Equestria, Sweet Equestria...

Chapters

Chapter 1: Winter Wrap InterrUPtion
Chapter 2: Welcome and Suspicion
Chapter 3: Care and Research
Chapter 4: Investigation and 'Great News'
Chapter 5: Worry and Work
Chapter 6: Promises and Catching Up

Chapter 1: Winter Wrap InterrUPtion

“Twilight, come on, can’t I sleep this one out please?”

This is what Twilight Sparkle, a lavender colored unicorn, had heard Spike, her assistant of so long, say while still in bed and barely awake.

“Come on Spike,” Twilight insisted while nudging the sleepy dragon, “It the same with you every year, its Ponyville’s tradition and every pony has to-”

“Help clean up winter…” Spike mumbled as he slowly got out of his basket bed, “…is it me or are they starting this thing earlier and…*yawn* earlier every time…”

Twilight only gave a chuckle to that remark as he put her boots and scarf on before lacing up her saddle. As Twilight checked off the items on her list for the day, she began to recall the vents of her first Winter Wrap Up.

“Hurry up Spike,” Twilight said eagerly, “I heard Rarity needed a little extra help with the nest making this year.”

Twilight saw Spike lose his sleepiness at the news as he quickened his pace and ran out the door. Twilight gave another chuckle as she walked out of her tree home and library. Twilight saw Spike already a ways away before she followed towards the center of town.

Every pony was gathered ready to work the same jobs once again as the usual speech was given by the Mayor of Ponyville, Mayor Mare, and Twilight was ready to organize the groups as she had done in previous years.

CRASH!

The sudden noise drowned out every thought on every pony’s mind as the ground shook violently in the manner of an earth quake. Ponies plowing the snow were either tossed around or found large portions of snow tossed on them. The seeds that had been recently planted in the fields were tossed right out of the ground. The ice skaters found themselves falling over onto the ice as it began to crack beneath them. Most of the pegasuses noticed the commotion after having removed a good portion of the clouds already. Smoke was drifting up from near the center of town as every pony made their way cautiously towards the sight. Initially, what they all saw, having arrived in masses at town center, was a crater the size of a building with smoke emitting from its center. The sense of curiosity that had developed amongst the crowd was now lingering on, but no pony was willing to go any closer and see who…or what could have made the crater. A murmur ran through the crowd till eventually a few ponies began to walk forward. There was a sense hesitation between each step of their hooves as they drew ever so closer to the crater…

There was the sudden sound of something moving in the carter as the noise of shuffling across dirt filled the ears every pony in the crowd. Then suddenly a white hoof shot up and tossed itself over the edge of the crater. The ponies backed away a bit to see the figure emerging from the crater. It managed to get itself up out of the crater and slumped forward with its face into the ground.

It was a pony…an earth pony at that. Its fur was white and stained with dirt. Its brown mane was short in the back and hung in bangs over its forehead. Its upper body was dressed in what looked like a red and gray striped dress with sleeves that went down to its hooves. Its flank was void of any cutie mark and its tail hung just past its hunches. The pony began stir with its face in the ground while letting out a low groan.

Rick could feel every muscle in his body aching as he became somewhat conscious. As far as he could tell, he could feel that he was slumped over and figured he had fallen asleep awkwardly. He drew in a breath to calm himself now figuring he would find himself in his nice warm bed ready for a new day. He began to lift himself up…not feeling his fingers…or his hands... His eyes shot open as he pulled his head up to look down to his arms… only to be greeted with a pair of hooves. He then noticed he was laying on…grass rather than the sheets of his bed. He used his “hooves” and began to push himself up hoping what he was seeing was a dream. He found himself on his feet… and ‘hooves’ with disorientation having full grip on him as he noticed he was… a little shorter than his normal height and his neck seemed more craned back then parallel with his torso.

What the…? He thought as he finally began to take in his surroundings.

Already wondering if he was dreaming, he eyed a large crowd of… ponies ranging from various colors. He turned on his legs and ‘hooves’ to see buildings of bright colors covered in snow. He then realized that…all the eyes of the ponies were on him. Rick was at a loss for words as the reality or what he could call it dawned on him.

“Uhhhhh…. Hello?” Rick managed to get out with a nervous smile on his face

Rick could hear the murmurs going through the crowd of ponies in front of him as he stood there not sure what to do or say. Despite his silence, many questions were running through his head… but his thoughts were cut short when he had a pink pony come right up in his face with a giant smile.

“Oh my gosh a new pony!” It shouted with rapid secession while hopping rapidity up and down, “This calls for a PARTY!”

The pink pony took off with great speed through the crowd as Rick just stood there with wide eyes that blinked a few times before he turned to look at the ponies around him.

“Ummmm….I’d best be going now,” Rick said as he began to attempt to walk on all fours, “Don’t mind me...”

Walking on his new found hooves with his back legs didn’t prove to be difficult as he was more level then trying it with legs and arms. As soon as he got the hang of it, the quickened his pace and ran right through the crowd, which parted as he came closer. He transitioned into a...gallop as he broke away from the crowd and proceeding past several buildings. He whipped his head from left to right looking at all the buildings, which were bright and colorful with signs hanging above their doors on metal hangers. He came to a direct halt before looking quickly around hoping to find some salvation...something to wake him up..

“HEY!”

The shout came from behind him shattering his hope of a dream and in placing reality as he whipped his head around. He didn’t see one of the ponies following him but his gaze shifted up to see one of them flying right at him. A pegasus, if he remembered the term correctly. He made a mad dash for his life with no matter of where he was going but only hoping to get away. He could hear the wind suddenly rush and something collide with him. He found himself on the wet grass once again as he felt something pinning him down not letting up one inch. He lifted his head up and turned to be greeted with a cyan Pegasus with…a rainbow mane.

“Alright, who are you,” It asked staring directly at him with its eyebrows lowered, “And why are you in such a hurry for?”

Rick, letting instinct take over, faced the ground and swung his head back while pushing himself up with his front hooves striking the Pegasus square in the face. The moment he felt that he was free; he pushed himself up onto all fours and took off once again. He saw a large field of grass off in the distance as he pushed himself for the edge of the town. Sooner he was away…the better. He was coming right up on the last building for what he could see and couldn’t hear any sounds of anything chasing him. Just as he was about to clear past one of the corners of the building…

“SURPRISE!”

Rick went wide eyed and let out a shout as he slammed down on his hooves causing him to come to a screeching halt but with the momentum gained during his run he found himself moving forward. He came off the ground for a second going head first into an object that easily broke apart before he fell onto his new friend, the ground. He felt his entire faced engulfed in a gushy and almost…creamy substance. His nose was greeted with the smell of strawberry frosting and a quick lick on his upper lip confirmed this. He opened his eyes to find the outer parts of his vision crowded with pink and once he lifted his face to be parallel with the ground he noticed pink hooves.

“Whoopsy doodle...” A familiar voice said from above.

Raising his gaze upward, he was greeted….with the same pink pony from before...this time with a nervous smile on its face. He heard something land behind him and pull at the collar of his shirt. He found himself lifted up just enough to where he was on his feet and hooves once more. He didn’t even get a chance to move before his face was greeted up close with the cyan pony from earlier….whom was steaming mad and had blood trickling from its nose and sliding over its upper lip.

“Where do you think you’re going?” The pony asked through clenched teeth.

“uh…that way…” Rick replied with the only thought to come to his mind while finding his voice as a nervous smile crossed his face.

"Yeah. I don’t think so,” The pony said before jabbing Rick in the chest with a hoof, “You’re goanna go back and explain yourself to everypony.”

Rick lowered his eyebrows as his mind raced to think of a plan of action.

“Don’t you think about trying anything,“ The pony pressed while taking a step forward, “You're dealing with the fastest flyer in Equestria.”

“You can’t…” Rick began while stepping foward.

In a split second, Rick saw the cyan pony soar up into the air before he felt something grab at the collar of his shirt once again. He felt the wind rush by him as he was carried from the groundat great speed. Looking ahead he saw they were coming up right on the crater and the crowd of ponies, but it seemed a bit smaller then his initial greeting. He began to shake himself in hopes to wrench the collar from the pony’s mouth.

“I wouldn’t do that from this height if I were you,” He heard it say over the rushing wind.

Can’t argue there, Rick thought while letting out a sigh and slouching with his hooves dangling.

Right as he did that, he felt something give and immediately he found himself free falling with the wind rushing past him at a greater force. He let out a scream as he plummeted like a rock before shutting his eyes tightly. The last image he saw was of him coming right up on a roof of building. He felt himself slam right into a hard surface with his hooves taking most of the force before the rest of his body slamming down. He felt gravity pull him over a edge before finding himself falling once more onto the ground and going unconscious.

