Warmth skortched my lips as a stream of light, creamy liquid descended my tongue into my throat. The atmosphere surrounding me was calm and cool only enough to counter the afternoon heat without causing a chill. I attempted to open my eyes to find the effort to strenuous. I tried at least a dozen more times, each attempt left me no closer than before, and finally in surrender I gave out the faintest sigh that ponies known to ponykind. Faint as it may of been though, it was just loud enough to startle a pegasus who had streamed the liquid into my mouth.

"Oh! You're awake," a tiny voice squeaked. She had to be from my guess a filly no older than seven based upon her voice. "Madam is not back yet; however, she will be back soon. I am glad you are awake, madam was worried about you." The tiny filly continued to ramble one as I found myself unintentionally, yet effectively, blocking her out to build up my strength.

"Where is she?" I rasped. The filly fell silent as in a refusal to speak. "Where is she?" I rasped once more facing continued silence. "Damn it! I asked where she is!" I demanded feeling my vocals strain. The filly was once more silent; however, this time I felt out of fear.

"You mean the yellow mare?" she posed shyly. I shook my head to confirm to her. The young pegasus hesitated in uncertainty before opening her mouth to speak. "Madam sent her to a secure hospital upon seeing her wings, they looked..." The filly caught herself before she said anything that she felt she would later regret.

"Go on with what were you saying," I stated in cold-hearted patience.

"They looked pretty bad, may be weeks before she flys again with a crash like that. Mother told me that she not only landed hard, but she landed hard on the wrong spots."

"And who are you?"

"I am the daughter of my mother who works under Madam as her assistant and maid."

"Who is this Madam that you keep referring to?"

"Madam is the kindest pegasus that I have ever known! Well I do not know her very well, but she is!" The filly proclaimed.

I tried my best to crack my eyes open and turn to face the filly's voice."Please tell me she is safe." I uttered as a thin line of light touched my cornea and then I feel back down upon my pillow exhausted.

I was awoken by the shaking of my pillow being fluffed between hooves, the firmness of the which the action was conducted did not make sense for a filly. A considerable amount of energy had returned to me since I passed out once again and I found it much easier to open my eyes and turn to see a gentle mare in light clothing wiping down a nightstand next to me.

"Is she okay?" I asked her softly trying to to startle her too bad.

"Mr. Angelo?" the mare turned to see me looking at her. "Glad to see you have awoken since my daughter told me you were last conscious. That is a decent bump you got on your head, never have seen a bump on a pegasus so profound before." The mare declared poking my horn in wonder.

You have got to be kidding me. I guess Armonia was not kidding when he said that some of the pegasus around here are ignorant of the other types of citizens that reside in the empire. I stared in a mixture of disbeliefs reaching up rubbing my horn and acting in surprise about it. "How do you know my name? and how is the young mare that I passed out next to?" I asked carefully.

"Sorry, I am the Madam's housekeeper. Madam only told me that your last name was Angelo and to make sure you are okay; that's all she told me." The pegasus explained. "The mare is doing fine, she is still in the hospital though. I do not know if she has awoken, she was still out when I last went there. You two must of went on a long flight to exhausted enough to sleep for eighteen hours."

"It was a decent size flight."

"Well I am betting you want to get up for a moment and at least stretch your wings." the mare claimed causing my eyes to jump open. I knew that I was in no condition to use magic and using magic at such close proximity would surely give me away.

"I am okay! I feel better but I still need to rest!" I nearly snapped at her throwing the pillow over my face.

"Okay then, anything I can do to help you? If you are feeling better when you get up I will see if Madam would think it would be okay if I took you to see your friend."

"Thank you," I fudged a smile. "Just so I can tell you if I am able or not later, how far is this hospital?"

"Oh it is not too far. Just turn right after leaving the front door and travel straight a little bit and it is on the left." the housekeeper mare informed me and turned out the lights in the room to leave me to rest.

