Legend of Silva's Gate

'Awake, young Silva...you must awaken. You are in grave danger. Death lurks nearer with every moment you lay still...you must awaken. Get up...get up.' a strange and soothing voice Leo heard from the dark black corners of his mind. Comfortable where he was, wherever this blackness was, he was content in staying and ignored the voice's pleas. 'Young Silva, you are vital to the fate of this world...you must awaken.' Leo heard the unknown voice plead with him again. Feeling the sensation of being disgruntled at being forced from a comfortable place, Leo slowly fought to regain consciousness.

As the blackness faded away, Leo struggled to get a good look around him. He quickly realized that whatever Angel had done to him, he must have been flung back deep into the forest. Glancing around, everything was shrouded in either darkness, or an eerie moonlight that easily let the imagination run wild. What was really unexpected by Leo, was the sheer silence of the forest, save for the low whispers of the wind and the fierce, distant cries of unknown animals. Sighing Leo laid his head back down on the ground, suddenly feeling fatigued and extremely sore. Irritated, he struggled to get up, but a sudden, unbearable and intense pain on what he thought was his right arm shot up and into his body, causing him to shriek in agony and collapse back upon the ground. His fall had simply made matters worse, as what he thought was his chest also exploded in pain, prompting anguished grunting to escape him. After the pain subsided, Leo came to the conclusion that he was seriously injured.

'Maybe I should have let that yellow creature help me. But I feel so...wrong.' Leo contemplated. As he looked around, he suddenly froze in shock. 'No...no HUD? Am I that badly...?' Leo thought to himself. Suddenly recalling the last moments of his altercation with Angel, he recalled seeing one of those creatures being shown to him by the cloud, eventually copying his every move. In sheer disbelief at what his brain was deducing, he looked for something to reflect his image. Finding a puddle, he fought through the burning pain in his chest to get close. His mind racing in fear, he had to force himself to peek over the puddle. When he unclenched his eyes, he found one of those pale green creatures, with vivid, jade green eyes and a yellow mane staring back. 'Oh God...no, no, no! This can't...this is imposs...!' Leo panicked, as he stared at his reflection. Unable to withstand the shock, Leo nearly blacked out on the ground again, fear of his own shape threatening to cloud his mind.

'Please, young Silva, please...ignore your state and keep moving...head west as much as you can, and you will meet a friend...please...' the voice pleaded with Leo again. Scared out of his wits, and still extremely confused, Leo obeyed the voice in his head, praying that it wasn't a delusion. Straining his body, he slowly propped himself up from the ground using his working front leg. Grunting in pain from his injuries, he forced his protesting rear legs up off the ground as well.

"Flesh and blood again...worst possible time for the universe to grant my wish...what a sick sense of humor." Leo said aloud to himself, cursing his luck. The forest around him didn't reply though, as he stood, tempering himself for the pain he was sure to come. As he started to hobble his racked and injured body through the trees, he eventually found what looked to be an abandoned path, which was severely overgrown. Breathing deeply and quickly, he continued to fight the burning in his chest that flared up every time he moved. As he wandered down the path, he figured out a rhythm that caused him the lowest amount of pain and began to follow it. Getting a little more excited, he began to move a bit faster, and stopped paying attention to the ground in-front of him. As he kept going, he was suddenly startled and caught off guard when the path ended and he found himself plummeting down a steep hill. Every bump and roll down the hill caused Leo unbearable pain, and when he finally stopped rolling, he screamed out loud for a good while. Upset, and panic setting in as he thought he heard something moving in the bushes near him, Leo strained on the last reserves of his strength to pull himself up off the ground again. 'Come...on. Please...stand up Leo, you...can do this..' Leo strained to stay alert, continuing on this unknown path through a forest he knew nothing off. After a few moments of event-less hobbling down the path, Leo's rear legs finally gave a few more feeble and wobbly steps before he collapsed, his chest searing in agony. Taking a look around before the darkness took him again, he found himself in a clearing, in which no trees covered the skies. 'I did...what I could. Whatever the hell you are...please...help me.' Leo thought, praying that his plea would somehow make it to someone who could help him. As the silence of the forest became deafening, Leo finally blacked out.

