I woke up the next day to Glimmer prodding my side. My eyes felt like they were glued together, as did my mouth. I could only moan as she pushed my side gently, trying to wake me.

"Five more minutes," I whined pathetically.

"Oh, thank Celestia!" came Glimmer's voice before I felt a set of hooves wrap around me.

I yelped as I was pulled up from my comfortable place, embraced by my best friend. My head was shoved into her chest and her hooves squeezed my chest tightly, as if I was a lost teddy bear. I struggled slightly, but Glimmer was too strong for me.

"Glimmer," I grunted, trying to free myself, "What the hay are you doing?"

Glimmer let go as I said that, allowing me to fall limply into the mass of white sheets before me. I picked up my head to see I was in my room, lying on top of a ball of bedsheets in the middle of my bed. I glanced around the room, noting everything was still in place. My window had thick curtains blocking out the sunlight, the dresser was bare and so on. I didn't have a whole lot to my name.

Spinning around, I gasped when I saw Glimmer. Her normally beautiful features were marred by a swollen purple eye. I scrambled around, trying to pick myself up and aid her, but she jumped back from me, as if I had scared her.

"Glimmer!" I wailed, "What happened to you?!"

A weak smile crossed her face as she looked at me.

"I-It's nothing, Vi. Don't worry about it," she stammered nervously.

She gave a small laugh, as if this was just a joke. I was not amused in the slightest.

"Glimmer, look at yourself!" I shouted to her, causing her smile to vanish and ears to droop.

"Vi, please calm down..."

"GLIMMER!"

"Alright, fine!" she shouted back, an angry expression crossing her face.

She spun on the spot and stared at herself in my mirror, making no noises or even moving for a full two minutes. When she decided to turn around and look at me, she let out a huge sigh and looked to the floor while I stared at her eye.

"I know," she murmured weakly, "I know it's there."

"What the hay happened to you?" I asked, dumbstruck.

In all my time of knowing Glimmer, she had never had an injury or ailment. Any sickness she caught was usually solved by her self-medicating, a practice her father had taught her. This was the first time I could tell she had been hurt.

"I was... I was out walking last night," Glimmer began weakly, "And this... thing, showed up. He demanded gems from me, but I didn't have any, so..."

My jaw hung open from that.

"Where were you?" I asked impatiently.

"I was, er, you know..."

"No, I don't! Where were you?!"

"I was, uh, looking for you," she spoke meekly.

I froze when she had said that. She had been looking for me? I mentally facehoofed at that when it struck me that it was obvious she would have. Glimmer cared for me like a sister and always fretted about my safety when I disappeared unexpectedly. She wanted me to have my wish and didn't argue with my methods, but she was still worried for me when I left. I ground my teeth as I looked down at my bed, realizing that I knew where this was going.

"Where did that happen?" I croaked to her.

"A couple of streets from the club we frequent," Glimmer answered back hoarsely.

I shook my head slowly, realizing that her injury was my fault. I shouldn't have left like I did last night. Not only was my night terrible, but so was Glimmer's. I bit my lip as I struggled to not cry. The feeling of self-hatred I had experienced last night welled up in my chest again as I thought about Glimmer. She couldn't work like that and probably would lose her job for it.

"Hey, Vi?" came Glimmer's voice, "Are you alright?"

"N-No," I shakily stated back, "I'm s-sorry, Glimmer."

"For what?" she asked curiously.

I weakly waved my hoof at her and I could tell she instantly knew what I meant. I felt her hoof touch mine and I shuddered. I really just wanted to leave right then.

"It's not your fault, Viola," Glimmer spoke sweetly to me, "Sometimes things just happen."

"But I sh-shouldn't have left y-you like that," I choked out, losing my battle against crying.

I felt Glimmer's hoof leave mine before she wrapped her hooves around me again, embracing me softly. She wasn't angry at me, just worried. I ground my teeth harder and squeezed my eyes shut, teetering on the very edge of tears.

"Vi, calm down," she whispered to me, "Don't be upset. I know last night was difficult for you, but what happened to me was my own fault. You didn't hurt me."

I weakly hugged her back, wondering why she was my friend. I was selfish and stupid while she was sweet and caring. I didn't deserve a friend like her and I knew it. The two of us sat there, just sharing a moment that two best friends would. With what little bit of dignity I had, I gently pushed Glimmer away and looked up at her the same way a puppy does to its owner. Glimmer just smiled back sweetly, trying not to cry herself.

"G-Glimmer," I said, "We need to get that looked at."

"No, it's fine," she stated back, smiling a bit.

