It had been a few hours since Duke and Tempora’s argument. Duke was walking through the hallways still a bit angry about the ordeal he was in.
“This is Just great! I’m stuck in some freakazoid coma, and the only thing my brain can give me for company is a bunch of babies, and a stupid incompetent, OW!”
Duke’s horn whacked into a low hanging tree branch.
“If this thing is just an illusion, then why does it actually hurt?” Duke asked no one in particular.
Duke walked into an indoor garden of sorts and plopped down on a bench. The ceiling was in ruins, revealing the moon in the sky.
“what am I gonna do?” Duke asked himself as he drifted to sleep.
The little pink foal watched as the new pony stopped moving.
“why is new pony not moving?” she thought.
The foal looked down at the bag she had dragged from the kitchen.
“new pony’s not smiling. Mommy gives me num nums when I’m not smiling, so it should work for new pony, right?”
Duke had been in a deep sleep for a few minutes when he felt something tugging at his scarf.
“ng… who in their right mind would be up this hour?” Duke thought to himself.
Duke opened his eyes to a pair of blue eyes staring back at him a few inches away.
“Wha!” exclaimed Duke as tumbled off one side of the bench.
The foal walked around the bench to find duke flat on his back.
“Ok, maybe these new additions aren’t illusions.” wheezed duke.
The foal looked at Duke concerned.
“Don’t worry about me kid, I’m fine,” Duke said consoling the foal.
“What are you doing out here?” Duke asked as he stood up, “you shouldn’t be up around this hour.”
The pink foal looked up at Duke with a smile, before trotting over to a large bag lying on its side, next to the bench. The foal went inside the bag and came out slowly pushing a plate about as big as herself.
On the plate was a single slice of a white bread loaf.
The foal then pushed the plate until it was in front of duke’s front legs.
“Uh, is this for me?” duke asked pointing to the bread than to himself.
The foal nodded her head.
“Um, thank you,” Duke said as he gave the foal a light pat on the head, to which the foal giggled.
“ok, this kid’s definitely special.” Duke thought to himself as he looked from the foal to the bread. “now, how to eat this.”
A few minutes later, Duke was left with a pink foal and a squashed piece of bread.
“This would be so much easier with hands…” Duke said out loud.
Then an idea came to Duke.
“That’s it! I’ll just take the scarf off! Easy as pie, just gotta get this under here…”
The foal watched duke struggle with the scarf with an expression that can only be described as “confusion divided by curiosity.”
After several minutes messing with the scarf, duke gave up and sat down with his back to the bench.
Duke closed his eyes. “I wish I could have my old body back.”
Duke was almost asleep when the foal started nudging his hand.
Wait, hand?
Duke’s eyes shot open at the fact he could feel the floor with his fingers!
“How did I…” Duke asked. He just stared at his hands for a few minutes as the pink foal looked at him in awe.
“How did new pony do that?” The foal thought as she looked from duke to her own hoof, “can I do that?”
Then something occurred that hadn't happened in nearly five years.
Duke started to giggle, then it became full-on laughter as he started to jump and dance around the room. The foal joined in, even though she didn’t know why. She was just happy that the new pony was all smiley.
“HA HA! WHOO! Can you believe it, kid?! I got my hands back!”
The foal stopped dancing, instead opting to sit still like she was concentrating on something really hard.
“h-hamds.”
Duke looked at the foal with his jaw hanging low. Here he was, probably in a coma, and the foal he was practically babysitting, had quite just possibly said her first word. And it was about his hands.
A small smile crossed Duke’s face.
“That’s right kid, these are hands, see?” said Duke as he sat down showing his hands to the foal. The foal tensely reached out one of her hooves and touched his hand.
“hamds?” Repeated the foal.
Duke nodded his head encouragingly.
“hamds,” said the foal again, a smile spreading across her face. “Hamds!” she said excitedly.
“hamds, hamds, hamds, hamds!” the foal chanted happily as she bounced around the room.
“CHAYA!”
Duke turned to the source of the voice as Tempora walked in. her mane was a little frazzled and eyes looked tired.
“Where have you been? Do you know how long I've been looking for you?” Tempora asked the foal.
Her voice didn’t sound like an older sister, angry at her siblings, rather a mother, scared for her child.
The foal, whose name was Chaya, looked back up at Tempora with a confused look on her face. She had just wanted to see the new pony smile, what was wrong with that?
“Um, excuse me?” Tempora turned her head to look at Duke.
“Has she ever talked before?” asked Duke pointing at Chaya.
Tempora sighed, “Ignoring the fact about you being you being your old self again, no unless you count baby gibberish as talking.”
Duke grinned a little before scooting up next to Chaya.
“Your gonna love this. Kid?” the foal looked at Duke.
“What are these?” Duke asked, gesturing to his hands.
“hamds!” said Chaya excitedly.
Duke looked Tempora as her jaw hung low.
“She said her first word! And it was about you!” Tempora exclaimed dejectedly.
“Aw, don’t be sad Tempora! You’ll get your chance with one of the other five I’m sure!” Duke said encouragingly, a bit taken aback on how sad Tempora had become.
“Let’s just get this little lady back to bed and then we can talk, ok?
“Ok.” Replied Tempora.
It had been half an hour since Tempora had found Chaya. She and Duke were out on a balcony looking up at the night sky.
“It really is incredible.” Said duke.
“What is?” asked Tempora.
