The Power Within

It was morning already, but Twilight Sparkle was still sitting next to me, listening to my story while staring at me like a statue. I had told her all I remembered about the attack. She didn’t react much to anything; just listened. Only when I told her about the murder I witnessed did she put a hoof over her mouth for a while. But that’s it. It was really hard to talk about it. I also told her how I escaped, killing one of the soldiers in the process. No reaction to that, either. Technically, I was a murderer, but she understood that I had to do that in order to survive.

Well, it wasn’t solely for that reason. I needed to avenge that pony, even if it meant my own death. It was the unwritten rule of solidarity we all lived by; when somepony saved your life, you owed them yours. If the one who saved you was in danger, you were obligated to return the favor. Or in my case, avenge his death at least. It wasn’t a suicide he’d committed, though. He was a brave, fearless individual, who was ready to fight for his freedom. For my freedom. Sadly, he was no match for the said soldier. But at least he tried. I closed my eyes for a moment to honor his sacrifice as the morning progressed.

The sun’s rays were already coming in through the window. Spike had probably been sleeping like a log for hours by now. I wasn’t all that tired, despite last evening. Twilight didn’t seem to be tired either. I had also told her about my job, and that I had few friends, but she just nodded at everything. One of the said friends wasn’t even living in Whitestone, so I rarely saw him. I wondered how he was doing nowadays.

However, Twilight derailed my train of thought, eyeing my mane curiously. “So what’s up with your mane and tail, then? Why do they glow like that?”

Ugh... Was that all she cared about? I tell her about murders, burning villages and what not, and yet she asks about my mane. Well, I guess it was an easier subject to talk about than the horrific incident. A sigh left my lips before I answered.

“I’m not sure, Twilight. My mom told me it’s because of the accident that forced my father to retire from the cloud control business. She told me that one day at work, dad got hit by a huge lightning bolt. He was hospitalized for a couple of weeks before he was able to walk again. He was never quite the same afterward. Soon after his retirement, they had me,” I recalled with melancholy. It was hard to talk about my parents, as I didn’t know if they were dead or not.

“What does that have to do with your shiny mane and tail?” she asked, after scribbling down notes on some paper.

Why was she taking notes about what I was saying? I looked at her curiously but she showed no change in her demeanor. I let out another heavy sigh.

“My mom noticed it after my birth and said that my dad’s energy dwells in me now... Whatever that means.”

Twilight stared at me, confused for a moment while tilting her head. Yeah, I didn’t believe that explanation either, but it was all I’d ever had. She still wrote something down as I looked at her, annoyed.

“So, your mane and tail are full of electricity? Does your dad’s mane glow like that, too?”

“Uh... No, I don’t think so,” I muttered, ignoring the latter question. I didn’t want to talk about my parents more than was necessary, as I noticed it made me depressed. I felt a hard lump form in my throat as my eyes started to slowly water.

“But it’s glowing, it must get its energy from somewhere!” Twilight Sparkle insisted. Her quill and piece of paper floated in the air in front of her.

I just turned my gaze down to the floor, keeping my mouth shut. I didn’t know for sure, and what would it matter anyway? It was just an annoying glow that made everything yellow at night. If it were up to me, I’d rather have turned it off. Cutting off my mane or tail was out of the question, though. I wasn’t that desperate to get rid of it. Not even shortening them was acceptable.

“What about your cutie mark? How did you get it?” she asked as I went silent about the previous topic. I could feel her staring at my flank.

This question, I could answer. It was quite possibly the very question she wanted the answer to most, anyway. And it didn’t involve my parents.

“Well, I was cloud control training with Sky Hoof, like we always used to do. We did our routine, but he was struggling with his clouds and got hit by a lightning bolt. He hurt himself slightly. I went to help him, pulling both cloud stacks with me and did the whole run all by myself. I got hit by lightning bolts as well, but I didn’t feel them. After finishing the job solo, the cutie mark just popped onto my flank,” I summarized, glancing at the storm cloud on my flank.

“What?” Twilight asked in confusion. “You can withstand lightning bolts?”

“Err, yeah... They don’t really hurt me, they just tickle a little bit,” I said absently; a mistake.

She started to write something down with the quill with a blurring speed. I feared the paper was going to rip at any given moment, and we would have to start over. I saw a tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as well.

