It was a nice sunny day in the Everfree Kingdom. The cousins were enjoying it by playing outside until it all started going downhill…
"Whirl Wind, I don't know about this…" Fire Spark voiced in concern as they were on top of a hill in a cardboard box.
"Ease up, cuz, it's simple. We just go down the hill in the box."
"Why in a box? And is it even safe to be doing this?" Gemstone questioned.
There was random agreements, but Cotton just said, "Oh, come on, worrywarts. Let's at least try it!"
"Exactly!" said Whirl as he got ready to move the box.
The parents were having leisure time in the castle when a great shout happened.
"MOM! DAD! HELP!"
The grown-ups went into panic mode and found their children. They gasped at the sight. The kids looked awful. Screwy had bee stings all over her and Apple Jewel had poison ivy on her. The others looked rugged or to be wincing in pain.
"What in the tarnation happened to all of you?!" Applejack demanded.
"Ummm…." they said.
"Do you really want to know?" Starling inquired.
Fluttershy asked in concern, "Screwy, why do you have bee stings all over you?!"
"Because… I landed on a bee hive when our box toppled over on the hill…"
The parents gave each other weary expressions.
Gemstone then started sneezing uncontrollably.
Rarity questioned in concern while holding her daughter's forehead, "Gemstone, darling, are you coming down with something?"
"Must have been when I landed in the lake…" she sniffled.
"Landed in the lake?! You could catch ponymonia! That's it! Off to bed with you!" She led her daughter away.
Twilight addressed the other kids, "What in Equestria were you thinking?! You could have broken something!"
Whirl tried to move his wings, but cringed, "Too late…"
"And my left back hoof hurts, Mom…" Fire winced.
"And I had a hard time moving my front hoof all the way back here…" Dignity mentioned.
The parents all uttered, "Uh-oh…"
In moments, the royal physician examined all of them and came into the throne room where the parents were waiting for his results.
"They are going to be just fine. Whirl Wind has two broken wings, so they will take time to heal. The same goes for Dignity's front hoof. Fire Spark only had a twisted hoof. Screw Ball's bee stings have been put on ice, so the swelling will go down in its own time. Luckily, she was not allergic. Apple Jewel has been given calamine lotion to stop the itching. Gemstone did catch a cold and it's a good thing I got to check on Starling and Cotton Candy, too. Starling is starting to get a case of the measles and Cotton has tonsillitis."
"WHAT?!" both Twilight and Pinkie screamed.
"I am already making arrangements with Ponyville Hospital regarding Cotton's tonsillectomy."
Cheese asked, "Does she know?"
"I knew it would be best to have her parents give the news."
Pinkie told her husband, "Poor Cotton… Do you think she'll take it hard…?"
Cheese gave an unsure look.
Cotton bawled away and shouted out, "But I don't want surgery for my tonguelitis!"
Pinkie corrected her, "Tonsillitis, sweetie… and guess what? You get to have all the ice cream you want after the surgery!"
She sniffled and started calming down, "Really…?"
Cheese smiled and hugged her, "Really!"
"Well… I guess that's good news…"
Pinkie added, "Right! It'll help you take away all the soreness you'll feel! Oops… That wasn't very helpful, was it…?"
Cheese just patted his wife's back.
Over the next couple of days, the parents were trying to make things more bearable for their children. Cotton had her surgery, so she was unable to talk. Every one of the kids was bedridden and had a way to tell their parents if they needed anything.
The adults were preparing to send up eight trays as each bell or bongos made itself known.
Ding-ding, went Gemstone's tiny bell.
Rarity called up, "Your tea will be ready in a moment, Gem!"
A slide whistle sounded off next and Cheese called up, "Your ice cream is coming, Cotton!"
A bicycle bell went off and Spike shouted, "I got your comic books, Jewel! Be patient!"
Bongos were drummed loudly. Rainbow yelled up, "Relax, Whirl! Your dad is looking for a bell now. You can stop pounding on those drums."
Discord commented, "Indeed, it sounds like the natives are getting restless." But then a noisemaker filled the air and Discord sighed, "Happy birthday, Screwy."
Then two blow whistles came on. Twilight held her ears, "If you can just wait a minute, Star and Fire, your lunches will be up!"
Soarin' rushed in carrying a cow bell, "I got it! No more bongo drums for Whirl!"
RD pumped her hoof, "Yes!"
Fluttershy asked, "Now do we have everything for the poor darlings?"
Fancy counted the trays, "Well, we have eight luncheon trays."
Rarity pointed, "Seven sandwiches."
Flash gestured, "Six quills."
Applejack said, "Five comic books."
Spike said, "Four jigsaw puzzles."
Pinkie started singing, "Three magic tricks…"
Cheese caught on and joined her, "Two ice cream bars…"
Rainbow and Soarin' smirked and sang the last bit together, "And one cow bell!" They then rang the big bell, which made every parent laugh.
Whirl yelled from upstairs, "It sure is great how some ponies can sing while other ponies are dying up here!"
Then a cacophony of noises went in the air.
The adults sighed and Twilight pointed, "Come on. Let's get this over with."
They went up carrying each child's tray and entered into their room.
Rainbow set Whirl's tray in front of him. He looked it over and said, "But I wanted hay in my sandwich!"
Soarin' motioned, "Hay! That's a feast fit for a king!"
"Well… since technically I am a prince… which is not far off from…"
Soarin' gave a deadpan expression, "I walked into that one, didn't I?" He glanced at his wife, who was barely containing her giggles. He sighed, "I'll go get it…" He flew out at top speed.
Cheese set down Cotton's strawberry ice cream, "Here you go!"
Cotton's mouth watered until her eyes slit.
Her dad asked, "What's wrong?"
