Fever Enigmatic

Summer snapped back into working mode, and gave the order to her dad. Once that was taken care of, she turned back to Copper. "Shouldn't take too long. So what's up?

The check-up might be routine, but Fairy still didn't like the sound of that. How much poking and prodding would it take for them to realise that beneath the coat was a carapace of chitin? And being surrounded by so many doctors at once...
Not to mention the taste. The 'love' in a clinic was always tempered with sadness or professionalism. It might as well have been sour.

Hmm... maybe this was a good time for the truth.

"Oh, you're going to make me come right out and say it, aren't you?" she cried. The unicorn threw herself forward on the ground, her hooves held over her head.
"I'm scared of hospitals! Deathly scared! Just the mere mention of one makes my skin crawl!"

She raised her head, squeezing her hooves onto the bump as she did. It stung; but then, a little verisimilitude never hurt.

"Well," she demanded, tears filling her eyes. "I suppose you're going to laugh now! Everyone always does!"

"Take it easy," Marvel said, trying to calm the unicorn down. "I have a better idea, if Bitter Medicine agrees to it; perhaps it would be simpler if I just stay with you a few hours? That way we're not disrupting your day, and maybe you can help me get my bearings down a little better."

Fairy Charmer:

---

Copper Glow paced back in forth. "Just a long day with a lot of work. Andsomenewjerkintown. But it's no big deal.  Gotta eat, you know."

Summer raised an eyeridge. Did Copper have a run-in with that Treasure Map pony? "So what happened exactly?"

Spoiler:

"If You must," Fairy replied, tears replaced with a sigh. Whatever happened, a few hours was an improvement upon regular check-ups.

Not the best result, maybe...but probably the best she could get away with. She could work with this.

"Sure," Marvel replied, wriggling back into the harness with some difficulty, giving the nearby unicorns ((Plural)) a death glare that said "Don't you dare use your magic to help me". After some strugglingnshe was ready to pull.

"Why don't I meet you at that bakery? The Party, I think? We both know where that is, anyways."

"Bummer. So what's the new pony like? If Aunt Birthday wasn't going to talk about the new pony in detail, Summer would have to get details elsewhere.

Summer frowned at the mention of a cape. Aunt Birthday hadn't mentioned a cape, and that didn't sound particularly business-like to Summer. But Copper's next statement distracted her. "There's nothing wrong with capes."

ZamuelNow wrote:As the hay burger was brought out, Birthday Cake realized she had just enough time to get back to her shop.  Waiting for her was a zebra with brown stripes and orange in her hair that called to mind a sweet potato.  The zebra mare was eyeing the crater in front of the bakery.  Meanwhile, the oven was sitting upright, next to the store.

"Hello there!" Birthday Cake called out to the zebra - not exactly a common sight around town, but that was by no means and no ends any justification for being unneighborly. "Oh, I'm late openin' back up, aren't? Hoo, I am so sorry, sugar, I just stepped out for a bite to eat and I'm afraid I lost track of time!" She unlocked the door with a deft juggling of telekinetic mastery, or perhaps merely competence, but that alone was rare enough, it seemed. "Well, I'm here now, and ready to get some food made for you, if you like, Ms...?"

Spoiler:

Crystalite wrote:"Sure," Marvel replied, wriggling back into the harness with some difficulty, giving the nearby unicorns ((Plural)) a death glare that said "Don't you dare use your magic to help me". After some strugglingnshe was ready to pull.

"Why don't I meet you at that bakery? The Party, I think? We both know where that is, anyways."

"Yes... I suppose that makes sense. Right now, I think I'd meet you anywhere that Fluffy isn't. Or a hospital," she added quickly, shaking her head.

"I suppose I'll see you then," the mare said, walking in the opposite direction, and suppressing the urge to break into a grin.
Okay, the situation wasn't optimal, but things were working out much better than she had hoped.

Copper Glow snorted but continued pacing. "You sound like Silver.  I mean, it's not like capes do anything.  And even so, that mare made all three of us pull her cart when only one was needed."