Stirring in bed, Twilight Sparkle awoke to the beautiful sound of birds singing, nesting in the branches near her window. As she opened her eyes, bright and beautiful morning sunlight flowed in from her window and illuminated the entire library in a happy glow. Twilight opened her window and took a deep breath, the smell of dew-laden grass filling her nostrils. As she stared out over Ponyville from her window and watched the early risers getting ready for another day, she was snapped out of her reverence by snoring. Giggling, Twilight turned to the lump that was occupying a small bed at the foot of her own. "Hey, Spike, time to wake up. We've got a big and beautiful day ahead of us!"

As Twilight trotted along down the main road in Ponyville (Spike riding on her back), she noticed Rainbow Dash zipping around through the sky, dispatching some stray clouds that had formed, seeing as the weather team 'forecast' today as being sunny. Twilight smiled as her friend ensured that the Ponies around town wouldn't have the sky to worry about. Continuing down the main road, many of the towns-ponies smiled and greeted the two of them as they went on their way, Spike and her doing the same in return.

"So, tell me again about this hoo..hew-man? What did it look like?" Spike asked Twilight, curiosity still bristling inside him since Twilight's return the day before. Sighing, Twilight explained what she knew for the fifth time, as she continued down the main road.

"It was a creature that stood on two legs, much like you, except it was large...much larger. If I had to guess, after observing it's movements, I would guess that it is either distantly related to Gorillas or Chimpanzees, or they could be from Divine origins. The latter seems more plausible, when considering that he didn't burst into flames from the heat of re-entry, and when he pushed against the device. And that he flew without wings.." Twilight trailed off slightly, thinking deeply about the events that had transpired before her only mere days ago. When she had heard that the soldier ponies sent out by the Princesses had failed to turn anything up in the forest, Twilight couldn't help but wonder where the Human that bolted in fright when Fluttershy approached it went, same as the other one that it seemed to be in conflict with. She had entertained the idea that it was simply a hallucination that they had witnessed for a short while on her journey back, but then she reasoned that surely the Princesses wouldn't have fallen for such parlor tricks.

"Uh, Twilight! You walked right past the Post Office!" Twilight heard Spike exclaim in her ear causing her to jump slightly, garnering a few surprised looks from ponies near her.

"Heh heh, sorry, Spike. Had my head in the clouds. The book I ordered should hopefully answer some more questions, maybe then I won't be so distracted." Twilight apologized to Spike, who laughed lightly.

"Hey, no sweat! Not like I'm missing out on anything when it happens." Spike replied calmly, as Twilight turned around and walked into the Post Office. For being in such a small town, the Post Office was awfully busy most of the day behind the counter. Twilight was told one time by the clerk that regularly served her that this particular Office often acts as a hub for parcels and letters going in an out of Canterlot, which, by the City's sprawling nature, often meant lots of work. As she approached the desk, however, she noticed that the regular clerk wasn't actually in today.

"Derpy? How come you're not delivering the letters today?" Twilight asked, also curious as to what the Pegasus was doing under the counter. When she was aware that someone was waiting for assistance, Derpy accidentally smacked the top of her head on the underside of the counter in surprise, causing Twilight to cringe in sympathy. Gripping her head and sucking in air in pain, Derpy was silent for a moment before she opened her eyes to reveal that they had gone walleyed again in a daze.

"Oh, uh, hi Twilight Sparkle. I...sorry, my heard really hurts, that really hurt...uhm...what?" The grey colored and yellow maned Pegasus asked in her daze.

"Derpy Hooves, you need to be more careful...the amount of times you smack your head mustn't be healthy." The Post Master suddenly spoke aloud from the side office, prompting Twilight to silently nod in agreement.

"Yes, sir..." Derpy had mumbled in embarrassment, blushing slightly. She stared at Twilight for a moment before she recalled what she had asked. "Oh, right! Well, Rondoletti got sick, and because I broke my wing in my last crash," Derpy turned slightly and motioned to her left wing, which was held in a confusing sling, before she continued, "instead of also being given the day off, boss put me behind the desk till I heal. Or until Rondoletti gets better..." Derpy trailed off, still in a slight daze.

"Oh, I didn't hear about your accident... but I hope you heal up quick, Derpy. And give Rondoletti my well wishes if you see her." Twilight replied, genuinely wishing for their health.

"Don't worry about us, Twilight. A little crash and pony flu can't keep us Postal workers down for long." Derpy announced proudly, prompting a smile from Twilight. "Now, what was it you needed? I think a parcel came in for you..?" Derpy asked with a sideways glance towards Twilight as she walked over to the locked post office boxes.

"Oh, yes! I ordered an updated copy of the Esoteric and Rare Creatures handbook. So it came in?" Twilight asked excitedly.

