_“Everypony else came down with horsey hives, and even though I didn’t, I still couldn’t make it for the photo.“

“You didn’t get sick?“

“No, I had a dentist appointment. I didn’t catch horsey hives because I had it last year – they found out early, and I spent almost three weeks home.“

“Not the hospital?“

“Nah, it was just me, and it wasn’t that serious. I mean, I was pretty tired at first, but pretty soon, I was just bored.“

“Bored?“

“Yeah. There just wasn’t anyone to talk to most of the time. My parents had to work, and almost nopony from our class could visit.“

“Why not?“

“Their parents didn’t want them to get sick. I got a get well card from the class though, so that was nice. But now, it’s was the other way around, and I knew how much it sucked. Still, it’s… um, never mind.“

“Something else on your mind?“

“I… It’s noting. I mean… I feel like a jerk just thinking it.“

“Thinking what?“

“Just that… well, almost everypony got sick, and those who didn’t couldn’t even visit, because almost nopony had horsey hives before. It’s not like I wanted them to get sick… it’s just that… I’m not exactly the most popular guy in the class, you know? But other than me, the visitors were parents, nurses, doctors… you know.“

“I suppose the ponies would get tired of talking to the same ponies all the time, especially if they were adults.“

“Yeah. I sorta became the guy who’d bring them the latest news. I probably ended up talking to more ponies than even knew I existed before. It was kinda nice, especially some.“

“So what happened when things went back to normal?“

“Well, things mostly went back the way they were before. But I still have a couple more people saying hi to me each day. And that’s pretty fine with me.”_