“The fact that there’s still daylight in that nursery, though it just looks a bit more like dusk now.”
An awkward silence followed suit as the two adults looked up at the sky.
“Look I’m sorry,” said the adults at the same time, causing them to chuckle a bit.
“Sorry, Ladies first.” Said duke.
Tempora took a deep breath, “I'm sorry about what I said about your mother, I'm sure she’s a great lady. Uh, if its ok, what’s she like?”
Duke twiddled his thumbs, “She was kind, always cared about me, made the best pumpkin pie."
“Was?”
“Yeah, mom and dad died in a car crash, some drunk guy was harassing them on the road.”
“Car crash?”
“Oh, uh you don’t know what cars are, do you?”
“Nope.”
“Uh, it’s like a complicated box on wheels that people use to get around.”
“Like a carriage?”
“Yeah, just without anyone pulling it.”
“How?!” Tempora asked in bewilderment.
Duke chuckled a bit.
“Don’t ask me, I don’t know how it works. And anyway I'm sorry too, I shouldn’t have said those things about you. you're a great mom! You’re just a bit desperate.”
“Thanks.” Said Tempora. The two became quiet for a little while before Tempora spoke up.
“There's something that has been on my mind since you told me your name, are you royalty?”
“what? Oh No no no no, it’s a nickname, kinda.”
Tempora nodded her head for Duke to continue.
“Well, my full name is Arthur Duke Winters, but most of my friends called me Duke.”
“That’s a long name, why did your friends call you that?”
“Back when I was still in school, a friend of mine was being picked on by a bully. I stood up to him, and kinda got beat up. But ever since then people started calling me Duke, saying that it was noble of me for doing that. Most of them didn’t even know it was my middle name!” Duke said with a laugh.
Tempora laughed with him, and after a while, things went quiet again.
“So, I got two questions.” Said duke.
“Yes?” said Tempora.
“First, how did I adapt to being a pony so fast? I didn’t even trip over my hooves the entire time!”
“Ah, that’s easy! Its part of the spell in the scarf, it’s a full transformation spell, biology, and everything. the spell put a bit of basic instinct into your head, and the basic of the basic is walking and talking I guess.
“Okay, smart. two, how did a nice mare like you get in here?”
Tempora looked away.
“You don’t have to tell me you know, it was just a question.” Consoled duke.
“No, it's fine.” Said Tempora. And with a deep breath, she began to tell her tale.
“I was about six when it happened, I was playing with my friend in the woods behind our house when they came.
A figure dressed in a dark green cloak. They foal napped me and put a curse on me binding me to this castle, giving me a warning that if I ever left, I would become like sand.
My friend ran to my parents and told them what happened, and they tried everything to get me out. Counterspells, totems, anything you can think off.
Eventually, they just left me there with the promise of return, ever since then, they hired a local farmer and baker to supply me with food.
But my parents are gone now, and nopony but the farmer and baker know I’m here. Though they haven't come in a while and if I hadn't found that farm in one of the other rooms, I would have starved long ago. And now I’m just waiting for my time to be up.”
“Wow,” Duke said appalled.
“And you know what? I still don’t know why they trapped me here. Did they know about the foals? Was it dumb luck that the foals were brought here? Was it destiny?”
“Maybe it was coincidental fate or something.”
Tempora facehooved and let out a giggle.
“It's not called fate if it’s coincidental, Duke.”
“Oh, whatever.”
The two suddenly noticed the change in atmosphere.
“Uh you know what, I think I should go to bed…” said Duke a bit quicker than he meant to.
“Uh, yeah, sure.” Responded Tempora.
Duke walk back inside and turned down the hallway as Tempora watched a bit reluctantly.
Then Duke came back out.
“Uh, where do I sleep?” Duke asked.
The blue mare giggled a bit. “Come on, Sleepyhead.”
The two walked until the came up to the nursery.
“Isn’t this the nursery?” asked Duke.
“Yeah, but most of the other rooms are normal bedrooms. Pick any room you like!”
Duke looked at the doors lining both sides of the hallway.
“That one,” Duke said as he pointed to the door, two spaces to the left of the nursery.
“Oh well, isn’t that coincidence!” said Tempora, smiling a little.
“What’s is it??” asked Duke.
“Oh, nothing, just its next to my room! Were neighbors!”
Duke smiled at the mare’s antics as he opened the door to his room and was met with a dust cloud.
“Guess this room hasn’t been used for a while,” Duke said through a fit of coughs.
Tempora let out a laugh. “Here let me help you with that.” She said before lighting her horn.
One minute later and the whole room was spotless.
“You know, every time you use your magic, I keep wondering how much mine can do,” Duke commented.
“Well I teach you later, but right now,” Tempora paused with a yawn, “bedtime.”
“Hey, Tempora?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not mad about Chaya’s first words being about me, are you?”
“No of course not. I just wish I was around when it happened.” Tempora looked at the floor.
“Ok, just wondering. good night Tempy.” Duke said trying to lift the unicorn’s spirits.
Tempora smiled. “Goodnight duke.” She said before entering her room.
Duke gave himself a pat on the back before going into his room.
The room was dark, save the moonlight coming through the window on the opposite side of the room from the door. It was rather cozy, looking more like a room from an old English farmhouse, rather than a castle.
Duke plopped onto the bed.
“If this isn’t a dream, I think I can handle it, for a little while anyway.” Duke thought as he drifted off to sleep.