Chapter Ninety: Mission Failed

The dragon was relieved that Terra Cotta was eating more since she hadn't been given much during mealtimes at the circus. Sometimes, Stormy Skies didn't give her anything at all, and the child was suffering from malnutrition. While she wasn't skin-and-bones emaciated, she had a ways to go before she would be at a healthy weight. Neither he, nor Fluttershy, had to worry about Chenoa. She had put on a significant amount of weight since the day they met. Now, she was at the correct weight she should be.

"That's a good girl, Terra. Keep eating. We need you to gain a little more weight or ponies might think we're not taking good care of you," stated Smokey before accepting another bite of soup.

Fluttershy nodded in confirmation.

"I would've thought Mr. Pendulum would've seen to take better care of you." A hefty sigh escaped from the yellow-furred mare. "Doesn't he even CARE about all his workers?"

She lowered the spoon, focusing on the floorboards. Of course he did. He took in his workers when they were in a time of need; gave them a home when they had nowhere else to go. He even requested Twilight Sparkle to make sure his employees were taken care of.

"… He certainly didn't take care of YOU. Not enough, anyway."

"I don't know. I haven't heard the others' stories," the drake said, lifting his shoulders in a shrug which ignited more pain in his body.

Terra Cotta appeared a bit introspective-as much as it was possible for a girl her age to look. Her eyes still holding that sliver of horror within them suggested she didn't like dwelling upon what she left behind.

"Sweetie?" Fluttershy piped up. "Are… are you thinking of Mr. Pendulum?"

The filly shook her head, her body trembling.

"Oh? … Ohhh!" Realization dawned in the mare's blue-green orbs. "I know… Terra, she's gone. She's behind us now. You won't ever have to worry about her anymore."

"Never again," the draconian tacked on, switching his eyes to Chenoa as he felt movement against his shoulder. The griffon chick balled up, readied for a nap.

Terra Cotta put on a weak smile, reassured. Mirroring the filly's smile, Fluttershy turned her glance to Smokey and Chenoa. Giggling, she shuffled over to the dragon's side.

"Aww, lookie. She's sleepy. Chenoa… Chenoa, it's time for your nap," she cooed, drawing back to fetch a blanket from the nearby linen closet.

"She needs to have her face cleaned off first," the scaly male chuckled, maneuvering his head to slightly nuzzle the baby's downy head.

"Oh, dear. We can't have that, can we?" the mare chuckled, placing the blanket onto her back and cantering to the kitchen to snag a washcloth. Wetting the cloth, she returned to her dragon's side. Griffon drawn up to her torso, she cleared all traces of soup in a series of gentle scrubs. Draping the used washcloth over a wing, she nuzzled the baby and planted a kiss on the side of her face.

Allowing the chick to curl back up on her adoptive father's shoulder, Fluttershy switched her attention to the filly.

"Are you finished eating, honey?"

Drowsiness having stolen over Terra Cotta, the child lethargically pushed the bowl away. Emitting another giggle, Fluttershy pulled her into her forelegs to wipe off what little soup was residing on her lips. Upon finishing her task, she allowed the cloth to fall to the floor for now.

"You look like you're getting pretty sleepy, too," the feathered pony observed, lifting Terra Cotta off the floor.

"Nu." Terra Cotta shook her head, her jaw parting in a yawn. "… 'm nat."

"Would you like to sleep with Daddy tonight?" Smokey queried to both children, promptly receiving a happy burble from Chenoa.

A squeal jumped from the filly, nuzzling up against Fluttershy.

"Kanay, Mami? Kan-" she requested, cutting herself off with a yawn.

"Of course you can, sweetheart." Flapping her wings, Fluttershy lifted herself and Terra Cotta off the floor and placed her on Smokey's other side between his chest and the couch's back support. The filly squealed once more, snuggling against the reptilian. Heart aglow at the sight of her dragon and children, the mare grasped the hem of the blanket draped over her back between her teeth to spread it out over them to share. "Lucky Smokey. Got the girls crawling all over him."

Having not expected Fluttershy to make such a joke, the scaled beast belted out a short laugh and shook his head.

"There's room for one more lovely lady," he stated, patting his torso.

In response, the mare gave pause, a concerned frown stealing over her countenance.

"… Are you sure, Smokey? I mean… your ribs ARE bruised. I don't… want to hurt you any further than you already are."

She had heard him groan with Chenoa and Terra Cotta crawling all over him-and they were just children! She, on the other hand, was a fully-grown mare. Even if he did offer… she couldn't!

Smokey's smile dissipated, his ear frills dropping halfway. She did have a point…

"Oh… I suppose that wouldn't be a good idea."

She leaned in to nuzzle her beloved, small smile gracing her features.

"No. If you weren't injured, I'd take you up on the offer, but…" She chuckled. "I have a bedroll I can bring down here and sleep on the floor near you tonight."

