When Darkness Falls (Reboot)

(This chapter was written by blm95tehe)

It was a wonderful day in Ponyville. The sun was out, the birds were chirping, and five of the Mane Six were planning a party for twilight and spike’s return home. While the five of them were preparing a surprise party, Cloud, Shadow, and I were crossing one of the many rolling fields that neighbored the town with a tired look on our faces. Anypony could tell that the two day trip from the Everfree had taken its toll on all three of us. Even Shadow, the Dragon who couldn’t stop talking at the beginning, fell silent.

Both Cloud and I were covered in cuts and bruises, but of course I had taken the most damage during this long journey. My wing was wrapped up in old, dirty bandages that I was given by the dragons two days ago. Part of my ear was still missing, most likely still on Mt. Hedon. It too was bandaged back in the Everfree. It seemed every step grew heavier for us as we proceeded. Pain would shoot up my side every time I took a step on my right front hoof. It was most likely sprained, something I didn’t noticed till only a few days ago. While a trail of blood trailed behind us, most of it was mine. My bandages were starting to fall apart, blood started to soak through on my wing and ear, causing my vision to become blurry at times.

As I looked over to Cloud, I noticed the world seemed to be slowing down. Feeling faint, I fell to one hoof. Trying to stay conscious, I could hear both Cloud and Shadow screaming in slow, deep voices, “Are you ok?” Shaking my head, colors drained from my eyes as the world fell grey. A sharp, throbbing pain filled my body between heartbeats. Holding my head, I started to feel cold, while a feeling of comfort embraced me. Falling to the earth, I could see both Cloud and Shadow running to my aid. With a faint smile, I thought it was the end, and the lights would go out for good. No more troubles, no more pain, and no worries, just blissful death and the afterlife, which I didn’t believe in until a few days ago. As the world faded from grey to black, I closed my eyes and sound too disappeared. I thought I was dead. In reality, I had merely fainted. Now, don’t get me wrong. With my injuries and loss of blood, I would be dead soon if I didn’t get help.

Running to his aid, Cloud started shaking Asher, hoping to waking him up, but his efforts were in vain.

The young dragon, teary eyed, began shaking him faster and faster. “Asher? You need to wake up, please wake up. We’ve come too far, you can’t, not like! Wake up! Wake up.” His shaking became more violent as he submitted to his anger.

“Shadow, stop!”

Shocked by Cloud’s assertiveness, he did what he was told. “What is it?”

Cloud didn’t speak. For the first time in his life, he was serious.

“Well, what is it? Why aren’t you answering me?”

He placed a hoof in the air, as a sign to stop talking. “Shadow, I need you to be quiet. I’m trying to hear his breathing. I would check his pulse but I don’t know how, to tell you the truth.” Kneeling down, he partially placed his ear on Asher’s mouth, in hope of finding any sign of life. After a moment of focusing, he could hear a faint inhale and exhale. To his relief, Asher was alive, for now.

Standing up, Cloud let out a massive sigh of relief as he turned to Shadow “He’s fine for now. His breathing’s a little shallow, but he should be fine for now.”

Calming down, Shadow wiped his face and nose, clearing his crying. “You’re sure? I mean, shouldn’t get help or something? How did you know about the breathing thing?”

“Oh, that? It’s something I picked up from a survival class I took a while back when I lived in Aspen. I don’t think it’s a good idea, leaving for help. What if he wakes up? How about we wait till sunset and if he doesn’t wake up we’ll go find help? How about that?”

“Fine, if that what you want to do. I’m going to go find somebody! I’m not going to stand here and let Asher die!” With that, Shadow ran off towards the city, leaving Cloud to watch Asher alone. He wanted to call out, but something was holding him back.

‘Man, being the mature one isn’t my strong suit, but I have to. Asher isn’t here. Somepony needs to watch over him, and I guess that’s me. Oh, please wake up, Asher.’
________________________________________________________________

A while later, Shadow was lost, unable to find Cloud and Asher. He couldn’t even find where Ponyville was at this point. All he could see were rolling hills of fresh green grass and a few trees here and there. Scared, cold, and tired, he found no other option but to just give up. While he sat under a old oak tree, he could hear two ponies taking off in the distance. Looking up in the air, he could see two Pegasus having an angry conversation. From what he could see, there was a cyan pony with a rainbow mane and a steel-colored pony sporting golden hair. They seemed to be doing the oddest thing. They were kicking clouds!

