Hush Now, Quiet Now

by DBoS

Chapter 2

Twilight flipped through the pages of the fourth bestiary Spike brought from the library. The pages contained information on just about every monster in the Everfree Forest, from the petrifying cockatrice to the gluttonous parasprite to the vicious manticore. However, none of these matched the one she was looking for. Twilight groaned as she tossed the book to the side and grabbed another from the pile of books she had yet to check.

Spike chose that moment to pipe up from the corner, “You may as well give up, Twi. If you haven't found anything by now, then it can't be found anywhere.” Twilight looked over the dragon, who was lying back against the wall. Despite his relaxed position, Spike was nervously glancing over to the…thing which was asleep on Pinkie Pie’s bed.

The creature in question was bandaged up from its waist, to its chest, to its strangely disfigured forelegs and the pink quilt was pulled up to its chest. The bed itself was pushed up closer to the open window in an attempt to air out the being’s foul stench. Despite what it had recently just went through, what with the cleansing of its burns and bandaging of its wounds, the creature remained asleep, peaceful even, and Twilight began wondering how long the being’s sleep cycle lasted.

Despite Twilight's slight interest in the creature's physiology, her curiosity was more affixed at the rest of the wounds on the creature’s body, some of which she immediately recognized as bite marks and slashes from claws. Others, however, looked completely unlike any animal attack. Its flesh was pockmarked with quite a few strange round wounds, almost as though several small stakes had been rammed through its body, and there were several smaller burn marks that didn’t match the larger burn on its back. As Twilight and Spike finished applying first-aid, the unicorn couldn’t help but ask herself, “Just what did this creature have to go through?”

Twilight shook her head at Spike’s earlier statement before saying, “I can’t give up, Spike. There has to be something about this beast, but none of the Equestrian encyclopedias mention anything about it.” She put her head in her hooves as she finished, “There’s not even an actual picture I can find to match with it.” Once Twilight exhausted the book of its information, she sighed and discarded the book. “Whatever it is, it's as though it doesn't even exist.”

“I told you, maybe it's a space alien,” Pinkie's chipper voice suggested as she walked out of the bathroom, a small alligator clamped onto her tail. “I found Gummy, by the way. The alien must've scared him, because he was hiding in the bathtub, which is weird because he never gets in the tub unless there's water and it’s his bathtime.”

Twilight sighed, rubbing her temples with her hooves, as she said, “I highly doubt that it's an alien, Pinkie. They don't even exist, and even if they did, why bother coming here?”

Pinkie looked as though she had been insulted. “They do too exist!” she snapped, setting her baby alligator on the floor by her back hooves. “One time, I knew this pony who knew this pony who read about this pegasus who interviewed this unicorn's sister who was abducted by aliens from another planet, and she said that they were actually a lot of fun. They went zooming through space and shot the stars and--”

She was cut off when Twilight's hoof was jammed into her mouth. “Pinkie, despite your sources, I don't think the thing lying in your bed right now is an alien.” She then turned to look at the figure asleep in the party pony's bed before adding, “Though that would be the only thing to call it now.”

The three flinched when they heard the creature groaning in its sleep. No, not groaning; rather, it sounded like it was...gagging. Its body lurched with each muffled choke, and Twilight could just see a small spurt of bile erupt from its mouth.

“Oh no,” she muttered, rushing to the bedside. She pushed the creature onto its side, careful not to put too much pressure on its wound, as she called out to Pinkie, “Bring the trashcan! Hurry!”

Pinkie gave a mock salute and raced over, waste bucket in hand. Carefully, Twilight pushed the creature's head over the held out wastebasket, and a stream of vomit poured out from between its lips. Both ponies nearly gagged at the sight, and Pinkie wasted no time in getting basket out of her grip.

“Well, we know that it's sick with something,” Twilight deducted with a grimace, swallowing whatever had just come up. “We just need to know what its sick with.”

“Do we have to?” Spike asked, more disgusted then afraid. The purple scales on his face were tinged with green.

Twilight didn't answer right away, but rather, she went over to the first-aid kit and pulled out a book titled In Sickness and in Health: an Encyclopedia of All Known Diseases. As she flipped the book open, she asked Spike and Pinkie, “Other than nausea, what else looks wrong?”

