A Second Chance at Love

The Ponypox

Kuray was lying on his side on the guest bed at the back of the boutique, the covers drawn up to  chin despite the heat of the summer outside the window. His eyes were shut tight against the slight bit of light that the curtains didn't catch but it didn't help the headache that made his head feel like it was going to split in two. All and all, he felt miserable.

Sweetie Belle stood in the doorframe staring concerned at her lump of a colt friend under the covers. He coughed loudly and the room was lit up by a brilliant green flash and when it died out it wasn't the changeling she loved but princess Celestia lying in that bed. He coughed again and the same flash lit the room and then it was Rainbowdash, then Dusk, then Soarin before finally stopping on Zecora. He rolled over with a shuddering breath and pushed some of the covers back.

Sweetie Belle moved away from the door and down the hall, she hated to see him like this. She opened up the balcony door and stepped out, though she wasn't alone. Dusk sat in one of the chairs his bloodshot eyes focused on something off in the distance, his shaking forehooves curled around a cup of one room temperature coffee. She sat down in the chair next to him and tried to find what he was looking for.

"It's strange you know." Dusk's voice surprised her. "How something as simple as pony pox could bring down a stallion like Kuray. A simple ailment could bring a stallion that could move mountains to his knees." Sweetie Belle found it hard to believe herself that he had pony pox and not something so much worse. She and Dusk had both had it growing up and the only reason she remembered it was because she got to miss a few days of school. But she knew that if an adult got the pony pox it could really mess them up, like a bad flu; but the worst thing was changelings had a very different immune system than ponies, so a simple ailment to ponies was a plague to changelings. The stars had really aligned to make this as difficult as possible for Kuray.

"I'm sorry you know," Dusk said after a few moments of silence.

"What for?"  Sweetie belle replied turning her gaze to him. He looked terrible, his normally shining black coat that she remembered from school was dull and his mane was a mess, but his face was the worst. His eyes were bloodshot and sunken, his snout crooked from being broken in a bar fight and his teeth were slightly yellowed.

"For dropping out of school, for being a drunk, for fighting needlessly, for letting go of everything," he paused gulped. "For not being there," he finished.

"I don't understand." Sweetie belle said. She had hardly heard him talk since Kuray had brought him home and now he was being thoughtful which was strange.

"Kuray helped me out a number of times to keep me out of the ditch and on the good path. Hearing that he was gone, probably even dead hurt me, broke me in ways I couldn't imagine. I don't want to think about how terrible that must have been for you. I was the closest friend Kuray had next to you. We should have been there for each other."

"That was a two way street Dusk. I was hurting to much to even think about anypony else. I should have found you, but it was all too much for me. You don't need to apologize to me." Sweetie Belle said. She took his hoof in her own and he smiled for the first time in a while.

"Good to see you two are getting along." A raspy voice said behind them. Sweetie Belle shot up out of her chair at the voice. Kuray stood in the doorway, his mouth parted in a weak smile.

"Kuray what are you doing out of bed you're sick as a dog!" Sweetie Belle shouted. Dusk flattened his ears and took a sip of his cold coffee which he promptly spat over the balcony with a discontent groan.

"It's nice to have some fresh air, you two are also where all the emotions are, I'm on a bit of a leash currently." He said jokingly, though nothing about Sweetie Belle said joking right now. She noted how he was braced against the door frame for support.

"He's bored out of his mind." Dusk added into the conversation.

"Celestia save me being cooped up in that small room is driving me mad." Kuray exclaimed.

"We all have to put up with a little boredom from time to time, now back to your room." Sweetie Belle ordered.

"No," Kuray issued the challenge, doing his best to sound confident. Sweetie belle squared her jaw, her eyes making him very uncomfortable. "I'll see you later Dusk I'm gonna go lie back down." Kuray said backing out of the doorway. Sweetie Belle's face changed to a happy smile.

"Rest well dear," She said happily all of the sudden.

"Wa-pish," dusk said imitating the sound of a whip, still in his chair. "Where'd you learn that trick?"

"Fluttershy taught me," she replied.

Kuray plodded back to his room, every muscle screaming at him that the floor he was standing on was a perfectly okay place to fall asleep. He hated being sick, how his body revolted against him. He hated the feeling of weariness, the sleep tugging at his bones and the ache parlay sing his muscles and the fever sucking the warmth from his shell leaving him shivering even under several quilts. The only good thing he saw from being sick was once you recovered you came back stronger, better and the exhilarating rush of energy and adrenaline that came with it; but until then he was a skeleton.

He dragged himself into his room, surprised he had made it that far; and then he tripped over his own hooves and fell ungracefully onto the soft carpet with a soft thud. His green mane fell in his eyes, blinding him but he didn't care. "Close enough," he mumble before letting sleep take him again.