I waited a few minutes after she departed before I pulled the pillow off from over my face and gazed around the room for possibilities. I wanted to make sure Hope was all right; however, I was not going to get anywhere if I just laid under the sheets. There was a set of curtains blocking out the afternoon light to my left and I pushed them aside briefly to find that escape would of been impossible to do without question. The skies were flooded with pegasi going from one place to another and I could tell that walking would have raised question in at least a few ponies above, and flying was out of the question I knew; my magic had yet to recover enough to consider the concept of flight. I looked around the for some sort of solution finding only some bandage wrap  and some scissors lying in a drawer

I reached down to grab them, but before I could get them I heard hooves moving towards the room and hurried up and closed the drawer and threw myself under the pillow once more. The door opened silently pushing air across the room and upon my hoof as an indication. Hoof steps approached me and stopped alongside the bed just inches away from me. The visitor did no mention a word and just continued to stand next to me as I felt my heart rate begin to increase. The visitor lifted a hoof and placed it upon my exposed right fore hoof and held it there for a few moments. There was a tingling in my horn and I felt the heaviness in my chest extinguish. The pony beside me retracted the hoof and without a word departed, pausing for a moment before closing the door.

"Phew," I told myself wiping the sweat off my neck. I extended my hooves out to stretch and became instantly alarmed to see my right hoof glowing green like it did beforehand when Luna pushed something into it. I pressed my other hoof into it and found the hoof no different in temperature or feel than usual before the green designs disappeared. I turned to the door in wonder before dismissing the notion that it could've been Princess Luna. I motioned back over to the drawer pulling the wrap out and wrapping up one of the wings on the suit. I thought about just taking a chance and flying but I was unsure of well I actually felt and knew that I would taking a major chance if I did.

I found my hat next to the door and put it back on before cracking the door open and looking out, slowly sliding out. The hallway was clear and no pony was in sight until I came to a door barely open. The housekeeper sat inside speaking about the various works she did today to another pegasus out of my sight behind a section of wall that I guessed to be a mare based upon the shadow casted. I slide past being as careful as I could  finding the filly working in a kitchen making something in a medium sized pot. it smelled like some sort of thick soup and I paused behind a counter as she walked near me opening a refrigerator and grabbing something before turning and retreating back to the the pot. This filly was unmistakably related to her mother as their coats and manes were identical in color. I hurried to the door and slowly opened it and closed it as quietly as I could.

The street lying outside the home was abandoned from any pony's hooves as I began to head my way down its stretch. It was constructed out of clouds yet surprisingly firm underneath my trot as I watched the pegasi above swarm all of their various directions. After about three minutes of walking I looked down at my feet and noted how the cloud did not even budge under my weight. It was understandable how Hope was able to get so injured with such resistance; however, I was left to wonder how pegasus are able to construct these things with such ease. I shrugged and just left it as just the magic of the pegasus.

It took fifteen minutes until I saw anything large enough to be the hospital that the housekeeper described and it was at least a good five minutes away. During this entire walk only a handful of pegasi actually looked my way long enough to raise question, and those who did quickly saw my wrapped wing and dismissed the matter. Entering the final minute of my tour a light tap was placed on my shoulder and I attempted to ignore it, but a second tap forced me to respond.

"Hello can I help you?" I spun around to see a young mare hovering behind me that I had seen several times enter the family shop over the years but never bought anything. She was always full of questions and my sister was always glad to answer them, and over time I think my sister became friends with her; however, this my first time seeing this mare in about two years.

"I am sorry," the mare blushed embarrassed, "I was just wondering if you were okay sir?" I looked at her more closely and realized that she had no recollection of who I was. I followed her eyes and noticed they were focusing on my suit. "Is that from Canterdash?"

"Pardon me?" I asked her.

"Sorry, it was just that is really nice and I used to know someone who made things as nice as that, but it has been a while." The mare rubbed her mane nervously. "I am sorry for wasting your time," she sighed placing her hooves on the ground. "You heading for the clinic? I will walk in with you." I nodded and waited for her to walk to my side before continuing alongside.

"And to answer your question, yes I am from Canterdash," I informed her and her head moved up in a spark of surprise. She went to say something but I stopped her. "And yes this suit is from where you think it is."

The mare hopped a little and turned back to me, "I knew you looked a little bit familiar! Have you been there recently? There is a unicorn there named Cristalla, do you know her?"

"I guess it would be fair to say I have seen her quite a few times."

"That is fantastic! Do you know how she is doing?" the mare demanded as the doors to the hospital slide open.

