It has been ten years since Innocentius was reborn into this colorful world of pastel ponies. And he has been living his life to the fullest, experiencing things he never could as a sickly child. He spends most of his time outside exploring the town of Ponyville when he isn’t held up in school, another thing that he is getting to enjoy that he never got to in his last life. And best of all, his family is just as loving and caring as his last one. The colt was definitely in a much better place now, and living his second chance to the fullest.

Innocentius sat under a large tree in the middle of Ponyville Park with a book in his hand, his glasses resting on his snout as his yellow eyes leisurely scrolled across the pages of a rather compelling mystery novel he had borrowed from the Golden Oak Library of which he stopped by every week to pick up a new book after he had finished another. It seems that even old desires never leave when reborn with your former memories intact. Even now with a body that is young and healthy, the young one still enjoys escaping into worlds crafted by others.

He flipped over to the next page before three shadows got closer, eventually blocking out his light before he looked up to see the three older colts who gave him a rough time almost every day. It seems that bullying wasn’t a foreign concept to this world either. And these three boys have seen Innocentius as a weakling for a year since they started school together. But, that wasn’t the case. Innocentius just didn’t see any reason to waste his precious time on these three.

He simply sighed and closed his book after placing a bookmark in it and stood to his hooves “What do you guys want? Don’t you have anything else better to do than to bother me?” he asked as he looked up at them with a narrowed unamused gaze. The first colt walked up to him and shoved him against the tree before holding him there “There is no teacher around to stop us from giving you a hard time now, freak.” he said as he then snatched Innocentius’ glasses from his face and tossed them aside, leaving the colt semi visually impaired.

He tried to reach out to grab his glasses, but the older boy was too quick and had the advantage on the younger colt “Oh real nice. Picking on a younger pony with three to one. Very brave.” he said before the other two closed in with their leader. They all three started beating on Innocentius before a lasso flew over the group and pulled them away from the now curled up colt “Y’all ought be ashamed of yourselves! Gangin’ up on somepony who chooses not to fight back!” shouted an orange furred and blonde maned filly who made her way in front of Innocentius before helping him back up to his hives and dusting the dirt off him.

“Thanks, AJ…I am fine though..” he said as he carefully walked about to find his glasses. It wasn’t until he felt her hand grab him and placed his glasses into it. He offered her a smile before slipping them back on, his vision becoming normal once more “You sure you are alright, Inno? It looked like they got a few good swings in before Ah stepped in.” she said before placing a comforting hand upon his shoulder. The filly known as Applejack was one of the few friends he had in this world. While a year older than Innocentius, she saw him as a dear friend and companion. Plus, she admired his rather vast medical knowledge.

“Yeah, they just decided to come and cause trouble for me today simply because they saw me. It's how it always goes.” he said as he looked up at the slightly taller filly “I just wish they’d go bother somepony else for a change. They are just going to continue to make my life miserable the next time they see me though. But, I still appreciate your help nonetheless.” he said as he and Applejack walked off together, the filly delivering a solid kick to the leader of the three boys before leaving them tied up in the rope she had lassoed them with. “OW! Hey, let us out of here!” he shouted toward the two of them as they continued to walk away, chatting and ignoring the bullies.

As they talked and walked, Applejack just smiled and listened as Innocentius spoke about the book he was reading and the medical findings he had been learning from his father’s books as well. She loved his accent most of all. She wouldn’t know that it was German, but she loved it all the same. It made him seem more..knowledgeable one might say? Like one of those scientist that do great work in the world or something like that. That, and to her, he was a rather adorable little guy. And she felt she had a role in protecting him. Of course, not that he really needed any protection. But, it wasn’t quite to right time to show off some of his new abilities quite yet.

“So, are you gonna show up for the ciderfest we are havin’ next week? Everypony is goin’ to be linen’ up for a mih ful whenever we start dishin’ it out.” said the farm girl as she was rather excited for it to all begin, as it definitely helped with the revenue around the farm to keep it afloat. Not that they had issues to begin with since they were the main distributor of apples for miles. Innocentius thought about it for a moment before nodding “I think my mother and father actually are taking a couple of days off during next week. So, I’d imagine we’d show up together. So yeah, I think IO will show up this year. Save a mug for me will you?” he asked as he looked up at her with a smile.

She wouldn’t outright admit it, but he was the sweetest boy she had met. He was always so polite around her and her family when he came to visit. And he treated Aplebloom like she was his own flesh and blood. Even he and Big Mac got along quite nicely. There was always this polit unspoken bond between them. They’d simply exchange glances, nod, and then smile at one another. He was practically a member of the family to them at this point.

As they were walking along, a yellow furred pegasus flew over them holding what appeared to be an injured animal of sorts as she landed in front of the veterinarian’s place of work. She bangs on the door with her free hand as she cradles the bleeding creature with her other arm, blood dripping down her front and tears flowing freely from her eyes as she tries to get the attention of the pony inside, but to no avail as they vet was out on personal business “Please, somepony, anypony! I don’t care who! Save my friend!” she cried out as she fell to her knees and buried her face into the creature as she held it close.

Innocentius stood there as he watched the filly cry out in desperation. He squeezed his fists firmly before running over to the filly before kneeling down and placing his medium sized black bag next to him after removing it from his shoulder “Let me see them…” he said as he placed a soft medium sized sheet on the ground, folding it up to comfortably accommodate the small creature that just so happened to be a tabby cat that had a rather large gash on its side “How did this happen?” he asked as he began the pull out medical thread and a sterile needle along with a green herbal paste he had handmade himself that acted as a disinfectant and wound cleaner.

