3- Cheating

        "Razor, what would your say if I told you I cheated on you..?" Okay, probably a bad question to ask one week after having a child. But guilt was eating me alive.

        "I would be fucking pissed considering we just had a beautiful child." Yeah, asking was a bad idea.

        "R-Right.." I giggled nervously, trying to play it all off as theoretical. It didn't work.

        "Go say goodbye to her- you are never to see her again or I'm taking Rin and leaving." Okay, him I could live without, but losing my brand new daughter felt.. irresponsible, in a way. I didn't want her to grow up motherless or with some other mare. I was her mother and wanted to stay that way..

        I gave a small, exhausted sigh, then got an idea. "What if she became our maid..? Or uh, you know.. " I poked Razor's side, hoping he knew what I was getting at. "Pet..?"

        He considered the idea for a minute. "Alright." No single word had ever made me so happy. I flew out of our house and straight back to where I first met Annie. She was sitting on the ground on the side of the road, waiting for me. I landed so close to her I almost knocked her over, then kissed her cheek sweetly. We'd had a few erotic meetings since the last I'd mentioned and even discovered that the stiffness of wings allows them to be slowly and carefully fed into a pony's marehood. Surprisingly enough, despite the fun things we'd done, I still hadn't so much as licked her marehood once. Any time I tried to she found some subtle way to stop me, as if preserving herself. Odd considering I'd already been wing-deep inside of her.

        "Um.. so what'd he say..?" After telling Annie I was married her reaction was a mix of guilt and anger. The reasoning behind both emotions should be obvious enough.

        "We can be together on one condition.. you become our, uh.." A delicate way to word what I was saying doesn't even exist. "Slave."

        Her expression quickly turned from shock and surprise to anger. She pushed me away with a glare that shattered my mind and heart to pieces. "A-Are you saying that.. that bastard wants t-to enslave me..? So that WE can be together..!?" She had a point. "I-I'm not bending over and doing what that jerk says.." She turned and started to walk away. Feeling an itch on my face I reached up, rubbing under my eyes. To my surprise the area was wet. I was crying. For the first time in years I felt a tear gently slide down my face, slowly but evenly. It would have been pleasant under other circumstances.

        I turned away from the mare of my dreams and took flight, not even noticing the ominous storm clouds had set forth a heavy thunderstorm. I couldn't have gotten far because as I flew I heard Annie shreak, then suddenly I was falling. I look upwards. Smoke? From my body? The realization hit me when I felt a strange heat in my wings. I'd been struck by lightning. Without notice the ground hit me in the back with incredible force. A red gush of liquid shot out of my mouth and the world went black as I heard Annie call my name.

• • •

        "How could this happen?" Annie stared at the body of her new lover lying in a bed at the hospital. It was no surprise Nevaylin was still asleep. She had been since the accident, exactly eleven months and twenty-nine days ago. The next day was going to be the first anniversary- not that it mattered.

        Annie visited Nevaylin every day, regardless of occasion. How could she not? Nopony else did, and she did grow quite fond of her while they were together. She set a bouquet of flowers next to Nevaylin's bed. Just like every other day for the past year. If you have such a great family, why don't they visit you..?

        The doctors called it a coma, but Annie knew it was more. Not only was Nevaylin stuck sleeping, but she was stuck sleeping with a broken heart. She checked the clock. Twelve A.M.

        A full year, then. It was officially the anniversary of the accident. Annie watched her marefriend breathe softly. It was cruel, she thought. That this happened. That this happened to Nevaylin. She tried as hard as she could not to blame herself, or Nevaylin. Thanks to that she succeeded and instead pinned her blame on Razor. Someone had to be responsible, even if not directly.

        Nevaylin shifted slightly as Annie stared. She shifted slightly. She shifted. Movement.

        Annie called out quickly- for every day of the past year Nevaylin hadn’t once moved or shown any sign of life at all, except for her breath. Her chest rising and falling slowly, almost unnoticeable, was the only movement she’d seen from Nevaylin for a whole year. Until now. Nurse Redheart rushed into the room and Annie explained what she saw. Nurse checked Nevaylin’s pulse among other things, and then looked at Annie sadly.

