Recovery
The Study of a Winning Pony
Chapter 14: Recovery
I woke up and couldn't see out of my right eye.
A cold fear gripped my heart, and I jerked into a sitting position. Confusion, pain, and disorientation swept over me as I failed to recognize where I was. The room was unfamiliar, its white walls and vinyl flooring alien and sterile to my senses. My breathing came in ragged gasps as I tried to remember how I came to be here. My head stung with pain, furthering my disorientation and difficulty gathering my thoughts.
I instinctively reached with my magic, but found that I couldn’t draw on it. My fear quickly devolved into a panic. I was blind in one eye, and I couldn’t use my magic! I found myself struggling against the blankets that held me in place on the bed.
A pair of hooves pressed down on my shoulders from my blind side pushed me back down. I struggled against whoever was pushing me, but I felt weak against the hooves, and the painful pounding in my head sapped my strength.
“Miss Twilight, please calm down,” an authoritative male voice called out. “Everything’s alright. You’re safe.”
I placed my hooves over my face, wanting to curl up and cry. My heart raced. Where was I? Why couldn’t I see? What was this pain from? Why couldn’t I use magic?
I wasn’t sure how long it was before I realized I had been sobbing into a pillow, feeling a hoof rubbing at my back. Utterly drained despite just waking up, I took in a long breath, I collected myself. Memories, if jumbled and disjointed, from the previous night came back to me. The disastrous trainwreck of a night out with Cloud Kicker, the encounter with Sticks and Stones ... I felt sick as everything came back to me and my hoof drifted to where I had been slugged. Bandages covered my face around my cheek and my eye.
“Are you all right?” asked the stallion from before. I turned to see a unicorn with a light brown coat wearing a doctor’s jacket. I realized I must be in the hospital.
I nodded and immediately regretted the motion because it made my head hurt. I leaned my head back onto my pillow and covered my good eye to block out the painful sunlight.
The doctor leaned closer to me and spoke quietly. “How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?”
“Thirsty,” I managed to get out. “Head hurts.”
“Let me get you some water.” The doctor telekinetically poured some water into a small plastic cup from the hospital room faucet and offered it to me. “I’m Doctor Feelgood, by the way.”
“Um, thanks.” On reflex, I tried to grip the cup with my own telekinesis, but then was stopped short by some sort of block. I tentatively reached up to find a ring of metal wrapped around the base of my horn.
The doctor gave me a friendly smile. “It’s just a magic inhibitor ring, Miss Twilight. Standard procedure to put one on a unicorn who’s been admitted, so you have nothing to worry about.” I let out a patient sigh and gripped the cup carefully with my hooves and drank. Even the lukewarm water felt good to my parched throat.
He was, of course, right. Any number of things could go wrong with injured, scared, sick, drugged, or disorientated unicorns and their magic. It was simply safer both for patient and hospital staff to place inhibitor rings, like the one I was wearing, on every unicorn admitted to a hospital. Princess Celestia had even arranged for Ponyville Hospital to possess a higher-grade adamantine inhibitor ring in the event I had a medical emergency. A normal inhibitor ring likely wouldn’t be enough to contain my magic if I really pushed for it.
I rubbed my forehead, my hoof brushing up against the bandages covering the right side of my face as I tried to gather my thoughts through the haze my headache was causing. I concentrated in order to think through my situation logically before speaking. “So ... what happened? How did I get here?”
Doctor Feelgood gave me a reassuring smile. Cynically, he probably had a lot of practice at it. “You were brought in by Life Flight during the middle of the night. From what I heard, you and a couple friends of yours were accosted by the lake.”
“Right. So, um...” My hoof found its way to the bandages over my eye. I felt a terrible pit in my stomach as I remembered the hazy fear from the previous night. Memories of lying on the ground hurt, bleeding, and blind came back vividly. “H-how bad i-is it?”
The doctor gently pulled my hoof away from my eye and down to my side. “Let me double-check your chart.” He levitated a clipboard from the end of the bed and started looking it over. “So here’s how it is. When you were brought in, your cheek was lacerated, your cheekbone was broken, and there was major swelling along the cheek and eye socket.” He flipped to another sheet on the clipboard. “Further examination determined that you had suffered a concussion and— probably most worrying—a detached retina.”
My heart clenched at the diagnosis. The world felt like a distant background as the weight of what I was being told pressed down on me. Logically, I knew that being hit by Stones like that hadn’t been good for me, but to have it all laid out in stark terms was another thing entirely. I felt myself shaking as my already shaky nerves frayed. My eye had been hurt, badly by the sound of things. What if I was blind in it, or my vision was at least severely hampered? How would that affect my ability to read? One of my private fears was that I would somehow become blind and unable to read. That was a bit silly considering I could always learn how to read with braille, but it wouldn’t be the same.
“Don’t worry. You’re alright now,” the doctor said reassuringly. “We started treating you the minute you came in, and we identified the injuries you sustained. We used some ice and magic to bring down the swelling, close the laceration, and heal your cheekbone. Any scarring you might have will likely be covered up by your coat. We also healed the damage from the concussion.” He looked up from the chart to give me an amused smirk. “It seems you have some very important friends; a specialist was flown in during the night from Canterlot to work on your detached retina.”
I had to wonder exactly who had heard about my injuries so quickly from all the way in Canterlot. The list of likely suspects wasn’t particularly long, though it was a bit disquieting to know that my life was being that closely monitored. Part of me wanted to mull that over, but it felt secondary next to the idea of my eye being injured.
“S-so is my eye…?” I couldn’t bring myself to finish the question.
“The specialist said that the surgery was a success.” The doctor looked at the chart again and frowned. “Though she was concerned by what looked like previous trauma to your right eye. She’ll be back in Ponyville in a couple of days to remove those bandages and give you a thorough eye exam to make sure everything is fine. Be careful with it in the meantime. It’s a sensitive organ, after all.”
I nodded slowly, taking in the information I was being given. “I’ll keep that in mind. So my eye is going to be fine?”
The doctor’s paternal smile returned. “That’s what I’m reading right here.” He tapped the clipboard for emphasis. “Though the bandage is going to have to stay on for a couple of days—doctor’s orders. It’s been magically enchanted to expedite healing and protect your eye from irritation.”
I let out a sigh of relief. I was going to be able to see. Most likely, anyways. That was no small bit of good news. “Thank you. That’s good to hear.”
“Just doing my job.” Doctor Feelgood levitated the clipboard back to the end of the bed. “Though you really do need to take better care of yourself. I’ve seen your medical file, and it’s big enough to fill its own drawer in our office.”
“I’m not that bad am I?” The doctor gave me an incredulous look.
Sure, I had gotten a bit beat up over my lifetime. Especially over the last couple of years. There had been all the bumps and bruises from the night Nightmare Moon returned, and then there had been the broken bones and other injuries from trying to study Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense. Then I had gotten thrown around during the incident with the hydra. Winter Wrap Up had not been a kind day. Nor had Discord’s return been at all pleasant. Then I had run myself ragged when I had a minor freakout over being late on that friendship report.
On reflection, maybe I could stand to take better care of myself.
“I’ll keep that advice in mind,” I replied, giving the doctor a generic line I’m sure he had heard a million times by this point in his career.
“Right.” Doctor Feelgood took a couple steps towards the door. “In any event, it looks like you’ll be in good enough shape to check out of the hospital later today. That said, I would really prefer if you stayed with friends or family for the next day or so in the event there are complications. You did receive quite a bump there. A few of your friends have been waiting for you. If you’d like, I could send them in.”
The thought of seeing my friends instantly brightened my mood. “Yes, I would really like that.”
The doctor nodded and opened the door to my room. “I’ll tell them that you’re awake and ready to see them.”
I didn’t have to wait more than a couple of minutes before it felt like a stampede had found its way to my room.
“Twilight!” Spike cried out as he burst into the room. Without missing a beat, he hopped onto my bed and grasped me around the neck in a hug. I wrapped him in my own hug and took a nice, long moment to enjoy my number one assistant being there. It was good to see him again after everything that had happened.
If Spike had beaten Rainbow Dash into the room, it had only been by only the slimmest of margins. Her wings twitched irritably, and her movements were swift and erratic. “Twilight! I heard what happened! Are you okay?”
I winced at the sudden noise, and I was reminded of the constant throbbing going on in my head. “Please, not so loud.”
“Sorry,” Dash said in a harsh whisper.
I was so distracted by Dash and hugging Spike that I almost didn’t see the pale yellow blur all but tackling me with a hug. “Oh, Twilight! We were so worried!” Fluttershy gave Spike and me a squeeze.