The yellow filly was hesitant for a moment, she didn’t know who this colt was or what he had planned. But it seemed that he was the only one willing to provide any help at this point “A-A wild..t-timber wolf got him…while he was..pl-playing out in the field..” she said between sobs. Applejack came up next to the filly and kneeled beside her, placing a comforting arm around her “Don’t you worry Flutters. Inno here is gonna make sure your little buddy gets all fixed up. He has helped with the animals on the farm before, so this is a pie of apple pie for him..” she said as she tried to reassure her friend.

Innocentius looked towards Fluttershy “You are the one who can speak with animals yes? Take your little friend’s paw and let him know that it is going to burn for a few seconds. But it is going to help seal the wound and keep it from festering.” he said as he opened up the herbal mixture. She nodded and gently held the feline’s paw before talking to him. The cat looked up at Innocentius before closing his eyes, readying himself for the pain.

With one quick pour, the solution began to spread over the wound. The cat let out a painful yowl as it struggled to stay still, squirming and kicking as the pain seared through its body. Soon enough, Innocentius began using the medical thread to seal the wound up with expert precision, making sure that it was tightly sealed so that the herbs could do their work and speed up the healing process. The felon's squirming and kicking slowed down to the point where it was finally starting to relax. Innoentius let out a sigh of relief and wiped his forehead clean of sweat before sitting on the back of his hooves “He’s going to make it. The little guy just needs plenty of bed rest and some good food. I recommend putting a cone around his neck for a few days. You don’t want him to pull those stitches out.” he said before placing his tools back into his bag.

Fluttershy scooped up her feline friend carefully and cradled him to her chest. She gazed at Innocentius like he was the one who actually saved her instead of the cat, those big teal eyes watering as a smile of gratitude formed over her muzzle “Thank you…so so very much…” she said before wrapping a free arm around him in a hug, quiet sobs of joy could be heard as he reached up and gently rubbed her back “As my father always tells me “If you have the power and capability to save a life, you do what you can to do so.” He is one of the doctors of this fine town after all.” he said as he pushed his glasses up to settle more comfortably on his muzzle.

“You know, you really are somethin’, Inno. Ah have always wondered how you obtained such knowledge of the medical field. It has really impressed me.” she said as she offered him a smile of approval. Innocentius smiled in return “Would you believe me if I said it was something I acquired being reborn from my former life?” he asked knowing full well she wouldn’t believe the truth even if he told it to her.

The farm girl blinked a few times before letting out a hearty laugh “Yeah, right. That’s a good one. Well, either way, I am glad that you can do what you are able to do. You are gonna make a great doctor one day. Ah know that much.” she said as she stood up on her hooves and watched as her friend walked away with her feline friend after thanking Innocentius once more. “C’mon. Let’s go to Sugarcube Corner. Ah wanna get you a little somethin’ for what you did for my friend there.”. He perked his ears up at the idea of something sweet to eat after such a stressful situation. That definitely sounded like a good idea.

As they walked, Applejack couldn’t help but ask the question that had been weighing on her mind ever since she watched him tend to the injured animal “Inno..um..why did you use your healing ability on the cat rather than doin’ it the old fashion way? He would have been fine right away if you had done so…” she asked as she rubbed the back of her head. She knew that he didn’t like to use it very much. At least, not in public. “Well, I suppose that I didn’t see the injury that severe. You and your family are the only ones who know that I can do that. And I wish to keep that ability as little known as possible. Until I reach an age where I can defend myself and prevent it from being used improperly. I can imagine that there are nations in this world that would love to have healing capabilities like myself. After all, medicines and surgeries can only go so far if the body is damaged beyond repair..”.

A year ago, there was an accident on the Apple Farm. Applejack, Inncentius, and Big Mac were playing in the orchard. Big Mac was climbing up one of the trees to grab a rather enticing looking apple that wouldn’t come down when he kicked it, but he had lost his footing and fell to the ground and broke his arm. They couldn’t move him or else the bone would have broken even further to the point where it was sticking out of the skin. Inncentius was afraid at first, but he grew the courage to use his healing ability because a new friend was in dire need of his help. So with his ‘healing hands’ ability, he healed both the bone and the wound as if they had never happened. Not even a scar was left behind. Of course, the bone being forced back into place by the magic was painful, but the pain faded soon after the process was complete.

“Mac still thinks he owes you a great debt from that day, ya know. You ever gonna let him repay it?” asked Applejack as she playfully hip checked him as they walked to the bakery. He smiled and gently pushed her in retaliation “It's not a debt if I don’t desire anything in return. Your brother has helped me out a few times himself. As far as I am concerned, we are even.” he said before pushing open the door to Sugarcube Corner. They both walk up to the counter before looking up at the young couple who operated the place.

“One vanilla cupcake with buttercream frosting, please. Our resident little future doctor here helped Fluttershy out today with one of her little fuzzy friends,” said Applejack before reaching into her shorts pocket and pulling out a couple of bits for the snack. Ms. Cake smiled and reached over, gently ruffling Innocentius’ mane “My goodness. You are certainly doing your father proud, young stallion. Keep it up and you’ll become more of a better doctor than he is~.” she said with a nod.

“Now now, Ms Cake, if he heard you say that, you’d be hurting his feelings,” he said before they all had a nice little laugh at that before she reached down into the cabinet and pulled out the fresh cupcake that was ordered. Applejack knew quite a few things about Inncentius, including his favorite kind of cupcake He had one other friend who unfortunately he rarely got to see because he lived all the way up in Canterlot, a colt who aspired to become the next royal guard captain. From the letters he received, his sister was in some kind of special gifted class being taught by this country’s leader.

Perhaps one day, they will get to see each other again soon and tell each other their stories over a meal. But for now, it was just him and Applejack.

Author's Note

Gonna work on another chapter or two before releasing this one out into the wild. Of course, you all won't see this note until I actually do post it. lol

May The darkness grant you peace.