Those Who Need A Friend

Sane woke early the next morning and looked over at his clock with hazy eyes. Four forty seven? What? No... A few seconds later he passed out again. He awoke next around seven thirty. He didn't have to be at Sugar Cube Corner until ten today and snoozed a bit, last night's events still hadn't caught up to him and his mind was still a peaceful fog.

However it wasn't like his mind to stay serene for very long and the thoughts came slowly but surely. He looked down at his leg where the dry blood matted his fur. It wasn't a lot but it still served as proof of what had happened. Surprisingly his head didn't hurt as bad as he thought but the places where he had been hit were sore.

He wasn't going to let himself get worked up, but he needed to go over what had happened now that he was calm, and had a surprisingly good night's sleep.

Did I really... Did I really hit her? I did warn her... How else was I supposed to make her leave? And she hit me... Well... She knew what I was about to do... I would have hit me too... Then again, she wouldn't leave... I should have just explained to her though. Fuck this is annoying. It's what I get though.

I knew better...

Sane shook his head and growled. No... I'm not gonna mess with her anymore, but... She didn't mean any harm... Just... She messed up... I can't take that risk though. Not again... If everypony in this town finds out about me... I don't want everypony looking at me. I can't... I won't. Just... She was only trying to help...

Thinking about this is dumb, there's nothing you can do now anyway.

Sane sat up on the bed and shook his head of the thoughts. Right now all he wanted was to get cleaned up. He forced himself to jump down from his bed and make his way into the bathroom. He purposely avoided looking in the mirror. He didn't want to see the blood on his face, he just wanted to wash it off.

He turned the nozzle and stuck a hoof in the water, stepping into the shower only when he was satisfied it was hot enough. He sighed happily when he felt the water run down his back, through his feathers and fur, and run past his hooves.

This was one of those days where he was just going to sit in his shower forever. What was it now? Seven forty somethin? Seven fifty maybe? He could easily sit there for an hour and still make it to Sugar Cube Corner with time to spare.

The water stung his bruises at first, but he held fast and eventually it became soothing. Sane shook his head, bit back a sneeze and giggled. Whenever the water ran down his snout in just the right way it always tickled. It was good to laugh, even if it was at himself. Seemed to put him in a better mood even.

After ten minutes of doing nothing but soaking in the warmth he grabbed the bottle of shampoo and stared at it for a second. “Buck it.” He popped the cap and turned it over on his head, letting it ooze all over him, down his back, through his fur, through his feathers and around his muzzle. When he was satisfied he was covered in the blue gooey substance he turned it back over, closed the cap and set it back on it's little shelf.

He ran his hooves all over himself, lathering it all in his fur as best he could, paying special attention to the areas where blood stained his fur, before grabbing the long handled scrub brush he used for his wings and back that hung on a little hook beside his soap.

“Ohhh, there it is.” He purred when the brush grazed his back, paying special attention to the space between his wings, luckily they weren't sore from when he'd hit the counter. Probably not a place to pay too much attention to. He caught himself before he even got started. “Geez, not before work Sane.” He giggled after scolding himself, hanging the brush and blushing to himself.

He was now convinced he smelled like flowers, or whatever his shampoo smelled like. Last but not least he made sure to run his hooves through his tail a couple of times to get it clean too. He knew some ponies who didn't bother to wash their tail. He was not one of them. He liked his tail.

After all was said and done, the soap washed thoroughly from his fur, mane, tail, and feathers he decided it was time to get out. First he shut the water off and shook himself to minimize the amount of water that was about to end up on his floor.

Excess water gone he stepped out, took his towel and dried himself off the best he could. Only then did he look in the mirror to inspect the damage. Relief washed over him. It wasn't that bad. Difficult to see through his fur, especially since it was wet, but still there was a good sized light brown bruise on the left side of his muzzle, and another on the right side of his head.

He explored the inside of his mouth with his tongue until he hit a sensitive spot along the top right corner of his muzzle. She'd busted that at some point during their scuffle. He shrugged it off. Definitely not the worst injury he'd ever come across.