Spike was tentative to get closer to the creature than need be, but he swallowed his fear and hoisted himself up to the mattress, now crouched next to the unconscious alien. Pinkie stayed on the opposite side of the bed as she placed a hoof on the alien's forehead.

“It's freezing,” she called out before noticing the moisture on the unshorn fur around her hoof, “and soaking wet.”

Spike got a better – if not unwanted – look at the alien from his vantage point. Carefully, he pried open the creature's eyelids. “Eyes are yellow and bloodshot.”

Pinkie then put her ear up to the creature’s chest, listening for the thumping in its chest. “The heart’s beating just fine,” she said, “but it’s breathing all scratchy-like.”

Twilight nodded and marked them down mentally before flipping through the pages. ‘Let’s see,’ she thought to herself. ‘Cold sweats, bloodshot eyes, difficulty breathing…’ She flipped through the book twice over before letting out an exasperated sigh. “It’s still too vague. See if you can find anything else.”

Pinkie gave the creature another complete look-over, leaving no spot unchecked, but other than the fact that he had no fur anywhere but the top of his head, nothing else seemed wrong…at least, that was what she thought. She then raced to Spike’s side of the bed and held up the creature’s left arm. Pointing at the shackle on its wrist, she spoke up, “Maybe this weird bracelet can tell us.”

Twilight shook her head and sighed out, “I don’t think that’s possible, Pinkie. It looks like an ordinary shackle.”

The pony in question shot Twilight a glare before pointing to the glowing screen. “If it’s just a shackle, then why is it shining like this?”

Twilight hadn’t thought of that. She had assumed that there was some kind of magic giving it that eerie green glow. Why a shackle would need to illuminate anything, however, was beyond even her. Moreover, why was the creature even wearing such a cuff in the first place? It couldn’t have been a dungeon shackle, because there would have to be a loop that would connect it to a chain link. Perhaps it was a ceremonial accessory. It was plausible; Zecora wore strange jewelry from her homeland that she considered to be tradition, so who was to say that the Zebras were the only ones to follow tradition?

“Hey, Twi! Look at this!” Spike called out, rousing the unicorn from her thoughts. She turned to find both Pinkie and the dragon staring intently at the green glow on the shackle. Twilight went over to the shackle, her eyebrow raised, before seeing what the two were staring at.

Amidst the glow of the creature’s shackle was cartoonish figure of, well, the creature itself. There were no great details; just a rough outline of the creature’s body and a childish face in the center of the head. Other than that, there was nothing else noticeable on the screen, save for the flashing text under the cartoon’s legs.

Twilight’s brow furrowed at the message. Poisoning, she understood, but what exactly was “radiation?” Maybe her encyclopedia had the answer.

She rushed over to where the book lay and flipped through the pages. “Poisoning, poisoning, poisoning,” she muttered once she reached the P’s. “Let’s see…food poisoning, hay poisoning, grass poisoning…nothing about radiation. Maybe it’s in the R’s.” She flipped to the section and scanned through each article quickly; again, nothing about radiation.

Twilight groaned out of frustration and tossed the book over her shoulder before putting her chin in her hoof. There had to be a way to help this creature, but it was poisoned with something she had never heard before until that day. With any luck, Zecora would know what to do. Wait a minute…

“Spike, Pinkie, both of you stay here,” the unicorn requested, earning a raised eyebrow from the two. Twilight slipped her saddlebag on and headed for the door, saying only, “There’s just one book I need to get.” Before they could ask her anything, Twilight opened the door and raced out of Sugarcube Corner, headed towards the library.

Twilight had only been gone for two minutes, so nothing particularly spectacular happened. The creature was still asleep in the bed, its skin sweaty and colored a deathly white, save for a red mark on its forehead that was shaped oddly like an upside-down hoof print.

Pinkie tapped her hoof against the creature’s forehead once more, but it still didn’t stir. Pinkie huffed out a sigh of annoyance. She had so many questions to ask it, most of them revolving around cupcakes and parties. However, the creature remained asleep in her bed like a log, barely moving every time she smacked its head with the bottom of her hoof.

Pinkie decided to go for broke this time around. She raised her hoof high into the air and, just before she was about to bring it down onto the alien’s head, she felt something pull her foreleg back.

