“Your New Body”
December 3rd, 2012
I woke up with a loud gasp and I inhaled deeply, it felt like I was choked out. As I recollected myself, a voice came from my right side.
“He’s awake!” a female voice exclaimed.
I looked at the pony in who was in a doctor uniform and a mare who wore a white medical hat with a red cross.
“Mister Caleb? Are you feeling all right?” the doctor asked.
“Any numbness or pain?” the nurse asked.
“Um, no, I’m feeling fine. Where am I? Where’s Twilight and Spike?” I asked as I looked around the room.
“You’re in the hospital right now. Your friends are off somewhere at the moment. They left you some get well gifts, too.” the doctor informed me.
I looked to my right and saw all these get well gifts, that sort of stuff.
“What happened to me?" I asked. "All I remember is going through a living hell and then I woke up here.” I said.
“Your body seemed to have gone into a long term stasis and a dramatic change within the period of three weeks. It’s December 3rd today.” the doctor informed.
“Three weeks? Jesus. What have I missed?” I asked.
“Not much, besides the seasons changing. At least from what I know.” the nurse said.
“Oh, okay," I replied. "By the way, what did you mean by my body going through a dramatic change?”
“Look at your hand and see for yourself." the doctor said.
I raised my hand to my face and realized that my hand was probably twice the size it was originally. My eyes went wide at the increased size of my hand.
“What happened?!” I asked, surprised.
“Well, it appears your skeletal system and your muscular system have significantly grown in size since the day you arrived here.” the doctor said.
I looked at my arms and they were more muscular than before. They weren’t anything close to Arnold Schwarzenegger, but just very toned and defined. I went to check out the rest of my body and my face went hot when I realized I was naked.
“AH! Where’s my clothes?!” I exclaimed, embarrassed as I covered myself up.
“Your clothes tore when your body grew too big for them. We would’ve gave you hospital clothes, but they’re only intended for pony use.” the nurse explained.
“Oh. I’m just not used to being naked in front of others. It’s my society’s norm to wear clothes all the time.” I said.
“We apologize. Speaking of clothes, a kind mare named Rarity came in and took measurements on your new body recently and came back the next day with some clothes that would suit you.” the doctor informed.
The doctor walked over to the tables beside me with all the gifts I got and pulled out a larger replica of my original t-shirt and jeans. I also received a very nice winter coat along with a pair of gloves and a winter hat. I also got a note from Rarity as well.
Dear Caleb,
Although this type of clothing isn't exactly my preferred taste in clothing, I made you a replica of your original outfit. Hope this helps out a lot!
Best Wishes!
-Rarity
“Got a few more,” the doctor said as he showed me more pairs of jeans, t-shirts and long sleeved shirts. The doctor set them nicely next to me and turned his attention to the nurse. “Nurse Redheart, would you mind getting our patient here some breakfast. It has been awhile since he's ate something.” the doctor requested.
“Yes, Doctor.” Redheart replied as she walked out of the room.
“Hey, Doc, speaking of names, I never got yours.” I said.
“Oh, my bad. My name is Doctor Trottier, it’s an honor to be caring for you,” he introduced as we shook hands. “Nurse Redheart will be right with you. Holler if you need anything.”
“Thanks, doc.” I said.
After Doctor Trottier left the room, I hopped off the bed and stood up. I stumbled for a second as I adjusted to my new height which was a whole lot higher than before. I felt like a giant. I looked around my body and it was pretty toned including my legs, arms and abdomen. Not much of a change, honestly. After inspecting my body, I took a pair of jeans and slipped them on. The jeans fitted perfectly. Next, I put my t-shirt on and that fitted pretty good too. I lied back on the bed when the nurse walked back into the room with my food.
“We have quite a meal for you today. Eggs, porridge, orange juice, and toast with jam. It’ll help your body get fueled up for the day.” Nurse Redheart said.
“Thanks, Redheart.” I said.
“You’re welcome. Anything else you need?” Redheart asked.
“No. That’ll be all.” I said.
“Okay then. Eat up and we’ll be back for dishes when you finish.” Redheart said.
With that, she walked out of the room and I began to wolf down everything on the plate. Within five minutes tops, I ate everything clean off my plate.
“Much better.” I said to myself.
Trottier and Redheart walked back into the room and Redheart took my dishes out of the room.
“Are you feeling good enough to walk?” Trottier asked.
“Yep. I’m good.” I replied.
“Very good. Now we need to do a little physical exam on you. So please, follow me.” Trottier said.
I hopped off the bed and proceeded to follow Trottier and Redheart. We turned to a little corner which had a height measurer and a weight scale.
