Morning arrived much quicker than I realized; it felt as if all I had done was blink. Using what little magic I did yesterday must have drained me more than I had realized. I slept like a rock. However, upon waking, I noticed a few things were off: First, Surefire appeared to be missing. Further examining the room I saw no visible trace of what she might have been up too, such as a note or message. Secondly, I became aware of a mysterious wet sensation on my right shoulder blade.

Why is my shoulder wet?

Reaching back, I touched the offending patch of fur; it was wet alright. However, examining the bed around me, I found no other sources of the wetness that appeared to only be on my shoulder.

That’s so weird…

After giving the sensation a bit more thought, I eventually dismissed it with a large yawn. Unable to come to a solid conclusion as to how it came to be or what it was from, I pushed the thought aside and began to wonder where my detective friend had run off to so early on her own.

This honestly had me a little worried. Knowing well that Snooty could potentially harm her outside of Twilight’s or my own watch, I was left wishing she didn’t go running off by herself; especially without at least leaving me a note as to what she was doing or where she went.

Reflecting on the irony of the situation, I smiled to myself with a small chuckle.

She’s as stubbornly independent as I am.

I brought a hoof to my chin, reflecting on that thought. The young mare and I had some things in common, and I found myself wanting to get to know her better. Not only for my own curiosity, but I felt it would be good for her to speak freely about herself. If there was anything I learned from the girls, it was talking with your friends really made you feel a lot better.

The sound of the door opening interrupted my thoughts, and much to my relief, my young detective friend entered. She had a rather cheerful look on her face as she turned and closed the door behind her. I noticed right away that she wore a small coin strap, and was toting a drink carrier on her back.

Her smile widened as she turned back and approached me. “Good morning, Prism! I got something for you,” she sang out rather chipper like, reaching back and taking the drink holder into her forehooves as she sat to her haunches. “I wasn’t sure if you liked coffee or tea, so I got both!”

My ears perked up at the magic word that I wanted to hear more than anything at that particular morning moment. “Which is which?” I asked anxiously, far quicker than I intended.

Surefire pointed a hoof to the first cup. “Well, this one is the coffee, and—”

She didn’t even get a chance to finish before I immediately focused my magic on the second cup, levitating it to me. A small sting of pain resonated through my horn at the use of my magic, but I paid it no attention. I had far more important things to focus on, like this delicious cup of tea.

I went to grab the cup with both hooves, but was met with a swift reminder that my right forehoof was still healing. My left met with the cues of movement just fine; however, my other foreleg merely swayed a bit and twitched as I struggled to reach out for the cup in my magic.

This won’t do…

The sting in my horn was quickly amplifying and with my lack of dexterity in my left foreleg, I could not hold the cup in just that hoof. I was forced to take a quick sip before setting it in my lap. Although, before I could even begin to put the tea down, I was immediately met with utter bliss from just the small drink I had taken.

Earl grey with lavender.

The two flavors in this particular cup were masterfully blended, causing me to let out a long, relaxed exhale from the wondrous experience. Completely disregarding the now growing pain in my horn, I took another slow sip, savoring the heavenly taste. There were some things in life worth enduring a bit of pain, and a good cup of tea was easily one of them. Especially one as lovely as this.

Surefire however, didn’t seem to relate with my rational.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” she asked in concern, taking notice of that fact I had started wincing from the growing pain. “You should probably set that down for now. Here, let me take it.” She extended a hoof to me.

After one last stubborn sip, I levitated the cup to meet her hoof, before releasing it from my magical grasp with an audible wince. I took a moment to rub my aching horn, throbbing in pain from its host’s neglect of its warnings.

Surefire let out a small chuckle before shooting me a half smile. “You must really love tea, because that sure looked like it hurt, a lot.”

“Yeah, it did kind of hurt… a lot,” I confirmed with a sheepish laugh, looking up to the tip of my aching horn.

The young mare shook her head with a smile as she crossed the room, placing her drink down on the green chair in the corner before returning to my bedside with my mine.

“Look, if it’s that difficult, I’ll hold it for you,” she offered, holding the cup out to me. “I don’t mind.”

As embarrassed as I was by her offer, it was either her help, take the risk of dropping it with my left hoof, or hurt my already tender horn more. I certainly wasn’t going to risk the wonderful drink being dropped and wasted, nor was I about to let my pride get between me and a delightful cup of tea.

I slowly nodded, leaning into the cup and taking a sip from it as my friend slowly tilted it for me. She carefully pulled the small, white cup away from my lips while I swallowed. “Thank you, Surefire. I’m, uh, very much right hoofed; it’ll be awhile until I use my left forehoof like I did my right, if ever,” I informed her, looking to the hoof in question and flexing its joints a few times.

The muscle memory, it just isn’t there… I don’t know how to use this hoof.

I silently cursed myself for relying on my right hoof so heavily. Now with even more limited use of my magic, and absolutely no use of my right limb in the meantime, I felt truly helpless in any act that required any amount of actual dexterity.

Surefire shot me an understanding smile. “You’re welcome, Prism. I know exactly how you feel by the way. I’m also right hoofed and broke my right foreleg a few years back; it was awful!” she exclaimed rather dramatically, throwing out her free foreleg. “Being an earth pony, I have no wings or magic to rely on and felt like I couldn’t do anything by myself; I absolutely hated it.” Surefire’s expression fell as she scrunched her muzzle in mild contempt. “My dad didn’t make me feel any better about it either.”

I tilted my head aside curiously. “Your dad?”

Surefire stared blankly back at me for a moment before letting out a small chuckle. “Oh nothing, Dad just loves teasing us kids,” she replied, rolling her eyes with a faint smile that she made a failing attempt at hiding. “And with me hobbling around on three legs, he took every opportunity he could to exploit it.”

I covered a small laugh. “He sounds like a nice guy.”

The young mare chuckled. “Yeah, he’s really friendly, alright; too friendly, if you ask me.”

I brought a hoof to my chin in thought. “Mother would always tell me that Father was kind and treated us well, but I was far too young to remember much about him, at least not very well anyways.”