“I wasn’t scared,” Spike said, a slight quiver in his voice. “I-I was just ... you know? I didn’t want anything bad to happen to you.” He squeezed me harder and buried his face into my neck. He would probably deny it, but I felt a small pair of wet spots on my neck.
I kissed Spike on the forehead. It really was nice to have everypony there. “I’m fine, really.”
“You, uh...” Dash glanced around as she bit her lower lip. “You okay? I mean, I know you're not okay—you're in a hospital for pony's sake! But...”
I gave everypony the best reassuring smile I could through all the hugs I was being given. “The doctor said everything will be alright. There’s no need to worry.”
Dash fluttered over to the right side of my bed. “Twi, half your head is wrapped up like one of Pinkie's presents!” Okay, so she did have a point. I didn’t exactly look like the healthiest of ponies right at that moment. My headache wasn’t helping me put on a brave face, either. Magical healing could clear up the worst of a severe injury, but it still left a fair share to be healed naturally. Additionally, magical healing tended to be draining to the recipient. I could only imagine what my mane and coat looked like at that point, considering I hadn’t had any opportunity to groom myself yet.
Pinkie nodded in vigorous agreement. “It’s true! You look exactly like that one present I wrapped when I ran out of wrapping paper and had to use all the bandages in the bathroom cabinet instead!” She put down a confectionary box in front of me. “Also, I brought you some get-better cupcakes.” Opening the box, she showed me some cupcakes with frosting the same color as my mane and coat. “All for you! Though if you wanna share, you can do that too. They’re your cupcakes, after all!”
“Thanks, Pinkie.” I took one of the cupcakes and took a bite out of it. I didn’t want Pinkie to start fretting that I might not like her get-better cupcakes—then she might start doing something extreme, and I wasn’t in the mood for a big party.
“You look positively ghastly right now.” Rarity cleared her throat and looked away as she ran a hoof through her mane. “Not that it’s your fault, of course. That falls on those two ruffians who accosted you.”
Rainbow Dash let out a growl and slammed her forehooves together. “When I get my hooves on Sticks and Stones, they're going to look like one of Rarity's pincushions after Opal's gotten through with it!”
Applejack tipped her hat forward, giving a fierce look to the way her eyes shone. “Can’t say Ah would be against givin’ those two good-fer-nothins a good buck to the head. Those two were always causin’ trouble at the market. Had to tell the two of them to git every so often. The cretins even drove poor Carrot Top to tears a couple o’ years ago. Big Mac had a word with them not to do that anymore.”
The topic of Sticks and Stones reminded me of how fuzzy my memories of some of the events of the last night were. Stupid brain-damaging concussion. “What even happened to those two? I ... don't exactly remember.”
Rarity looked at me with concern. “The last I heard, those two ruffians were about to be escorted onto the next train to Canterlot by the gendarmes.”
Dash’s features contorted into a dark scowl. “They should be escorted under the train.”
Applejack went to the window and opened the blinds, causing me to blink from the sudden, painful source of light. “Ain't that the truth. Can’t say a single good thing ‘bout neither of them. Wish Ah gave those two a good buck to the head a long time ago.”
I was perhaps the last pony to ask, given what Sticks and Stones had done to me, but I had to wonder how those two had generated this much hatred towards themselves. “Are they really that bad? I’ve heard a couple stories, but they still have to be ponies, right? Not monsters.”
Rarity let out a disapproving huff. “They did cause enough trouble in my boutique one time to justify me calling the gendarmes to kindly escort them away.”
Pinkie put on a surprisingly angry scowl. “And you better believe they never tip when they go to the Sugarcube! Oh, and they called Mrs. Cake fat, which is super-not-nice. Of course she was big to carry around two foals in her tummy. Duh!”
“I saw them kick a puppy once,” said Fluttershy, disappointment mixed with a simmering anger. “That made me so upset.”
I offered Spike a cupcake from the box, and he pulled one out. “I ... didn’t realize they were quite that bad. I don’t really remember seeing them in the library.”
Applejack gave me a flat look. “Do they strike ya as the reading types, Twi?”
“Touché.” I had a hard time arguing with that.
“Should've given them a thorough plot-kicking after they called Derpy a whorse, way back when.” Dash let out a growl. “Shouldn't have let them off so easy. They hurt Twilight! If it wasn't for Cloud Kicker and Lyra, they could've—they could've even...”
Applejack tipped her hat forward as she put on a menacing scowl. “Ah'm sure the princesses will make sure those two get what's comin' to them.”
That was probably true. I didn’t like the idea of the justice system turning differently on my account, but Sticks and Stones had broken the law. Also, what would somepony think was going to happen when they assaulted the personal student of the reigning monarchs of Equestria and the little sister of the Captain of the Royal Guard? I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the Powers That Be decided to make an example of the two. At least Cloud Kicker and Lyra were okay. From the sounds of it neither of them had been hurt anyways.
“Twi...” Dash’s wings fluttered open and closed and she ground her hooves into the floor. She seemed caught halfway between wanting to fly off and wanting to break something. “What about the eye? How bad is it? Why’s that ring on your horn?”
“It’s just a magic inhibitor.” I pointed to said ring on my head. “It’s keeping me from casting anything while I’m at the hospital. They’ll take it off when I leave. And the hospital has already dealt with the concussion and detached retina so—”
Dash’s eyes went widened. “The what?” she yelled aloud enough to make me worry that every pony on the entire floor had heard.
“That’s awful!” Fluttershy reaffirmed her hug right as it looked like she was about to stop... Not that I was really complaining. It was nice to get some comfort from my closest friends after what I just went through. Especially from Fluttershy and Spike.
Spike looked up at me in horror. “Are you gonna be okay?! Please tell me you aren’t blind!”
I drew Spike into a tighter hug while raising a hoof to Dash in a calming motion. Multitasking comforting the ponies around you is almost surprisingly difficult. “There’s no reason to worry. A specialist came to Ponyville and cleared it up. I only need to wear these bandages a few days to be on the safe side.”
“But it’s detached!” Dash said, sounding panicked. “It’s your eye! I-it can't happen to you ... not to you too!” She looked like she was on the verge of hyperventilating.
Fluttershy let go of her hug and walked over to Dash in order to give her a wing hug. “Rainbow Dash, please, calm down. Acting like this won’t make Twilight feel any better.” She nuzzled Dash to try and calm her down.
“I just ... her ... her eye ... can't...” Dash all but collapsed onto the side of my bed, forcing me to scoot aside to give her room.
I felt a great deal of concern for my friend as I watched her eyes water and Fluttershy try and comfort her. I wondered why she was becoming so upset over this. One would think I would be the one most upset over my injury. Sometimes the world didn’t make sense.
I put my hoof on Rainbow Dash’s to reassure her. “Hey, like I said, it’s going to be fine.”
Dash looked up at me, wiping at her eyes. “You promise that you're going to be okay, Twi?”
I smiled warmly at her. “I promise.”
“Good, you just focus on getting better, Twi.” Dash snapped out of her state of melancholy and gave me a look of fierce determination. “Once you’re back up to snuff, I'm going to teach you how to defend yourself properly.”
I felt a twinge of annoyance. It wasn’t like I wasn’t capable of defending myself if I had to. “I think I have some idea of how to take care of myself, Dash.”
I could have taken care of Sticks and Stones pretty easily if I hadn’t been sucker punched. I hadn’t really even considered the two of them to be much of a threat. Maybe going up against the likes of dragons, hydras, Nightmare Moon, and Discord just made it hard for me to consider a couple two-bit bullies in a small town as serious threats.
Dash pointedly looked around the hospital room. “Oh yeah. Totally getting that. Nah, you're learning how to fight, not just relying on your magic for everything.”
Rarity hummed to herself as she gave me an appraising look. “I do have to admit, there isn’t anything wrong with a lady being able to take care of herself in a pinch.”
I let out a groan of irritation and rubbed my forehead. “I'm not going to talk you out of this, am I?” Once Dash got an idea in her head, it was notoriously difficult to get it back out of there. Nopony just told Rainbow Dash what could and could not happen.
“Not. A. Chance.” Dash fluffed my pillow and straightened my sheets. “By the time I'm through with you, you'll eat lightning and fart thunderbolts. ‘Sides, you could use the exercise.”
I felt a flash of irritation towards my friend. “First, ‘lightning’ and ‘thunderbolts’ are synonyms for massive electromagnetic discharges. They’re the same thing.”