Cotton pointed to the top of the ice cream.
Pinkie's eyes widened, "Oh! We forget the cherry!"
"I'll get it!" he rushed out of there, but as he did, he collided with a Wonderbolt.
They groaned as they got up.
"Sorry, buddy," apologized Soarin'.
"No problem, pal. I was on my way getting a cherry for Cotton."
"And Whirl wants hay for his sandwich."
They quickly went on.
Starling lied in her bed as Twilight took her temperature.
Flash came in asking, "Still running a high fever?"
"Not seriously high, thank goodness. How's Fire?"
"He's fine. Still can't get up on his hoof, but he was feeling alright once he got his lunch."
"Good." she faced her daughter when Star asked.
"Mommy, can I have more books to read?"
"Where are the others I gave you?"
"Over here…" she pointed to the stack of books on her stand, "I finished them all."
"Already?!" her parents exclaimed.
She shrugged, "It's not my fault Mom taught me how to speed-read."
Twilight sighed and magically took the books, "Alright, I'll be back with more reading materials."
Fluttershy fluffed Screw Ball's pillow, "Is there anything else you need, my poor baby?"
Screwy's bee stings were lessening, but they were still a little sore. She replied, "Actually… there is one thing? Can I have a puppy?" she asked with pleading eyes, "It'll make me recover faster."
"Certainly!" She was about to leave the room until her husband said.
"Now wait a minute, honey. We already got her a kitten, a bear cub, a baby chick, a baby duckling, a kit, and plenty of baby bunnies! It's becoming a zoo in her room! She doesn't need a puppy!"
"Discord! I am surprised at you! How can you deny our child's needs while she is unwell?!"
"Unwell?! It was just some bee stings and they're healing fine! Screwy knows this is a perfect opportunity to beg for more pets! She's taking advantage of you! Normally as Master of Chaos, I would be proud of this moment since she is my offspring, but you're her mother, for crying out loud! Even I see that as cruel!"
"Like you did to Zecora when you were sick?" she eyed him.
He gave out a nervous chuckle.
"Besides, it's just until she is fully healed and then she has to release them back outside."
"You're sure?"
"Absolutely."
Rarity gave Gemstone her tea and then went to check on her son.
"How's your hoof, darling?"
"I wish it would heal faster. I miss walking around."
Rarity eyed her red fainting coach and thought that maybe they could use it to carry Dignity around the castle. But that was a bit much and the weight itself would not make it work. Instead, she started to baby him.
"Oh, my poor, poor sweet Dignity…" she nuzzled his head.
"Mom! I'm twelve years old now!"
"Oh, I know… but you're immobile at the moment and in a lot of pain. You need a mother's love right now to heal you."
He sighed but smiled nevertheless.
"Mommy! The itching is back!" Apple Jewel whined as she tried to control the urge to itch.
"Just hang on. I got the lotion right here!" AJ rubbed onto the red spots on her daughter.
Spike decided to ask, "Say, Jewel, is this itching worse than when we had to be summoned to the Dragon Lord?"
"It's about the same, Daddy."
"Yikes." he winced.
"At least they're getting smaller by the day. As long as you wear the lotion and don't try to scratch, you'll be better in no time!"
"I wish it was that easy…" Jewel muttered. Then she asked, "Can you hand some more paper?"
Spike smiled, "Sure kiddo. Anything you need." He gave her a stack.
"And do you think maybe you can get me some more apple juice?"
"Sure, sugar cube. I'll get it." Her mother left the room.
"And I need to check in with Twilight about finishing the duties. If you need anything, you know what to do." He eyed the bicycle bell by her bed.
"Thanks, Daddy."
Once he left, she was able to start writing since she didn't want to reveal what she wrote with her parents in the room. Dear Asher… It is Day Three here in the castle, and the poison ivy still itches like crazy! I'm getting bored out of my skull here! If I don't get some fresh air soon, my head will explode! She signed her name and then blew fire on it as it evaporated. In minutes, a new letter appeared.
"Dear Jewel: Hang in there. I remember getting the sapphire flu last year. It was tough, but I managed to get through it and you'll be able to get through this. Dragons are tough, after all. Remember what I taught you?" That caused a smile on her face as she recalled his teachings in the Dragon Lands. It was helpful and fun at the same time. She sighed fondly as she held the letter to her chest and she suddenly felt better than she had a few minutes ago.
It was late at night as the parents gathered in the throne room. They toppled to the floor in exhaustion from taking care of the kids and the castle all day.
Rainbow pointed out, "I hope the kids get better soon. I can't take any more of this!"
Twilight said, "Just a little bit longer. We can do this."
Flash said, "I really hope you're right."
The others randomly agreed.
Over the rest of the week, the kids slowly got better. When the day finally came, they met with their parents, who were looking tired.
Cotton took a deep breath and said quickly, "Oh, my gosh! I never realized how horrible it is not being able to talk! I mean I love talking so much, and when I couldn't talk anymore because my throat was so sore, it was the worst! I never want to go through that again!"
"Well, I certainly don't want to go through the measles again." said Star.
"And I never want to hurt my hoof again." said Fire.
"Me, neither!" motioned Dignity.
Whirl looked at his wings. They were out of the casts, but he still had to keep off of them for a bit. "I won't do a stupid stunt like that ever again."
Gemstone said, "Colds are the worst. Never will I jeopardize my health again!"
Screwy pointed, "And I'll stay away from bees from now on."
"No more poison ivy for me." said Jewel.
Twilight spoke, "Sounds to me that all of you learned a valuable lesson."
They nodded while saying, "Mm-hmm!"
Twilight then gave out a cough, which started a chain reaction with the rest of their folks.
The cousins uttered out, "Uh-oh…"
Cotton said, "Here we go again."