Chapter 2: Welcome and Suspicion

“Just make sure you don’t do any heavy work for a while,”

Nurse Redheart gave the blue earth pony with a hind leg wrapped in bandages a pat on the back before seeing him off. She let out a sigh as she turned around to go back into Ponyville Hospital as she had done so many times before when a patient was in stable condition to leave. She went through the front doors into the lobby with a single nurse pony at the reception desk.

“Oh, Nurse RedHeart, one of the doctors needed your assistance in west wing,” She said before returning to the pony she had been addressing.

Nurse RedHeart quickened her pace towards the double doors into the farther interior of the hospital. She took a turn down one of the hallways without hesitation knowing where she was heading like the back of her hoof.

“NURSE REDHEART!”

Before she even had a chance to turn around, she heard the double doors from the lobby slam open and the sound of something rushing quickly towards her. She stopped dead in her tracks as a rush of blue stoped right in front of her.

“Rainbow Dash, what is it?” Nurse RedHeart began before taking notice, “Oh my…”

Held by the collar of a stripped dress was an earth pony probably no taller than her...but with a bent front leg. Giving it a quick examination, she noted the bend was natural but found when applying pressure for slight movement there was restrictiveness in the bent area.

“Bring him in here,” Nurse RedHeart ordered as she led Rainbow Dash toward one of the rooms lining the hallway.

They entered a simple room with a single wide window and two hospital beds, however one was already taken. Nurse RedHeart motioned for Rainbow to set the pony down on the bed next to the window, which she did without hesitation. Nurse RedHeart immediately went to work. She ran out of the room and went over to one of the karts in the hallway. She pulled a small bag out with her mouth before filling it with ice. Once the bag was full, she picked it up and ran back into the room.

“…once you wake up you’ve got explaining to do…”

Nurse RedHeart raised an eyebrow but didn’t press the issue as she tossed the ice bag to Rainbow Dash, whom caught it in her mouth.

“Apply that to his leg but don’t try to move it,” Nurse RedHeart explained before leaving the room once again.

She returned to the same kart and retrieved a roll of cast wrapping before making her way back once again. She motioned for Rainbow to move aside as she began to apply the casting. She used a single hoof to gentle keep one end of the cast on the pony’s leg. She wrapped it around the pony’s neck then around the leg and then around the neck again. Once she had applied all the cast to the injury, she made sure the wrapping was tight and would hold the leg in place.

“There we go, as long as that doesn’t move, he’ll be fine” She commented while turning from her handy work to Rainbow, “Now do you know how exactly this happened?...and Rainbow your bleeding…”

“I was bringing him back to the center of town to explain how he caused that crater,” Rainbow explained, “He tried wiggling free…”

“Wait…wait…crater in the center of town,” Nurse RedHeart asked while taking a second to look at the pony but remembered the earthquake, as most of the ponies in the hospital had called it when it happened despite how quickly it came and went.

“He tried wiggling free and even though I said it wasn’t a good idea,” Rainbow continued, “When he slipped, I was going a decent speed that I over shot the area and I wasn’t able to catch him.”

“I see, and what caused your nose to bleed,” Nurse RedHeart questioned.

She got her response when Rainbow Dash lowered her eyebrows and frowned while pointing a single hoof at the pony in the hospital bed. Nurse RedHeart had a lot of questions come to her as she took everything into account. Her thoughts were cut off when she heard the door of the room slam open.

“Nurse RedHeart, we need your assistance stat!”

She recognized the voice of one of the various doctors and immediately turned around to face him.

“Yes. Sorry Doctor,” She said while walking towards the door, “Dealing with a paitent's broken leg.”

Nurse RedHeart exited the room alongside the doctor as she heard Rainbow Dash leave as well.

“He’ll need some rest so it is best you take care of Winter Wrap Up then come back,” Nurse RedHeart said to her taking one last moment to look at her.

“I will.” Rainbow replied before letting out a sigh, “I’d better hurry. We’re behind as is.”

Nurse RedHeart turned back and followed the doctor to the west wing just as Rainbow Dash took off towards the lobby.

“Alright everypony, back to work. We’re losing daylight.”

This is what Twilight heard Mayor Mare say to the ponies still looking over the crater in the center of town. Twilight was thinking over the ways of how a single earth pony could have caused a crater the size of a small home. She had various theories come to mind but they were easily disproved in a matter of seconds of thinking them. Her mind then remembered seeing Rainbow Dash taking the pony in question towards the Ponyville Hospital…after the pony had fallen onto the ground from a ways up.

“Everything seems to be back on track,” Mayor Mare announced catching Twilight’s attention.

“Yeah,” Twilight began before tearing her gaze from the crater, “We should be able to make the deadline again and we’ll have to have a few ponies push what dirt we can back in the crater.”

Despite he attempts to take her mind off the incident, Twilight's mind kept going over it exhausting possibility after possibility, all except...She was only able to subside the urge of curiosity by planning to get some answers once everypony was done wrapping up winter. The day went much like it had in previous years despite the setback. However everypony kicked it into a higher gear to make up for lost time. Daylight ticked away in quick secession and by the time everything was said and done, Celestia’s sun was on the verge towards setting. Mayor Mare had congratulated everypony for another successful Wrap Up once they were all gathered at town Hall after the day’s work. Twilight, like previous years, stood off to the side of Mayor Mare's podium during the duration of the speech.

“Thank you all once again and have a good evening everypony,” Mayor Mare announced before giving a wave with one of her hooves

Once Mayor Mare had concluded her speech, she stepped away from the podium in front of the main doors of town hall as the crowd of ponies began to disperse. Twilight’s mind quickly went back to wanting answers to the questions digging at her curiosity. She turned her gaze upward to see the crowd of pegasi dispersing. She was able to spot Rainbow Dash whom was quickly speeding with an angered expression.

“Uh oh…” Twilight whispered as she took notice of Rainbow’s direction.

Quickly channeling her magic to her horn, she surrounded herself in a raspberry colored aura before a bright light flashed and she disappeared from the center of town.

Vision came back in spurts… Rick could feel himself coming too. However this time, he felt he was lying on his back on a nice soft matrass. As he vision cleared, he could see he was in a room and felt he was in a semi sitting position. He looked around with clear vision taking in the room around him. He recognized the décor as out of a simple hospital room. To his left he saw a white curtain and heard the sounds of someone snoring away. Taking a look slightly down, he noticed white covers over his lower body before he finally let out a sigh in relief. He laid his head down as he gave a chuckle shutting his eyes and bringing a hoof to his face.

A hoof….

Opening up his eyes in a flash he was greeted with a white hoof directly in front of his face dressed in the sleeve of his shirt… Darting his eyes to the right, he came across a window and upon closer inspection of what lied outside…he saw…the oh so familiar town…Rick just sat there wide eyed after reality had made itself perfectly clear once more and didn’t speak a single word….

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

He leaned back on the hospital back on the hospital bed letting out a scream almost to the top of his lungs while spreading his ‘front legs’ only to find his left one hurting. He choked back his shout wincing at the sudden pain before he looked down at his left leg to see it bounded in a cast just as he took notice to the cast wrapped around the back part of his neck.

“Would you please keep it down?” Someone demanded from the other side of the curtain, “Some of us are trying to heal.”

“sorry…” Rick replied as his brain tried to foolishly combat against the….clear reality, “…uh what happened to you…”

“Construction…on top of the interior structure we had just finished,” The person answered after letting out a sigh as the irritation in their voice faded, “Somepony was messing around with the crane and didn’t pay attention. I get hit and end up falling and breaking a good amount of bone.”

“…ouch…sorry to make you talk about that,” Rick replied, the feeling in his gut sinking lower at the mention of the word pon…

“Yeah, but us earth ponies are built tough,” The person replied with a new found confidence in their voice, “We bounce right back…after a while that is.”

“Oh….that’s good…umm…get well then…” Rick replied as his mind slowly lost its fight.

“What happened to you that’s got ya screamin’?”

Rick, with his fighting mind slowly going to rest, hesitated for a moment taking a look at his injury once more…

“Rainbow!”

The shout was accompanied by a loud crash from somewhere far off. The sound of a scuffle going on far from the room but quickly getting closer filled Rick’s ears as he lifted his gaze from his hoof and drew in a breath. The scuffle came right up next to the room before he heard the door slam open. Before Rick could even blink…that same cyan pony was in his face again but without a nose bleed.

“Alright now,” It said then somehow pulling him by his shirt with its front hooves, “Your goanna explain how you made that crater in the…woah!”

Rick saw the pony get pulled back and landed on the floor onto its haunches. Standing there with a bit of rainbow tail in its mouth, it was a lavender colored pony…but with a horn on its head and no wings. A unicorn, if he remembered the term correctly.

“Rainbow, settle down and let him have a moment of peace,” The lavender pony said to the cyan one, apparently called Rainbow, before turning to Rick, “I’m sorry about that. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Twilight Sparkle and this is Rainbow Dash, though from what I could tell you’ve already been acquitted with her…somewhat.”

