Crippled in Equestria - Part 8

>THUNKTHUNK.
>Your eyes bolt open.
>You hear activity downstairs.
>Fluttershy is gone, but you can still feel the warmth she had left behind.
>THUNKTHUNKTHUNK.
>You pull yourself out of bed, greeted by your best pal.
>You tap your leg with Titan, and the cold seeps into your bones.
>That was going to be a bitch when winter came around.
>But first you had to beat the shit out of whoever was in your house.
>You slip down the stairs as quietly as you can, and hide behind one of the supports.
>You grip Titan, and slide around ready to--
>"Anon!  You're awake!"
>You nearly fall over as you try to avoid caving in Twilight's skull.
>"What are you doing?"
"I may have mistaken you for somep0ny else."
>She seems to get it.
>Now that you realize it, the whole gang is here.
>Some of them are fixing up the shelves, spiffing the place up, and Applejack is outside with fresh flowers going in the ground.
>"We figured we'd do something nice for you, with all the trouble you've been through we're happy to help a new friend!"
>You swallowed hard.
"I thought I told you--"
>"Nonsense! You need help and you will not admit it!" Rarity interrupts you.  "I don't know how they do things where you're from, but here in Ponyville we friends help each other."
>We friends help each other.
>You really had a hard time wrapping your head around the kindness that oozed from this place.
>You felt choked by it, as if falling into an abyss.
>They say sometimes the body will distract itself with comforting images when subjected to horror it cannot deal with.
>Is that what this was?
>A dream?
>"A-Anon?"  It was Fluttershy.  "D-Did you sleep well?"
>You nod.
>But there was little time for chit-chat; there was work to be done and you wouldn't let these p0nies do it all for you.


>You step outside and strap Titan to your leg, intent on joining Applejack.
>She had staged quite a few pots around the front garden, but they were aligned into rows.
>Perfectly straight rows, ordered based on the type of plant.
"Uh, Applejack?"
>She looks at you.
"This isn't a farm, it’s a flower shop.  We need to arrange them a little bit differently."
>"Oh, uh, sorry Anon.  Ah thought it'd be good with a bit o' organahzation, an' easier to water 'em."
>She looks a bit embarrassed.
"That's fine for a farm, Applejack, but here it’s about the look, not just utility."
>She looks on as you rearrange the flowers, highlighting different parts of the path to the door with different colours.
>You step back next to Applejack.
>You had woven the plants together so that they'd accent the curve in the path, and spin outwards.
>It spindled a bit like a spider web on both sides, leaving space to move between plants, but outwardly looking like they all fit together.
"See what a difference that makes?  Just needs a bit of life..."
>"Ah git it, Anon.  Looks maighty pretty!"
>You smiled.
>You weren't sure what p0ny tastes would be like, but you figured it wouldn't be much different than your own.
>You spend the next two hours with Applejack planting your outside arrangement and step back again.
>It looked amazing.
>"A bit o' love really opens it up, don't it?"
>You couldn't agree more.
>Fluttershy interrupts you to tell you that the inside is also done.
>It looks fantastic; the girls had brought a lot of plants from the greenhouse inside, and spruced them up a bit.
>You didn't like the idea of using magic to make them look nice, though.
>You'd take a good kickstart, though.
>A dastardly idea crosses your mind.


"I have a question."
>Your new friends are all ears.
"Is there a special day for couples in Equestria, like... where couples are celebrated, a lovey-dovey holiday?"
>Fluttershy jumps in first.  "Oh-oh yes!  Hearts and Hooves Day!"
>Weird.
"And when does that happen?"
>"Hearts and Hooves day is a week from now," Twilight notes, holding up a calendar.
>You scratch the stubble on your face.
"Perfect.  Another question, Twilight."
>She nods, happy to help.
"Is there a place where I could get lots of fliers printed?"
>"Well... I'm sure you could ask Featherweight to use the school's printing machine, or even put what you have in mind in the school paper."
"The paper?  Does Ponyville read it?"
>"It’s quite popular, I'm sure whatever it is you're thinking would reach almost everyone."
>Excellent.
"Perfect, thanks."
>The p0nies ask you if you need anything else, but you only have the one thing left to do.
>They file out of your place, leaving it looking just great, almost ready to open up.
>You take up a quill that Twilight had left for you.
>You'd never used one, and three ruined pages later realizing it was damn hard.
>Okay, less ink, less pressure.
>You wipe the quill and gingerly dip the tip into the ink.
>Careful.
>Its agonizingly slow, you go through two rounds of Titan's new magic before you're done.
>The sun had set long ago.
>You hold up your new advertisement, and the letter that would go out at the same time.
>Perfect.