"Sure did! Looks like you owe...30 bits, including shipping." Derpy happily replied, grabbing the wrapped book and placing it under her working wing as she brought it over and placed it on a machine. Spike happily pulled 30 bits out of Twilight's money pouch for her and placed it in a chute. "Thanks for using the Equestrian Royal Post Service!" Derpy again announced proudly as the money went tumbling down, prompting the machine to print a sticker onto the book's wrapping paper. "Say, Twilight Sparkle, you wouldn't happen to have any muffins on you, would you? I've been craving some for a while.." Derpy asked in a slightly hushed voice, so that her boss wouldn't think of her as being lazy.

"No, Sorry Derpy Hooves, just some of Spike's....baked bads." Twilight replied darkly, prompting the two ponies to recall the day of the baked bads with disgust. "I'm swinging by Sugarcube Corner next though, I can put in an order and and see if Pinkie Pie can deliver for you if you want?" Twilight offered the temporarily crippled pegasus, who nodded vigorously and happily, thanking her. "Okay, I'll do that then. Have a good day, Derpy Hooves!"

"Really darling, this was so nice of you to do! I can't thank you enough!" Rarity exclaimed happily as she clung onto Rainbow Dash's back.

"Hey, I was heading into town as it was. Just thought you could use a lift, that's all." Rainbow Dash replied, looking back at Rarity and smiling. "Hey, the quickest route back to town is over Everfree forest, you okay with that?" Rainbow Dash asked, still looking at her friend.

"Of course, dear. We're in the air, and it's YOU who is flying. I feel absolute...ly...oh, WHAT is THAT?" Rarity suddenly asked with a gasp, looking at a clearing. "It's beautiful!"

"That clearing? Oh, it's awesome, has a little spring, the grass there tastes amazing, and it's really comfortable to lie there, 'cause the sun hits it all day." Rainbow Dash explained to Rarity, who 'hmm'ed to herself.

"Say, why don't we stop and rest for a little while? I brought some food with me for Gem hunting, but I finished so quickly with that last find, I never got the chance to even eat!" Rarity suggested as she gestured to her flank bags, to which Rainbow Dash happily made the dive towards the clearing. Once they approached, Rarity noticed that Rainbow Dash wasn't joking about how amazing the clearing was. "My word! This really IS amazing! The small waterfall flowing into the spring, some of the greenest grass I've ever seen, and...how did you say you came by this clearing?" Rarity asked, getting no reply but silence. Confused, she turned on the spot to see what Rainbow Dash was doing. "Rainbow Dash? Are you okay?" Rarity asked, approaching her friend, only to get no response as she stared at something wide-eyed and open-jawed. Irritated, Rarity looked in the same direction that Rainbow Dash was, only to gasp and rear up in surprise, causing her flank bags to fall off and spill their contents all over the ground.

"Really, Twilight, you mustn't worry yourself with these subjects. Princess Luna and I have no indication that the two Humans you and your friends saw two days ago are even on our planet any longer. Similarly, we have taken precautions in the case that they do turn up." Princess Celestia spoke to her star pupil softly, as she visited her in her home.

"But if what the book claims is true, Humans are actually far too fragile to even survive most of the things that us ponies do, let alone halt a giant piece of burning space debris and survive re-entry!" Twilight exclaimed, worried that the Princess somehow wasn't picking up on what she was trying to say.

"Twilight, you of all ponies should know better than to completely believe in new science that has appeared without a way of testing the findings. Humans were last seen in Equestria during the formation of the Elements of Harmony, so it is impossible to tell." Princess Celestia resorted to her pupil's love of Science. Twilight sighed and nodded, knowing that her mentor and Princess had a valid point: it really WAS impossible to tell, unless they had a large number of Humans to test. "Now, why don't you go back into town and visit Pinkie Pie? She usually enjoys your visits. Not only that, haven't you forgotten about a certain Postal Pony?" the Princess hinted, to which Twilight gasped.

"Oh no! Thank you for reminding me, Princess! I'll head over - " Twilight had begun to say to Celestia, but was cut off by a frightened cry from the sky.

"Somepony! Anypony! Help!" Rainbow Dash was heard shouting from the sky. Confused and worried, Princess Celestia followed Twilight out into the daylight just in time to see the azure mare land on the grass in front of Twilight's house hard. Panting, the two noticed that she had splotches of blood covering her body randomly. "Twilight! Princess! You have to help! Rarity and me found a hurt pegasus in the Everfree forest! There was blood all around him, and we tried to help him, but Rarity sent me for help, but I dunno, I dunno--please!" Rainbow Dash pleaded frantically.