Rick just stared at the two ponies with a speechless look frozen on his face.

“Yeah…um…well um… My name’s Rick.” He managed to say.

Immediately he felt even more out of place as he could tell there was a slight sense of confusion that came across Twilight’s face.

“Well then Rick... Let me be the first to welcome you to Ponyville, and now that your awake.. we hoped you would …” Twilight began in a polite tone but turned to a tone that meant she was a little unsure how to go forth on the next part of her sentence.

“Explain how you made that crater in the middle of town,” Rainbow Dash continued now back on her hooves.

Rick’s mind flashed the no so long ago memory of coming out of that crater and discovering the reality around him. He tried to recall what had happened or what he had been doing before waking up in that crater…but came up blank.

“Not the answer you want but uh….” Rick began taking a pause while shrugging, “I’m not sure exactly…. I just woke up in there.”

“No way could you of just woke up in a crater,” Rainbow commented with skepticism overtaking her voice, “How do we know you’re not some changeling sent to harm everypony in town?”

“…a what?” Rick asked while raising a single eyebrow.

“Never mind that,” Twilight assured while giving a stern look to Rainbow before turning back, “Do you…remember anything before waking up?”

“uhh…no…but I pretty sure I wasn’t in a place like this…” Rick replied but immediately had a feeling of regret come over him.

Twilight and Rainbow stood there silently with their gazes locked on him. Twilight had peculiar look on her face as if she had just heard something out of the norm or offsetting. Rainbow Dash was reacting the same way but with her eyebrows lowered and the frown still on her face. Rick could feel the wave of uneasiness come over him now knowing he had royally screwed up…somehow.

“Ummm…” Was all that Rick got out thus breaking the silence that had fallen the room.

“Oh!” Twilight replied as if breaking out of a state of mind, “It’s nothing just….you seem to be implying, if we’re hearing you correctly, that you’re not around from here…am I correct?”

Rick gave no response as he just stared back at the two ponies while his brain was rushing to form a response. He could feel the nervous feeling coming over him as Twilight and Rainbow gave a look to each other before turning back to him.

“Well… it was nice meeting you,” Twilight said in her steady polite tone, but hesitation gave more proof to the awkwardness that had settled in, “Hope you feel better soon.”

Rick remained silent but gave a nod as Twilight and Rainbow both walked out of the room shutting the door behind them.

“What kind of exit was that? Now he knows were on to him.”

Twilight turned her questioning gaze from the door to the hospital room to Rainbow, who now hosted a slightly angry on her face.

“Rainbow… please keep it down,” Twilight pleaded in a lower tone then her friend, “And how do you suppose we should have walked out of that conversation? You saw the look on his face and how he replied to our questions.”

Twilight’s brain was calculating and re-calculating the answers from the ‘pony’ in the room, but coming up with the same conclusion while parts of her mind debated it extensively. She also recalled something she felt while in the presence of the pony. An aura….a specific aura that she was able to distinguish in a second…aura of a transformation…

“I’ll look into it,” Twilight finally said collecting her thoughts for further discussion, “And keep this between us for a while. We don’t want everypony going into a panic.”

“Alright…” Rainbow muttered out while lowering her gaze to the floor.

“Promise?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah yeah… cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Rainbow dash replied looking back up at Twilight, “But that doesn’t mean I’m NOT going to keep my eye on him.”

With that, Twilight saw Rainbow take off flying down the hall and towards the lobby in a rush. Twilight took last look at the door remembering everything the ‘pony’ had said before channeling her magic and teleporting out of the hospital.

Chapter 3: Care and Research

Rick’s mind was in paranoia mode, rushing thought after thought of what would soon befall him. Part of him wanted to get out of the hospital, but another part knew it was unless. He looked down at his injury only confirming he wouldn’t be getting anywhere if he tried to leave. He let out a sigh and laid back on the bed while his mind continued to race. He caught the sound of a curtain being drawn before he turned his head to the left. He was greeted with…. A gray pony with a short wavy dark blue mane tucked in a similar bed holding the curtain that had separated them aside with a single hoof and was giving him a peculiar look just like Twilight and Rainbow had. Rick just laid there staring back at the pony before he watched it pull its head back with that same look before letting the curtain separate them once again. Turning his head away to gaze at the wall across the room, Rick let out another sigh just as he felt himself start to relax somehow. The light pouring in from the window was slowly changing towards a bright orange telling him the sun was on the verge of setting for the day. He couldn’t help but find the idea of sleep seem like a good one as his eyes began to flutter between shut and open. He drew in a breath before letting it out as he shut his eyes. Maybe just a few minutes…just to calm his mind down….telling himself he’d figure out what to do next when he woke up…

“Spike, could you find A Pony’s Guide to Identification of Uncommon Creatures please?”

Twilight’s eyes scanned the shelves of her library with a quick pace. She had not been home for even a minute before going into her search about the library. She scanned down row after row looking for another book in particular…

“Aha,” She exclaimed as she channeled her magic causing the book to glow with her magical aura, “Here it is. Now spike…spike?”

She whipped her head around hoping to see Spike coming down from the ladder like most times when Twilight was preoccupied, but….only the sound of snoring came to her ears. Twilight let out a sigh knowing well where Spike was dozing off at, but did take into account…it had been a bit of a day…even for a Winter Wrap Up. Getting back to her work, she began on her search for the book in question while keeping the one she had close by.

“Ok let’s see…” Twilight said as opened the book and began flipping through the pages, “Transformation... now where is the…”

As she read, she passed another shelf giving it a quick look before her eyes focused on a thick dark brown book protruding slightly out from the rest of the books stacked side by side. Dividing her magic, she pulled the guide out of the shelf keeping the book she had still in the air. Quickly moving over to a small desk by a circular window, Twilight set the guide off to the side and placed the open book right in front of her while scanning the page. The information wasn’t anything new. She had read this particular section before, but there were times she felt she needed the necessary refresh. While going over the pages, she couldn’t help up but find her attention turn to the guide. The pages had small pieces sticking out of the pages making up the alphabet index…her gaze was locked on one of the pieces in particular.

“No...no...”

Twilight turned back to the book in front of her…as she recalled the aura she felt around Rick…she couldn’t help but still feel a little off by the name. After rereading the passage on the page once again particularly the one in regards to auras, she turned to the guide and flipped it open. She scanned past various pages filled to the brim with known information portraying to the creature on the page. She took longer on the ones that had relation to auras in the section of indentifiaction….as her eyes fell back onto the one particular piece of the index…. She turned back to the page but her mind was still drifting back to that one piece of the index… maybe…. She channeled her magic and several pages of the guide were engulfed in her aura before she began to flip them with an ever growing hesitation but...maybe….it wouldn’t hurt to take a look….

Rick felt his eyes begin to flutter as his eyesight became flooded with a bright light. Squinting his eyes as he leaned himself up towards a sitting position causing the covers over his upper body to slide off. As his eyes adjusted from the minor sting of light, he saw the hospital room as it had been. He looked to the window and saw the town now engulfed in board daylight and filled with a large number of ponies.

“Good morning,”

Rick tore his gaze from the window to the front of the bed and was greeted with a light yellow pony with a blue and light blue mane in a nurse’s cap. Bearing a warm smile on her face, she approached and propped her front hooves on the bed side and pulling herself up.

“Let’s just have a check up on this shall we?” She said while taking a closer look at Rick’s cast, “I must say. You’ve become the talk of the town.”

Rick kept silent while the nurse pony went about her work. She gave the cast on his leg a quick examination gently using her hooves to carefully move the entire leg limiting any movement of the bounded hoof.

“Not much of a talker,” The nurse pony commented while shifting her emerald eyes towards Rick before back to the cast, “Notice any pain or changes in your leg? Cause any trouble for sleep?”

Rick shook his head remaining in his silence before the light yellow pony backed off past the curtain.

“Aright then,” She said with that warm smile still on her face while turning to face the pony on the other side of the curtain then back at Rick, “I’ll be right back with your two’s dosage for today.”

“Wait, dosage?” Rick finally said breaking his term of silence just as the nurse pony left the room.

“…of your herbs…” the voice of the pony from the other side of the curtain replied, “…you want to keep the healing going don’t you?”

Rick fell back into his silence as his mind tried processing the information but found his mind focusing on something else.

You’ve become the talk of the town…

Rick felt a light cold chill come over him as he directed his sight to the window again looking at the town. He just sat on the bed gazing at the town…the ponies out doing their daily routines…talking….discussing…. him?

Rick immediately shoved the idea off as absurd. There was no way that an entire town was still talking about him. Maybe throughout the day of the incident, but surely after a long night of sleep and going back to a daily routine meant that the incident had lingered away…right?