Dash waved my complaint off. “I know that. He-llooo, Ponyville weather manager here. It’s just a cool saying.”
I fixed Dash with an annoyed scowl, not bothering to answer her reply. “And second, what do you mean I could ‘use the exercise’?”
“Just ... y'know.” Dash gently prodded my belly. “Sedentary lifestyle kinda catches up with you.”
I slapped Dash’s hoof away. “I'm not fat!”
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity let out a huff. “You simply do not comment about a lady's weight. It’s unseemly.”
“You're not! I didn't!” Dash looked around the hallway to see a number of mares giving her looks ranging from unhappy to scowls. “You just have a bit of a ... y'know. Pudge.” She moved her forehooves together, leaving a small space between them. “Tiny bit.”
Fluttershy placed a hoof on my shoulder. “I think you look fine.” She then looked me up and down like she was checking the health of one of her animals. “Though everypony can always stand to be a bit healthier by getting more exercise.”
Fluttershy may just have passively told me that I needed to lose a bit of weight. That hurt a bit.
I decided to move the conversation in another direction. I knew Dash meant well, but I wasn’t so sure I was wild about the idea of whatever she had in mind for self-defense training. She never did anything by half-measures, and if I wasn’t careful I could find myself wrestling bears or some other ridiculous thing. Maybe she would just forget about this if we talked about something else. Also, for the record, I’m not overweight. I am within statistically acceptable ranges for height and weight according to the Equestrian Department of Health.
“So, the doctors say they're going to let me out of the hospital soon. They just want me to stay with family or friends for the night in the event of complications.” Spike looked up at me with aghast horror when I mentioned that I might end up with more problems with my eye. “The unlikely event of complications,” I amended, giving Spike another hug. “We’re just playing it safe.”
“If you say so, Twilight,” Spike said, still clearly worried. “I just want you to be safe.”
With Dash’s spirits now back to normal, Fluttershy turned to nuzzle Spike. “Don’t worry, the doctors are making sure Twilight will be all better, and we’re here for her too.”
Dash bit down on her lower lip. “Well ... you're not allowed to have any complications. So there.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “I'll keep that in mind. But really, I’m ready to get out of here.” I slid off the bed onto shaky hooves as my legs got used to supporting my weight and blood flowing in them again. Dash and Fluttershy were on either side of me before I knew it, ready to support me.
Fluttershy carefully pressed her body against mine. “Now, be careful. We don't want to see you get hurt again.”
“I can walk, really.” My legs still felt shaky as I took my first steps, but I managed to keep from falling over at least. “Just need to stretch my legs a little bit.”
Dash’s body tensed, no doubt ready to move in an instant should I start falling over. “Easy there, Twi ... s'not a race.”
I gave Dash an amused smirk. “You of all ponies are saying that something isn't a race?”
Dash’s wings twitched slightly. “Well, it's not. You are hurt! And you can't use magic, and you only have one eye. A three-year-old is probably better off than you.” Her mouth curved up into a shaky grin. “I'd be more than happy to beat your purple plot in one, once you’re better.” Dash hopped off of the bed. “But not before you're completely better, you don't want to make your injuries worse.”
“C’mon, sugarcube.” Applejack stood next to me to give me support. “Let’s get ya out of here.”
Rarity gave the green hospital smock a disgusted look as I took it off. She had never been a fan of the aesthetics of Ponyville Hospital. “Yes, we simply must get you to the spa. It doesn’t look like your mane has been properly groomed in a day or two. Trust me, in a couple of hours you will feel like a new mare, and you can put all that late unpleasantness behind you.”
Upon reflection, I did feel a little grimy. “I could just go home and take a shower. No need to do something elaborate.” Though there were practical problems with cleaning myself with this bandage on my head. I would probably have to do something like put a shield up over half my head so that I didn’t soak the bandages through.
Rarity shook her head. “I insist, we simply must take you to the spa. You are in desperate need of some pampering. My treat.”
Dash grinned at me. “I could get a rain cloud, drench ya, and then give you a Rainblow-Dry.”
“Absolutely not!” Rarity’s eyes widened in horror. “I saw what that did to Twilight’s mane last time you did that. You are simply not going to inflict such a horror on her again.”
I made my way towards the door before my friends could come up with any other ideas. “Let’s just get out of here.” I had been to the hospital enough times to get a good impression of it, and I did not find it to my liking.
“We really should think about who you're going to be staying with tonight, Twilight,” Rarity said, following me along with everypony else. “Those were your doctor’s orders, after all.”
I considered objecting to being treated like a child who couldn’t take care of herself, but it was likely an argument I wasn’t going to win, given my injured state. I hadn’t gotten a good look in the mirror, but I was going to guess I looked like—well, a pony who had just gotten her face beaten in. Also my head hurt too much to really want to get into an argument. Compliance sounded like it would just hurt less in this case.
Spike placed a claw on my shoulder, staying at my side as we made our way to the hospital front desk. “Hey, I can take care of her just fine.”
Rarity smiled at Spike—a smile that probably sent the little dragon’s heart aflutter. “I know, Spikey-Wikey, everypony knows you’re so mature for your age”— Spike swooned at the compliment from Rarity —“but having an extra pair of hooves on standby will probably be for the best. Better safe than sorry, yes?”
“I guess so,” Spike said less confidently. “I just want Twilight to be alright.”
“Don’t worry, Spike.” I leaned down to nuzzle him. “I’m going to be fine, honest.” I really did feel bad about worrying him. He didn’t deserve to be scared like this. I could only imagine how awful he had felt when he first heard the news.
“You can stay at my home for the night,” Rarity said. “I've got the room, and it isn't far from here.”
“She can come to Sweet Apple Acres too,” Applejack said, inserting herself forcefully. “We’d be more than happy to treat Twi to some hospitality.”
Fluttershy wrapped a wing across my back, and it felt nice to be comforted by the gesture. “I wouldn't mind if Twilight stayed at my home.”
“Our friend was hurt just last night,” Rarity objected. “Surely neither of you want us to drag her all the way out to your homes when we have other options.”
“I suppose my home is a bit too far away.” Fluttershy scrapped a hoof along the floor. “I don't want Twilight to get tired when she's already hurt.”
Dash shot in front of everypony making us all stop in the hallway. “Hey, my place is the safest. Nothing can touch her up in the sky! Plus it's way more awesome.”
“And how do you expect her to get up there?” Rarity asked. “Twilight doesn’t have wings, you know.”
“I can fly her up! Duh!” Dash started hovering to make her point. “Besides, she's a lightweight!”
Rarity was forced to sidestep as an orderly tried to get past all of us. “Really, Dash. Do you think now is the time to be jostling her around?”
“Oh yeah?” Dash crossed her forelegs in front of her chest. “How long will it be until you’re jabbing her with pins, trying to get her to try on a new outfit?”
“She would be my guest!” Rarity narrowed her eyes at Dash. “I wouldn't put the darling through more than she's ready for. Really, the best thing for her right now is rest and relaxation.”
Dash nodded smugly. “Right, and I've got the most restful and relaxed place ever!”
Applejack fixed Dash with a skeptical frown. “Are ya saying mah home ain't relaxing? Because there’s nothin’ more relaxing than a day on the farm.”
Dash gave Applejack a flat look. “Three words: Cutie. Mark. Crusaders.”
Applejack looked ready to snap back with a reply but then closed her mouth as she thought over the mention of three of the noisiest fillies I had ever known. It wasn’t exactly a secret that their clubhouse sat right on Applejack’s farm. “That's a good point.” Dash beamed a confident smile at her friend giving in. That was the thing about being the Element of Honesty, Applejack usually found herself agreeing whenever somepony else made a good point—at least as long as her stubborn streak hadn’t kicked in.
Rarity’s ear flicked with annoyance. “I just don't want her to be jostled around any more than she already has been.”
I supposed I could have mentioned that I could just teleport to Dash’s house if need be, but I really wasn’t in the mood to jump into this argument. I had other things on my mind as I walked up to the front desk of the hospital and requested whatever paperwork they needed me to sign. I really wanted to get the inhibitor ring off my horn, at the very least.
“I can be careful,” Dash pouted. “Ya think I wouldn’t be careful with one of my best friends ever?”
Rarity let out an exasperated huff. “I’m saying no such thing. Besides, there are other practical matters to consider. Do you really think Twilight is in any state to be casting spells? And somepony is going to have to cast the cloud-walking spell so that she doesn’t fall through your floor the moment you let go of her.”