"Twilight, go with Rainbow Dash and ensure that the Stallion's wounds and tended to as best you can. I will fetch a doctor and nurse from the nearby hospital, and I'll need a beacon to show me where the fallen pony is. Now go, My little ponies, go!" Princess Celestia shooed them towards the forest. Not wasting any time, Dash put herself into a stance that made it easier for Twilight to rest on her back, and then took off. Nodding, the Princess took off in the other direction, towards the Hospital.

"No, stop BLEEDING you! I have no thread and needle to stitch this! Ugh, Rainbow Dash, where are you?!" Rarity suddenly shouted at the forest, which unlike it's normally unforgiving behavior, mercifully replied in the form of a pony's voice.

"Rarity, all you alright? Whats going on? All Rainbow Dash said was something was wrong.." Fluttershy was heard from behind Rarity's back, causing her to turn slightly to face her friend as she exited from the trees.

"Fluttershy, come quickly! This Stallion needs help!" Rarity pleaded. A little scared by Rarity's outburst, she slowly approached until she noticed blood on the ground, and on Rarity herself. Gasping, she finally galloped over, to see a badly injured pegasus.

"Oh my! Oh, what happened!" Fluttershy asked, as she grabbed what looked to be the stallion's torn and ripped cloak that lay on the ground, tearing fabric off it and tying it tightly around the stallion's wounds.

"Dash and I found this one laying in a pool of blood when we landed here for a bite to eat. I sent her off to find help, but she hasn't returned yet..." Rarity explained, simply glancing over the beaten and gashed stallion before her.

"Can you check his breathing for me?" Fluttershy asked, her voice exuding a confidence which surprised Rarity. Quickly, she placed her ear next to the stallion's mouth and listened.

"Yes, he is still breathing, but it's so...shallow." Rarity answered quietly as she brought her head up again, realization dawning upon her that this stallion might actually die. And she would be watching the whole time as he slipped away.

"Rarity, I've done all I can. We can only wait for help now, but hes lost so much blood...if help doesn't arrive soon, he'll probably..." Fluttershy trailed off, just as frightened at the same prospect of witnessing death as Rarity was. Just as a silence was settling in, Rainbow Dash and Twilight appeared out from the top of the trees.

"Holy buck, that looks bad! But you guys did good by tying his wounds off..." Twilight commented as she approached. Silent as she looked over the pegasus, Twilight sighed and closed her eyes to concentrate. A moment later, a brilliantly purple cloud of smoke appeared out of nowhere and flew up into the air, forming a large arrow pointing to the clearing. "Princess Celestia should be here in a moment with a Doctor and a Nurse. At the moment, it's out of our hands..." Twilight trailed off. In the following silence, Rainbow Dash wandered over to the Pegasus and laid down close to him, watching him intently. As thew next few minutes crawled by, Rarity and Fluttershy had gone down to the creek to clean the blood off themselves, seeing as nothing else could be done by them. Just as the silence entered it's fifth minute, the four mares heard a strangely familiar clicking sound.

"I'm coming girls! I...got the...MEDICAL EQUIPMENT!" Pinkie Pie was heard from the air, straining as she powered her strange flying machine as it held machines from underneath itself. Just ahead of her was Princess Celestia, flying towards them as she was magicking a medical team up into the air. The medical ponies wasted no time in assessing their patient once they landed, covered completely in scrubs and shouting orders to one another. As Pinkie came in for a landing herself, Twilight and Rarity cast some magic to steady the swaying load, and to gently lay it on the ground. Once the load was safe, Pinkie, finally exhausted, crashed her helicopter machine into a tree. Twilight pulled her from the tree using magic and placed her on the ground, shaking her head.

"We're ready when you are, Princess." one of the surgeon ponies said to Celestia, who nodded and magicked them up into the air with the pegasus again. With the speed of a bullet, the group in the air rocketed off back towards the hospital. The five mares regrouped behind Princess Celestia as she watched the surgeons fly away, waiting to see if she would say anything.

"All of you must be exhausted. You girls should go home and relax the rest of the day." Princess Celestia suggested, just before she spread her majestic wings and flew after the surgeons.

