//------------------------------// // Chapter One - Urgent Care // Story: Little Horn's Story // by kwr2k13 //------------------------------// The story of Little Horn, a young Unicorn filly, begins in the magical realm of Equestria, home of the Elements of Harmony bearers, the Solar and Lunar Princesses, Celestia and Luna, and a host of equines with various color schemes, mane and tail styles, and Cutie Marks. Three tribes lived together in harmony in Ponyville: The high-flying Pegasi, masters of weather control who resided and worked in Cloudsdale, the magical unicorns, with feats of magic that would make Trixe Lulamoon, Rarity, or Twilight Sparkle green with envy, and the honest, down to earth Earth Ponies, who worked their farms and jobs in town, providing foodstuffs for everypony to enjoy. That is, until the chimeric entity known as Discord broke out from his stony prison (thanks to the Cutie Mark Crusaders), and plunged the realm of harmony into total chaos. Tasked with restoring harmony back to Equestria, Princess Celestia requested the presence of her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle and her friends, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy to gather the Elements of Harmony and defeat Discord. The evil chaos being toyed with our main protagonists until Twiligh Sparkle was able to overcome the discording and self-doubts with her assistant Spike the Dragon and the Friendship Letters Celestia provided. Each letter read proved that Friendship truly was Magic. Armed with her newfound knowledge, the purple unicorn librarian was able to free her friends from their prisons and defeat Discord, sending him back as a stone ornament in the Royal Canterlot Gardens. That was then, and the fateful day that chaos was free to rule Equestria again occured in the present time. Discord was freed by the Mane Six as per a Royal Decree from Princess Celestia. Hoping that Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, could reform him, Princess Celestia suggested that Fluttershy befriend the chaotic draconequeuus. Discord played along, even admitting that "Friendship is Magic." Finally, when everypony let their guard down, Discord struck. Discord pretended to be good and betrayed the Elements of Harmony, starting with Kindness, represented by Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash, the Loyal friend and fellow Pegasus, was wroth with rage over Fluttershy's banishment, and attacked Discord with the speed the Best Young Flier and Wonderbolt Captain could muster. Sadly, Rainbow Dash was no match for Discord's tricks. Eventually, Honesty (Applejack), Laughter (Pinkie Pie) and Generosity (Rarity) fell, leaving the Princesses and Twilight Sparkle, as well as Spike, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Zecora, the Wonderbolts, and the rest of the Apple family to contend with. Before Discord could deal with Princess Celestia and her student, he turned to the youngest members of the community of Ponyville; the children. Cheerilee, the school teacher, had welcomed a new student to the class; Little Horn, a young unicorn filly with a brown mane and short tail. She had a light tan coat and was until this time, a Blank Flank. Two classmates, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who were vocal about little ponies with no Cutie Mark, passed a note to Little Horn through Apple Bloom, which caught the attention of Cheerilee. Cheerilee stopped her lecture on Cutie Marks, and looked directly at Apple Bloom and Little Horn, who were caught red-hoofed, "Apple Bloom, were you passing notes in class, again? You and your sister are going to have a talk about this." Cherilee scolded. Apple Bloom's ears drooped, "But Miss Cherilee, Ah didn't pass any notes! It was Diamond Tiara!" She protested, despite the evidence in her front hoof. The white piece of paper was blank! Little Horn finally spoke up, "Huh? Why is it blank?" Little Horn asked with curiousity. Diamond Tiara stifiled a chuckle, "Remind you of somepony you know, blank flank?" Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara's classmate, adjusted her glasses, "Yeah, what she said, Blank Flank! Oh, and you have a small horn. Smaller than Sweetie Belle's." She glared at Sweetie Belle. The white unicorn filly with the pastel purple and white mane known as Sweetie Belle wanted to go over and hug Little Horn. "Hay, you leave my friend alone! She may be small, but she's full of potential!" This act of kindness towards the new student made Cherilee happy she chose to be a teacher. Scootaloo, the orange pegasi, and member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, whispered to Apple Bloom, "We should totally ask Little Horn to come to our clubhouse to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders. After all, your cousin Babs is in it, and we need more members!" Apple Bloom smiled, "Ya know, Scoots, yer on ta something. Meet us at the clubhouse after school and bring Lil' Horn with ya!" The fillies decided to befriend their new classmate then and there. The class continued for the rest of the day until Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon continued teasing poor Little Horn again; Diamond Tiara for considering to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Silver Spoon made a crack about Little Horn's, well, small horn. This was a very senstitive issue for the young filly. Little Horn began to cry a bit. "Stop teasing me about my horn! I cannot help it if I'm the only pony in my family with a small horn!" That outburst occured towards the end of the school day, so Cheerilee asked the young filly to stay after school and invited her family in for a conference. During the conference, the family was able to discover the issues facing their child. The father, known as Big Horn, glared at Cherilee, "Bullying is unacceptable! I will go over to Filthy Rich's Barnyard Bargains and demand he make his daughter apologize to mine!" Big Horn stomped his hoof in protest. Shimmer, the voice of reason and Little Horn's mother said, "Dear, please, be rational about this! We will be banned from the Barnyard Bargains store for sure! They have all our favorite things there." The arguement on whether to demand an apology from Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich to Small Horn made a certain Dracquoneuus very interested in this development. Little Horn left the conference with her parents, her head down, wondering what was to happen next. Just then, Scootaloo buzzed by on her scooter and stopped, nearly knocking over the tan filly. Scootaloo removed her helmet and shook her magenta mane, "Hay, I hear you need some cheerin' up! Come with me! I got some friends you haveta meet!" This pleased the unicorn filly. Scootaloo gave Little Horn a helmet. Little Horn placed the helmet on her head. The helmet belonged to Sweetie Belle, but she lent the helmet for the sake of safety to their new friend. "Oh, hay Mr. and Mrs. Horn. May I take your daughter to the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse? I think we Crusaders can help Little Horn with that bullyin' problem!" Scootaloo asked politely as she revved her scooter, impatient to get back to Crusading with their new friend. The parents agreed, as long as their daughter was back in town for supper. Scootaloo and Little Horn headed out, nearly knocking over poor Granny Smith in the market, "Sorry Granny Smith! Apple Bloom's at the Clubhouse waitin' for me!" Granny Smith shook her hoof at the energetic filly, "Young whipersnappers! Take time ta look before you leap!" The elderly mare went back to the family farm, exhausted from her shopping trip in town. The fillies were at the clubhouse, all in their Crusader cloaks. Sweetie Belle went to ask her sister, Rarity, to design one just like hers for Little Horn. "I'm here, and I brought that new recuit you wanted!" Scootaloo announced. Apple Bloom was so excited about this new filly, "Howdy, Lil' Horn. Ah'm Apple Bloom, and this is Sweetie Belle," she pointed to the white unicorn filly with the pastel puple and white mane, "and you met Scootaloo eariler. Welcome to the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse!" The little filly's pupils shrunk as Little Horn was suprised her classmates wanted her to join their club, "Cutie Mark Crusaders?" The filly tilted her head in her query to this new place. This made Apple Bloom remember the same thing her cousin Babs Seed said when she was offered membership. Apple Bloom continued her sales pitch, "Yep, this here club is dedicated to helping Ponies earn their Cutie Marks! You seem like the ideal candidate!" Apple Bloom motioned her friends to make Little Horn feel welcome. "Allow us to show you can do here, if you choose ta join us!" Apple Bloom's southern accent came on thick, reflecting her Apple heritage. Applejack would be so proud! Maybe if they recruited Small Horn, a Cutie Mark for Recruiting a new Crusader would appear. No such luck. Apple Bloom then offered the first benefit of club membership, "Here's where we take attendance!" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo went over to the attendance sheet, crudely drawn with a picture of the three crusaders and Babs, along with a new picture of Little Horn. Sweetie Belle "pretended" to raise her hoof to indicate she was present for the meeting. Scootaloo marked her and Apple Bloom, as well as Little Horn present. Apple Bloom continued with her usual recruitment/benefits speech, with where the girls would eat their snacks, and the ideal spot for ideas for Cutie Marks. "Well, what ya think, Lil' Horn? You seemed sad when those stinkin' bullies made fun o' ya." Apple Bloom felt empathy for the young filly. Little Horn thought about what Apple Bloom and her friends said, "You got yourself a new member, Apple Bloom! I'm in!" She extended her hoof to the Crusaders, which they accepted readily. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle went up to Little Horn and gave her a hug, followed by Apple Bloom. The Earth Pony Filly was quite strong, Little Horn had to admit. The girls then grouped up, as when they were prepared to go Crusadering. "Here, this is our club hoofshake!" Scootaloo said, raising her hoof in the air, along with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. They motioned Little Horn to join them, and she did! Scootaloo smiled, "We have one last thing. We haveta elect Little Horn as our newest member!" She put on her Crusader cloak, which Rarity designed. The Maroon and gold lined cloaks were small and functional for a Crusader meeting, according to the resident seamstress. Sweetie Belle put hers on, as did Apple Bloom. Scootaloo began to bang on her bongos with her hooves to start the ceremony, followed by some dirty looks from Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle took her place on the podium, decorated for the ceremony with the Crusader logo on the front. "Ahem!" Sweetie Belle cleared her throat cutely, "Hear ye, Hear ye! We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, elect Little Horn as our newest Crusader, Gal Pal, etc., etc." She looked over at the other Crusaders, "What, too short? I have more if you need it." The other crusaders brought out the cloak for their new member. Scootaloo declared as she smiled, "You have been offically sworn in! Congratulations, Little Horn! Welcome to the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" The cloak was thrown over Little Horn, who telekinetically adjusted it to fit. Like Rarity said, functional and practical. The girls posed in their Crusader cloaks and high-hoofed. Soon, it was time to go, and the girls had to leave; Apple Bloom to the farm to wash up for dinner and help Applejack set the table, Sweetie Belle heard Rarity call her in for dinner, and Scootaloo rushed home on her scooter. Big Horn and Shimmer arrived and picked up their filly, still wearing her cloak from the ceremony. To celebrate the newest Cutie Mark Crusader, they went to Haute Coutre, which was the restraunt patroned by Twilight Sparkle and Spike in the Ticket Master episode. Savoir Faire, the proprietor, took the family to their booth, where they were joined by an elderly unicorn, Grand Horn, Little Horn's grandfather and White Horn, her grandmother. Grand Horn had reserved the booth for the family and Little Horn hugged her grandparents. Eventually, they ordered their food. The new waiter arriving with the food and beverages was strange. He looked like a mix of creatures with a lion's paw and a griffon's claw for hands. "Your meals, sirs, madam, and miss." He said with a snake-like hiss. Grand Horn refused to eat his food, and stopped his family from doing so. He knew something was not right. Big Horn protested, "We didn't order this! Mr. Faire, this waiter gave us the wrong orders! We wanted four hay, Daffodil, and daisy sandwiches and four waters! I demand he be fired!" The waiter then grinned, "It's okay, because I don't work here anyway!" It was revealed to be Discord. "Suprised, aren't you! Oh, I had fun preparing my little present for your foal. I think this is the perfect time to give you my gift!" The grandfather saw behind the disguise, "Discord! You picked the wrong time to show your muzzle here! The Element Bearers will vanquish you!" His horn glowed as Discord laughed manicially. Discord floated lazily as he sneered at Grand Horn's display of magic in an open area, "Sorry, old man, not this time. I took care of those ponies eariler. You and the Princesses and that goody-two hooves student of hers are next, after I deal with you ponies!" Discord snapped his fingers, and the eldery stallion vanished. "One down, three to go. Anypony else want to try?" The next to challenge the Chaos being was Little Horn's parents, who attempted to emulate the Princess' double team move, but the couple were defeated and banished. Discord then turned his attention to the young filly, "Now, you going to finish that delicious food, or shall I join you for dinner, little Crusader?" He sneered as he discorded the food, making it grey and dull. He then offered the tainted sandwich to