//------------------------------//
// Hurt 
// Story: Crimson Mare 
// by Sphinx_Herald 
//------------------------------//

	Rainbow Dash paces the floor of the Golden Oaks library. Twilight sits at the table in the center of the room with a notebook opened up in front of her. Once again her table is covered with books of various subject, though most of them are about magic and case studies of non-unicorns using magic. The alicorn finishes marking down a couple of notes before turning to the pegasus. “I don’t know. It sounds like she’d rather everypony know about her power than hurting someone. If she did come here for something evil then I doubt she’d care if anyone gets hurt.”
Rainbow continues to pace for some time. “I don’t get it, why can’t we just tell Celestia? I’m sure she has some idea what’s going on.”
Twilight sighs and closes the notebook. “We can’t because she doesn’t want us to. If we tell her and Nova figures out she could just disappear and then we’ll never figure out what’s up with her.”
With a frustrated sigh Rainbow stops pacing and stomps her hoof onto the floor. “So what are we supposed to do, wait for her to tell us everything?”
“No, that won’t work, I doubt she’ll tell us anything on her own unless something happens. All we can do is press her for information,” Twilight says.
Rainbow sighs and looks out a nearby window. “Well, sorry for bothering you, just felt like I should tell you about what happened. I had better get back to work, winter’s not going to come on it’s own.”
Twilight smiles at her friend. “It’s no bother at all, I want to figure this out as much as you.” Rainbow returns the smile and leaves.
Once her friend is gone Twilight flips the notebook open again and looks over the few notes she has. She looks down at them for a few moments trying to connect what little she has. Though Rainbow is right, this would be a lot easier if we could just tell Princess Celestia... Maybe I can get her help, I simply don’t tell her about Nova. Wait a sec, Nova only ever told me not to tell the princesses, she never mentioned about anyone else. Is she hiding from the princesses? “Spike!” she calls out. 
After a minute she hears nothing and remembers that he went to help Rarity. She sighs and shakes her head. Magic surrounds a nearby parchment and quill. Right, so keep it subtle and broad.




Dear Princess Celestia, 
I am researching a phenomenon that has caught my interest lately. I’ve read a report of non-unicorn ponies being able to use magic. I began to wonder what would cause this. So, I was wondering if you have ever known anyone with this ability. This knowledge would really help in my research.
Your faithful student,
-Twilight Sparkle