All the mares were silent as they sat in Applejack's kitchen, unable to think of anything but the well-being of the fallen pegasus. Applejack had made them all hot apple cider, which most of them ended up growing cold, save for Pinkie Pie's and her own.

"Well, shucks girls. Why so down? Y'all did ensure his survival, right? Now it's in the hooves of the hospital to make 'im right again. We should be celebratin', not mopin' aroun'!" Applejack finally snapped, irritated at the dismal mood the group was displaying.

"Applejack is right, we SHOULD be happy that we helped that poor Stallion survive. I say we all go out for a night on the town!" Twilight exclaimed, bent on cheering everypony and herself up. The rest of the mares suddenly agreed and excitedly debated where they should go, save for one Rainbow Dash. As she sat on her chair, thinking deeply, she was suddenly surprised by Rarity grasping her withers.

"Dear, whats wrong? Is there something you need to tell us?" Rarity asked, concerned, as was everypony else. Rainbow Dash glanced around the room, looking at all her mare friends, and noticed that they were waiting by the door to leave. Sighing in a depressed manner, Rainbow Dash explained.

"Yeah...I...I was thinking about his wings. I know my pegasus wings really well; I KNOW when wings are hurt bad. That pegasus...I could tell he flew alot, his wing muscles were pretty well developed. Thing is though, I also noticed that he...probably won't ever be able to fly again, even if the docs work on him from dusk 'till dawn. His wings were really messed up. Messed up bad." Rainbow Dash explained, sadness in her voice. As she looked around the room, the dark mood began to settle around the room again, even beginning to effect Applejack. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned anything. You girls go have some fun, I'm going to hang around the hospital. He should...have someone near him who'd be able to understand how he is gonna feel.." Rainbow Dash said as she ushered the rest of them out, wearing a sad smile. As her friends argued about going with her, she put up her front hooves to silence them as she hovered on the spot. "No, you girls deserve a night out. I'm out somewhere special almost every night with the weather team, so I won't miss anything, trust me."

"Uhm, Rainbow Dash, let us know how he is...okay?" Fluttershy asked of her friend, who nodded before taking off into the sky and headed over the town. Glancing back, Rainbow Dash watched her friends as they began to walk down the road, chatting amongst themselves. As she neared the hospital, she angled herself down towards the ground, zipping through a solitary rain cloud, getting her a little wet. Grumbling, she bucked behind her, dispatching the cloud, and then landed at the hospital entrance, still dripping. As she walked forward, she became aware of how empty and quiet the lobby was. As the trotted towards the desk, a Nurse glanced up from her paperwork and gasped, rushing over.

"Oh my, what happened to you?" The panicked mare asked, motioning for more medical staff, causing Rainbow Dash to become extremely confused.

"Wha-? Huh? Nothing, I'm fine. What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked the nurse, raising an eyebrow.

"'Fine' means no injuries or bleeding, and you a bleeding quite a bit!" The nurse explained to Rainbow Dash, making her panic slightly and start looking herself over. When she saw the dripping red of blood coming off on various areas of her body, it hit her. Sure, most of it had flaked off, but she still hadn't cleaned herself since she tried to stop the pegasus' bleeding.

"Oh, no no! I'm fine, really! This is just dried on-" Rainbow Dash stopped, glancing back again to see more blood drip off her, "This WAS dried on blood, but I accidentally flew through a raincloud on the way in." Rainbow Dash finished her explanation. Looking at the nurse, she noticed that the mare wore an uncertain look, which was wordlessly demanding an explanation for why in Equestria she had previously=dried-but-now-wet blood on her. "I was...was one of the ponies that found that Pegasus stallion in the Everfree forest.."

"Oh, I see...so you wanted to know his status?" The nurse asked, having calmed herself quite a bit. Rainbow Dash nodded, hoping for good news to lift her spirits. The nurse walked behind the desk, grabbing a clipboard with her mouth and walked back over to the desk. "Looks like he just came out of surgery. He should pull through, but he has a lot of healing to do. Only thing is..." the nurse trailed off sadly.

"Yeah, I already figured as much...his wings are toast, right?" Rainbow Dash asked, already expecting the reply.

"...Yes, the surgeons note states that he will probably...never fly again." The nurse trailed off. She watched Rainbow Dash uncertainly as her head dropped down, and she sighed sadly.

"Could I stick in around his room? He should be at-least owed company from a fellow pegasus for when he wakes up...at-least, thats what I'd want. Someone who can empathize." Rainbow Dash asked, pleading with her eyes. The nurse closed her eyes for a moment, thinking, but then sighed.