Dash pursed her lips as she thought that point over. She looked over to me as I finished up the hospital’s paperwork. On reflection, going back to writing with your mouth after using telekinesis to write is very awkward. I hadn’t really used my mouth to write since I was a little filly, and my mouth-writing had gotten sloppy. I probably should have just had Spike write for me. He’s good at transcribing, though it would be terribly awkward to announce my medical history to everypony within earshot.
Dash carefully nudged me in the shoulder as I put the paperwork down on the desk for the nurse to pick up. “So ... how’re you for casting spells, Twi?”
“I should be able to cast spells just fine,” I said neutrally, trying to not sound like I was taking anypony’s side. “Probably not going to be fun with this headache, but I can manage.”
I was just happy when the nurses at the desk unlocked the inhibitor ring form my horn. I felt a wave of relief when it was slid off. Those things always made me feel like I was wearing a skintight suit over my entire body. They didn’t hurt to wear, but they were uncomfortable for me.
Dash’s wings snapped to her sides. “Well if it’s gonna hurt you ... then you can stay at Rarity’s, and that’s that.” I detected a hint of anger in her tone, but it might have been her way to deal with technically ‘losing’ the argument on where I would be staying for the night. She never took losing in any manner well.
I decided it might be best to give Dash a little something to make her feel better. “Thanks for thinking about me, Dash.” I nuzzled her lightly on the cheek.
Dash’s cheeks turned red, and she shuffled in place. “Yeah, well ... you’re pretty cool, Twi. And I don’t like seeing you hurt ... because you’re my friend.”
As we all left the hospital, I felt a slightly painful twist in my stomach that reminded me of some biological needs that had been badly neglected. “Girls, could we perhaps get something to eat? I haven’t really eaten anything since yesterday.”
Dash flew forward to hover a little bit ahead of the group. “Gotcha. Lunch is on me.”
“Now Ah wouldn’t mind paying a couple of bits for a meal.” Applejack nudged me on the shoulder. “You don't worry about anythin', Twi.”
Dash flew up into Applejack’s face. “Hey! I can pay!”
Fluttershy inserted herself into the budding argument. That is to say, she stood to the side and spoke slightly above a whisper. “Let’s not fight. We can all pool our bits for Twilight’s meal.”
“I already offered to pay for trip to the spa, so if you really want to, all of you can pay for the meal,” Rarity offered.
Pinkie hopped around us as she happily chirped, “Can we go to Sugarcube Corner? Or that one sandwich shop? Or that place with the great salads?”
I smirked and shook my head as my friends argued over who would pay and where to eat. My friends could be silly ponies sometimes.
After a meal and a trip to the spa, I was feeling much better than when I had woken up. Not perfect by any means—I did have my face broken the previous night—but much better. We finished up the evening by heading to Rarity’s boutique. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie made their goodbyes outside of the boutique, saying they each needed to return to their respective work. Spike was riding on my back, having hardly left my side the entire day. Everything must really have scared him even more than I realized.
I was mildly surprised to see Fluttershy staying behind. She looked embarrassed as she scraped a hoof along the ground. “Rarity, Twilight? I hope you wouldn’t mind if I stayed too. I know a lot about how to care for a pony who’s sick or hurt, and I just want to make sure my friend is nice and healthy.” Fluttershy puckered her lips in a distressed pout as she looked at Rarity.
Big surprise, Rarity immediately caved. It was nearly impossible to turn down Fluttershy when she was in a caregiver mood. “Of course you can come in. I can hardly think of a pony better suited to care for one of her friends. As long as Twilight if fine with you coming in too.”
I didn’t even wait for Fluttershy to turn her gaze to me. Even assuming I wanted to say no, I doubt I could have summoned the will to tell her no. “I don’t have a problem with that.” A potential problem immediately came to my thoughts. “Will we have enough room for all of us, Rarity?”
“Of course,” Rarity chimed. “Sweetie Belle is with my parents right now, so the guest bed is available as long as you two don’t mind sharing, and I still have Spike’s basket here from the previous night.” Rarity opened her front door for the rest of us to enter her home. “Come on in everypony. Make yourselves comfortable.”
I smiled at Rarity as I passed through the doorway. “Thanks for letting me stay at your place.” It wasn’t really necessary, in my opinion. Likely my friends were fussing over nothing, but being stubborn about it, especially when it would have contradicted the instructions of Doctor Feelgood, wasn’t likely to be productive. I did write that friendship report about being stubborn when offered help by one’s friends that one time.
“It really is thoughtful of you,” Fluttershy said as she entered the boutique.
“Yeah, the most thoughtful, generous, kind, beautiful pony ever,” Spike swooned.
Rarity chuckled and closed the door behind us. “Think nothing of it.”
Spike let out a yawn and blinked his eyes a few times. Fluttershy cooed and looked at Spike with concern. “Oooh, do you need a nap?”
He let out another yawn. “I’m fine, really.”
“It’s quite alright if you need some rest,” Rarity said. “You’ve been up ever since you heard about what happened last night.”
Hearing that Spike had been up because of what happened to me made me feel more guilty than I already had. He really didn't deserve to be hurt on account of me.
I nuzzled Spike. “Come on, let’s get you to bed. Nothing wrong with a little nap.”
Spike leaned against the back of my neck and laid his head against it. “Alright. I just wanted to be with you, Twilight.”
Rarity rubbed Spike’s back. “Don’t you worry about that. Your basket is still in the guest bedroom—the same room Twilight and Fluttershy will be staying in.”
As was usually the case with my pint-sized assistant when he got tired, Spike was quickly losing his struggle to stay awake. We made our way to the guest room, and I gently placed Spike in the basket at the foot of the bed. I made sure he was comfortable and pecked him softly on the forehead before we all quietly departed back downstairs.
Rarity smiled warmly at me as she led us to the kitchen. “He really does care about you. Seeing him worried and wanting to see you above anything else nearly broke my heart.”
“I just had to give him a hug to try and make him feel better.” Fluttershy looked up at the ceiling where the guest bedroom was, her tone maternal and caring. “He was so strong for being just a baby dragon, but he really needed somepony to comfort him.”
I couldn’t meet Rarity or Fluttershy’s eyes as I thought about Spike and what he must have been put through when he heard that I had been hurt. “Yeah ... I’m really sorry that happened to him. He’s too good to be hurt like that.”
“Darling, you aren’t blaming yourself for what happened are you?” Rarity stepped to press her shoulder against mine. “It’s not your fault those ruffians assaulted you. Those two always have been and always will be bad eggs, and that’s the truth of it.”
“I know that.” I tapped my forehead. “Logically, anyway. It’s just ... I don’t know.”
Rarity nudged me towards the kitchen table with her shoulder. “How about you sit down and make yourself comfortable, and we can have a talk once I fix some tea?”
“Alright.” I let Rarity lead me to her table and sat down. “Sorry for being a downer right now. I’ve just been through a lot.”
The meal and trip had helped me get over the general stress of the previous night, but now that the initial comfort of a warm meal and hot bath had worn off, I was left with a bone weariness. A good-sized portion of me just wanted to find a hole to crawl in and pull a rock in over my head.
Fluttershy wrapped a wing across my back, and her gentle squeeze made me feel more relaxed. “It’s alright. We understand, and we’re here for you.”
“Yes, no need to apologize.” Rarity nodded at Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, dear, would you mind pulling something out of the cabinets to snack on while I prepare the tea? Anything you pick would be fine.”
“Of course.” Fluttershy gave me a final squeeze with her wing before doing as Rarity asked.
I sat silently at the table while Rarity and Fluttershy made tea and placed some crackers and cookies onto a plate. I wasn’t in much of a mood for small talk, and I fell so far into my own thoughts that I jerked when Fluttershy put the plate on the table with a small clatter of ceramic on wood.
Fluttershy tilted her head as she looked at me. “I’m sorry. Did I startle you?”
I quickly shook my head. “No, it’s fine.” An uncomfortable silence fell between us when Fluttershy sat down at the table. I felt like I should have said something, but I wasn’t sure what. Instead, I found myself looking at the table again.
Rarity levitated over a trio of cups to place in front of us. “There, now drink up. You don’t want to let it get cold.” I took a sip of the tea, and Fluttershy did the same. It had a lemony taste to it that wasn’t too bitter to enjoy. Rarity always did have good taste for tea. “Now, why don’t you tell us what’s on your mind? I can tell just by looking at you that something has been bothering you all day.”
“I don’t want to bother you with my problems,” I said reflexively. I didn’t really like talking about my own problems. It always felt awkward to me, and it felt like I was venting at the ponies that mattered to me.
