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Description
"Some time today please!"

"I said I'm coming already!"

"So is tomorrow, and we can't afford to still be doing this then, so engage that lazy flank of yours and move!" The two girls laughed throughout the exchange. They'd quickly become fond of each other and farcical arguments were common. Currently, Valorous the Earth mare was lugging boxes of books down the central corridor of the private study area perched atop of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Being an Earth pony, the effort wasn't exactly draining for her, but she still would have appreciated a bit more magical assistance from Brightlight Bluesky. The unicorn filly was instead largely devoting her attention to marching stacks of paper down the corridor as if they were in a parade. "Stop wasting your magic playing with that paper, and use it to help me shift your brother's army of books instead!" came another bellow. Sky sighed heavily before levitating the paper to a nearby shelf.

As she ambled down the corridor to find an unclaimed box of books to relocate, she stuck her head through her brother's bedroom doorway. She saw him sitting on a stool, gazing blankly into a mirror. Every few moments he raised a sheet of paper to his face and tried to read what was written on it. After succeeding only when the paper was mere inches from his eyes, he'd lower it and return his gaze to the mirror.

Sky sighed again, this time in all seriousness. Val kept reassuring her that her brother would get over it and be back to his old self soon, but she never specified the exact date of 'soon'. Princess Celestia also tried to allay her fears, but Sky couldn't help thinking that Bee would never be the same again.

She did still call him Bee, out of familiarity, and he liked that, even though his lifelong nickname was no longer appropriate. Celestia also continued to call him Bee, having only recently deviated from the technically correct 'Wonderwhy'. Val, on the other hoof, was not yet used to calling him anything in particular, given the novelty of their friendship, but she'd been leaning towards Blue in the last few days. No points there for originality, but he liked it all the same.

"Shock horror, you're helping," Val laughed as Sky finally appeared at the door to the study area, magically shoving a box in front of her. She added it to the pile of others before adjusting the big purple bow in her mane.

"What?" she whined when she saw Val rolling her eyes. "Just because you don't try to look nice doesn't m-"

"Ha, as if I need to try," Val retorted as she grimaced and hunched her back.

Wonderwhy heard his sister laugh in response and snapped out of his reverie. When he checked his trusty green watch he realised that he'd been sitting in front of his mirror for neigh-on two hours.

Since he'd regained consciousness, his mirror had commanded more of his attention than anything else. Far from narcissistic, he found it hard to tear his gaze away from the smooth surface not because it showed him anything captivatingly beautiful, but rather, it showed him something that was a fascinating blend between being disturbing and miraculous.

His mind could not convince itself that the pony in the mirror was its own body. It was used to looking at mirrors through brown eyes and seeing a very tall Pegasus, with an eye-watering black-and-yellow coat, and draconic wings sprouting from its back. It certainly wasn't used to looking through greyish-aquamarine eyes and seeing a moderately tall blue Earth pony, topped with a purplish mop of a mane. Strictly speaking he was still a Pegasus, but his night-time face-off with Temporal had relieved him of his wings.

His other lingering signs of battle were also a source of intrigue. He hadn't even heard of the word 'anosmia' before that night on the grassy plain, but now he thought of it frequently. His lack of smell was no mystery though; his blue face hadn't yet healed the ugly magical burn that blackened the area between his eyes and stretched down his muzzle. Although his sight had been spared, it was not untouched, and he found getting about anywhere other than his study area difficult. Having lived there for several years, he could sail around it nonchalantly with his eyes shut if he wanted to, but on his few outings to the hospital and the castle, he had quickly discovered that unfamiliar floors were challenging and unpleasant.

He gently traced a hoof over the small scratches covering his face. They were the result of his glasses exploding when he was hit with the final attack from the Prince, but their minute forms had almost completely disappeared already. He had yet to get his new eyes formally tested and new glasses prescribed, but in any case he suspected that glasses could never now restore his sight as they had done before. As he turned to get off his stool, a loud click reminded him of the final legacy he'd inherited from the Prince. The jolt of pain accompanying the click made him automatically reach for his left hock. The tender joint looked just fine if you didn't stare long enough to notice the subtle twist that made his back left hoof turn out from his body slightly. The joint's aesthetics were thanks to Celestia securing 'the finest medical hooves in Canterlot' but nothing could be done to mend it fully. He winced as he clicked his way over to his bed, putting as much weight on his other three legs as possible.

