Sweetie Belle was led into a small, ornate room not far from the receiving hall.

Once inside, she was watched over by the two Crystal Empire Cadets who had escorted her in, until a stallion in an ornate outfit appeared and relieved them of their duties.

Sweetie Belle was informed by the stallion that he was there under direct orders from Shining Armor, to record what had happened, from her perspective.

She then gave her account of the events, from accidentally running into Brawny Bones, up through her being led to the current room she was in. Fortunately, the inquisitor did not ask for exact information when she had mentioned speaking to Shining Armor, prior to Brawny accosting her outside of the ladies restroom.

She did find herself fudging the truth, when she was asked if she knew why the stallion had acted the way he had towards her. She kept from telling how he was considered a possible attacker to Chrome by him and his friends, and simply insisted that she felt Brawny was upset because of the altercation in the dance hall doorway. When she was asked about some of the remarks he had made about Chrome, she claimed Brawny may have been drunk, and upset about something related to Chrome.

The inquisitor wrapped up his questioning a short time later. After reviewing his notes, he requested that Sweetie Belle stay put, and he exited the room.

Ten minutes later, Shining Armor entered the room and sat down across from her.

“How are you feeling, Sweetie Belle?” he asked.

“I’m, still a little nervous,” she admitted, “and my wrist hurts from that stallion.”

“It might be a sprain,” he replied. “I’ll get some staff to wrap it for you, and you can have it looked at at a hospital later. Is there anything else I can do for you at the moment?”

“I…I think I should go home,” she said. “Chrome can escort me when he’s done.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” said Shining. “Since he and the other cadet were involved in some unbefitting actions, our questioning of him is going to take some more time.”

“I see,” said Sweetie. “But…I don’t really feel like dancing anymore.”

“I understand,” said Shining. “I can have the Royal Guard escort you home.”

“Thank you, Shining Armor,” she replied. “Can I at least see Chrome before I go?”

“I’m afraid that isn’t possible either.”

“Well, can you at least let him know what happened to me, and I’ll contact him later?”

“Yes Sweetie Belle, I can certainly do that for you,” he nodded with a smile.

Shortly afterwards, a cadet with a medical kit entered the room.

Once Sweetie’s wrist was wrapped, the cadet rapped on the door, and two Canterlot Royal Guards entered the room. Unlike the typical armored guards, these two wore formal black suits, with stripes on their shoulders in the color of Celestia’s hair.

One of them had already collected Sweetie Belle’s white wrap, and after she draped it over her shoulders, the guards escorted her through a side corridor away from the main areas, and into a private garage, where a black vehicle soon whisked them away from the castle.

The guards didn’t say anything during the trip. Once they reached the University Campus, they escorted Sweetie Belle to her dorm room.

“Take care, ma’am,” said one guard, as she entered the apartment, and locked the door.

“Chrome sounds a little different than usual,” came Scootaloo’s voice out of the darkness.

“Are you two still up?” asked Sweetie Belle, turning on the light.

“Of course,” said Applebloom, throwing off her covers, “We wanna hear all the juicy details-what happened to your wrist?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it right now,” sighed Sweetie Belle.

“What did he do?” asked Scootaloo, quickly sitting upright. “We can report him first thing in-“

“Chrome didn’t do this. I…I just want to get cleaned up and go to bed, okay girls?”

“Sure, alright,” said Applebloom.

The two threw their blankets over themselves (intent on going to sleep this time), as Sweetie Belle worked to get out of her dress, which she left in a crumpled heap on the floor.

Going to the bathroom, she undid her bra, and stared at herself in the mirror.

Soon afterwards, she decided to just brush her teeth, and wash the makeup from her face.

Then she put on her nightgown, turned off the lights, and crawled into bed.

As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered what Chrome was doing.

It wasn’t until after ten that Sweetie Belle awoke. By that time, her friends were already up and dressed. She also noticed that they had hung up her dress for her.

Dragging herself out of bed, she made it into the shower, and proceeded to wash herself with her left hand, trying to make sure she didn’t get the wrapping on her other wrist wet.

It perked her up when she came out and found a nice breakfast waiting for her. Wrapping the towel around her body (there wasn’t enough to contain her chest), she thanked her girl friends by giving them each a big squishy hug, then sat down to eat.