She didn't like the fact that she couldn't rest with him on the couch-it not being spacious enough to hold all of them-, but at least she could sleep next to him, as she didn't want to leave him.

"All right then. Hurry back, darling," he murred, softly applying a lick to her cheek.

Administering a kiss to his cheek, Fluttershy traversed upstairs. Within the time span of a few minutes, she returned with a sleeping bag, an extra blanket, and two pillows piled on her back. Unrolling the sleeping bag and dropping one of the pillows on the floor where she intended on resting her head, the second was positioned beneath Smokey's cranium.

"Thank you, my dear."

The draconian blissfully sighed at the comfortable support the pillow provided for him. Observing Fluttershy slip into the sleeping bag, he reached out to grasp onto her nearest hoof once she was settled into a snug position. Even though he knew he was back in Ponyville, he wanted to feel reassured that she was still with him.

Curling her pastern around his clawed hand, she allowed herself to sink against the fabric cushioning her back with a sigh seeping from her nostrils. Things were going relatively smooth, she thought. Their friends would return shortly with the much needed herb and Smokey would regain his health… Everything was on the up and up!

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Fluttershy and Smokey awoke to a furious pounding at the door. The children, however, remained undisturbed, so deep they were in their slumber. Yawning, the pegasus shook her head to throw off her drowsiness and pulled herself to her hooves. Crossing over to the door, she pulled it open to meet her visitor.

"Yes-OH! Girls, you're back!"

She stepped aside to let in the five mares, her lingering sleepiness not quite letting her register their expressions of distraught right away.

"… What's wrong? Did you find the herb?" she urgently pressed.

"Well…" Twilight Sparkle began, averting her gaze for a fleeting moment. "… Yes, and no. Yes, we found where the herb is GROWN, but…"

Smokey released a yawn of his own. He languidly lifted his head, his ear frills perking as he listened in to the conversation, only to find himself just as disheartened at Rainbow Dash's exclamation.

"They were all gone!"

"Gone?" Fluttershy gasped. "What do you mean, gone?"

"As in, absent, disappeared, vanished, no longer there!" Pinkie exclaimed, flailing her forelegs. "The field was there, but it was entirely striped bare! There was absolutely nothing there! Just a bunch of dirt!"

Smokey swallowed hard, fear for his life welling up inside of him.

"If… there are no more herbs… what are we going to use?"

"I… I don't… I don't know." The pale pegasus turned to the alicorn, the expression on her face imploring for an answer. "Twilight?"

"I'm afraid I'm not sure what we can do, either," the lavender-coated princess responded. "But, if there's one thing I CAN do, it's research. I'll head home and look into what we can use. Maybe, we can find some elsewhere. Or find a substitute. If worse comes to worse, I'll write to Princess Celestia about this. I need to inform her about Pendulum, anyway."

"And I'll look around Ponyville. See if anypony's got that herb," Rainbow Dash contributed.

"Thank you. I suppose Miss Fluttershy can use what she has…" Smokey sighed, dropping his vision to the children and promptly found himself mildly surprised that they were still asleep.

"Let us know if you need anything," Rarity offered. "Either of you."

"Will do." Fluttershy nodded. "… Thank you… For everything."

"Yes, thank you. We really appreciate it."

Drained, Smokey allowed his neck to go limp and drop onto the pillow with a heavy breath.

As the five mares dispensed expressions of sympathy-Pinkie Pie distributing a quick hug and a nuzzle to Fluttershy-, they departed one by one. The last of her friends out the door, the yellow-pelted pegasus spun around to draw her hoof over the dragon's head. Stroking it several times, she sniveled, then broke down into soft crying. He frowned, his heart tearing at the seems at witnessing the love of his life so upset.

"I… I'll be fine, my dear," he insisted, smoothing a hand over his mane. "I will… just… have to fight through it."

"I will be with you the whole way," she whispered, kissing him in the center of his forehead. She leaned into his caress, still petting his cranium. "We'll get through this… together.

"I love you… So very much."

Those words warmed him on the inside, spreading over his body. Purring, he lifted his head to kiss her cheek.

"I love you, too."

The mare stroked his hand and head once more and applied a final nuzzle to his snout.

"We'll get through this," she repeated. "Just rest up, for now. I'll make sure I have some medicine and breakfast ready for you in the morning."

"All right."

With that, he leaned in again to lightly press his lips to hers in a short, sweet kiss. Returning it, the pegasus smiled warmly and stroked his head one last time before returning to her sleeping bag. Sliding beneath the fabric, she curled a pastern around his outstretched hand again and laid back with a depressed sigh. Clutching her hoof tightly he closed his eyes. Sleep did not come to them despite their tiredness. The couple was too worried about what would happen.

As the dragon's body heat escalated, he peeled his section of blanket from his body, but kept the children covered. Hours passed, and beads of sweat streaked down his scales, a portion of them soaking into the bandages and stinging his wounds. By the time he and Fluttershy actually had fallen asleep, Princess Celestia's sun was beginning to peer over the horizon.