Rainbow Dash, as was mentioned at least a few times before, became sick at the very sight of any Hearts and Hooves day decorations or at the very sight and mention of anything else that what related to the holiday. The only time where she could look at those pink pieces of carton is when they are being removed, just like how they were being removed as she walked through Ponyville. It was already late afternoon, and the Hearts and Hooves Day festival was already over. Most shops and businesses that were usually closed during Hearts and Hooves Day were now open again, giving the town the normal and not-sappy appearance which the rainbow-maned mare liked and was used to. "Oh well," she thought to herself as she watched the village become less and less pink and more, well, normal, as she liked to call it, "looks like I'll have to hold my vomit off until next year." It's not that the pegasus completely detested the whole idea of romance; after all she and Paint had been together for half a year now, but the whole idea of going out to be surrounded by other couples or displaying affection while being surrounded by anypony else just didn't appeal to her.
If it were up to her she would have stayed home and slept in until Paint returned from the farm, but even during Hearts and Hooves day there was weather to take care of. Pfft, moving clouds. Was there any job more boring that than? But soon she wouldn't need to work as a weather pegasus anymore, soon she will finally take her rightful and respectful place as one of the Wonderbolts. The tryouts were to take place in 6 days from now, and after taking care of the weather she decided to practice a little bit since she had nothing else to do anyway (she practiced away from Ponyville, obviously, because of Hearts and Hooves Day and, in addition, she decided to avoid risking breaking anypony's property, even if she was absolutely certain of her awesomeness and was hardly messing up anything during practices anymore). And to think that if it hadn't been for Scootaloo who informed her she would have never seen the information posters about the upcoming trials. Missing such a rare and amazing opportunity just because Rainbow Dash hated being in Ponyville during Hearts and Hooves Day would have probably sucked, so she figured that she really needed to find an opportunity to thank the little filly for drawing her attention to the upcoming tryouts.
In fact, Rainbow Dash was so pleased at watching the decorations as they were removed that she decided to not just fly straight to her home like she usually did but to walk through the village until she was below her house and then fly up there. She passed by the large house where Paint's family was staying, except for his brother and father for the time being of course, when she heard somepony call her name. She looked in the direction of the house and saw Elisa standing inside by one of and waving for her to come over. While she found it slightly confusing, she went ahead and flew over to the window. "Hey, what's up?" she asked with her usual smile before noticing that the unicorn she was facing looked a little upset.
"Can I ask you a favor?"
"Oh, of course, is something wrong?"
"I know it might be a bit peculiar, but I need you to take Paint's mother to the hospital." Yes, the hospital, being a hospital, was open all the time, even during Hearts and Hooves Day.
"To the hospital?" asked the rainbow-maned pegasus, becoming a little worried as well as confused. "Why, what happened?" Despite having known her coltfriend's mother for just a week she already felt very close to the older mare. "Did she fall down the stairs?"
"What? Of course not, she's just feeling a little unwell is all."
"Oh, that's good to hear." said Rainbow Dash with a sigh of relief, "I mean, it's not good to hear that she's sick… It's just that when I saw her yesterday she seemed perfectly fine so I thought that something bad happened." There was a short pause, "Wait, so what you're saying is that she just has a little fever? I think you're over reacting, everypony gets a fever from time to time."
Elisa shook her head, "She's been randomly having fevers ever since Emerald was born three weeks ago, but every time it lasted a bit more than before and I'm starting to get worried…"
"I had no idea…"
"She never said anything because it's in her habit to keep little things from others if it means not worrying them."
"Wait, are you sure I should take her to the hospital?" What if Paint's mother fainted on the way there or something worse? Then what? "Can't you or one of the other maids go with her?" It's not that Rainbow Dash didn't care or was too lazy; it's just that she was worried because she had no idea on how to take care of sick ponies.
"All the other maids are on a day off for the holiday, they'll only be back here tomorrow…" said Elisa as she rolled her eyes. Rainbow Dash wondered whether the dedicated unicorn ever went on vacation herself.
"All of them?" asked the pegasus, getting a nod in return.
"I have a lot of things to buy and stuff to do in the house by the end of the day," she said, using her magic to take out a long list of things she had to do from the pocket of her black and white dress.
"What about Emerald?"
"I can watch her and if I have to leave the house I'll just take her in the stroller." She opened the door with a look that literally begged the Rainbow Dash to come inside. "I've been looking for Paint or anypony who I can trust to go with her all day; I could really use your help with this."
"Of course I'll help." As awkward as it might be considering Paint's mother's talkative nature, Rainbow Dash did want to help, but she doubted she would be able to do all of Elisa's chores and take care of a baby at the same time, and taking the little foal to a hospital filled with sick ponies was not a very smart idea.
"Thank you so much, it really helps a lot." Said the maid with a grateful smile, closing the door after Rainbow Dash had entered the house.