“Whatever happened to your dad?” Surefire asked, sitting to her haunches and making herself more comfortable. “I read about your mother’s fight with tuberculosis, but I don’t recall seeing anything about your father.”

I opened my muzzle to speak, but hesitated as the thoughts of Mother swiftly brushed aside the memories of my father. I tried not to think of or remember her final weeks of life; they were painful memories. However, with Surefire’s reminder of her fate, I found myself seemingly unable to ignore the resurfacing memories.

Surefire quickly caught onto my hesitation, covering a sudden gasp of realization with her free forehoof, and then she promptly apologized. “Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to bring that up, I—”

“It’s okay, Surefire, I don’t mind,” I interjected, holding out a hoof, hoping to cease any of her worries. “I just don’t think about it too often, that’s all.”

Despite my reassurance, the young mare’s ears sank back. “From what I read, your mother, she…” Surefire trailed off, biting her lower lip for several moments before hesitantly continuing. “She never really stood a chance… did she?” the young mare quickly shook her head. “I mean, it’s so rare that ponies die from TB, but…”

I shook my head grimly. “I had suspected something was wrong, but by then it had already been too late. What Mother had was a new strain of the disease; a particularly strong one,” I said while looking down to my forehooves as my expression sank at the memories. “Between that and with how much she painted already being hard on her lungs, she was the perfect host for the new strain. Even if she had caught onto it earlier than she did, the doctors said she still wouldn’t have made it.” I let out a long, slow sigh. “The two paired together were a death sentence. I only wish it had been easier for her.”

And less painful…

I trailed off into silence, the sad memories of Mother’s last moments replayed in my mind; my standing by her bedside, watching helplessly as she slipped away from me.

I’m so sorry mom…

A stray tear found its way down my face, quickly followed by several others. Surefire immediately noticed this and abruptly changed the subject.

“Hey, you mentioned yesterday that Fluttershy was supposed to visit you today, right?” she asked, shooting me a smile. “How is she doing? I haven’t had the chance to speak with her since we first met.”

The sudden mention of Fluttershy surprised me, reverberating through my mind as a harsh contrast to the depressing images that had been running rampant prior. It was a bit jarring, but she was right of course. With Fluttershy visiting me later, I couldn’t afford to use up all our time together being depressed; I had to cheer up.

With the images of her smiling face to encourage me onwards, I slowly tucked the memories of Mother away for now, and brought my attention back to the present. I held onto the images as best I could, and the feelings revolving around them.

I took a few moments to rub my eyes, followed by a soft sniffle. “Y-yes, she said she will be by to visit me sometime this morning.”

Surefire’s smile widened. “Well, that is certainly something to look forward to.” She scrunched her muzzle into a mild pout. “I wish I had a coltfriend I could look forward to seeing every day.”

I gave the young mare a soft smile. “You are a wonderful pony, Surefire. Any stallion would be very lucky to have you as their special somepony.”

The detective craned her neck back in surprise, her eyes widening as her face lit up in a soft blush. She sat frozen for a moment before breaking the silence with an uneasy laugh as she closed her eyes, waving a forehoof at me dismissively.

“N-nah, I doubt a good stallion would see anything special in me, I don’t really stand out or—”

The sudden click of the door opening pulled the young mare form her words as the two of us turned to face the entry. Ruby walked into the room toting a file under her right wing, though what I noticed most was the rather chipper expression she wore.

“How is your morning, Prism?” she asked enthusiastically, walking to my bedside as she gave a nod of acknowledgement to Surefire as well.

I cracked a large smile. “I’m looking forward to Fluttershy visiting me.”

The doctor’s smile intensified. “That’s great! I’m glad to hear it,” she said before laying the file on the bed in front of me, and flipping it open. “Though, I might just have some news that may make your morning even better.”

Leaning in and examining the open file, the contents were unmistakably clear.

X-rays, mine obviously.

I looked over the sheets, not quite sure what to make of them beyond them being of my hind legs. I had no idea what any of them meant, so I couldn’t really tell what they said.

Looking up to Ruby, I gave a small shrug. “I’m not sure what I am looking for.”

Ruby let out a small laugh. “These are your X-rays we took yesterday morning,” she informed me, pointing a hoof to a particular bone on both the sheets. “Judging from the healing rate of the third metacarpal from the previous set of X-ray’s, they have healed enough for your hind legs’ casts to come off today.” She looked back to me with a wink. “Looks like you might not need that wheel chair for very long, after all.”

Surefire turned to me, beaming a large smile. “That’s great news, Prism!”

The doctors news certainly did lift my spirits and further brighten my already good mood. The casts I wore were horribly itchy, and to hear that I wouldn’t have to use a wheelchair for too long was also music to my ears.

I hate that stupid chair.

I brought a hoof to my chin before looking back to Ruby. “So what happens now?” I asked, curious what step to take next.

“Now we take those off, and begin your physical therapy on your hind legs this afternoon,” she answered pointing a forehoof to the legs in question. “It shouldn’t require too much therapy to get you back on your hooves again, however…” The doctor’s sight trailed over to my right foreleg.

I followed the doctor’s eyes before looking back up to her expectantly.

She let out a small sigh, bringing a hoof to her chin. “Your right foreleg is still quite a mess,” she stated, reaching down to the file and flipping to another X-ray sheet. “While your proximal phalanx is healing up well, it is not your bone I am particularly worried about; it’s the muscle and tissue damage the leg sustained as well.” She paused for a moment before looking down to me with a small smirk. “Despite your albinism, you have wonderful bone genetics for a unicorn; do you have many pegasi in your family tree?”

I nodded. “A lot. All of my father’s side of the family were pegasi; they were traditionalists from what Mother told me,” I answered, a small smile creeping up the corners of my mouth. “She was the first unicorn in their family.”

Ruby returned my smile. “It’s good to hear that some long standing traditionalist families are becoming more open the other tribes these days.”

“It was expected that I was going to be born a pegasus actually, given both family’s excessive pegasi history,” I commented, reaching up and touching my horn as my smile widened. “Mother was so excited when it was announced I was a unicorn.”

