Chapters *Cough, Cough*
Another morning, of, as Fluttershy would call it, the sickies. His throat burned and hurt, his nose dripped, and, in a sick twist of fate, he found himself with a pounding headache. Every noise, every chirp, growl, bark, and flitter seemed to give him a migraine.
Didn't help that Discord somehow found that he, the god of chaos, was now reliant on a canary yellow Pegasus. Yes, he trusted her, he trusted her more than any being of order in existence. Enough to allow himself to sit in her bed, weak and defenseless.
But he did have one complaint. Why did she have to live in such a noisy, animal filled and, well, chaotic home? He knew he enjoyed the irony. But he knew he would enjoy it more when he got over the cold he decided to improve after he.... "acquired" it.
Not his brightest moment.
“Ok, open up for the train~”
However, there was some benefits. Such as having the element of kindness herself cater to his every whim. If he felt the slightest bit hungry, she would know, and, without a word spoken, have a batch of chicken noodle soup for him five minutes later.
His head started to get unbearable? She was there with aspirin, Ibuprofen, or, when it got even worse, some tramadol.
Thirsty? Orange juice or some watered down and flat sprite.
She seemed to usually know his needs before he did. Which was truly impressive. But, as his sickness progressed, something snagged.
Namely, she started to insist on feeding him. Which, if she had the use of magic, or at least hands, wouldn't be all that bad. But using her mouth to feed him was… awkward. As awkward as having to dance with Celestia on her birthday. And that mare still couldn't dance after a thousand years.
“Oh, please open up? Um, Here comes the, er…. Demonic succubus?”
He sighed as he opened up his mouth. She knew him well. Far too well. H quickly felt the offending spoon lightly jab his tongue. Fluttershy was, at most, two inches away. Far, far too close. Close enough to eat her head. Or kiss her. Or head-butt her. The jury was still out.
And, as he closed his mouth around the spoon, he suddenly realized something.
This was his eighth bowl of soup today.
“Al…. Alright. Has anypony seen my suit?”
Spitfire couldn't help but roll her eyes. Soarin was drunk.
“Du-dude, it’s on the fffan.”
As was the majority of the Wonderbolts. She felt a strange mix of exasperation and amusement in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't a common occurrence for the Wonderbolts to get time off, but when they did, be it a simple day off from training or a lull between shows, they used it to its fullest. And that usually ended in drinking. The day had, admitedly been a full one, with Soarin taking her to some fancy restaurant for some made up yet ridiculous reason. It was funny, they were engaged, have been for weeks, yet he still seemed to make badly thought up excuses to take her out, as if they weren't even a couple. He didn’t even need a reason, in her opinion, but he still insisted on making one.
This time it was that it was some festival of the un-living. On the moon.
As she sat there, watching her would-be husband make himself look like an idiot, repeatedly jumping for his suit as it span on the fan, a thought jumped into her head.
Maybe he didn’t actually want her.
It was stupid idea, of course. He was always the one to make a move. While she was reserved, yet confident, he was uninhibited, but self-conscious. He made her like him romantically, all while worrying about messing something up along the way. She originally felt that he was somewhat of an idiot. Which wasn't unfounded. After all, they had been best friends since they were born. They shared a birthday. She was older then him by five minutes. They shared a large bassinet due to a complete lack of free space in the hospital.
And yet, she was still surprised when he asked her out. He had proved to be full of surprises. When she found out that she was good at flying, Soarin, who was a weak flyer, worked night and day to match her. When she got her cutie mark when protecting a phoenix hatchling from a young dragon, he got his by saving her when she broke her wing trying to save the rest of the nest.
Her mark was a fireball, divine fury; she fought those who would take advantage of others. She was a sword.
His mark? The wings of some strange species called angels, a remnant legend of a powerful race long gone. Kindness and divine mercy. Protector of those who can’t save themselves. A shield.
They were almost literally made for each other. When he asked her out officially, instead of saying no, she found herself noticing the small, yet heartfelt smile he had.
The same smile he gave her when she was caught by him.
The rest was history.
All in all, she knew he loved her. She knew she loved him. She might not say it, but she did.
So, why did he make excuses?
Was it just a game? Or did he find himself unsure of what he felt?
She looked back over to him, and found him swinging from the ceiling fan, holding onto his suit while the rest of the Wonderbolts laughed. She felt herself smile as the suit came free, sending him fly into a nearby couch. He was still the joker she knew since childhood.
As he made his way back onto his hooves, he gave her a sheepish smile.
She pushed herself from her thoughts, and returned the smile.
He may be an idiot at times, but he was her idiot. And, even if he wasn't sure what he wanted, she was.
"Ow..."
"Stop squirming!"
"Buh it hurps!."
"Spike, if you keep moving, I'll never get this stupid thing out!"
Spike knew that this was a new low, even for him. He had done some stupid things in his life, like accepting a pet sitting job he couldn't handle, or running away from home.
"There it is!"
But this was ridiculous.
He should have just continued on his way, straight to the dentist. But no, he instead complained to Sweetie Belle about the Gem he managed to get wedged into his teeth. And, with her heart in the right place, She offered to help, and, in his infinite wisdom, he accepted it.
He didn't even know why he even considered accepting.
Wait. It might have been the concept of keeping the forty bits Twilight gave him for the dentist.