“Line yourself up with the height scale, please.” Redheart instructed.
When I aligned my body with the wall and scale, I exceeded past my previous height of 6'1. Nurse Redheart tried to reach my full height with extra measuring tape, but couldn’t. Trottier, who was a unicorn, used his magic to levitate the tape up to the top of my head.
“Looks like…. 7’8". You really grew!” Nurse Redheart exclaimed.
“Wow! my previous height was like six foot-one. That’s incredible!” I said.
“Six foot-one? We’ll take note of that.” Trottier said.
“Now, please, step on the weight scale.” Redheart said.
I stepped onto the weight scale and the number wheel spun until the red needle landed on three-hundred and twenty-nine pounds.
“Now do you know your previous weight by any chance?” Trottier asked.
“Yes I do. It was one-hundred and ninety pounds.” I replied.
“Thank you.” Trottier responded.
The rest of the exam is what you would expect from physical exams that you would usually get. They checked out my breathing, eyes, basic motor functions and etcetera.
After the exam, they told me to stay in bed and that I could be discharged around 1:00 PM if I was feeling like I was adjusted to my body. The hospital also notified Twilight that I was in tip-top shape and ready for discharge.
I sat in the bed while moving my limbs around to adjust to the new feel. When I mean by feel, I mean that it feels very easy to move. I can take longer strides when I walk, I can move my limbs with very quick movements, and I can jump much higher as well. I manage to to touch the ceiling, which was a good fifteen or eighteen feet.
After waiting for a couple hours, I was informed that Twilight and the other five we’re here and I could leave when ready. I grabbed my new clothes and headed downstairs to the main lobby. I entered the lobby and there they were.
“Hey, guys!” I said.
All of them stared at me in shock and amazement at my new appearance.
“What do ya think?” I asked.
“Looks like that potion worked after all! We thought you were dying or sick at first.” Twilight said.
“Nope, just the potion doing its thing.” I said.
“Are you feeling alright?” Fluttershy asked.
“I feel like a million bits.” I replied.
“Oh thank goodness.” Fluttershy said.
“Thanks for the new clothes and all, Rarity.” I said as I slipped on my coat.
“Why you’re quite welcome, darling.” Rarity said.
“So Applejack, I think I might take that job after all.” I mentioned.
“Heh, about that. It’s not fall anymore, it’s winter time.” Applejack said with her foreleg behind her head.
“Ohh, yeah. That sucks.” I said.
“Maybe sometime in the spring you can help out.” Applejack said.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I said.
The clerk at the desk called me over and asked me sign a few papers before I left. I signed them, and we left the hospital. When we walked out, I was hit with a blast of cold air as little snowflakes blew into my face.
“Gah!” I exclaimed.
“Ha! Cold out ain’t it?” Rainbow asked.
“Cold? Its freezing out here.” I said.
Right after I said that, a snowball hit me right in the chest.
“Hey, who did that?” I asked.
“Me!” responded a familiar high pitched voice.
“Pinkie….” I said, softly.
“Hi there, Bigfoot!” Pinkie chirped.
“So it’s gonna be like that?” I questioned.
“Maybe….” Pinkie said back, slyly.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” I said as I packed the snow into a ball shape and threw it at her and missed.
“Snowball fight!” Pinkie yelled.
Everyone scattered around the front yard of the hospital and started creating their own snowballs. I quickly created two dozens of snowballs and made a pile next to me while I built a little snow wall to protect myself.
“Hey everyone, get Caleb!” Rainbow shouted.
“Oh no you don’t!” I shouted back.
I made more snowballs for the barrage that was yet to come. I peeked over the wall and saw that they were coming towards me. With no delay, I started to throw snowballs at them at a fast pace. They tried to evade them, but ended up getting hit by the bombardment.
“Dodge faster, ponies!” I laughed.
Rainbow was the only one who could easily make quick maneuvers to dodge them. I realized they were flanking me when one snowball hit me from the side. I went to grab another snowball, but found out I had none left.
“What? What is this?” I exclaimed to myself.
“Get him!” Rainbow yelled while they pelted me with snowballs.
I got up onto my feet and began to run away. When I ran, I felt like I was running way faster than I could run before. I looked behind me and saw Rainbow gaining on me while I slowly outran the others. I could tell Rainbow was right on top of me, so I jumped as high as I could and caught her in mid-air.
“Gotcha!” I said.
Me and Rainbow began to wrestle on the ground and I managed to pin her down. She struggled to escape, but to now avail. I looked over at the other five and said,
“Oh yeah, I forgot about you guys.” I said, slowly.