Twilight Sparkle then stopped and stared me, eyes glimmering from the excitement. Uh oh...

“I have never heard of a pegasus able to withstand lightning bolts! I mean, unicorns can protect themselves with magic, but you have nothing! Not to mention that you were a foal back then! That must be some kind of a side effect from your father’s accident,” she exclaimed happily. “Your mother was a unicorn, right?” She was ready to write more things down with her quill.

I was baffled by the question, but also by her enthusiasm. Yet again, she was asking something about my parents. Though, I didn’t remember telling her that my mother actually was a unicorn. She obviously knew that my father was a pegasus since he was in the cloud control business. I quickly shook my head in confusion before answering.

“Y-yes, how did you know?”

“Your dad’s condition, combined with the unicorn magic, must have somehow created that glow to your mane!” Twilight chirps, hardly staying on her hooves at this point. She writes everything down and takes a new piece of paper, continuing whatever she was doing.

Interesting theory that was... Too bad I wasn’t all that excited to talk about it. Would she just drop it about my parents? The lump in my throat felt even bigger this time, and I could feel the tears gathering in my eyes.

“What does it matter?!” I retorted, turning away from the mare.

I felt the anger suddenly raising its head inside of me. The red-eyed monster that rarely revealed itself. It wasn’t because of Twilight, but me. I closed my eyes and relived the attack in a split second in my mind. Those screams, all that blood and fear. Death... Then, I cracked. The anger was gone, replaced by what only could be described as total devastation.

It wasn’t so much just crying as it was yelling in tears. I fell on the floor and burrowed my face in my hooves and cried like never before.

I could hear the paper and quill drop on the floor as Twilight Sparkle gasped. She leaned over and hugged my twitching body tightly, trying to calm me down the best she could.

The morning had progressed further and it was almost a midday. I’m not sure if Twilight had any plans for the day but if she did, she was doing a great job neglecting them because of me. Most of the time, Twilight had been trying to calm me down and telling me that it wasn’t my fault and all that typical stuff. Honestly, it didn’t bother me a bit. What else could one say? I had been mentally destroyed for the day and would listen to anything she had to say.

Spike had visited us, wondering who the hay was crying so loud. My purple friend had then sent her number one assistant away, wanting to be alone with me. I didn’t want an extra pair of eyes to see my sorrow either. It was embarrassing enough as it was.

At one point, I had heard somepony knocking on the library door, but Twilight had instructed Spike to tell anypony who came to visit that the place was closed for today. I couldn't tell who the visitor was, though.

I was laying on the bed under the blanket that Twilight had put over me. She said that I was cold and shivering. The unicorn herself was laying next to me on the rather small bed. Her body leaned against mine and I could feel the body heat through the blanket. A rather comforting feeling if you ask me.

We had been quiet for a while, Twilight reading a book and stroking my mane while I stared at nothing in particular with my glassed over eyes. Only a subtle sniffle broke the silence every now and then. I had requested this arrangement myself. Being quietly next to her like this really made me feel safe; safe and relaxed. It was the second time I had felt so safe after the attack. The first time was at the hospital with Nurse Redheart.

Another page turned in Twilight’s book as I slowly peeked at her with my still-moist eyes. She slowly turned her gaze to me, smiling heartily.

I tried to think of something to say, but the words never came out. I wanted to thank her but didn’t know how. However, she simply nodded to me, smiling ever warmer now, probably knowing what went through my mind.

“Are you feeling any better?” she asked softly, earning a subtle nod from me a moment later.

“Yes, thank you,” I mumbled, staring into her eyes.

The amount of warmth and kindness I found from those purple eyes nearly mesmerized me. She really cared about me. Twilight simply smiled at me, still stroking my shimmering mane. It felt good, really good. If I was a cat I’d have started purring. I even allowed a small smile to grace my face as well.

“I hope I’m not causing you to miss any appointments or anything because of me,” I whispered shyly.

Twilight put her book down, giving me an understanding look. “No, you are not. And even if I had something, I couldn’t leave you alone. What kind of friend would I be if I did something like that?”

Ignoring the fact that it was a rhetorical question, I answer her, “Y-you would probably be just like any other pony... I, I don’t say that you are like that, but... I mean...” I mumble and burrow my burning red-hot face into the pillow to hide the blush, thanking my brain for humiliating me once again. Some things just shouldn’t be said aloud.

