Graycoat of Everfree

(So I was able to kick that writer's block to the curb, and now we have a real chapter 5, enjoy.)

Chapter 5

Graycoat woke up on the cold tile floor of the hospital. The sun had already rose and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. He stood up and walked over to the window, which overlooked the town. From there he could make out the market place, and in the distance he could see the Everfree Forest, the dangerous place he called home. He recalled the events of last night and shuddered when he remembered the timber wolf attack. The gash on his muzzle burned as he remembered the fight, but it faded as he thought about the events prior. He was so entrenched in thought that he failed to hear the approach of somepony trying their best to be quiet on the hard tile floor. Suddenly his vision was blocked out, and the sudden smell of baked goods wafted into his nostrils.

"Guess who!" A familiar voice said to him.

"Uhh Ponius Maximus?" The stallion had decided to play along, and started to think of silly names.

"Noope, guess again!"

"Umm Ditsy Doo?"

"Oh come on, that name doesn't even sound real." The pink mare sounded disappointed, and gave a stern look at no one.

"Uhh Pinkie Pie." He said trying to make it sound like a legitimate guess.

"How did you do that, are you a spy?" The pink mare moved her hooves away, the smile on her face not matching the tone of her voice. The pink mare hugged him despite the pain it caused her.

"Thank you for protecting me." The mare said still holding him in her embrace. Graycoat wanted to hug her back but was afraid of hurting her, and just stood there awkwardly. The mare released him and they gave each other an smile as the doctor walked through the door.

"Ahh good you're awake, you are now free to leave, but do not do anything dangerous for a few days, you could accidentally undo the surgery." The doctor smiled and then left, with Pinkie Pie and Graycoat shortly after.

On their walk back they met up with the rest of the group.

"Where are all you ponies going?" Pinkie Pie asked looking at her friends who were surprised to see her out of the hospital.

"Well we were coming to see you." Twilight Sparkle said looking at the two.

"We came as soon as Twilight told us." Rarity said. "My word, you two look simply dreadful." She said looking over the two.

"Now that's not a nice thing ta say Rarity." Applejack scolded the white unicorn.

"Well it is the truth." Rarity replied. The two began to argue and Pinkie Pie and Graycoat looked at each other. Both of them had mud splattered on their fur, their manes were disheveled, and blood had dried around his wounds. The two ponies began to laugh, and soon Rarity and Applejack had stopped arguing.

It had been two weeks since Pinkie Pie had been released from the hospital, and their injuries had long since healed. The scar on Graycoat muzzle had healed, but now appeared to be a permanent feature. He was heading to Sugarcube Corner to meet up with Pinkie Pie, and have an adventure that hopefully didn't end with a trip to the hospital. He walked through the door and saw Pinkie Pie sitting on the floor. Suddenly she started to shake rapidly and the suddenly stop.

"Uhh Pinkie Pie, what was that?" Graycoat asked staring at the pink pony.

"The last time I felt that was at Froggy Bottom Bog." Pinkie Pie said. Graycoat remembered how she told him of that day, and remembered the hydra and was beginning to regret this decision.

"Do you know where it is coming from this time?" He said hesitantly, hoping that it was somewhere safe.

"I don't know." The pink mare said looking at him. Somehow that answer was more unnerving than hearing it might have been somewhere dangerous.

"Since it will happen no matter what, we might as well make the best of the day that we can." He said looking at the pink mare who nodded in agreement. The two headed out the door, when Pinkie is hit with another spasm slowing her down. Today is going to be a long day. Graycoat thought to himself.

Every activity they had done or tried to do was affected by her sudden and random spasms. As the day progressed her spasms became longer and often put her in danger. They were on there last activity, and by now it seemed like Pinkie Pie never stopped shaking.The two had stopped in front of a hot air balloon and Pinkie motioned for him to get in.

"A hot air balloon that seems rather... safe." He said looking at the pink mare who had stopped shaking. The mare only nodded as she joined him in the basket, and cut the anchors. Once they had gained altitude Graycoat noticed that the weather team were bringing in storm clouds.

"Uhh Pinkie Pie shouldn't we be heading back down?" He asked pointing at the growing storm clouds.

"What's the fun in that?" She said smiling.

"Pinkie, this is in no way safe, if we fall we'll be lucky if we live." The mare continued to smile as they were overtaken by storm clouds, and it began to rain. He tried telling her to bring them down but was drowned out by the low rumble of thunder. Pinkie Pie spasms started back up, shaking the entire balloon. The ropes connecting the basket to the balloon snapped and the two ponies screamed as they plummeted from the sky. The basket crashed into the high trees of the Everfree Forest, the sheer number of branches breaking their fall. Graycoat looked out of the now sideways basket, and say the branches they were resting on were already starting to give way. Then Pinkie Pie started shaking again.

"Pinkie Pie you have to stop sha-" He was interrupted by the sound of the branches breaking and the basket fell to the forest floor. The two ponies fell out of the basket, and tumbled independently to the ground. Graycoat hit the ground first, followed by the basket which exploded in a shower of wicker prices. Graycoat barely had time to catch his breath before Pinkie Pie landed on him an knocked the air back out.

"Make it stop!" She cried as she continued to spasm. The mare's shaking made it hard for him to breath and made it impossible to move her. He thought back to the last time this happened, and he came up with an idea. He wrapped his hooves around her neck and brought her face to his. He kissed her and the shaking stopped.