The Gray Area

"Rarity... You are evil." Krysta's voice was low and laced with frustration, her tones flowing over the surface of the bubble bath towards their intended target. The evil in question was currently sending brushes, scrubbers, wash rags, and water containers flying about the room. Each implement took it's turn on Krysta, the poor human suddenly wishing that she was back out in the forest with the monster. At least it was planning on making her death quick.

Though Rarity could not understand her the unicorn mare understood the meaning of Krysta's tones, facial expression, and the emphasis used on her name as it came from Krysta's lips. Her lips turned up into a soft smile, a light chuckle chiming from it. "Oh don't you worry about a thing darling. When we get your outfit made up and have you moving about I will take you to a REAL bath."

An indignant snort was heard behind her, Applejack obviously not caring for her comment. The frost white unicorn offered a guilty smile, a bashful pink hazing her pale cheeks. "Not to say this isn't a proper bath and all. It is quite... quaint." The cowpony snorted again before storming out of the room after she dropped off the towels she had gone to fetch in the first place.

Krysta's eyes lit up with curiosity as she watched the exchange, the annoying bath forgotten for a moment. That is until her vision was obscured in a cascade of water and soap. Horrid, evil, detestable soap. If Krysta ever met the, well, pony who invented it she would personally shove some in their eyes.

Not that life in her world was pure filth. Soap simply didn't exist. When one washed they used water, water, and more water. Though, that water was usually cold from the river. Krysta did have to admit that this, "bath", felt quite a bit better when temperatures were compared. That was about as far as the human could go however, as another scrubber hastily worked at her back while it's counterpart scrubbed her legs.

Though grunts, whimpers, and growls of discomfort all met Rarity's ears she didn't make a show of noticing them. Her small smile was still well in place as her crystal clear blue eyes concentrated on what she was doing. Every stroke of every tool she wielded was precise and well practiced. This was especially why she had volunteered for this, as any other might make contact with the wound Krysta sported on her slim shoulder.

That particular area would be cleaned in due time, Rarity had decided, probably utilizing Fluttershy for that. Rarity's blue eyes began to stare at the partially bandaged area, a waterproof bandage having been placed over it just for the bath. It was because of it she had to control everything herself. Including the water for rinsing the poor girls' hair.

"Oh, yes. I suppose you would want to finish up. Just a moment dear." Her voice wavered ever so slightly as she was caught staring, the discomfort of the moment seeping into her from her charge. Her smile remained true however as she flourished the utensils for one final scrub down. All of which was rewarded with a loud squeak coming from somewhere inside the mess of bubbles.

Her white horn surged with light as her magic flowed to it's point, the energy required for this next portion a wee bit more than she was used to. The object of which she was focused on being a large bucket filled to the brim with nice hot water, scented with perfumes. It would probably ruin the bandage but she was due to get out anyway after the deed was done.

As the bath implements dropped one by one and the water level in the bath shrunk quickly, Krysta felt a small glimmer of hope shine in her heart. It was over! No more of this horrible bath! She survived! The glimmer turned into a full on flame of relief and triumph, a grin spreading on her lips.

As she sent signals from her brain towards her arms to help herself out of the bath time seemed to freeze for her. For her eyes locked onto the unicorn next to her, the extra bright glow of Rarity's horn sending some of her happy thoughts straight to tartarus. The next thing Krysta noticed was the shadow of the bucket coming up behind her, moments too late. As soon as she changed the signals to her arms from lifting her body to covering her head the scented water was making it's way over the lip of it's container.

SPLASH

Silence prevailed over the bathroom for several moments before time returned to it's normal pace, a thoroughly rinsed and perfumed Krysta falling back into the tub in a limp wreck, her soaked hair covering her face. The soft thud of the bucket on the bathroom floor was the first real sound that was made after the splash, breaking the silence that held the bathroom in it's grip for several seconds.

"See? That wasn't so bad was it?" Rarity's voice practically chirped down to the human, azure eyes twinkling at her charge with amusement as well as contentment. Before she could move on to the towels a certain pink earth pony practically exploded from a corner of the bathroom, holding a strange object in her hoof.

