest scratched his neck. "I... I'm fine. But thanks."
Rarity leaned closer to him, one eyebrow raised, and even though she was about half his height, he suddenly felt smaller by several inches.
"My friend, this would not even have been convincing if your hair had been in good shape. You looked very upset yesterday and Pinkie told me about the ghost and everything. We are worried about you. Pray tell, how are you really doing?"
He sighed, then silently beckoned them to sit on the sofa.
"Not so great", he mumbled. "So thanks for coming. I'm still pissed about Discord. And worried about Derpy and Mara..."
Rarity made herself comfortable, absent-mindedly rearranging the pillows with her magic to give it a tidier look. Pinkie Pie bounced to a chair at the table and pushed it closer to the sofa. Then she grabbed Priest and shoved him onto the chair.
"Pinkie, what are you doing?", asked a surprised Priest.
The earth pony jumped onto his knees and came so close that her muzzle almost touched his nose, a grave expression on her face.
Again, just like in Sugarcube Corner. Doesn't she have any sense of personal space?
Pinkie Pie kept staring at him. She slowly raised her hoof, balancing a cupcake on it.
"Open. Up!", she hissed, keeping the deeply serious frown on her face.
Priest obeyed, unable to process what she was up to.
She lowered the hoof to his mouth and slowly pushed the cupcake into it, not without unwrapping it at high speed and storing the paper in her mane first.
"Ohn. Mmm." He tried to chew it all at once without choking on the delicious piece of heavenly sugar-topped... why was I so upset again?, he thought. This is one very tasty cupcake!
"Pinkie, stop it!", said Rarity, worried about her antics. "He's almost-"
"SH!", said Pinkie, staring at his mouth. "Chewing is still in commence! Awaiting completion of cupcake consumption!"
The human swallowed, then grinned at her. "Thanks. I needed that."
"Anytime!", beamed the earth pony, suddenly cheerful and relaxed again, and jumped from his lap to join Rarity on the sofa.
"What just happened?", wondered Rarity.
"Duh, I gave him a cupcake, silly! And it's a new flavor, too!"
"Yeah, not bad", admitted Priest. "Cherries?"
The unicorn shook her head. "I... oh, never mind that. So how was your morning?"
Priest shifted around on his chair. "Ugh, well, I had coffee, then I cut some gems."
And I had a little panic attack in between because my body suddenly decided that it needed sleep again which is totally freaking me out... Oh great, here comes the dizzyness again.
"Oh, oh, can I see the gems?", asked Pinkie.
"I would love to have a look as well", said Rarity, a sparkle in her eyes. "I do wish to remind you that I still intend to do my next gem search with you, by the way."
"They're on the table over there, I'm not done yet."
Rarity floated them over with her magic. "Oh my, they are truly amazing! Especially the star on this moonstone is being emphasized so well!"
"Oh, that's because I had to consider the direction of the atomic structure", explained Priest, getting clueless looks from both ponies. "It means that by chance, they usually look good when I cut them to make them ideal for enchanting."
"Ah, I see", mumbled Rarity.
"Shiny!", was Pinkie Pie's contribution to that. "But what do you enchant them for?"
He shrugged, glad to get distracted from his worries. "Many things. You can use enchanted gems for increasing magical focus or boosting agility-"
"Like this?", asked Pinkie as she suddenly lowered herself from the high ceiling, dangling from a rope. Then she started swinging around the library and performed several tricks and double flips.
- - -
Mara Dust waited patiently at the closed door. The nurse would come out any minute now.
She could hear muffled voices from inside the room, indicating that Derpy had a visitor.
The door opened and a white earth pony with her pink mane in a bun emerged.
"Twenty minutes", she said.
Mara nodded and entered the room. Just like the hallway, the walls were painted in an ocean blue pattern that was probably supposed to make a soothing impression but felt rather cold to Mara. It had the color of boredom. Curtains covered the windows, dimming the bright sunlight to a dull glow. A portrait of a purple pear and a red banana hung at the wall.
The occupant of the lone bed however seemed well entertained. Derpy's little unicorn daughter Dinky stood by her side, nuzzling her hoof, the one without a small tube sticking out and leading upwards to a plastic bag of unknown liquid. She looked up when Mara entered and waved at her. "Hi Mara!", she greeted her.