“Are you crazy?” Spike nearly shouted in her ear. “What do you think will happen if that thing wakes up?”

Pinkie pulled her hoof out of the dragon’s grip and scratched her chin in thought. After a moment, she guessed with a smile on her face, “We’ll have a party and be best friends?”

Spike could only slap his own forehead. “Pinkie, think about it,” Spike began. “What if it’s not as friendly as you think? What if it eats ponies for an afternoon snack, and dragons for dessert?” His voice grew more frantic and his eyes shrunk down as he continued, “What if it’s strong enough to destroy Ponyville with a single step, and it could bring the moon crashing down just by thinking about it?”

By now, Spike’s pupils were the size of pinhead as he muttered, “Maybe it’s here…to bring the destruction of Ponyville?” The scene flashed before his shrunken pupils…

Ponyville was in flames. The screams of ponies filled the air as everypony scrambled for safety. Most had already fled into Whitetail Woods for cover. For others…it was simply too late.

Spike sprinted through the commotion, ducking through the crowd of scared mares. Twilight had already made it to the woods, along with Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy’s cottage was well out of the distance, as was Applejack’s farm, so they didn’t have to worry…for now.

However, Spike realized that one pony was unaccounted for: Rarity, his one true love. She must’ve been holed up in the Carousel Boutique, right in the middle of town. Spike wouldn’t let the monster get to her. That much, he was certain.

He rounded the corner of the street and found himself in front of Rarity’s workshop, the same building designed almost like a white-and-purple wedding cake, but he wasn’t the first to arrive. Standing atop the boutique was the monster itself, slouched over in a predatory stance. Even in the darkness of the night and smoke, Spike could see its fangs gleam brightly, mirroring the moonlight.

However, his attention was soon taken by the frantic screams coming from inside the building. “Somepony, anypony, HELP ME!” Spike froze; only one pony in Ponyville had a beautiful voice like that.

Without hesitation, Spike sprinted towards the front door of the boutique, intent on saving his true love, but the monster wouldn’t allow that. The creature raised its fist up to the night sky and plunged it into the roof of the building. Jagged cracks began running down the sides, and Rarity’s cries rang out even louder. Her voice was soon silenced as the building collapsed into itself, leaving only a pile of rubble in place of the towering workshop.

Spike was frozen where he was, down on his knees as he stared at the rubble of his beloved’s boutique – now her grave. Tears welled up in his eyes as he hoped, wished, BEGGED even for Rarity to somehow still be alive, but it was futile. The monster stood amidst the wreckage, unhurt from the fall. As the beast reared its head back and let out a mighty roar – one that would put even the Ursa Major to shame – Spike could only shout one word to the heavens.

“NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Back in reality, Pinkie waved her hoof in front of the frozen dragon’s face, hoping to break him out of his trance. She was knocked back, however, when Spike suddenly cried out, “I WON’T LET THAT HAPPEN!”

Without warning, Spike reached out for the nearest weapon – which happened to be the same spatula he had earlier – and charged for the sleeping figure. Almost halfway towards the bed, time seemed to slow down all around the dragon. Spike could feel his heart hammering in his chest as he neared the creature, intent on striking down whatever evil it may hold. He was frightened, that much he admitted, but he was going to do this, for Ponyville, for his friends, and most of all, he would do it for Rarity.

Before Spike could do anything, however, he was suddenly yanked back when Gummy clamped down on his tail. “Spike,” Pinkie started, a tone of worry in her voice. “You should really be more careful. You could’ve hurt the alien.”

Spike could only give a look that said, “Are you kidding me?” “Then why were you smacking its head over and over again?” he asked incredulously.

“Because I wanted him to wake up sooner,” Pinkie answered simply, her bubbly smile pasted on her face. Spike could only groan, putting his face into his palm once again.

“Hey, I have an idea,” Pinkie called out, gaining Spike’s attention. He turned to find her standing by the unconscious creature, holding up the shackled arm as she suggested, “This bracelet thingy told Twilight that the alien was sick, so maybe it can tell us more about it.”

“Uh, Pinkie,” Spike began. “As good an idea as that sounds…well, we don’t even know how it works.”

