Lately

I never told you.

Nurse Redheart could hear the sound of the birds chirping through the slightly opened window of the hospital's lobby. She could feel her cheek, pressed into her hard, wooden desk. She groaned in irritation, this wasn't the first time that she awakened at her desk this month, far from it actually. The nurse lifted her head from its uncomfortable position, her unkempt, pinkish mane tangling in front of her face. Her eyes had never looked as worn out as they did that very morning.

She looked down into the cup of swirling black coffee that stood in front of her as she recalled everything that had happened the last few weeks. Another loud groan escaped her muzzle as the pain in her back returned. The hospital had never been so busy before. Hundreds of ponies came in every day, each one had the same complaint. Nightmares. The people of Ponyville were having trouble sleeping lately to the point where it started to seriously affect their lives.

The nurse hadn't noticed how early it really was until she turned her gaze to the opened window. A cold breeze flowed through the room, causing her to shiver slightly. The moon was still hanging above the horizon, swimming in the light gray morning sky. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. The nurse's heart sank in her chest the moment the sound reached her ears. She had heard it far too many times. Redheart tiredly hung her head as she got out of her sitting position, walking towards the hospital's entrance.

The filly was here every single morning. She arrived before the sun did. Always the first one to come, and the last to leave. The nurse dejectedly opened the door, causing the dim morning light to peer through the lobby. She squinted her eyes as she looked into the snowed down town of Ponyville. A little orange filly stood in the snow, literally shaking on her little hooves from the cold. Her wet, purple mane hung in front of her face, covering one of her eyes. She wore a tired frown on her face as she looked up into the mare's eyes. A pair of small saddlebags where strapped to her waist.

Redheart sighed. “Come in dear, no need to stand outside in the cold.” she said as she beckoned the filly to enter. The pegasus nodded weakly, stepping through the doorway, the cold morning air blowing past her head. The raging wind got silenced the moment the nurse closed the door behind her. Water dripped from her dirty mane and tail, falling unto the pristine white, hospital floor. “You poor dear..” Redheart said softly as she grabbed a towel from her desk and started to dry the filly's mane. “What happened to you?”

The filly raised her gaze from the floor, looking into the mare's face with an empty stare on her face. “I fell.. in the snow.” she said as she gritted her teeth as if she tried to contain her anger. Her purple mane still covered her eye. “Can I go see her?” she asked without the slightest tone of emotion in her voice.

Equestrian winters were known for their merciless frigid winds. But they were nothing compared to the icy mountain gusts that were raging past Rainbow's head as she sat next to the pony that had occupied most of her mind lately. They once again returned to the same spot where they had sat just a few days ago. The weight of the last few days was still clearly present in Rainbow's shoulders. It still clouded her mind. The two hadn't really talked about it since Luna's return. They couldn't afford to waste any time sleeping so the group had decided to pull through until they reached their old camp. There were so many questions still left unanswered. So many words that remained unsaid.

The two sat in the snow for quite a while, neither of them speaking a word. The rocky, white mountains towered above them. They simply listened to the sound of the cold wind blowing past their heads, leaving a slight chill on their muzzles. Rainbow Dash was normally the most forward of ponies. But the current situation had raised her bashfulness to a level that could challenge Fluttershy's. She just had to break the god-awful silence that roamed about.

“Luna?” She said, causing the princess to snap out of her dreamy state of being. Rainbow had noticed that the alicorn had been lost in her thoughts a lot lately. The princess shot Rainbow an apologetic look.

“Yes Rainbow?” she asked.

Rainbow Dash let out a heavy sigh. Luna couldn't be that oblivious, could she? “I.. It's just.. “ she sighed once more as she shifted closer to Luna, putting a hoof on her shoulder. She gave the alicorn a soft look. “Look, I'm not good at this.. Never have been.. Never will be. But I need to know where we stand.. you and I. Is there even a we?”

The alicorn's eyes shot open. The question had taken Luna by surprise. “Of course! How could I have been so blind!?” Her mind had been so occupied with her sudden awakening that she had forgotten what started it all in the first place. “She kissed me..” Her mind went back to everything that had happened over the last few days, the way the rainbow maned mare had made her feel, all of the nights that they had spent together, just talking. Could Rainbow Dash really have feelings for her?