"Rarity! You should have seen it! That was so amazing! I bought this thing forever ago to record parties, you know, so I could watch them over again so I could make them EVEN BETTER? Well, I have never used it so I decided to use it on Krysta here! Well, not use it ON her but use it AROUND her so I could get our first moments together! Something about plot devices. I dunno! But you should have seen the look on her face! It was priceless!"

Krysta, who had been sitting in the tub silent as a mouse, jerked up, startled by Pinkie's loud entrance. Alarm filled her eyes as she drug her fingers through her hair to pull it to the sides, allowing her to see what in the hay was happening. What she saw made her want to hide behind her hair again.

Pinkie was currently messing with a small control pad on the device, rewinding the video to just before the waterfall. "Watch watch! Look at her face!" Tapping a slow play button the video began to run at half the speed, Krysta's expression turning from relief to terror as the monster above her spat it's "venom" upon her entire body. As it concluded Pinkie had to throw a hoof around Rarity's neck to support herself in her laughter.

Rarity herself had difficulty suppressing a chuckle at Krysta's expense, the sheer panic that was carved in Krysta's features in such a split second being quite the hilarious spectacle. Krysta, who had been hiding behind her hair at that moment, grumbled loudly and fumbled at the edge of the tub to free herself from it's evil clutches.

Her injured arm stung as she made it work a bit but she was able to get over the edge without too much of an issue. It was the other side that was the problem now. As soon as her wet feet made contact with the tiled floor of the bathroom they skid across it's surface as if they repelled each other, the sudden loss of support sending the rest of her down to it's cold hard surface.

The cry and continued whimpers that came from her making contact with the floor made it impossible for Pinkie and Rarity to enjoy a laugh at this particular stunt. They weren't mean after all and knew when to call it quits. Laughter was supposed to be something wonderful to share with others. Not something to use against others. Both ponies lent a hoof to the fallen human, allowing themselves to be used as handle bars for her ascent.

This time Rarity came prepared and offered an overturned bucket for a seat, which Krysta eagerly took. "I still think you are the devil..." Krysta muttered under her breath as she relaxed finally, the bath now over and done with, herself being out of the tub. Her relief was unfortunately short lived as the towels Applejack had dropped off suddenly came to life under Rarity's magic.

Luckily, Krysta knew this particular part of washing. Drying off. With a furrow in her brow and a slight strain in her breath she lifted both arms and held them out to her sides, giving the towels room to work. Why Rarity didn't just give her to towels to dry off herself was a mystery to the human but she decided to let it be. Not that she could ask anyway.

The pale unicorn took advantage of the lifted arms immediately, running the soft cotton of the towels over and around Krysta's soft skin. Luckily, due to her lack of a thicker coat, she dried quickly enough for the process to be relatively short. That was until Rarity got hold of her long, wet hair.

Tugging, pulling, brushing, rubbing, and swirling filled her senses before suddenly it was over in a flash and there stood a towel wrapped about her head, her wet hair imbedded inside. "You know... I wish you could understand me just so I could tell you how much I hate you and your "tub". Then I would push you into a river and laugh and laugh." Krysta's tone sounded happy and even a bit jovial as she spoke to Rarity, knowing the unicorn couldn't understand her.

Rarity could not stop the smile that came to her lips as she heard Krysta go on a bit in a much lighter tone. "See? I told you that you would love it!" If only Rarity knew. Taking this moment to straighten the mess of the ordeal up around her Rarity cast a sideways glance to where Pinkie Pie had been standing moments before. She was of course, gone just like that.

"I wonder how she does that." Was all Rarity could say before shrugging and moving on with her tidying up ritual. Her human charge decided to simply watch her as she worked, knowing that the white unicorn was hardly done with her. Her thoughts found themselves jumbled slightly by the sound of Applejack's voice calling from down the hallway.

"If'n y'all are done in there come on out! Some ponies can only hold it fer so long!" Rarity felt heat rise in her cheeks as she realized how much time she must have taken in the Apple family's only bathroom. With one last motion of sorting everything to it's intended living space inside her instant bath bag Rarity ushered Krysta out, the latter wishing her legs would stop feeling so weak so she could properly stomp out. Who did these ponies think they were? Bossing her around and making her do things she would have never ev--- mmmm pie.