As the taste of the food hit her tongue, Scootaloo poured her some coffee (which soon began to lift her spirits), and she then told them about what had happened the night before.

Being her friends, she told them everything, from what happened after she left the apartment, up until she got in that morning. Unlike the questioning by the inquisitor, she did tell them about the theories she had heard about Brawny Bones.

“I’m with Chrome and his friends,” said Scootaloo. “I’m pretty sure that jerk was behind it.”

“Sounds like it to me as well,” noted Applebloom. “From whut Brawny Bones said to you, sounded like he figgered you told on him to Shining Armor. Who knows? Maybe he confessed to setting up Chrome’s attack last night during the questioning.”

“Maybe,” said Sweetie Belle, “but you know how jerky jerks can be. Remember how Diamond Tiara used to be?”

“We sure do,“ sighed her friends.

“Chrome seemed rather noble, using his magic like that,” said Scootaloo. “Are you sure he didn’t hit that jerk?”

“I remember it clearly, I know he didn’t,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Sounds like somepony’s fallen for her-“

“No-no-no, it’s not that, it’s…he was using teleportation magic. That’s very difficult to get down right. I was helping him with very general magic for Twilight’s class, but we never went over anything like that for her lessons.”

“So, he learned that on his own?”

“He must have.”

“Well, when you see him again, you can ask him.”

“I sure will. In the meantime, I better slip into something and get my wrist checked out.”

“Think you’ll check out that wet nurse suggestion Daisy gave to you?”

It was then that Sweetie remembered the note Daisy May had given her the night before. Reaching into her red clasp, she found the piece of paper, and looked at the writing on it.

Daisy had written down the contact information of a Nurse Swaddling, along with a phone number. There was also Daisy’s number too.

“Okay you two, be honest: can you see me being a wet nurse?” she asked.

“I think quite a number of babies would,” said Applebloom, eyeing her friend’s exposed chest.

“Might be an interesting experience,” said Scootaloo. “And you wouldn’t have all that milk go to waste.”

Soon afterwards, clad in a light jacket, Sweetie Belle made her way towards the hospital.

As she walked across the campus, she felt like she was feeling more tense than usual, her eyes darting about, as if she was afraid something might happen.

At one point, she heard a steady approach of footsteps behind her, before a stallion shot past her in athletic gear.

She surmised that her reaction had to be because of Brawny Bones’ actions from last night. She had never been accosted like that before, and even as he had pulled her through the room, she was scared what he might do to her. Even though it was broad daylight, she knew he was also a University student, and could very well be walking around at that very moment.

Once she walked through the hospital doors, some of the tenseness left her, and she made her way to the emergency room area. After filling out some information, she took a seat and leafed through a fashion magazine. After what seemed like an eternity, she was called in, and brought to an exam room by a young nurse.

She was then asked a series of questions, before the nurse left, and a stallion appeared in a doctors coat five minutes later.

After unwrapping her wrist, he applied pressure in several places, before deciding to have her wrist x-rayed.

A short while later, the results revealed that fortunately, the bones in her wrist were fine, and that most likely, there was pain due to trauma from the pressure exerted on it.

The doctor recommended that a brace on her wrist would help it heal over the next few weeks. It didn’t take long before she was fitted with a brace, and Sweetie Belle thanked the doctor, who saw her out into the lobby area.

As she was heading towards the exit doors, Sweetie Belle saw a young pony being wheeled across the room, with a little foal in her arms.

She suddenly remembered Daisy May’s note in her purse, and went to the receptionist to inquire about speaking with Nurse Swaddling.

“What is your reason?” asked the receptionist.

“I’m…interested in becoming a wet nurse?” she replied, with a deep blush.

The receptionist placed a few calls, before hanging up the phone.

“She’s in today,” she replied. “Go to the fifth floor, and you’ll meet her there.”

“Thank you,” replied Sweetie Belle.

It wasn’t long before Sweetie Belle found herself sitting in a small office, with a rather large green pony, her brunette hair done up in a bun.

“Oh yes, I know Daisy May,” Nurse Swaddling smiled sheepishly. “That pony has a good heart, but she can be a bit, ‘flighty’ at times.”

“Mm-hm,” nodded Sweetie Belle.

“It is true that we are looking for voluntary wet nurses Ms Belle, though there are certain things we need to know. For instance, we’ll have to draw some blood for health analysis, and take a sample of your milk for testing. I hope you understand why.”

