Bronze gasped as he was left speechless (even though he couldn't talk in the first place) as he looked at Ponyville. He and the girls were on the outskirts of town about to enter. Never had he seen so many new colors before as he looked around at the buildings. Hay, even the buildings were amazing to him having only seen trees and caves for most of his life. He couldn't believe that ponies lived in such beautiful things.
As they entered town he felt all the eyes of the ponies that were on the streets looking at him. They were looking at him for three reasons. The first was because he was nearly twice their size. The second was because of his flowing mane and tail as it reflected the sun light casting colors every which way as it moved. The third was because of the bandages wrapped around his midsection.
But Bronze didn't care, he was too stunned by all the new and beautiful things around him to feel embarrassed. Although he didn't like the looks of the carts some of the ponies pulled behind them, they seemed a bit too fast moving for his tastes. But the vegetables that the carts were carrying fascinated him to no end. Some were bright orange while others looked like little green trees. He had seen some of them but most were new to him.
As they reached around a bend, the most wonderful smell he had ever experienced hit him as they neared Sugercube Corner. He looked up at the sign hanging above the bakery that the girls had stopped in front.
Rainbow dash then got a devilish idea. Bronze looked at them wile they started whispering something to each other. Fluttershy looked a little shocked as Rainbow dash stopped whispering but nodded her head in agreement. They then looked at him with a expectant stare.
Bronze quickly started to write in the ground wondering what the problem was. "What's the matter?"
"Don't yah know it's polite for the stallion to open the door for the mares?" Applejack said with a small giggle. Rainbow and Fluttershy nodded their heads in agreement.
Bronze then turned to the door and thought about how to open it for a moment. It seemed a bit weird to him, he never had to use such things when he was in the forest. He then shrugged to himself thinking How hard can it be. He tried pushing it with his hooves, pulling the shiny metal thing on the side of it, even going as far as writing open sesame on it with mud.
Rainbow and Applejack fell over laughing with tears running down their eyes. Soon they started having problems breathing. Even Fluttershy giggled at the 'open sesame' part.
Bronze was sweating as he heard them laughing at him. He started to panic trying to think of a way to get through this immovable obstacle standing in his way. His pride refused to let him ask for help from the girls. He started to shake as their laughter finally got to him.
Noticing this Fluttershy put a hoof on his side (she would have put it on his shoulder but we was too damn tall) trying to calm him. Rainbow and Applejack stopped laughing as they saw tears forming in Bronze's eyes.
"Hey it was only a joke alright no need to cry on us big guy." Rainbow Dash moved past him, "I'm sorry alright. Now watch this is how you do it." He watched her as she put her hoof on the door handle and turned it. The door swung inward as Bronze cursed himself for not thinking of it before.
As they entered the pleasant smell of the baked goods enveloped them. Bronze would have fainted from pure bliss if it wasn't for a pink pony who popped out of nowhere and screamed at the top of her lungs as her eyes grew to an enormous size. "OHMYGOSHYOURSOHUGEANDYOURNEWINTOWNANDTHATMEANSIGETTOTHROWANOTHERPARTYANDOHMYGOSHICANTBE-" Her ranting would have continued on if it wasn't for Applejack shoving a cupcake in the pink pony's mouth.
"Calm down Pinkie yah don't have to freak out like that every time yah meet a new pony." Applejack said "Now this is our friend Bronze. Bronze this is Pinkie Pie." He would have written out 'nice to meet you' but he noticed that the floor was made of wood, so he just bowed his head in response. "Bronze can't talk so be nice to 'im Pinkie."
"Oh my gosh you can't talk, I don't think I would eeeeeeever be able to be happy if I couldn't talk, well not really, but still that is so sad." Just then Pinkie Pie was interrupted by a loud growl from Bronze's stomach as the sweet smells started to get to him.
She only giggled at him as she popped into the back of the bakery. A few moments later she came back with a platter that had a lid on it. She then put the platter down on a table next to Bronze and removed the lid. Underneath was a big cupcake that could have easily been mistaken for a small cake.
Bronze's eyes widened and his mouth fell open as he looked at the incredible pastry. He looked at Pinkie Pie, wishing he could speak so he could ask if it was for him. She seemed to understand what he was thinking and nodded her head up and down with a big smile on her face. Bronze then looked at this glorious thing in front of him almost feeling guilty that he would be destroying such a magnificent thing as he bit into the side of the cupcake. Once the frosting hit his tongue he couldn't take it anymore. After all that he had experienced today and all the new things he had seen, he just fell over with a frosting covered smile on his face. While falling, the back of his head hit the side of one of the tables behind him with a thud.
Fluttershy squeaked nearly getting crushed as he fell over, Rainbow Dash was back on the ground not being able to breathe because she was laughing so hard, and Applejack was asking what pinkie had put in the cupcake.
When they noticed he wasn't getting back up they quickly looked over him. He was out cold with a pain filled look on his face. After landing on the floor his three cuts had opened back up and started to bleeding again. They soon found a unicorn to help them levitate him to the hospital so his condition wouldn't worsen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bronze woke up as he felt his stomach growled at him. The last time he had eaten was the night before he had been attacked by the manticore.