---

The zebra seemed quite enthused by the shop, "Sweet Julienne.  And before you ask, my mother loved fries.  Lovely store you have here. No worries about being late. Can't rush perfection."

" Sure, capes can do things. Maybe she has some sort of scarring she doesn't want ponies to stare at." Winter's cape had been and still was pretty important to him. "And, well, you did drop the stove on her cart in the first place."

Sunset Stroll waited until Fairy Charmer was a ways off before turning to Marvelous Misfortune. "5 minutes ago, you agreed with me that Fairy Charmer was going to be just fine. Just now you insisted that she get a more thorough inspection. Explain yourself. Please."

Copper Glow stopped in place. "Scarring? Well, if that's the case, maybe she found the wrong pony to push around. Though I doubt that's the case because you'd think she'd have learned better. It's not like we were just going to leave the cart there, it just just doesn't take three to pull it. We'll get her stuff replaced but it's gonna come out of our pocket. Not like she thought of that, especially since we also need to replace the oven. Didn't help that Gold and Silver tried to pass the blame off to me. Astheyalwaysdo. But it'll be okay. Just been an absolutely sunshiny and fan-pony-tastic day ever since Fluffy Crust's toaster got stuck to my face. I mean, what else can go wrong?" She stopped as she realized she had been getting louder and was now out of breath.

"She is gonna be fine. That's what bothers me," Marvel replied. "I know what a head/horn wound looks like. I've seen soldiers get minor fractures from a blow like that... And all she got was a mild concussion. No chance of a hard-hat spell, that would've stopped it all together unless she fluked it. And don't even try to tell me "she got lucky". No, something is up with her, and I intend to find out what. And Fluffy Crust! If that's where she goes to bed at night, how is she still alive!? Questions, questions. How dearly I hate them," she ranted, stopping to huff against the wagon and give Sunset a chance to respond.

As the class finished the pop quiz, Apple Bright made an announcement.  "I know you've all been patient but today is the day for the class field trip! Everypony find a spot on the cart as I get ready. Some of you know where you should be sitting." She eyed Sunsprinkle before nodding the foals on.

ZamuelNow wrote:The zebra seemed quite enthused by the shop, "Sweet Julienne.  And before you ask, my mother loved fries.  Lovely store you have here. No worries about being late.  Can't rush perfection."

Birthday smiled. "Thank you so much for being understanding," she said, stepping briskly into the shop, or perhaps just the slightest bit warmly. "Now, what can I get for you? Oh, and I should tell you," she dropped her tone to conspiratorial levels at this juncture, "We might be having a good chunk of tiny feet around here in just a few minutes, so keep your eyes out and your ears open."

Summer was a bit taken aback by Copper's outburst. "O-Oh. Well, I'm so sorry. Why don't you take a seat. Would you like anything to drink while you wait?"

---

Winter hung back like he usually did when everypony crowded some place, hoping to get a seat near the corner of the cart. He had forgotten about the class field trip, and wasn't even sure where they were going, but was too embarrassed to ask.

ZamuelNow wrote:"I know how to make myself scarce when the guests show up.  As far as the order, I'm curious to what the master chef recommends.  However, I'm surprised you're not addressing that big hole outside.  Or has that always been there?"

Birthday chuckled, somewhat nervous and mostly apologetic. "Well, to be perfectly honest, I was waiting for you to bring that up, sugar. We had a little bit of an accident earlier today - nopony was hurt, but I suppose that carts'll be nervous around my little shop for a while." She giggled, trying to distract from the topic at hand with a change of subject so simple and straightforward most politicians wouldn't even recognize its existence. "Now let's see...I've got some fresh banana bread that's just finished baking, and if you don't a bit of horn-shinin' I have to say my muffins are absolutely divine." Smiling, her horn indeed lit up as she opened the oven door to take the banana bread out, just as she said. "And in addition to that, I do believe I can call this a treat, if you're willing to wait a minute or two, I can whip up the meanest apple fritter this side of Sweet Apple Acres! Oh, and of course, whatever you like'll be half-off, you're a first time customer after all, and I won't take no for an answer, dearie."