//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: A Storm of Emotions // by MelodyMori //------------------------------// Summer Storm I couldn’t help but let out a small whine as I was being led by Rainbow Dash towards Ponyville General. A small shiver made its way down my spine as memories of my time in the hospital sped through my mind at the sight of the building. Dash had planned for a bit of resistance, unfortunately, with her wing on my back holding me close enough to make it hard to squirm away. “Do we have to do this?” I whined, my ears clamped to the back of my head. Dash sighed, rolling her eyes a bit. “Yeah dude, you gotta get a checkup. After all, what if you need some vaccinations or something?” “Y-yeah but...” I couldn’t help but scrunch my muzzle a bit as I couldn’t think of a comeback. Instead, I sagged a bit in defeat and a bit of exhaustion, letting out a small yawn as my energy seemed to slowly tank. “You good, Squirt?” Dash raised an eyebrow, her voice tinged with a bit of concern.  “Yeah, just a bit tired.” I let out another small yawn and pressed a bit closer to Dash’s side. “Weird, Ah thought Ah’d have nothing but energy being a kid and all.” “Yeah, I dunno.” Dash rubbed her chin with a hoof, her brow creased in thought. “I think Twilight mentioned something about fillies and colts having less energy because you’re smaller, you just look like you have more energy or something.” I blinked in surprise before breaking out in an amused grin. “Wow, ya sound like an egghead talking like that.” Dash snorted and booped my nose with one hoof. “Oh shush. Now hurry up so we aren’t late for your appointment.” She removed her wing, confident I learned my lesson or just tired of holding her wing. Probably the latter honestly. I grumbled a bit but diligently followed the prismatic mare, happy that I got to bring the hat with me. The sun was still giving me some problems but the little bit of shade I got from the hat was able to thankfully take care of that. It did prompt some weird looks from some of the townsfolk but eh, I’d probably get weird looks anyway as a rainbow thestral filly and all that. Once we got to Ponyville General itself I stepped away from Dash, following behind her as she stepped through the large glass doors. There was no one else in the hospital waiting room, just a single unicorn receptionist behind a desk. Her fur was a light pink, with her poofy mane and eyes a much darker purple. “Hello, how can I help you today Ms. Dash?” The receptionist raised her eyebrow and looked down at me. “Oh, and your adorable filly!” ‘Your’ adorable filly? While I stood there frowning, Dash let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of her head. “We have an appointment with Dr. Horse! Summer Storm here needs a physical.” ...his name is Dr. HORSE!? I missed the rest of the conversation between Dash and the receptionist as my brain whirled at the fact the doctor’s name was so on the nose. I was brought back to reality when Dash nudged me in the flank with her muzzle, pushing me towards the set of doors leading deeper into the hospital. I gulped and tried to push back, my wings flicking out in an instinctive attempt to help me keep my balance. I let out a sigh of relief as I felt Dash stop trying to push me along. Instead, she simply bit on the scruff of my neck and lifted me up, making me flail my legs a bit. I groaned at being picked up like a kitten for the second time in one day and crossed my forelegs in annoyance. I could feel Dash’s annoyed mumbling through my fluff and winced a bit in embarrassment.  Jesus Christ I really am acting like a kid. I mean, it’s a hospital, not like they’re going to hurt me. I hope. I bit back a low whine as I was ferried deeper into the hospital, trying to swallow the strong swell of anxiety coming from within. Instead, I just tried to focus on the gentle swaying that being carried brought, on the clip-clop of hooves on linoleum floors. The few nurses that were making their way towards their next patients giggled at the sight of Dash and me, making me blush a bit.  Within a few minutes, we reached our destination: a wooden door with the same still illegible symbols that passed as writing on a brass plaque. Dash opened the door with one of her wings, revealing a normal pediatrician’s room, complete with a small bed-thing for patients to sit on and a cheaply painted cloudly sky on the upper half of the walls and ceiling.  Dash spat me onto the patient-bed thing with a grunt, giving me an annoyed look where I lay. “Okay Storm, are you going to behave, or are you going to keep acting like a foal?” “Ah’m not acting like a baby!” I whined, my cheeks burning in embarrassment and stubbornness. Dash snorted and raised an eyebrow. “Really? You’re sure sounding like one.” “Ah...Ah...” I pouted, unable to think of a coherent comeback. Instead, I just moved to sit on the crinkly sheet and crossed my forehooves. “Fine. Ah’ll behave.” Dash chuckled and patted my head. “Thanks, Squirt.” The tender moment was broken by the door opening up, revealing a brown unicorn stallion in a doctor’s coat. He gave the two of us a gentle smile as he walked in, a clipboard and some papers floating in his magic. “You must be Rainbow Dash and