Rick found his thoughts diminish as the sound of the door to the hospital room opening and some...pony walking in. It was the nurse pony pushing a small rolling into the room with two bowls on it. Taking one of the bowls by part of the edge in her mouth, she trotted over to the pony behind the curtain. Rick then heard the sound of slurping coming from the other side of the curtain. The sound ceased before the nurse came trotting to the last bowl and picked it up. Once she was by Rick’s side, she used a single hoof to raise the bowl up. There was a green liquid in that swished ever so slightly as the nurse expertly balanced the bowl. Rick was hesitant at first, but ultimately gave in. He leaned forward finding the edge of the bowl come to his lips before it was tilted. Rick found his mouth slowly flooded with the green liquid. It had a tangy taste to it as Rick forced the stuff down his throat spreading the taste along his tongue. Once the bowl was empty the nurse pulled it away as Rick drew in a breath.

“There, that wasn’t so bad was it?” The nurse asked with that same warm smile on her face, “Now I’ll leave you two to rest.”

With that, the nurse spun around and walked back over to the kart before proceeding to push it out of the room before shutting the door. Rick laid back on the bed as he felt the liquid start to settle in his stomach. Not more than a few second, he felt a chill rush over him as he felt the stuff churn within his stomach. The chill ran over every corner of his body, but settled in his left front leg. The chill engulfed his entire leg before shifting once more towards his injury. Figuring it was something in the liquid, Rick sat quietly till the chill in his leg faded away. Once it was gone, Rick let out a sigh and looked out the window to see the sun….slowly moving across the sky….

“Twilight…Twilight.”

Twilight’s eyes shot open with a start as she heard Spike’s voice call out for her. Pushing herself, up she found her head had been lying on the open book. She let out a groan knowing well she had fallen asleep somewhere during her studying. She scanned the desk and saw everything was where it had been. The book…and the guide….still opened to the…

“You ok, Twilight?”

“Yeah…just…” Twilight began while turning from the desk, “...studying something.”

Twilight turned to the desk and looked out the window just above it which had the blazing rays of Celestia’s sun shining through.

Celestia’s sun….

“Spike, we need to take up a letter,” Twilight announced with her eye widening and a wave of nervousness coming over her.

Spike sped off to another part of the room as Twilight had nervousness engulf her. Spike returned quickly with a quill and paper in hand as Twilight drew in a breath.

I should have had this done earlier….

Dear Princess Celestia,

This is letter is being sent with an upmost urgency. During this year’s Winter Wrap Up, something was discovered in the center of Ponyville. A rather peculiar pony appeared. He is currently in Ponyville hospital. The reason I bring this up is that upon further investigation in regards to this pony has made the situation…

Twilight turned to the open guide on the desk. She stood there for a moment staring at the page letting the wave of nervousness almost consume her as Spike waited for her to continue.

…abnormal to say the least. This letter was written not to cause any alarm for now as I know very well you and Princess Luna have your duties in Canterlot to deal with. So I’ll be taking a deeper look into the matter and hopefully come up with something. I shall write to you again should I have found anything of interest.

From your most faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight channeled her magic and surrounded the paper with her aura once Spike had finished writing the last line. She read and reread what was written before finally feeling ok with what was written.

“Ok, Spike, make sure this gets to Princess Celestia,” Twilight said before handing the paper back to Spike, “Have yourself something for breakfast, I’ll be gone for a while.”

Twilight proceed out the door as she heard a quick rush of flame before closing it behind her and being engulfed in the sun shine from above. Quickly channeling her magic, she formed an aura around her before vanishing on the spot once again.

The space between her and the destination was always an empty white and never lasted longer than a split second before it faded away. She was greeted with the entrance to Ponyville and wasted no time entering the building.

“Good morning,”

Twilight directed her attention to towards the front desk seeing Nurse RedHeart with a warm smile on her face.

“Morning Nurse RedHeart,” Twilight replied as she trotted over to the desk, “I’m here to visit the patient Rainbow brought in the other day.”

“Go right on ahead dear,” Nurse RedHeart said while motioning towards the two doors that lead to the rest of the hospital.

After say thank you to the white nurse pony, Twilight proceed through the doors and into the hallways. She took a familiar left down another hallway paying close attention to the doors recalling the room number from yesterday. Passing several karts with medical supplies on them, she came to the door labeled with the room number and found it was fully opened. She proceeded quietly through the doorway before quickly stepping off to the side as another nurse pony came by pushing a single kart out through the door.

“Good morning, are you here to visit?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Twilight replied with a small smile.

“They’ve just had their medicine and are now eating breakfast,” The nurse happily reported stopping a moment at the door, “So I’ll leave you to your visit.”

With that, the nurse pony stepped out of the room closing the door behind her as Twilight made her way towards the hospital bed right by the window. Once she had past the curtain separating the two beds, she saw the pony, Rick as she recalled him saying, there in the bed eyeing a simple flower sandwich on his plate. He had one eyebrow lowered and the other was raised.

“Good morning,” Twilight greeted catching Rick’s attention from the sandwich.

“.oh…um...Hi.” Rick replied before turning back to his sandwich once again.

Twilight stood there watching Rick fumble with the plate with his useable forehoof pushing it towards the side of the bed but catching it quickly before it would fall. Twilight, irking to get a conversation going, raised a hoof hoping to get his attention, but she kept silent as Rick continued to fumble with the plate.

“…oh boy…” She heard Rick whisper out before looking at her, “Oh...um sorry…need something?”

“Oh, I came in to see how you were doing,” Twilight replied with a smile, “Also I figured I tell you about Ponyville, since you’re new.”

Twilight felt a slight feeling of dread come over regretting the slight moment of hesitation during the last part of her sentence. However, Rick had no sign of suspicion come over his face but more of a curious look, as if he hadn’t noticed. With the momentary regret and dread leaving her conscious, Twilight began regaling Rick with the various notable aspects of Ponyville. Normally, she had a tendency to ramble on whenever going into a subject that had a lot to it, but she reminded herself she was here to learn anything she could and kept the notable mentions to average description. Despite that, she saw curiosity and wonder become more prominent Rick’s face, whom remained silent for most of Twilight’s explanation. At one point, he did turn to look out the window before turning his attention back. Then came the inventible, Twilight had just finished up with Sweet Apple Arcs and Sugar CubeCorner, with a little urge to go on about them some more, but her mind kicked the matter she had come for back in place.

“Why don’t you tell a little about yourself?” Twilight finally asked feeling a load of anxiety come of her chest, “What was your home like?”

It wasn’t more than a second before Twilight saw Rick’s face contrive to that familiar one from the other day. Wide eyed surprise and silence… The look was only broken by the light chuckle he gave before…pausing for the longest time…

“Uh…er well…ummm…” He pieced out before giving a blank stare, “…hold on a sec…”

Oh boy….

The thought echoed throughout Twilight’s head as Rick continued to stutter and piece words together, the look of confusion and worry becoming more prominent on his face.

Spike was right in the middle of breakfast when he felt it. A distinct churn in his stomach that normally one would associate with vomiting, but this one was slightly different and he knew it all too well. He felt the churn run up his throat before he let out a loud burp as he felt the heat of a small flame leave his mouth. The flame quickly formed into a letter that dropped into Spike’s out reached hand. Taking the ribbon off and unrolling the paper, Spike proceeded to scan the contents of the letter.

“To my most faithful student Twilight,” Spike recited out loud hoping to see if the contents were of an urgent manner that he needed to go and tell Twilight now or a matter that could wait.

The letter was rather lengthy. A length that gave off that it had been written probably before Spike even sent Twilight’s…

The moment Spike finished reading the message; he abandoned his food and ran for the door. Once outside the library, he immediately set off for Ponyville hospital hoping Twilight was still there.

Chapter 4: Investigation and 'Great News'

Home….the word drifted through Rick’s head as he tried to push all his thoughts together and focus on it….drawing a blank…or just blurred images with nothing distinguishable about them.

“My home is a small,” Rick finally said to Twilight, finding a mindset and sticking with it, “Not much really. Warm bed…cozy environment…you know the basics.”

Rick watched as Twilight approached the bed listening with curiosity as he kept elaborating. He brought up a few minor facts of an average home…keeping it veg at best hoping it would be enough to side step the conversation of….home.

“Well anyway, could you tell me a bit more about the town?” Rick asked looking out the window.

Despite what a part of him wanted him to feel, he had a sense of curiosity, parallel to the one exhibited on Twilight, about not just the town but his new surroundings…if he was to be honest with himself. An audible churn in his stomach brought his mind back in tune with the rest of his body as he directed his eyes towards the sandwich on the plate.

“Well, for Ponyville, much of what I told you plays a part in its history,” He heard Twilight begin before she stopped at the sound of the churn, “Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Yeah…just a little off…with the broken leg that is,” Rick replied before looking down at the plate again, “Please continue.”