There is a knock at the door, quiet but still loud enough to catch Twilight’s attention. She puts the quill down and walks over to the door as she surrounds it in a magical aura. Fluttershy smiles at her once the door swings open. “Hey Twilight.”
“Fluttershy, how’s it going?”
“Oh, I’m fine. Uh… you said you’d come with me while I help my animal friends prepare for winter, that is if it’s still okay with you.”
“Oh right, sorry I was just a little distracted,” Twilight says rolling up the parchment and setting it on the table. A magic aura surrounds her bags and drop them down onto her back. She grabs a nearby scarf in her magic and wraps it around her neck and heads outside. The cold air send a shiver down her spine making her thankful she remembered it. “Right, let’s get to work,” she says and the two head off through town.
Quite a few other ponies walk through the street, a few vendors have their stalls set up along the street trying to sell the last of their produce before winter. “So, how have you been lately?” Twilight asks after a moment.
The two step aside to let Cakes pass by as they tow a cart behind them. “Quite busy, I’ve been helping most of the animals near my cottage, and it’s really tiring, especially the bears. Thank you for the help by the way, I really could use it.”
“Well, I’m glad to help. I’ve been wanting to hang out for a while, but I’ve just been caught up in lately.”
“I wish the others could have come. Too bad they’re busy. But, I thought at least Spike would come as well, is he sick?”
“What, oh, he’s fine he’s just helping Rarity out. Honestly, he would be devastated to be sick, he’s so looking forward to the Hearth’s Warming play that he’s already started practicing his lines,” Twilight replies chuckling a little at a memory of the little dragon standing in front of a mirror reading from the script.
“That’s good. I had fun during the play, but I not too sure I’d be able to do it again, with everypony watching me,” Fluttershy says shivering at the memory.
They continue walking, passing the time with small talk. They barely notice as they leave the boundaries of Ponyville and enter the nearby forest. Fluttershy stops on the path through the forest and looks around at the trees, there are no more leaves save for a few red ones that dangle off the branches. “So, where to first?” Twilight asks from slightly ahead.
“The chipmunks,” Fluttershy says point at a small family of them. The family scurries up to them squeaking excitedly to them. Fluttershy nods and turns to Twilight. “They said they weren’t able to find enough acorns.”
“Alright,” Twilight says and the two set about trying to find some acorns. Soon enough she has a small pile floating along behind her. The two work in relative silence, the only noises being those of the woodland animals. “So, do you have any plans for the winter?” Twilight asks after a little while.
“Oh, I’m going to visit my family in Cloudsdale, they usually have a party Hearth’s Warming Eve. What about you?”
“I think Shining Armor and Cadence are going to be inviting me and my parents over to the Crystal Empire. And then there’s the Hearth’s Warming Eve play. And all of the parties that Pinkie’s going to be throwing. This is going to be a pretty busy winter,” Twilight replies as she continues to make a mental list.
“Guess that means you won’t want to look after Angel while I’m gone? I can’t exactly bring him to a city made of clouds.”
“I might be able to, if I’m free at the time. Hm… I wonder if the cloudwalking spell can work on animals too?”
Fluttershy gasps and shakes her head. “Oh no, I don’t think I could do that to him. What if he’s afraid of heights? Or what if he falls through a hole in the clouds? Or what if the spell just wears off?”
“Okay, okay, I was just thinking out loud. If you want, I could help you find somepony to look after him while you’re gone.”
“I would like that, actually I was planning on…” Her sentence trails off and she slows down. She ducks down behind a nearby tree, she peers around the trunk looking further ahead. Twilight follows her gaze, and spots a red pegasus walking along the path further ahead.
“Nova!” Twilight calls. The crimson pegasus stops and looks over at her, she visibly slumps and continues walking. Twilight notes that she’s limping away, taking care to keep her weight off her right foreleg. She almost goes after her, but she looks back at Fluttershy, quickly remembering the fight. “Are you okay?”
“I’m… I’m fine, is she… is she hurt?” Fluttershy asks coming out from behind the tree.
“Looks like it. We should go check on her.” She looks back at Fluttershy, the pegasus shifts uncomfortably. “She’s not that bad, she’s just… temperamental. I’m sure she’s sorry for yelling at you.”
“A-alright.”
“Nova, wait up!” Twilight calls, the pegasus doesn’t slow down. Twilight starts trotting after her with Fluttershy following close behind. Twilight flatters for a second when she sees Nova’s right wing hanging limply at her side. “Nova, are you okay?” Twilight asks after a moment, Fluttershy stops next to her. 
“I’m going home to rest, leave me alone,” she says not bothering to turn around.
Twilight narrows her eyes at Nova, and starts casting a spell. With a flash and a pop she disappears and reappears in front of the crimson pegasus. Nova rears back in surprise, but that quickly passes and she just glares at her. Twilight gasps, seeing Nova covered in cuts and bruises. There are large purple bruises on her right foreleg and her right wing, which she can now see is clearly broken. “What happened to you?”
Nova snorts and starts limping ahead once again. “I’m going home.”
“But, you’re hurt!”
“Which is why I’m going to rest,” Nova calls over her shoulder. Twilight stares at her with her mouth agape. How can she be so stubborn? Why is she so dead set against going to a hospital? Twilight thinks. There is another flash and pop as Twilight teleports in front of Nova stopping the pegasus again. “I’m not in the mood to argue, please just let me be.”
Before Twilight can retort, Fluttershy manages to catch up to the two. She covers her mouth and gasps, catching Nova’s attention. To Twilight’s surprise she sees Nova soften a little when she sees the yellow pegasus. “W-what happened? Let me look at that,” Fluttershy says looking at the broken wing.
Nova shifts away from her, quickly looking away. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.”
“You’re not fine, you need to go to a hospital,” Twilight says.
Immediately, Nova’s eyes harden with anger and annoyance. “No, I don’t ne-- want a hospital.”
“Your wing is broken!” Twilight shouts back ignoring the heat emanating from her.
“So what, I’ve been through worse when I was on my own!” Nova shouts back stomping her hoof on the ground, making Fluttershy yelp and jump back. There is a quiet snap as Nova’s injured hoof connects with the ground. She screams and quickly cradles her foreleg, she huffs out a cloud of smoke from her nostrils forcing Twilight to step back.
If we keep this up she’ll end up hurting herself more than what she already is. I can’t just let her go home, she needs a doctor, Twilight thinks. “Nova, please calm down,” Fluttershy says slowly approaching them.
The crimson pegasus takes several deep breaths still cradling her foreleg. “I am not going to a hospital,” she says finally.
“You need professional help, you can’t just go home.”
“And I can’t go to a hospital,” Nova says getting back onto her hooves. She pushes her way past Twilight.
“Why can’t you get help?” Fluttershy asks. Nova stops for a moment and her ears fold back against her head. However, she continues walking without answering.
Come on, Twilight, you can’t just let her walk away. You have to do something! Twilight wracks her mind desperately to find someway to help Nova. She sighs and starts charging a spell on her horn. She hesitates for a moment, but eventually calls out to to her. “Wait, Nova… let me help you.”
The pegasus stops and groans audibly. She turns to face Twilight with a glare. “I don’t want--” Before she can finish a beam of magic shoots from Twilight’s horn and catches Nova just above the eye. Instantly, Nova’s eyes close and she falls to the ground snoring. Fluttershy gasps and rushes to Nova’s side.
“Why did you do that?” she asks quickly checking the broken wing.
“Well, we couldn’t just leave her, she clearly needs help. She would have hurt herself more if we tried force her. It was the only thing I could think of to actually get her to go to a hospital,” Twilight says coming up next to Fluttershy to see if she had hurt Nova more than before. “Let’s go get her some help.” A magic aura surrounds Nova and lifts her into the air.



