We arrived at a small building that lacked in frills. There was a picture beside the door of a pony with their forehooves pressed together in perhaps a prayer of a pose? I didn't study it very hard, following the others as they carried Hard Hat inside.

I did notice the carriage driver taking the time to see what stains we might have left behind. The friendly Equestria could not come fast enough, or so I thought.

Inside smelled softly of some kind of incense, though none I had smelled before, but I could see them burning in two little piles that gave off smoke across the room. A mare looked up from where she sat with crossed legs when we came in. "I sense a disturbance." She fluidly rose to her hooves. "Place the seeker here." She gestured in a smooth wave to an empty cot.

As they worked to get Hard Hat settled, I approached the mare. "He took a nasty fall. The most obvious injury is a big cut right on his cutie mark." I traced on myself where it would be as I went. "I bandaged it as well as I could, but he could have broken bones to add to it."

"Mmm, yes, that aligns with what I felt." She approached his sprawled form, the others backing away to make room for her. "You did well. His life force feels frail, but it may have gone out entirely had you not acted." Was this a doctor or a psychic? I was feeling like I was dealing with more of the latter. "Let us ensure that his essence is not further lost."

Well at least she wasn't talking about the benefits of lost blood, that was a positive... "You have better bandages than bits of my clothes, I hope?"

"So much better." She looked towards me. "I can feel your doubt, but I was educated in the ways of Healer Meadowbrook, and her healing is without reproach." She reached a hoof, but it was her glowing horn that brought a jar across the room towards herself. "The power of plants will seal the wound and give the body time to heal."

Oh, herbalism. That... was a relief. Equestrian plants, so far I'd seen, were pretty darn magical. Heck, they'd prevented me from going full pony, but also had been the thing that made half of me go pony at all. Plants could do things. "Great. If I can help?"

"Your friend is in good hooves," she assured gently, popping the top of the jar free and reaching a hoof inside, coming out with a smear of green-brown gunk. "If you would, carefully, remove the bandage you lovingly made?"

Right... Hopefully he had scabbed a bit and wouldn't start gushing the moment I touched that. I slipped past the concerned ponies that had formed a wide ring and began working the bandage off as gently as I could. Blood got all over my fingers, but I got it off and away.

Her hoof came in the very instant the bandage wasn't in the way, pressing firmly against the wound. "How terrible. A great fall, with a sharp welcome." The stuff on her hooves seemed eager to suck up the blood it touched, drying the immediate area as she spread it along the cut. "The next portion will appear painful, but your friend sleeps and will not know this."

She, far too casually, took hold of his leg in her magic and with a quick snap forced it into the correct position and began to form a splint around it, but was not satisfied with a simple splint. More and more gunk joined the two bits of wood that formed the base and she was fabricating a cast before our eyes to hold the leg firmly in place. "When the bone is renewed, it can be removed. Bring him here at least once a week until then. He will complain, but that just means he has strength to do so, and you should be happy."

Work Pants dipped his head towards her. "We're already grateful for your work. What do we... owe?"

The mare inclined an ear. "Owe? Oh, no no no." She waved a hoof at him. "I took an oath when I learned from Meadowbrook, I would never accept a single bit for healing. If you are feeling kind, volunteer to help, or to help repair the building. I will accept gifts, and only gifts, of food, for myself or patients." She stood up, circling Hard Hat, eyes on him. "His life remains delicate, but I think he will recover. It is good you got him here as quickly as you did."

I could cry. There was a pony, an ideal example of all that I could hope a pony could be. "Thank you." A thing occured to me. "You do most of your healing through herbs, right?"

"This is correct." She sat down beside Hard Hat, still eyeing him, but apparently not finding other things in need of attention. "Why do you ask?"

"I have a friend, she loves working with herbs. If she wanted to, would you have time to compare notes with her?"

She turned towards me with a smile. "Oh, how lovely. I would not have predicted that question. Curious pony, I would be delighted to speak with your friend. Is she of... similar build?"

A few ponies chuckled softly. Had they heard of my girlfriend? "No, she's a full pony, unicorn, like you. She's a maid up at the castle." I hiked a thumb towards it through the wall. "I'll tell her about you though. I think she'd really love to learn."

"And I would be delighted to teach, but she will have to accept the same oath. Meadowbrook's techniques are never to be used for material gain." She nodded softly and placidly. "She can still work for bits, just not being paid for healing work."