Pinkie paid the dragon no attention as she immediately started trying to work on the shackle. She tapped her hoof against the glass screen a few times, resounding with an audible clink. She beat her hoof against the glass a few more times, adding a little more force behind each tap. When she realized nothing was happening, she resorted to taking the alien’s wrist and shaking the shackle, hoping that something would happen.

Spike shook his head as he went over to the pink pony, who seemed to be growing more frustrated with each passing second. Holding out his hand, the dragon offered, “Let me see if I can get it to work.”

Pinkie, rather than allowing the dragon to see the bracelet, hoisted the alien's arm higher as she defended, “Don't worry, I think I'm close to getting this thing.”

A deadpan look crossed Spike's features as he muttered, “You could've fooled me.” He then reached out and swiped the shackle from Pinkie's grip and he began turning a knob at the side.

Before he could see if anything happened, the party pony swiped it out of the dragon's claw and went to beating against the cold metal with her hoof.

“It looks like you're about to break it,” Spike snapped, once again taking the cuff into his claws. “I'm the one who can press the buttons, anyway.”

It wasn't long before Pinkie took back the bracelet, arguing, “But it was MY idea first, so I should get to do this!” Pinkie went back to fiddling with the bracelet before Spike wrapped his claws around it, pulling it towards him. Pinkie kept her grip, however, as she tried to yank it back.

This went on for a good part of three minutes, the two fighting over the shackle like two foals fighting over a toy. It soon turned into a game of tug-of-war, with the alien's wrist as the rope. As the two pulled and fumbled their grips, they unknowingly tampered with the knobs and buttons on the shackle.

“Hold on Jonas, I need to record this first.”

Spike and Pinkie froze where they were when the male voice suddenly sounded out of nowhere. Spike looked over at the alien, but it was still out cold. No, the voice wasn't coming from the alien itself, or even from somewhere around the room, but rather, the two found out immediately, from the bracelet.

The voice itself sounded sorrowful, disheartened even, as it began, “I... I don't really know how to tell you this. I hope you'll understand, but I know you might be angry. I thought about it for a long time, but in the end I decided it was best for you not to know.”

The voice went on, but it was drowned out by Pinkie Pie shouting into the glass screen, “Hello? Is there anyone in there?”

Almost immediately, Spike brought his claws up to the pony's mouth and clamped down tightly on her lips, putting a finger up to his own mouth in a shushing motion. The disembodied voice continued on as if there was no interruption, “...the Overseer will react when he finds out. It's best if he can blame everything on me. Obviously you already know that I'm gone. It was something I needed to do. You're an adult now. You're ready to be on your own. Maybe someday things will change and we can see each other again. I can't tell you why I left or where I'm going. I don't want you to follow me. God knows life in the Vault isn't perfect, but at least you'll be safe. Just knowing that will be enough to keep me going.”

The voice suddenly changed from the deep tone that it held to something much younger, as though there was another speaking as well. “Don't mean to rush you, Doc, but I'd feel better if we got this over with.”

“Okay. Go ahead. Goodbye. I love you.” Just like that, the voice cut off, leaving the room in stony silence. Neither Spike nor Pinkie dared to say a word – which was quite strange, considering the hyperactive pony – as Spike gently set the alien's arm down on the bed.

Clearing his throat, Spike suggested, “Maybe...maybe we should let this thing get some rest.” For once in the past few moments, Pinkie didn't argue as she stepped away from her own bed, following Spike to the opposite side of the room and sitting against the wall.

Twilight was taken aback when she walked into the silent room. She figured that Pinkie would be driving Spike up a wall with her ideas about the creature, or that the two would argue over what to do with it, but no; she walked in to find them both sitting side-by-side, a heavy aura around them. Spike had his knees pulled up to his chest, and Pinky was holding onto Gummy, stroking his back like one would pet a cat.

“Um,” she started tentatively, slowly walking into the room. “Did I...miss anything?”

The pony and dragon both looked up at the lavender unicorn, and Twilight could see the looks in their eyes: depression, anxiety, and even pity.

Spike glanced at the creature in Pinkie's bed, a sad look in his eyes rather than the usual look of fear, before turning to Pinkie and offered, “You wanna tell her, or should I?” Pinkie scratched the side of her head and thought for a moment before saying, “I think I'll tell her.”