The smell of the baked goods was the first thing to greet them at the end of the hallway, a small assortment of food set along the Apple family's table. Rarity helped her over to one of the seats, seeing as how there was no wall to support herself on from the hall way to the table that sat in the middle of the room. Krysta eyes the table warily as she was offered a seat, the spread making her mouth water and her mind reel. Not only have these ponies cared for her wound and made sure she had gotten cleaned up, they were feeding her twice now. Her deeply seeded feeling of dread threatened to overtake her once more as others began to fill the seats around her.

"Once her hair is dry I can start an ensemble for her. Until then, let us have a bite shall we? I am feeling quite hungry myself." Almost every pony agreed at that, except for a missing Twilight. Rarity assumed that it was her who had been waiting for the use of the facilities. Pinkie Pie was currently showing Rainbow Dash the slow motion replay of the bucket, the cyan mare snorting with laughter under a hoof.

Applejack was busy helping Granny Smith into a chair, Fluttershy was quietly sipping on a glass as she waited for everyone to be seated, Apple Bloom was grinning at Krysta, and Krysta was staring at something through the screen door. The white unicorn leaned over a bit to see if she could spot Krysta's attention grabber, blinking as Big Macintosh lumbered his way through the portal with heavy, yet controlled steps.

Rarity posed a smile as she turned to Krysta, wanting to introduce them. What she saw gave her pause in not only her speech, but her breathing. Krysta was trembling. Her whole body was shaking profusely at the sight of the huge work horse. The girl's mouth hung open in awe as she watched him sit at the table without so much as a blink from the others.

Big Macintosh noticed this from the human and sighed a bit. It wouldn't be the first time someone out there was afraid of him simply because of his size. Though this girl wasn't a pony, it wasn't hard to figure it out. Especially for Big Macintosh. He may be quiet, but volume did not translate to intelligence. Taking a massive hoof he pushed the bowl of mashed potatoes over to her, a calm smile on his lips as he did so.

The other ponies watched curiously as the silent exchange occurred, all wondering what Krysta's reaction would be. Even Twilight, who didn't come back until just then, watched closely in both curiosity and worry. She couldn't know what would happen should Krysta suddenly lash out in fear of Big Macintosh. She already proved she could be a hoof full, but with Granny Smith and Applebloom there they might have to do more than just grab some rope and hold on. Hurting her was the absolute last thing any of them wanted to do. But all of them, with the exception of Fluttershy probably, were prepared to should she pose a danger to others.

All fears halted as Krysta reached with her good hand and took the bowl, dragging it towards her with a small submissive nod. Big Macintosh nodded back, happy that she was at least not acting foalishly. Though he wasn't to keen on the idea that it was through fear of his reaction that kept her in check, he knew it was a start. Maybe some day she would be able to look up to him and offer him a smile because she was genuinely happy to see him. A stallion could dream right?

With the silent exchange done and over with the table burst into talk as plates, bowls, and utensils began to float about thanks to the two unicorns at the table. Though Krysta spooned her own mashed potatoes, as she didn't want to upset the giant red stallion sitting across from her, she simply leaned back as other foods filled her plate. She swore she didn't even know what eighty percent of it was even called! Much less tasted it. The thought of refusing the plate flickered in her mind before she remembered who was one swift hoof swing away. This was going to be an interesting lunch.

Lunch? Krysta suddenly realized, her eyes looking out the window to the bright day outside. That is right. They didn't end up coming back till early morning. It felt closer to midnight.

Her lips parted in a tired sigh, the small human placing the back of her hand against her eyes to shade them from the world as she relaxed in her seat. In the moment of taking in the feel of her body she realized a few things at once. She felt, well, clean. Cleaner than she ever had before it seemed. Her muscles were relaxed and soothed from the hot bath while the usual grime that came with a normal day in her world remained absent. It was a new, but not unwelcome feeling.