“You want to make sure I’m healthy enough to provide for the babies here.”

“Yes. Now I must say, you do seem rather large for your age, Sweetie Belle. Was this a result of your having more than one baby?

The question made Sweetie Belle stifle a laugh.

“Oh no, I’ve never been pregnant. Maybe someday when I’ve settled down, but I’m still studying at Canterlot University. I don’t even have a boyfriend.”

She then explained to the nurse about how she had come to be so large.

“I see,” said the nurse, taking down some more notes. “So what happened to your mammaries was medicinally-induced by an overdose. All the more reason for us to test you for any medical or genetic abnormalities. And are you still taking the pills?”

“Oh no. I’m just trying to keep from getting any bigger than I am right now.”

“All for the best. The medication could have adverse conditions for those whom you would feed.”

“I understand.”

“Now in the event that you are approved to volunteer, how frequently could you come to provide for the babies?”

“Well, to tell the truth, I’m going back to Ponyville for Summer Break with my friends. I’ll be leaving a few days after finals, but I’ll be back in the fall for my 3rd year at the university.”

“And in that case, how often might you be able to volunteer when you come back?”

“I don’t know, um…every week? Every two weeks?”

The nurse made some additional notes on Sweetie Belle’s form.

Alright then,” she said. “Now if you will just follow me, we’ll get those tests taken care of.”

After providing Nurse Swaddling with blood and milk samples, Sweetie Belle headed back to the dorm room.

“Hey girls,” she said coming through the door. “Miss me?”

“You certainly sound like you’re in better spirits,” noted Applebloom.

“Yep. No broken bones, just gotta wear this brace for a few weeks, thanks to that jerk.”

“Did you see about the wet nurse thing?” asked Scootaloo.

“Yeah, the nurse who handles it was there. They just need to test my blood and milk to see if I’m okay to volunteer. Oh, and get this: she thought I had been pregnant!”

This led to the three letting out a round of laughter.

“You should have played along,” said Scootaloo. “‘Oh yeah, the six little ones are always craving more, but I have way too much. Their Daddy’s probably wishing I was back home right now keeping them quiet.’”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that one,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Well speakin’ of future Daddies, Chrome came by while you were gone.”

“He did?” asked Sweetie. “How was he? What did he say?”

“Just that he was tired, and needed to sleep. He left you a letter. It’s over on your pillow-“

Sweetie Belle bounced across the room and snatched up the envelope. Tearing it open, she found the letter written on Canterlot Castle stationary.

He must have written this before he left the palace, she thought.

Dear Sweetie Belle,

I’m sorry that our date didn’t go as expected. Shining Armor told me you were escorted home, and I trust him enough to know that you made it back safely.

I am writing this letter at 9 in the morning. The questioning has been going on all morning long. I can guarantee that I will be sleeping all day once I get home.

To make a long story short, my actions have landed me a one-month probation, and extra duties for the next few weeks. Apparently it's something to do with me not restraining Brawny despite having reasonable means to do so, but I have to admit, letting him make a fool of himself just felt too good at the time. Anyway, with finals coming up, I may need to be careful I don’t burn myself out.

As to what’s going to happen to that jerk Brawny Bones, I assume he’s in big trouble, given his actions towards you. I hope my friends can tell me if they hear anything.

Once again, I’m sorry things turned out like this. Maybe we can do something soon that will end on a better note. We can talk more when we get together to study for Twilight’s next test.

Sincerely, Chrome Shield

When she finished reading the letter, Sweetie Belle couldn’t quite put it into words, but it felt like a weight had formed inside her chest.

Author's Note

This was one of those chapters that took some time to figure out. It has the thankless task of being the chapter after one of the key story elements has happened.

I ended up making it more of a “tasks” storyline, given what happened on the previous night, but I also introduced the notion that Sweetie Belle was also dealing with trauma after encountering Brawny Bones, and I think this is something she’ll be working through for a time.

The wet nurse bit of course, would never have been here if I hadn’t included Daisy May a few chapters ago. I’m trying to figure out a good way to bring her back for a little appearance before finals happen, though I see her moreso as a guest star, rather than a supporting character to the story.

I also did like the notion that the nurse during the interview simply assumes Sweetie Belle’s chest got so large due to a multiples pregnancy, making the notion of pill-induced growth rather foreign to a lot of ponies.