The doctor covered a small laugh. “Well just be grateful you inherited some of that fast bone healing from your pegasi family tree.” She reached down, closing the file and collecting it with her right wing. “Well, I’ll be back momentarily with your favorite chair, then we can get those casts off for you.” She shot me a quick wink as she began for the door.

Surefire glanced to me before covering a small snort.

My expression fell flat at the two’s teasing. “I can barely contain my excitement…” I replied in utter deadpan.

* * * * * * * * * *

The process of removing the cast was a little unsettling. Something about a sharp, saw-like device cutting so close to my leg had me a little uneasy. I braced myself and kept my eyes closed the whole time, but before I even realized it, the work was already finished and the casts were off. Ruby and Surefire ended up laughing at my needless worry, but could anypony really blame me for being nervous?

Having the ability to again move my hind legs was refreshing, but as I quickly discovered, they didn’t respond to my cues of movement very well. Ruby informed me this was because of the muscle damage and their lack of use during the healing process. However, she reassured me that I would have them working correctly in no time, I just needed to exercise them to set the muscle memory straight again.

She also informed me that once my hind legs were in walking shape, my right foreleg’s cast should also be off. However, I would require the support of a brace-like crutch to walk on my own for quite some time. I wasn’t about to complain, though; a crutch was far better than a wheelchair as far as I was concerned.

Once Ruby was finished checking my legs to be sure they had healed properly, she returned me to my room, where I found that I had a guest waiting for me.

“Hey you,” Rainbow Dash greeted me, her eyes wandering to my hind legs as I was wheeled into the room. “You have your casts off!”

I frowned, not wanting any of the girls to see me in the chair of shame “Well, two of them at least.”

Surefire turned to the cyan mare. “Hello again, Ms. Dash,” the young mare politely greeted, extending a hoof to Rainbow, who walked up to and met with her own.

“Hey, how’s it going? Surefire, right?”

The detective nodded.

Rainbow beamed her a quick smile before turning to—and flying over to land next to me—as Ruby wheeled me to my bedside. The cyan mare then proceeded to help the doctor lay me to rest in my bed. I, however, was less than thrilled that not only had Rainbow Dash seen me in the wheelchair, but also had helped me out of it.

Ruby Heart gave the other pegasus a warm smile before silently making her way to the door and leaving the room. Rainbow Dash watched her exit before looking back to me, noticing my disgruntled expression.

“I know exactly how you feel, Prism. When I broke my right wing I was stuck in bed for a while too, and not allowed to leave the hospital. It was sooo lame! All I wanted to do was just go outside and fly the whole time,” she informed me before looking back to her right wing. “Also, I couldn’t wait to get that cast off. It was craaazy itchy!”

Surefire gestured a hoof to Rainbow. “You see? Nopony likes being hindered by casts.”

My expression softened at her ability to also relate with me. “How did you break your wing?” I asked, tilting my head at her curiously.

Rainbow Dash let out a sheepish laugh. “Eh, I was showing off some new tricks to Rarity and Pinkie Pie, and one didn’t go so well,” she informed me, scratching the back of her neck with a foreleg in unease. “I kinda cut my dive a little too steep for the speed I was going, and couldn’t pull up in time before hitting the ground.”

I cringed at the idea of crashing into the ground at fast speed from a high height.

Flying sounds a little scary, no wonder Fluttershy sticks close to the ground.

Rainbow Dash seemed to take notice of my reaction and quickly changed the subject. “Anyways, about why I’m here.” Her expression suddenly turned deadly serious as she sat down on the edge of my bed, turning to face me. “I wanted to talk about you and Fluttershy.”

Rainbow briefly glanced back to Surefire, who gave a knowing nod in return.

“Well, I’ll take this as my cue to leave. I need to check on Ruby’s progress with your records anyways,” she said, beginning for the door. “I’ll see you in a few hours, Prism.”

I gave a small wave to her. “Talk to you soon, Surefire.”

The young mare looked back to me with a smirk. “Good luck,” she began before glancing to Rainbow briefly. “You’ll need it.”

With that, the detective made her exit, leaving me alone with the cyan mare. A long silence followed as Rainbow stared at me, the sheer seriousness of her expression would have been enough to stop a starving manticore dead in its tracks. I quickly felt myself begin to sweat at the intensity of her presence. Her expression and tone had made one thing very clear: she meant business.

“O-okay… so, w-what did you want to talk about?” I managed to force out before swallowing the lump in my throat.

A small smirk played across the cyan mare’s lips briefly. “Look, Prism. We may have got off on the wrong hoof at first, but you have shown me that you really value your friendship with us girls; and that means a lot to me,” she stated. “All of the girls are extremely important ponies to me, but Fluttershy is exceptionally important.” Her brow furrowed with mention of Fluttershy.

I wanted to reply, but I found myself at a total loss for words and unable to speak. Rainbow Dash was extremely intimidating at this point in time, so I simply nodded in acknowledgement.

She nodded back affirmatively before continuing. “Fluttershy is like a sister to me, we’ve been best friends since we were just fillies, and been through a lot together. I’ve since taken it upon myself to look after her over the years. Making sure nopony bullies or teases her, or hurts her in any way.” She put a very strong emphasis on ‘any’ as she stared me down.

The cyan mare paused a moment, seemingly to make sure her words sank in. I again nodded; I had never felt so intimidated in my entire life as I did at that moment. Rainbow had made it crystal clear how special and important the yellow pegasus was to her.

After a moment, she again continued. “Now, this brings me to you,” she said, pointing a forehoof directly at me. “I like you, Prism—I really do. Fluttershy has told me time and time again how wonderful you are, and how much you care about her, and it really makes me happy to see her so cheerful lately.” Rainbow’s expression softened into a small smile. “She has really changed for the better since she met you, ya know.”

I couldn’t help but manage a smile at the cyan mare’s words, though it was short lived as Rainbow abruptly continued.

“However!” she quickly cut in, her expression fading into clear concern. “This also has me very worried for her. She has never grown so attached to another pony like she has with you; and nowhere near as fast either.” Her eyes softened as she paused briefly. “Look… I’ll be straight with you. I am really scared of you hurting her, Prism. Fluttershy is a lot tougher than ponies give her credit for, but when it comes to her emotions, she is very delicate.”