The rainbow one was talking the loudest. “Can you believe it, Derpy? Every weekend, we get assigned weather patrol. In fact, I think Storm Eye has something to do with it. I swear he has it in for me. Always giving me that dirty look of his. My gosh, sometimes I hate that pony.”

The grey one was obviously more laid back. “Oh Dash, you need to let it go. Think of it this way. You get a few more bits and all you have to do is kick a few clouds back to where they belong, then you’re done. I like it! I always could use the money.”

“Yeah, but you got a kid to worry about. I can afford to skip on the extra money.”

“Whatever. Anyway, I need to know now. Are you still going to Twilight’s welcome home party from Canterlot tonight?”

‘That’s it!’ Shadow said to himself. ‘They know where Twilight is, all I have to do is get there attention and they can lead me to her.”

“Why of course, I wou...”

“HELP! DOWN HERE MY FRIEND IS HURT!!!!”

“What the hay? Derpy do you hear that?”

There wasn’t a soul in the sky, so it had have been coming from below. As they descended towards earth, as a small black and green dragon could be seen running towards them.

“That’s weird. Dragons normally never come this close to Ponyville. Well, other than Spike that is,” said Derpy as she lightly landed on the earth below.

“He is, and it looks like this day just got a little more lively. Come on, there’s something going down.”

And with that, she flew as fast as she could towards the earth, a rainbow trail was fallowing her. Derpy was not too far from her, a gold line just behind her. Not slowing up, Shadow feared they were going to crash and he took cover. It wasn’t till the last second did they open their wings, causing a gust of air till they landed softly on the ground.

Even though they might have landed with care, they sure didn’t act like it. “What is it, kid? We heard you screaming. What’s wrong? Who’s hurt? Come on what wrong?”

Shadow stood in shock. He couldn’t stop staring at the grey pony’s eyes until he remembered where he was, and the situation. Thankfully, the cross-eyed pony didn’t noticed. “Oh, right! I’m sorry, I’m a little out of it, that’s all.”

The multicolor pony shot him a frustrated look. “Sure kid. Where’s your friend? You did say something about a friend, right?”

“Yeah! My friends and i were heading to Ponyville and…and...” Shadow had been through so much, he was done. After just two days, he was far away from home, one of his new friends was dying, and he was finished.

The cross-eyed pony wrapped a hoof around his shoulder, as he started to cry. Talking in a soft, soothing voice, she was able to calm him down. “Hey, what’s wrong? Are you hurt, or is it your friend? What’s your name?”

“I’m (sniff) I’m Shadow, I’ve been traveling with an earth pony and a Pegasus named Cloud Walker and Asher. I came from the Alpha Dragon Kingdom in the Everfree. My friends are from a town called Aspen.”

Instantly, both ponies were confused. “Wait, what? Kid you have to be lying, because Aspen is gone. Nopony lives in the Everfree unless they’re some kind of monster. Not even a dragon would dare enter the messed up forest.”

The blue pony started getting in his face, causing Shadow to fall backwards.

“In fact, dragons don’t normally come to Equestria, unless they’re up to something. What are you up to? Because I swear if…”

“Now stop it! Don’t you think you’re being a little too harsh on him? He’s just a kid, so calm down,” interrupted Derpy. They both shot dirty looks at each other. “Rainbow, we had a talk about this, remember? You need to learn how to be calm when you meet somepony new.”

Realizing what she had done, Rainbow couldn’t help but apologize for her actions. Looking down at the ground, she backed off the little dragon, giving room for him to breathe again.

“Yeah, she’s right. Sorry kid. Sometimes I get carried away. It’s just nopony ever goes to the everfree, let alone live there. And as for Aspen, well…” She paused for a moment, troubled by the topic at hand. “It’s just when the Discord thing was done, my friend and I were assigned to help clear up the skies of Aspen. Nopony knew what had happened.”

Shadow stood up, his face was flushed with curiosity. “What? What Happened? They never told me why they left.”

“Well…” She stopped, trying to choose words that a kid could better understand. “Well, you see, Aspen is gone.”

“Gone?”