The second thing she noticed was her shoulder. It felt very stiff as well as a tad wet. rarity had been quite thorough in her drying, so why did she feel like the unicorn had missed a spot? The uncovering of her eyes answered this question quite thoroughly as said orbs took in the sight of her peeling bandage. It was soaked with pink as the water and blood had mixed, the feeling of it against her shoulder making her shiver some. With the excitement of everything straight out of the tub they all seemed to have forgotten it. Even the one who had the wound in the first place.

With a sigh Krysta stretched out her hand towards Rarity, tugging ever so slightly on the pony's mane. She didn't exactly know where else to pull to be honest. And though she didn't like the idea of being fawned over again by the colorful bunch she knew that prolonging it would just make it worse. Especially from Fluttershy.

"Rarity." Krysta mumbled out as she tugged, a forlorn frown adorning her thin lips. Hoping that her reaction wouldn't be too outrageous as everything seemed to be here Krysta raised her injured arm up to point at the bandage while her other kept it's hold on the purple locks.

"Yes dear?" Rarity answered without thinking, either forgetting or nor caring that their little guest couldn't understand their responses. It took the elegant unicorn a few seconds of looking back and forth between the bandage and Krysta's frown to remember what was to be done right after the bath. Technically it wasn't terribly late, it being only about ten minutes or so after they vacated the bath to their sitting down, but it still hung over her head almost visually.

"Oh dear. My deepest apologies Krysta. I completely forgot. Fluttershy, we need to change Krysta's bandages. Please give us a hoof?" Her voice was filled with regret and laced with shame as she asked. She was supposed to be the element of generosity. This was hardly generous of her. Fluttershy caught onto her tone, her time among the pony "elite" as a model having educated her rather well in their mannerisms.

"Of course Rarity. I would love to help." Fluttershy's reply was level headed and low toned to try and stray from a scene. No one needed that right now after all. Luckily the other ponies at the table either understood or were too busy eating. It would probably be a safe bet which ponies were which.

With a creak of wooden chairs upon wooden floors Fluttershy and Rarity excused themselves, pulling Krysta along with them. As was hoped the other ponies stayed in their seats, each in turn giving a nod or smile. Krysta didn't need all of them wandering about just for a simple bandage changing.

With the blessings of the dining room the three exited and found a spot in the den, each pony on either side of the human to help her move about with as much ease as ponily possible. Fluttershy broke off as they made it to the couch, trotting out to grab her medicine bag that had been left outside with Rarity's cart. While she did that Rarity ushered the human to sit, eyes scrutinizing the bandage.

"Well, it is a good thing you pointed this out to us. If we had left it like this for too long there might have been chance of infection. The bandage is almost coming... off?" As if the bandage had heard her it fell off on queue, revealing the wound that marred Krysta's skin. Rarity could not stop the sigh of pity that left her quivering lips. "You poor dear..."

Yellowing bruises surrounded the punctured area, steadily growing darker the close they got. The wound itself was a tad gruesome when compared to most things ponies had to deal with in Ponyville. The poison of the manticore stained the skin some, a sickly pale green lining the edges. It was scabbed over in only a few places, the moving of her arm causing what had scabbed over to break off and try to begin anew. The muscle that was below the scabs that could be seen were obviously separated on some points and only connected by fibers in other. Not enough to make her arm useless, but probably enough to make fine motor control scarce at best for a while.

Krysta watched Rarity look over the wound and felt anger rise up in her chest. She didn't want her pity or her baths. Sure it felt kind of nice but she didn't ask for any of it. What was there to accomplish by helping her like they were? They wouldn't get anything out of it as Krysta had nothing of value except for her life. If they wanted that they would have taken it already. None of it made sense to her, so she treated it as she usually treats things that are alien to her. She distances herself from it as her only defense mechanism. It as been all she has ever known to do.

Making her intentions known with body language Krysta scooted down the couch, her eyes sending daggers at the unicorn. Rarity only had time to blink before Fluttershy had come back into the room. The universe made sure to make her timing positively perfect as was usual. Par for the course would have been an understatement.

As soon as the butter yellow pegasus opened her bag and reached into it Krysta reacted, taking advantage of her flat hoofedness. If only she wasn't in a weakened state, maybe her kick would have done more than surprise the poor pegasus. Unfortunately the cry of shock from both Rarity and Fluttershy were all that came of the poorly made decision. In a mere two seconds the room filled with their friends.

