As Celestia’s sun broke the horizon, it brought its warmth to the cool, moist air of another beautiful autumn day. Overnight, a large nimbus cloud had brought a torrential flood to every corner of the Everfree, but in the early hours of the morning the monstrous wisp had calmed, its reserves drained, and its unsuspecting controller calmed.
The orange light of the sun radiating through the massive heavenly body roused a certain cyan Pegasus from her induced slumber. Multitudes of tiny droplets of cold water had formed on her coat overnight, leaving a strange tickling sensation on every inch of her stiff body. She laid there as long as she dare, too tired to get up but too uncomfortable to go back to sleep. Fleetfoot used her hooves to wipe the sleep from her tired eyes, hoping that they would be more prone to stay open afterwards. Carefully, she rolled over, looking at the multi-colour sky through blurry eyes. Her stomach was less queasy today than most mornings; she would usually spend her mornings with her hooves wrapped around the toilet bowl, retching any of the previous night’s leftover meal from her stomach. An uncomfortable groan left her lips as she brushed her hooves through her dishevelled mane.
It would still be months before she began to show, but as she ran her forehooves over her well-toned belly, she could feel a certain firmness that had developed recently. A feeling of awe overtook the mare as she considered the marvellous event taking place inside her body. Tears of joy were brought to her eyes as she pictured herself, cradling their foal.
Her foal…
It was a distinction that changed literally everything. A river of fearful tears replaced the much more welcome tears of joy. She was trembling as she spoke with her voice barely above a whimper, “Birdy, Please… I need you. I don’t know how to live without you, let alone handle this…”
***
You found, that night, that nothing makes time drag on nearly as well as a mind full of worry. Minutes felt like hours. Hours felt like weeks. By the time the first light of the morning sun began to crest the horizon, you felt your mortal life stretched on as long as the immortal princess Celestia in the span of one night. You take a seat in the cushioned bay window that overlooks the golf course. On the horizon, Celestia’s sun is barely beginning to emerge from behind the, barely visible, Everfree. The simple, majestic sight seems to calm your frayed nerves when the sun’s warmth is absorbed into your dark coat. Your gaze is drawn to a cloud, far above the forest; the morning light cast it in the brightest orange glow you’ve ever seen.
As you stare, thoughtlessly, at the heavenly body, your heart sinks to the lowest low you’ve ever felt. No matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to look away from the sight before your eyes. As the room around you fills with the bright, orange rays of the sun, the cold radiating from your heart spreads to every inch of your body.
“Why do I feel like this?” you question aloud, the shivering of your body clearly evident in your voice. Weakly, you rest your head against the cool glass of the window; your ragged breaths cause a haze of fog to spread outward from your muzzle. Overnight, you had thought about all of the differing possibilities that could happen today, but none of the feelings that they had invoked were this powerful. And now, all of this terrible emotion was brought to the surface, for as far as you can tell no reason. To say you’re confused is an understatement.
A warm, soft object brushes over your shoulder. ”Hey,” Nurse Redheart’s soft voice coos, “Come have some breakfast.” With the gentle coaxing of the white mare, you are able to pull yourself away from the window. As you carefully climb down onto your good hooves, you are able to take in the sight of the mare accompanying you. Through your blurred vision, you see her mane is terribly dishevelled, and the dark bags under her eyes reveal her apparent lack of sleep. She is wearing the same set of cute, pink socks that you caught her in yesterday, a sight that helps quell the tempest of sorrow in your heart. She raises a hoof to each of your eyes and wipes away tears that you never noticed you had shed; the fluffy clothing covering her hoof warms your seemingly frigid skin as it caresses your face gently.
The white mare turns and silently leads you into the dining room, where two steaming bowls of oatmeal have been set out for your breakfast. You take a seat at the table, on the same cushion that had played host to your impromptu romance. The musty smell wafting up from it brings back beautiful memories of your previous day’s exploits. As you eat your bowl of oatmeal, you can’t keep your eyes off of the tired mare across from you. You wish that you knew what was going on in her mind right now, but her face betrays little.
Any immediate hope of feeling better is quashed with the words that finally come out of her mouth. “You still have feelings for her, even without your memories, don’t you?” Her voice wasn’t angry, like it was in so many of the situations you thought about last night; it was sombre.
“I don’t know.” It’s the truth; you have no idea why you wanted to return her last kiss or why you chased after her. “When I look at her, I feel like something is missing. It’s like my body and mind don’t agree. My mind told me I was crazy for even thinking of returning her kiss, but my heart yearned for me to press back, to savour her breath washing over me, and to reciprocate her feelings. But, all of that is completely and utterly irrelevant because I do know I have strong feelings for you, and I do know that my heart wants those same things for and from you.” The ice in your heart melts as you finish speaking.