Twilight stayed silent, however. She didn’t move or say anything and I was already going through the worst possible scenarios in my head about what might happen. She’d probably be mad and throw me out or something.

I carefully cracked one eye open to look for Twilight. She was staring at me with a shy smile on her face as a soft shade of red complimented her beauty. She giggled. A hoof then appeared in my vision and went over my mane a couple of times. A few seconds passed. Or were they minutes? I couldn’t tell anymore.

“Come on, let’s get something to eat,” Twilight exclaimed softly, earning a subtle nod from me as we got up and headed to the kitchen.

Spike was relieved to see us finally coming out of the guest room. The dragon had meanwhile been preparing us a lunch it seemed. I didn’t have any food left anymore so the lunch was much appreciated, to say the least.

Twilight was sitting on the opposite side of the table as Spike was serving the food. The poor little thing was obviously confused by the latest events and clearly wanted to ask something. I felt sorry for him as it was all my fault.

There was only some small talk between Twilight and Spike, mostly about the food. Twilight also asked if he got any sleep at all. Fortunately, the dragon had been sleeping soundly after the late night crisis. I still felt obligated to give him my deepest apology.

“I’m really sorry about last night Spike...” It was a start but I didn’t know how to continue. Instead, I simply turned my gaze to the table. It was a kind of reaction - to escape behind my own little shield, my own personal space. I wouldn’t see them so I could think clearer.

I could feel Twilight and Spike looking at me, wondering if I was going to continue. Spike still didn’t know the first thing about me. That is if Twilight hadn’t told him anything while being at upstairs. Twilight on the other hoof knew pretty much everything. Maybe she knew even more than me actually?

“I hope I’m not causing you too much trouble,” I continued quietly. I even managed to raise my gaze from the table and looked at my hosts one after another.

“Uh, it’s okay,” Spike muttered and placed the cauldron on the table. “No harm done,”

The cauldron and a few other things suggested we were having some kind of a soup. There were also small bowls for us to hold such a dish. I had no idea how I’d manage to eat it in a civilized manner though, as Spike had claws and Twilight could levitate a spoon with her magic. I had never eaten using proper tableware before. Maybe I could fold my wing tip enough to hold the spoon, but I didn’t seem to have one to start with.

Spike took a big wooden ladle and served us the food. It was indeed a soup; containing mushrooms, some leaves, carrot and other root vegetables.

Twilight and Spike started to eat as I just stare the bowl in front of me awkwardly.

“Aren’t you hungry Mr. Thunder?” Spike asked worriedly. “Is there something wrong with the food?”

I quickly shook my head before answering, “Oh, no no, it’s just... I don’t know how to eat this,”

I felt my face burning from the embarrassment and wanted to hide again - And so I did. What earlier had been a pillow concealing my shame, was now a hot bowl of soup I already forgot was sitting there. I dove muzzle first into the bowl, spilling most of the contents onto the table. I panicked and inhaled some of the soup and started coughing. Didn’t something like this already happen yesterday?

“Well, that’s one way to do it,” Spike snickered, trying his best to hold up the laughter.

Just what I needed, another catastrophe. Note to self; don’t try to facedesk on a dinner table ever again. Especially if they are serving a soup. Not that any other dish would be any more suitable for such an act. I tried to rub my eyes and remove some of the soup’s ingredients from my muzzle as Spike cracked into an open laugh.

I couldn’t hear Twilight though. And for the record, I couldn’t see her either from the soup in my eyes. Maybe it was better that way. A good way to stay calm when you can’t see what’s coming your way.

“What is it with you and food?” a voice next to me suddenly spoke. Instinctively I turned my head towards the voice. She was right next to me.

However, Twilight’s voice was soft and kind and I even detected some sarcasm in it. She then carefully dried my face with a towel as I opened my eyes and saw her ever-so-comforting smile. Fortunately, she wasn’t mad or anything, though it seemed like I was only creating a mess whatever I was doing. I started to wonder if she could ever be mad at me?

“I’m sorry, I’m not used to eating a soup from a bowl and I have never used a spoon before,” I whisper, hopefully quiet enough for Spike not to hear.