I heard her wince slightly when she grinned.

"Glimmer, we need to see a doctor about that now," I stated to her.

Her smile weakened to a small frown before she spoke again.

"But I thought you hated doctors," she spoke in a confused tone.

I gulped as I thought about them. I viewed them as evil ponies, bent on hurting others while faking smiles and good news. However, I felt for Glimmer more than them.

"I hate seeing you in pain more," I spoke in a weakly confident voice, "We're going to see one."

I stood outside the clinic, shivering slightly as I looked at the building. The building itself wasn't intimidating, a mostly plain facade of brick and mortar with some windows and large automatic glass doors. I guess it was my inherent fear of doctors that made me scared to enter the harmless looking buildings, but I wasn't here for myself this time.

"Viola, are you okay?" Glimmer asked worriedly to me, "We can leave if you are not comfortable."

I gulped hard, but looked over to her and smiled.

"I'm fine, Glimmer," I lied.

"You sure?" she asked, giving me a wary look.

"Yes, now let's get you taken care of," I stated as I marched to the door, fear flooding my mind.

Inside was nothing spectacular. A couple rows of stools and benches sat in straight lines with some small tables holding magazines. The walls were a whitish-green color, bearing framed instructions on proper hoof washing and disease prevention. I stood rigidly still at the doorway as I scanned the room, noting that the only exit was behind me. The room was, thankfully, empty of all ponies except for one sitting behind a glass window.

Glimmer wasted no time in trotting up to the window and conversing with the pony, who was a mare, while I sat on the stool closest to the exit. I glanced around nervously as dark memories of my past reared their heads, showing me the terrifying moment I found out I was infertile. I gulped hard as I gripped the chair tightly, as if it was going to leave me. After five minutes, Glimmer trotted over to me.

"Come on, Vi," she spoke sweetly, "The doctor has no appointments, so he can see me right now."

I spun my head to her, locking eyes. She was smiling like I was a filly, but I could see it souring quickly.

"Or do you want to wait here?" she asked in a less sweet tone.

I shook my head and stood on my hooves, determined to make sure her eye was cared for. I was terrified of entering a patient room, but Glimmer led me there. The room itself was cramped to me, although both of us could walk about freely in it. Inside was a bed thing that Glimmer hopped up on, along with two chairs set by a sink. I took one of them and looked around nervously, noting there was a bin for used needles and schematics of pony physiology.

We must have sat there for five minutes before either of us spoke. Five minutes of tense and uneasy silence.

"Vi, are you sure you're okay?" Glimmer asked, "You look like you're going to be sick."

I nodded sharply and stayed rooted in my spot, not wanting to look at the door. The doctor would be here shortly to examine Glimmer and we would be leaving very shortly after that. As if on cue, the door swung open and I tensed up.

"Good morning!" came an eerily familiar voice.

I spun my head around to see a crimson unicorn stallion with a silver mane and platinum eyes looking between Glimmer and myself. He looked a little funny with a white overcoat on and a big shiny disk on his forehead, but there was no mistaking him. His gaze locked onto me and I felt myself stop breathing. He was the same one from the rooftop last night.

"Oh, hello!" he said with a smile, "I didn't expect to see you again!"

I must have passed out right then, because my vision went black rather quickly.

"Viola?" came Glimmer's voice.

I weakly tried to open my eyes and blinked as a harsh white light shined down on me. A hiss escaped me as I covered my eyes and rolled over, only to have a set of hooves stop me.

"Easy there," came another voice, "Don't hurt yourself."

My eyes snapped open at that to see the smile of the crimson doctor looking into my face. I yelped loudly and flapped my wings, trying to distance myself from him, to feel another set of hooves push me down.

"Viola!" came Glimmer as I thrashed about, not breaking eye contact with the doctor, "Calm down!"

I struggled some more before I felt a magical aura surround me. I nearly screamed, thinking it was the doctor's, but my vision was filled with gold. I spun around to see Glimmer concentrating angrily on me, her horn glowing. I breathed heavily and slowed down my movements, trying to stay calm. Her eye was still swollen, but less so.

"There," Glimmer sighed with a huff.

I stared at her for a bit before the doctor trotted over.

"So, what seems to be the problem?" he asked, looking at me.

I wanted to respond, but Glimmer answered.

"She needs help," she stated plainly.

"No I don't!" I almost shouted to her, my cheeks reddening, "We came here because of your eye!"

"I have already treated that," the doctor spoke proudly, "It should go away by the end of the day. Ms. Glimmer here was very lucky there was no fracturing around the eye socket and that the bruising is easily dealt with."

