Ponywatching

by ThunderTempest

Prompt #81: Infectious

'Just another normal day in Ponyville,' Ditzy Doo, mailmare extrodinare thought as she strapped her bags to her sides with a sneeze. As she walked out into the cold autumn air, the sun just peeking over the horizon, another sneeze wracked her body, and a number of feathers fell off her already thin wings.

"Stupid Feather Flu," she grumbled, resigning herself to actually walking her route today. She thought that she'd been recovered enough to fly, but her first attempt at even flying to work had proven more disastrous than her normal flight habits.

At least her boss, also a pegasus, understood what Ditzy was going through, and had only given Ditzy half of her normal route to do until she could fly again. With another sneeze, Ditzy plodded off to her first destination on the north side of Ponyville. She slowly wound her way through the maze of side and back streets of Ponyville, alternating between sneezing and shaking off more feathers every few minutes.

It was mid morning before Ditzy reached the end of her route: Twilight Sparkle's new Castle of Friendship. Pausing once more to sneeze, Ditzy knocked on the giant crystal door.

"Mail call," she sniffled as loudly as she could.

"Coming," echoed a voice that sounded a whole lot like Rainbow Dash. The door swung open, and Ditzy held out the bundle of mail.

"Heya Ditz," said Rainbow Dash, taking the mail from Ditzy and tossing it back over her shoulder, "How are-you're sick?"

"Yeah," said Ditzy, "Feather flu." Ditzy gave one wing a half-hearted flap, and a whole bundle of feathers fell off.

"Okay, you are coming with me for a second," said Rainbow, swooping around Ditzy, and picking her up around her midsection, before darting off into the castle. Corridors and rooms blurred by, and Ditzy found herself dropped by Princess Twilight Sparkle's bed. Twilight herself was currently lying in bed, holding a thermometer in her mouth.

"Great news, Rainbow," Twilight Sparkle began taking the thermometer out of her mouth and looking at it for a moment, "My fever's all but gone, so I think I can officially say that I've had my first bout of Pegasus Pox!"

"Sure thing, Sparklebutt. Hey, Ditz, sneeze on her, will you?"

"What?" said Twilight

"What?" asked Ditzy, at the same time.

Completely ignoring both Twilight and Ditzy's cries of confusion, Rainbow Dash reached up with one of her wings, and began to tickle the end of Ditzy's nose. It wasn't long after that that she began to feel a sneeze building up.

"Ah...ah....ahtchoo!" sneezed Ditzy, showering Twilight Sparkle in snot. Twilight sat there, uncertain how to respond.

"I'm so sorry, Twilight but..." Ditzy never got a chance to finish her apology, because Rainbow once more gripped Ditzy, and darted out of the room, depositing Ditzy outside the castle.

"You've been a great help Ditz! I'll buy you some muffins later, ok?"

"Okay?"

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Rainbow Dash flew back upstairs to where Twilight Sparkle was still lying in bed.

"What the heck was that all about Rainbow?" said Twilight," Just getting Ditzy to sneeze on me like-" Twilight broke off, finishing her sentance in a sneeze, and sending purple feather spiralling up into the air.

"Congratulations, Twilight," said Rainbow, "Now you've got Feather Flu. More bedrest for you."

"When you said that I should get exposure to pegasus-only illnesses, this wasn't what I had in mind, Rainbow," grumbled Twilight.

Author's Note:

Written for Prompt #81: "The Healing Process..."
The prompt: One of the Mane Six is bedridden