Bland is the best word to describe this place.
Terrible food that includes only bread and flowers (which he picks out), nothing to do, and nothing to look at.
It seems hospitals are universal.
Looking over at a clock, it reveals it's about six in the morning. Although he doesn't usually wake up this early, he got quite a good amount of sleep.
I was asleep for fourteen hours, holy crap. Hopefully, I'm not waiting here for Rainbow Dash for too long.
With a look of contempt, Leo was quite impatient to get out of here, though he could understand why he was kept overnight. Thinking back, he realizes there's one thing he could do.
I guess I could see what's up with this energy again. Nothing better to do.
Leo focuses on breathing through his diaphragm, causing the energy around him to slowly enter his body. His thoughts include nothing but circulating the energy through his body and keeping it in. Slowly, it begins to accumulate.
Within his body, in his abdomen, it begins to pool together, eventually becoming the same amount from before he fought the manticore. Surprisingly, however, it doesn't stop there. Instead of reaching a wall of sorts while giving him a restless feeling like before, the pool keeps expanding.
It's so much bigger than before... that's what she said.
Eventually, it stops expanding, the pool reaching the size of about twice of what it was before the encounter with the manticore.
Is it because I pushed myself to the limit? It's almost like an exaggerated muscle... there's still so much I don't know. Time for some testing hehe.
Getting out of the bed, Leo glances at the clock before starting, reading '6:20.'
Was I really just breathing for that long?
Surprised from the passing of time, Leo shakes his head and readies his stance, getting ready to punch the far end wall with his left arm.
Taking all the energy within his body, he lets it flow from his legs to his back, abs, chest, left shoulder, and then down his arm like before. Although it felt relatively slow to Leo, in reality, it was a split second in reality.
FOOM
woah...
On the other side of the room, although there was no damage, there was a blast of wind that hit it, making a weird sort of soft breeze flow through the room. Thankfully, he didn't cause any property damage. Breathing a sigh of relief, he takes a moment to inspect the energy in his body. Within his abdomen, the pool is close to nonexistent.
Holy crap... that one punch used almost all of it...recharge time.
Taking a cross-legged posture on the bed, Leo begins to breathe in again, taking in energy. His mind transitions into a state of complete focus on the internal energy. Somehow he's able to circulate it in his body just a tad faster than before, barely being noticeable to Leo.
This improvement is crazy! Is it beginner gains?
Casting his thoughts aside, he begins to accumulate the energy once more, building it up into a blob. The only noise filling the room was Leo's quiet breathing.
Eventually the blob forms to the same size as before the earlier punch, but it keeps building, eventually settling to a slightly larger blob than before.
I couldn't have been more spot on with the analogy of this energy in my body being like a muscle... not only is my body becoming more proficient with manipulating it, it also builds in "strength," leading to a bigger pool of energy.
Now the main issue is figuring out how to be more efficient with it. I can portion it into smaller blobs, it doesn't seem very practical with how much focus and time it takes. Hmmmm... Maybe I can just limit my strength this time and see how that goes, after all, it is very muscle-like.
Wasting no time, get back up out of the bed and postures for another punch. This time, however, he more or less holds back. He doesn't pull his punch, but he does a quick jab rather than a haymaker. This also leads the energy to not pass through his legs nearly as much.
Fooo
A slight breeze goes through the room, although not nearly as drastic as before. Immediately, Leo notices something else.
I see... Since I used fewer muscle groups and strength, my body used not nearly as much internal energy as before, leaving me about half of the original pool. The first order of business is definitely building up the maximum size of the pool. Maybe by then, I can control more specifically how much energy I want to use since I'll have more room to work with.
Putting my body under stress seems to be the way to go after the results of the manticore encounter. I'll think about good ways to do that, but for now, I'll just do what I can while I'm here.
Content from his discoveries, Leo continues to train like this for the rest of the morning, charging up energy and then using it all up with a haymaker.
///3 hours later///
By the time '9:30' rolls around, the pool of energy has increased by quite a sizable margin, about '25%' or so.
Awesome, now I can do three jabs! It seems that using the energy also makes my body stronger when I'm without it, however, it's not near as noticeable as the maximum size of the energy blob expanding.
In the middle of his meditation, Leo hears someone open the door. Opening one eye, he peers at the doorway to see Nurse Redheart, followed by cyan pony from yesterday.
"Hey, Leo! What's up?" Rainbow starts, strutting in the room with a swagger.
"It's sooo boring here," Leo says, chuckling to himself. Turning to Redheart, he continues, "am I good to go?"