Rarity took a slow sip of her tea before speaking. “Please, we’re your friends. If you can’t talk to us, then who can you talk to?”
Fluttershy placed a hoof on one of my own, and I felt an aura of comfort coming off my friend. “We want to help you. Even if it’s just us giving you a listening ear. You’re always helping us, and we want to return the favor.” She gave me the type of smile that could melt the heart of an ice wolf—the ones made of actual ice. Fluttershy would probably feel terrible for killing something with kindness and a smile, upon reflection.
I pushed aside ideas on how Fluttershy’s deep-hearted kindness could be weaponized to address how best to answer my friends. I rubbed at the back of my neck, feeling profoundly uncomfortable. “It’s been a long couple of days. Weeks actually.”
Fluttershy wrapped her wing around me and she squeezed me gently, encouraging me to continue without saying anything.
I rubbed at the good side of my face. “It’s this project with Cloud Kicker. It has me completely strung out.”
“How so?” Rarity ask, her tone concerned.
I let out a long breath. “I don’t know ... I don’t understand Cloud Kicker.” I struggled to find the right words to convey what I wanted to say—how I wanted to say it. “When I first met Cloud Kicker, I figured she was just some small-town nymphomaniac. She was always making some pass at me, making some lewd joke, or something along those lines. I figured I was going to have to deal with her for a couple days, write my report, and then send it in and forget about the whole matter.”
I shrugged, the words starting to flow out easier now that I was getting started. “I’ve worked with ponies I haven’t liked before to do school projects of one kind or another. Fellow students that were lazy, hadn’t studied, hadn’t done their part of the work, didn’t come to group meetings—pick a problem you could have with a partner for a project, and I’ve dealt with it. I thought it would be the same with Cloud Kicker. Only instead of somepony who was lazy, stupid, or had the punctuality of sleep-deprived sloth, I was dealing with a pony who was going to spend the entire project hitting on me.”
Rarity pursed her lips as she considered what I had said thus far. “I’m detecting a ‘but.’”
“But...” I shook my head. I hadn’t worked out most of these thoughts for myself, much less well enough to express them to anypony else. There was so much I was thinking about that I wanted to get out there, but it was all blocking a single doorway somewhere in my brain.
Fluttershy nuzzled me tenderly. “Take it slowly if you need to. We have all evening to listen.”
“Thanks.” I closed my eyes and rubbed at the side of my head. “She’s annoying, but more complex than I originally thought. One minute she seems like a one dimensional sex-maniac, and another she shows a level of depth I didn’t know about. Then she flips back again. I can’t seem to stick her into one neat category like I can with most ponies, and it’s frustrating.”
“I can imagine so, by the sounds of it.” Rarity took a sip from her tea. “It may be that Cloud Kicker is a pony you will never get along with. Everypony has other types of ponies that give them trouble.”
Rarity might have had a point. It could very well be that Cloud Kicker was a pony that I simply couldn’t get along with. I liked to think I was easy to get along with, but I suppose even I had limits. Shame that sounded like a lame excuse in my heart. It seemed like things would be a lot easier if I could just use logic instead of letting emotions get in the way of my thinking.
Fluttershy bit down on her lower lip and looked between me and Rarity. “Cloud Kicker can be a complex pony. She’s not a bad pony, she just ... makes bad decisions sometimes. Everypony does.”
“Cloud Kicker more than most, it seems,” I scoffed. Fluttershy winced at my negative reply, and I felt a pang of guilt. Fluttershy always liked to think the best of ponies. I suppose that shouldn’t have been surprising, given she was the Element of Kindness. I’m sure she had made an honest shot of trying to think of something good to say about Sticks and Stones at some point. “Sorry, I don’t mean to sound mean, but I’m completely strung out at this point.”
Fluttershy reached out and started rubbing one of my shoulders. “It’s okay. You need to get this off your chest, and we said we wanted to listen to you. Please continue.”
It did feel good to talk about this, even if it felt like I was just ranting about somepony else. Maybe I should have done this sooner instead of bottling everything all up inside.
I sipped my tea as I collected my thoughts. “Everything kind of came out when I got around to interviewing Cloud Kicker. We got into a bit of an argument.” I sighed. “More like I became frustrated with how the interview was going and called her out on everything she did.”
“Sometimes you simply need to tell a pony how you feel about them,” Rarity said, caution in her tone. “If her behavior was upsetting you, then you have every right to tell her to stop.”
I nodded slowly as I continued. “Yeah, that’s kind of where things get a bit more frustrating. I ended up calling her a bully, and ... to my surprise, it looked like I had actually hurt her feelings. She said that she didn’t know she was upsetting me and didn’t know why I hadn’t told her sooner.”
Fluttershy gave me a comforting squeeze with her wing. “Ponies have misunderstandings sometimes—like when Rarity and I weren’t telling each other what we really thought when I became a fashion model. It sounds like something similar happened between you and Cloud Kicker.”
“I don’t know.” I ran my hoof through my mane. “Cloud Kicker said we should try and just have a mares’ night out to clear the air a bit, and I decided to give her a second chance.”
Rarity’s mouth curved into a frown. “I’m guessing from your tone that things didn’t go well?”
I shook my head. “No, not at all. One of Cloud Kicker’s friends, Lyra, was at the place we went to get a drink and a little something to eat, and she fell back into old habits.” I shrugged. “Same old topics that made me uncomfortable came up.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Rarity levitated over the teapot and poured all of us fresh cups of tea. “That must have been so terrible for you. Sounds like Cloud Kicker made quite the mess of things.”
Fluttershy shuffled in place. “I’m sure she didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Twilight.”
I drank a bit more fresh tea to calm myself. “It was annoying, is what it was. I really don’t know what was going through her mind, and I’m afraid of what I would find even if I use a mind reading spell.” I snorted. “She was all but kicking herself when I called her out on it when we left the Sun’s Flank.” A second later I wanted to kick myself for accidently making such a lame pun. “I swear, it’s like she was made to make terrible decisions.”
Rarity dabbed at her mouth after she finished chewing on a small cookie. “Either way, you did the right thing in putting your hoof down and standing up for yourself. A lady shouldn’t have to deal with behaviors she finds intolerable. What happened next?”
I fidgeted with my cup for a moment, this whole conversation had been decisively depressing and tiring for me. “Strangely enough, that’s when we have the first real normal conversation we ever had. We talked about ... stuff. Everyday type of things.” I snorted. “Turns out she even likes history.”
Fluttershy smiled at the more positive turn in the conversation. “See? Almost everypony has a good side if you give them a chance to show it.”
“I suppose.” I leaned a bit into Fluttershy, finding some comfort in the contact with my friend. “I had to dig pretty deep to find anything good about Cloud Kicker, though. Learned some other stuff I never knew about her too.”
Rarity’s ears perked. “Oh, like?”
I shook my head. “Sorry, it’s personal stuff that I don’t think is my place to talk about.” I felt a twinge of regret at telling Rarity ‘no’ when she gave me a pouting frown, but I really didn’t think Cloud Kicker would like me to talk to just anypony about her insecurities with her family and Rainbow Dash. Her desire to be one of the Elements of Harmony in order to please her family felt a lot more personal than most of things we talked about.
Rarity pouted a bit more before nodding her head. “If you say so. Please continue.”
I found myself wringing my forehooves together despite myself. As unpleasant as some of my interactions with Cloud Kicker had been, it wasn’t nearly as bad as what came next. “We kept talking. Lyra caught up with the two of us and we talked some more. That’s when Sticks and Stones showed up.”
I felt a variety of emotions when I thought about the incident the previous night: anxiety, fear, and pain all made me feel like I had a pit in my stomach. Fluttershy pulled me closer into a wing hug, helping me to continue. “I’m pretty sure the two of them had been drinking. They kept throwing insults at us and being the two rudest ponies I’d seen in a long time. Stones ended up hitting me when I took my eyes off of him. That’s when the fight started.”
“Oh, Twilight.” Fluttershy nuzzled me, and I nuzzled her back. “You must have been so scared.”
“Yes, absolutely dreadful.” Rarity slid over so that she could also hug me. “What a couple of brutes.”
I melted into the embrace of my friends. I guess even heroes of Equestria need ponies to lean on occasionally. “Honestly, I don’t know what would have happened if Cloud Kicker hadn’t been there. She’s the one who ended up beating the two of them up after I had been given a concussion. I ... couldn’t do anything. That was the worst, the feeling of helplessness. I-I’m used to being able to do something when something bad happens. Not lying on the ground hurt when ponies are in trouble.” It was becoming hard for me to see through blurry eyes. Stupid tears.