“Yeah, gone. When discord broke free of his prison, that’s where he went first. Something happened, Nopony knows how, but he went crazy. He leveled the entire town. Nothing was left but ruble and ash. Like I said before, no pony knows what had happened. Nopony survived.”

“But there was.”

“What? Somepony survived?” both ponies shouted.

The Rainbow pony seemed to be the one in most shock. “But, I was there. Nopony could have lived through what I saw. It was after Discord was sent back to his prison and since I was the fastest pony, I was told by Celestia herself to go fly to Aspen to see why contact had not been restored with Canterlot, after the attack. When I got there, everything was gone. When the Royal Guard was sent for clean up, they found no survivors.”

“Discord? Who’s Discord? I heard some of the adults back in my village talking about him, but every time I would ask about him, they would tell me to run along. What did he do that was so bad?”

The two ponies looked at each other, till the grey one spoke up.

“Well...how do I put this delicately?” She tapped her hooves together. Such a topic was a little harsh for just a kid.

She cleared her throat and went on, this time a little more blunt then before. “Discord was an evil monster from a long time ago. And, somehow he was able to escape from a very old prison. And he kind of started to screw things up for a lot of ponies. But what he did to that town was just horrible, and nopony knows why he did it. It’s wasn’t in his nature to hurt other ponies, but that day he did.

“Oh,” was all the young dragon could say, on such a heavy topic.

“Hey, sorry to ask but, how did you find these guys? And who are they?”

“Ok, so it goes like this. I have an older brother who found these two ponies in the everfree a few days ago. An earth pony named Cloud walker, and a Pegasus named Asher. They were taken to my dad who is the leader of my people. After that, I don’t know but I was told to follow them to Ponyville where I would meet up with another dragon around my age. His name is, um, Spike, I think.”

“Ok, well we know a Spike so we’ll deal with that later. For right now, your friends are a little more important. So are both ponies hurt?” Derpy asked in her calmest voice.

“No, it’s just the Pegasus, Asher. In fact, I’ll give you both the full story here after bit, but I really I need some help. Could you two show me where the local hospital is, by any chance?”

With a twinkle on her eye, Rainbow saw this as a chance to show off her speed once again. “Sure thing, kid. Here, jump on my back. It’s faster if we fly.”

The Young Dragon’s grey-blue eyes lit up. “Wow! You would really let me do that?”

With a swelled head, she opened her wings. “Sure thing, we are in a hurry, aren’t we?”

Setting off into the sky, Derpy gave her a look for acting so flashy.

“Ok, so what do you want to hear?”

“Ah, how about from the start, kid.”

“So there’s an entire species of dragons that live in the Everfree?” asked a very Confused Derpy.

“Yeah. I thought all ponies know about the Alphas. It’s kind of funny. After all these years, we still remember you guys, but ponies have forgot all about us.”

“Sorry about that, we normally try not to involve ourselves in the Everfree much,. It just it rubs most ponies the wrong way,” said Derpy.

“Hey, they should be down there by that old oak tree.” Shadow pointed straight down. The two ponies flew down to see a white earth pony sleeping next to a grey Pegasus. They looked a little rough.

“Wow, he looks bad,” said a shocked Rainbow. “But I’m sure he’ll be fine,” she added see how much the scared The Young Dragon.

Asher had gotten worse. His breathing had become labored. While being consumed in cold sweat, he was likely suffering from some type of infection. His blood stained the grass below him while Cloud could be seen sleeping not far from where he left Asher.

“He must have dozed off while waiting for me, poor guy.” Looking a back to Asher, he could feel a pit in his stomach “Hang in there, help is on the way.”

Cloud could feel small hands trying to shake him awake. “Hey… Hey Cloud. It’s time to get up. I was able to get help.”

Pulling himself out of a misty sleep, Cloud found himself rubbing his eyes open. When he was finally was able to open them, he was greeted by the little black and green dragon.

“Great! You’re awake,” said a relieved Shadow.

“What? What’s going on? Who are the ponies over by Asher?”

“Help. I found them, kicking clouds of all things. Isn’t that weird?”

“No, not really. It’s a Pegasus thing. Anyway, who are they?” asked a sluggish Cloud as he rubbed his head.

“Oh, I almost forgot. The blue one is Rainbow Dash, and the grey one is Derpy. They’re here to help.”