"It's not irrelevant, though, because I feel like I took something wonderful away from you,” the mare argued, her face contorting in sorrow. “And—”
“Red,” you interrupted. “There might have been and might still be something I feel for her, but…" Your momentum breaks, and you stumble momentarily. "now, right now, I am completely and totally yours, body, mind, and soul. And whatever you may have taken away from me, you have given me back something even more radiant and beautiful.” You reach across the table and cup her cheek in your hoof; a look of relief washes over her. You lean in for a quick kiss, watching, through half-lidded eyes, as her worries wash away. When you pull away, she smiles, genuinely. “I don’t regret anything that I’ve done since I woke up in the hospital because I’ve acted earnestly on my feelings for you. And if you have as well, there is nothing to be remorseful about. What we’ve done may have hurt that poor filly, but could you honestly say that your love for me is worth any less than hers?”
After a moment, she answers, “No.” Staring blankly into her oatmeal, she takes a deep breath and continues, “You know, I spent all night worrying about how much trouble and pain I caused her. It seemed so wrong for me, a pony whose entire being is devoted to helping ponies, to cause harm to another. I still feel terrible about what I’ve done, but I didn’t know I would hurt somepony. The thought had crossed my mind that all I would have to do would be push you back into her hooves, and you could both be happy again.” She looks up and meets your gaze with her oh-so-beautiful eyes. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be stronger f—” Wrapping your hooves around your emotional mare, you lean in and silence her with a gentle kiss. As expected, she melts into your hooves, a feeling that overwhelms your mind with ecstasy.
“I am happy,” you say, as you break the kiss, “and I just want you to be as happy, here, in my hooves as I am holding you close.”
“But then,” she says, seeming to continue her earlier thought, as if she were uninterrupted, “you always say such beautiful things that make me feel so good. And it makes me realise how utterly, hopelessly destroyed I would be if I went through with it.”
With your injured forehoof, you lovingly stroke your marefriend’s mane, an act that elicits a soft murmur from the mare. “Shhh… You acted genuinely on genuine feelings, and you’ve helped me so much. You shouldn’t be doing this to yours—” You cut yourself off with a sharp hiss, as you foolishly put too much pressure on your hoof and a spike of pain shoots through your appendage. Immediately, the pink maned pony grasps your hoof with an all too common look of concern. She dabs her napkin over your stiches; a small red patch can be seen on it as she sets it back onto the table.
“You need to be careful, you almost tore the stitches.” She releases your hoof, and you rest it softly around her again, content just to hold her in your hooves. And for a time, she is content to simply be held. “We still need to go get that hoof looked at, and if you still want to stay with me…” Her voice trails off, sounding unsure.
“I’ve told you once; I never want to leave your side, Red. That hasn’t changed.” Releasing your grasp, you sit on the same floor-cushion as Nurse Redheart, close enough where your coats rub softly against each other’s.
“Thank you, I just needed to hear it again,” she says through a smile. “And in that case, we should do the shopping we had planned last night. Hopefully, without any problems this time.” A nervous laugh escapes Nurse Redheart’s lips. “I swear every time we go out in public, something dramatic happens.”
“Actually, I think it has. Celestia must really hate us,” you joke, trying to lighten the mood.
“Oh, if this was all some setup, some elaborate life lesson… I will smack a filly, again.” The vision playing through your head makes you double over in laughter.
Before you is the immortal Sun Goddess, her multi-hued mane blowing in some unknown wind. The welcoming smile on her face does nothing to quell the unimaginable anger of the mare next to you. You watch as your pink-maned mare approaches the regal Alicorn. Without warning, a white hoof collides with the royal jaw. The look of shock and surprise on the Princess’ unchanging face is absolutely priceless.
Your laughter recedes as the vision fades, and you realise that you have completely collapsed to the floor in your fit. Nurse Redheart stares down at you, smiling widely. “I’m glad you enjoyed that picture. Now, get up.” She prods you in the side as she rises to all four hooves. “We need to stop by the clinic to get an x-ray of that hoof. Though, we should probably shower first. I don’t know what my sister would do if we turned up looking like this.” The fatigue in your body makes itself well known as you try to make your way to the bathroom. When you enter the bathroom, you pause a second looking in the mirror at the pony looking back at you. It’s not a pretty sight.
Nurse Redheart walks passed you and climbs into the shower. The sound of running water fills the room, and before long a great gout of steam gushes forth from the stall. The white pony’s head pokes back out of the open door, speaking through a coy smile. “You know, there is plenty of room for two ponies in here.”