This news didn’t surprise me. I knew Fluttershy was a strong pony, stronger than she led on to be; but I had already guessed that deep down inside, she really was delicate when it came to her feelings.

Rainbow’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. “I just wanted to warn you about what’s at stake here. Fluttershy has attached to you very quickly; she loves you.” Her brow suddenly furrowed as her expression fell into a large frown. “And by Celestia’s Sun, if you ever hurt her, I will NEVER forgive you, Prism.”

I winced and shrank down as the cyan mare’s words cut right through me, like a hot knife through warm butter. After a few moments to absorb the verbal blow, I nodded weakly in acknowledgement at her message.

Rainbow Dash let out a small chuckle as her expression softened into a smile. “I don’t think it will come to that though, you’re a good pony, Prism,” she said as she stood up from the bedside. “So I’m trusting you with my best friend’s heart; please be careful with it, okay?”

“I-I, I will, I promise,” I replied, finally finding my words.

She paused for a moment before crunching her muzzle in disgust. “That line sounded really lame and sappy,” she declared, turning to face me. “I never said that, okay?”

I stared back at her idly for a moment, before covering a small laugh. “Alright, I didn’t hear anything.”

The cyan mare flashed me a small grin. “Thanks.” She stared off into nowhere for a moment before her ear perked up. “Oh yeah! I’m not sure if you heard, but most of us girls are heading back to Ponyville this afternoon.”

This news surprised me at first, I had become so used to them visiting me that I had entirely forgotten that they would have to go home eventually; they all had lives to get back to.

It’s going to be really lonely without the girls here in Manehattan…

My eyes widened as that thought was followed up by a sudden realization.

Fluttershy…

“Is Fluttershy going home as well?” I asked, a bit quicker than I meant to.

Rainbow Dash seemed to pick up on my anxiety, as her expression fell slightly. “Yeah, the only one’s staying are Twilight and Derpy,” she informed me, a bit of hesitation in her tone. “Twilight says she needs to stay to help you; while Derpy is still on vacation for a while longer.”

My ears drooped back at the thought of not being able to see my special somepony for a while. We have had little time to spend together since our confessions that night in front of her cottage, and now it seemed we would have to wait even longer before we could spend more quality time together.

I glanced down to my bed for a brief moment.

Well… I guess wouldn’t call what time we have spent together here ‘quality’. Even so, I’ll settle for whatever I can get with her.

I looked up to find a surprisingly troubled expression on Rainbow Dash’s face, as if she had read my thoughts.

“It’s really not cool how this all happened to you two,” she said, shifting her posture to a relaxed lean. “I mean, confessing to each other, then immediately having all of this happen.” She punctuated her message with a large sweep of a foreleg around the hospital room.

I nodded. “I am really going to miss seeing her…”

Rainbow’s expression shifted to a look of nostalgia before scrunching her muzzle in mild disgust. “Okay, this conversation is getting waaay too sappy for me.” She walked up to me, and bumped my shoulder with a forehoof. “I’m gonna get going now; you hang in there, okay? We’ll be back in time to see how everything goes; so don’t worry, we won’t leave you hanging.” She shot me a quick wink before turning and making for the door.

I couldn’t help but smile at her reassurance. “Thank you Rainbow, I’ll see you then.”

She waved a forehoof without turning back as she opened the door. “Later!” she called to me, before flying out into the hallway.

As the door slowly began to close itself, I caught sound of a distant yell from outside the room.

“Hey! No flying in the hospital hallways!”

I quickly covered a small laugh.

Thanks again Rainbow Dash.

* * * * * * * * * *

Roughly two hours had passed since the cyan speedster’s visit, and I found myself quickly becoming bored. The thought that most of my friends would not be visiting after today left me feeling rather down. It was lonely enough as is just being able to see them a few hours at a time.

A rogue thought quickly came forward.

I used to spend time alone like this all the time… Back then I enjoyed the solitude, but now it just feels so… lonely.

My not so distant past once again continued to provide an important contrast to what bright colors I had recently added onto my canvas today. I would have hated not knowing just what I had, and taking my friends for granted. Part of me was thankful for how everything had played out. It was painful, but I knew just how important what I had now was to me.

I wonder what Mother would think if she could see me now? Her little unspoiled canvas, living day to day with friends, and even a special somepony.

I smiled to myself at the thoughts that followed. However, before long, the all-too-familiar clicking of metal distracted me from my reminiscence of Mother. My smile quickly brightened at the sight of the two ponies that entered.

“Howdy, Prism,” Applejack greeted with a wave of her hoof, as Pinkie Pie bounced past her, right up to my bedside.

“Gooooood afternoon!” the party pony exclaimed, with infectious amounts of excessive enthusiasm.

Normally the pink mare was far too much for me to handle, but at that moment, she was a very welcome presence; I could really use a cheerful smile or two.

Applejack cantered over to join Pinkie Pie at my bedside before glancing down to my hind legs. “Well Ah’ll be! Your casts are off!” she exclaimed with a large grin.

I met her grin with a nod before glancing to my right foreleg. “Well, two of them anyways,” I replied, taking a moment for a much needed stretch of my hind legs. “Though, I am very happy they are off.”

Pinkie Pie quickly began to excitedly bounce up and down in place. “That’s super-duperly awesome, Prism!” she exclaimed, before abruptly stopping with a loud gasp. “I know! We’ll throw you a, ‘Prism is getting bet—’”

“Pinkie…” Applejack cut in, casting the energetic mare a stubble glare. “Now what did Twilight tell ya’ll about that?”

Pinkie Pie froze mid bounce for several physics defying moments before falling down to land on her haunches with a look of utter defeat. “Oh, right…”

Every time I declined one of her parties, the worse and worse I felt about it. They seemed to be really important to her, but I was still nervous about being the center of attention to such a large group of ponies at once.

“I’m so sorry, Pinkie Pie,” I apologized. “I promise, I’ll take you up on a party offer eventually though.”