Giving a sigh of relief, Cloud got up and went over to greet them. “Hey. Thanks for helping out. I’m Cloud Walker.

“Yeah, so I’ve been told. Your little buddy over there told me you guys could use some help,” said Rainbow.

Cloud chuckled a little. “Yeah, you could say that. We were heading to Ponyville to find this mare named Twilight Sparkle. Do you two know were she lives, by any chance?”

Rainbow Seemed a little shocked by his question. She dragged out a long “Yeah” before going on. “Why do you ask?” she asked with a questioning tone.

“Well, it’s a long story, so to make it short, Twilight has agreed to be Asher’s teacher. If anypony can help, it’ll be her, but for now he needs a hospital.”

Giving him a look at suspicion, Rainbow agreed to help. “Well, then it’s settled. Derpy and Shadow can go take your friend over to the ER, while you and I can go over to the town’s library. That where she lives and we can meet up with her there. In fact, she should be getting home soon. She’s been on a trip to Canterlot for the past week and she should be coming home today. There was going to be a welcome home party for her and her friends but this changes a few things, for now. So unless anypony has a problem let’s get going.”

Everypony nodded in agreement as the midday Sun hung over them.

“Nurse Red Heart, are you by any chance going out on your break? Because if you are, could you pick up tissues? We’re running out over in the waiting room.”

“Yes, I am. In fact, I was just about to head over to the store anyw---”

BANG!!!

The doors to the main entrance of the hospital were kicked open by Derpy as the young dragon carried the limp pony inside and onto a waiting room chair, calling for help. Both Nurse Red Heart and Dr. Hooves could hear the commotion from the next room over. Swinging the ER Doors open, both ponies found themselves going from a gentle walk into a rushed pacing as they saw the small puddle of blood dripping from the lifeless pony.

But, as both medical ponies approached the three of them, the excited dragon ran over to Red Heart, calling for help. “OVER HERE, PLEAES SOMEBODY HELP! HELP! HE---” He was cut off by Red Heart.

Keeling down with a small comforting voice that she used to sooth young children, she said, “Hey it’s going to be fine. This is the best place for hurt ponies, after all.”

She waited till he calmed down while the Doctor examined Asher’s face and wing. After which, he was strapped to a surgical bed and wheeled off by the Doctor and a few other nurses. Derpy followed them. In her mind, somepony needed to be there with him and Shadow was still to upset for the job.

Tired from being too worked up, it took him a minute to noticed Asher was being taken away. He rose up from his seat, only to be stopped by Red heart yet again.

“Hey, where are they taking him?... STOP! Where are you taking him!” He shook his arm out of Red Heart’s hold.

“Now, stop that right, young colt!” For once, her tone grew sharp. “You need to calm down. You need to let the doctors do their jobs.”

In reaction, he started to cry. “But I want to (Sniff) be there for him…”

Seeing this over and over again with fillies, she knew the right words. “Don’t worry, your friend is going to be fine. He’s in good hooves right now.”

“O…ok (Sniff) are you sure?” The puffy-eyed dragon feared the worse.

“Oh, of course. Derpy is right there with him making sure every thing is all right.”

The young dragon just nodded.

“Good. Now, while we’re here, tell me. What’s your name?”

Wiping his nose, he answered the nurse. “Shadow.”

“Oh, what a very interesting name,” chimed Red heart. “Well, my name’s Red heart and I’m 29. How old are you? Where do you live?”

“I’m 8 and a half and I’m from a place called Ember and before you ask, it’s in the Everfree.” He chuckled for the first time there after that last comment.

Nurse Red Heart was relieved to see that. “Well, it’s good to see you laughing. I take it that calling your parents is out of the question, right?” Red Heart said with a silly smile on her face.

“So I take it that the young Pegasus was looking after you, then?”

“Yeah and the wacky earth pony named Cloud Walker. He went into town with the pony named Rainbow Dash to look for this mare. He should be here soon.”

The nervous pony just hoped so. “Well, I guess we can just wait here. So, tell me more about yourself.”
________________________________________________________________

‘Oh, my bucking head. Where am I? Why can’t I see?”

“Tell me, doctor, is he going to make it?”

‘WHAT! Are they talking about me? It...it can’t be. I’m fine. I feel fine!”