Luna had to admit that she had become quite fond of the adventurous filly, the attraction was certainly there. Rainbow was everything that she always wanted to be, but was to afraid to. Rebellious, outspoken, confident. “It's weird.. She really reminds me of Lily.” A sudden sting of pain appeared in her heart as the name echoed through her head. It was true, Rainbow was in many ways similar to Luna's ghost. Maybe her feelings were just a projection of her old love.. Maybe she was simply using Rainbow Dash to relive those old feelings..

“I'm sorry Rainbow Dash... I... I can't.” she sighed. “My heart belongs to someone else." she thought. But Rainbow wouldn't understand. She simply couldn't understand. “I like you as a friend.” She said softly. It had sounded a lot better in her head. Her gaze dropped to the floor as she felt Rainbow's hoof leave her shoulder.

Confusion was all that the pegasus could see. Mixed emotions rushed through her head, the cold wind still blowing in her face, her rough, unkempt mane still violently dancing in the air. “But..” Rainbow forced her eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears form leaving her eyes. The sadness however, was soon replaced by anger. “I don't understand!” she yelled. “What about all the nights we spent together!? You can't tell me you didn't feel it. I know you felt it!” A hint of anger lingered in her voice.

“Rainbow.. Please don't make this harder than it has to be..” Luna didn't really know why she was saying that. Rainbow was right, the pegasus had made her feel things that she hadn't felt in ages. But that was just the thing. Dash was so similar to Lily, she had simply reminded Luna of the feelings she once had. “Please, can't we just be friends!?” Luna pleaded. “You're my best friend Dash.. I don't want to lose that.”

Rainbow shook her head. “I think you should leave Luna.” she said sternly, turning her back to the shocked princess. She didn't move a muscle. She just sat there, looking out into the night sky with a stubborn look on her face.

Luna hung her head in a sad manner, looking down into the snow. She sighed as she turned around and started to trot towards the camp. Rainbow just sat there, her mind racing with thoughts. She kept staring forward until the sound of Luna's hooves hitting the snow finally faded, causing her to hang her head as her ears dropped into her neck. Her mane was nearly touching the wet, snowy floor. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get the image of Luna out of her head. “Buck love..” she sobbed as tears started to roll down her cheeks.

The sound of the young filly's muffled sobbing filled the room. Her face was pressed into the white, tear stained covers that lied atop the wooden hospital bed. She had been spending a lot of her afternoons like this lately. The pegasus' sobbing came to a sudden halt as she lifted her face from the silken sheets. A young white unicorn lied under the covers, her chest slowly rising and falling as she breathed. Her breathing was so soft that it was almost inaudible to the orange filly.

The room was pretty cosy for a hospital suite. A large, wooden bed stood against the corner of the room. A soft, white carpet laid on the floor and the walls were dressed in cherry red. The heater's buzzing was the only sound that one could hear in the room.

Sometimes, she would have to lean over the edge of the bed just to see if the filly was still breathing. She sighed. “I'm sorry for messing up your blanket sweets..” she whispered to the filly. She didn't know if the unconscious unicorn could hear her. But just pretending made her feel better somehow. “The foals at school were total jerks today! They said you were just faking it so you could skip school!” she exclaimed. “I stood up for you though..” She brushed her mane out of her face with a tired hoof, exposing her beaten, black eye. “They got me good..”

Her eyes opened wide in realization. “Ooh, I brought you these..” she whispered, opening her saddlebags. She pulled a small bouquet of luscious red roses out of them, laying it on the bed in front of her. “Happy hearts and hooves day Sweets...” she sighed. “I hope you like them..” The filly was tired. But that was understandable, she had been spending all of her time at that bedside, talking to the slumbering unicorn. Hoping, yet fearing that she could hear her.