This reassurance immediately perked her up, as she shot me an unnaturally wide smile with a small squee.

“Oh-oh! And when you do, I’ll make it the biggest and BESTEST party, ever!” she exclaimed excitedly, jumping to her hooves with a bizarre explosion of confetti from seemingly nowhere. “You’re going to love it!”

Applejack let out a small chuckle at her pink friend before looking to me in concern. “You’re really in for it now, Prism; you sure you’re okay with that?” she asked questioningly, gesturing a hoof to a now very excited Pinkie Pie.

I returned with an unsure smile. “I’ll manage when the time comes… I think, I hop—.”

I abruptly cut off at the sound of the door’s metal handle clicking. Both my friends’ ears perked up in mild surprise before they turned to face the entry as well. As the door opened, it revealed my soft-brown friend, Surefire; she was toting a small pair of saddlebags with a rather cheerful look on her face.

A lot of good news today it looks like.

I couldn’t help but smile to myself at the thought.

“Okay! I got the…” the young mare trailed off as she caught sight of my rather confused looking friends. “Oh, um… am I interrupting? I can wait if—”

“You’re fine, Surefire,” I quickly interjected, gesturing my forehoof to the girls. “We were just chatting.”

Pinkie Pie’s eyes lit up at the new face, before she quickly bound across the room in one, gravity defying leap, landing right in front of Surefire. The pink mare wasted no time in firing off a barrage of questions at the detective.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! What’s your name? How do you know Prism? Are you her friend? Because I’m also her friend, and I love making new friends, and—”

Applejack stopped the endless flow of words with a sharp tug of the party pony’s tail, dragging her away from the frightened young mare.

“You’ll have to excuse her, she can get a little excited meeting new ponies,” Applejack apologized for Pinkie, before tipping her hat. “Anyhow, howdy, the name’s Applejack. Pleasure to meet you…” Applejack trailed off, extending a forehoof to Surefire expectantly.

The young mare reached for the farm-mare’s hoof. “Surefire, Junior Detective of the—” Surefire was abruptly cut off as Applejack grasped Surefire’s forehoof in both of her own; giving the young mare several vigorous shakes of her hoof.

The exceptionally friendly greeting caught Surefire completely off guard, as she struggled to maintain her balance from the polite assault of strong hoofshakes. When Applejack concluded her greeting, Surefire immediately fell forward onto the floor.

“Pleasure to meet you, too… Applejack.” Surefire beamed the farmpony an uneasy smile before picking herself up off the floor, and dusting herself off. “I take you two are also Twilight’s friends, correct?”

Applejack gave an affirmative nod in response. “We sure as sugar are,” she replied, striking a proud pose. “Good friends of hers for some time now, Ah reckon.”

Pinkie gave no reply, but instead walked up to Surefire, examining her with an intense, scrutinizing look. The young mare’s eyes shifted nervously side-to-side as she approached, before locking onto the party ponies own. As Pinkie Pie advanced, she leaned in close and pressed her snout right up against the young detective’s. Surefire cracked a sheepish smile with a small squee before Pinkie Suddenly exploded into a loud gasp.

“I know who you are!” she exclaimed, jumped backing a few steps and pointing a forehoof at the absolutely confused young mare. “You’re the pony Twilight mentioned; the one helping Prism!”

Surefire covered a small cough before nodding. “Yes, I’m about to—”

Pinkie suddenly cut the young mare off by grabbing her forehooves into her own, jumping up and down excitedly. “Thank you so much! That is soooooo nice of you! Hey, I know! How about—”

Applejack once again silenced the excited pony with a tug of her tail, dragging her away. “How about letting her finish first?” she scolded, glancing down to her pink friend with a subtle glare before turning back to Surefire. “Sorry, go on now, Sugarcube.”

Surefire shook her head dismissively. “It’s fine. I was just saying that I’m about to begin building an independent case against the detectives involved in Prism’s case,” she informed us, reaching back into a saddleback and retrieving a large file. “At a glance, the medical records Doctor Ruby Heart provided clearly indicate that the evidence the duo used against Prism have been falsified and fabricated; the crimes pinned on Prism are as good as gone once I am finished with my work.” She concluded her statement with a proud shift of her posture.

Applejack cocked her head back with am impressed smile. “Well, Ah’ll be.” She turned to me with a wink. “Sounds like your mighty well taken care of then, Prism. Seems we can return to Ponyville with peace of mind, too.”

A warm smile crested my face as I turned to and gestured at Surefire. “It’s all thanks to Twilight and my new friend here.”

The young detective closed her eyes with a sheepish smile, scratching the back of her neck. “You have done a lot more for yourself than you realize, Prism; I’m just—”

Surefire cut off as her ears perked up at the sound of the door’s metal handle opening. Everypony turned to face the entry to find the one pony I desired to see more than anyone else.

Fluttershy silently entered the room, taking notice of all eyes on her. “Oh… um, hi…” she greeted softly, shrinking down a little. “If I’m interrupting, I can come back later…” Fluttershy turned back to the door.

“NO!” I yelled out, extending my left forehoof after her, promptly gaining her attention, as well as everypony else in the room. “No, you’re fine Fluttershy.”

Applejack and Pinkie both shared curious looks at my outburst. Surefire on the other hoof, cracked a smirk before turning to the pair of confused mares.

“Applejack and Pinkie Pie, right?” she asked, approaching the two. “How about you two join me for lunch while I discuss the details of what Twilight and I plan to do to help Prism? I know a few wonderful places to eat; my treat.”

Pinkie lit up in a wild smile. “That sounds great!” she exclaimed with a large bounce into the air. “That is really nice of you!”

Applejack brought a hoof to her chin, looking off into nowhere for a moment before smiling. “You know, now that you mention it, Ah am a’might hungry…” She gave an affirmative nod to the young mare. “Alright, we’ll join you Surelight.”

The young mare covered a small laugh. “It’s Surefire, and great! Let’s get going, I’m starving,” she said, walking to the door and opening it for the pair of mares.

Pinkie Pie and Applejack walked over and exited the room, with Surefire turning to do so as well, before suddenly pausing.