Rick kept listening as he bent down towards the plate. He hesitantly opened his mouth and bite down taking a bit of the sandwich in. Digging his teeth in, he managed to get a single bite and began to chew it. He was greeted with the familiar taste of beard but suddenly came the taste off…grass. He felt his cheeks bloat out but drew them back in holding the chew mesh of beard and grass in his mouth. Instinct was telling him to spit the stuff out right onto the plate, but not wanting to give another reason for Twilight to be…

He slowly chewed the sandwich in his mouth a bit more before swallowing… forcing the mush down his throat.

“You ok?” Twilight asked while stopping her story with a worried but slightly curious look on her face.

“Sorry. The sandwich tasted a bit funny,” Rick quickly explained before giving another gulp hoping to get rid of the taste, “Probably just the medicine from earlier. Please, continue.”

Then in a split second came the sudden sound of a muffled swoosh. Rick darted his head towards the window only to catch a glimpse of something soaring right by the window and out of sight with the nearby bush rustling from the breeze.

“It’s probably just Rainbow,” Twilight commented taking Rick’s attention from the window, “She’s usually training around this time…when she isn’t napping of course.”

“Speaking of napping,” Rick said chuckling a bit before looking at his bounded hoof, “I’m gonna be doing that for a while.”

“Not exactly,” Twilight explained, “It’ll probably be only a couple days.”

Rick tore his gaze from the hoof and looked at Twilight with a look of confusion. Given his acceptance of the reality, he knew despite it that matters such as broken bone were mostly likely similar…

“Broken bones like this don’t take usually that long to heal.” Twilight commented while motioning towards Rick’s injury, “That’s comes from both the medicine and that fact you’re an earth pony.”

“Exactly what I said,” A voice said from the other side of the curtain, “But I’ll probably in a bit longer...”

“Oh. Sorry…” Twilight said as she turned her attention to the curtain.

“It’s fine. I’ll get out when I get out. Funny thing is,” The pony began before giving a small chuckle, “This is first decent amount of rest I’ve had in a while.”

Rick heard the pony let out a sigh before going silent. Rick turned back and laid his head down on the bed as his brain processed the information that been given to him. He looked down to his bounded hoof with the relaxing thought that he would be out soon. However…another thought crept in. He began to wonder what exactly he would do when….

“Speaking of rest, I think I think should leave you to yours,” Twilight said, interrupting his thoughts while coming a bit closer to the side of the bed and extending a single front leg towards him, “It was nice talking to you.”

Rick hesitated for a moment before leaning forward and extending his good front leg forward and his hoof meeting Twilight’s. He found himself shaking Twilight’s hoof with ease almost like a regular hand shake...aside from the obvious difference.

“Same here,” Rick said with a small smile while leaning back on the bed, “Hope this didn’t...mess with anything you had for today.”

“Not at all,” Twilight assured with a small smile, “Now I’ll leave you to rest.”

With that, Rick saw Twilight turned and walk off. He heard the door open and slowly close finding himself alone with the injured pony. He looked back at the sandwich lying on the plate before him with the chuck he had swallowed missing. His stomach still had the feeling of emptiness giving signs it would growl again if not dealt with. He began eating the sandwich in the same manner of his first bite using his right front leg to try and keep the plate in place. That taste of grass engulfed his tongue, but he forced the bites down. After gulping down the sandwich, he made several attempts to sink down any strangling bits that he could feel lingering in his throat. However he found himself being ripped from his attempts when the sound of the room’s door opening filled his ears.

“Hello,” A hearty voice announced.

Rick heard the sound of a rolling kart that came to a quick stop and then the sounds of steps across the floor. He heard the sound of a plate being picked up and placed on a kart before…

“I assume you’ll be paying as you usually do, dear?”

Rick stopped mid gulp letting out a small gah as he felt as if a chunk of the sandwich was now lodge in his throat before sitting there…wide eyed in realization.

“Oh!”

Looking out of his peripheral vision, he saw that same light yellow nurse pony come from behind the curtain in a hurry leaving her kart behind.

“Everything alright?” She asked with a worried look on her face.

Rick just stared at her for the longest time not making a single sound as his mind fail to process a response…..before letting out a chuckle with an equally nervous smile on his wide eyed face.

“Rainbow!”

Rainbow Dash came to a halt in midair at the sound of her name. Hovering for a moment, she looked down to see Twilight standing right outside the hospital looking up at her. Dash immediately soared towards her friend coming to a swift stop before landing on her hooves.

“Rainbow, what are you doing here,” Twilight asked immediately catching Rainbow’s full attention.

“What’s it look like, Twilight” Rainbow replied while casually stretching, “Just catching some air.”

“Rainbow…” Twilight continued with lowered eyebrows and a frown, “What are you doing here?”

Rainbow ceased her for show stretching and let out a sigh as her lie diminished….a partial lie when she first thought of it. She had been exercising after waking up for the day which would have given her lie credibility. During which she tried to keep her concentration in training, but…she couldn’t help in letting the events of Winter Wrap Up ease her exercising towards the vicinity of Ponyville hospital.

“You know why,” Rainbow mumbled out with a sense of defeat in her voice before looking curiously at Twilight as she recalled what Twilight had said the other day, “So what did you find out?”

“Well….” Rainbow saw Twilight begin before hesitating as if she was collecting her thoughts, “To be honest Rainbow, he seems rather harmless.”

Rainbow stood there staring at Twilight for the longest time as the memory of the other day crept into her mind…particularly….

“Harmless? Harmless!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she motioned to her nose with a hoof, “You call this harmless Twilight?”

“Well, what did you expect with chasing him?”

Rainbow reluctantly took the suggestion to thought and saw where Twilight was coming from, but being completely honest with herself, bloody nose or not, she wasn’t ready to push off the idea of a single pony creating a crater, taking off without an explanation, and once confront claiming they had no idea just yet..

“So now what?” Rainbow asked drawing from her thoughts.

“I’m not sure,” Twilight replied while shaking her head, “I’m going to go back home and see if I can come up with anything..”

Rainbow turned her attention to the hospital for moment feeling the urge to do some investigation herself, but quickly remembered her promise to Twilight and…she’d be damned if she broke it.

“Twilight!”

Rainbow Dash whipped her head in the direction of the voice to see Spike running towards them with a scroll in hand. She easily could tell it was from Princess Celestia and was confident enough that if she could of. She would have bet several bits on it, if she had it on her at the time.

“Twilight…Celestia…important,” Spike mumbled out, confirming Dash’s if win, while holding out the scroll.

Rainbow stood there as Twilight took the scroll in her magic bringing it towards her to read. While Twilight began reading the letter’s contents to herself, Rainbow turned to look at the hospital once more. Her train of thought was cut off at the sound of Twilight gasping. She looked back and saw Twilight with a mile yard stare as her magic aura around the letter fizzled out allowing it to float onto the grass below.

“Spike, we need to get home,” She said almost blankly with a hint of surprise in her tone.

“Twilight, what’s-” Rainbow began taking a step forward towards her friend.

Dash saw Twilight quickly channeling her magic before she and spike disappeared in a split second. Rainbow let out a sigh while cursing herself for not being a bit faster. Her attention however…came onto the letter settled on the ground. Walking around it till the words were right side up, she began skimming the letter hoping to find the cause of Twilight’s urgent leave.

To my most faithful student Twilight Sparkle,

While dealing with matters here in Canterlot…

I’m happy to be the bearer of great news…

Nothing seemed worthy enough for Twilight to react the way she did, but upon further reading…

Rainbow wasted no time in scoping up an end of the scroll in her mouth before taking off into the air. She adjusted her directions towards Twilight’s home picking up speed quickly. However, during mid-flight, she changed direction quickly towards Sugar Cube Corner. Remembering the state she had last seen Twilight in, she knew it would be in her best interest to get their other friends. It had become the understood procedure anytime Twilight got into a state of near crazy and past experiences had given more credibility towards this precaution. Dash kicked it into high gear soaring over the buildings of Ponyville forgetting the pony at the hospital…for now.

“Oh no no no no,” Twilight muttered as she quickly ran about the library, “Spike…Spike!”

She multi-tasked her magic clearing the desk of the guide and book that had been sitting there before quickly shelving them as she proceeded to check every square inch of the place. She stopped only for a moment to face Spike whom was standing by at the ready.

“If there’s anything out of place,” Twilight began shifting her attention around the room, “We need to deal with it.”

“Twilight, don’t you think your taking this a bit out of...” Spike began nervously.

“Spike, we can’t waste time. Please?” Twilight begged with the anxiety taking full control.

“Gotcha Twilight,” Spike replied with a sigh before taking off.

Twilight ran over to where she kept the quills making sure they were all accounted for and with the pointed ends inside the cupboard. She even went to the lengths of making sure every book in the library was pushed back as far as it would go. During which, the contents of Celestia’s letter ran through her mind as anxiety only thrived further….and further...