"Now it's your turn to be helped," Glimmer stated firmly, not looking away from me.

"Helped?" I nearly shouted, "Helped with what?! I'm fine and we need to get going!"

Glimmer narrowed her eyes to me and inched closer to my face.

"Viola, you need help. I've spent seven years with you and I know when there's something wrong. Tell him what's wrong and we can leave."

"But I don't--"

"Excuse me," came the doctor, causing both of us to look at him, "But I can help you with whatever is wrong, Ms. Violet Heart."

I stared dumbfounded at him. He had used my real name? Glimmer narrowed her eyes to him before looking back at me and then to him.

"How do you know her name?" she asked pointedly, "I said it was Viola."

The doctor coughed a bit and looked away as if embarrassed.

"Well, er, you see," I began lamely.

"I have helped her before," the doctor spoke, "Last night, in fact."

Glimmer spun to me, looking at me directly in the eyes. I could see her wheels spinning in her mind as she worked this out.

"Wait, you saw a doctor last night?" she asked with a hint of shock.

"Actually, she kinda came to my house by accident," the doctor replied, causing Glimmer to look away from me, "She was in a rather bad spot and somehow ended up on the roof of my home."

I was quiet as the doctor related what had happened last night to Glimmer, utterly mortified. He left out no small detail, including the ones about me covered in puke and screaming that he was going to kill me. Glimmer's eyes widened in shock and eventually her mouth fell open. When he finished, she turned to me and stared for a while. I smiled weakly to her before she shouted at me.

"Viola! What the buck were you doing last night?!"

"I-I don't remember..." I muttered back weakly.

"Actually, I had a rather interesting idea about that," came the doctor, breaking our chat.

We both turned to him and he smiled nervously.

"Well, in truth, I contacted a friend of mine after you left last night and asked about your behavior. He's a psychologist, so he told me it sounded like you had classic case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a kind of depression that often leads to suicidal tendencies or reckless behavior to cope with it. He said it often stems from a very painful moment in your past and that most cases with your level don't make it past three years without maiming or killing themselves."

A tense silence ensued as my eyes began to bulge out of my skull. I could feel the intensity of the gaze Glimmer was giving him and he coughed before shifting uncomfortably.

"Um, well, I don't want to pry, but did something happen?" he asked.

My mouth was locked shut, but Glimmer spoke up softly.

"She found out she was infertile when she was little..."

I spasmed at that.

"Glimmer!" I shouted to her angrily.

"Oh dear," came the doctor, his eyes widening, "I'm so sorry."

I snarled angrily at him and thrashed around, breaking loose of Glimmer's aura and throwing myself down onto my hooves. I lowered myself and glared at the doctor, who stared back at me curiously.

"Don't you ever repeat that!" I nearly screamed at him as I lunged for the door, but slipped on the tile.

I landed on my chest and slid forward to the door. I gave an angry shout as I rose to my hooves and reached for the door, only to have Glimmer's aura stop me.

"Wait, Viola!" she called.

She didn't have time to finish before I spun around angrily.

"Shut up!" I shouted to her, "You didn't have to tell him!"

A look of hurt crossed Glimmer's face as she regarded me, but she didn't drop her aura.

"But Viola, he can help you!"

"I don't want help! I can have a foal on my own!"

"No, you can't! You need somepony to help you!"

"I don't need anypony's help!" I screamed at her.

A long silence permeated the room as Glimmer sniffled at me. I breathed heavily to her, ready to storm out of there when the doctor spoke up.

"I already knew you were infertile," he spoke softly.

I turned to him and nearly started shouting, but kept speaking.

"And I believe I can help you get a foal."

"I'm not adopting!" I screamed, causing him to wince a bit.

"I didn't mean that," he said calmly as he turned to face me, "I think I can get you pregnant through natural means."

A look of disgust crossed my face as I thought about that.

"I am most definitely NOT sleeping with you!" I shouted to him, feeling my throat hurt.

"I didn't mean that," he said with a shocked look, "I meant I know of a way that might work. The only catch is that it requires an earth pony mare."

My face contorted into a weird expression before I started talking again.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that there is more to Earth Pony magic than most know of. Stallions can grow food easily and so can mares, but mares have a unique gift. They are extremely fertile and can have many foals without any sort of disorder. I have a theory that, if I can transfer the magic to you, you can get pregnant."

I stared at him, utterly dumbfounded.

"What?" I asked, feeling a small ray of light breaking my anger.

He stared at me dead in the eyes before speaking again.

"I think it is possible to get you pregnant," he said in a serious tone.