"Last time I saw her she was doing well. She is worried because her brother has left the house to attend a prestigious program of study, but I know she is proud of him."

"I am so glad, it has been so long since I last saw her!" The mare took flight once more. "I hope to one day see her again, thank you!" The mare waved as she flew away.

The hospital waiting room was jammed with ponies; however, fortunately for me the front desk was empty and I proceeded forth. A stallion in scrubs was sitting behind a stack of papers, evaluating their use and stuffing every other it seems into a folder and onto a shelf behind him. "Hello," I stated.

The stallion placed the file he held in his hooves into a folder and then looked at me. "You here to see Doctor Mason?" the front desk stallion stated placing a sign in sheet next to me.

"I am here to see a yellow mare that came in her recently with a broken wing or something?" I smiled nervously as the stallion took a long look at me before turning and pulling a file off the middle shelf with a pink and green identifier on it.

"What is your relationship to her?"

"I am a friend of hers," I informed the stallion who continued to look at the file. He continued to shift papers around inside before he close the folder and placed it back on the shelf.

"Room 331. Turns out you are here to see Dr. Mason afterall. third floor, on the left." The stallion pointed towards a set of elevators. I hurried into the elevator and waited as the basic hydraulic system slowly creeped its way up the building to the third floor. The elevator hesitated moving past the second floor and a stallion is a white coat stepped on. He looked at the button pressed seeing that it read three and backed off to a corner.

"You need to get that unwrapped? It looks really fine in shape to me." The doctor pony proclaimed. "You want me to give a look at it?"

"No it is fine." I stated at him uncomfortably.

"Nonsense, I will look at that for you free of charge. Who is your doctor I will inform him that you appear to be making good progress.

"Doctor, ahh, Oakseed..." I lied.

"Never heard of him..." stated curiously. "Is he any good?"

"He is, ahh new, but he is fine. Excuse me for a second." I jumped out the elevator as the doors slide open and turned the closest corner discreetly looking back. The doctor looked a little confused as he trotted into an adjacent room to the elevator.

I know he was trying to be nice, but that was close. My suit held a few wrinkles and I used my hooves to straighten them out as I looked up to read 331 on the door beside me. Well that was easy. I slowly cracked the door open noticing that the lights were off and pushed my head inside. The bed was folded smooth and silence had stained the room. "Hope?" I inquired as I slid my hoof across the sheet. "Where are you Hope?"

A hoof pressed against my shoulder causing me to jump  "Easy now!" A voice whispered as the housekeeper mare appeared beside me. "I do not get it, Madam knew you were gone and told me I would find you here without ever leaving her room," the housekeeper attested.

"Where is she!" I worried blankly

"It is hard for me to explain and I will try to give you a better answer later Sir, but from what Madam told me, something has come up with your friend and Madam has left without informing me with anymore details."

"Left for where?" I demanded curiously cynical.

"She did not tell me, nor do I have any idea of where she would need to go outside the city. She left me with the responsibility of making sure you are safe and well fed for the evening. Madam told me just trust her here; she asked for us both to trust her." The housekeeper pegasus stated. I wanted to argue; however, realization occurred to me that I am in a city that I do not know, nor belong, and these three are the only pegasi that I can be sure will bring me any closer to Hope. I considered the opportunity, finally giving in and walking back with her to the house. Thankfully, she did not question the wing and walked beside me instead of insisting on flight.  

I was correct in my earlier assumption about the filly's cooking; she had prepared a wonderful warm and creamy veggie soup for us all with an overly-excessive amount of noodles that her mother commented on, but I strangely preferred the filly's error. The dinner table was relatively small consisting of only enough room for four, yet was not critical to me. I pushed the noodles in my bowl around with a spoon as I watched the filly shovel down her own creation.

"Something wrong?" the housekeeper pony asked as she placed down a bowl for herself at the table and collected her daughter's bowl to get her some more.

"It is nothing ma'am, thank you for the soup." I sighed.

"You are mighty welcome," she stated spacing down a refilled bowl. She looked at me for a moment before she sat down and turned towards me. "I know you are upset, but you have to eat. We will find her."

"I just do not understand how she would of got taken from the hospital without anyone noticing." I sighed stuffing a spoonful into my mouth.