Fluttershy gently shushed me like a mother would her child. “It’s okay. It’s all over now.”
I let my friends comfort me for a while. I didn’t really want to talk anymore for a bit, and they didn’t push me. I have amazing friends.
After however many minutes had passed where I cried myself out, Rarity pulled out a napkin and started rubbing at my good eye to wipe away my tears. “There, now you have that out of your system. Don’t you worry. You’re safe now that those two are behind bars, and I severely doubt they will be getting out anytime soon. I’m sure your mother will be happy to hear that you’re alright. I met her once, you know.”
That little revelation startled me. “Wait, you met my mom?”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you?” Rarity threw the napkin away in a nearby trashcan. “Fancy Pants introduced us. She’s such a regal and kind mare. Really, Twilight, I didn’t know your mother was a duchess.”
I blinked a couple of time, too stunned to make a quick reply. “I, uh, hadn’t ... really mentioned it.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “A duchess? Wow, that ... makes her a pretty important pony, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, indeed.” Rarity got that faraway, dreamy look about her whenever the topic of Canterlot or nobility came up. “It’s the highest title in Equestria, short of princess.”
I felt my cheeks start to warm at the topic. The status of my parents wasn’t exactly something I had wanted to talk about. I didn’t want anypony to treat me differently just because I was a noble. “It’s not a big deal, really.”
Rarity grinned and waved a hoof. “Don’t be so modest. We all figured you had some noble blood in you. But really, a duchess? How fascinating.”
One of my ears twitched. “Wait ... you knew I was a noble?”
Fluttershy smiled apologetically. “We kinda guessed.”
Rarity put a reassuring hoof on mine. “Well of course we all but knew, dear, what with your mannerisms and speech patterns. And of course there is the fact you were educated by the Princess herself. I just didn’t know you belonged to one of the most important families in Canterlot.”
I covered my face with a hoof and groaned. I had thought I had done a little better at hiding what I was. “I just ... didn’t want to get treated differently. You know? I wanted to fit in with everypony.”
Rarity slowly lowered my hoof from my face. “Now, don’t be like that. You’re a wonderful mare, and the fact you are the daughter of a duchess doesn’t change that in the slightest for any of us who are your friends.”
“Exactly.” Fluttershy hugged me again and that helped relieve some of the stress I was feeling. “Just because we know you’re a noble doesn't change that you’re one of our very best friends. Besides, almost everypony in Ponyville already figured you were a noble. So it’s not going to change anypony’s opinion of you if they find out for sure.”
I took a moment to breathe and think things through. Apparently, I had done a hideously poor job of hiding that I was a noble. In hindsight, I probably should have seen that I would have some trouble doing so. I hadn’t exactly been trained as a spy or anything like that, and I had lived most of my life in Canterlot. Even after living in Ponyville for a couple of years, a lot of my Canterlot mannerisms still showed through pretty heavily, and I wasn’t inclined to drop many of them just because I moved.
So if what my friends were saying was true, then even if everypony in Ponyville knew I was a countess, it wasn’t likely to change much of anything. That was encouraging, given how much I wanted to fit in with everypony in town.
I squeezed Fluttershy back. “Thanks for saying that, girls. It means a lot to me that me being a noble isn’t going to change anything.”
Fluttershy slowly broke the hug and smiled warmly at me. “Don’t worry about it. Nothing is going to change us being friends.”
I nodded and then sighed as I remembered what our original conversational topic had been. “Still have to figure out what to do about Cloud Kicker, though.”
Fluttershy looked away for a moment before nodding, seemingly to herself as far as I could tell, before putting a hoof on my shoulder. “I think you should take the chance to get to know the real Cloud Kicker. I know that your two have gotten off to a rocky start, but I know that she is a good pony. It’s just that it’s hard to see sometimes.”
“I don’t know.” I let out a long sigh and took a sip of my tea. “It doesn’t really seem like it would be worth the trouble.”
Fluttershy stared at me for a long moment. When she spoke, it was in a quiet but firm tone. “Trust me, Twilight, one of the biggest regrets you can have in life is to not have given a friendship the chance it deserved.”
I gave Fluttershy a firm look. “This seems to be really important to you, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy looked away from me and wrung her forehooves together. “I don’t like seeing ponies not getting along. Especially when I think they could have been friends.” She looked up at me with a concerned frown. “I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but can you try to get along with her?”
“I’ll think about it.” In the end, I probably needed to talk to Cloud Kicker about where we wanted to take our relationship, the research project, and everything else next time we met.
Rarity poured a little bit of honey into her tea. “If you do choose to continue to meet with Cloud Kicker, then don't be afraid to put your hoof down with her if she offends you.”
That was a bit of advice I could readily agree with. “I think I’ll do that. It seems like a lot of the problems that came between us were due to poor communication.”
Rarity gently patted my own hoof. “And usually the only way to fix that is to start talking. Sometimes these things don’t work out, but sometimes they do. The only way to know for sure is to try.”
“Thanks, both of you. I’ll consider your advice.” I really did feel better to have gotten all of that off my chest. I definitely should have come to my friends sooner. Hindsight is annoying in how it brings perspective to all our mistakes.
Rarity smiled. “But really, talk to us if you have any further trouble with Cloud Kicker or anything else. We’re your friends. Now, was there anything else you wanted to talk about?”
I thought about it for a minute, and one particular conversation point I had with Cloud Kicker did stand out—that of me potentially having a half-sister. But there were far too many emotions and facts for me to consider before I was really ready to talk about it to my friends. Not after everything else that had happened.
I looked down at the table, my cup taking my attention as I thought. “Nothing else, no.”
Fluttershy wrapped a leg around my own. “If there’s something else bothering you, then you should talk about it.”
I shook my head. “No, I ... I don’t really want to talk about it right now.” Rarity and Fluttershy each looked like they were about to say something, but I kept talking. “I need to talk about something with my parents first. I’m planning on going to Canterlot for a few days. Being away from everything will probably help me clear up my head anyways.”
Rarity pursed her lips as she considered me. “If that’s what you feel you need to do, then I encourage you to do so.”
Fluttershy smiled at me. “We just want you to be happy.”
“Thanks.” I let out a breath, a bit relieved that my friends weren’t going to push me on that particular topic. I think I had talked enough about what I was feeling for one day. “Do you two mind if I turn in for the night? It’s been a bit of a long day.”
Rarity stood up along with me. “No, of course, not. Let us see you to bed.”
“It’s not necessary, really,” I said.
“Please, it will make us feel better.” Fluttershy did the sweetest smile imaginable, one I don’t think anypony could say no to.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alright, alright, I’m not going to argue about this.”
It’s good to have friends that care.
The rain fell on my face, but it couldn’t hide the tears.
It’d been ... Celestia. How long? Hours, now? Days? I ... I didn’t know. I didn’t care. It felt like years since I’d even smiled. Just a little while ago I’d been so happy. We’d all been so happy. I felt so alone, even with everypony around me.
I wanted my mom.
She held me close, occasionally nuzzling me or wiping my muzzle with a hoofkerchief. I knew she was trying to be strong, but it felt like she needed me as much as I needed her. She hadn’t let go of me once the whole time, in spite of the wheelchair that kept getting in the way. Mom was there for me, and she couldn’t make it better.
Shiny stood on the other side of me, trying so, so hard to keep a steady face. Mom reached over me, stroking his back. I don’t know if he didn’t feel her, or if he just didn’t want to feel her. He looked like he was trying to not feel anything. He was losing that battle; I didn’t miss how he heaved a little more, or took a little longer to calm back down every time he heard me sniff.
We’d gathered in front of one of my family’s mausoleums—a large, marble structure packed in with the other mausoleums and crypts that filled the Canterlot graveyard. It was quiet, so quiet ... I could barely hear Dad over the quiet dirge of raindrops on stone and grass. I don’t know what he’s saying to the other ponies here. ‘Comfort,’ ‘move on,’ and ‘love.’ Hollow words.
They didn’t make it hurt less. It hurts, Daddy. It ... it hurts.
I couldn’t watch. I couldn’t look away. Dad stopped talking, and the pallbearers brought the too-small casket to our family’s crypt. Shiny whimpered as stone ground against stone.
The rain fell on my face, and it couldn’t hide the tears.
I woke up with a start. A nightmare—that’s what I told myself. It had only been a nightmare. Shame that didn’t keep the sobs from starting as the familiar terrible sense of loss came over me. I hated feeling like this over something that had happened so long ago. Time had only dulled that pain that clutched at my heart. I curled up on myself as I tried to push the old memories the nightmare had dredged up.