After a while, there came the sound of someone knocking on the door drawing Twilight’s attention from her work.

“Twilight, darling, is everything alright?”

“Yes, Rarity,” Twilight called out trying to get back to her work, “Just…studying.”

“Twilight dear, Rainbow came charging into my boutique saying 'you were having an episode” as she put,' Rarity’s voice replied with concern rising in her voice, “Why don’t you come out so we can talk?”

Twilight immediately scolded herself remembering she had dropped the letter before coming home. She went back to her work knowing well it wasn’t a time to talk. However, she well that Rainbow probably told the…

“Hello hello,” A recognizable energetic voice called out at the door after Rarity had made several more attempts to convince Twilight to talk.

“Pinkie. Rarity. Please go away. I’ll be fine I promise,” Twilight called out once more.

However her pleas fell flat, as she heard more voices join the ones currently at the door one by one while trying to concentrate once more.

“Twilight..?”

“Talk to us, sugarcube.”

Twilight’s mind raced furiously between the contents of Celestia’s letter to her friends just outside the doors. She drew from her thoughts slightly at the sound of something knocking from above. She looked over to the staircase leading to where she and Spike spelt focusing on the nearby window. Rainbow Dash was there holding the letter up to the window between the glass and her hoof while motioning to the letter with her free hoof and a suspicious but at the same time concerned look on her face. Despite the words being unreadable from where she was, Twilight could remember the snippets of the letter as if they were embedded right into her mind…

A message from the Crystal Empire arrived…

Shining Armor has told that Princess Cadence is currently three months into her…

Chapter 5: Worry and Work

“This is simply fantastic news, darling!”

"congratulations twilight..."

Twilight remained silent as her friends continued to congratulate her, but they weren’t helping...well... not entirely. She couldn’t help but have her thoughts start to focus on Cadence and Shining Armor along with the coming months. She turned from her friends to look at the library running all possibilities through her head at a rapid rate. The books were pushed back so they wouldn’t fall and hit…

The quills were all accounted for and they wouldn’t be lying around allowing for the opportunity for somepony to fall on…

“What’s the matter, sugarcube?”

Twilight looked back to her friends who now were sporting their concern as they had not only a few minutes ago. Even Twilight began to wonder to herself….what was the matter…

She knew she was happy for her brother and sister in law and knew she would be there for them. She could even picture the foal once it was born remembering when the Cakes had their twins. She could remember how cute they looked all snuggled in their beds.

She knew she wasn’t mad at her brother for not letting her know via a letter. She had gotten out of that nitch back when Cadence and Shining had gotten married.

Then….a thought arose….a thought she had kept tucked away and only now with the recent news had it found room to hold relevance. She felt a chill come over her as she started to breathe slowly as it began to engulf her thinking.

“Twi, come on, what’s bitin’ you?” She heard Rainbow ask as the others waited for an answer.

“…I’m just…” Twilight began before somehow shoving the thought away and letting out a sigh, “…worried. I’ve read a book about…things when it comes to this.”

Twilight recalled the day she had stumbled upon a book talking about pregnancies. It had been one of those reads she only continued with if the subject matter caught her interest. Information that usually snuck into the back part of her mind waiting for relevance... She could recall most of what she read…mood swings…nausea…fragility…

“Twilight, dear, we understand you’re concerned” Rarity chimed in breaking Twilight’s thoughts; “But you shouldn’t get too anxious about this...”

“Yeah, ya'll should be excited,” Applejack added as Twilight felt her pat her on the back.

Twilight looked at her friends and saw their small cheerful smiles as she began to think more about the situation. Being honest with herself, she knew she was still worried and the information she had read was constantly reminding her…then there was the thought….

“You're right,” Twilight said with a smile slowly forming on her face, “And I am. I am excited.”

She couldn’t help but feel a sense of joy start to overtake her as another aspect of the matter set in. She was going to be an Aunt.

...should I have found anything of interest...

“Oh! Oh! How about we go to Sugarcube Corner to celebrate?” She heard Pinkie pipe up as her mind began to fall back to her previous letter.

“Sounds like a mighty fine idea Pinkie,” Applejack said as the others began to agree as well.

“Actually…” Twilight began as a sense of dread began to come over her, “I have something to do for the Princess,”

“Come on Twilight,” She heard Rainbow Dash say while looking to see her in the air, “You even said yourself, he seemed…harmless. And besides it’s not like he’s going anywhere soon.”

Twilight hesitated in a response as she recalled her conversation with Rick and what she had told Rainbow afterwards. Nothing had really struck her as him being a threat, but…she couldn’t help in feeling there was something off. How he paused for a while before talking about his home…how he tried to eat his sandwich when she arrived…as if he…

“I’ll write a letter to the Princess and leave it at that…for now,” Twilight finally said turning and walking over to the table by the window before looking back at her friends, “You all go ahead.”

“Well...,” Applejack said as the five hesitated for a moment before heading out the door, "We’ll see you there Twi."

“Oh! I almost forgot. I have some orders to finish up for today,” Pinkie exclaimed before zipping right out of the library in a pink blur.

Once she heard the door close and the voices of her friends fade from ear shot, Twilight quickly channeled her magic and brought a quill and piece of paper to the desk. As her mind kept debating, she managed to focus on writing.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I want to thank you for the great news. I can’t fully describe how excited I am for my brother and Cadence. However, concerning what I said in my previous letter, I must report I have found nothing that would cause for any major concern towards the pony in question.

Twilight stopped writing for a moment as she felt part of her wanting to make note of the strangeness she had seen while the other argued the latter. Twilight recalled Rick’s explanations for his moments with the sandwich, but…even with them, something still felt off…particular when she asked about his home... As she lowered the quill back down to the paper, her mind was still in its furious race of decision making.

“I’m finished in there, Twilight,” Spike’s voice exclaimed drawing her attention from the letter, “Anything else?”

Twilight looked towards her assistant for a moment then around the library once more before going back to the paper. Her mind’s race began to slow down as she brought the quill down once again.

“We’re ok for now Spike,” Twilight said with a little sigh as she finished the letter, “Just need to send this."

However, I will continue to keep an eye on the matter as I feel there is still something strange about him.

Finishing it off the with her signature and feeling ok with what she had written, Twilight put the quill back before using her magic to roll the paper up and brought a small red ribbon over. She quickly tied the ribbon before floating the letter to Spike who wasted no time in sending it with a quick breath of fire.

“Come on Spike,” Twilight said as she began to walk to the door, “We’re meeting the others at Sugarcube Corner.”

“Twilight….are you going to be ok?”

Twilight stopped at the doorway and looked back to see Spike with a concerned look on his face. She had her mind flood with all the thoughts on the matter and began to divide on how she was going to feel…

“Don’t worry, Spike,” Twilight answered with a warm smile and a light chuckle, “Come on. We don’t want to keep the others waiting.”

Without any further reasons to give, Twilight exited the library as she felt Spike climb onto her back. Once he was on, she took off into Ponyville for some sugary treats letting the worries she had fade away…but not letting them be erased....

The next few days passed normally as most days did in Ponyville. Everypony went about their daily business as any other day. Twilight took time during one of those days to write a letter to Shining Armor and Cadence congratulating them extensively and had also eagerly made plans to visit them. She had managed to keep an eye on Rick but saw nothing…much like last time. The crater at the center of town had been taken care of for the most part, but still had a bit left to go.

It had three days since Winter Wrap Up; Twilight was walking through Ponyville with Applejack beside her. She had given Spike the day off, who had taken off into Ponyville for personal matters, and she hadn’t checked on Rick yet, but could safely guess that there was nothing new. Thought she made a mental note to make sure she saw him soon, figuring he probably would be checking out of the hospital sometime during the day.

“What exactly did Pinkie Pie need us for?” Twilight asked as they made their way.

“She didn’t say exactly,” Applejack explained before giving a light chuckle, “But you could probably guess knowing her.”

Knowing well about Pinkie, Twilight was able to quickly come up with a few possibilities and the most obvious one would be a party for a single pony. She figured if it was a party, she thought it would be a good way to spend part of the day given she had not much on her schedule besides the mandatory visit she kept reminding herself of. They soon arrived at the candy covered building of Sugarcube Corner as the scent of baked goods filled their noses. They approached and opened the front door, the scent become stronger as they walked in. It was somewhat packed with customers which wasn’t an unusual sight for the place when it was having a good day. Twilight was able to spot Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and even Spike was amongst the ones there.

“Oh. You made it.”

Twilight looked to the front counter to see an energetic Pinkie Pie hoping up and down with a big smile on her face...and a white pony right next to her.