The pegasus had been sharing her every thought with the filly, her every secret. She had been skipping school to make sure that Sweetie Belle wasn't alone. With her parents gone and her sister away on a hopeless journey to find a cure for her illness, the pegasus was the only pony she had left. She thought back at every time that she tried to tell the unicorn of her feelings but was too afraid to do so. Tears started to escape from her slightly closed eyes as she reached out to the slumbering pony in front of her, holding the filly's hoof with her own. “But it's too late now..” She thought as she started to cry uncontrollably.

Suddenly, she felt a comforting hoof on her shoulder. She turned her head, looking straight into the nurse's eyes. Redheart gasped as she saw the filly's black eye, and her dirty, tear stained mane hanging beside it. The pegasus pushed the mare's hoof off her shoulder as she returned her gaze to the sleeping filly. Nurse Redheart looked at her with a look of compassion. “She must be very special to you..” the nurse said softly as she looked at the wilting bouquet of roses. They seemed to maintain a certain sense of beauty despite their condition.

The sobbing filly pulled herself from the bed, looking up at the nurse. “I guess..” the filly grunted, trying to appear strong in front of the mare. Redheart gave her a soft smile. “Why are you here all alone? Aren't your parents worried about you?” she asked.

She rested her chin on Sweetie Belle's silken covers as tears escaped from her eyes. “No.. I.. My parents aren't around any more.” she whimpered, wiping her tears with the white sheets. Suddenly, she felt a warmth overwhelm her. The nurse had hugged her in a tight embrace. The pegasus got startled at first, but she slowly started to calm down. “Nurse?” she said, Redheart nodding in response. “Can I sleep here tonight? I... I don't want to go back to the orphanage...”

A tear escaped from the mare's eyes. “Of course you can dear..” she said as she stepped towards the door, flicking the light switch as she walked into the hallway. The door closed shut with a loud thud behind the filly, followed by an overwhelming silence. She was suddenly aware of every little sound that filled the room.

It was dark. She could hear the buzzing of the old heater that stood below the window, the sound of the nurse's hooves, trotting down the hallway. But there was one sound that stood out above the others. It was the sweet melody of Sweetie Belle's breathing. Without thinking, she struggled onto the bed, crawling underneath the white, silken sheets. They felt unusually soft to the touch. She shifted closer to the sleeping unicorn so that they lied face to face. Suddenly, the door opened and a familiar nurse walked in. “I'm sorry dear, I forgot to ask you your name.”

“Scootaloo..” she yawned. “My name's Scootaloo.” She allowed her head to fall unto the soft pillow that laid below her. Keeping the filly's personal space in mind. "Good night Sweets.."

The sound of the crackling camp fire could be heard from the other side of the door as Fluttershy and Rarity lied in their hoof-made bed, their forelegs wrapped around each other in a loving embrace. This is what Fluttershy had missed the most during the long days of travel that laid behind them. Simply lying next to each other. She thought back at how her life had been just a few months ago. She remembered how she used to lay awake at night, wishing for somepony to lie next to, somepony to share her thoughts with, somepony that cared. And now she had found that pony.

But her mind had been clouded with.. different thoughts lately. She loved Rarity with all her heart, the kind of love that only the two involved could ever understand. But she wanted more. She wanted to share the rest of her life with her. Their coats brushed against each other as they shifted underneath their covers. The roughed up blanket covered them up to the waist. Each held the other as close as possible, sharing the warmth of their bodies.

Rarity was in a state of complete euphoria. She had lived through countless relationships in her life but this felt so unlike anything that she had ever felt before. Every kiss, every word, every touch felt like their first. Rarity had courted quite a few stallions and mares in her past but she always ended up getting bored with them. Fluttershy was different. She still blushed furiously every time the timid pegasus kissed her. "Rarity?" The unicorn shook her head. She looked over at Fluttershy who in turn, looked at her with a pleading look in her cyan eyes.

"I... I've been meaning to talk to you about something," she whispered, still laying in her love's arms. Rarity shot her a wondering look, beckoning for her to continue. "It's just.. I've been thinking a lot lately.. about us.. and where we stand." she explained. "I think I.." She couldn't get the words to go, what if her love didn't feel the same way?

She decided to just say it. "Rarity, I want a foal."