“It’s okay, you can always drink it from the bowl,” she said and cleaned up the table too, before returning to her seat.

I decide to do as I’m told and eat the rest of the soup directly from the bowl. Twilight eyes me a couple of times, looking like she’s having a good time doing so. Spike on the other hoof seems to be even more confused by her behavior and decides not to ask.

What was it with Twilight eyeing me and laughing? She did the same thing yesterday. I wasn’t that interesting to look at, shimmering mane or not. Whatever it was, it made me really uncomfortable.

Soon the lunch was over. Twilight was helping Spike to clean up the table as I took a closer look at the books in the library. No way I could mess that up. Better not to jinx it though.

Most of the books seemed to be about magic and spells if I had to say. Cres would love to read these books as she was pretty good with her magic as far as I was concerned. Hadn’t she always been interested in magic? Cres had focused her studies on shield spells. She had bought some books from traveling sale ponies that sometimes visited our isolated community. Her dream had always been to visit Canterlot and learn even more about magic, but our parents wouldn’t let her leave the village. They said she was more useful there.

She might be a pretty mare, but she could take care of herself in a bind. My lips turned into a proud smile as I thought about my big sister. She kind of reminded me of Rarity. Probably because they looked alike, but their personalities were also quite similar. I had only met the designer briefly, but that meeting told me a lot about her.

“Looking for something to read?” Twilight suddenly asked next to me, once again derailing my train of thought down a cliff. No survivors.

“Oh, I’m not much of a reader, but Cres would’ve loved to read these,” I reply absently, not removing my eyes from the bookshelf.

“Oh?” Twilight says confused.

Just then I realize that I haven’t told Twilight about my sister at all. She had literally no idea about whom I was talking about. Maybe she thought it was my mother’s name or even my non-existing fillyfriend’s name... A slight panic started to creep in as I thought how to tell her about my dear sister.

“I uh... S-she’s my um, sister...” I stammered while scratching my neck and giving her a sheepish look.

“Oh, you have a sister?” Twilight asked looking honestly surprised. “Is she-”

“A unicorn, yes. And before you ask; no, she’s older than me. No glowing manes there,”

Twilight goes silent upon my interruption. Either she didn’t like being interrupted or that wasn’t what she was about to ask.

“Actually I wasn’t going to ask about her mane but thanks for the information,” Twilight snickered. “Is she interested in magic then?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty good with some shield spells. She always wanted to visit Canterlot to learn about healing spells also,”

“Oh, those take a long time to learn,” The librarian says, giving me a surprised look. “Healing spells especially are nearly impossible to master without a proper teacher,”

I could tell that my sister was talented, but according to Twilight’s impression, Cres had more skills than I had originally thought. Something told me that Twilight knew a thing or two about magic herself.

“She always wanted to help and protect others,” I said melancholically, turning my gaze back to the bookshelf in front of me.

However, Twilight gave me an alarmed, worried look, “I-is, is she...” she stammers quietly.

I shook my head before pressing it down, “I don’t know, I didn’t see her that day. There’s a chance she was out of town at the time,” I could hear Twilight releasing a subtle sigh.

“We were always close with Crescent Rain,” I state quietly.

My purple companion slowly nodded to me before taking a step closer, “I’m sure she’s okay,” I simply smiled at her comforting words as somepony knocked on the library's door.

Twilight walked to the door and opened it, letting inside a beautiful alabaster mare and one of the most adorable fillies I had ever seen: The two being Rarity and Sweetie Belle of course. I simply sat on my haunches and inspected the situation from the distance. The designer looked a bit worried, I wondered what they wanted.

“Hi Rarity and Sweetie Belle,” Twilight greeted the visitors, letting them in.

“Are you quite okay, Twilight darling? I tried to visit here at the morning but Spike told me that the library was closed for the day, what’s going on?” Rarity asks worriedly.

Ah, so it was Rarity who visited earlier. She seemed to have some kind of a box with her as well. I wonder if they noticed me sitting quietly in the corner.

“I uh, I was doing a research about something and wanted no interruptions,” Twilight spat out rapidly.

Oh? Did she just lie to her friends? She was trying to protect me again... I lowered my head quietly. It hurt. I knew her intentions were good, but I wasn’t asking her to lie to her friends.

“About what, dear?” Rarity questioned further.