“Oh, I forgot something, one moment ladies,” she requested, quickly trotting over to Fluttershy.

The yellow mare gave her a confused look as Surefire leaned in close, lifting her forehoof and seemingly whispering in something in Fluttershy’s ear. Her confused expression was quickly replaced as her eyes slowly widened, and a fiery blush lit up her face.

Surefire took a step back before covering a surprisingly dainty giggle for the young mare’s usually serious character. She trotted over to the door and went to leave; but not before glancing to me with a sinisterly suggestive look and wink.

I was left dumbfounded by the detective’s strange behavior.

What was all that?

My thoughts slowly trailed off as I looked to Fluttershy. She now sat on her haunches with her fiery crimson face buried deep into her hooves. Further examining her, I took notice that her wings now stood at full extension.

It took a moment for it to register, but Ruby’s words quickly entered my mind as I remember what that particular pegasus body language meant. My own eyes went wide as I covered my muzzle with a forehoof, my face quickly matching a comparable shade of the pegasus that sat near my bedside.

A stream of jumbled, thoughts raced through my mind.

Fluttershy is… She thinks…

I quickly found my own thoughts delving into suggestive thoughts of my special somepony. However, I quickly shook them from my head as my mind screamed out at my detective friend for causing this.

Surefire! What did you do?!

A long, awkward silence followed before Fluttershy finally removed her hooves form her face. However once her eyes met with mine, her embarrassed expression shifted into sheer horror at the realization that I appeared to know what her body language was saying.

The two of us tried to speak at the same time, creating a flustered flurry of jumbled, un-interpretable words. I suddenly paused, hoping to let Fluttershy speak, however she seemed as if she had the same idea too, and also went silent.

Several more seconds of uneasy silence passed before Fluttershy suddenly blurted out, “I-I’m so sorry! I-I, I didn’t mean for them to!” She quickly buried her face into her forehooves again. “I-it’s not what, I didn’t, I don’t—” She suddenly cut off into a whimpered squeak, muffle through her hooves.

If not for the extremely awkward situation, I might have thought that to be the most adorable sound I had ever heard. Despite the extreme unease of my nervousness, and the fact that my heart felt as if it were to explode out of my chest at any moment; I found I was actually quite… flattered. The fact that my special somepony thought me attractive enough to think of me in that particular way, actually made me feel… special, really special; a sudden sense of confidence filled me.

Taking a deep breath, I managed to calm my nerves a bit, and began to slowly, carefully piece words together in my mind.

“I-It’s okay, Fluttershy…” I managed to force out as I fidgeted nervously with my right foreleg’s cast. “I, um… don’t mind it.”

Fluttershy lifted her forehooves from her face. While still obviously embarrassed, she had a somewhat curious look on her face.

Before silence could reign over the room again, I continued with the momentum of my sudden courage. “To be totally honest, I’m, um, actually quite flattered that you think about me like… that; so I don’t mind—not at all!” As I processed the words I had just said, I felt a faint smile creep up the corners of my mouth. “I actually like it… a lot.”

The yellow mare craned her neck back, covering her muzzle with both forehooves as her face flushed deeply at my admittance. She then proceeded to stammer and trip over muffled words, trying to reply to me, but seemingly unable to accurately convey her thoughts.

I felt a large smile crest my face at her adorable antics; just another reason I adored her so much. My confidence in my words only grew the more I watched her. I found myself motivated to speak more to her about my feelings. Words that I had previously only ever dreamed of admitting to somepony now danced at the tip of my tongue, begging for me to speak them.

“Look, Fluttershy, I…” I began, but quickly trailed off as Rainbow Dash’s words of warning and concern replayed themselves in my mind.

The yellow mare who sat across the room had, unbeknownst to me, opened her heart, deeply attaching it to my own before I had even realized it. Prior to today, I didn’t know just how close I was to her, or how far she had let me in.

Unfortunately, I knew next to nothing about love or dating, or how the relationship process was supposed to go. I didn’t know what should be done first, or what should be saved for later. If I told Fluttershy what I really felt about her, would I be moving too fast? Was Fluttershy moving too fast? Or was I already moving too slowly for her?

I didn’t know what I was supposed to do next; the whole situation frustrated me deeply. I took a moment to recall the cyan mare’s words once more; about Fluttershy’s feelings for me.

But if that’s how she really feels about me… wouldn’t it be alright If I were to feel the same; about her? That I let her be as close to me as I already am to her?

Hurting Fluttershy was something I did not fear, because I knew I would never do anything to hurt her, I cared too much for her. If she were to wish to keep me close forever, there would be nothing I would ever do to sabotage that.

I mentally tripped over that thought: Forever. 

If Fluttershy were to keep loving me, I would stay with her forever.

I felt a small smile play at the corners of my mouth.

Forever… I really like the sound of that.

Right or wrong, too soon or too late; I did not know which or what it was, but I decided what I wanted to do next.

All-in.

Win or lose, I put my inexperienced heart and innermost feelings out onto the table for her to decide.

“Fluttershy… I love you; I really, really, really love you.” I spoke, breaking the long silence of the room with my words from the heart. “If you think about me in that way, then it makes me happy—happy that my special somepony thinks I’m that attractive enough to have such attraction and thoughts about me.”

The yellow mare let out a small gasp at my words, but otherwise remained silent, so I decided to just continue speaking my mind.

“I want you to know, that I think you are the most, beautiful pony I have ever met in my entire life. Your mane, your tail, your wings… just everything about you absolutely screams out to me, begging for me to touch you, for me to hold you; for me to have you close to me.”

I felt as if my chest were on fire in an exhilarating flame, and for some reason or another, my eyes began to tear up. However, I welcomed these sensations with open hooves, as I poured my feelings out for the yellow mare.

“I… I really don’t know much about love, or dating, or well, anything about relationships. What I do know is how I feel about you, and how much I want to tell you about it.” I looked down to my cast and began nervously fidgeting. “Rainbow Dash spoke to me earlier… about you.”