her filly, Summer Storm.” his voice was strong but kind. After closing the door behind him, the stallion headed over to me and held out his hoof for a hoofshake. “Pleasure to meet you, my name is Dr. Horse.” I gave him a hopefully not too toothy smile and shook his hoof with one of my own. “Nice t’ meet ya!” The doctor blinked for a moment in surprise, most likely at the accent, but recovered quickly enough. He let out a small chuckle and made his way over to one of the desks, setting the clipboard down on it. “So, you’re here for a physical? Have you ever had one before?” I had to hold myself back from saying ‘yes’, my hesitation prompting Dash to shake her head in my stead. Dr. Horse nodded, his face turning stoic for a moment before grabbing one of those little flashlights and a mini-hammer in his magic. He stepped up to me and started to check on my reflexes and such, bumping my joints with the mini-hammer and shining the flashlight in my fluffy ears and sensitive eyes. Everything apparently looked normal enough (even the eyes, apparently thestrals just have sensitive eyes to help see at night) until he got to check my pulse. Dr. Horse held his stethoscope against my chest, his professional smile slowly fading away. He moved it to another spot on my barrel, and finally to one of my joints, his neutral expression fading into a frown. The doctor quickly swapped to one of those pump-things to check for blood pressure, prompting an eyebrow raise at the results. “Everything alright?” Dash asked from the corner where she was waiting, her voice tinged with concern. “Yes, just have to quickly check one more thing.” Dr. Horse’s horn glowed a bit brighter and this time I could swear I could see several glyphs radiating from his horn as he cast a more powerful spell than simple telekinesis. A faint tingling feeling buzzed in my chest, starting at the skin and slowly moving farther and farther inside. I tried to not squirm as the tingling turned to a massaging feeling that turned to a burning feeling. All of a sudden the feeling completely vanished, leaving me a little sweaty while Dr. Horse rubbed his chin in thought. “Miss Dash, has Summer ever had any kind of heart injuries?” Dash blinked before shaking her head. “No, she hasn’t, why?” “Well, not to alarm you but it would seem that Summer here has no pulse.” Dr. Horse chewed his bottom lip for a moment while Dash and I sat in silence. “Her magic core is also far more active than it usually is for a filly her age, which is likely related. Thankfully it would seem that her natural magic or some kind of spell is keeping her blood flowing since her blood pressure is normal but this requires more testing to be sure. Would you be alright with coming back in later this week for a full body scan?” I frowned and put a hoof on my chest as Dash and the doctor spoke about appointment days and prior medical history and the like. I couldn’t really feel much through my hoof and fluffy coat anyway but as far as I could tell I couldn’t feel a heartbeat. I frowned slightly before a thought once again flicked through my mind. “Wait!” I yelled, causing Dr. Horse and Dash to jump a little. “Ya said ‘filly mah age’. How old’m Ah?” Dr. Horse blinked and tilted his head in confusion, his ears drooping a bit. “You don’t know your age?” I felt my own ears droop as I looked away for a moment. “Uh, no, Ah don’t. It’s...complicated.” The doctor looked at Dash for a moment before shrugging and turning back to me. “In my professional opinion, I would put you at 10 years old. A bit shorter than most fillies your age, but pegasi and thestrals are usually a bit shorter than the average pony so nothing to worry too much about. Although that does remind me,” he turned back to Dash with a more awkward smile, “I’d recommend either having The Talk or getting a book on it for Summer, I assume based on her age she’s gonna need it later this season. Most fillies her age have their first heat around that time.” “Heat?” I raised an eyebrow, hoping that based on ‘the Talk’ being mentioned it wasn’t what I thought it was. Dash blushing uncontrollably didn’t help matters as she waved a hoof dismissively. “You, me, and Soarin’ will talk about it after dinner tonight! Uh, anything else doc, or are we good to go?” “No, that is all. Just have to fill out some paperwork and schedule another appointment with the receptionist and-” the doctor told Dash, slowly drowning out as the wheels in my head started to turn. Oh fuck that’s right, I’m female. That means when I get older and wanna fuck I’m the one getting fucked. I...think I am now really uncomfortable and want to talk to whoever made me a girl instead of a dude. My minor existential crisis carried me out of the hospital, following Dash as closely as I could on pure instinct. Thankfully I was snapped out of it by being full-body tackled by a white blur. I fell on the ground with a yelp while Dash near fell over laughing her ass off. “Wow Storm, you were really out of it if you didn’t see me coming!” Sweetie Belle giggled, her barrel pining me down while her legs sat around me. “C’mon, I'm going to Button Mash’s house to play video games! Wanna come with?” I blinked and looked over to Dash who shrugged in response. “I have to