"We don't...normally let strangers visit with patients, but...if you can at least take a shower in the staff room, I'll let it go this time." The nurse relented.

Shortly after Rainbow Dash turned the shower off and reached for a towel, the Nurse had appeared in the steamy shower room holding what looked like another set of a nurse uniform.

"This will be the only way I can get you into the room at the moment, royal guards are limiting all access to the patient as of now." The nurse explained, the news surprising Rainbow Dash.

"Doesn't risk your job if we're caught though? I wouldn't want you to go that far--" Rainbow Dash began to backpedal, eager to avoid causing trouble for the nurse. However, the nurse shook her head and placed the uniform on a bench in the shower stall.

"No, I can understand the value of having comrades. He'll need someone who can understand what he's lost. Not only that, it's terrible for someone to be alone and unable to move from a bed without more company than doctors and nurses." The nurse explained.

"Th-thank you...uhm, I didn't get your name, what is it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Healing Dawn. Cliche, huh?" The nurse asked, looking away at nothing, whilst causing a nervous smile and chuckle to escape from Rainbow Dash.

"Heh, uhh...just a little?" Rainbow Dash answered meekly. 'Pinkie Pie handles these situations best, why did I just get one?' she wondered to herself.

"What was yours?" The nurse asked in return, a happy look on her face.

"Oh, it's Rainbow Dash. I suppose you could say my name is a little cliche, too." she joked, laughing a bit. Dawn nodded and then left the room, and as Rainbow Dash dressed herself in the uniform (which she found was designed to accentuate her form, making her feel uncomfortable), Dawn went to collect some medical supplies to place on a cart for show. Once Rainbow Dash was finished, she exited from the shower room, and made her way into the hall to find Healing Dawn waiting by the cart. As the two of them made their way into an elevator, they discussed the way they would approach the soldiers. When they formulated the plan that his bandages 'needed changing' earlier than usual, due to fears that his wounds might be infected with a rare mold, they quickly became pumped when the doors opened to the intensive care floor.

"Honestly, this has to be the most daring thing I've ever done in my life. My heart it just pumping!" Healing Dawn exclaimed, causing Rainbow Dash to gawk at her as they left the elevator and walked down the hallway.

"Seriously? THIS is the most daring thing? Wow, remind me to take you with me when I hang out with my mare friends next, you OBVIOUSLY need to live a little." Rainbow Dash teased the nurse, snickering.

"Oh, you...get into trouble often?" Dawn asked Rainbow Dash, slight nervousness floating on the edge of her voice, as they rounded a corner.

"Eh? Trouble? Not...exactly. We do have some good times doing pretty tame and 'socially acceptable' things," Rainbow Dash mimicked Twilight's voice as best she could, "but sometimes it's like trouble goes looking for us, and we get into some wacky situations. Stuff always works out in the end, though." Rainbow Dash happily reminisced about the last two years since she met the other holders of the elements, smiling as she did so.

"Well, I don't get out of the hospital much, so I don't have many friends to share such experiences with. You're pretty lucky." Dawn replied, trying to hide how the admission made her a little upset with a smile, but Rainbow Dash saw through it.

"Why don't you take some time off and meet up with your coworkers? Wouldn't they be willing to take time off, too? I mean, it's not like you're a mean and nasty pony or anything, you're actually quite nice." Rainbow Dash complimented Dawn, making her smile, genuinely this time. "Heck, if you want, I can make good on my previous suggestion and introduce you to my friends! They're pretty welcoming."

"Are you...sure? I wouldn't be a burden? Oh, that is, I mean...I've never actually had many friends coming around, even as a filly. I mostly had my head stuck inside medical textbooks, so I was a bit of an outcast..." Healing Dawn replied nervously, glancing at the tile floor. Rainbow Dash simply smiled.

"Of course! You'd get along pretty good with my friend Twilight if you're into books. She lives in the Ponyville library, of all places!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. As Dawn as about to reply happily, they heard a stern male voice boom out.

"Halt! What business have you with this patient?" A large, white pegasus stallion in full royal guard gear asked them, as he and the other guard assigned to the post stepped in to block the doorway. Rainbow Dash looked expectantly to Healing Dawn to explain, but cringed when she noticed the nurse had frozen on the spot.

"Err...w-well you see..." Rainbow Dash stammered, smiling nervously at the guards as she attempted to explain their presence...