"Of course, just make sure your wounds don't open back up. Also, don't worry about the bits, it'll be on the house because of your not-so-fortunate situation." She replies, her voice carrying her sincerity on the last comment.
"Mmm, thank you so much. Both for the service and hospitality." Leo nods, somewhat taken aback by the kindness.
I'll definitely make it up to her... as for now, time to get the hell outta here.
Leo turns to Rainbow, "alright, let's blow this popsicle stand."
"Popsicle stand? Uh, Just follow me," Rainbow leads the way out of the hospital chuckling to herself. Opening the door, they take to the outside.
"Uhh, it's just an old saying where I'm from. Anyways, where is Fluttershy's place?" Leo asks while taking in the infrastructure off in the distance.
The houses around were generally pretty big, with a good portion being three stories, often overhanging the lower floors. The roofs were thatched, giving a sense of coziness, like a cottage. Most of the windows seemed stained, some being pink while others being blue. The houses seemed built around timber, emphasizing that cozy feeling even more.
Looking down, the roads were made of hard dirt. It's almost stone-like, transformed from the years of use from the ponies. On the sides of the road were trees and bushes here and there.
"It's on the other side of town... it would be faster if I were flying, then I could reach there ten seconds flat! Speaking of, I never formally introduced myself, ahem." Leo turns his head to look at her incoming dramatic introduction. "I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in all Equestria AND future Wonderbolt!"
Well she can certainly talk it, but can she walk it? I wonder just how fast being the fastest here is...
Raising his eyebrow, he asks, "and what in the world is a Wonderbolt?"
GASP
"ONLY THE COOLEST, MOST AWESOME FLIERS EVER!!! They're a group of pegasi that do the most awesomest air stunts!" She declares, her eyes gleaming with enthusiasm.
"So... like an airshow but, with ponies? That does sound pretty badass... You know any tricks?" Leo asks genuinely.
I bet it's the best, being able to fly. She seems to be pretty into these guys... she'd definitely make a good saleswoman for them haha.
"Oh, you BET I have some tricks, but they can wait. Now's the time to tell me about you!" Grinning with anticipation, she looks up at Leo.
"YEAH TELL US!"
huh?
Leo turns around to see a completely pink pony with a slightly darker shade of pink for her mane and tail. On her face is a big ass grin, with bright blue eyes. Her eyes, wide, as though she's able to see right through him.
I guess getting close with these ponies won't hurt, I just hope I'm not stuck here for too long...
"Uhhh... I'm Leo, a human from Earth? I like to play music..." Leo introduces himself, shrugging at the end. God, I feel like I'm introducing myself in front of a classroom like I'm the new kid.
"LEO? That's a weird name! I'm Pinkie Pie, but my friends call me Pinkie. Everyponie's my friend in Ponyville. NICE TO MEETCHA!" Her eyes seemed to be glimmering from her excitement. She holds out her hoof for a handshake, minus the hand part.
"Mmm, nice to meet you too Pinkie..." Leo keeps it brief, shaking her hoof and nodding.
"Oh, those things on your hoof feel weird! Anyways, it was nice meeting you! I'll see you next chapter!!" She says, practically shouting, before zooming away.
huh?
Leo turns to Rainbow, "what in the wor-"
Rainbow cuts him off, "YUP! That's Pinkie for ya," she says, chortling at Leo's confusion.
Although Leo didn't take notice of their glares before, the ponies' expressions who witnessed the scene seemed to soften towards the human. He didn't think everyone should like him, but it did rub him the wrong way that everyone seemed to hold ill feelings toward him.
"Hey, I got a question I forgot to ask until now. What are bits? Are they your currency here? I heard Redheart mention them before we left." Leo asks, wearing a curious look on his face.
"That's exactly what they are! They're gold coins with Celestia's face on them," answers Rainbow.
"Who's Celestia?" Leo scratches his chin in curiosity.
"She's the one who basically runs Equestria, she's the princess. She's been for more than a thousand years, she even raises the sun for us!" Her is voice full of admiration towards the princess.
Okay, so first, it's a matriarchy here? Second, how can someone live that long, and third, is this a giant cult? The sun 'rising' is physics, not THIS mumbo jumbo. I feel so out of the loop... hmmm
"Do you think she has my ticket home?" Leo asks, feeling not quite hopeful, but hopeful nonetheless.
"If anyone does, it's her. In fact, she should be coming here next week for the 'Summer Sun Celebration!' The Wonderbolts will even be there!" Leo looked over to see she had a spring in her step.