“I don’t know, Miss Derpy. By the look of things, his wing is completely broken, and I know for a fact that we’re not going to be able to restore the ear. And, for all we know, he could have other injuries we weren’t able to locate at the time. For now, we need to get him into surgery to save the wing. Do we have your permission?”

“Wait? What! Who’s Derpy and why is she the one giving permission for me to have surgery?”

Barley conscious, flickering his eyes open, he could see the white ceiling, while every so often he would be blinded by a fluorescent light tubes. Tilting his head, he could see he was strapped to a hospital bed. While his wing was being supported in the air by pulley system, bloody and mangled, it didn’t even look like could be saved. With all his might, he tried to call out for the doctors’ attention, but it was in vain. His vision became tunneled as the darkness fell across the world and he fell unconscious once more.

As they entered the entered the surgery room, Derpy was told to return to the waiting room since she wasn’t a nurse or a doctor. But as she walked out, a grey Unicorn walked in the white gloves and scrubs. He was levitating a clipboard in front of him.

“All right, Nurse Morning Glory. As always, does this chart look good to you?”

She read aloud.

“Ok let’s see.”
• Name: (Asher)
• Race (Pegasus)
• Ago (Unknown)
• Place of birth (Unknown)
• Blood type (Unknown)
• Place of Injury (Thought to be anywhere from Mt. Hedon to Sweet Apple Acres)
• Found with a young dragon and a pony
• Dragon’s name (Shadow)
Race/Type (Unknown)
• Pony’s name (Cloud Walker)
Race (Earth)
• Found by Derpy Hooves and Rainbow Dash
• Both Pony’s Race (Pegasus)
• Injuries:
Severe broken wing (Left), front hoof fracture (Right), part of ear missing (Right) Possible coma or mild concussion

“Yup, everything looks right.”

“Good, are you ready Nurse?”

“I think so. I’m still kind of new to this.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll do fine. Now, could you pass me the anesthesia mask? We’ve got some work ahead of us.”
________________________________________________________________

It was early morning in Ponyville when the train finally pulled into the Ponyville Station. The tired old beast let a final spray of steam before it fell into silence while two muscular colts were ready to assist ponies as they exited through the doorframe. Two of those individuals happened to be Twilight and Spike. Both sleepy from a rough night’s sleep, Spike found himself rubbing his eyes and fixing his bed head. Twilight left her man alone. She was too busy making sure she didn’t leave a book or two on the train, almost walking into a wall while she checking her bag. Like always, Spike was there to make sure to poke a little fun of her obsession with books. Rolling her eyes at him, she knew he had started feeling better about his parents fate.

“When are you going to learn that books aren’t everything, Twi?” asked Spike with a smug tone.

Twilight was able to counter his statement with little effort “Oh hush. You need to read more, if you want my honest opinion.”

“Yeah, I’ll make sure to look in on that,” giggled Spike.

Twilight just smiled and ruffled his spikes. “You’re a great kid, you know that?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know it. All in a days work,” said spike playfully.

“Do you think Pinkie has a party planned for us?”

“I don’t know. Probably. She always has,” stated Twilight as she checked her bag one last time before they left the station.

Walking through the town, they were given hellos, welcome homes, and other greetings in the same manner until they reached the door of the library. Resting her head on the door, she searched her bag for the keys.

Finding them, she inserted them in the chamber of the old wooden door. Before opening it, she looked over at Spike. “Now remember, act like you’re surprised.”

With a toothy grin he assured her, “You mean like always.”

“Yes, just like always,” winked the purple pony

And, right on cue, both Spike and Twilight were blushing at the sight of all their friends minus Rainbow Dash.

“Oh you guys, we were only gone a week,” stated a bashful Twilight.

“We appreciate this party though,” added spike.

Like always, Pinkie found a reason to throw a party, but the effort on this week’s was a little stale. “Oh, you know. It’s what I do bes,.” chimed the pink pony, hoofing both Twilight and Spike hats that matched their coat and scales. Like always, they traded hats.