It did sting and start to bleed a bit when he ran his tooth brush over it but nothing he needed to pay any attention too. A few rinses and gargles later and he was out of the bathroom and in his closet, where he stared down at his discarded armor. “I hate you, buuuut... You probably don't care do you?”

Once everything was fitted Sane checked the clock. A little early but he could take the scenic route. His shift was later in the day today than yesterday so a lot of ponies were already out and about. Though that might not necessarily be a bad thing.

He was a little giddy this morning, as he always was after a bad night. It wouldn't last but he'd enjoy it for the time being. He opened the door and was greeted by the morning sun... The blinding morning sun. “Geez.” He covered his eyes with his forehoof and giggled. It was a little chilly, but the sun had been up long enough to take the bite out of the frost.

Sane took the route around the library, nodding or greeting nearly everypony that cared to look his way. Not only because it was good to keep a positive appearance with the public but because he wanted to. Nopony seemed to notice his injuries, or maybe they thought it was on the job. All except the librarian... Who stared at him intently, not even returning the greeting he gave.

Once he was out of sight he shook his head. Alright then.

A few minutes later the shop came into view. There was a small crowd of ponies there, including the guard he was about to relieve who looked asleep on his hooves. He didn't even realize Sane was walking up until he punched his shoulder. “Hey.”

The guard jumped back a second, looking shocked for a moment until he saw Sane. “Oh... Sorry...”

“Tired?” Sane asked laughing.

“Yeah.” The guard grumbled. “It was a long morning.”

“Go home.”

“You don't have to tell me twice.” With that the guard was off, trotting clumsily in the opposite direction.

Sane shook his head and looked at the shop behind him... He wanted a snack, but... Didn't want to confront Pinkie again. Would she notice? He wondered. If she noticed his injuries she may ask questions. If she asked questions... Maybe she'll be to busy with other customers to notice. His stomach won over his mind and he was already trotting through the door.

It wasn't as busy as he thought, but there were a few ponies sitting amongst the shop, eating and talking merrily. There wasn't a line to wait in so he trotted up to the counter that nopony was attending. “Um... Hello?” He turned to look around but couldn't find Pinkie or either of the Cake owners.

“Hiya!”

“Huh?” Sane looked back to the counter. Pinkie was there. “How did you... Never mind” Where did you come from?

“Good morning Saney. I was waiting on you to get here.” Pinkie squeaked.

“Waiting on me? How did you know I was going to be here? I've only-”

“You've only talked with me twice here, buuuuuut you've been in here a lot. A lot of the guards like sweets... Hmm... Maybe that's why so many of them are fat.” Pinkie sat and looked down to the ground in thought.

“Fat?” Sane questioned, looking down at his belly. “Hey, I'm not fat.” Sane grumbled.

“I didn't say you were silly. I just said a lot of the guards are.” Pinkie chirped, snapping out of her trance.

Are they? Sane wondered. He hadn't been to any formations in a while, mostly because nothing had went seriously wrong and nopony important had visited in a while. So he'd only seen a few of the guards he passed by on his rounds and the ones he relieved. Then he shook his head. Who cares. “Anyway... Can I have a crescent?”

“Of course you can.” Pinkie replied but never moved. She just smiled at him.

Sane shifted awkwardly and cleared his throat. “Well?”

“Well what?” Pinkie parroted.

“I asked if I could have a crescent.” Sane repeated.

“You can.” Pinkie looked legitimately confused for a moment.

“Aren't you goi-” Then it hit him, he rolled his eyes and sighed. “May I have a crescent?”

“Of course! Coming right up!” Pinkie disappeared behind the counter.

“Didn't have that problem last time.” Sane mumbled to himself. She is weird. He decided and giggled. Before he finished the thought a small paper bag was pushed in his direction. Sane pulled the bits from a small pouch on his armor and placed them on the counter before taking the bag. “You have a good day Pinkie.”

“You have a Super one!” Pinkie replied, bouncing in place.