Rick was counting himself lucky over and over rapidly in his mind. He remembered the panic that had come over him after explaining hesitantly to the nurse pony that he had no money then only to see the pink pony from his first day popping out of literally nowhere…with a cupcake. She had introduced herself as Pinkie Pie and with a slew of events; the nurse pony asked Pinkie if Sugar Cube Corner need an extra hoof. Knowing well enough he had no other option, he agreed to work while remembering what Twilight had said about the place. It was then sweets as far as the eye could see and under the supervision of the owners, the Cakes if he caught the name correctly.

“Oh, Rick, it’s good to see you again,” Twilight’s voice said bringing Rick back to reality as she approached the counter with another pony wearing a brown hat, “How’s your leg?”

Rick looked down as he moved his newly healed leg with a fluid motion. Despite Twilight telling him it wouldn’t be long, he was still amazed the day he woke up to find his leg completely healed as if nothing had happened to it.

“Great,” Rick replied with small smile returning his look to Twilight, “Now um… can I help you with anything?”

“Oh don’t worry Rick,” Pinkie Pie interjected before Twilight even spoke, “They’re here because of me. Oh. Could you go get that batch of cupcakes from the kitchen please?”

Rick immediately felt a feeling of dread come over him. Up until this point he had just handled the front counter where it hadn’t been mandatory to pick up things and only called for him to push money, or bits if he had caught the word correctly from Pinkie telling the price of an order, into a bag, his mind began flashing the memories of Rainbow somehow grabbing his shirt collar with her hooves and the nurse pony holding up a bowl with a single hoof and began to wonder how in the wide world he was going…

“Alrighty,” Rick eventually said pushing the thought away for the moment as he began to walk to the kitchen.

Passing through the swinging doors, he was greeted with the busy Cakes working throughout the kitchen with various utensils and ingredients being moved around at a quick rate. Rick made sure he was out of there way giving a ‘pardon me’ if one of them did cross his path as he walked over to a part of the counter where a tray of cupcakes laid. The memory of the sandwich in the hospital played out in his head before he looked to the busy couple, but shoved the idea of asking them for a hoof away, knowing well there was no way around it.

“Ok….” Rick said to himself as he continued to eye the tray before letting out a sigh, “…oh boy...”

Rick lifted his front legs and placed his hooves on the counter. He leaned his head forward while opening his mouth taking a part of the side of the tray in his mouth and bit down. Titling his head up slightly, he felt the tray come off the counter and his entire head wobble for a moment as he regained the balance. He turned keeping his teeth grip tight as he was greeted once again with the busy Cakes before carefully proceeding forward.

“So, Pinkie,” Twilight asked with a smile as she mentally checked off the visit in her head, “Is there a party today for somepony?”

“Mhm,” Pinkie replied her behavior becoming more and more excited, “A super doper party for someponies veerrrry special.”

Twilight quickly assumed it was a birthday party as she knew in the past, Pinkie got very excited when it came to birthdays. She began to wonder whom Pinkie was referring to and at first figured it was the twins…but quickly remembered it was nowhere near their birthday…

The ring of the bell suspended over the front door drifted into her ears as she continued to think.

Maybe it was one of the customers she didn’t know….

The sound of a pair of hooves entering as everything seemed to go quiet including the chatter of all the ponies in the bakery.

Maybe it was…Fluttershy’s…no, hers had happened already….Applejack’s…no, same with her…

Rarity’s….Rainbow’s…Gummy’s…

“Twilight,” Applejack’s voice said breaking into Twilight’s wondering thoughts, “You might wanna turn around, sugarcube.”

Twilight found her thoughts fade as she slowly turned around her eyes panning the interior of Sugar Cube Corner seeing all the ponies….before falling onto the two just at the door…almost at the center of attention.

“Shining Armor! Cadence!”

Twilight rushed towards her brother and sister in law as the couple held out a hoof to embrace her. Her face brimming with happiness, she forgot momentarily other concerns and kept her gaze locked on two of the most important ponies to her as she came into their hug.

“It’s great to see you too, Twilee,” Shining Armor said with a chuckle as Twilight wrapped her forelegs around them, “Oh, mind the mother.”

Twilight retreated from the hug quickly remembering Cadence’s current condition as she finally got a good look at her. She looked the same as she ever did, but now...her stomach was swollen and more pronounced which caused Twilight to momentarily recall everything she had read. Despite this, it was still her ex-foal sitter…except...

“Sunshine, Sunshine, lady bugs awake,”

Twilight relished the blissful moment as she and Cadence preformed their little chant under the watchful eyes of everypony in Sugar Cube Corner. She didn’t ever find it embarrassing to do and enjoyed anytime she got to do it, but she took note to Cadence’s slow pace knowing well the act would not be easy sooner or later.

“How are things in the Crystal Empire? How have you two been since..?” Twilight began shooting questions as the couple kept a smile at her eagerness.

“Easy there Twilight,” Shining Armor said with another chuckle while rubbing Twilight's mane before putting a fore leg around his wife’s shoulder , “We’ll have time to catch up.”

“Alright everypony, it's time for...Cuuuupcakkkesss!” Pinkie’s voice announced with the last word drawn out as all attention fell on her.

There was a loud applause as everypony waited for the delicious treats….and waited...and waited. Twilight looked to see Pinkie do a double take towards the door leading to the kitchen as if a cue hadn’t been recognized.

“Rick…Riiiiiick…”

A few seconds after, Twilight saw Rick slowly up out of the kitchen holding a tray of cupcakes in his mouth. She quickly remembered the crater in the center of town and made a mental note not to mention the observations she had made to Shining or Cadence….at least for the time being. She kept quiet along with everypony as they all watched Rick walk up the counter with hesitation in his pace as if he was carefully planning out his steps.

“Rorre…rad ro gret round…rakes...” Rick mumbled out through his teeth before placing the tray on the counter and drawing in a breath, “Sorry everyone...”

An awkward silence settled amongst the bakery, Twilight felt a wave of nervousness come over her as she looked to the crowd of ponies not moving towards the tray and looking directly at Rick, Rainbow included … but, thankfully, soon everypony filed in to retrieve a cupcake from the tray then wait for more easing Twilight of the nervousness, but she still noticed Rainbow was still acting a bit suspicious as she retrieved her cupcake. Once the party had finally started rolling, Twilight found herself waiting patiently to talk with Shining Armor and Cadence while admiring them as they were occupied by multiple ponies giving their congrates and bombarding them with questions about the foal. Twilight continued to eat her cupcake as she couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her brother and sister-in-law being…happy. So happy..

Just as the party was in full swing, there came the sound of a rolling kart and something being pushed through the doors of the kitchen.

“It’s time for cake everypony!”

Twilight as well as everypony in the bakery turned their attention to the kart just in front of the doors to the kitchen being pushed by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. The two rolled the kart into the center of the room as everypony began to converge on it. Twilight made her way through the crowd and got alongside Shining Armor as the Cakes began to serve. During this, Twilight took notice to Pinkie zipping up the stairs towards the upper level of the building; she quickly figured she was going to check on the twins knowing that all the commotion probably woke the poor foals up from their nap…she also noticed Rick. He was there behind the counter looking around as if he was manning it on a slow day. She saw Mr. Cake walk over and start to converse with Rick and motion towards the crowd as if he was making an offer for him to have some cake but she saw Rick shake his head and say something back, which she read as a ‘but thank you’. Mr. Cake then put a hoof to his chin before taking off into the kitchen and quickly coming back with a brown bag in clenched in his mouth. She watched as Mr. Cake say something inaudible to Rick who gave a small smile and nodded his head before taking the bag in his mouth and began to head for the front door…

“Oops,”

Twilight was pulled back to the party as she felt a bit of cake now on her muzzle. She looked to Shining Armor who was holding back a laugh while Cadence let out a giggle. Twilight couldn’t help but feel a laugh rise up in her as she grin at her brother before levitating her piece of cake and smearing it on his face. The three let out a roar of laughter as Twilight momentarily forgot the concerns lurking in her mind as she pushed them away...for the time being.

Chapter 6: Promises and Catching Up

“Now Rainbow, you can’t just simply leave.”

Rainbow let out a sigh as she sat at one of the table taking another look to the front door and cursing herself for not slipping out sooner once everyone had gotten cake. She had even gone to the lengths of devouring her piece quickly, but unfortunately, hadn’t counted on Rarity.

“But, what if he takes off?” Rainbow insisted as Rarity set the piece of cake down she had been eating down, “I told Twilight I would keep an eye on him.”

“Well darling, it seems the Cakes trust him enough to let him make a delivery,” Rarity stated, the lady like tone in her tone not giving one bit, “And as I recall… you even said that Twilight had said he seemed…harmless."

Rainbow was once again reminded of her nose...Winter Wrap Up... and despite the days that had passed she couldn’t help but remember it at the mention of what Twilight had said... She had taken time throughout the days to see if Rick had done anything…at all. Every time she flew by the hospital to look in the window for a moment, Rick had been either sleeping, talking with one of the nurses, or just doing nothing…absolutely nothing... She remembered flying away and at one point she even had considered not going back if it was going to be the case again...