"She isn't paid for the small healing she can already do." I felt my tail give a twitch without being asked. "Thank you, again. I take it we should leave him here for now?"

"That would be good." She reached out and gently ran a hoof over his shoulder. "I will tend his flame while it is weakest."

Soft thanks were offered, and the work ponies began to wander away. Work Pants did not, looking towards me. "I must apologize, Sir. This was not how I intended the first day to go. As their forepony, this falls on my head." He dipped that head, ears splaying out to the left and right. "And now we've gone and diverted the flow of water."

"We'll need to go check that out, but, right now, where is Easy?"

"Easy?" He stood up and looked around as if she could just be standing in the room, which she was not. "I don't know, Sir. Did she fall? I should hope not!"

"No, no... She teleported away and never came back."

Work frowned sharply. "Teleportation is heavy magic, Sir. I hope she was knowledgeable enough to use it safely."

But I had no way to know, or track her. There was only one thing really to do... "We'll have to trust her for now. Do you want to inspect what that collapse did to the path of water?"

"I would be honored, Sir, if you still wish to work with me?"

I brought down a hand on his fuzzy head, mussing him between the ears in a gross violation of space. "Work, you're great. I'm not firing you because of an accident. I hope he pulls through, but, you know, it happens."

Work ducked away with a soft huff. "I'm relieved to hear that, Sir. Let's be off then. Ma'am, please see to him."

"I will do what I can," she assured with a gentle smile. "You have an affectionate boss."

"This I have noticed." He began to trot for the door at a steady pace. "Are we walking, Sir?"

"We've wasted enough resources today." And so we did walk. Well, I walked, he trotted. Same difference in the end. But we were not allowed to casually leave the city.

There were four guards peering at the new river that hadn't been there before, cut right in front of their city and spilling off the side of the mountain. One of them noticed us coming and turned towards us. "No one's going this way," he barked. "There's a river in the way!"

Had I changed the future? I pulled out my phone and did a quick search, but there was Canterlot, with a river. It just had a little cute drawbridge over it, in the future... "Think of it as an opportunity."

The guards all turned towards me, looking confused.

"Look, if you're attacked, you have a moat. All you need is a bridge across it that you can pull up when you want to, and maybe a gate house here that'll make it easy to monitor traffic coming and going. It'll siphon everyone through one point, which means you can keep an eye on them much more easily." I gestured to the river and up at the theoretical wall that could be built there for the drawbridge to attach to. "It'll look nice and have a use."

Two of them spoke softly to one another as a third rubbed his chin with a hoof. "That would be nice, but someone would have to approve that kind of project, and then others would have to build it."

As it turned out... "I know who to contract. I'll draw up something and bring it to court."

Their faces lit up with joy. "You'd do that?" asked one. "After all that?"

Well, sure, the guards weren't always the best to me, still, if it meant Canterlot looked a bit more like it should... "I'd be delighted. Besides, a river is hard to make move." We'll just ignore that I had just moved it earlier that day. "Better to work with it."

Work Pants shook his head. "We'll have our hooves busy with your other project, Sir."

"I know, but Miss Mason has other work teams, I should imagine. There's work enough for another team, and that's alright."

"I suppose that's true." He gave one firm nod. "Too right. No need to be greedy. Sirs, may we pass?"

"Be careful," advised the guard as he gestured forward. "There's no bridge yet, but, since you bring it up..." He trotted off and came back a moment later dragging a huge log. The other guards hurried over to help and they all lifted it up with glowing horns, setting it down across the river to make a crude bridge. "There we are, at least ponies can walk across."

It was a crude solution, and yet, a solution. We went across it slowly and hopped down the other side, safely across the river. The guards clopped their hooves, likely happy with their own work. I doubted the logs would serve as a long term fix. Still...

We circled around to get a good view of the mountain and its new water system. The original river was still there, but diminished. Ponies would not be able to use it as easily, but there was a river right outside the gate, which was even more convenient. A net positive, right?

In the end, looking at the cascading waterfalls that brought the water down to make the new river, we had what we needed. Falling water could be trapped and used. We could get water down into the homes of the city, to make it cleaner, safer, and better. "We can work with this... It'll change the placement of the pipes a little, but not too much. The end goal's unchanged. We'll get the water moving."

"Good to hear, Sir." He drew out a kerchief with his magic, wiping his brow. "I will confess I was worried the project was beyond salvaging."

Author's Note

May showers bring indoor plumbing. That's how that saying goes, right?

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