"She just kicked Fluttershy!" Rarity's exclamation caused all eyes to move from the yellow pegasus who was currently curled up and shaking behind an arm chair to the human who had gotten up and was currently pressed into the corner of the room. Both doors required her to take a route directly passed ponies of course, making her only other option a corner.

"SHE WHAT!?" The chorus of voices rang out in fury as they took in the scene once more. The first to react was of course Rainbow Dash, the multicolored pegasus hurrying over to Fluttershy to check on her. Krysta felt herself flinch as she dashed across the room, eyes darting to and fro for her potential attacker. A warmth around her wrists and ankles caused her to falter however, her green eyes growing wide as she peered down at her limbs.

Four identical rings of purple magic had formed on her extremities, the warmth growing exponentially. Knowing this particular color's source Krysta readied a glare for the lavender unicorn, turning her head upwards to send it on it's way. Her expression never made it all the way before it cracked and crumbled.

Before her stood every pony except for Fluttershy and Rarity with snarls upon their faces. Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked particularly pissed as they bore down on the young girl. Out of reflex, Krysta threw a wild fist in Applejack's direction. Unfortunately for her it met with nothing but air as Applejack managed to jump backwards in time to avoid it. Not that it would have been harmful really with her subdued strength as it is, not to mention the fact that Applejack has taken much, MUCH worse punishment than that in the past.

Twilight decided that it was however too risky and send a command through her horn and to her magic. Unfortunately her anger translated through as well, making it a little more forceful than it probably should have been. For at that moment Krysta's wrists and ankles slammed together with their counterparts before being forced back against the wall and floor respectively.

What happened to be the real problem however was the heat from the magic. It had intensified with her anger and was causing her genuine pain. Enough pain that Krysta began to cry out in shrill sounds. However, it didn't stop the unicorn in the least. Twilight looked down upon her with a cold stare as she held her with the heated magic, never breaking contact with her as she spoke.

"What should we do? If she really did attack Fluttershy then what can we do? Even Gilda never laid a claw on her." Twilight's voice was strained, as if she was speaking of putting down a dog that had bitten some pony. Such a danger had to be taken care of right? Yet this girl was intelligent. There had to be a law or rule somewhere that accounted for this. There was the Equestrian law that listed off a few species such as griffins, dragons, zebra, donkey, and other non pony beings that states they should be sent off to their prospective nations if they were not citizens of Equestria, but they had no idea what Krysta was!

Rainbow Dash snorted and began to stalk up to the restrained human, fury in her magenta eyes. "No one hurts one of my friends. Especially Fluttershy. I know exactly what we do. We teach her a lesson and then dump her off back in the forest. Let the manticore finish her off." The sheer amount of anger and venom that dripped off her words sent Krysta into a small bout of shakes.

This isn't like what happened in the forest. They really wanted to hurt her. This was going to be it. She was done for and there was nothing she could do to stop it. With each step Rainbow Dash took her cries grew in volume and intensity until finally the pain from her shoulder, the heat from the magic, and the terror that was creeping into every nerve she had broke her dam in the form of a defiant attitude and face. She began to truly cry.

Not a fearful, short lived cry that was easily whisked away by sleep like what happened when she was in the forest. No, this was pure, regret filled wailing and sobbing. Regret for attacking that bandit. Regret for fighting Zecora and resisting Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy. Fluttershy... Regret for lashing out at the gentle pegasus when she knew the goal of it all was to help her. Everything that had happened till now only gave her regrets. Regrets that seemed to be coming far too late. Now it was over, and she was going to pay for all of it.

Not wishing to see their anger Krysta wrenched her eyes shut as she choked on her sobs, her small frame jumping with the harsh movements of the sounds. Rainbow Dash, and in truth most every pony in the room, was stunned with the sudden sobs that filled their ears. Angered looks started to fade bit by bit, each pony looking to one another as if they suddenly questioned what they were doing.

Though they were indeed protecting their friend, an onlooker would only see a group of magically armed unicorns, strong hardy earth ponies, and one extremely pissed pegasus staring down a sobbing, restrained, and wounded girl. It was not exactly the best picture one could imagine for elements of harmony. The only pony who tried to deny this was Rainbow Dash, her loyalty to Fluttershy outweighing her clear thinking of ethics or her image in that instant.