Twilight could only raise an eyebrow as she asked, “Tell me what?”

If Twilight truly knew anything about Pinkie, it was that the party pony would talk anypony's ear off when something incredible happened. Usually, these rapid-fire monologues would usually contain something about how Pinkie felt when she saw or whether or not she had her daily dozen cookies that day or something along those lines.

This time, however, Pinkie kept it plain and simple, only emphasizing the important details to what had happened.

Despite her concealed surprise, Twilight put her hoof up to her chin and asked, “So, the one that made the voice recording was important to our alien in some way, and apparently the other way around.” She then looked up at Pinkie and asked, “A family member, maybe?”

“That was what I thought,” Pinkie spoke up. “Like maybe a dad or an uncle…or maybe even a bigger brother.”

Twilight nodded in agreement before asking, “But why leave? What was so important?”

Pinkie thought about that as well; she spent a good ten seconds trying to find an answer, but nothing would come up. She couldn’t understand why anyone would leave their children.“Maybe we can ask the alien when it wakes up,” Pinkie suggested, pointing to said creature as her tone took on a slightly more peppy edge.

Twilight nodded again before realization struck her. Using her magic, Twilight telekinetically opened her saddlebags and pulled out a small burlap sack and a thick green book. The cover of the latter read, Supernaturals; All-Natural Remedies and Cure-Alls that are Simply Super.

“You find anything worth trying?” Spike piped up, as though the answer wouldn’t be obvious.

“Of course,” Twilight reassured with a smile. She flipped open the book – once again, using magic – to a page
humorously titled ‘Spongy Salve.’ Spike could only raise an eyebrow as he read the title.

“This is a simple recipe for a salve that’s supposed to absorb any toxic substance from anypony’s body,” Twilight explained before hoisting up the bag. “When I found it, I looked all around Ponyville for some of the easier ingredients.”

Pinkie took the bag from Twilight’s magical grip and peered inside. In the bag, she found a tulip flower, a small jar full of water, and a small piece of an aloe vera leaf.

“The only thing I need that I couldn’t find in the market,” Twilight went on, reading off of the recipe, “is a dragon’s scale.”

Pinkie perked up and pointed a hoof at Spike, saying, “We have a dragon right here, and he’s covered in scales!”

“I don’t know, Pinkie,” Spike uttered, scratching at the green ridge atop his scaly head. He turned to Twilight and asked, “Can it just be any dragon or does it have to be one old enough?”

Twilight scanned the book quickly before answering, “It doesn’t say, so I guess a scale off of you would work.”

Spike nodded as he held his arm up and gritted his teeth. The skin under his scales was still pretty sensitive, and the last time he plucked a scale off his back, he had a huge welt under his scales that ached with each movement. Still, this was the only thing needed of him, so it may as well have been worth the pain. Heck, he would do it in a heartbeat if it was Rarity who was si--

He was cut out of his thoughts when a sharp pain erupted from his shoulder. He let out a small yelp and gripped his aching shoulder, glaring daggers at Pinkie who now held a small purple scale between her teeth.

“Thanks, Pinkie,” Twilight said as she magically lifted the scale out of the party pony’s mouth. Setting the scale amongst the other ingredients, she then opened her and pulled out a wooden mortar and pestle before reading the directions for the salve.

“First things first,” Twilight began, her eyes skimming over the instructions. “We have to take the tulip’s petals – exactly ten – and crush them in the mortar and pestle. When they’re finely crushed, I’ll put the aloe vera leaf in so they can be mixed we can move on to the next step.”

Spike nodded as he picked up the red flower and plucked off the petals, placing them in the wooden bowl, before working with the press. Once the petals were crushed into a reddish-brown paste, Twilight tossed the aloe piece into the mix as Spike continued to mix. Within a few moments, the mixture turned a dingy pink gel. A few bits of tulip petal were visible in the mix.

“Now,” Twilight continued. “We add the dragon scale and pulverize it into the mix. According to the instructions, the latent magic within the scale should activate the healing properties of the tulip and aloe.”

Spike chose to ignore the explanation – Twilight always had to find a logical explanation for something, he guessed – as he tossed the scale in and pressed down with the wooden rod, feeling the scale give way with a satisfying snap. He pressed down harder, crushing the scale to smaller bits, before mixing the small fragments and paste together.