He looked around and saw that he was in a white room that felt very clean. There were a few cabinets lining the wall opposite him and a small chair in the corner. To his left there was a window that let in the sunlight. Other than that his room was pretty bare.
He loved the fabric he was lying on it was like sitting on clouds. The last time he had laid on something so soft was back when Ballahmar would let him sleep on the soft underside of one of his palms. He sighed as he remembered the closest thing to a father that he had.
He listened as he heard trotting back and forth behind the door on the far end of the room, wondering if one of the ponies that passed his door would enter his room. He just laid there and waited for what seemed like an eternity as he waited for something to happen.
His ears perked up as he heard some ponies start to talk outside his room. He recognized the voices of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash talking with two other ponies.
"It's amazing, if anypony said to me that I was going to treat a real alicorn today I would have thought them crazy." Said a excited voice.
"It's so sad, if what you say is true then he must have lost his horn and wings long ago." The soft voice of Fluttershy replied.
The first voice spoke up again. "If you don't mind I would like to keep him here over night so we can get the results back. It will help us find out so much about him."
"Well I'm heading home after today I could do with a good nap" Rainbow Dash's voice said with a yawn.
"Me too I forgot to feed my animals this morning. What about you Rarity are you going to head home?"
"No I'm going to stay here a little longer and see if he wakes up, it's the least I can do after I not being able to get help. Anyway all of you have already seen him and from what you tell me he must be quite the looker." Said a tired voice that seemed to have a small amount of sadness in it.
"Ok then see yah later Rarity." Rainbow said with another yawn.
Bronze could hear three of the ponies trot away as a sigh came from the other side of the door. The door slowly opened as a white unicorn with a purple mane moved into the room.
"Oh you're already awake." Rarity exclaimed with a look of shock on her face."Oh...oh my, your mane is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen." She couldn't take her eyes off it, mesmerized by how it moved on its own accord.
Bronze just looked at her as she just stood there for a full three minutes before he waved a hoof to try and get her attention. Rarity shook her head trying to get back her senses. "So, I guess that introductions are in order, I am Rarity." She put out her hoof. He looked at it with confusion trying to figure out what to do. After about thirty very awkward seconds she noticed that he wasn't going to kiss it as so many other stallions would. "Uhhh, so what's your name."
Bronze rolled his eyes at this making Rarity gasp at the rude act. He then tried to explain to her, through a series of hoof movements that he couldn't speak. After two minutes of Rarity giving him funny looks as he tried to make her understand, Bronze gave up as he face hoofed. He then started drawing out each letter with his hooves as Rarity watch him. After a few attempts she understood what he was doing."I-C-A-N-T-S-P-E-A-K"
"Oh! I'm so sorry." Rarity started blushing. Mean wile Bronze just rolled his eyes, 'finally' he said to himself."Wait here dear I`ll be back as soon as I can." Rarity said as she headed for the door. True to her word after a few minutes she came back in carrying with her a pen and some paper."There," She said wile levitating it over to him with her magic "now we can at least have a bit of a civilized talk."
He took the pen in his mouth and started writing.
"Thank you, it pleasure to meet you Rarity. My name Bronze Night. How did you make these float over to me? It first time I ever see anything like it before."
"You mean you don't know about magic! Where have you been for the past I don't know how long."
Bronze then told Rarity of how he had lived his entire life in the Everfree forest and had never seen anypony till today, how he met Ballahmar, and finally how he was attacked by the manticore.
"Oh wow that explains allot. But why didn't this Ballahmar teach you any proper manners. Being a dragon and all he must have been able to teach you some form of decency. Also, no offence but your writing is worse than an illiterate cave pony." Feeling guilty as she just realized what she had said. Bronze was an illiterate pony that had lived in caves.
Bronze didn't mind in fact he started laughing which came out as a wheezing sound, at first Rarity thought something was wrong with him, but soon realized he was laughing. He had a large grin on his face as he tried to think of something that he could say in return.
After a few moments of silence his stomach started to speak up again. Rarity was a little shocked at first but soon smiled as her own stomach made a growl of its own.
"I'll be back in a few minutes, I'm going to try and find something for us to eat."
Rarity left the room and after ten minutes she had found a small restaurant not to far from the hospital. After acquiring a few paper plates and silver ware from one of the nurses, she returned to the room Bronze was staying in.
As they ate Rarity tried to explain to Bronze how to properly hold silver ware and what each utensil was used for. It took Bronze a few times but he eventually got it down. After they were done eating, Rarity continued on for the next few hours trying to teach him all the different things that ponies could do that was polite, what was considered an insult and what was a compliment, basically everything needed to be a 'high upstanding pony' in society.
Bronze just sat there and absorbed all the information like a sponge. He wanted to know all that he could about how to properly fit in, even if some of the concepts seemed strange. For instance like how he had to bathe every day. When he was in the Everfree forest he didn't bathe at all.
As the day wore on the sun was close to setting when a nurse Redheart came in to tell them that Rarity had to leave for the night. She said her good byes and that she would be back the next day.
Bronze fell asleep soon after she left. He was happy, not only had he found out that he wasn't the only one of his kind but he also made five new friends in one day.