Fluttershy rustled from the other side of the bed. “Twilight, is everything alright?”
I couldn’t give her an answer as I tried to pull myself together. I didn’t want her to see me crying like this.
She sat up, and I felt her pull me into a hug, her wings wrapping around me. She felt like an island in the middle of a storm at sea. I nuzzled my face into her shoulder and cried into it. She gently shushed me. “It’s okay. I’m here.” She slowly lowered the two of us to the bed, still holding me in her embrace. “Just let it all out.”
I did, exhausting myself before drifting off back to sleep.
I slowly woke up feeling warm and content. Much better than when I had woken up at the hospital. I didn’t even want to open my eyes, wanting to drift back into slumber. I snuggled up with the body pillow, warm and furry. That’s when my brain started remembering and putting facts together. My good eye snapped open, and I saw that I was snuggling with Fluttershy. Surprised, I jerked away from her with a yelp of shock.
Fluttershy blinked sleep away and looked up at me, confusion on her face. “Twilight?” She sat up and rubbed at her eyes. “Are you alright?”
“I’m sorry,” I said, panic working its way into my tone. “I didn’t mean to... That is ... I was asleep and last night I-I—”
Fluttershy pulled me into a hug, and I fell silent, feeling the panic ebb away in her soft embrace. “It’s okay. You needed me last night, and I wanted to be here for you. Don’t worry about it. We’re just two friends sharing a moment and giving each other comfort.”
I took a moment to steady my breathing and relaxed in Fluttershy’s hug. “Right, I understand. I was just ... startled, is all.” I also felt fairly awkward being that intimate with a friend. We were just snuggling, but it’s still on the awkward side of things.
Fluttershy slowly broke the hug. “Sometimes that happens when you wake up. Especially after everything you’ve been through. Do you want to talk about it?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s fine. I just had a nightmare, is all.”
“If you ever want to talk about it, you know who to come to.” She slid off the bed, and I watched as she stretched herself out. “How about you get a shower while I go downstairs and see what can be fixed for breakfast. I think I hear somepony downstairs already.”
I slide out of the bed also. “That sounds fine. Only room for so many ponies in the bathroom, after all.” I looked at the foot of the bed and saw that Spike’s basket was empty. He must have woken up before me and Fluttershy. “See you in a few minutes, then?”
Fluttershy nodded. “I’ll try and have something ready for when you’re done.”
“Thanks,” I called out to her as she made her way downstairs.
I made my way to Rarity’s guest bathroom and proceeded to get a shower and clean myself up. Rarity did not go cheap on bathing and grooming options, and I soon felt satisfactorily clean and groomed.
When I started making my way downstairs, I heard arguing in the kitchen. I saw Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Spike in the kitchen. Spike and Fluttershy were fixing something at the stove by the looks of it. Rarity and Dash seemed to be having words with each other, but the two of them stopped when they saw me enter the kitchen. I supposed Dash had decided to invite herself into Rarity’s home. She had a way of doing that, in my experience.
Rarity turned to me and smiled. “Twilight? We were just discussing what to fix for breakfast. Would you like some crepes and scrambles?”
Before I could answer, Dash blew a raspberry at Rarity. “Nah, haybacon and hashbrowns! Derpy went nuts for the stuff way back when!”
Rarity rolled her eyes at Dash. “If memory serves, didn't Ditzy become violently ill at the smell of haybacon?”
Dash waved Rarity’s objection off. “Yeah, but that was just morning sickness.”
Dash and Rarity looked like they were going to keep right on arguing when Fluttershy walked past the two of them carrying a couple bowls of oatmeal on her wings. She put them down on the table and flashed me a smile. “There, a nice healthy bowl of oatmeal just for you, Twilight.”
I smelled the oatmeal, and I could feel my mouth watering. “Thanks! Smells great.”
Dash gave the bowls a quick glance. “Whoawhoawhoa, where's all this coming from?”
“The kitchen.” Fluttershy nodded in Spike’s direction as he scooped some more oatmeal into a couple other bowls. “Spike and I started it up while you two were trying to decide what to make for breakfast.”
Dash crossed her forelegs in front of her chest and looked like she was about ready to object when I spoke up. “Thanks, you two. I’m really hungry.” I wanted to forestall any further arguments before they got started. Also, I really was hungry, and oatmeal sounded just fine right then.
“Well, if that’s what you really want, dear.” Rarity shrugged and sat down at the table and nodded appreciatively to Spike as he placed a bowl in front of her. I gave Spike a quick hug and encouraged him to sit by me.
“Haybacon still would have been better,” Dash grumbled. Still, she sat down at the table to eat with the rest of us.
It looked like everything was going to be alright.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today, we've learned another lesson about how friends should compromise: it's all well and good to do something for somepony in the spirit of friendship—if they're sad or hurt, friends can come together to do something for them. But sometimes the best way to help a friend is simply asking, even if you think you have a better way to help your friend, sometimes the best way to be there for your friend is just by being there for them.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle
I looked over the letter, making sure it was to my liking. It was nice to write another friendship report. It had felt like forever since I had done so. Satisfied, I made a note to have Spike send it in. Likely it was going to get sent to Princess Luna, but it would find its way to Princess Celestia in good time.
Spike and I had returned to the library earlier that day. My friends were still worried for me, but my assurances that Spike would be with me and that I would go to the hospital if anything came up convinced them to let us part our separate ways. Really, it was nice to get back into the normal swing of things in the library.
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bit of a redundancy there.
I'm still on the edge of my seat from what Twilight nearly discovered a couple chapters ago (a discovery which could've been very bad for everypony, especially if Twilight informed the Princesses)
I've only got one question on my mind now.
Will it be revealed?
(probably not)
All in all though, I really enjoyed this chapter. Please don't wait 2 and a half months to release the next one though x.x
Aw man come on, more tragic backstory? This whole shared universe has been taking a kinda annoying morose tone shift. I remember when the thing more resembled a thinly veiled Charlie Sheen joke.
Don't get me wrong, depth is good but why all the dang downers? We've got the dead Derpy stories for that...
3308225 they've been telegraphing Fluttershy x Twilight for months from where I stand.
Awesome. I look forward to the next one!
3308235
The whole Winningverse is like a TV series. Halfway through some secrets come out, get resolved, and the final episodes will invariably end up being some form of epic battle against evil.
You're currently halfway in.
Those monsters!
Well not kicking the puppy, their quite bouncy really, but I'm fairly sure that making Fluttershy upset is a capital crime.
Looks like their used to be another sibling in Twilights family presumably younger than her, I wonder what happened?
YEEEEEESSSSSSSS NEW CHAPTER. Crap it's 4 am, curse you and yer excellent story. I just had to notice this right before bed.
We won't be seeing Sticks and Stones for a while. They're being sent off to be reformed and rehabilitated.
Probably through something like this:
Wait a sec, who died? Now I'm just confused.
3308214 Um, it's been so long since I've read this story, can you remind me what discovery are you refering to?
3308502 Oh I remember the rehabilitation cube, that's too good for those bastards.
Hehe
3308235
Because how long can you actually stomach everyone prancing around happy-happy-happy all day? There's no emotional connection to something like that. You can feel /for/ the whole character, but you can't connect to their moods. There's jack for immersion with a character like Pinkie, for example - which is why many stories have her deflate at least once for the contrast and sudden connection-shock, or show her as being surprisingly deep and emotive.
Ponies got problems, life is rough from the bottom to the top. It shouldn't be hand-waved away into bouncing-prancing-happiness because shit, that's actually pretty boring.
It might be cliche to have negativity = depth, but it's still true. Having overall problems too large to really be solved, working through each day trying to chip away at the boulder on your back, striving for that happiness rather than just drowning in it, that makes it easier to connect to a character. Because typically that's what our lives are like.
3308752 it wasn't happy happy fun time, it was comedic. Now it's BS teenage, why did you sleep with so and so, melodrama with respectable problems sprinkled into the equation.
3308214
Can't seem to remember anything like that (AND I searched through the chapters, found nothing). Care to remind us?
Also, I guess the dead sibling is the pony called Amethyst Shining Armour mentioned in his letter. Looks like they are still celebrating her (?) birthday if I'm right.
Hehe, I found something that all of your editors and prereaders missed, I feel smart
“Fluttershy, dear, would you mind pulling something out of the cabinets to snack on while I prepare the tea? Anything you would be fine.”
I'm guessing that's supposed to be "Anything you choose would be fine"?