        “I’m sorry..” Nurse Redheart blushed a little. “That was a sign she may get better in the future.. nothing more.”

        Annie smiled. It was still a sign. And a sign meant the world to her, it meant that Nevaylin could still wake up from her long nap.

        Nurse Redheart eyed her curiously. “Shouldn’t you be upset..?”

        “It’s means she’s getting better.. do you know how long it could be?”

        “There’s no knowing.” Nurse Redheart smiled. “It could be tomorrow.. or it could be another long year. But we’ll keep waiting and monitoring her well. And we’ll make sure the first thing she knows when she wakes up is that you did just as much waiting and monitoring.”

        Annie yawned. She knew Nevaylin would get better. She simply had to.. if she didn’t she wouldn’t forgive herself. Nurse Redheart narrowed her eyes a little after her yawn. “You can go home.. we’ll alert you tomorrow if there’s any further change.”

        With a nod and a quick kiss on Nevaylin’s forehead, Annie walked out of the room. She navigated her way through the halls, looking into rooms occasionally. Eventually she reached one room. The door was closed but for some reason she felt compelled to look inside. Every bone in her body was against it, but something was pulling her hoof to the door. She pushed it open unwillingly and looked inside.

        Across the room was a dark corner; pitch-black, despite the new source of light flooding the room. A pair of yellow, glowing eyes stared at her from the darkness. W-What..?

        Instantly she felt her energy being drained. Her legs began to shake,  her heart rate slowed. Her mind was filled with pain and dread, a feeling of weakness overwhelming her. A tear rolled down her face and hit the floor just as something touched her side, making her snap out of her episode. A glance to the side revealed Nurse Redheart.

        “Uh, miss? Are you alright?” The nurse looked at Annie, concerned, before putting her hoof up to her head. “You seem to be getting a fever.. I suggest you go home and get some rest.”

        Annie looked back into the room, finding that the eyes have vanished. “Yeah..” She turned back away from the room and continued walking. “You’re right.. I need rest.” However, that night, her dreams were filled with images of those yellow eyes. Her mind wouldn’t abandon them or forget them. Those eyes were burned into her mind, long before she even saw them.

• • •

        “Mmh..” I felt my ears perk up and twitch a little at the sound of my own voice. It sounded different.. unfamiliar. In fact, everything felt that way, too.. my limbs wouldn’t move properly, my wings were completely numb, and my eyes felt like they refused to open. It was as if every muscle in my body was disagreeing with what my brain told them to do. With a little work, however, I eventually worked my eyes open.

        I was greeted by.. whiteness. Nothing but white. White ceiling, white walls, white light. White smells, white sounds, white feelings. I couldn’t remember anything from before I fell asleep. I worked as hard as I could, starting to sweat lightly, and got one of my hooves to move an inch upwards. “Progress..” I whispered to myself.

        Out of nowhere a blue and pink figure filled my vision, as well as two green ovals outlined in white. It was kind of startling, waking up unable to move then suddenly finding that, but finally my eyes started listening to me and I realized it was a pony. A beautiful pony.

        “H-Hello there..” I smiled, a little seductively. “Who are you-” Memories quickly flooded through my mind. Meeting Annie, the discussion with Razor, getting struck by lightning, the pain of hitting the ground.. “Oh.. hi, Annie.”

        Annie’s grin could not have possibly been wider. Her expression was full of surprise. I don’t think I’d ever seen her so happy before then; it filled me with glee. But why was she so happy, just seeing me awake?

        “N-Nevaylin..!” She put her arms around me, pulling me up into a hug. Her face pushed against my chest and a wet, warm feeling joined it. “I-I thought you.. I thought you were..” She thought I was going to die.

I giggled, rubbing her back reassuringly. “It takes a lot more than that to finish me off.. how long have I been out?”

She looked back up to me, a little bit of surprise on her face, as if she doubted that I’d ask that. Talk about unsettling. “U-Um.. well..” She stepped back and scuffled her hooves on the ground. “L-Long..”

I tilted my head a little, looking into her eyes curiously until she shifted her gaze downward, refusing to meet my eyes. Not a good sign. “How long?”