“U-uhh… isn’t that a bit… uhh, private?”
She leans over and whispers seductively in your ear, “Do I need to remind you what we did yesterday, in the dining room?” You feel heat rise to your cheeks as you try to hide your expression from the enticing mare. She pulls her head back into the shower and her playful voice echoes out to you. “Oh well, your loss.” After a light chuckle at your marefriend’s antics, you step into the shower and close the door behind you.
***
The sun was quite a bit higher in the sky when Fleetfoot recovered the strength of will to calm herself down.
“Miss Fleetfoot?” A soft, yet regal voice called out from behind her. Turning to the pony addressing her, the cyan mare was immediately taken aback by her visitor. Before her was the pink Alicorn, Princess Cadence with her curly, tri-coloured mane swaying lightly in the breeze. “Aunt Luna told me that you might wish to speak with me. Though, she failed to mention why, but it’s quite clear to me now.” The royal took a seat next to the blue mare. “Who is he?”
A moment of silence passed before a response was given.
“His name is Nighthawk… Or, it was. He came to Ponyville about a week ago to set up for the Wonderbolts show. From what I’m told, he nearly died and has permanently lost his memory.” The mare paused for a second before she continued, “But that’s not the worst part. I had made plans to tell him the most wonderful news of our lives after what would be my final show. When he was recovering from his injuries, he fell in love with another mare.” Cadence winced visibly at this. “I wanted to try and get him back, but I couldn’t bring myself to hurt him by breaking them apart.”
The cyan pony paused. When she continued, she sounded crushed. “He could never hide anything from me… It was always his eyes, and I could see how much he loved her in them.” With her tale finished, the defeated mare turned her eyes to stare blankly at her hooves.
“True love is eternal. His mind may not know it,” the royal said, placing a supportive hoof gently against the blue mare’s shoulder, “but his body and soul still love you, Miss, and they will until the day he dies.”
The princess’ horn began to glow a bright teal, and a smile formed on her face. As her aura receded, she spoke tenderly, under her breath, “Little Aria…” She continued at a normal level, “Oh, Miss Fleetfoot, your foal is going to be so beautiful.” The cyan pony looks up to her princess, a glint of happiness forming in her eyes. “Would you like to see her?” Cadence was truly beaming, now. She had changed this mare’s mood from one of sorrow, and was about to bring her happiness beyond measure, evident by the mare’s glowing smile and furiously nodding head.
The Princess leaned over, pressing her long horn up against the cyan pony’s forehead. Fleetfoot’s vision was encased by the teal aura of magic. Out of the sea of blue, a small, pink form grew. As it moved closer, tiny legs could be seen. In time, every detail could be seen on the tiny filly. Her body was still mostly hairless, with only a small portion of her coat around her nose having grown in. It was a pale periwinkle. A few hairs of her mane had come in as well; she had her mother’s white mane. And then, as the spell began to fade, the foal seemed to turn to her look upon her mother, and the sight brought tears of joy to the mare’s eyes. Her foal had the same beautiful golden eyes as her father.
When she was returned to reality, Fleetfoot lunged forward at the Alicorn, wrapping her in a tight hug. Once the shock of the attack hug wore off, Cadence returned the hug fondly, and a smile returned to her face. “Thank you so much, Princess. That was the most wonderful thing I could have ever hoped to have seen.”
“You are so very welcome,” the royal responded. “It makes me so happy, to show you that no matter what happens with this stallion, beauty and love are still all around you.” The cyan mare released her grasp on the Alicorn, beaming.
Fleetfoot ran her hooves over her belly again, letting them rest on the familiar firmness. Tears of joy continued to slowly roll down from her closed eyes as she focused on her own heartbeat and the joy of the thought that it would be soon joined by another.
After a moment of silence, the rejuvenated mare spoke, “You did, Princess. And thank you again. I’m going to go tell my teammates. I think they will be happy to hear the news.” She said, eagerly getting to her hooves and preparing to take flight. “Goodbye.” The Princess bowed her head in acknowledgement as the cyan mare took wing, heading back towards the Wonderbolt’s stage and towards her new life of love.
***
The steamy heat is oppressive. Releasing the cool, metal doorhandle from your mouth, you turn to see Nurse Redheart standing with her head directly in the flow of water. As the warm liquid passes over her mane, the hairs seemingly melt and flow downward, no matter the strange, messy state they were in previously. Her head is bowed slightly, allowing the fringe of her hair to channel water away from her closed eyes, and she’s lightly panting with her cute, little tongue lazily lolling out of her mouth. Not wanting to interrupt her moment, you sit on your haunches against the far wall of the shower. The cold tile feels amazing against your body in the extreme heat of the enclosed space. More than once, you catch yourself tracing the lines of her toned body as she runs a soapy brush over her coat.