Paint's mother happened to walk in after she had entered, and like always she smiled as she saw her son's marefriend. "Oh sweetie, it's so lovely to see you again!" Rainbow Dash only smiled and blushed a little like she always did around the older earth pony.
"Madam, I thought I asked you to stay by the fireplace where it's warmer." She said, walking over to her mistress and reaching for her forehead, as if to check her temperature, only to have the older mare move her hoof away with her own hoof.
"It's just a fever." She coughed a few times but smiled, "Ponies get a fever from time to time."
"Nevertheless I asked Rainbow Dash to take you to the hospital."
"Don't be silly, I don't need to see a doctor just so that he can tell me that I have a fever." There was a short pause, "Besides, you have an awful lot to do, I can't let you do it all on your own."
"You know how much I appreciate it when you help me around, but I really think you should at least have a doctor look at you. Please, just to calm me down?"
Paint's mother sighed, "Alright." She then coughed a few more times.
"I'll take care of Emerald until you get back."
"I know you will." said the older mare with a smile.
Rainbow Dash and Paint's mother left the house and began walking towards the hospital. While the pegasus was not used to walking very slowly, she knew that when you were sick you probably couldn't walk as fast as you could when you were healthy so she kept at a pace which allowed Paint's mother to keep up. The walk all the way to the hospital was passed in silence, and Rainbow Dash had to admit that being with her coltfriend's without anypony else around was rather awkward. They reached the hospital and Rainbow Dash opened the door, keeping it opened for a moment so that the older mare will be able to walk inside. Paint's mother silently thanked her and the two headed towards the reception desk. "Excuse me," said Rainbow Dash, addressing one of the nurses at the desk, "Can I please have a doctor to take a look at her?" she asked, pointing at Paint's mother with a hoof.
"Of course, if you'll go upstairs to the 2nd floor, the hospital isn't very busy right now and a doctor will be with you shortly."
"Thanks." She felt a little bad about the fact that Paint's mother had to climb the stairs, but there wasn't anything she could do about that. "So…" she said after they both sat down in the hall to wait, wanting to start some sort of a conversation with the mare sitting beside her.
Paint's mother seemed to have noticed that the rainbow-maned pegasus was feeling a little nervous. "Is something wrong dear?" While she didn't sound ill, except for when she coughed every now and then, it was clear on her face and in her body language that she wasn't feeling perfectly alright.
"No ma'am, nothing's wrong." If talking to her was sometimes a little awkward when Paint was around, imagine how awkward it was when he wasn't there. It's not that Rainbow Dash didn't like his mother's company, but being with your coltfriend's mother can usually get a little embarrassing.
"You don't need to call me ma'am sweetie," said she with a smile, "I thought I told you that already."
"You did." She said, her ears flattening against her head as the mare in front of her coughed once more.
"Don't worry about me; it's nothing to worry about." There was a short pause, "So how's everything going with you two?"
Rainbow Dash smiled, "You mean since we saw you yesterday in the morning?" they both chuckled, "Nothing special, the… usual…" she blushed a little and fell silent. After a short moment of thinking she realized something; if Paint told her about his newfound job as a teacher's assistant yesterday in the afternoon and he had been offered the job after the last time he had seen his mother then his mother still knew nothing about it. "Well, yesterday in the afternoon he had some exciting news to tell me, he-"
"Oh sweet Celestia! He proposed to you and you're getting married! I've always hoped he and his brother would ask me to be their best mare when they got married!"
"Uh… No, we're not getting married…" said the pegasus, feeling her cheeks boil as she blushed with embarrassment. Seriously, could this get any more embarrassing than it already was? "He got a job as a teacher's assistant at the school here and he's very excited about it."
"Oh that's simply wonderful! He really loves kids! Now he'll even tutor his little sister when she goes to school here one day, won't that be great?"
"Of course it will ma'am."
"You know, since he ran away I was always worried that he wouldn't be able to take care of himself but now, seeing that he's doing okay and that he's happy, I'm quite relieved. I'm mostly relieved to have him back again though." Rainbow Dash only smiled. "I can see the way he acts around you and the way he looks at you." continued the earth pony, looking at the pegasus beside her who was again blushing deeply, "You're more than just a marefriend in his eyes."
Rainbow Dash, again embarrassed, was saved from the awkward moment when a nurse walked over to them and said, "A doctor will see you now."
The cyan pegasus held back a sigh of relief and they followed the nurse into one of the rooms where a doctor was waiting. "Oh, Miss Dash," said the doctor upon seeing Rainbow Dash. "Your wing looks fine, good, for once you're not here because of a broken wing I see, very good indeed."
Rainbow Dash saw Paint's mother looking at her worriedly and said, "It's nothing ma'am, I broke a wing twice but I'm okay now."