“Okay, Caleb. You win.” Rainbow said.
“I am the champion!” I declared out loud.
After our little snowball fight and a good laugh, we decided to head back to our homes and warm up for a while. Me and Twilight arrived back at the treehouse which was absolutely much warmer than it was outside.
“Hey, Caleb.” Spike greeted.
“Hi, Spike. What's up?” I asked.
“Twilight told me to make some hot chocolate for us when you got back.” Spike said.
“Hot chocolate on a cold day? This day just got a whole lot better! Thanks, Spike.” I said as he handed a nice, hot cup of hot cocoa.
I sipped on the hot cocoa which was not to flat and not to rich. It was a perfect taste.
“Mmmm, very good.” I complimented.
“What happened over these past three weeks?” I asked Twilight.
“A great deal.” Twilight said.
“Rarity got ponynapped by Diamond Dogs while me and her were gem hunting.” Spike said.
“Ponynapped? She was stolen?” I asked.
“Yeah, but we saved her.” Spike said.
“And what the heck are Diamond Dogs? Is that the name of some gang or something?” I asked.
“Diamond Dogs are far from just being a gang name. Diamond Dogs are these creatures that have characteristics of dogs and like to keep fancy items for themselves. Rarity was ponynapped while her and Spike were up somewhere outside Ponyville.” Twilight explained.
“Damn, that’s pretty bad. If I ever come across those things, I'll have to see what they're deal is.” I said.
“I don’t think you’ll ever run into them, they usually live underground most of the time in their territories that are rich with gems.” Twilight said.
“That’s good. Anything else happen while I was out?” I asked.
“Yes. We went down to Appleloosa to help settle a feud between Appleloosa and a buffalo tribe.” Twilight said.
“A native tribe?” I asked.
“Yes. A native tribe of buffalo” Twilight responded
“Don’t tell me, it was a problem that involved land.” I guessed.
“Exactly.” Twilight said.
“How did you know?” Spike asked.
“Every problem with a native tribe always involves land. Did you guys resolve the problem?” I asked.
“We did. Appleloosa gets to keep their apple growing land and would share their products with the tribe which was agreeable with both parties.” Twilight explained.
“Well then, you guys were on quite an adventure through these past three weeks, huh?” I asked.
“It’s something that life throws at us every once in awhile.” Twilight admitted.
“Cool. Maybe I could tag along sometime if I can.” I said.
“If you're in the right place at the right time..... Oh, I can’t believe I almost forgot to mention this.” Twilight said while giving slapping herself in the face.
“What?” I asked.
“The princess responded to the letter Spike sent while you were out in the hospital.” Twilight announced.
“She did? What did she say?” I asked.
“Here’s the letter.” Twilight said as levitated the letter to me.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I am excited to hear of our new arrival here in Equestria. When you receive this letter, please lend this to Caleb and the rest below will be directed towards him.
Greetings, Caleb. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you. From what I heard, you have made yourself publicly know in Ponyville and struck up a strong friendship with Twilight; my faithful student. I take admiration in both of these accomplishments, but that’s not why I’m writing. I’m writing this because I’d like to meet you personally at my castle in Canterlot. Please respond when you have the time so that I know if meeting you is possible. And again, welcome to Equestria.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
After I finished reading, I just stared off into space while thinking, “Did a princess pony just ask me to meet her personally?”
“Soooo?” Twilight said.
“Wha? Oh, yeah, that’s great….” I stuttered.
“You okay, Caleb?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m just a little overwhelmed at the moment.” I said.
I then asked Twilight for a piece of paper so that I could write a letter back to the princess. She handed me a piece of white, blank paper and a quill. With that, I wrote a response letter
Dear Princess Celestia,
It was very nice to receive a letter from the Princess of Equestria. When I first arrived here in Equestria, I was lost and had no idea what to do, but your student, Twilight Sparkle, helped me see my way through life here as well as her friends. But I digress. It would be great to meet you in Canterlot. I don’t exactly know what your royal schedule is through the day, but set up a date so that I know when I should come. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Caleb Lee Barlow
“Alright, Spike, send it.” I said
Spike blew his magical green flames at the letter, which made it dissolve into pieces of ash.
“Now we just wait.” Spike said.
“Sounds good.” I said.
While I thought for a while about what to do next, I thought about Zecora.
“I think I'm gonna head to Zecora’s and show her the effects of the potion I took. She’ll be surprised.” I said.
“Okay. You remember the way?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, I remember.” I said.
“Bundle up, then. It’s chilly out there.” Twilight said.