Everything had been going to plan. Twilight had quickly learned of Rainbow’s duties this morning and knew she would most likely stop by later on. A few stray ponies would stop to say their hellos once again. While some stayed for a time, most left soon afterwards, stopping only for Pinkie’s punch. The music Rarity had picked out was perfect. Applejack supplied the food, which was delicious. Twi and Spike knew just how lucky they were to have such wonderful friends. Stopping to watch her friends dance, she couldn’t help but to think, wow. Just wow. ‘Almost three years ago, I had no clue how great it was to have friends. To be loved, to be cared for, to never have to truly face problems alone. In truth, friendship really was magical, It felt magical. To think something like this as even possible for both her and little brother Spike. It was no lie that moving to Ponyville had truly given him a better life, more than Canterlot could ever provide him. With room for him to play, grow, and make new friends, it was something the young dragon needed. Especially now, more then ever, due to the emotionally draining trip they both had faced.’ Twilight was distracted by a set of low, frantic knocks.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

“Oh dear, who could that be? Do they have to knock so rudely?” sassed Rarity.

“Well, umm…there must be a reason why, maybe we should go check,” whispered Fluttershy.

“Well, I don’t know what in tarnation is going on. Wait here. I’ll get to the bottom of this,” said a rather irritated Applejack.

As she opened the door, she was greeted by Rainbow and a young while colt with silver eyes and mane. “Whoa there, partner. Where’s the fire?”

The strange pony was about to speak but was beat to the punch line by Rainbow. “I need to have a word with Twilight. Is she home yet?”

“Ah yeah, why? Don’t you see we have a small get-together going on here?” snapped a angry AJ.

“Hey, watch the attitude. I know it’s her party today, but there’s an emergency which involves Twilight. So could you get her out here or something?” shouted Rainbow.

“Well that’s all you had to say. Instead of banging on the door like some half wild varmint…” Applejack started to go off in a rant.

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow readied herself. “Crap there she goes. Cloud, I need you to wait here. I have to rush things unless we want to be at this all day.

Taking a step back, Rainbow rushed towards the cow pony, hoping to tackle her out of the doorframe. But the country pony was two steps ahead of her. Right before Dash made contact, AJ stepped out of the way and watched as the hotheaded Pegasus ran right into a wall. Laughing, the cow pony was pulled to the group, where she had a small wrestling match with Rainbow. Taking the chance to walk passed the fighting pair, Cloud found himself right in the middle of a party.

As all the ponies inside stared at him, he found himself choking up a little with embarrassment. “Umm, sorry to crash your party, but which one of you is Twilight Sparkle?”

The purple unicorn stepped from out of the small group, giving him a weird look. “Ah yes, can I help you?”

“Why yes, yes you can. In fact, you have no idea what I’ve gone through to get here.”

Rarity, and Fluttershy nervously looked around the room, fearing the awkward silence would turn hot.

Twi was starting to really creeped out by this pony’s arrival. Breathing heavily, he must have been tried. But, he was finally able to utter three words. “It’s… about Asher.”

Shocked, the unicorn couldn’t help but to remember back to when she first meet the dark grey pony with the hunter green eyes. He didn’t look to be in the best of shape at the time and the two final days of his trip most have been too much.

Slowly but firmly, Twilight spoke. “So I take it you’re Cloud Walker, right? The Princesses informed me of everything I needed to know about Asher and his friends. So, where’s Asher?” She feared for the worst.

Cloud shook his head. “He fell unconscious right as we about to enter Ponyville. Both Rainbow here and a pony named Derpy found Shadow, that young dragon that’s been traveling with us. Derpy and Shadow took him to the hospital while Rainbow and I came here to find you. Like I said before I’m so…”

But right as Cloud finished his story, both AJ and Rainbow came crashing in, still in a stalemate. It took Rarity to break up the fight. Holding both in the air with her magic’s light blue glow, they continued to fight, until Rarity knocked both their heads together, stopping both in their tracks.

“Hey, what was that for!”

“What in tarnation!”

The now very angry proper pony released her captives. “That’s what you two get for acting like a couple of hooligans. I swear, the way you two act at times is so appalling. In fact, you two were so busy on settling this little score, you didn’t even noticed that we have an emergency on our hooves. Now you two apologize to Twilight for ruining her party and to the young gentlemen for taking from what little time he has!”

Both rubbing their necks, Rainbow and AJ couldn’t help but to look towards the ground.

“Um, sorry about that.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that, partner.”