Part of me felt as if I were betraying the cyan mare’s trust by mentioning what she had told me about Fluttershy earlier today, but I felt I had to let Fluttershy know what I knew and how I felt about it.

“She told me how she was worried about you, afraid I’ll hurt you because of how close I really am to you,” I informed her with a quick sniffle, rubbing my eyes with my foreleg before looking back to my special somepony.

Fluttershy remained silent, however there was a clear look of fear on her face; as though a big secret of hers had been revealed. I certainly hoped that wasn’t case, I didn’t want her to be upset with Rainbow Dash because of me.

“Please don’t be mad at her for telling me, she was just looking out for you,” I quickly defended the cyan mare, holding out my left forehoof. “Plus I am really, really glad she told me about just how much you cared for me. It meant a lot to me to know my special somepony loves me so much.”

Fluttershy’s expression once again softened at my words, before she tried speaking once more. At first only more jumbled words and hasty stammers came, but I waited silently as she took her time to compose herself.

Fluttershy looked down to the floor in front of her with a soft sigh. “I… I was, um, so worried what you might think if you learned about how much I, um, really felt about you,” she said, shrinking down to the floor and continuing just above a whisper. “And how fast it happened…”

I tilted my head at her, giving the mare a curious look. “Why?” I asked quizzically. “Was it too much, too quickly?”

Fluttershy’s ears fell back as she sank down further. “Because normally ponies don’t get attached that much, so, uh… quickly…” She abruptly looked back to me. “I-I didn’t want to scare you! That I was moving too fast, or getting too close to you; I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, Prism!”

I craned my neck back in surprise that her worries were actually quite similar to my own. “You were worried about scaring me?” I asked, gesturing my forehoof to my chest. “I… I don’t think you could do that to me with your feelings; no matter how much or how quickly they came.”

Fluttershy looked seemingly dumbfounded at my response. “W-what?”

I paused for a moment, as a sudden feeling of déjà vu hit me.

It’s just like how it was before Winter Wrap Up. We are worried about what each other would think, but we both really want the same thing.

A surge of courage and confidence filled me with the conclusion of that thought. I had nothing to fear from her.

“Fluttershy, the truth is, I am, um, overjoyed that you feel so close to me; because in all honesty, I want you to be that close to me as well,” I admitted, feeling my face beginning flush slightly. “I don’t know if this all is too fast, but it’s clear to me that we love each other, so does it really matter what other ponies’ standards are? This is about us, you and me, and how we feel about each other.”

The warmth in my face intensified the more I spoke my mind.

I can’t believe I’m actually saying these things!

My mind squealed in delight, and I quickly found myself lost in the warm elation that I felt telling Fluttershy what I was honestly thinking.

“All I have ever wanted was a pony to love me for who I am. I honestly thought at one point I may never actually find that; that there was no pony for me out there.” I looked down to my forehooves with a soft smile. “But then I found you. Somepony who accepted my differences with open hooves, never once judging me for them.”

Fluttershy bashfully looked away from me, drawing circles on the floor with a forehoof. “I, um, honestly really liked it; that you were so different,” she admitted, much to my surprise. “The pony I was falling in love with was special and unique, a one of a kind pony that I could have all for myself.”

I craned my neck back in surprise; I wasn’t expecting anything like that out of the normally timid mare.

Fluttershy stomped a forehoof down suddenly. “Oh, I felt so greedy, so selfish!” she exclaimed, quickly looking back to me. “Me wanting to keep you all for myself was so unfair, but I wanted to spend more time with you! What we did spend together was never enough for me, I always selfishly wanted more.” Fluttershy’s expression shifted into obvious guilt before she looked away in shame. “I wanted you be next to me all the time…”

I sat, staring back at my special somepony, slack-jawed. This confession of mine had just been completely turned around on me.

I see why Rainbow Dash is worried. She is serious.

Fluttershy let out a sharp sigh before looking back to me. “Oh I’m such a greedy pony! I’ll understand if you are mad at me and don’t want to be with a bad pony like me anymore…”

I quickly shook my head dismissively. “No! No, of course I’m not mad at you!” I promptly replied, hoping to give her some reassurance. “I like this. I like that you want to spend so much time with me, because I feel the exact same way, Fluttershy: that I can never get enough time with you.”

My spirits lifted greatly when I saw that my words invoked an excited smile on the yellow mare’s face.

“Do—do you really mean that, Prism?” she asked, flaring her wings slightly and anxiously taking a step closer to my bedside.

I slowly nodded. “I… I don’t think I could ever get enough of you,” I reassured her, a smile playing across my lips. “The time we spend together is just so, amazing. I always want more of you, you could never give me too much of you.”

Fluttershy froze in place, her wings which had begun to flare ever so slightly, suddenly shot out to full extension; an audible ‘pomf’ sound rang out with them this time as well. Her reaction momentarily surprised me, however, after replaying my words in my head I very quickly realized how… suggestive they had sounded.

Fluttershy looked back to her wings quite flustered, then opened to her mouth to speak, but I quickly cut her off, holding out my left forehoof to her.

“N-no! Y-You're fine! I don’t mind!” I paused for a moment, admiring her figure, before subconsciously continuing. “Besides, you look really sexy like that…”

Fluttershy and I both froze as an awkward silence fell over the room.

Did I really just say that?! Oh Celestia! That just slipped out on its own!

Words could not describe the intensity of the mortified blush that scorched my face, nor the extreme feeling embarrassment that instantaneously followed, as I buried my face into my left forehoof.

There was a long silence, before the sound of Fluttershy’s hoofsteps filled the room. I quickly looked back up the yellow mare, only to find her now right next to me. She hesitantly shuffled about in place, looking into my eyes and quickly away from me several times as she twirled a forehoof along the floor.

After a few moments, she spoke. “I-If you don’t like any of this, you can, um… stop me at any time, but…”

Fluttershy hesitantly trailed off into a soft whisper, pausing and turning her head away for a few moments before looking back to me. What I found as I locked eyes with her again was a look I had never seen from another pony before. A look that had me entrapped into her large aquamarine eyes.

“If you wouldn’t, um, mind… Please, let me show you how I feel about you.”

