Dove walked alongside Bell as they returned to their home. Sitting astride her neck, Aurora was perched onto the top of her head while Applebuck cooed and gurgled happily in her hoof. They had spent the afternoon visiting Precious Rose, and her foal, Opal Rose. Dove couldn't help but think about what was now growing inside her own belly. Like always, when she let her thoughts dwell on her pregnancy, a warm happiness settled over her.

"Mama?" Aurora called to her from atop her head.

"Yes, sweety?"

"Why I different?"

"What do you mean?" Dove tried to look up at her.

"I have horn," Aurora explained, then pointed down at the foal in her hooves. "Applbuk doesn't, Mama Bell doesn't, Mama doesn't. Why?"

Dove felt her heart give a lurch. She'd been worried about this question coming. "Well, it's because you're special."

"How I special?" Aurora pressed.

Dove struggled with an answer. She didn't want to lie to her, but she couldn't tell her the truth either.

Luckily, Bell stepped in. "You're special because your mama loved you so much, she kissed you and a horn grew out from that spot."

"Really?!" Aurora exclaimed, perking up. She then bent over and kissed Dove on her forehead. "I give you horn too!" She then kissed her again and again.

Dove smiled, her heart swelling with love for her daughter. "Thank you, sweetie, but I'm too old to have a horn."

"Aww," Aurora whined in disappointment.

Suddenly, Strongbuck jumped out from behind a tree just ahead of them and blocked their way. He had his legs set wide while his lowered head gazed at them with an odd intensity.

Dove knew what he wanted. She could see it in his eyes. "She's all yours," she said, shouldering her friend towards Strongbuck. "Have fun!"

Bell gasped and shot her a look. "Traitor!" Then she let out a surprised shriek and bolted when Strongbuck lunged for her. With Strongbuck hot on her hooves, Bell shrieked and laughed as she fled her pursuer. Dove could tell she wasn't trying very hard to escape and would soon be caught.

Smiling, Dove turned to head home.

"Mama want play with Papa too?" Aurora asked.

"I do. But I like being the one doing the chasing," Dove confessed.

"Oh," Aurora murmured. "Summer Rain chases me in the play pen. He tries to kiss me."

"Oh, does he?" Dove smiled up at her daughter perched on her head. "And does he ever catch you?"

Aurora shook her head. "Nope! I always get away."

Dove felt a strange kind of relief. "Well I suppose that for the best for now, but someday, you'll find a colt that you will want to catch you."

Aurora shook her head again. "Colts are dumb and icky."

"Is Papa dumb and icky?" Dove asked.

"No." Aurora shook her head. "Papa is bestest colt. He gives me lots of hugs and kisses."

This was very true. It was wonderful how good a father Strongbuck was. There were times he smothered Aurora with so much affection Dove actually felt a little jealous. She always made sure she got her own special affection later. "Someday, you'll find another colt that you'll want to give you lots of hugs and kisses."

Aurora shook her head emphatically. "Nope, never! Only Papa give hugs and kisses."

Dove couldn't help but smile. "You'll see things a little differently someday."

Behind them they heard a particularly loud giggling-shriek followed by silence.

"Did Papa catch Mama Bell?"

Dove gave an amused smirk. "You could say that."

"So Papa won?"

Dove smiled and shook her head. "No. I think they both won."

As they topped a rise, they could see their home sitting below them. Descending down, Dove was surprised to find Pebble Stream waiting ahead.

"Hello, Pebble," Dove greeted the mare. "Is there something wrong? Is somepony hurt?"

Pebble looked nervous as she shook her head. "No. I didn't come out to you about that."

Dove could tell that there was something on the mare's mind. Something she wanted to talk about, but was too apprehensive to bring up. "Well, how about you join me for a cool drink. I left something special I've been working on cooling in water. I'll just put Applebuck down for a nap and be right out."

Lowering her head, she let Aurora slip off before entering their home. Setting Applebuck into his basket, she whispered her love and kissed him as his eyes blinked heavily. He'd always been a good colt when it came to naps. It was when he was hungry that he turned into a terror. Dove had never seen a foal eat as much as he did.

Moving to a barrel filled with water, she took a line and pulled out a gourd floating in it. Next, she grabbed some carved drinking gourds and slipped back out. She set out a mat under a tree out front for them to rest on while they talked. Settling down, Dove unstoppered the gourd and poured out its contents into one of the drinking gourds and set it out before Pebble.