“Doesn’t matter, now what brings you two here? the librarian shot back, steering the conversation away from the incident.

“Oh, I was just wondering if you happened to know where that pony is you were with yesterday,” the designer replied.

Wait a minute, they were looking for me? They probably wanted to make sure Twilight was safe and thought that I had done something to her, causing the librarian to lock up in her home.

“We have a present for him,” Sweetie Belle suddenly chirped.

A present - for me? Oh, that scarf... She wasn’t kidding about it then. More than that, I couldn’t believe it was done already, she was fast if so.

“For Shimmering?” Twilight stammered, probably now remembering my existence in the room.

Man, I was being a stealth pony today. Suddenly when I raised my head, I saw Sweetie Belle staring at me. Oh crap. She looked a bit puzzled at first and took a hesitant step towards me, before smiling and galloping full speed in my direction.

“we found him, sis! He’s right here!” the little filly cheers in front of me while looking at Rarity and pointing to me with her little hoof.

Twilight spins around while Rarity shot a surprised look at me and her sister.

“Uh yeah, he’s right here,” Twilight says sheepishly.

“What’s going on, Twilight? Why is he in here?”

I decide to open my mouth before she lies to her friends again... “I couldn’t find any other place to stay so Twilight invited me to stay here - for a while,”

Rarity looked suspicious about it and glanced at Twilight curiously, “Really?”

An exchange of nervous looks between Twilight and I didn’t go unnoticed by the alabaster mare, “Oh my, I didn’t know you were... Is it that serious already?”

“Are they dating?” Sweetie Belle asked from her sister a second later, her face glowing from happiness.

I ended up only facehoofing and shaking my head, my system was out of stock of red blush at this point. No more blushing for Celestia’s sake. Twilight on the other hoof had plenty of her pretty blush left it seemed.

“No! we are not dating,” I grunted and walked over to Rarity and Twilight while Sweetie Belle lets out an adorable ‘aww’ of disappointment.

I took a moment to let the information sink in before sighing heavily.

“I had some really bad nightmares last night and accidentally woke up Twilight and Spike. I... I broke down and Twilight only tried to comfort me. That’s why the library was closed today. Please don’t be mad at her. She was only trying to spare my feelings,”

Twilight stared me in disbelief while Rarity wore a much more concerned look on her face. I decide to stop her from asking.

“I’m fine now, thanks to Twilight,” A soft smile to my purple friend makes her noticeably more relaxed.

“I see,” Rarity mutters and brings up the box in front of us. “Very well then. With that out of the way, here’s the scarf I promised to make you,”

She opens the box and levitates out an amber colored scarf with the brown and yellow pattern on it. The pattern goes in diamond shaped squares from top to bottom in forty-five-degree angles. There’s also a row of small tassels on the both ends of the scarf. It looked fabulous, to say the least, but not too feminine to be worn by stallions.

The fashionista then opened the scarf and put it over my neck, gently tying it so it wouldn't drop. She stepped back to admire her work, eyes glowing from joy.

“Well, do you like it?” Rarity asked while Sweetie Belle let out a cooing noise.

“He’s so cute!” the little filly exclaimed.

I simply stared at Sweetie Belle as my body somehow found more red color for my face. Twilight was also eyeing me on my right and I could hear the giggles.

“I- I like it very much. T-thank you Miss Rarity,” I mutter while hiding behind my mane, slightly lowering my head. A section of my mane dropped conveniently over my face to block my vision.

However, the white mare gasped loudly. At first, I thought it was because of my reaction to her present, but little did I know about her eye for detail. Maybe the dim lighting in the room also helped her to see it.

“I-is that normal, Twilight?” Rarity asked, confused. “It’s as if his mane is... glowing somehow,”

Great. This was going to be one of those days at school when everypony piled on top of you asking a million questions at once about your mane.

“Okay, let’s get this over with,” I grunt while heading to the sofa.

With one slick motion, I jumped onto it and laid down, dropping my head between my forehooves and swinging my tail next to me. I hear hoof steps coming closer and burrow my face in my hooves. Apparently Twilight was there as well. I had no idea where Spike was though. Still in the kitchen?

“Actually, it’s shimmering. That’s what I was researching this morning,” Twilight reveals, earning a surprised look from her friend.