The doctor's examination was a short and a rather regular one. He took temperature, did the regular 'turn your head and cough' routine and asked Paint's mother some questions. What he seemed to take the most attention in was that she told him that she had given birth to a foal just 3 weeks ago. "You're saying that this is the 3rd foal you've had ma'am?" he asked, she nodded, "And since then your fever came and went randomly, lasting a bit longer each time?" again she nodded. "Well then, this is very common, there's absolutely nothing to fear here. This rarely gets any worse and it should go away soon, at the latest when your foal no longer suckles. It may be the result of the fact that this is your 3rd born. If it doesn't stop soon, I'll suggest that you feed your daughter with a bottle instead. Other than that, try to stay off your feet when you feel unwell. So long as you avoid stress and don't catch anything else, there's absolutely no reason to be worried."
Rainbow Dash thanked the doctor and then she and Paint's mother left the hospital. The cyan pegasus had a hard time believing that it was already dark. After escorting her coltfriend's mother home and bidding her goodnight she took off and flew to her own house. Since it was dark there was no doubt that Paint was back from the farm already. She entered the cloud house and closed the door behind her, and was about to call her coltfriend's name when a very good smell caught her attention. Heading to the kitchen, she found a dish with her favorite dinner on the table. She had no doubt as to who made it for her, but there was also a note next to it, which was written in her coltfriend's writing:
Hey Dashie,
I came home and you weren't here so I thought I'd make you some dinner. I'm really tired from the day at the farm so I'm going to hit the sack early today.
I hope that this doesn't disappoint you and enjoy your dinner.
Love, Paint
Rainbow Dash smiled and walked over to the bedroom, indeed finding her coltfriend peacefully asleep. Don't tell anypony, but she thought he was really cute when he was asleep. She also liked to nuzzle his cute ears while he slept, and the way they twitched a little when she did always made her giggle.
In Canterlot
Paint's father, who was sitting at his desk as usual, raised his eyes from his work when the door of his hotel room opened and his son Silver gaily walked into the room, looking like the happiest stallion alive. "I expected you to be back sooner." He said, raising an eyebrow at his son's rather peculiar joy.
"Sorry dad, I had… things to do…" he said, taking off his saddlebag and throwing it to the corner of his room.
"This is as happy as I've ever seen you before about studying." he stared at his son who only smiled at him. "I take it that you've had enough time to finish everything that you went to Ponyville for?"
"I did, but you could say that I got a bit… distracted…"
"Meaning?"
"Well… I went to the library and the mare running it helped me find the book I needed."
"I don't see which part of this made you come into the room prancing like a little filly."
"Her name's Twilight Sparkle dad, she's amazing!"
"Ah," said his father, laughing to himself, "I see."
"I've never met anypony as beautiful or as clever as her! We talked, read a little, and then I took her out for lunch, it was the best day of my life!"
Then one of his father's colleagues entered the room. Paint's father looked at his son, "Why don't you give us a few moments and you can tell me all about your day later?"
"I think I'll just take a shower and go to bed, goodnight dad."
Silver then left the room and soon there was the sound of running water. His father looked at his colleague, "Well, what is it?"
"This came in to your mailbox at the factory today, just after you've left." He handed him an envelope, which was from his lawyer.
"Ah, it's from my lawyer." He said, opening it and reading it before angrily throwing it on the floor. "This can't be! This is outrageous!"
"What is it sir?"
"That bastard is getting released from jail!"
"Who? You don't mean-"
"Yes! Take the letter, tell me what it says."
The other stallion picked up the sheet of paper before reading a specific part of it: "…released early due to good behavior-"
"Good behavior! Good behavior?! That pegasus should rot in a dungeon until his last day for what he did!"
"Sir, there's more…"
"More! Perfect! Well, what else does it say?"
"Your lawyer wishes to remind you, since the trial took place many years ago where you lived before moving in to Ponyville, that the judge had him imprisoned far away from you and your family, and, well… The jail he was thrown into is here, in Canterlot…"
"What?! Give me that!" he took the letter from him and went through it again before angrily tearing it into pieced and throwing it into the fireplace. "So he's here! That's great, that's exactly where I want him, near my family! Perfect!"
"Sir, you can't be serious…"
"Of course I'm not serious! That was sarcasm! I need him near my family just like I need that other winged piece of trash!"
"Forgive me si-"
"Just get out of my sight!" The poor stallion in front of him hurried out of the room and closed the door behind him. Oh well, not everypony has heard of the expression 'don't kill the messenger'.
A/N: If you found the part where I wrote about how Rainbow Dash likes to play with Paint's ears while he sleeps cute, then my goal while writing that was achieved =)
Don't forget to review if you have the time, it really means a lot. Also if you know anyone who might enjoy my stories, be sure to let them know!