She takes every chance she can to talk about them. hehe
"Oh yea, by the way, we're about to exit town and get on the path that goes to Fluttershy's house. Over there is the town hall. That's where we'll be for the Celebration!" She says as she points to our left.
Where she was pointing was a somewhat tall tower. The structure almost looked like a gazebo on steroids with walls. It even had some multicolored flags on pointed arches on the higher levels, making it stand out from the houses.
Down the path that they were walking on was a bridge going over a river that seems to flow down the whole side of the town. On the other side of the bridge, the road changes to more of a trail, with trees and grass growing more freely than in the town.
Far off in the distance to the left, there was a small lake, with a stream flowing into it from the opposite of where Leo was viewing it. A sharp right after the bridge leads to a very 'elaborate' tower, with pony mannequins on the outside of the second floor, presumably being a boutique. Finally, off to the side of it, away from the town, was a nice little park.
Breaking the silence while Leo looks around, Rainbow looks at Leo with a glint in her eyes. "So you said you like to play music... What kind of instrument do you play?"
Well, isn't she nice... I guess I can humor her.
"Mostly the guitar with some keyboard." Leo answers, but can't help but ask, "do y'all have those here?"
She nods, "yea, there are guitars that do and don't take magic, and we have keyboards too but they all take magic to use. What type of music do you play?"
"A bunch of stuff actually! There's Rock, Progressive Rock, Metal, R&B, and my personal favorite but unpopular pick, Eurobeat. I also like to sing along while I play..." Leo scratches the back of his neck, a little embarrassed from the last part.
"I love Rock! I wonder what Earth music sounds like..." She says, muttering to herself near the end.
"If I can get my hands on a guitar, I'll be happy to play." Honestly, he'd been missing playing, so this was a golden opportunity to satiate that desire.
"Awesome! Is that what your hooves with those thingies are called? 'Hands?'... Maybe Fluttershy or somepony has an acoustic lying around, I doubt it though..." Rainbow pauses, shaking her head, and then continues, "uhh, we're just about there..."
Chuckling, Leo replies, stretching out his hand for her to see, " yeah, the whole thing is a hand while the five pokers are what are individually called a 'finger.' I'm honestly surprised y'all can do so much without 'em... If I'm gonna be honest, I dunno what I'd do without 'em."
"Well, we can grab stuff with our hooves, silly," she looks at him quizzically.
Once a bit further, he could finally see it.
Up ahead appeared a somewhat familiar cottage, but this time much less blurry. Leading up to the home was a small bridge going over a somewhat stagnant stream. On and around the passageway up to it was filled with critters, from rabbits to so many different colored birds, they could make a rainbow. The roof on the house was thatched like the other houses in the village, but instead of it being dead, it was an alive and vibrant green. Lastly, all around the landscape, were birdhouses and rabbit holes, filling every nook and cranny.
Just how many animals are there?!
Walking up the path, they reach the doorstep, with Rainbow reaching over to knock.
-Knock-Knock-Knock
"It's us!" Rainbow yells, hoping to reach Fluttershy.
Seconds later, a muffled voice comes from inside, "c-coming, just a moment."
-Clop-clop
The walking noise comes closer until eventually the door swings open, revealing the yellow pegasus. "Come in, let me uhh, make some tea."
Fluttershy goes towards the kitchen off to the left while Rainbow motions Leo to the couch that's straight ahead from the front door.
There is a chair on the right, a couch on the left, with a little table in between. Behind the couch is a window, with a painting of two butterflies and a rainbow to the right of it. To the left of the window were a lamp and a bookshelf, matching the one behind the chair. Finally, in front of both the couch and chair were two small beds for a pet, with a rug filling the floor in between them.
BOOKS! Hopefully, I can read their language.
Walking over to them, he scans the spines of the books, only to be sorely disappointed.
Are you fucking kidding? So you're telling me they speak English but have a different written one? Fuck... this is so frustrating. Hopefully, it won't be so bad to translate.
Meanwhile, Rainbow plops on the left side of the couch when facing it, looking at Leo with an unreadable expression. "Are you an egghead?"
"The hell is that supposed to mean? By the way, It seems I can't read." Leo grumbles, turning towards Rainbow.
"It's somepony who reads, duh," she answers, giving Leo a funny look.
Leo's face changes to a look of contempt, "If you didn't know anything around you like how it is for me right now, You'd scrounge for all types of information. Since I can't read, I'm gonna play '21 Questions' about Equestria with you two."