“I really like his mane!” Sweetie Belle chirps in my ear, her voice cracking once again. I couldn’t help but smile.

“Thanks, Sweetie Belle,” I mutter from the hideout between my hooves.

“Can I touch it?” she continues, receiving a confirming nod from my head.

Three girls were gathered around me, stroking my mane and letting out cooing noises. Every touch sent a new set of chills down my spine. I could smell their scent and it was pretty similar to one fragrance lingering in the Carousel Boutique. I still wasn’t completely clean myself, despite my last evening’s efforts but it didn’t seem to bother them a bit.

“What the hay are you girls doing?” the little dragon asked, now somewhere in the room.

“Petting Shimmering. Come on try it, his mane feels like velvet,” Sweetie Belle exclaimed to Spike.

“I’ll pass,” he snickered, “It’s probably awkward enough for him as it is,”

I didn’t bother to react. He was right. I couldn’t say it was any easier when colts stacked on top of me like this, but at least I knew most of them at the time. These girls were new to me and they were petting me like a common toy. Then again, I kind of surrendered myself to this.

However, upon Spike’s words, the girls took a few steps backward, letting me out of their gentle embrace.

I raised my head and looked at the girls from under my new mane style. It was drooping all over my face but I didn’t dare to correct their masterpiece. It felt like it would have looked similar to what Twilight’s mane did, just a little bit longer.

“Well, I have some more work to do back at the boutique, Please excuse us, Twilight. Come on Sweetie Belle, I know one thing you could help me with,” Rarity says and smiles at the little filly, whose eyes start to glow from sheer excitement.

“Really?” Sweetie Belle asked as she followed her sister outside.

I watched after them, still wondering how she made the scarf so fast. She obviously had other jobs as well. More than that, she didn’t even ask any money in return; that can’t be good for the business.

The door closed quietly as I found myself still staring it absently. I felt the soft scarf tickling my neck, causing me to adjust it with my muzzle while Twilight and Spike chatted about something. However, I was too distracted to pay any attention to them.

“Uh, would you mind if I took a little walk outside? I need to clear my head a bit,” I muttered to Twilight who gave me a blank stare.

Once earning a silent nod from the purple mare, I headed outside as well, leaving the library behind along my saddlebag. It felt weird to be without it. The ribbon came back to my mind and I almost turned back to get it but decided that it was safe right where it was. Plus I had the scarf now, compensating for the missing equipment.

Outside, I noticed a few passing ponies giving me questioning stares. Okay, it was definitely time to get rid of these annoying bandages for good.

Without stressing about it any longer, I took off up into the sky and headed straight to the hospital. There was no way I would be able to rip them off myself.

“Is Ms. Redheart available? I’d like to get my bandages removed,” I state my business to the mare behind the reception desk.

She gives me a questioning look before checking something from her files.

“Ah, yes. Mr. Thunder, take the hallway to the left and third door to the right and you should find her office. She should be free right now,”

I bow and thank her for the information and start to follow the given instructions. The hospital smell hit my muzzle again, making me frown. If there was one thing I didn’t like about the hospital, it had to be the smell. I couldn’t put my hoof on what exactly caused it, but it was obnoxious. Even if this was my first time in a real hospital, I could tell that the stench was common in all other advanced hospitals as well. Trying to neglect the odor, I continued walking.

One room was open as I stopped next to it, taking a quick peek inside. I could see somepony sleeping on the hospital bed, her right hind leg being in plaster. I felt sorry for the mare; at least I think it was a mare. I couldn’t see her head as it was behind the curtain. It seemed to be a gray pegasus with a pale yellow tail.

For a moment I considered going inside and saying a hello to the patient, but quickly decided not to. I wouldn’t like it if a stranger came into my room like that. Then again, things might be a little different around here and she might even appreciate the gesture.

I continued my way through the stuff filled hallway and found the door I was looking for. A gentle knock on the door yielded a friendly response from the inside, spoken by the familiar voice I recognized from before.

“Please come inside, it’s open,”

Opening the door with my hoof, I walked inside and saw Nurse Redheart looking at her files.

“How can I help yo-” Redheart said while turning around to face her visitor.

The white mare with pink mane simply stared me as if not knowing what to say. Her eyes and mouth were wide open as she froze on the spot.