Picking it up, Pebble gave it a sniff with a curious expression and drank. A look of surprise flashed across her face. "What is this?"

Dove smiled. "It's something I've been working on. It's juice made from mashed apples with a bit of honey added to help sweeten it."

Pebble took another sip and smiled. "It's good."

Aurora came over and settled herself alongside her mother. "Once, Papa drank a whole bunch." Aurora giggled. "It was funny. It made him dizzy, and he kept laughing and falling over!"

"Really?" Pebble glanced down at her drink.

"That only happened because he drank a batch that had been sitting for a few days," Dove assured the mare. "This batch is fresh. So what brings you out to visit?"

"My sister and I never got along very well." Pebble said, taking another sip of her drink. "Not long after my sister had Strongbuck, we stopped talking altogether. I never really got to see my nephew grow up. I'm glad he's happy here. He has a wonderful family." Her eyes glanced to the house that Applebuck was sleeping in. "I regret letting my feeling towards his mother distance me from Strongbuck."

"Well then, let's change that." Dove said. "Let's bring the families back together. We'll eat, talk, and laugh as our foals play in the sun."

"That sounds nice." Pebble murmured, her smile seemed happy, but something else seemed to be holding her back.

"Pebble?" Dove said. "I feel that there is something else you really came out here to talk about. I can see that it's weighing on your mind. What is it?"

Pebble sighed and looked down at her cup. "I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. First with my sister when I drove her away, and later with my own son when I clung to him too tightly." She paused a moment as she appeared to consider her next words. "I just... don't want to make the same mistakes."

Dove felt that there was something deeper to her meaning. "Pebble? Are you trying to say...?"

"I... met a stallion during the spring," Pebble continued. "Dusty and Tranquil were off on a supply caravan, leaving me alone with Skye, Grand, and the new foal." Pebble smiled. "It was nice having the new foal around. I missed that." She then cleared her throat and looked back up. "He was visiting from the lakeside settlement, and we kind of started talking. His name is Yew Hedge,” she explained. “Whenever he could, he started visiting and we'd take walks together. It was nice having a stallion taking interest in me. After a time, one of our walks turned into something... more."

"Oh?" Dove thought it was wonderful that she'd found somepony special to be intimate with.

"Well, since then. I've..." Pebble hesitated as she suddenly became anxious. "I normally have my heat in the fall, but this time…” Her voice faltered. “I... I heard that your filly could see things. That she could see if... a mare was..." She suddenly covered her face as she started crying. "What was I thinking! I'm too old to be doing this again!"

"Nonsense!" Dove scoffed, moving over to comfort the mare. "You're plenty young! And don't you go thinking you're not! Have you told your family about this?"

Pebble wiped at her eye as she lowered her hooves. "They don't know. I haven’t told them. I wanted to be sure first..."

"Well, lets go ahead and have Aurora take a look. Okay?" Dove helped Pebble to her hooves and had her turn to give Aurora a clear view of her stomach. "Okay. Are you ready?" she asked Pebble

Pebble took a long breath and let it out. She looked scared. Finally, she nodded.

"Okay, Aurora," Dove said to her daughter. "Take a look at her and tell me if her tummy is dancing."

Aurora fixed her special amber eyes on the nervous mare and studied her, her gaze looking beyond the limits of Pebble's flesh. Blinking, she suddenly motioned at Dove to come to her. Bending down, Dove listened as Aurora whispered into her ear.

Turning back to Pebble, Dove smiled and nodded. "Congratulation. You're going to be a mama again."

Pebble let out a explosive breath and staggered on her hooves. Dove had to rush over to keep her from falling. "I don't believe it... I kind of thought I might... but still... I never really thought... How am I going to tell Dusty!? What is he going to think!?"

Dove nearly laughed. "Stop being foolish! You know he'll be overjoyed to find out he's going to have a brother or sister. Now settle back down and have a drink. When Strongbuck returns with Bell, I'll send him to fetch Skye and Grand. We'll all have supper together and you can share the news. Okay?"

Suddenly, she heard hoofsteps approaching. Looking back, she saw Dark hurrying across the field to her.

