The brisk, night breeze that roamed throughout Canterlot transformed into a raging, bitter wind. The cold seeped through my bones, and for a split second, I thought I'd suffer from frostbite. The life-or-death thought vanished as quickly as it came, and I paid no attention to the cold, or to the fact that I could possibly wound up sick. I kept running. My wings had given out to my excessive weight gain—I refuse to name the appropriate and possible term—so my hooves had been given the job to take me as far away from the castle as possible. I was very aware that the guards were watching me intently, and the corner of my eye let me know that they were casting me bewildered looks. I heard their faint calls for me to come back or to stop, but I ignored them, too. Like the sudden drop in temperature and the possibility of catching that dreaded influenza, beckonings would be ignored until further notice.

I didn't know where my hooves were taking me, but I assumed I'd traveled a good mile and a half when I could barely feel them. What I wouldn't give for a pair of gloves or something. I paused to catch my breath beside a cluster of trees that matched my current mood: forlorn. That nightmare had dispirited me into believing that even if I had dependable friends, even they couldn't assist me to battle these...terrors that plagued my mind day and night. The thought, even if it was partially true, made me sick to my stomach. I lowered myself beside the trees and tucked my hooves under my chest. My wings came next. I guess they didn't want my hooves to go dead numb since they were really my only means of travel.

I felt my eyes close, and my heart skipped two beats. Was I falling asleep that fast?! Thankfully, that wasn't the case; I felt something wet slide down my eyes and target my cheekbone, and immediately knew that me dozing off wasn't why my heart jumped. I straightened my head up and roughly wiped away the tear. I wasn't prone to crying that often, and right now was no exception. I rested my head on the cold ground and instantly longed for that warm bed back at the castle—and Lucky. I yearned for his warm body to shield me from the cold, and for his gentle heartbeat to lull me to sleep when I found myself awake in the middle of the night.

But I knew I couldn't just waltz back into the castle and go back to bed. Not unless I wanted to either (1) Feel super awkward, or (2) Have to endure an endless lecture by Lucky, Maya, the Mane Six, and Princess Celestia herself. I definitely did not want a lecture from the princess, because what if she changed her mind about helping me? That would be cruel, yes, but that didn't mean the princess wouldn't be considering the idea.

My ears suddenly perked up when rushing footsteps echoed in the quiet night air. I felt my wings pop out from underneath me, and I scrambled behind the trees. My conscious told me the footsteps belonged to the Canterlot guards, but my mind was composing a different theory. I blended into the shadows and readied myself just in case I needed to make a run for it.

"Where is she?" I heard someone shout. Okay, unrecognizable voice. That was a guard.

"She might've gone that way," a second guard replied. "Alright, half of you search north, the other west. We'll meet back here in fifteen minutes—no more, no less. Then we'll switch the search up by going east and south. Got it?" There was no reply, so I imagined the guards either nodding or saluting their leader.

Another set of frantic hooves sounded in the night, and before I could compose a story about how that was just a late guard and he overslept or something, a familiar voice ordered, "Make sure you find her. I'm not sleeping until you bring her back." Lucky.

"No worries, sir," one of the guards assured him. "We'll do our best to bring your wife back."

"You better." Oh my God. The anger in Lucky's voice really threw me off guard. I guess that's how protective and caring he is of me. Wow. I can't believe I just ran out of the castle...And I can't believe I'm having these mixed emotions AGAIN!

I ran my hooves through my sweaty mane, trying to soothe my throbbing brain of all the emotions flooding into my skull. Confused, frightened, disoriented, peevish...these were the only emotions I could gather at the moment. I didn't want to think up any more feelings in fear that over-thinking would send my brain into overdrive and cause me to have a panic attack or something. To distract myself, I ventured deeper into the forest, not once thinking about any other emotion—or common sense. I pushed my way through stubborn tree branches, trekked through itchy bushes (hopefully they weren't poison ivy), and resisted letting out any signs of pain any time I would step on a sharp pebble and sharpened stick. When I felt my energy decreasing to the point where I could barely keep my eyes open, I settled in a small underbrush and tucked my wings under my stomach to warm them from the teeth-chattering cold.

I bit my tongue whenever I felt my head nodding forward, but sleep wound up conquering my efforts. It seemed like a miracle when I drifted off into a dreamless slumber, and the only sounds I could hear was the wind, the occasional hooting of an owl, and my own steady breathing. Yet all that changed when I felt a sudden thrashing in the pit of my stomach, and the trashing turned worse every second. I let out a pained scream; seven daggers thrust into my stomach had nothing on the pain I was currently in. I let out another Bloody Murder scream and was completely oblivious to the sound of running hooves in my directions.

"Zaria?!" a panicked shout screamed out.

"L-LUCKY!" I managed to get out, tears streaming down my face as I gritted my teeth. Please...stop! I thought the pain would last forever, but it only took several more seconds of it for my body to collapse onto the ground. I still felt a light trashing in me, but it wasn't severe.

Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, I heard that nauseating voice say, "Well, look at that. It's a boy!"

Author's Note

If it's short, I apologize. Just wanted to get something out for the ones who love the Our Inner Ponies series. School's been a butthead, so hopefully I can get a couple more chapters out for you guys. Thanks for being patient!

Luv ya'll!

~NYQUTIE