Yeah, that was definitely it.
And now, instead of walking home from the dentist, pain free, he found himself strapped in a chair as Sweetie took a pair of pliers to his mouth, in hopes of pulling something out.
He was pretty sure he had a nightmare like this once.
"Ow!"
Although he was sure that there was better lighting in his dream.
"There it is!"
He heard a light clink, and felt something pull in his mouth. He prayed to Luna that it was the gem.
"Dumb thing is slippery."
A harder tug. No dice.
Sweetie repositioned herself, and grunted.
"I think I got it this time!"
Another painful tug. And, as sudden as it happened, the nagging pain that plagued his mouth was gone.
She actually did it.
She actually helped him without something going wrong.
He whooped happily, and looked down to Sweetie Belle. "Thank you!"
But, as quick as his smile was, it was gone quicker.
"... Is that my tooth?"
Four eggs.
Two, no... One cup of milk.
One stick of Butter.
Two cups sugar.
Three cups flour.
A teaspoon of vanilla, or was it two?
No, it was one.
And, lastly, Four spoons of baking soda.
"Alright! So, Pinkie Pie, you sure you can make this cake? You know how you are with them."
Pinkie Pie looked up from the cookbook, and nodded. "You betcha! I'll make this cake, and you two can go watch that movie thingie!"
Mr.Cake sighed, but nodded nonetheless. "It's a parenting seminar. The missus thinks it's a good idea to go to it. So, Are you really sure you can do this?"
"Uh huh! Now, you go. I'll stay and bake, and frost the cakes. Now shoo!"
Mr.Cake left the room, and that left Pinkie Pie to herself. "So, let's see...."
Glancing to the book, she read the first step.
"Alright! Umm... preheat the oven to... three hundred and fifty degrees?" She mumbled to herself as she read. She quickly did as it told, and turned on the oven.
"Oh, this is gonna be easy! Next step, eh, cream together the sugar and butter? I thought it didn't need cream... Huh. Maybe it means mix? Yeah, I'll go with that."
She put the butter and sugar in the largest bowl she found, and mixed.
"Okie dokie, mix in eggs one at a time. Can do!"
She quickly grabbed the eggs, and threw them in the bowl.
"Oh yeah! Silly me, You have to take them out of the shells."
Grabbing a spoon, she plucked each egg out of the mix of butter and sugar, and cracked them open, pouring the contents into the mix.
"Alright! So, after it's mixed, umm.... stir in the vanilla, and then add the flour and baking soda, after mixing them in a separate bowl? Easy peasy."
She poured in the vanilla, and, after a short bit of mixing, moved onto the flour and baking soda. Grabbing the flour, she quickly scooped up three cups of the white powder.
"This would be sooooo much easier if I had magic...." She mumbled under her breath as she stuck her head in the flour bin again. As she pulled herself out, she found her nose starting to itch.
"Stupi....Aaaa..... sneeze....AAAaaaaa.... AAAAaaaaaaa....."
Silence.
"Wait, that's it?"
Grumbling, she sighed as she cleaned off his nose, and added the baking soda.
"Stupid almost sneeze..." She grumbled as she mixed.
As she finished, she grabbed the one thing she dreaded. The cake pan. The reason she failed so often.
"Now, I will beat you, pan!"
She quickly poured the mix into the cake pan, and put it in the stove.
"Now, how long do I have to bake?"
One quick look to the instructions told her that it would be roughly thirty to forty minutes.
"That long? Ugghhhhh..."
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After her wait was over, she opened the stove, and looked at the cake. "Perfect."
After grabbing a hot pad, she carefully grabbed the pan, and....
*Clang!*
Quickly dropped it on the floor.
"Awwww, Again?!"
She was sweating. And it wasn't because she was sunbathing to increase the sheen of her coat, nor was she slaving over a sewing machine on a hot summer's day, simply to finish a ambitious order that she accepted without thinking of the time it actually took to make it.
No, She was ruining her hair with sweat through sheer stress.
“Aww…. Come on, Rare! Is my hat done or not?”
The White unicorn sheepishly shuffled. She didn't have the heart to tell her that her hat was…. No longer with her. Literally. It was gone, and she didn't know where it was.
“Urr…. It is…. Not. Yes, Can you come back tomorrow?“ That was definitely not a lie. Complete and utter truth. It was just stolen before she could work on it.
She swore that she could feel the hard stare she got from Applejack, before it was swapped for a smile. “Was that so hard? I know y’all pride yourself with bein’ speedy when it comes to finishin' your orders and all, but you don’ need to lie to me for it. Ah will be back tomorrow or so to pick it up. See ya, Rare.”
As she watched Applejack walk out of her shop, she released the breath she was holding. After taking a few seconds to compose herself, she released a sigh. Now, all she needed to do was hunt down the thief and flay her alive. A brilliant plan, But it had one problem. She didn't know where the thief was.
After all, Rainbow Dash was hard to find when she didn't want to be seen.
But she would make do. Her only true worry was that Applejack would find Dash before she did. After all, She was warned that Dash would try this, and she did promise not to let Dash near the hat. She didn't need Applejack thinking she was too incompetent to keep a hat from falling prey to that winged terror.
She quickly put on a cloak she had hanging on a mannequin, and walked to the door.
Rarity had some hunting to do.