"Dove. I'm sorry, but I need you to come to the Unicorn settlement," Dark said. "Cotton Cloud brought word that Dusty came across a slaver group on the way and rescued one of their slaves. She's hurt pretty badly and they need your help with her."

"Of course," Dove said, standing. "When will we be leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning, before the sun rises." Dark answered.

"I'll gather what I need together." Dove turned to Pebble. "I'm sorry."

"It's quite alright," Pebble assured her. "We'll do this when you get back with my son."

With nothing to do, Snap got bored. Her mother had little West, so she went to visit with Jennet, but she'd been given herbs to help with her pain, but that also caused her to sleep. Starless was up with the prisoner, questioning him, and there was no way she was going up there, for any reason. She thought about watching the Unicorns practice their spear drills with her father, but that didn’t really interest her, so she decided to find Tranquil instead and see what she was doing.

After a short search, she found her with the weavers working on one of their new weaving racks Brightstar made for them. Since their arrival, Tranquil had spent the last two days learning how to use their weaving stands to make what they called “fabric”, made from the wool of some of the local animals living in the vale. Tranquil stood before two poles that held two horizontal beams that had a web of lines stretched between them.

Tranquil's horn lit up with her magic and she lifted strands of thread up from spools set out before her. Then, with a swiftness that amazed the other Unicorns, she began weaving the thread through the lines between the two cross beams. Some of the spools had been dyed various colors with a process the Unicorns had come up with, and Tranquil was now weaving them into intricate patterns.

On other weaving racks, mares stopped their half-completed projects and gathered to watch Tranquil as she worked. Her skill at controlling a multitude of threads and guiding them through complex patterns was unmatched by any. Quickly, bright curls and loops appeared in the white fabric with dark zig-zagging borders. When it was finally completed, the Unicorns surrounded Tranquil to mob her with questions.

Standing in the back, Snap silently clapped her hooves. Tranquil was amazing. Wondering away, she decided to go for a walk and explore the valley.

Heading out on the well-worn path down the valley, Snap breathed in the fresh air. It was nice here. The grass that blanketed the valley was short and soft with tiny white flowers speckling the landscape. Above her, the craggy peaks still bore snow high up on their steep slopes.

Descending lower in the valley, Snap noticed a pony standing in the stream. It took her a moment to realize that it was Wild Bolt. She hadn't seen much of him over the last few days and was beginning to wonder if her brother had actually scared him off. She was still in the midst of her heat and thought about turning back so as to not have a repeat of the last time they met at a stream, but something about him caught her attention. He was splashing water on himself and scrubbing his coat with an almost frantic motion.

Snap hesitated. Something was wrong. She could feel it. Descending the slope to the water's edge, Snap looked out at Wild Bolt. "Wild?"

He didn't seem to hear her as he continued scouring his coat. She could see bare spots from were he'd rubbed off his fur.

"Wild! What are you doing!?" Snap shouted in sudden fear. "You're going to hurt yourself! Stop!"

"Why can't I get it off!?" Wild cried out, tears streaming down his face. "No matter how much I wash, its always there!" Swiping a large stone from the bottom of the stream, Wild franticly began beating himself with it.

"Wild! Stop!" Snap screamed, leaping out into the stream. Running out to him, she grabbed at him, trying to stop him.

"Don't touch me!" Wild roared, swinging his hoof back and knocking her away. With a startled cry, Snap fell back into the shallow water.

"Why are you trying to hurt yourself!? Snap shouted angrily, climbing back to her hooves. Sometimes this colt made her want to buck him. Really hard!

"Don't come near me!" Wild stumbled back, his face contorted in misery. "Don't you see it!? I'm covered in it!" He staggered back. "I don't want it to get on you."

"What are you talking about!?" Snap asked in confusion.

"Are you blind?!" Wild roared. "Look at me! Surely you can see that I'm soaked with blood! It's all over me! It’s dripping from my hooves!"

"Wild, you're not making any sense," Snap tried to reason with him. "You're not covered in any blood."

"Shut up!" Wild screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. "Shut up! Shut up! It's dripping from my hooves! Why can’t you see it!?" He franticly shook his hooves at her. His fevered eyes lost focus as he staggered back, collapsing limply into the water.

"Wild!" Snap cried out, rushing to the stallion as he floated face down in the water. Grabbing him, she pulled him around to bring his head was above the water. His body was burning with fever! "Wild! Wild wake up!"