So why do I see a Fluttershy x Twilight ship coming
not that there is anything wrong with it just almost seem to come out of nowhere 
I guess that is one way to help CK get away from Fluttershy in the main story 
I so can't wait to see what CK has to say to Twilight and how they will interact after what Fluttershy told Twilight 
I WANT MOAR SOON 
if that is alright with you 
3308534>>3308856
It's a big thing in the Winningverse, involving Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Cloud Kicker. without spoiling the finer story details, there was a big fight.
Dash and Cloud got sent to Intensive Care.
This is that Flight Camp thing that Twilight nearly stumbled upon, in which two ponies got into a massive fight.
Dash got the hardest end of the stick, with permanent damage to one of her eyes.
Cloud didn't receive any serious damage, but she got scarred emotionally by the thing that caused the fight.
and for Fluttershy...well, you'll just have to read Chengar Qordath's Life and Times of a Winning Pony for that.
I'm kind of surprised Twilight hasn't connected the dots yet, but I get this feeling that she would have a full mental breakdown if she ever found out the full truth.
Honestly speaking, I have similar fears. Not being able to read would be a pretty devastating blow.
Ahh, glad to see we're taking the "magical medical care exists" approach.
Ehh, considering Spike's direct line to Celestia and that we've seen him write to her on his own initiative before when Twilight needed a little Celestia intervention, it shouldn't be too big of a surprise that Canterlot found out real damn quick that she was in the hospital.
Hah!
Rarity's boutique with Fluttershy staying over was really the best solution anyway.
Hmn, that dream. A tiny casket and mama-Sparkle in a wheelchair. Stillborn younger sibling? Could be context for Twilight's parents' lifestyle.
Fluttershy wins the chapter.
Please tell me you plan on writing out the trail?
Pinkie promises and looking at the sun through a telescope can be very hazardous Twilight.
That nightmare.. was Twilight's family burying a third child? It was hinted that Vinyl Scratch might be related via a tryst, but...
And of course, the obligatory:
[youtube=tLPbLXIdxDk]
Darn you and your teasers and cliffhangers.
I was hoping for a little more info on Vinyl being a possible sibling and all that mess. Now you go and drop in that nightmare-funeral that Twilight had, and then have Cloud Kicker show up right at the end of the chapter? *aurrgh*
Regardless, good to see that Twilight's recovering well.
I believe there's a word missing here.
Hate to be that guy (who am I kidding, I love it), but that was actually a diagnosis, not a prognosis. A prognosis would be an assessment of the likelihood and completeness of recovery, not a description of present medical indications. I only bring this up because Twilight's the narrator here, and I'm sure she would know the difference.
Good to see that Twilight's eye is gonna be ok. I wanna find out just what happens with the two who assulted her.
3309014 I thought that might be what you were refering to. I think you underestimate Twilight, if she found out about it, yeah it'd upset her, but she'd cope alright.
Am I the only one in thinking the hospital conversation was weird? Pinkie seemed to come in once with the cupcakes and then just faded out right until they were leaving the hospital when she suddenly reappears in conversation again. Seemed a little strange there.
3308235 I know what you mean. I've lately gone into these latest chapters with more getting them over with than actually enjoying them, something I hate stories turning into
3309543
I was thinking the same thing actually.
3308214
Thanks for catching that. Fixed.
3308225
I already have the rough draft of chapter 15 done, so it shouldn't take a couple of months to release. I've just had a couple slow writing months in general, but hopefully I'll be a bit faster now.
3308502
It might be interesting to explore Equestria's rehabilitation and punishment program someday. Certainly the hammer is going to be coming down on (the not so poor) Sticks and Stones.
3308772
Thanks for catching that. Fixed.
3308964
To be fair to my prereaders, 12k of words is a lot to edit through and catch everything. Also thanks for catching that, fixed.
3309106
I'll admit to that being a private fear of my own too. I think I could live without a lot of things in life if I had to, but losing the ability to read would be pretty devastating to me.
I'm of the opinion that if there is magic in a world, then the characters should darn well use it within the limits of the rules of said magic. Always disappoints me when a story treats magic as useless rather then a potential solution to life's problems. Granted, you have to be careful about magic solving all problems, but that's why it helps to have rules and limits for how your treat magic in a story.
3309236
Don't worry, I assure you that issues with Vinyl Scratch and everything will be resolved in good time.
3309418
True enough, thanks for catching that.
3309965 The magical healing thing is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. We've literally seen Zecora regrow Applebloom's chipped tooth in show with a potion (plus a few other admittedly more circumstantial examples that come to mind), and yet you still get people who think it doesn't exist. Boggles my mind.
3308752 Of course it can't be all happy happy constantly, that's a given. That's not even what I'm saying. But at this point we're approaching a complete 180 in tone. This is a Comedy/Slice of Life universe. And all the stories started that way. But now everyone's got some kind of hideous tragedy in their life. Dash and CK's nearly fatal fight, CK's mom, Twilight's romantic issues, this thing with Sticks and Stones, and now Twilight's dead other sibling (or at least that's my current assumption).
It's all starting to pile up in a giant mass of drama for what appears to be the sake of drama. Conflict can be introduced without sacrificing the tone you worked to build in the first place. If there's much more focus on all this heavy stuff, they're gonna have to add tags.
3308287 Heh. TV shows... Right. Look up "First and Ten" syndrome. Though I think TVTropes prefers to call it Cerebus Syndrome.
3308752
Negativity does not equal depth. That's not just cliche, it's trite and overly simplistic. You can have depth and be negative, but there's also a point where too much of it just gets boring or even one dimensional. Some of these latest chapters are just a slog. You can introduce serious elements into a comedy without turning it into a soap opera. At least, some stories can, but apparently not here.
Well, it's more of an issue with the main story, which has gotten into a bit of a quagmire that's compounded by the sidestories taking the same time to have their serious chapters, many of which deal with the exact same themes we just got tired of being used over there. Individually, the sidestories would probably not be hitting the point of producing such a negative reaction on their own, though some of them are overdoing it a little.
Remember when the author created the sidestories where Derpy dies and made them explicitly AU because to do otherwise would ruin the tone? That was the right decision. But at this point, it probably wouldn't change the tone much at all to have not done so.
Did Rainbow Dash use "sedentary" correctly in a sentence?
Wow, didn't expect that.
Noooo! Ponibus, not you too!
I really hope we never have to see Sticks and Stones again. REALLY hope.They are a problem, both in story, and out.
Yikes, Twilight got messed up!
Howdy there, CK! Time for more shenanigans?
Onward! 
“But it’s detached!” Dash said, sounding panicked. “It’s your eye! I-it can't happen to you ... not to you too!”
So am I the only one wondering how twilight didn't think this sounded odd?
3310362
Well, they shouldn't be doing that, because the two are distinct things. First and Ten is when Cerebus Syndrome fails.
3310788 Oh I know. Tropers sometimes conflate certain things I've noticed.
I for one just don't see what the point of giving Twi some kind of tragic backstory is. It's completely unnecessary.
I'm catching lethal doses of Twishy over here....
3310408
Still doesn't debunk my point, so I'm going to keep it. If you're having such troubles reading it that you'd go to these lengths to complain - unfollow and leave? Not only will it not change anything, it shouldn't.
3311175
You had a point other than your completely mistaken assertion that negativity equals depth and bizarre dismissal of the earlier parts of these stories as "everyone prancing around all happy happy"? Because if negativity equaled depth, then I can probably go to the local highschool and dig up reams of poetry for you that are apparently literary classics.
And I see you've fallen into the old "well, if something has a problem you should just shut up instead of pointing it out" camp. A wonderful way of ensuring nothing ever gets fixed.
As I said, it's not as bad here as the original but it is going too far with, for example, the pointless tragic backstory, the eye injury, etc., all compounded on top of eachother
3309543 Thank you!
I was thinking the same thing, through the entire chapter!
3309014 Dash also got severe damage to her nethers, making it so she won't be having kids
3312036
Well, yeah. I was intentionally not mentioning that. the only part from Dash that was need to know for any casual readers not familiar with the Winningverse in this chapter is that her eye got messed up.
Bringing up the infertility thing is a bit unnecessary.
3310660
nope.
usually Twilight is more keen than this.
3312176
To be fair, she was concussed.
Man, a whole chapter without Cloud Kicker. Thank god that's out of the way. Back to Cloud Kicker.
3310960
Second
3312755
that doesn't excuse her, due to being magically healed.
Any other universe, this would be a valid counterpoint.
But this is Equestria, a land of magical pastel colored ponies and magic in general.