A New Age of Friendship (An mlp fanfiction)

Chapter 8

The first thing Meadow saw when she gained consciousness was her mother's anxious face.

"Oh, thank goodness. Are you okay?" Cried Fluttershy, her eyes puffy, a clear sign that she had been crying. "You are so badly burnt. I can't believe you went into a fire. I know you were trying to save Ivy but you could have at least extinguished the fire firs-"

"OW!" Yelled the young pegasus. She had been attempting to prop herself on her pillows. Her burns and bruises caused her great pain.

"It's alright. You just got a...... few burns," Said Fluttershy soothingly, running a hoof through her daughter's charred hair.

Meadow looked down her own body to find it mostly a deep mustard yellow, unlike it's usual buttercream colour. She winced, wondering how long it would take to heal such burns.

Then a thought occured to her.

"Where's Ivy? Is she okay?" Meadow asked, eyes filled with worry.

"She's alright. Thanks to you, she's hardly burnt, just shaken," Assured Fluttershy. "I'm afraid we'll have to trim off your burnt hair..."

Meadow nodded, trying hard not to cry. The whole event traumatised her, though she was glad her sister was safe.

"Meadow's dinner!" Called a cheery voice. A white pony with red hair came into the room, pushing a cart. It was none other than Nurse Redheart's daughter; a trainee nurse called Nurse Boldheart.

Meadow thanked the young nurse as she handed Meadow a tray holding a glass of orange juice, a plate of spaghetti and a bowl of ice-cream.

As Meadow ate, her mind wandered. It was so lucky that they were saved. Come to think of it, they were saved by cotton candy rainclouds. But...who could conjure up such clouds? The only creature Meadow could think of was Uncle Discord. But he wasn't there at the time.....was he?

Questions whizzed round her head, until finally a soft voice broke her out of her trance.

"Meadow?"

Meadow looked up to see her little sister standing next to her bed, a few plasters stuck at various places of her body.

" Ivy! I'm so glad your okay!" Meadow exclaimed, hugging her sister tightly, wincing at the pain it brought her.

"I'm okay thanks to you.." Smiled Ivy, glancing down at her sister's patchy coat. "I'm sorry...."

Meadow's ears pricked up at those two words, looking deep into her sister's mismatched eyes. They were telling the truth.

" What do you have to apologise for?" Meadow inquired, puzzled.

"For this...." Her sister explained, gesturing at Meadow's burns. "If I wasn't in that hall, you wouldn't have had to rescue me and get hurt..."

Meadow was astonished.
"It wasn't your fault. You were in that hall because of the test. It was a compulsory test. It was just unlucky your test was during that period of time. As for my injuries...it was my own choice."

"But...I still feel really guilty.." Ivy murmured looking away from her sister's bruised face. She couldn't bear looking at it anymore.

"It.Is.Not.Your.Fault," Meadow insisted, nuzzling her sister lightly.

Ivy smiled, but then glanced at the clock.
"Mum said she's going to bring me home.."

At those words, Fluttershy galloped into the ward.
"Ivy, time to go." She beamed, reaching the bed.

"Mum? Before you go....can I ask you something?" Meadow asked, staring into her mother's teal eyes.

"Of course, sweetie," Fluttershy replied, placing some get well soon cards on her daughter's bedside.

"Well..." Meadow bit her lip before continuing. "We were saved by cotton candy clouds. How did that happen?"

Fluttershy went pale, eyes gleaming with regret and sorrow.

"I..I guess you are old enough to know..."

"Know what?" Ivy chipped in, a puzzled look painted on her face.

"Vine Tangle isn't your father..." Fluttershy began, choking on her own words.

"Then...who is?" Meadow inquired, not really sure how she should feel.

Fluttershy looked at both of her children individually, each of them in clear confusion. Finally, she took a deep breath. Her voice was hoarse and hardly more than a whisper, but both of her children could hear it.

"Discord."