She even catches you once. You can feel the heat in your face as she flashes you a sultry smile and swishes her tail playfully. You decide the best way to avoid gawking is to close your eyes and lean your head back against the cold wall. It’s about that time that you realise how relaxed and utterly tired you are.
You awake to a completely bone chilling torrent of cold water. Gasping loudly, your eyelids shoot open so far that you are certain it will take surgery to recover them from the back side of your eyeballs. Nurse Redheart stands before you with the detachable showerhead in her mouth, giggling like a school-filly; her laughing fit has causes a respite in the frigid onslaught, and you rush over to her, intending to give her a taste of her own medicine.
Playfully trying to wrestle the showerhead away from the laughing mare, you box her into a corner and flare your wings, halting her escape. You smile impishly at your quarry. Closing your eyes in an attempt to shield them from the painfully cold spray, you lunge forward and grasp at the offending object with your mouth. However, you mouth meets something much warmer than expected. A loud clatter can be heard as the shower head slams to the floor, spraying cold water in every direction. Before you can recoil, a set of warm, wet forelegs wraps around your neck and pull you forward. It’s just then that you realise what – or more aptly, whose lips – you’ve latched onto.
The white mare’s tongue slides into your open mouth and passes over a sensitive spot, eliciting a shudder from the deepest portion of your mind. Regaining your senses, you passionately return the embrace. The lavender scent coming off her freshly shampooed mane and coat fills your chest with fire with every breath you take. You are pulled down by the neck as the impassioned filly slides down the wall into a laying position beneath you, all without breaking away from your lips. The urge to feel her body pressed against yours is overwhelming. You begin to lower yourself down onto her when searing pain from your forehoof breaks your concentration. Luckily, you were able to roll onto your side as your legs give out completely, barely avoiding crashing down on the pony beneath you.
You nearly retch as the pain crushes your mind, but the soft touch of Nurse Redheart’s hooves against your injured leg calms your mind. You begin to feel lightheaded as you hear her voice call out to you. “Hey, look at me!” You weakly turn your head to see the determined face of your love staring back at you. “I need you focus on me. No matter how tired you feel, I need you to stay awake. Look into my eyes, I can tell how much you like them.” A soft smile forms on her face with the last portion of her command.
Something in her voice makes you do as she says, without question. She quickly straddles your form, wraps her forehooves around you, just below your withers, and lifts you completely off the ground. Your forehooves hang limply over her shoulders, they’re too weak to do anything else. You gaze into her sapphire eyes as she carries you, walking on her hind legs only, over to her bed. With a feminine grunt, she sets you down on the soft, blue linens.
“What’s going on, Red?” you ask, through panting breaths. The pink-maned pony grabs a pillow in her teeth and violently whips her head to the side, effectively throwing the cushy missile from its case and into a wall. She drops the white cloth from her mouth, bringing her face back up to your level.
“Don’t worry, hun. Everything is going to be ok.” You can see her forelegs moving in the corners of your vision and begin to trace them down. "Hey,” Immediately, your face is pushed back upwards by her hoof. “I’m up here. Remember what I said.” She takes her hoof away from your cheek, leaving a warm liquid behind. You feel a heavy pressure on your aching hoof. Just as your body begins to shiver, the white mare wraps you in a cocoon of linens and looks you straight in the eyes.
“I need to call a carriage, I will be right back. Don’t try and move” Nurse Redheart begins to leave, but does a double take before locking eyes again. She grasps your head between her forehooves and kisses your forehead gently. “I love you, so much.” As she pulls her hooves away, you catch a glimpse of deep red stains and smears up and down her forelegs. She quickly disappears from your vision, and you hear the rapid clopping of galloping hooves on the hardwood floor.
You feel so warm, now that you’re wrapped in an entire bed of blankets. You fruitlessly fight against your heavy eyelids as they slowly slide closed. As soon as your world is completely enshrouded in nothing but warmth and darkness, you feel hooves press against your face again. A frantic mare’s cries can be heard some distance away.
“Hey!”
“Wake up!”
“Please, just wake up…”
Cool liquid drips against your face.
Focusing all of your strength, you force your eyes to slide open momentarily. Nurse Redheart is standing over you, looking off towards the door of the bedroom. ”Gurney! In here!” she yells, her voice sounding so far away. Your eyes begin to slide back closed as her gaze returns to you.
“No, no, no!” Her voice barely registers in your mind as your eyes completely shut.