Wild's eyes blinked opened and gazed up at her, his eyes meeting hers. "So... beautiful." His eyes became unfocused and drifted back closed.

Muttering a curse that her mother would scold her if she knew that she even knew it, Snap dragged Wild to the shore. His shoulder wound was swollen and had a foul smell that nearly made her gag.

"You idiot teat-biting colt!" Snap muttered angrily. Why did he allow it to get this bad!? Shouldering him up, she managed to work him onto her back, letting his legs dangle down on each side of her barrel. Once he was in place, Snap suddenly flushed when she realized how he was mounted on her back. "Don't get any ideas. Okay?" she said, looking back at Wild's head as it rested along her neck.

She didn't remember him being so heavy the last time he was on her back, Snap silently complained as she labored back up the valley. His body felt like it was burning up, it was so hot.

"I'm sorry, mama... I'm sorry," Wild murmured deliriously against her neck.

Cresting a rise, she was relieved to see the encampment just ahead. Ponies gasped when they saw her carrying Wild in. "Please! Somepony find my mama and tell her I need her help!" she called out. She was relieved to see several mares go rushing off to get help as others came to assist her.

She was led to a nearby hut where she could put Wild Bolt in. Ducking inside, Snap carefully slipped Wild of her back and settled him onto a mat before sitting next to him.

"Mama?... Mama where are you?" Wild murmured, his eyes flickering open.

"Wild?" Snap leaned over him.

"Mama?" Wild Bolt's gaze shifted over to focus weakly on her.

Snap shook her head. "It's me, Snap," she said, setting her hoof on his forehead. He was burning hot!

Wild Bolt reached his hoof up and touched her cheek tenderly, tears welling up in his eyes. "Why did you leave me, Mama?"

Snap felt her chest tighten. The way he was calling for his mother was both sweet and heartbreaking. "I... I'm here now," Snap answered.

A look of pain came to his face. "I'm sorry, Mama. I'm sorry." Suddenly, he rolled into her and clutched at her leg with tears streaming down his face. "I had to do it! He was hurting her! He did unspeakable things to her. The stink of what they did...! Of what he did...!" Wild let out a wailing cry as he pulled himself up into her lap to bury his face into her stomach. "Oh, Mama! I wanted him to hurt for what he did to Jennet! They tied her down and forced themselves onto her! They brutally bred her over and over again!"

Snap gasped. She'd not heard the details of what they had done to Jennet. The horror she must have gone through!

"I killed him, Mama!” he cried out in elation. “I crushed his face in with my hooves. I hit him over and over again until I couldn't hit him anymore! He was begging for his life when I drove my spear into his heart!" Wild Bolt started weeping uncontrollably into her. "Oh, Mama! What have I done!? I have blood all over me and it won't come off! I killed a pony! I killed a pony and I liked it!"

Snap wrapped her hooves around Wild's head as he wept into her stomach. "Shh, it's okay. I got you. Mama's got you." She could feel his muzzle pressed up against her udders, but she found that she didn't mind as she held him. If he needed his mama, then she was going to be his mama. She had no idea the pain he'd been suffering through alone over the last few days. She felt horrible now for ignoring him the way she had.

Without really thinking of it, she began singing a lullaby to him as she stroked his head.

"That was wonderful, dear," her mother's voice suddenly cut in.

Snap gasped and looked around. When did her mother come in!? Standing just inside the door flap, was her mother and Starless, who was holding little West to her chest as she slipped her mask off. Feeling her cheeks burning at what they had witnessed, Snap started to extricate herself from the sleeping stallion cuddled in her lap.

"Unless you want to undo all the good you've already done, leave him be," her mother said, moving around to examine Wild Bolt. Laying the back of her fetlock to his brow, her mother frowned. "He's burning up." Moving to his shoulder, she carefully probed around it and grimaced at the smell she caught. "His wounds have become corrupted. I fear it may be too late to help the colt."

"What do you mean, Mama?" Snap asked seeing the sorrowful look on her mother's face. Surely she didn't mean that he was going to...!? No! "There's got to be something we can do!"

"There's some herbs that Dove taught me help lower fevers," Starless offered. "But I fear that it wouldn't be enough."