He made it to his bed and flopped down on his stomach. He opened his eyes again after everything stopped aching, and he noticed a blue shape in his doorway.

"How's it going?" he asked as the blueness approached from across the room.

"Almost done now, would have finished ages ago if that sister of yours put her back into it," the pony replied as she came into focus. Wonderwhy smiled as Valorous sat down on the stool by his mirror.

"Finally you've worked out she's allergic to labour, be it physical or magical or even mental."

"Nah, she's a good foal really," Val said as she flicked her tail between the legs of the stool. "Granted, she can be a stubborn strop when she wants to be."

"Unlike me. I sometimes forget we're related." He croaked a laugh as Val poked her tongue out at him.

"Your voice sounds a lot better, how does your throat feel?" He just nodded in response while running a hoof along his neck. He was suddenly aware of a fuzzy white blob in his doorway, but when he turned his head to get a better look it vanished down the corridor in a scrabbling trot. Val heard the commotion and turned around to yell at the intruder, "Did I say you could take a break? Get back to work! I expect at least three more boxes on the pile by the time I get back!" A raspberry being blown in the distance signalled that the message was received and understood.

"Why does she spy on me all the time?" Wonderwhy queried aloud. "It's not like I'm hiding secrets in here or anything."

"She just wuvs you and wants to make sure you're alright," Val explained with a laugh. She eased off the stool and plopped down on the bed next to him. "So do I Blue," she said as she playfully messed up his mane. "I better get back and make sure she isn't dismantling one of your priceless ornaments."

Wonderwhy nodded as he watched Val stand and slowly blur out of focus as she walked back across the room and towards the door. She turned around one last time before disappearing.

"Gimme a shout if you need anything!" With that she trotted out of sight altogether.

Wonderwhy relaxed his neck and let his head sink into the pillow. He closed his eyes as his face started tingling again. Val's last cheery words floated around his head as he felt himself drifting off into yet another nap, making up for his invariably bad nights of fidgeting to get his leg comfortable. In his mind's eye, he could always 'see' Val crystal-clear, however near or far she actually was. Her words slowly faded away as Wonderwhy let himself sleep. His lips curled into one last small smile.

I need only to know you're nearby Val. Nothing more.

Description
"Some time today please!"

"I said I'm coming already!"

"So is tomorrow, and we can't afford to still be doing this then, so engage that lazy flank of yours and move!" The two girls laughed throughout the exchange. They'd quickly become fond of each other and farcical arguments were common. Currently, Valorous the Earth mare was lugging boxes of books down the central corridor of the private study area perched atop of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Being an Earth pony, the effort wasn't exactly draining for her, but she still would have appreciated a bit more magical assistance from Brightlight Bluesky. The unicorn filly was instead largely devoting her attention to marching stacks of paper down the corridor as if they were in a parade. "Stop wasting your magic playing with that paper, and use it to help me shift your brother's army of books instead!" came another bellow. Sky sighed heavily before levitating the paper to a nearby shelf.

As she ambled down the corridor to find an unclaimed box of books to relocate, she stuck her head through her brother's bedroom doorway. She saw him sitting on a stool, gazing blankly into a mirror. Every few moments he raised a sheet of paper to his face and tried to read what was written on it. After succeeding only when the paper was mere inches from his eyes, he'd lower it and return his gaze to the mirror.

Sky sighed again, this time in all seriousness. Val kept reassuring her that her brother would get over it and be back to his old self soon, but she never specified the exact date of 'soon'. Princess Celestia also tried to allay her fears, but Sky couldn't help thinking that Bee would never be the same again.

She did still call him Bee, out of familiarity, and he liked that, even though his lifelong nickname was no longer appropriate. Celestia also continued to call him Bee, having only recently deviated from the technically correct 'Wonderwhy'. Val, on the other hoof, was not yet used to calling him anything in particular, given the novelty of their friendship, but she'd been leaning towards Blue in the last few days. No points there for originality, but he liked it all the same.

"Shock horror, you're helping," Val laughed as Sky finally appeared at the door to the study area, magically shoving a box in front of her. She added it to the pile of others before adjusting the big purple bow in her mane.

"What?" she whined when she saw Val rolling her eyes. "Just because you don't try to look nice doesn't m-"

"Ha, as if I need to try," Val retorted as she grimaced and hunched her back.