The only feeling Sane felt when leaving was relief. She hadn't noticed, and if she did had said nothing about it.

Relief turned to agitation when he left the store and heard angry shouting from around the corner. He looked down at the bag in sadness. I hope this doesn't become a habit. He thought, referring to the second morning in a row his breakfast would be interrupted.

Without further hesitation he dropped the bag and ran around the corner where two ponies, a stallion earth pony with gray fur and black Mane was arguing with a white furred unicorn mare with a blue mane. What they were shouting about was a mystery. Quite frankly, Sane didn't care. He just wanted them to stop.

He pushed past a couple of bystanders and approached them.

“Well maybe you ought to be a little more aware of your surroundings if you don't want to get dirty.” The stallion barked.

“Maybe you should take better care of that rat's nest you call fur.” The unicorn shot back, stomping a forehoof.

“Rat's nest? Listen here you prissy little-”

“Enough!” Sane shouted, loud enough to stop the argument and gain the attention of the crowd, the majority of which making juvenile remarks to feed the situation as Sane arrived. Idiots... They really want to see a fight. Sane thought to himself before returning his attention to the two ponies who were no more than a wing's length apart. “What is going on here?”

“Him.” Rarity replied indignantly, pointing an accusing hoof at the stallion who growled.

“What about him?” Sane asked.

“This foul pony bumped me as I passed him and now my coat has his dirt on it.” She whined. “He didn't even apologize.”

Dirt? Sane couldn't see what she was talking about. Her fur looked fine. Maybe it was the other side.

“There is nothing wrong with her fur,” the stallion countered. “I am not dirty and neither is she. I was, waaas going to apologize until she insulted me.”

“I did nothing of the sort ruffian. I simply offered you the advice of taking a shower.”

“I did,” he replied flatly.

“Last year?” Rarity countered.

“This morning.”

“With what? Garbage?”

“Enough!” Sane shouted again to shut them up. “Are either of you hurt?”

“I'm fine.” The stallion replied.

“I will be fine once my fur is clean again.” The mare stated.

Sane ignored the comment. “Then I suggest you go on with your day.” Sane said this as nice as possible while maintaining a threatening edge in his voice.

“Hmph.” The unicorn pouted and trotted away without a word while the stallion just sat there, glaring at her until she turned a corner.

“Thank you, she's crazy.” The stallion told Sane.

“Don't worry about it.” Sane didn't wait for an answer before heading back around Sugar Cube Corner.

Where his bag was nowhere to be found. He sighed, expecting something like this to happen anyway. He debated going in for another but banished the thought. Chances are something would happen as soon as he did. “Buck it.” Right as he was about to trot away he heard somepony behind him.

“H-hey.” Rainbow said.

Sane's ears drooped when he heard her voice and turned around. She looked upset, and a little worried. Sane really felt bad when he could clearly see her bruises on her muzzle and the cut on the side of her head. “Hey.” He replied.

“Here.” Rainbow held a paper bag in front of him, which Sane took hesitantly.

When he looked inside he found his crescent, safe and sound. “Thanks... How did you know it was mine?”

“I saw you drop it when you went around the corner. Sorry about my friend by the way... She can be a bit dramatic.” Rainbow giggled  halfheartedly.

“The unicorn?” Sane asked.

“Yeah... Rarity.” She frowned when he didn't laugh along with her. “How are you feeling?”

“I'm fine. Are you?”

“I'm alright... Look, I'm really sorry... I screwed up. We can still talk though...”

“I'm sorry, but no. I shouldn't have talked with anypony to begin with. I don't want everypony to know me for the lunatic I am.” He spoke in a hushed voice as a small group of ponies passed by.

His words stung her like a bee. “I understand... You're not a lunatic though.” She replied with a frown. “I guess... Well I guess I'll just head out then.” With this she spread her wings and took off into the sky.