Snap felt her chest tighten with worry. The way they were talking sounded like there was no hope for him. "Don't say that!" she shouted angrily. "He's not going to die! Tell me what herbs these are and I'll go find them myself!"

Starless blinked at her in surprise as she rocked little West who had been startled at her outburst.

"Easy, love," her mother said, gesturing with her hoof for her to settle down. "We're not giving up on the colt."

Starless nodded, holding her hoof to little West to let him suck on it. "That's right. Dove is on her way, and she may be able to do something to help him. I'll ask around if there are any here who might be able to help as well."

"In the meantime. You stay here and keep singing to him," her mother told her. "We'll get those herbs and see what we can do about lowering his fever. I hope you weren't expecting to get much sleep tonight, because you're going to be very busy caring for him."

"Me!?" Snap exclaimed. "But don't know anything about caring for the sick!"

"Then you better start learning!" her mother snapped. "Unless you want to walk out that door, he's going to need your help. Do you understand!?"

Snap blinked at her mother, shocked at her vehemence. "Yes, Mama."

Her mother took the little colt back from Starless so she could retrieve the herbs. Next, she spoke to some mares and sent them off to retrieve some other things. Soon they returned with water and a strips of the new fabric. "Thank you. Please put them down next to the colt." her mother told the mares as they came in."Right now, we need to lower his fever before it kills him.” She moistened one of the cloths in the water and placed it onto Wild’s forehead. “I hope this will help.”

Shifting Wild Bolt's head off of her lap, Snap did as her mother instructed, and took over. Wild Bolt shifted his head and murmured her name.

"So this is that colt you nearly mated with, huh?" her mother suddenly asked.

Snap felt her face flush hot. She had been hoping that Starless and Ground had kept that from her.

"He's rather handsome," her mother observed.

"Mama, please," Snap pleaded. Her mother remained quiet as she remoistened the cloth and set it back on to Wild's head.

"I liked your lullaby. Did you come up with it yourself?"

Snap grimaced. Letting out a sigh she nodded. "Yes. I created it to sing..." she paused to look at the infant in her mother's hooves. "to sing to my colt, when I had one,” she confessed. “Wild Bolt was babbling with fever and he thought I was his mother. It just seemed right to sing it to him."

Her mother nodded, looking at her thoughtfully. "I find it curious that you used such a special song you created to sing to him. Makes me wonder what he truly means to you."

"What he means to me!?" Snap exclaimed in dismay. "He's an arrogant colt that is so full of himself, it's a wonder he could even lift his head up in the morning!"

"If what you say were true, then why would you sing him that song?" her mother pressed, looking at her with that penetrating gaze of hers.

Snap opened her mouth to reply, but paused. Why did she sing him that song? She had meant to sing it to her own foal. "I... I'm not sure. Something happened when he came back. Something that’s changed him."

"There's a point were a colt has to grow up," her mother murmured. "Sometimes it takes a long time, and other times, it comes in a rush."

The door flap moved aside and Starless slipped in. "It took longer to find than I thought." Removing her mask, she set down a basket filled with yarrow. Taking an empty gourd, Starless began stripping the leaves off the yarrow and dropping them into it. Filling it with water, she set it close to the fire. Steeping was something Magpie Crackle had taught her. Heating water with the leaves, helped leech out the essences of the plant and made it more potent. When it was ready, she filtered it by pouring it through a piece of cloth into another gourd cup.

"Okay, Snap, lean him up," Starless said, carrying the cup over to Wild Bolt.

Propping Wild Bolt up, Snap noticed his eyes flicker open to look at her. "Snap?"

"Wild?" Snap called to him. "We need you to drink this, okay? It'll help you feel better."

Starless held the cup to his lips and Wild swallowed as she slowly poured it into his mouth. Once he downed the last mouthful, Snap lowered him back down.

Before she could lean back, Wild reached his hoof out to her. His voice was soft as he spoke. "I want to tell you that I'm sorry for what I did to you."

Snap found herself staring down at the stallion, her mane draped around her face as she considered him. He really was kind of handsome. "Make it up to me when you get better, okay?"

Wild Bolt’s eyes drifted shut as he slipped back to sleep.

Snap sat back, and watched over him as he slept. Soon after, Starless had to leave, followed by her mother, as she went to find Whisper Wisp to feed little West, leaving Snap alone with Wild Bolt. Tranquil came by a little later to bring her food and spend some time with her.