"Ohh, I- sorry, I should've been more considerate..." she says, facepalming. "Well, while we're waiting on the tea, what stuff you wanna know?"
"Oh yea, I thought about it earlier when we were talking about Princess Celestia. Is it a matriarchal society here? Usually, princes or kings ran monarchies back at home. Although it wasn't too common to run one in the first place as of recent," Leo mentions for comparison, sitting in the chair in the process.
"Matriarchal? What the hay is that?" Rainbow questions.
"A society where females are in charge basically," Leo explains to the confused mare.
"Oh, yea, usually the mares are the ones in charge of relationships and government, but it's not too drastic. There are a lot more mares than stallions, so I guess it makes sense since we want to keep the stallions safe," Rainbow states, justifying the role of the dynamic.
So it's almost the opposite of what home was. This is pretty interesting, to be honest, I've always liked learning about different cultures and societies. Though I don't know if I'll be able to conform too well...
Oh RIGHT, she said something about magic earlier?
"Okay, then next question, magic. You're telling me there is such a thing as magic here?" Leo raises his eyebrow.
"What, you never had magic at, what was it, 'Earf?' How do you think the weather gets done, or how the sun rises, or even how your instruments work?!" Leo felt like a knife was stabbing him at each question.
Shaking his head he responds, "The weather is done naturally with the water cycle and air currents! The sun rises by the planet rotating! And my instruments work with and without electricity! I can't believe you all actually believe in that magic malarkey..."
Fluttershy makes her way to the room Leo and Rainbow are in with the tea just as Leo is mid-argument, only to see Rainbow's jaw drop to the floor. She gives Leo a confused look.
"But we have to MOVE the clouds to MAKE the weather, and to do that, we use MAGIC. If we didn't have it, we'd be bucked! We have unicorns who can CAST SPELLS! It doesn't get more magic than that!" Rainbow's at the point of almost yelling at the end, making Leo slightly frown.
Did I not notice any unicorns? Holy shit, I feel like my head is going to explode. Everything I know is being thrown in the trash like it's worthless...
Leo bites his lip from his frustration. Looking for a way to calm himself, he glances over to Fluttershy. "Can I have some tea?"
"O-of course," she pours some into a cup, handing it to Leo, "it's still hot so be careful... I-if you don't mind, can you tell me why you seem so frustrated?"
"It's just," Leo starts, "Everything I know seems to not fit here... My facts and knowledge have become obsolete, like it wasn't even worthwhile to learn, shoved down my throat that all of it is completely and utterly wrong here. If someone said magic was real back home, everyone would look at them like they were insane."
"Leo, don't say that. Although things are different here, that doesn't mean that you don't fit. All it will take is time and patience with yourself," Fluttershy tries her best to cheer Leo up.
Patience... I guess that wouldn't hurt. Maybe it isn't all bad, I have the energy too... wait... IS THAT MAGIC?! But why would I have magic? I want answers but I know I won't find them from these two.
With a warm smile, Leo speaks up again, "Thanks, Fluttershy." Leo pauses before switching the topic, "do you have a map of Equestria?"
"Mhm," she nods, getting up and reaching between two books, pulling out a folded map. Unfolding it revealed the unfamiliar world to Leo. It was labeled, but in the language that Leo couldn't read.
Rainbow leans over to follow along, meanwhile, Fluttershy points to Ponyville. "This is where we are," she then moves her hoof southward, "you came from this direction, the Everfree forest."
"What about this place? This is where I woke up," Leo says, pointing to the ravine he saw when he first opened his eyes here.
Rainbow cuts in, "you came all the way from Ghastly Gorge?! Awesome... Sometimes I go there to race, it's pretty dangerous there though."
"What about the princess, where is she at on the map?" Leo asks, not bothering to hide the impatience in his voice.
"She stays a little north of us, up in this city in the mountain," Fluttershy points to the mountain with a castle sticking out on the side. "It's the capital of Equestria, Canterlot."
"Canterlot... you mean Camelot? Scratch that, does that mean I can go there and ask the princess to see about getting me home?" Leo can't hide the enthusiasm in his voice.
Maybe I can go home earlier than I thought!
"I don't think so, she's been busy with teaching somepony recently along with dealing with her normal duties as the princess. We'll have to wait to see her next week for the 'Summer Sun Celebration,' sorry," Fluttershy answers, her ears dropping near the end.
"Hmm, I should've expected as much, it's fine. I'll just have to find something to do in the meantime. What exactly is the 'Summer Sun Celebration' anyways?"