A strange since of relief washed over him. He was glad she was no longer angry, but guilt was at the door, and some of his anger lingered. She was only trying to help, but she couldn't even be careful enough to watch what she said for me... I guess not talking to her is for the best. He decided, and opened his bag. “Dammit...” He sighed... Once again he was too upset to eat, and discarded his snack in a nearby garbage can.

Rainbow didn't feel like flying. Once she was out of sight she dropped to the ground. At least he isn't too mad. No harm done... Two days ago you didn't even know him, don't be upset over this. There are more important things to worry about... Like what? She asked herself. She didn't have to work today, there weren't any clouds to break up this afternoon. Everything else was fine as far as she knew.

“I'll go take a nap then.” Just before Rainbow looked up she crashed muzzle first into something. Her nose stung and eyes watered and she shook her head to clear her vision.”Ow... What in hell.” She'd crashed into a large brown earth stallion who was holding his own muzzle. At his hooves there was a half spilt can of some kind of soda. He wasn't happy about it.

“What? Sky isn't big enough for you Dash?” He growled.

She had no idea who this stallion was and could only assume he knew her by reputation. However he didn't sound like a fan. “My fault.” She stated quietly, rubbing her own muzzle to help alleviate the pain.

“You're damn right it's your fault.” Another voice from behind the stallion, another earth pony with a green coat she hadn't seen before. “Stupid pegasi. You'd think since they could fly they'd stay in the clouds.”

“I said I was sorry.” Rainbow was already losing patience for these two.

“Sorry isn't going to get me a drink now is it?” The red one retorted.

“I'll pay for it.” Rainbow pulled a couple bits from her saddle bags and held them out to the stallion. She recoiled when he swatted her hoof, spilling the bits across the ground.

“No! You're going to get it and bring it here. Why should I have to go back for it?” He stamped his hoof indignantly and snorted.

“You heard him bitch, go get it.” The one behind him tagged along.

“Fuck you, it was an accident.” She replied and smirked when she saw obvious frustration on the stallion's face.

He had trouble holding his temper for a moment, until an uneasy calm took over. “I really hate pegasi, you know that? You're all the same, with the same stupid ego just because you can fly. You're worse than unicorns.” He growled.

Rainbow rolled her eyes and deadpanned. “Yeah yeah, go get laid.” She scoffed and walked around him without waiting for a response, picking up her bits as she passed by them. This was something she really didn't have time for. Surprisingly enough she heard nothing from the two as she left them behind.

Maybe Applejack's Orchard? She asked herself. “Yeah that'll work.” She didn't fly there though, choosing to walk instead. It might take her a while to get there but she had time to kill. Besides, it was getting colder every day and soon the tree's would lose their leaves and she wouldn't want to sleep in them then. This would also be one of the last days it would warm up to a nap friendly temperature.

The day dragged on for Sane from that point on. Nothing else happened that day which only seemed to prolong his shift. However the end of his shift finally rolled around. The sun was just about to set as he made it to Sugar Cube Corner. His relief wasn't there yet however. Sane checked a clock inside the shop through a window. Six-o-two. “Late.” Sane grumbled to himself and sat down.

Ten minutes later a bewildered guard ran to meet him. He looked a bit older and rougher than Sane himself but apparently not as responsible. Sane noticed he didn't even have his sword. “I-I'm sorry I'm late. I-” He stopped to catch his breath.

“Your sword.” Sane stated.

“Sword?” The stallion looked behind him at his waist. “Oh... My sword...” He trailed off and continued trying to catch his breath.

“Go get it.” Sane growled. He barely knew this stallion and hadn't worked with him before. Now he was glad he hadn't.

“Oh no no don't worry about it. While I am patrolling I'll just stop at my place and pick it up.” He smiled at Sane. “Just please don't tell anypony.”

Sane took a deep breath, then sighed. This wasn't his responsibility. “Fine, but if anypony ask, I told you to go get it.” Sane warned.

“Of course.” The stallion replied, looking relieved. “Have a nice night.”

“Yeah you too.” Sane turned and trotted quickly away, then spread his wings and took off in the direction of his house. The armor was heavy but it was a short flight.