Snap didn't feel like eating and only nibbled her food as she talked with Tranquil.

"Jennet was really worried when she heard about Wild Bolt," Tranquil told her. "She asked if she could see him, but Starless told her no."

"Is it true about what the slavers did to her?" Snap asked. "Did they... force themselves on her?"

Tranquil silently nodded, her eyes filled with sympathy.

"What's going to happen to the prisoner?" Snap asked, feeling a cold rage for the slaver.

Tranquil shrugged. "That will be up to Starless." She picked up a strawberry and thought about eating it, but set it back down. "She's been trying to question him, but he's not saying much besides insults. When Dark gets here, he'll want to question him too. Hopefully, he'll have better luck."

"What will she do with him?" Snap asked, taking the compress off of Wild's forehead to dip it into the water before setting it back.

"Probably kill him or toss him into the Enchanted Beast Pool."

"Beast Pool?" Snap repeated, looking up at Tranquil. "What's that?"

"It's an enchanted pool that turns any who goes into it into a common animal forever," Tranquil said with a note of finality.

Snap felt a small sense of satisfaction at the thought of the slaver living the rest of his life as a slug. Although, thinking about it, she'd rather he was just tossed from the top of a cliff instead. The horrible things he did! She actually retched when she heard that one of Jennet's companions had her foal ripped out of her womb and eaten by the Minotaur while she was still alive to watch!

Looking down at Wild Bolt, Snap felt a strange sense of affection for him. He had killed one of the slavers and rescued Jennet from their brutality. Perhaps there was some hope for him.

Throughout the long night, Snap cared for Wild as he slept. His fever worsened as his coat became slick with sweat. Several times he started thrashing about as he cried out for his mother, and Snap had to hold him while she sung to him to help calm him back down. Several times, her mother and Starless came to check on him and force some more yarrow down his throat.

Despite their efforts, by morning, Wild's condition was grave. His breathing was strained as it came in raspy gasps. Snap felt on the verge of tears as she sat over him. Not knowing what else to do, she set his head into her lap and watched his chest slowly rise and fall.

Tranquil brought her food, but she ignored it and let it sit untouched. Wild Bolt had annoyed her the moment they had met. He had brashly claimed her as his before she even knew his name. And after she learned his name, she tried her best to forget it. Later, when he approached her, she always brushed him off, claiming that she was too busy to do whatever he wanted to do. But instead of leaving like she wanted, he'd sometimes try to join her with whatever she was doing at the time and end up leaving in frustration when things didn’t go his way. Thinking about it now, she was sure that if she had treated him better, he wouldn't have had such a bad experience. She now regretted letting Summer Rain pee on him. If she had been more patient with Wild, he'd likely have found playing with the foals to be a lot of fun. Why did she let herself be blind to the pony that was inside him instead of just seeing the shallow, brash colt that he seemed to be?

With little West in her lap, her mother watched her with eyes deep in thought. "Did I ever tell you how your father and I became mates?"

Snap didn't look up as she shook her head.

"We were foals together in the herd," her mother continued. "Your father was the largest colt of our age and he liked to tease me. He'd pull my tail and trip me into mud while all the other colts with him laughed. He thought it was all good fun, but I wasn't having it. Then, one day, he pushed me into a stream. It wasn't deep, but for me, it might as well have been. When I climbed up onto the shore, gasping for breath, I saw him laughing with the other colts. I had finally had enough and I walked right up to him and hit him as hard as I could. His head was hard even then and I nearly broke my hoof doing it too. I knocked him flat on his back and he was senseless for so long, his mother had to come find him."

Snap looked up at her mother.

"After that, he never pulled my tail or tripped me into the mud again. He started spending time with me and we became friends. Later, when we got older, he started bringing me little gifts like flowers and feathers to put into my mane. Without even realizing it, we'd fallen in love with one another. It wasn’t long after when Ground was born."

"Why are you telling me this now?" Snap asked, confused.

"Because I wanted you to know that it doesn't matter how badly things start out." Her mother smiled down at little West and kissed him. "It's how you handle things after, that matters."

Snap blinked as she turned her attention back to Wild. "Are you telling me I should have punched Wild Bolt as hard as I could when we first met?"