go back to work so go ahead. Just come back home at like five or six okay?” “Okay, sounds like a plan then Sweetie!” I chirped before giving an awkward smile. “Though you do have to get off me first...” Sweetie Belle's face instantly grew red with a blush as she fell off me with an awkward squeak, prompting Dash to once again fall over in laughter. Nightshade/Minuette “Come on Nightshade, I have something I want to show you.” I blinked and looked up from the little lizard I was playing with, craning my neck up to see the large form of my mother. Queen Chrysalis, in all her radiant, insectoid glory. I scrabbled up to my filly hooves, a large grin on my face. With a hop and a wing flap, I pronged around my mother excitedly. “What is it what is it?” I giggled excitedly, prompting Mom’s usually stoic facade to crack a bit, a small smile shining on her face. “Patience, little Nightshade.” Mom chided gently, striding gracefully towards the exit of my resting chamber. “You don’t want to ruin the surprise, don’t you?” "Okay, Mom.” I took a deep breath and calmed down, trotting after my mother to keep up with her much longer strides. We passed through several hallways and passages through the hive, the changelings within bowing their heads as they went on their own business. Mom didn’t return their greeting or acknowledge her siblings at all, just maintained the same path through the dark hallways of the hive.  Eventually, we reached an oddity in the hive - a locked door with Mom’s own personal seal on the door. Two changeling guards stood in front of the door, armed with dark blue beetle-like armor and swords. They both bowed down to Mom before stepping to the side, allowing us to approach the door itself. Mom’s horn glowed that beautiful emerald glow that all changelings had, summoning a green orb that flew to the door. The green glow spread throughout the door and its lock, unsealing it and allowing the door to retract into the walls.  Immediately a strong smell of rot wafted out of the room, causing me to gag and cough a bit. In response Mom shoved me into the room with one of her hooves as she entered herself, making the door seal behind us with a snap of rock and magic. I fell to the ground and coughed, the rotting smell making my young lungs burn something fierce. “Oh get up Nightshade, it isn’t that bad,” Mom grunted, walking farther into the sealed room. With a groan I forced myself to my hooves, bile burning the back of my throat. The room itself was far brighter than a normal room in the hive, making my eyes have to adjust a bit before I could properly see what lay within. I let out a small gasp as I took in what could only be a workshop of something strange. In the middle of the room rested two large sealed clay pots, each the size of a normal changeling. Surrounding each one were several large bones and rotting plants, looking like they’d been sitting there for ages. All along the walls were shelves lined with various bottles and jars with dozens of bright multicolored liquids. Hanging above the jars was a bright green magic-torch, burning continuously with only magic as its fuel. “What...what is this?” I breathed out, more than a little disturbed by the image before me.  “Your sisters.” Mom explained as simply as she could, a small grin forming on her face. She rubbed one of the jars almost lovingly, her eyes flashing with a predatory glint. “Just like you, they’ll have a piece of me and that of a pony. ” “My sisters?” I blinked before grinning in excitement. “Awesome! But what’s a pony?” Mom snorted and waved a hoof dismissively, “Foul creatures, fit only to enslave and drain the love from. With you and your sisters by my side they’ll be naught but chattel, easily crushed under our hooves.” “Oh, okay!” I paused for a moment before scampering forward and hugging Mom’s leg. “Even after my sisters are born, will I still be your favorite?” Mom blinked before slowly grinning, her mouth seeming to twist in place. “Of course little Nightshade. I’ll always love you.” The room burst into green flames along with Mom, burning into shadows while she took the form of a pink pony. As she towered over me, wings flared I felt my stomach drop out. “Don’t worry dear, mother always knows best.” I let out a screech of terror at the sight of the pink pony looming over me before everything flipped upside down. “Minny? Minny wake up! You’re having a nightmare!” A high-pitched feminine voice rang out above me, shaking me in place. I stammered, opening one eye to show a blurry mint green blob next to me, reeking of concern and love. “Lightning Dust? Is that you?” My voice came out cracked and exhausted, having just woken up from a nap. I could feel the ground underneath me shaking a bit, almost rocking me back to sleep. “Uh, no, that’s-” began another, more deep and stern feminine voice before it was cut off by the first. “Yes, I’m Lightning Dust. Go back to sleep, you sound like you need the rest.” The first voice cooed, a hoof going around my withers while the other stroked my mane. I felt a shiver go through my spine as my first reflex would be to throw off the foreign touch but I let it pass. Instead snuggling into the warm embrace while the rocking of the train soothed me back to sleep.