“So what now, Twi?” Spike asked once the paste was churned once again. Twilight didn’t answer directly, but rather, she just telekinetically lifted the mortar and pestle and the jar of water. She pried the lid open and scooped the viscous mixture into the open mouth of the jar, plopping with a light splash into the clear water.

Twilight then turned to the hyperactive pink pony and asked, “Do you think you can shake this up?”

Pinkie only grinned as she took the jar between her hooves and stood up on her hind legs, shaking the bottle around like a bartender mixing a cocktail. As she shook the jar, the gel began to spread out through the water, the shade of pink lightening as it thinned out. All the while, Pinkie was humming to the tune of La Cucaracha, shaking the bottle in rhythm with the music.

By the time Pinkie had finished her mariachi routine, she held the glass of pink gel over to Twilight, asking, “So what do we do with it now?”

Taking the jar in her telekinetic grip, she walked over to the unconscious creature and scooped out a small glob of the paste before spreading it into a thin layer along the comatose creature’s face. “The instructions say to wait until the salve hardens and turns black,” Twilight explained, still keeping her attention on the creature as she applied the medicine.

Pretty soon, the entirety of the monster’s face, save for its eyes and lips, was coated in a thin layer of pink. Twilight smiled, seemingly admiring her handiwork (or hoofiwork, whichever) as she said, “The paste should actually get to work in about--”

Before she could finish the thought, the paste had already begun to take on a greyish tinge, and it already looked to be losing its moisture. Twilight watched with stunned eyes as the paste darkened to a neutral gray, and within a matter of seconds, the hardening paste was replaced with a sickly black mask.

“Is it supposed to work that fast, Twilight?” Pinkie asked, appearing on the other side of the bed as she stared down at the alien’s black-coated face.

Twilight could only blink once as she answered, “Well, the description did say ‘fast-acting.’” As she telekinetically lifted the hardened paste from the creature’s face and tossed it into the wastebasket, she continued, “but I didn’t think it would be that fast.”

She then looked down at the creature, and needless to say, she was impressed with the improvement. Granted, it still looked sickly with its sunken cheeks and shadowy discoloration around its eyes, but there was some color returning to its bare flesh, resembling something of a light peach shade.

“So, uh,” Spike piped up, gaining the unicorn’s attention. “Is it gonna be…you know…”

Twilight shook her head as she answered, “Not yet, Spike. We still need to repeat the process until the gel has done its work. We'll know when that happens.” Spreading another glob across the alien’s face, she added, “No telling how many times I’ll have to do this, but considering how sick this creature was when we found it, it may take a little while.”

The next few minutes consisted of the same task; spread the salve, wait until it hardened, then throw it into the trash. The first couple of times were interesting for Twilight, considering that she was acting as a nurse for a creature foreign to Equestria – to the rest of the world, to some degree. However, as the time dragged on, the task turned monotonous, and all Twilight could think of was whether or not this being would wake up or not.

She hoped that it would be soon, and that they were actually making progress, because the jar of salve was just about running on empty. She had lost count of how many times she applied the salve to the creature’s face and pulled off the black mask – the last number she came to was near eleven or twelve – and a small part of her was beginning to doubt that they were even making a mark in the creature’s well-being.

However, her fears were alleviated when she took another look at the alien’s glowing shackle. The beeping text at the bottom slowed in intervals, and the message wasn’t as urgent.

The unicorn let out a small sigh of relief; at least they made excellent progress. The only problem was that there wasn’t enough salve in the jar left to completely cover the being’s face. There was just enough to cover it’s forehead at the very most, and that was if she used it sparingly. Still, it would hopefully be the deciding factor whether or not this creature would actually get better.

As Twilight spread the last of the salve onto the patient’s face, Spike sat in his usual corner watching the scene with cautious interest. He twitched at almost each instant, morbidly expecting the monster to just reach up and grab Twilight around the throat. She would be its first victim in the wake of the destruction of Ponyville, or possibly of Equestria.

