"She'll be fine, she's just had a moderate acute emotional overdose. Once her system processes it, she'll be right as rain." The changeling doctor told the two anxious ponies after examining their friend. "By the way, what triggered this?"

Near Miss was the first to come back to the moment, "She told us something, and I felt so sorry for her," Near said, tears streaming down her face.

"What was it she told you?" The changeling doctor said.

Near Miss was opening her mouth when Long Shot slapped a wing membrane over it. "It was deeply personal, and we won't betray her trust. If you need to know what it was, you'll have to ask her yourself." Long finished, stoically flaring both of her wings as wide as she could.

"Very well," The doctor answered, "For the meantime, she'll need at least a day's rest. I will let 'Liff know that you need to stay a while longer." At this the changeling bowed, "If you need me, tell the guards; my room is just down the hall."

The next day, Spleens wandered into the shared lounge to see Near and Long playing cards. It only took them around half an hour to notice that Spleens had entered the room.

"You okay buddy?" Long asked.

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine-" Spleens got out before she was cut off by Long Shot.

"Good, 'cause Near's been kicking my ass and I need your help," Long said patting a chair next to her.

Spleens nearly jumped into the proffered chair, eager to avoid answering any questions about the previous day.

It was around noon when Near flipped the table, having lost several card games in a row and by now thoroughly tired of just sitting around. "You two ready to get going?" She asked her friends, who seemed unsurprised at the table being flipped.

Spleens stuck her head out of the lounge door to talk to one of the guards while Near and Long ran about, with Near grabbing all of their belongings, and Long taking every last piece of fruit that had been laid out for them and storing them in the caravan's magic powered refrigerator.

Several minutes later, by which time the changeling guard had flown the caravan, along with Near, Long and Spleens, back to the nearby road, they were off again, with Long pulling the caravan while all three of them debated the relative merits of ramane noodles vs spicy curry vs ALL MANGOES ALL THE TIME.

Even before the sun had set, the forested area they were traveling through had grown bitterly cold, and all three agreed that they would stop early that day.

While Long Shot quickly gathered firewood, Near Miss and Spleens huddled around Near's space heater, until Near could get a proper fire started, at which point all three of them huddled around that while Near prepared boiling hot ramane noodles for them all, with the extra-extra spicy bowl going to Spleens.

The three of them ate quickly, and then promptly retired to the somewhat insulated caravan, with the space heater being warmed to white hot upon its fire-proof stand in the middle of the room. Within a few minutes, the caravan had become almost cozy warm, allowing the three travelers to fall asleep quickly.

Author's Note

Your comments and thoughts are, as always, welcome and deeply appreciated