She looked back up to me, letting out an exhausted sigh. A very weak, nervous-looking smile spread across her lips and she stared at me. Was she expecting me to read her mind? To somehow know what this meant? I started to feel slightly impatient when she spoke again. “H-Happy birthday..” Her voice trailed off. “Twice..”

        Lemme just say I didn't know ponies could survive being in a coma for two full years. Plus, I didn't feel or look a day older than I did before, and I doubt they gave me the best of diets. What the hay was holding me together? Not only was I alive, but I was in good condition- just as good as before the accident.

        As if reading my mind, Annie shrugged. "The nurse said there was some strange magical force sustaining your body." How nice of it. "Do you know w-where it could be coming from..?"

        I was about to say no when I remembered. I got struck by lightning because I was going back to see my family, I was going back to see my family because I was about to lose them.. and then I disappeared for two years.

        My eyes shot open and I jumped out of the bed, managing to fall over. Graceful. I put every bit of my strength into standing. I had to get home or I might never have seen my precious daughter again.

        Annie gasped when I fell, but I didn't even notice her panic until she frantically pulled me up off of the ground and put one of her arms around me to support me. The problem? Annie didn't exactly lift weights or anything. As soon as I got any bearings from her support, she dropped me back down to land flat on my face.

This isn't going to work.. I got up again, this time on my own. My arms shaked, my knees were wobbly, but I was on my hooves- definite progress.

        As if to remind me that nothing can ever go well, though, as soon as I tried to take a step, my left arm buckled under me and I fell down on it. Ignoring the pain of my hopefully not broken hoof, I stood back up. A wave in front of my face showed my hoof wasn't broken; that's all I needed to know.

Well, okay, I also needed to know how to work my limbs; they'd been dormant for two years, it's only fair they didn't work properly. That doesn't make it any less inconvenient though. Annie's voice interrupted my efforts. "U-Um.. Nevaylin..? Where are you trying to go?"

        "Home." That is, home to my family. "They must be worried.."

        "Actually.." Annie's voice was sad, even tragic. "They moved, Nevaylin.. and nopony knows where to.."

        Great. That was just bucking great. Not only did I scare my family away, then I didn't look for them once over the course of two years. Imagine that from their perspective. I shook my head, looking straight downwards. "No.."

        Annie kept staring at me with her saddened expression. "They didn't visit you.. n-not once. You're husband didn't come or send your children or even send a letter." That made me feel tons better. I sighed.

        "R-Right.. I guess I better get used to sleeping outside again.."

        Annie blinked a few times, surprised at my words. "N-No way..!" A stomp on the ground immediately dismissed what I said. "Um.. you're staying with me at my place, okay..? I won't let you become homeless.." Her ears perked up suddenly, showing she'd realized something. "Wait, w-what do you mean 'again'..?"

        I shrugged, not even looking in her general direction. "Up until three.. er.. five years ago, I just travelled all over Equestria.. I had no home or anything." That was before I met another mare and had my heart broken, which was before I met Razor, and that was about.. three years ago. It's hard to account for two years when you sleep through them.

        Annie touched my shoulder, breaking me out of my thoughts. "W-Well you're not going b-back to that.. okay..? It sounds like it was tough.."

        It really was. Oh how many times I had been so hungry I ate whatever was in sight. How many times the hunger was so strong it made my legs feel weak and my chest hurt. And yet there was some odd satisfaction that came from it; a kind of freedom. Under the pain was joy, joy knowing I could go anywhere, talk to anypony.. And be almost completely unbound by consequences. It was perhaps the most freedom a pony can ever feel. I even missed it sometimes. But that doesn't mean it was good or healthy for me.

        "I'd love to stay with you.. how far is it?" I silently begged that it wasn't far. If it was I would've needed some stallion to carry me. Maybe Annie could pull me in a wagon; that'd be an amusing sight.

        She shrugged. "A bit of a distance.. but you can make it." Her smile was more gorgeous than ever. Maybe because it was my first time seeing it in five years.

        "Alright then.. let's get going."

        She walked out of the room, then reached back and held the door for me. I could just be sucking up but getting treatment like that was really rare for me. To thank her I gave my first kiss in two years to her.