Stomping forward to release the hell she wanted to give the human a yellow blur shot before her, almost causing her to spin on the spot. "Nooo! Please don't hurt her! She was just scared! I am fine! Really! Oh please Twilight, Rainbow Dash. Let her go. I am begging you." Fluttershy's usually timid demeanor was replaced with a look of possibly mother intent, her own features expressing a fear for the small human. Twilight did as was asked almost before Fluttershy finished talking, the words ringing through her ears as she realized what it was she was actually doing.

"By Celestia..." She whispered to herself, the angry red marks on each of Krysta's joints making her shudder. She hadn't realized how furious she was. She liked to think of herself as emotionally stable and able to think in stressful situations, but this, along with some other rather terrible days in her past, wanted to prove her wrong.

Krysta could only gasp as she was released, falling to her side and bringing her wrists against her chest. It felt like blisters would form any second. There she lay curled on on the floor, her wails still prominent. Her being released could only mean the end was near. Rainbow Dash seemed to think so too as she attempted to move towards the fallen human.

In an uncharacteristic show of speed Fluttershy blocked her path, planting her hooves firmly on the wooden floor while she looked up to dash with her pleading eyes. Rainbow Dash tried once more, the same thing repeating. Every pony else watched on with sad and regretful faces, each silently hoping Dash would stand down and not make a mistake she would come to regret later on.

She seemed to take a hint as she looked at the others for support, finding none. "Fine! Keep that crazy thing around! See if I care!" Her sandy voice was filled with frustration, hurt that her friends didn't side with her. Within the blink of an eye she flew from her spot, exiting through an open window leaving rainbow contrails in her wake.

With the threat of an actual retaliation gone for now Fluttershy slowly turned around and faced the still sobbing and curled up Krysta. Her wound had been opened anew from the sudden jerking of her arm by Twilight and was trickling red down her newly cleaned skin. The towel that had been wrapped around her head had become dislodged somewhat, some golden locks of her hair strewn about her face. It was a very pitiful sight to be sure, and pulled at each pony that was present. A monster or crook would not be able to fake what they were seeing before them, and it ate at them at what they had almost considered doing, regardless if they had actually done it. Even ponies weren't perfect.

Without a sound Fluttershy knelt next to her, her long pink tresses tickling at the humans shaking hands. Though this caused Krysta to flinch, she couldn't stop herself from opening her eyes and looking up. What she saw only caused her tears to intensify. Fluttershy was looking down upon her with a small, gentle smile. Not a hint of malice or fear lay anywhere within her expression. It made the regretful feelings in her chest deepen and weigh all the heavier on her heart. Her reactions were so conditioned by her world that it was only after the potential threat of the ponies' wrath was she jarred loose from them enough to realize her folly. And what a folly it was.

Fluttershy bore witness to all of this running through the girl's mind and only smiled all the more. Maybe now, they could truly get through to her. Maybe, just maybe, they had cracked her shell enough that they would be able to peek inside. And perhaps sometime in the future, they could break it entirely and show her the outside world and the magic of friendship. Until then, she would just have to suffice with this.

The gently pegasus slowly lowered her head so she rested her neck over Krysta's, expecting the arms that immediately wrapped themselves around it. She felt the tears against her neck as Krysta buried her face into her soft fur, her bawling not having stopped in the least. Still so full of regret and sadness as they were, Fluttershy felt the hope that came with them. It was a cleansing that Krysta needed in order to be here with them. Not only to properly coexist, but to also begin the process of change that she obviously so dearly needed.

As the others watched on with their own regrets in their minds, they began to leave one by one. That is until Fluttershy's voice sounded out above the muffled sobs in the form of a song. The lullaby she so fondly loved to sing, one which Applebloom was familiar with. As it started in an attempt to sooth the aching girl, her friends filed in next to her and sat down, all eyes welling up with their own tears. They didn't fall like Krysta's however, as Fluttershy's gaze to all of them began to brighten their hearts.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue." The yellow pegasus whispered to them as she stopped her song, offering an affectionate nuzzled to each in turn. "I wish Rainbow Dash were here." All nodded and each let out a comparable sigh as they thought of their hot-headed friend. They would just have to hope that she would either come around on her own or that they would be able to find her and get through to her that everything was OK.

