Diamond and I were both miserable when we left school. The two days since Flurry’s birth had been miserable for everypony. Quick Quip had apparently been among those that got hit near the edge of the empire, and my friend group just wasn’t the same without the green goofball.

A pegasus filly that looked vaguely familiar landed before us. She had a blue band around her upper left foreleg. “Princess Inova, Lady Diamond, would you be willing to help me?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Maybe. Remind me of your name again? I’m really tired.”

“Finesse, daughter of-”

I put a forehoof on her muzzle. “Say no more, I remember.”

Diamond was looking upwards with a smile. “Lady Diamond. I like the sound of that.”

I lowered my forehoof. “What are you doing here?”

Finesse gestured in the general direction of the train station with a wing. “My family brought a bunch of ponies and goods to help the Empire. If you could help us, it would mean a lot to everypony.”

The news of help arriving so quickly made me smile. “You know what, I’d love to help. I just need to get two things taken care of first. Diamond?”

“Your highness?” Diamond asked in what was probably her snootiest voice.

“Find our friends, see if they want to help. Finesse?”

“Your highness?” Finesse asked with grace and poise.

“Did you ask Skyla?”

“She couldn’t help since she had to go help take care of Princess Cadence and Flurry Heart.”

“Makes sense. That’s all I needed to know.”

“I’m off!” Diamond ran to go find our friends, something that normally wouldn’t take too long, though the snow was a big obstacle.

I spread my wings. “Lead the way, Finesse.”

The area around the train station had become a hub of activity. Ponies with blue bands like Finesse’s, along with a bunch of ponies sporting green bands, were serving meals to those that came up to them, coming in from elsewhere, or leaving with carts and wagons of things. I even spotted Fromage among the ponies running the food lines.

I landed next to Fancy as he levitated some lumber onto a wagon. It had taken me a moment to recognize him without his usual attire and his mane and tail messed up. I gave him a sharp salute. “Princess Inova reporting for duty, Mr. Pants!” I couldn’t fully resist the chuckles, despite the seriousness of the situation.

“What a pleasant surprise,” Fancy happily said. “Our food team is a bit short staffed right now, so if you could help there, that would help a lot. Fromage will give you a green band and some directions.”

“Yes, sir!” I quickly found the colt I was looking for. “Are you really in charge of the food?”

“I am, Princess Inova,” Fromage said. “Are you here to help?”

“Get me a green band and some directions.”

I was given a front row task of serving warm food to those that came up. The flow of food and ponies was nearly constant, with barely a moment to breathe, but it was all going smoothly. The fact that I was working with other ponies definitely helped, along with all the gratitude coming my way.

Diamond showed up by my side after a bit, with Sunflower, Brooke, and Hearthstone behind her. “I got who I could. Soprano and Girder didn’t want to come with us for some reason.”

“That’s okay,” I said. “Find Fancy or Fleur for directions.”

Diamond got put on the cooking team and occasionally brought things out from one of the nearby houses to be served. According to her, Brooke and Sunflower were assigned to the care team and Hearthstone was on the build team. It sounded very appropriate.

Lucky Spotter flew down and landed next to me. “Princess Inova, how have things been here?”

“Busy,” I said as I served up two meals to two ponies. “But I’m liking it. I really feel like I’m helping. It’s a lot better than just sitting on the throne.”

“It certainly looks like it. Excuse me.” He left and started talking to Fancy.

I didn’t think too much about Lucky’s presence until I saw him and some of the build team, including Hearthstone, start building a long table past the end of the food line. “What’s happening over there?” I asked.

“Fancy said something about a surprise,” Hearthstone said. “Nothing else.”

I went back to my task and let the construction go on.

The surprise would come later. Girder, Soprano, and Mr. Slice showed up with a covered wagon loaded with pizza boxes.

A mare tapped my shoulder. “Go help them. I’ll take your spot here.”

I smiled at her. “Thanks.” I made my way over to the freshly built table. “Is this what you were up to?”

“I couldn’t let papa pull the wagon himself after we spent so much time making all of this,” Soprano said.

“I was lucky that so little of my goods were lost to the freeze,” Mr. Slice said. “I was planning on helping out like this anyways, so this is perfecto!”

I grinned at the good fortune. “Then what are we waiting for? Get that wagon back here and let’s get to it!”

Girder went off to help with clearing the snow while I helped Soprano and Mr. Slice serve the pizza. Thanks to some special magic burners, just like others in the line, the chilled pizzas could be warmed up and served almost as fresh as if they came out of the oven. I made a note to try and get the artificing schematics for one later on.

Despite the terrible situation the Empire was in, things were going great.

The next day, Diamond and I made the unusual decision to skip school. We went right back to the train station and switched out with some ponies on the food line that clearly needed some sleep after working through the night.

As the day wore on, it became clear that Diamond and I were not the only ones who thought to do what we did. Other classmates of ours showed up to help as well, including our friends. Quick Quip showed up after the hospital released him, and he got put on the care team. I pretended to feel bad for anyone that he would try to help.

It was much better than going to school, and I even got to see the breaks in the bubble slowly close up. The shield, the Empire, and my ears were on the mend.

Author's Note

Short chapter is short, but I couldn't think of anything else to add that wouldn't become repetitive.