Wonderwhy heard his sister laugh in response and snapped out of his reverie. When he checked his trusty green watch he realised that he'd been sitting in front of his mirror for neigh-on two hours.

Since he'd regained consciousness, his mirror had commanded more of his attention than anything else. Far from narcissistic, he found it hard to tear his gaze away from the smooth surface not because it showed him anything captivatingly beautiful, but rather, it showed him something that was a fascinating blend between being disturbing and miraculous.

His mind could not convince itself that the pony in the mirror was its own body. It was used to looking at mirrors through brown eyes and seeing a very tall Pegasus, with an eye-watering black-and-yellow coat, and draconic wings sprouting from its back. It certainly wasn't used to looking through greyish-aquamarine eyes and seeing a moderately tall blue Earth pony, topped with a purplish mop of a mane. Strictly speaking he was still a Pegasus, but his night-time face-off with Temporal had relieved him of his wings.

His other lingering signs of battle were also a source of intrigue. He hadn't even heard of the word 'anosmia' before that night on the grassy plain, but now he thought of it frequently. His lack of smell was no mystery though; his blue face hadn't yet healed the ugly magical burn that blackened the area between his eyes and stretched down his muzzle. Although his sight had been spared, it was not untouched, and he found getting about anywhere other than his study area difficult. Having lived there for several years, he could sail around it nonchalantly with his eyes shut if he wanted to, but on his few outings to the hospital and the castle, he had quickly discovered that unfamiliar floors were challenging and unpleasant.

He gently traced a hoof over the small scratches covering his face. They were the result of his glasses exploding when he was hit with the final attack from the Prince, but their minute forms had almost completely disappeared already. He had yet to get his new eyes formally tested and new glasses prescribed, but in any case he suspected that glasses could never now restore his sight as they had done before. As he turned to get off his stool, a loud click reminded him of the final legacy he'd inherited from the Prince. The jolt of pain accompanying the click made him automatically reach for his left hock. The tender joint looked just fine if you didn't stare long enough to notice the subtle twist that made his back left hoof turn out from his body slightly. The joint's aesthetics were thanks to Celestia securing 'the finest medical hooves in Canterlot' but nothing could be done to mend it fully. He winced as he clicked his way over to his bed, putting as much weight on his other three legs as possible.

He made it to his bed and flopped down on his stomach. He opened his eyes again after everything stopped aching, and he noticed a blue shape in his doorway.

"How's it going?" he asked as the blueness approached from across the room.

"Almost done now, would have finished ages ago if that sister of yours put her back into it," the pony replied as she came into focus. Wonderwhy smiled as Valorous sat down on the stool by his mirror.

"Finally you've worked out she's allergic to labour, be it physical or magical or even mental."

"Nah, she's a good foal really," Val said as she flicked her tail between the legs of the stool. "Granted, she can be a stubborn strop when she wants to be."

"Unlike me. I sometimes forget we're related." He croaked a laugh as Val poked her tongue out at him.

"Your voice sounds a lot better, how does your throat feel?" He just nodded in response while running a hoof along his neck. He was suddenly aware of a fuzzy white blob in his doorway, but when he turned his head to get a better look it vanished down the corridor in a scrabbling trot. Val heard the commotion and turned around to yell at the intruder, "Did I say you could take a break? Get back to work! I expect at least three more boxes on the pile by the time I get back!" A raspberry being blown in the distance signalled that the message was received and understood.

"Why does she spy on me all the time?" Wonderwhy queried aloud. "It's not like I'm hiding secrets in here or anything."

"She just wuvs you and wants to make sure you're alright," Val explained with a laugh. She eased off the stool and plopped down on the bed next to him. "So do I Blue," she said as she playfully messed up his mane. "I better get back and make sure she isn't dismantling one of your priceless ornaments."

Wonderwhy nodded as he watched Val stand and slowly blur out of focus as she walked back across the room and towards the door. She turned around one last time before disappearing.

"Gimme a shout if you need anything!" With that she trotted out of sight altogether.

Wonderwhy relaxed his neck and let his head sink into the pillow. He closed his eyes as his face started tingling again. Val's last cheery words floated around his head as he felt himself drifting off into yet another nap, making up for his invariably bad nights of fidgeting to get his leg comfortable. In his mind's eye, he could always 'see' Val crystal-clear, however near or far she actually was. Her words slowly faded away as Wonderwhy let himself sleep. His lips curled into one last small smile.

I need only to know you're nearby Val. Nothing more.