"I am with you there. No pony I know just disappears just into the ground that I know of, especially with how many guards were at the hospital today." The mare admitted. The words hit me funny causing me to choke on my second spoonful.

"Are there usually guards at the hospital? I mean I can understand one or two, but you know."

"Not usually any more than that if any. We are a pretty quiet district, crime is almost unheard of and I do not think we would serve as the smartest target for an initial invasion." she justified than sampled her soup. "Not that this city is liable to invasion either; we have the highest concentration of Flight Corps guards in the entire empire."

"I am aware," I stated. "This city cannot be void of ground ponies though or you guys would be at a fundamental weakness. What are their responsibilities?"

"Transport, they are responsible for transport here. We can not function off only what can be flown up here, there is a pullet port system in the middle of the city that a large sum of Pegasi are employeed doing. I have never been near the lift because the conditions there are rather dirty at times. Regardless, the non-flight ponies monitor the workers and the cargo for safety, and report to the flight captain."

"Lightning?"

"I do not know what his name is, some red Pegasus whom shows up here and there before disappearing frequently."

Red? I took back in surprise. "How long has this captain you mentioned been around here?"

"A little bit over a month. Why you ask?" the housekeeper questioned.

"No major reason, I am just interested with out royal guard system because, you know, they are important."

"That they are, I have no idea what would happen if they were ever to fail us."

I finished up the rest of my bowl without a word and excused myself towards my temporary residence. As I motioned with each hoof step I found myself pausing with increasing frequency to more closely inspect my surroundings. The house did not radiate as a location of trouble, as it just gave me a general feeling of uneasiness, yet uncanny relief. The walls featured pulchritudinous designs of greens that curled much like leaves and vines in a spring garden, and while there were several lights, most of the house had been optimized for natural sunlight. No where was there a picture of anything besides various depictions in all of her moderates and extremes; the house was void of the madam's existence almost.

The room I laid upon earlier I had given little attention to as well and upon further inspection I was amazed by the simple complexities that the space featured. The vines danced around this room as well and the blossoms sung their lullabies to me as I acknowledged their cries by placing my hoof upon on and imagining to pull the pedals open so it can celebrate in the lunar song's glow. Three birds gathered around above the doorway, looking up collectively past one another and out into the open skies in ponder. The raven, the lark, and the dove bestowed their blessings to me as the moans of the owl's remorseful tears formed a sympathy of wisdom and reflection as it passed through the crack of the window, which was open to allow a slight breeze to be enjoyed.

I trotted over to the bed to find a new set of sheets had been laid out. I reached down and placed my hoof upon the blanket above as a knock came from the door. "Excuse me Sir, but Madam asked me to wash the old sheets so I thought I would," the Mare stopped in full sentence as she witnessed the fully constructed bed already. The mare walked to the sheets and ran her hoof over it before smiling a slight smile. "these are very special sheets of hers, she must be trusting you to be gentle with them I suppose." I ran my hoof and was superseded by the soft, yet firm texture of the sheets. "Surprising, are they not?"

"Yes Ma'am" I agreed and paused at a sudden feeling of familiarity. I turned back towards the housekeeper and her face was lacking an excessive worries giving me the feeling that this Mare and her filly were no stranger to being alone at night.

"The Madam got this from a shop in a town South of here by about a ninety minute flight. Owned by a family of Unicorns that use their magic to make such nice things as this right here, but you ask me it is not just magic that leads to anything this amazing and I have to give them perks if I ever met any of them."

I pulled a corner from the sheet back and marveled at how fine of the stitch was; It was barely visible and seemed oddly familiar to me causing the gears in my head to grind. I examined the corner more closely as I prepared myself to getting closer to rest when I noticed two italic letters sewn in the corner in light blue thread; BA. I staggered back briefly in surprise as my initials where presented in the same strategically placed way my father would have done and a sense of pride dawned on me as I remembered how my sister would address me occasionally when I had made something with my best efforts. These sheets were the first thing I ever made to be sold with my family where I did all the major work under my sister's supervision and after long hours toiling I got my father's approval, whom gladly placed my initials on the item. Bitter-sweetly I wrapped myself in past memory becoming reverent in satisfaction as happiness dampened my other speculations of fear allowing me to peacefully slip into sleep.