Spike shuddered at the morbid thought, but he immediately pushed it out when he thought back to the message that played on its bracelet. Did monsters have parents that said they loved them? He wasn't really willing to ask one, all things considered, but somehow he doubted that monsters had parents that showed them even the slightest affection. If fact, when he thought about it, Spike was a monster in his own right, but Twilight had been something of an older sister, if not a mother, to him ever since he was hatched. If he had been born and raised with other dragons, would he have turned out the same?

Spike already knew the answer: a big, fat no.

Once Twilight lathered the last of the salve along the creature's forehead, she set the empty jar down on the floor, watching as the paste began to change color. The salve darkened to a dark pink – almost grayish in shade – before coming to a halt. Twilight waited for a few moments, watching to see if the salve would change any further, but nothing happened. However, the change in the being was incredible, to say the least.

Unlike a few moments prior, before Twilight began applying the salve, the creature's face was an orange-pink shade. Its gaunt, shallow cheeks were now fuller, shaping to the rest of the rounded face. The black shadows around the eyes were nonexistent, giving the creature a healthier, almost youthful appearance.

A sudden beep rang out from the creature's shackle, and a new message flashed from behind the glass.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief, and Pinkie and Spike took that as the cue to come up to the bedside. As the purple unicorn removed the half-dried salve – it was more like putty than a stone – she told the two, “Everything should be alright. Now we just have to wait for it to wake up.”

Pinkie grinned as she pried Gummy's jaws off her mane and set the alligator on the bed atop the creature's chest. “Gummy can keep it company until then,” she suggested happily. Meanwhile, the baby alligator stepped across the alien's chest up to its face. His purple eyes blinked once, then twice, almost staring down at the unconscious being.

“That's nice of you, Pinkie,” Twilight began, almost unsure of what to make of the party pony's offer. “Still, I think we should give it some time to rest…alone.”

Pinkie could only look at Twilight with a questioning look as she debated, “But Gummy makes a nice teddy bear.”

“I’m sure he does, Pinkie,” Twilight reassured before looking over to the sleeping creature. As she watched the toothless alligator clamp down on said creature’s nose, almost trying to chew, she added, “Somehow, that doesn’t exactly prove to be a good idea.”

Pinkie looked over and pried Gummy off of the being’s face, the alligator’s toothless jaws sliding off with a wet pop. “We don’t chew on any new friend’s faces,” she scolded her pet, her voice more chipper than stern.

Spike once again chose to speak up. “Um, Pinkie,” he began hesitantly. “How do you know that this thing wants to be our friend?” Without waiting for an answer from the pink pony, the dragon then turned to Twilight and asked, “Also, are you sure this is a good idea to wait until it wakes up? I mean, what if it’s more dangerous than a dragon, and twice as mean?”

Twilight could only roll her eyes at Spike's childish paranoia. Sometimes, he was a little too paranoid about everything. It almost made her think back to the time when they were going to the Froggy Bottom Bog to check on Fluttershy. All the way through, Spike kept going on and on about what may have happened to the yellow Pegasus. It didn’t help at all that the suggestion of her exploding twice was thrown around. Even then, Spike still had a point. They didn't know a single thing about this creature, where it came from, or whether or not it was a danger to anypony. However naïve Spike's fears, he still had good reason to be afraid.

Nonetheless, Twilight had to remain optimistic. “Spike, you need to relax,” she reassured her assistant, showing a small but confident smile. “I'm sure you're just overreacting. Besides, if anything did happen, I'm sure I could handle it.” At that, she turned her attention back to the being that still lay sleeping in Pinkie's bed.

‘At least,’ she thought to herself, subtly swallowing a lump that formed in her throat. ‘I hope that's the case.’

It was at that moment that she heard the creature let out a deep groan. Spike and Pinkie both flinched – though Spike didn't so much as flinch as he did jump seven feet in the air and hide under the bed – while Twilight just looked at the being, both nervous and excited. Its eyebrows twitched, and it's mouth contorted to a pained scowl. The being then let out a raspy breath, and everypony present could all hear the silent request beneath.

“W-water…”

I'm gonna be honest, I didn't really much care for how the medicine scene turned out, but that's just a personal preference. I could've said that she went down to Zecora's for the Spongy Salve, but that would lead to some introductions that I didn't want to bring about yet.

Anyway, I hope you were patient enough to bear with the impromptu hiatus and I hope you'll stick around for the next chapter.