Rainbow turned away from Rarity giving the front door another look. Her gut was screaming for her to trust it and go, but she ultimately let out a sigh. She hadn’t been having much fun as she usually did at a Pinkie Pie party and began to wonder maybe…just maybe..

“Alright, fine,” She said while turning back before pointing a hoof at Rarity, “But if he takes long getting back, I’m going after him.”

“Very well,” Rarity replied with polite nod, “Now. Please. Enjoy yourself, Rainbow. Why don’t you go get another piece of cake?”

Rainbow, though reluctant, let out a sigh as she got up from the table and began to head over towards the kart holding the serving dish for the cake. A good portion of it was gone now, but just enough left over to carry on. Rainbow spotted a decent sized piece sitting on an individual plate before taking a look back to the front door. She told herself if push did come to shove she would act, but in the promise she made, as she got the plate and began back towards the table.

“Roder for the rayor,”

Rick held the brown delivery bag in his mouth as he stood in front of a small desk with an orange pony behind it. The rest of the room was absent of any other pony but the chatter Rick could faintly hear coming from a hallway behind the desk, which showcased a set of stairs, told him otherwise for the rest of the building. The desk pony lifted its gaze from the papers it had been looking over and froze for a slight second with its eyes widening slightly where it would likely go unnoticed. Rick stood silently for a moment waiting for an answer before placing the bag on the desk, the taste of fabric quickly leaving his mouth.

“From Sugarcube corner?” He asked as he motioned to the bag with a hoof hoping to somehow quell the awkwardness that was settling in.

“…Oh yes,” The pony quickly replied, moving the papers off to the side before taking the bag and placing it on the back corner of the desk, “I’ll see to it that this gets to her, but first let me get your payment.”

Rick waited patiently as the pony ducked behind the desk for a moment. He looked around the room taking in the basic décor of waiting room with a single potted plant in one of the corners and hearing the commotion of politics from above still going on strong. He heard of what sounded like a drawer being opened and then shut before pulling his attention back to the desk to see the orange pony coming back up with a small brown bag and tossing it on the desk. Rick was greeted with the sound of several coins clattering together before settling as the desk pony pushed the bag closer with a hoof.

“She usually likes to thank the Cakes for orders like these in person,” The pony explained, while giving a somewhat forced chuckle while motioning towards the stairway behind him, “But, heh, it’s been one of those days again.”

Rick gave a small smile taking one last look to the stairs before leaning forward and taking the tied end of the bag in his mouth.

“Rank rou,” Rick said with a small nod before turning away and heading for the door.

“Have a good day...sir,” He heard the pony say as he went through the doors leaving the room and chatter of the upper levels behind.

Once he was outside town hall, Rick let out a small sigh as he descended the stairs of the porch with the bits in the bag clattering all the way. He couldn't help but remember what the nurse pony had said and find himself slowly regretting about dismissing the idea off as absurd. He thought back to the party he had left behind and thought particularly of the faces of everypony that had been there when he came out with the cupcakes…all attention on him...except... it did go away…somewhat. He quickly recalled the couple the party had seemed to center around,remembering how they were dressed in very royal looking clothes and figured they were local elites of some kind.

Despite his mind being on the party, Rick stopped dead in his tracks as he caught sight of something in his peripheral vision. He gulped before turning to find a familiar sight laid before him, but now somewhat different. As he eyed the crater before him, Rick instantly recalled the memory of him waking up in it...and all the faces of everypony around him that day. The chase…Rainbow…the fall… He slowly walked onto the dirt giving the filled crater a closer look. He lifted a hoof and began to shuffle dirt away digging a small hole as if it held something just below…an answer..?

He stood there silently for a few moments before looking up to the clear sky. Part of his mind continued to consider the thought while the other told him he was crazy for even doing so, though…something… made it feel like it would work. He closed his eyes for a moment and concentrated on his thoughts as hard as he could….coming up with blurred images...once again. Rick let out a sigh as he brought his gaze back down and looked around. He was greeted with several ponies walking by town hall staring at him a moment with familiar peculiar look on their faces before quickly turning away. He stopped messing with the dirt and tried his best to put the dirt he had disturbed back before patting it flat as best he could. He walked away slowly for a moment before…

“Ro rud,” He mumbled as he quickly went into a gallop and began back on his way to Sugarcube Corner.

Shining Armor couldn't help but smile as he listened to Twilight regale him and Cadence with what she had been up to the since last time they saw her, as they ate their pieces of cake at a table in one corner of the bakery with the party going on still. He had always enjoyed watching her grow up, especially when he was a young colt, and even now it was one of the little things in life he made sure to cherish.

“But enough about that,” Twilight said after gulping down a bite of her cupcake her smile not ceasing for a single second, “How are things in the Crystal Empire? Everypony must be just as excited you two are.”

“You could say that,” Shining replied, remembering how many ponies had showed up to the castle just to wish good fortune to him and Cadence, “And sorry we couldn't say anything sooner, a lot of things needed to be taken care of.”

Despite the news of a foal to be born, the royal duties didn't cease, as if they ever did and that was to be expected. Making any attempt at a visit was a near impossibility with all matters needed dealing with, till a day it was deem possible by some sure amount of luck. Although in hindsight, Shining wished he had relayed the letter to Princess Celestia to give to Twilight sooner, but now that he was in Ponyville with his sister he choose not to dwell on it.

“Not so much as Shining here,” Cadence began with a giggle before leaning a bit closer to Twilight, “You should have seen his face when I told him.”

“Hey, I had a bit of day before hearing that,” Shining quickly insisted, remembering all the appointments with delegates and the troops he had to attend to before hearing the news, “and I took that news the only way a leader of a kingdom could.”

The moment he finished his sentence was when Shining saw it; Cadence pulled back and gazed into his eyes giving him…that look. A mischievous look with a small smirk and an eyebrow cocked every so slightly, a look that she seemed to pull off without much effort… and it hadn’t been the first time he had seen it.

“By fainting?” Cadence asked, the look beyond just being embedded on her face, successfully holding back a laugh.

Shining heard Twilight erupt in laughter of her own as he drew in a breath while closing his eyes trying to savor some sort of dignity. Taking the news of being a father hadn't been his finest moment…or one of them for that matter. He remembered the day far too clearly. At the time, he had noticed that Cadence was acting more reserved around him and had been trying to tell him something only to be cut off by somepony interrupting her, and at the time Shining had pushed it off as her being anxious about the diplomats coming to the Crystal Empire. It had been the main part of the apology he kept giving over and over… once he had recovered that is.

Pulling away from the memory, he felt a hoof pat him on the back as he turned to see Cadence, the look gone from her face and smiling at him, with that warm and caring smile he had also seen many times before. He shifted his eyes over to Twilight, who seemed to be coming out of her laughing fit, which reminded him of when she was just a filly giggling at the childish games he use to play on her.

“So, on another topic” He announced quickly, perking his head up with a wide grin on his face, “Who wants to hear about the first time Twily took a bubble bath?”

“Oh, do tell,” He heard Cadence say eagerly, as he watched Twilight immediately tense up going wide eyed.

The couple erupted in laughter as Shining quickly motioned with a hoof that he was kidding hoping to calm Twilight down before she got the wrong idea. A third voice joining the laughter and the smile on Twilight’s face eased Shining’s mind. He recalled all the times he had given Twilight a hard time when she was a filly. However, back then and even now; he always made sure he didn't go overboard with his antics and always to be there with a hug or a smile to assure his sister he still loved her no matter what.

As their laughter died down, Shining heard the sound of the bell from the front door enter his ears above the conversations of every other pony in Sugarcube corner. Shining gave the door a quick glance seeing the pony that had brought out the cupcakes for the party coming in with a brown bag clenched in his mouth before returning his gaze to Twilight. However, he saw her looking away for a moment back in the direction towards the counter. He looked up again and saw the pony stop at the front counter of the placing the bag in front of Mrs. Cake. He also noticed something that hadn't caught his attention before…the pony’s flank was completely bare.

“Well,” He heard Twilight begin as he pulled his attention back to her, “I’m very happy for you two.”

Shining looked at her for a moment as Cadence thanked Twilight once more. He shifted his eyes to the pony, who was now manning the counter. He had notice Twilight’s attention being held by the pony in question when the cake had been brought out and during the awkward moment before the cupcakes. At first he figured it was a friend of hers, but didn’t remember her ever mentioning…

“Shining?” Twilight asked as the conclusion formed, “Is something wrong?”

As the gears in his head began to click, Shining felt a smug grin start to slowly cross his face returning his gaze to Twilight once more.

“Oh. Nothing, Twilight,” He assured as he took another look before levitating his piece of cake to his mouth, “Just thought I saw something, that’s all.”