“Shimmering?” she asked, surprised. “What are you doing in here? Didn’t you find any place to stay? Don’t tell me you slept in a gutter! I told you to come here if things doesn’t work out,” she rambled a second later, taking few steps closer to me.

It was a bit amusing to see her like that, but confusing at the same time. I couldn’t help but stare at her, dumbfounded.

“I- I mean... How are you?” she muttered a few seconds later, her face displaying a light tone of pink while she circled her hoof on the tile floor.

“I’m doing okay, thank you. I didn’t get my own place yet, but Twilight invited me to stay with her for a while,” I stated my current situation as it was clearly concerning for her.

If I had learned anything about mares here in the time I had spent in this town, I could tell that they deeply cared about everypony. Such wasn’t the case in Whitestone. Everypony took care of themselves and only minded their own business. This kind of behavior was all too new to me.

“I actually came here to have these bandages removed,” I added in a lack of any comments.

“Ah, of course. Let’s go into the room five,” Nurse Redheart said and motioned for me to follow her.

In the hallway, I took a quick peek at her and couldn’t help noticing that she looked a bit tired. There were dark lines under her eyes; I wondered if she’d had any sleep lately.

Redheart opened a room with a big number five on it and we stepped inside and she closed the door behind me.

“Okay, please lay down on the bed so we can begin,” the nurse said. With one gentle move, I was on the bed and ready to be tortured.

She picked up a small tool that looked like a pair of pliers and came next to me, starting to take off the bandages. Some of them were really stuck to my coat and stung a little bit as she took them off.

“How have you been doing?” I asked her, absently.

Little did I know it would startle her; she quickly ripped one of the bandages off, causing a piece of my coat to come off with the cursed thing. That really hurt!

“Oh, I’m so sorry, please forgive me, Shimmering” the nurse muttered surprised by what had just happened.

“Are you quite alright?” I decided to ask, “You look a bit frazzled.”

My question made her stop for a moment and look at me, concerned. A few seconds later she turned her head away from me and almost started to cry. Something was clearly bothering her and I had a sneaking suspicion what it was.

“Do you remember what you told me some time ago?” I asked the mare as she raised her head slightly to look at me. “Sharing will ease your pain and make you feel better,” I quoted her perfectly. “Maybe it’s my time to listen and help you,”

She smiled at me. A tender smile that lighted up the whole room as well as my heart. I joined in with a smile of my own, while the nurse started to giggle. I just made somepony feel better; the feeling was quite new to me.

“I- I’m sorry... It’s just that... I have been worried about you,” the nurse revealed.

Well, that wasn’t the thing I thought she’d say, but it made sense to me now. Ponies here were selfless, caring creatures. But honestly, I thought she was more worried about the soldiers than me; and maybe she was, but she didn’t just say that. I didn’t reveal everything to her either, but I guess she knew it already. So I didn’t try to press her.

“I’m doing okay, considering what I have been through. Twilight has been really nice to me, even if I mess up things sometimes,”

A raised eyebrow from Nurse Redheart made me want to adjust my choice of words. I didn’t want to give her the image that I was causing a havoc in the library.

“I uh, spilled a soup,” I said and burrowed my face in the pillow in front of me. Ah, the comforting pillow...

Nurse Redheart giggled even more, but I was too busy hiding my shame to really pay any attention. I know it didn’t help, but it was a habit - this sitting tightly inside of me. And I bet it was a pretty adorable pose because the nurse laughed even harder now.

“It’s okay, Shimmering. You don’t need to be ashamed of a simple accident. If you only knew what I have done, you’d be amazed my coat color isn’t red,” she laughed at me.

“What have you done then?” I asked, being actually curious about it

“Well, once I accidentally messed up the names of our two new trainees and called them with wrong names for a week and nopony said anything. You could only imagine what I thought when I found out. They said it was too funny to correct it... No wonder they were laughing so much...” she added quietly at the end.

Well, that was really something. While it was a relatively harmless thing to happen, somepony could even have found it mean. Imagine that every other pony knew what was going on but you. I would have ran out of the door and never come back after such a prank.

“I- I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, really feeling sorry for her over this one.

“Well, that’s all good now. Should we continue our little operation?” she asked with a wink and took the pliers in her hooves again.

I gulped and nodded quietly, not being entirely sure what she meant by that...