I got this one," Rainbow takes the initiative, "ahem it's to celebrate the princess for protecting Equestria. A long time ago she defeated somepony who wanted Equestria to be under permanent nighttime! Fluttershy is even composing with some birds to sing for the celebration!"
Leo raises his eyebrow at that last part, "Sounds pretty cool... How are the birds smart enough to sing in tempo and rhythm?"
Fluttershy, taken aback and confused, answers, "I just talk to them and tell them what needs improvement when we practice together. They understand as long as you're patient with them and speak kindly."
Is it because of the magic here that they're more intelligent? It's the only reason I can think of...
"While I'm stuck here, you should show me sometime," Leo says, smiling at the yellow pegasus.
"Okay, I'd be happy to. Is there anything else you'd like to know?" Fluttershy asks.
"What are those on your butts?" Leo asks somewhat crudely. He never cared to take notice until now but on Fluttershy's flank were three pink and blue butterflies, while on Rainbow's flank was a cloud shooting a red, blue, and yellow lightning bolt.
"HEY! Quit staring!" Rainbow exclaims, her wings flaring out defensively.
Fluttershy turns to Rainbow, putting her hoof on her shoulder and shaking her head. Turning to Leo she answers, "These are called cutie marks, they're magic that tell us what our special talent is. Everypony earns one once they learn what that talent is, representing that they've grown out of foal hood. Mine means my talent is taking care of animals while Rainbow's talent is that she's fast and can do a 'Sonic Rainboom.'"
"Okay, that makes sense I guess... Sorry if I was rude Rainbow." Leo apologizes, smiling bitterly.
Maybe I'll ask her to show me what that "Sonic Rainboom" is to make it up to her sometime.
"Is there anything else you want to ask?" Fluttershy asks again.
I have a plan of how to get home, I know where I am and have basic knowledge... hmm.
-Grrrooo
Suddenly, Leo's stomach let out a loud growl. Embarrassed, his face flushed.
"How about food?" Leo asks while glancing off to the side.
"Sure, what type of food do like to eat?" Fluttershy asks, trying her best to make Leo feel comfortable.
"Uhh, I'll eat about anything, but I could go for some meat... all I've eaten is bread recently," Leo replies while wearing a bitter smile.
"You eat MEAT!? Please tell me you don't eat ponies!" Rainbow yells, warily eyeing Leo.
Should I mess with her?
Putting on his trademark shit-eating grin, he looks over to Rainbow. "I've never tried it, but fried pegasus wings sound like they'd hit the spot!" Leo gets up and slowly makes his way towards her.
"NOOO STOP IT!!! I'LL BUCK YOU UP, I'M SERIOUS!!" Rainbow screams out, her eyes watering.
Sitting back down, Leo let out a hearty laugh, "You thought I was being serious?! Pfff HAHAHAHA, man, I got you good." Looking over, he saw Rainbow's brow furrow, face tomato red. "Rainbow... are you good?"
She super pissed... Maybe I went a bit too far... Nah, she'll be fine haha.
Rainbow looks over at Fluttershy with a weird glint in her eye, "Let's take Leo to Sugarcube Corner Fluttershy." Her face became unreadable, but Leo paid no mind.
"Actually," Leo says, he sniffs his pits. His head reels back with a look of disgust on his face, "Can I use your shower? I reek to high heavens."
"Of course, follow me," She replies, going through a doorway opposite of the one leading to the kitchen. Further down, they reach a split off to three doors, with Fluttershy opening one of the doors. There, a pristine bathroom is revealed, with a sink, mirror, and a shower. In the shower is a rack with soaps and other hygiene products.
Perfect! Looks exactly like the ones back home.
"Thank you Fluttershy, I won't be long. I'll meet y'all in the living room once I'm through," Leo says, seeking back his greasy hair.
"Alright, let me know if you need help using the shower," she replies while turning to leave.
"Thanks, mom," Leo chuckles, closing the door behind her.
Without wasting a beat, he undresses and turns on the hot water, checking with his hand to make sure it's a nice warmth. In front of the mirror, Leo takes off his bandages, revealing much scarring. A lot of the scabbing is gone, mostly replaced with scar tissue. The area the scar tissue takes up though had gone down slightly.
So this energy, or magic, is making my body heal like crazy... Maybe by the end of this week, the scarring will be completely gone.
Tearing himself away from his reflection, Leo steps into the shower, basking in the long-needed warmth.
mmmmm