Twilight could have cared less at this point. Time was short and Asher might need her help still. As for Cloud, he just wanted to get to the hospital.

“I’m sorry, Pinkie, but is it ok to call your party officially over? From the sound of things, this pony might need my help. In fact, he’s kind of my responsibility.”

“Oh Twi, I understand. As long you had fun! In fact, this mean I can throw another party later!” The pink pony jumped in the air with excitement at the thought of it.

A pushy Twi started to gather some things for the short trip across town. “That’s sounds great, but I think I need to get going.”

The rest of her friends all wanted to go with her. “Oh darling, let us all go! There must be something we can do to help.”

Unable to find a reason to say no, Twilight agreed. “If you want. But we’re in a hurry, so let’s get going.” She truly felt lucky to have such ponies for friends as they made their way to the hospital.
________________________________________________________________

“Hello. May I help you?” asked the pony nurse with a sarcastic tone, which didn’t sit well with any of the main six.

“Ah yes, I’m here to visit a pony.”

“NAME,” shouted the nurse, cutting off Twilight.

“I was just getting to that.” Flashing a little anger towards the nurse did nothing but cause her to roll her eyes at the purple unicorn. “His name is Asher. Can you direct us to his room?”

“Sure thing…” the nurse muttered, pausing a moment to find his papers.

Twilight started to tap her hoof on the marble floor below them.

“All right, he’s in room 52B, which is on the 2nd floor. Now, to find the room you’re going to have to take the elevator. Once you get off, take a left and it on your right.”

“Tha...”

“NEXT.”

Yet again, Twilight was cut off, but this time she said nothing as she stormed off towards Asher’s room, as did the rest of the gang till Rainbow walked pass her.

“Would it kill you to maybe crack a smile or something, you bitter--”

Rarity stopped her. “Come on, dear. She’s not worth your time.”

The hospital itself was pretty plain, with egg white walls and a few fake flowers on a few tables. Truthfully, the place looked rather depressing. The elevator was truly scary, smelling of motor oil. It was so ancient, flickering lights and all, that even Rarity lost her cool, thinking they were going to fall. Spike was there, trying to act manly by wrapping his arm around her hoof while she smashed him against the wall as she panicked.

When they got to the room, it was locked. Through the window, they could see Asher in a bed, asleep, while a grey Unicorn talked to Derpy and the young dragon. A sign on the door said. ‘Do not enter without permission.’ Obeying the sign, Twilight took the time recall her last trip to Canterlot to her friends. When she was finished, Cloud found the time to recall the day Aspen fell to Discord up to the following day’s events before the Doctor opened the door.

“Oh! Hello there, little ponies. I didn’t know you were all waiting to see Asher. You may enter, but may I talk to Miss Sparkle for a moment?” The look on his face was soft but serious.

As the other ponies went inside to meet the pony they’d heard so much about, Twilight remained. “Yes, Doctor?”

“Heart Beat, Dr. Beat for short.” He shook Twilight’s hoof. “Now, I was told by the young lad Shadow that he was in your care as of today. Is that right, Miss?”

“Yes, Doctor. How is he? Will he make it?” Twilight asked desperately.

He chuckled a little. “Yes, of course he will. Other than a broken wing and a bacterial infection throughout his body, he’ll be fine. Make sure he gets plenty of rest, and he should be out flying a about a month. As for the bill--”

The Unicorn’s Face grew dark. ‘Oh no, I don’t have that kind of money. What am I going to do?’

Seeing this look, he was quick to give her good news. “Now, don’t worry. I was told that Celestia will be paying the bill.”

Eyes lighting up, Twilight couldn’t help but hug the doctor. “Really, that’s just great! I don’t know what I would do without her sometimes! Thanks so much.”

The bashful pony just smiled. “Oh, don’t thank me. Thank Celestia. Now, you should go check up on our friend.”

“Oh, right. Thanks for all your help.”

She got a “You’re welcome” as she entered the cramped room when Asher was waking up. And the first thing he saw was not Cloud or Shadow, or even Twilight, but Rainbow Dash.

A thousand thoughts ran through my head, stricken by this mare's beauty, more thoughts than the seven colors running through that wind spiked mane. Out of all the thoughts I thought and all the things I could have said, the only thing that i managed to squeeze through my lips was,

“Oh. Hello there.”