Her mother settled little West into the crook of her leg and gave him her hoof to suck on. "No. Of course not. Though, that may have helped things along."

Snap sighed and shook her head, confused at what her mother was trying to tell her.

Suddenly, there was a tapping at the door. "Yes?" her mother called out.

The door flap moved aside and a old mare stepped in. Stopping, she bowed her head down to her mother. "Honored Mare. I have heard that one of the Earth Ponies has taken ill and I have come to offer my help in his care."

Her mother blinked up at the mare. "I’m sorry. I don’t recognize you. What is your name?"

"Forgive me, Honored Mare." The old mare bowed her head again. "My name is Soothing Melody." Moving over to Wild Bolt, she set her pack down and began examining him.

"Are you a healer?" Snap asked, watching her probe around Wild's shoulder wound.

"I am a shaman," she answered without looking up from Wild Bolt.

Snap had never heard of a shaman before, and when she looked over at her mother, she could see that she hadn't ether.

Turning back to her pack, Soothing Melody's horn lit up with her magic and she began taking gourds out and arranging them next to her. Next she took out a thin shard of obsidian. "Please hold him down," she told Snap as she held out the shard of obsidian.

"What are you going to do with that!?" Snap exclaimed, clutching Wild tighter to herself.

Soothing Melody paused. "Please. There is little time to act. The corruption needs to be excised. If it is not, he will be dead before the sun reaches its highest point."

Looking to her mother, Snap saw her nod her to. Shifting him off her lap, Snap settled Wild Bolt down and placed her hooves over him.

With a quick slice, Soothing Melody opened up a portion of his inflamed wound. Instead of blood, a yellowish, milky fluid appeared. Placing her hooves to each side, Soothing Melody pressed down and in, forcing the fluid out. Snap nearly gagged at the smell that came out of it, but held herself firmly under control as she watched.

Using the edge of her hoof, Soothing scraped away the fluid as she forced more out. Wild let out a groan and tried to move away, but Snap firmly held him in place. Soothing Melody continued to draw out more of the white puss until blood started to appear.

Taking up the water gourd, she then used it to wash out the cavity before picking up another gourd in her magic and unfastened its seal. Snap wrinkled her nose at the pungent smell that wafted up from the gourd, burning her nose. To her horror, Soothing Melody poured the strong smelling liquid into the slice she had made before moving to rest of his wound. Wild Bolt moaned and tried to jerk away and Snap had to lean down on him to keep him in place.

When she was done, she thankfully resealed the gourd and picked up yet another. This time when she unsealed it, the smell that came out was rather pleasant. Taking a bit of cloth, she moistened it with water before pouring what looked like white crystalline grains across it. Rolling it up, she carefully set it along his wound. "Don't let him take it off," she ordered. She then opened another gourd and poured its contents into his mouth, clamping it shut to force him to swallow. "This will help him sleep."

"What were those white grains you put into the cloth?" Snap asked.

"Bitter Salts," she answered simply. "It'll help draw out the rest of the corruption that remains inside." She began packing her things into her pack. "I'll go and see to the donkey now. I'll be back shortly to check on him and change his dressing before I go."

"Will this heal him?" Snap asked hopefully.

Soothing Melody shook her head. "It's really up to him now. You'll know if he's improving if he doesn't die by the end of the day." Repacking her stuff, Soothing Melody stood and bowed respectfully to her mother before leaving.

For some reason, Snap felt a huge sense of relief and hope. Worry for the colt still twisted at her gut, but now it didn't make her feel like throwing up. She felt absolutely exhausted.

Suddenly Tranquil came rushing in. "Tiger! You need to come! Moonglow and the other missing mares have finally returned!"

"About time," her mother snapped. "I hope they have a good reason for slipping off like they did."

"You're not going to believe it," Tranquil said. "They went and stole stallions from the Unicorns!"

"Oh dear," Tiger Lily murmured, looking surprised. "Starless is not going to be happy about that."

"No, she is not," Tranquil agreed.

"I'd better go and talk to her before she does something she'll regret," her mother said, climbing to her hooves and rushing out the door with Tranquil.

Snap yawned, and blinked her tired eyes down at Wild Bolt as he slept. "You'd better make this up to me later, or I'll make you regret it. You hear me?" She sighed and closed her eyes. “Stupid stallion. You’d better be worth the trouble."