        As our lips softly collided I pushed my tongue into her mouth. To my surprise, she didn't back away or attempt to decline my gift. Annie slid her tongue over the top of mine, back into my mouth. After at least two minutes of our frenching, Nurse Redheart poked my side. As I broke the kiss to look at her, she gave me a look of high disapproval. "Either stay here and recover more or go home, please."

        Some ponies just can't appreciate the beauty of love. I nodded at Annie and we continued on our path, getting out of the clinic. "What town am I in again?" She looked at me as I asked the question, clearly concerned. "I used to travel all over Equestria.. I've woken up in too many clinics to remember half of them, Annie."

        With an understanding smile and a small giggle, she pointed around us, gesturing to the whole town. "This is Ponyville's main clinic."

        "Ponyville.." Ponyville was a surprisingly large town. It's easy to get around and memorize, and from bird's-eye view it's not that big, but it was well-known nonetheless. Something told me this had to do with it being one of very few towns that legitimately changed seasons with no magic, and on top of that, all of the elements of harmony reside here. A small town that's grown so large. Poetic.

        I thought to myself. This is where I met her.. A rainbow-maned Pegasus passed overhead and I glanced up. Narrowing my eyes, I decided it wasn't worth it to mess with it. "Come on.. let's go." I started walking, not caring if I was even going the right way. Annie trotted to catch up, and the lack of her protest told me I was at least going in the right direction.

        We passed through the area we'd first met; close to the center of town. My thoughts were finally starting to process fully for the first time since I woke up. Feeling my legs getting tired, I waved my hoof. "Let's rest.." I sat down next to the road, not bothering to wait for Annie's answer.

        “How far away is it?” Surely it couldn’t have been too far, unless she lived right on the outskirts of Ponyville.

        “Well.. um.. we still have a w-while to go.” She answered my question with a sad smile. “I live on the outskirts of Ponyville..” Why did I even bother asking?

        “Alright, just give me a few minutes to catch my breath.” I stayed still, sitting and letting my lungs work and build up strength. Whatever magical force kept my body in good condition did a good job. The worst damage I had was all of my muscles being tired.

        I got up again, a determined grin on my face. Prideful thoughts filled my mind. I think I can make it the rest of the way without a rest.. And after a good while of walking, not only was my body used to moving again, we reached Annie’s house.

        Annie sped up her walking, opening the door for me again. “P-Please..” She giggled, blushing. “Allow me..” I won’t lie, I was tempted not to give her what she wanted as I walked through the door. Unfortunately a stronger temptation overtook my body and I once again found my lips pressed against hers. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the kiss to its fullest, then I broke the kiss, walking inside.

        “I’m awaiting the grand tour.” A giggle escaped Annie’s lips as I stood in the center of her living room.

        “A-Alright.. this is the living room.. there’s a b-bathroom upstairs, as well as my bedroom.. your bedroom is over there..” She pointed to a door leading to another section of the house.

        I forced a disappointed smirk into my expression. “So I won’t be sharing a bed with you..?” My question was legitimate and completely innocent, even though rude. A small, cute squeak accompanied an obvious shiver throughout Annie’s body. She answered, “W-Well.. if you w-want to, I guess..”

        That was all I needed to hear. I spread my wings and picked her up, flying her up the stairs and into her bedroom- or, so I thought. I ended up accidentally carrying her into the bathroom instead. Disregarding the awkward stare she gave me, I backed out of the bathroom and entered the other door, revealing a clean, rather plain bedroom with a large bed. To this day I don’t know why she had such a large bed.

        “If you don’t mind,” My voice seemed to make her jump. “I’d like to get some sleep.. those two years weren’t nearly enough.” My joke brought out another one of her cute giggles.

        “A-Alright.. I’ll sleep with you..” She blushed brightly after realizing what she said. “I-I mean, w-we can um.. sleep.. in the same.. bed..” Her voice trailed off and she buried her face in my chest. I couldn’t help smiling as I flew over to the bed and set her down on it, pulling the blanket over her body. After making sure she was snug, I flew over hr to the other side of the bed and worked myself into it, relaxing my body completely. Suddenly two warm, furry arms wrapped around me, causing me to jump. Annie closed her eyes as she rested her head on my chest, holding onto my body to keep us warm. With a genuine smile I closed my eyes, putting my arms around her as well. A gentle, happy sleep came in what felt like only a moment.