It didn’t take long for them to arrive at the hospital. Twilight had opted to walk there, afraid of what might happen if she teleported the injured mare. Once they had arrived, a doctor and a few nurses had rushed Nova inside to tend to her injuries. 
Now, Twilight and Fluttershy sit in the reception area waiting to know how Nova is. Twilight checks the clock on the wall, it has been a few hours since she arrived and she has still not had much of an update asides from the news that Nova’s condition is stable. She turns to Fluttershy who is sitting on the chair next to her looking over at the doors to the recovery wing. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to, I know you have a lot of work you have to do.”
Fluttershy looks away from the doors and smiles at the alicorn. “No, no, it’s fine, I want to make sure she’s okay.”She looks back at the door, but Twilight can tell there’s something bugging her.
“Is everything alright?”
Fluttershy doesn’t answer right away, instead she takes a few seconds to think about it. “Actually, when we were out there I… I swore I saw her…” she hesitates and trails off. Before she can start again the doors to the recovery wing open and a greying stallion wearing a doctor’s uniform walks into the room.
“Doctor Stable,” Twilight perks up. “How is she?”
Stable hoofs a few papers to the receptionist and he turn to Twilight. “Lot of bruises, a couple of lacerations, a fractured foreleg, and a broken wing. She’s not in a very good condition, but she should make a full recovery.”
Twilight lets out a small sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear.”
“Agreed, but I was wondering. Do you know what happened to her?”
Twilight and Fluttershy share a glance and frown. “No, we found her like that. She didn’t want any help, so I had to knock her out with a spell to bring her here. I was hoping you could tell me what happened.”
“Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait for her to wake up before we can find out. When should your spell wear off?”
“Not too sure, can’t be that much longer.” But, she won’t tell us anything for a while… that is if she ever forgives me. Maybe Lore knows what happened. “At least she’s going to be okay.”
“If you want you can go see her,” Stable offers.
Twilight shakes her head. “No thanks, I think I should go get Lore, he’s a friend of hers.”
“Uh, I think I should go with you too,” Fluttershy says.
“You don’t want to stay?”
“Oh, uh… no, I think she’s going to be alright now that she’s here, and I would like to talk with you actually.”
“So, you’re both leaving?” Stable asks. 
“Looks that way,” Twilight says. “Sorry for just leaving like this, but I think her friend has a right to know. But, if she wakes up could you come tell us?”
“I’ll be sure to inform you the instant she wakes.”
Twilight gives him a smile and nods. She heads out the door quickly followed by Fluttershy. They head out into the cold air, and start going toward Ponyville proper. Twilight looks around, but no one else is walking on the path between the hospital and Ponyville. She looks up at the sky which is fully covered in clouds.
Looks like it’s going to snow soon, Twilight thinks. A cool breeze rushes past sending a shiver down her spine. Yep, going to snow.
“So, you wanted to talk to me about something?” Twilight asks after a few minutes of walking in silence.
“Oh, uh, yes… back in the forest I saw… does she... “ Fluttershy shakes her head and takes a deep breath. “I was wondering if she could have had an accident. Maybe we found her in the forest because she crashed into a tree.”
No, that’s just her way ‘home’, she thinks adding mental air quotes to the word. “Could be, but why wouldn’t she want to go to a hospital then? I don’t know, I just want to be sure.”
It doesn’t take long before the two are walking between the buildings of Ponyville. Everypony gives them a friendly greeting as they walk past. Soon, they are that Lore’s aged house. Twilight knocks on the door, she waits a few seconds but hears nothing inside.
“Uh, I don’t think he’s here,” Fluttershy says from off to the side. Twilight turns and finds Fluttershy looking at a sign hanging in the window. She sighs and walks up to it.




Gone to the Snowbound Republic
On family business. Will return in a week




“Of course he’s gone,” Twilight sighs.
"What now?" Fluttershy asks.
"I don't know, I guess there's nothing else we can do but head back and wait for her to wake up."
They hear the sound of hoofsteps behind them. They turn to see nurse Redheart standing behind them. Her usually well kept mane is a little frazzled and she has a bruise under her left eye. She frowns at them. "Your friend woke up."