>The next day, you pull yourself out of bed and tap your leg.
>The pain, waking up, and shivering could get downright routine.
>You had a plan for today, though.
>Stepping out the door, you're greeted with a fine sunshine and cool breeze.
>You could get used to the weather here.
>First stop was Twilight's library: you had one last favour to ask.
>Spike answers the door, but you stop him from calling out to Twilight.
"I need a favour from you, Spike."
>"Sure, Anon, what is it?"
>You hold out the letter.
>"Uh... I'm not sure about this Anon, I'm really only supposed to send letters from Twilight..."
"Read it, then."
>He opens it up.
>"Dear Princess Celestia; its Anon this time.  I would like to humbly invite you to the grand opening of Ponyville Nursery for Hearts and Hooves Day.  In addition, I would also like to extend a gift in thanks for your help with my illness.  Sincerely, Anonymous."
>You wait for a few moments while Spike thinks it over.
>"Well... I guess it won't be a problem..."
>He trails off and toasts the letter, sending it off to the Princess.
>You'll never get used to that.
>The reply comes scant seconds later, burping out of Spike.
>He opens up the letter proudly.  "Deal."
>"Uh, Anon, what does that mean?"
"It worked.  Thanks a bunch Spike, you're a big help.  And... don't work too hard," you ruffle his spines and hobble away.
>Step one of the plan had worked flawlessly, you'd already gotten an answer from the Princess, relieving you of that possible kink.
>Step two might be a bit trickier.
>You step and cane your way across town, greeting the few p0nies out and about with a wag of your cane.
>Evidently p0nies didn't have canes, though you do remember seeing a walker once.
>Just another thing that makes you stand out, or stick out, depending.


>After a while of walking and a tap later, you've made it to the school.
>Perfect timing, the young fillies and colts were just arriving for school.
>You remember Featherweight from when you'd visited, and spotted him looking over something.
>He was easy to spot, what with him being skin and bones compared to the other p0nies.
>He had a camera around his neck, too.
>Technology was sure arbitrary around here: some things were modernized, others still ran on candles.
"Featherweight?"
>He stumbles and looks up at you.
>You painfully kneel down to level the playing field a bit, this needed to work.
"I have something I'd like in the newspaper, if you'll have it."
>His huge ears flutter.
>"Let's see it!"
>You hold out the paper that you'd penned the previous night.
>He reads it over.
>You had written an article about yourself, giving a few vague details about how you'd arrived in Equestria.
>The article went on to say that it looked like you'd become a long-term resident of Ponyville, and as such you were going to start a life.
>A life that involved opening up the Ponyville Nursery.
>The kicker came at the end though.
>You said that the Princess would be attending the grand opening for Hearts and Hooves Day, and that you'd be presenting her with a gift arrangement.
>And the deathblow...
>Five other lucky couples in attendance during the day would be receiving a similar gift.  Fit for a Princess (or Prince!).
>You bit your lip.
>It was an advertisement thinly veiled as a news article.
>If it didn't work, you'd have dragged the Princess away from Canterlot for pretty bullshit reasons.
>"This is great Anon!  I'll put it in right away!"
>You wiped away a bit of sweat off your brow.
"Thanks, is there anything I need to do for you?"
>"Nope!  I'll take care of it!"  Editor's pride you guessed.
>And that was that.
>You thanked him again, greeted the young foals going into class, and left.
>That plan had worked.
>It literally could not have gone better.
>You hobble back to the Nursery; you had a lot of things to do.