Little Horn, "Bon appetit, My little Pony!" Small Horn began to cry as her Cutie Mark appeared on her flank, "You took my grandfather," Her Cutie Mark appeared as a light blue heart, representing love of her family. The left side of the heart showed her grandfather's horn, pointing in a northeast direction, "And my parents!" Her Mom and dad's horns on the right side, crossed to signify the union of the family. "I won't let you harm me!" Her little horn appeared at the bottom of her heart, "or my friends!" She cried as the last piece of the mark was a light tan star. Discord golf-clapped, "Congratulations, you earned your Cutie mark! But to celebrate, you should enjoy this delicious sandwich. I made it especially for you!" He forced the tainted sandwich down the filly's throat, followed by some discolored water. "Swallow, little filly. You'll need all the nourishment to be big and strong to defeat the likes of me!" Little Horn started to choke on the food and drink, as the secret ingredient, Poison Joke flowers, spilled out of the sandwich. Discord chuckled, as he summoned a glass of chocolate milk, "Ah, you discovered my little gift. Like it? It's called Poison Joke. Found it in the Everfree Forest. The resident Zebra warned me about these flowers, but I am immune to its effects, unlike you." Little Horn was covered head to hoof with blue spots and her Cutie Mark vanished, making her even sicker, "What did you do to me?" She stammered, trying to get out of the restaurant past the chaos being. Discord thought this prank was funny, and laughed with glee, "Oh, it's starting! Good, soon, you'll be out of my mane and out of Equestria. Enjoy the custom meal I prepared for you. Consider it your last. Chiao!" He disappeared in a cloud of chaos, zipping towards Canterlot castle. Little Horn crawled up to her hooves, still choking on her food, "Must...warn...Twilight...Princess Celestia..." She then collapsed on the ground, her fur becoming grey. Her head felt warm to the touch, as well as her small horn sparked its last spark. Savoir Faire, cowering behind a booth, stepped out to check on the filly, "Somepony call the hospital! This is an emergency!" This was the last thing Small Horn heard before her pale blue eyes closed on Ponyville's premier restaurant and the hustling medical staff. "Nurse Redheart, Nurse Trueheart, report to Ponyville Urgent Care, Stat!" The doctor paged when they brought in the filly. The nurses gave the doctor the sit-rep. "Nurse Redheart, who do we have?" The doctor, who resembled a ponified version of Hugh Laurie from the television show, House, M.D. got the patient chart out to take notes. Nurse Redheart reported the situation to the doctors..."Unicorn filly found at Haute Coutre; her name is Little Horn. She appears to be wearing a cloak of some sort. Put it in her personal effects. This is the only thing she was brought in with." Once the cloak was removed intact and boxed up, the staff noticed her discorded grey skin and mane, as well as the blue itchy splotches of the Poison Joke. Her Cutie Mark was barely visible, also a side effect of the Poison Joke. "Dear Celestia, what happened to you, young one?" Nurse Pureheart, the unicorn nurse on duty, stammered as she scanned for vitals. Nurse Pureheart continued rattling off the filly's symptoms..."Shallow breathing, fever, weak pulse, and lethargy. Mane and fur colored grey. Loss of appetite. Stomach contents suggest food poisoning, from a tainted daffodil, hay, and daisy sandwich and some bad water. Strange blue flowers within sandwich confirm suspicion of food poisoning. Glassy eyes, no signs of pupil dilation reponse. Blue splotches on coat and mane indicate Poison Joke poisoning! We have to do something!" Nurse Pureheart motioned the other doctors and staff to help the filly. The nurses made sure the filly was placed in a sterile room, and hooked up to all sorts of devices. "She is in Celestia's hooves now." Nurse Pureheart solemly said as she watched over the filly. A routine check from one of the nurse ponies showed that Little Horn had mysteriously vanished from her hospital bed. The staff frantically called in their security team to track down the filly. In the human world on May 1, 2020, the sirens of an ambulance wailed as it sped through the rainy night. Mr. and Mrs. Horner sat in the back and watched their son worriedly. Only this morning he was as healthy as a horse, yet here he was, lying prone, with pale skin covered in strange, blue spots. It almost seemed surreal: how could their son fall so ill, so suddenly, and on his birthday too? They followed the directions of the medics and doctors with all the vivacity of wind-up toys. The remainder of the night was but