A brown stallion sat next to the bed. Mara recognized the earth pony as Time Turner, Derpy's husband. Mara felt a sudden wave of sympathy emerging from the three, washing over her with a soothing warmth.
"Hello", she said to everypony.
Time Turner nodded courteously and Derpy smiled at her. "Hello, Mara. That's nice of you to come and visit. How was your morning?"
"Er", said Mara. How could the pegasus be so cheerful after what happened to her? Right, she probably didn't know about the ghost. "I guess it was all right", she stammered.
Dinky resumed the nuzzling of her mother's hoof. Mara remembered the filly to be much more carefree but a heavy accident like this was bound to throw her off.
The poor child.
"You can see that my family has been entertaining me", said Derpy and grinned.
Dinky smiled at that, saying, "Yeah, we have to make sure you get well fast, Mom!"
"I'm sorry, my little muffin, but the doctor said I'll have to stay here for at least two more nights."
The filly's smile faded, her ears drooping.
"Which is a pretty short time", commented Time Turner, "for such injuries. I'm glad the doctors took matters into their hooves real quick. They said the wing should be fine in another week or so. We were also lucky that Pinkie Pie and that human stabilized her and relocated the wing until help arrived. That creature may look scary but he sure knows his stuff!"
"I see", mumbled Mara. "Well, Dinky, how about I take you to town tomorrow to get you a Nightmare Night costume?" She looked at Derpy and Time Turner, knowing that the final decision was not really Dinky's to make.
Both parents smiled. "That would be fun, wouldn't it?", said Derpy to Dinky. "Daddy has a free day today but tomorrow... You think you're up to it?"
The grin on Dinky's face told them everything they needed to know.
- - -
"You are not going to get past me, creature of the East!", yelled Pinkie Pie, "My Shield of Sugary Bubbliness and Sprinkles is impenetrable!"
"Oh yeah? Just wait until you feel the Sweeping Strike of Justice!", countered Priest.
"What in the name of Celestia are you doing?!", demanded Twilight.
Priest lowered his arm. He was holding a broom but he had obviously not been using it for sweeping the floor. Instead, his "weapon" had been crossed with a rapier which Pinkie Pie was somehow holding in her hoof. She was wearing a cavalier hat, adorned with a feather, and used Priest's opening to poke his chest, triumphantly yelling, "Touché!"
Rarity tried hard to stifle her giggling. She was still sitting on the sofa, cheering the two on.
"Oh dear, this is the craziest performance I have ever seen! Including the act of my sister", she declared, beckoning Twilight to come closer.
Spike snatched the broom from Priest and carried it to the closet to return it to the other brooms, grumpily mumbling something about "misuse of tools".
"Please, calm down, Twilight, everything is in order", Rarity assured the fuming alicorn.
Twilight was not amused. "This is a library, Rarity! And it is the middle of the day! You can't possibly think that... that fighting is going to end well between all these books!"
Priest guiltily rubbed his neck. "Guess we got a little carried away..."
"I'll say!", said Rarity. "But it was very interesting! Did you know", she put a hoof around Twilight's shoulder, "that there is a class called 'mage' that wears the most dazzling outfits? They are not as daring as the robes of warlocks but nevertheless...! Priest here was just demonstrating the skills of a 'paladin', which, as Pinkie told me, is a class that exists in 'Ogres and Oubliettes' as well. Your brother played a paladin, did he not?"
Twilight closed her eyes momentarily and took a deep breath. "Yes, he did. Pinkie Pie, thank you for cheering Priest up. But please, no more fencing."
"Aaaaw." Pinkie pursed her lips but tucked away her outfit. Priest did not see where it was going but Rarity had told him not to question Pinkie Pie.
"Now. Have you eaten lunch yet?"
"No", said Priest and blushed. "We completely forgot."
Twilight shook her head. "Then let's have some, all right? Spike, please set up some water. Wanna join us, Rarity, Pinkie?"
"Sure!"
"With pleasure. Can we be of any assistance?"
"Oh, it's not a problem", said Twilight, relaxing a little. "We still have enough time until Mara and the others are coming."