Her words mixed with the sound of her hushed voice sent an exhilarating chill down my spine; I met her request with a slow, silent nod. However moments later, my confidence from before shattered into tiny pieces as I felt my heartbeat racing faster the closer she leaned down to me.

Fluttershy’s uncharacteristic forwardness had me trapped in a web of terrified exhilaration and shock that peaked the moment her muzzle reached mine, our lips locking together; causing me a sharp intake of breath through my nostrils. My senses were immediately flooded by the familiar scent of fresh spring flowers, a scent that I had grown to love the more I was met with it.

A relaxing tingle filled my mind as my eyes slowly closed. Fluttershy and I had kissed a few times now, but never like this. Our prior moments of liplock were brief; a fleeting moment of bliss that would tease me, ending just as quickly as it began. This however, was very different.

Our kiss was long, deep and held strong desire behind it. Just as I thought the moment were to end, and Fluttershy pull away, I was then met with a second, equally wonderful kiss; quickly followed by another, and another.

The sensation was absolutely overwhelming, yet I found myself gluttonously desiring more. I moved my left forehoof up to her mane, brushing it aside as I hooked my foreleg around her neck, pulling her closer to me. Her response to this shocked me. Not only did she move closer, but she pushed herself down on top me. I slowly laid back with her until my head met with my pillow below; she, however, did not stop there.

Fluttershy climbed up onto the side of the bed, positioning herself directly over me and resting gently atop me as she began softly gliding her forehooves through my mane.

Our heavenly sequence of kisses lasted several blissful seconds more, before she finally pulled her muzzle away from mine. I opened my eyes to stare deep into her aquamarine irises; Seeing pool of pure devotion and love that stared back into mine. However, there was also something else; a small hint of growing lust showed briefly before she again closed her eyes, leaning down and nuzzling the side of my face.

Heaven. I was in absolute heaven. I could think of nowhere else I would rather be at that moment. The sensation of my special somepony’s warm body atop me, paired with the fragrance of her mane left me drunk in a state of pure euphoria. My overloaded senses hazily pushed me forward with a sense of curiosity and desire. I wanted to touch her, feel her… explore her.

I found my foreleg slowly traveling down her neck and to her shoulders, stopping at the base of her wings. I hesitated for a moment, but my curiosity quickly pushed me right past the reluctance. My forehoof slowly glided up the base of her right wing, surprising me at how muscular the appendage was.

Fluttershy met the touch with a tense twitch of her wing, and a hard nuzzle into my neck. She then pressed her wing into my hoof, seemingly if she were asking me to keep going. I gave no hesitation in obliging, and slid my hoof slowly along the length of her wing span. My special somepony’s nuzzles into my neck quickly turned into hard kisses, eliciting a sharp gasp from me at the sensation they brought.

This… this is really turning me on…

My hind quarters shifted in unrest at the feeling of her suckling kisses. An exhilarating nervousness quickly took hold over me as Fluttershy’s kisses found their way down my neck, and onto my chest. She shifted her position on top of me, moving further down my torso, and continued her trail of kisses. I found myself almost losing control of my rapid, heavy breaths.

This, this is so—

FLOP.

Fluttershy and I nearly jumped out of our skins at the loud sound that interrupted the otherwise silent room. The shock caused the yellow mare to tumble off me and onto the floor below with an audible squeak. I quickly leaned up to search for the invasive sound, however, what I found absolutely mortified me.

A slack-jawed Twilight Sparkle stood silently in the doorway, staring directly at me in utter bewilderment. Looking down in front of her, I saw a rather sizeable file that appeared to be the source of the disruptive sound. A cold sweat covered me as I stared back at the lavender mare with an uneasy smile.

That must have looked so bad!

Something about the thought of walking into a room to find one of your best friends atop of another pony like Fluttershy was, with a wingie, probably wouldn’t do too well for the mind. Judging from the lack of response for several more long seconds, I think it was safe to guess that Fluttershy and I had utterly broken Twilight Sparkle.

Disregarding the malfunctioning mare in the doorway, I leaned over the edge of the bed to find Fluttershy lying on her back, covering her embarrassed face with both forehooves.

“Are you okay?” I asked, examining her closely. “You didn’t hurt your wings or anything did you?”

Fluttershy gave a quick few side-to-side shakes of her head, still shielding her embarrassment.

Looking back to Twilight, I found the corner of her mouth twitching, before she reached up and aggressively rustled her mane with a forehoof; letting out a forced laugh. She stared off into nowhere with an almost demented look on her face.

“Well! It seems you two are busy, so I’ll just come back later!” she exclaimed rather bizarrely, nodding her head a few times before turning back for the hallway. “Later, yes! I’ll just go wait in the lobby for Rarity, and come back… later!” She let out another uneasy laugh as she left, closing the door behind her.

Fluttershy quickly leapt to her hooves. “Oh my, oh no! I-I, I can’t let her talk to Rarity like that!” she blurted out in a rather flustered manor. “I-I need to stop her!”

Before I could comment, Fluttershy bolted for the door, opening it and went to slip out; but not before slamming her right wing into the doorframe with a whimpered squeak. She tilted her stance to allow her extended wings passage and tried again, quickly exiting the room. I heard a muffled call of Twilight’s name from the yellow mare before the door slowly closed itself.

The sudden calmness and silence of the room felt strange. It was a stark contrast after everything that had just transpired. I was now left alone, embarrassed by the fact one of my best friends just walked in at one of the worst possible moments imaginable, but despite all of that, I felt rather… warm.

I brought my forehoof to my lips, the sensation of Fluttershy’s kisses still fresh in my mind. I could almost still feel Fluttershy’s body atop mine, and her kisses along my neck and body. I brought my hoof to my neck, and slowly trailed it down the path the yellow mare had kissed me, ending at the center of my barrel.

What might have happened if we had not been interrupted? …What would we have done together?

I felt my face flush deeper at the thought, and shielded it with my forehoof as I shook my head with a squeal of girlish delight at all the romantic possibilities; all the while a goofy smile lay plastered on my face.

I really hope to do something like that with her again soon…