a blur of linoleum tiling and hospital gowns for Mr. and Mrs. Horner, but it was far more than that for their son, and the doctors tending to him. Doctor Amanda Wells was called in that night to treat the patient. Dr. Wells began her line of questioning for the parents. She listened to them as they explained that their son's name was Samuel Colton Horner, age 25. He was brought to the Urgent Care with a mysterious illness on May 1, 2020. The symptoms included greyish hair and skin, lethargy, and a lack of appetite. Sam, like his filly counterpart, had his last meal of a Philly Steak and Cheese sandwich at a local Sub Shop before he collapsed. The sandwich contained an unknown ingredient; the same blue flowers from the tainted sandwich Discord made Small Horn eat after he falsely promised to bring back her family if she ate all her food like a good little filly. Light blue splotches appeared all over Sam's body, and the doctors noticed a faint light blue coloration of a heart on the outer side of his thighs. The doctors thought that this was some sort of unusual birth mark. Muscle Atrophy and weight loss soon followed once the child was admitted and given intravenous fluids. A respirator for breathing and a food tube for nourishment soon followed. The head doctor prepared the Horners with the worst case scenario; they would have to say farewell to their child and prepare for a funeral. The family, who were very religious, called in favors with relatives, friends, business associates, and their pastor. The pastor arrived to anoint Samuel's head with oil and administer the last rites. Sam's cousin, Holly Trader, a free-lance singer, arrived to sing for him upon the request of her aunt and uncle, which helped elevate some discomfort. Holly sang some hymns that the family used to sing at church. Holly was a part of their church's choir and her talent in singing appeared to brighten the atmosphere of the room, as noted by the hospital staff and chaplain. Holly's singing helped her cousin feel better and snap out of his coma. Holly took a break from her singing to allow the nurses to run Sam's vitals, so she went to the restroom and then the cafeteria. While in the restroom, Holly discovered two Treble Clef Cutie Marks in the shape of a heart on her thighs. She was very anxious about what these marks meant to her and her connection to her sick cousin. The fever broke that night, but the patient would be kept for observation for a few more days, just to be sure he would make a full recovery. Family and friends took shifts on May 1, the day young Samuel C. Horner last was conscious. Sam slipped into a medically induced coma that night, which prompted the hospital staff to move him to the Intensive Care Unit. Later that evening, Sam's hair grew a bit, and some color returned to his skin. The skin became a light peach color, and his hair a light brown. The blue splotches and the faint blue marks on his thighs were of much concern to the hospital staff. When the doctors checked his vitals, it was noted his eyes were a pale blue color. When questioned about this, the beleaguered parents surmised that their child's eyes were always that color, but his hair was a darker brown. Still the doctors saw some promise as Sam's breathing slightly improved. The respirator, intravenous and feeding tubes were left in to ensure Samuel was getting his valuable nutrients and dispose of his waste. Sponge baths were given after the fever broke to keep Sam clean and germ free. The hospital also helped as much as they could financially. The parents hoped the hospital stay would not bankrupt them. Holly held some fund raisers at her local church to raise money to pay for her cousin's medical bills. She even sang at some church benefits, and people gave as they were able to do so. Later that night, while Sam slept, he began to dream while he was in his medically induced coma. The dreamscape appeared to be similar to the Everfree Forest, a location from the television show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Sam walked along the path in his dream, seeing strange blue plants on either side of the path. Sam recognized those plants from the sandwich he ate prior to his coma, and attempted to avoid those plants as much as he could. His longer brown hair reached to his neck in his dreamscape, as in the real world. He was alive within the dreamscape as his blue eyes saw a hut. Sam wore nothing but the hospital gown and his underwear underneath the gown. He did not know who owned this hut, but the decor had an African motif to it, complete with an herbal garden in back and some strange tribal masks. Sam approached the front door to the hut, and wondered who lived out here.