The group of friends all gave small smiles to one another before they each cast a look down to Krysta. Everything seemed peaceful other than Twilight. The unicorn was currently looking at her handiwork upon Krysta's wrists and ankles, another frown working it's way onto her lips. Fluttershy noticed this and stretched out a wing to touch at Twilight's side.

"It is ok Twilight. Krysta." Fluttershy murmured to the human below, coaxing her out of her neck for a moment. Her bawling had subsided a little bit but her tears flowed freely and she hiccuped with sobs ever so often. Twilight looked into her red, puffed up eyes before she tenderly touched at her wrists with her nose. A few rebellious tears rolled down the unicorn's cheeks as she did this, her gaze unable to fully meet Krysta's.

The human girl saw the pain that Twilight carried from it and understood. If there was ever a creation of the gods that was most important, surely the universal language of the heart was a contender for that title. Reaching over with the hand closest to Twilight she gave her neck a tug, urging her forward until Twilight was leaning down close. With the slightest change of posture she wrapped her arms around either pony, whimpering into their necks.

The lavender unicorn managed a small smile at this, allowing herself to fall into a position that was most comfortable for Krysta. There they stayed for some time before Fluttershy nudged both Twilight and Krysta to release the embrace. The wound on Krysta's shoulder hadn't been treated yet and desperately needed it, especially due to Twilight's magic. That, and her wrists and ankles both needed some attention now as well.

"Twilight, do you have a spell to put her to sleep? It would be so much easier to work on her if she was." Her request was put forward in a small voice, as if she feared a harsh rebuttal from the unicorn.

Twilight of course nodded and stood. "Yes. That is a good idea. Keep her focused on you. The calmer she is, the easier it will work and the longer it will last." Fluttershy understood and nuzzled deeper into the almost silent Krysta, trying to give her as much comfort and affection as she could.

Krysta watched as they spoke, a measure of panic entering her heart as she witnessed Twilight's horn light up. It was immediately pushed away however as Fluttershy nuzzled into her, giving her every reason in the world as to why she would be safe and that there was nothing to fear from Twilight. Even then, she couldn't help but at least close her eyes and wait for what was to come.

A slow, almost throbbing, ball of magic left Twilight's horn and touched at Krysta's forehead before vanishing through her skin, the effect almost immediate. In moments the human went limp and fell asleep, her burdened breathing leveling out into a manageable level. As Fluttershy stood so Krysta could be moved she gave the human a small kiss to her forehead. "Don't you worry Krysta. Fluttershy's got you. Everything will be fine."

In a glow of pale blue magic Krysta was lifted onto the couch by Rarity, positioned so Fluttershy could do her work on the girl's pains. Before Fluttershy could reach back into her bag however she was practically dragged into a large group hug by Big Macintosh who looked to be on the verge of sobbing himself right then and there.

"You are s... such a wonderful pony Fluttershy." His booming voice betrayed his screwed expression that was trying to hold it all back. The four friends that were present all nodded and said similar things, giving cause for Fluttershy's cheeks to grow hot.

"Only because I have such wonderful friends." Her reply was filled with such truth that Big Macintosh lost it right then and there, the large stallion running out of the room mumbling something about a doll in a deep sobbing voice. They all laughed once more before they allowed Fluttershy to get to work, the pegasus returning to her bag a third time this afternoon.

Holding up a piece of gauze in her mouth she blinked as her eyes were met with the sight of Twilight making a move to leave. "Twilight? Where are you going?" Her voice had some concern in it, not wanting Twilight to think badly of herself.

The purple unicorn turned to smile at her, pushing the door open with a hoof. "I have a letter to write to the Princess." All ponies present nodded as the scholar left the house and trekked down the path towards Ponyville and the library, the words already forming in her mind. So much so that she couldn't help but start dictating to herself as she trotted along.

"Dear Princess Celestia..."