//------------------------------// // Realization and Acceptance // Story: Luck from a Horseshoe // by my_little_medic //------------------------------// There was a 'click' from the hospital room door as it swung open. The doctor slowly poked his head inside the room. "Everything going all right in here?" The doctor said with a cheery tone. The doctor shuffled the rest of the way inside the room, holding the door cracked open with his rear hoof. His eyes grew wide as a large smile came over his face when he saw the stallion and Rainbow Dash sitting on the bed next to each other. "OH MY!" The doctor exclaimed excitedly. "You're awake!" Vince and the others looked over at the doctor. He wiped his eyes one last time with his left foreleg, and with a smile on his face the pegasus answered. "I am... and.... thank you for everything you've done for me. I'm sorry if I've caused a lot of trouble here." The doctor shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It's just a very nice surprise to see you awake. And, smiling, I might add." The doctor came the rest of the way into the room allowing the door to fully close behind him. "How are you feeling?" The doctor asked. "Well....." The stallion said as he looked over at Rainbow Dash who was smiling at him and then to the others at the foot of his bed. "Better..." He answered looking back to the doctor. "Definitely better." "That's wonderful!" The doctor exclaimed. "Are you in any pain?" Vince looked down at his right foreleg which was slinged to his body. Then he looked back at his right wing which was bandaged and splinted so it was sticking out to the side. "I think I'm all right for now." He answered as he turned back to the doctor. "Very good then." The doctor replied. "However, I'm afraid that I must ask you to try and get some rest. It's what's going to do you the most good and help you get out of here sooner." Vince's smile faded slightly at the thought of being alone here again, but he gave the doctor a nod of agreement. The doctor turned to the others who were still huddled together at the foot of the bed. "Would you all mind joining me in the hallway for a moment?" He asked. "Sure." Twilight answered. With that the doctor turned around and magically opened the door and stepped out in the hall. Twilight followed the doctor and turned around in the doorway and looked back at the stallion. "We'll be sure to come back and visit as much as we can. We've got a lot to talk about." She said Vince nodded at her with a slightly uncomfortable smile as she turned and walked out the door. Applejack walked around to the side of the bed. She turned her head to the side and grabbed something out of her saddlebag. As she turned back around she had a bright and shiny red apple that she was holding in her teeth by the stem. Carefully she set the apple down on the small table next to the piece of cake. "A small snack for later." She said with a smile. "Trust me, the grub here ain't all that tasty. Right Rainbow?" Applejack asked as she looked at over at Rainbow with a cynical smile. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at Applejack into a bland stare. Applejack let out a small laugh. "Thank you." Vince answered. She gave a small nod as she turned and walked out of the room. Pinkie Pie followed her before turning around in the doorway. "Make sure you don't let your cake go stale!" She said showing a toothy grin afterward. She bounced out the door and into the hallway. "Umm..." The little purple dragon at the side of the bed said. Vince looked down at the dragon. He was rocking back and forth on the soles of his feet looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry. You know... about upsetting you earlier..." The dragon said with a sad tone. Vince blinked at the dragon and dropped his gaze to the floor for a moment before looking back to the dragon. "No... I'm sorry. I just.... I didn't...." Vince let out a long sigh. "I guess there's just some things that I'm gonna need to get used to. In any case, I'm sorry for being rude." A small smile showed on the dragon's face. He gave the stallion a little nod and then turned and joined the others in the hall. "Hey!" Rainbow Dash said giving him a little yank with her wing. He turned his attention to her. She looked him in the eyes with a smile that he returned. "We all meant what we said ya know. About helping you out." She said. He nodded to her. "Thanks..." He said. She gave him a wink and with a flap of her wings she was off the bed and flying out the door. Vince watched as Rainbow Dash flew out of the hospital room. As she exited a yellow aura surrounded the door and it closed with a 'click.' He took a deep breath and relaxed back into the bed. His eyes dropped down to his new form and he calmly began to take himself in. He raised his left forehoof up to his face to examine it. 'Gonna be really strange not having fingers...' He thought. He sighed and let his hoof fall down to his side. He looked back as he flexed the muscles that moved his left wing. He snickered a bit to himself as he watched his wing move up and down. 'It's funny that I would end up with wings after how much I hated flying.' He looked down at his tail. It spread out from his rear and the tip almost reached the edge of the bed. A bright and vivid red with little streaks of yellow here and there. 'A definite change from the colors of horses I'm used to.' He raised his eyes upward and he brushed the top of his mane down with his foreleg till it was just hanging over his eyes. It was the same hue of red with hints of yellow streaks. He let out another deep sigh as he let his head fall back into his pillow. "For better or worse. I'm here, I'm alive and I'm a... pony..." He said aloud to himself. "At least I have others here that seem to genuinely care about me." He closed his eyes and sleep easily came to him. The stresses of the day melting away and a slight smile appearing on his face. ~~~ The doctor magically closed the hospital room door behind Rainbow Dash. The five friends all huddled together in the hallway and turned to face the doctor. The doctor raised a hoof to adjust his glasses and cleared his throat. "I really don't know how you all did it." The doctor said. "But you've managed to actually keep him calm and put a smile on his face! This is a massive change from what we all saw last night. I dare say, his recovery should be much quicker and easier now." The group all exchanged glances with each other, smiles on each of their faces. "I must ask that all of you come back and visit him as much as you can in the next week. Depending on how well he heals we can hopefully have him out of the hospital in that time." "Of course doctor!" Twilight answered. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that it'll be a pleasure helping him get back on his own four hooves." The rest of them all nodded in agreement. "Very good. But, just remember that he will need rest. So, take care and we'll see you back tomorrow then." The doctor said with a pleased look on his face. He turned and began trotting down the hallway. The group turned and made their way out of the hospital. As they walked from the hospital back into the center of the town. Twilight dropped her stare to the ground as if she was contemplating something. "Everything all right there sugarcube?" Applejack asked seeing Twilight's drooped gaze. Twilight stopped and looked up at the others. "It's just strange. I sent Princess Celestia a letter the night that we took him in to the hospital and I still haven't received anything back. As strange of an occurrence as this was, I would've thought that there would have been a letter sent back to me right away." "Oohh..." Spike said dropping his gaze to the ground. Twilight looked down at him as he rocked back and forth on his feet with a guilty look on his face. "I completely forgot to tell you. A letter from Princess Celestia came the other day while you were out." "What?!" She said in a slightly panicked voice. "I didn't mean to! I was going to give you the letter but after you came home we ended up going out for ice cream and I completely forgot about it..." He lowered his gaze to the ground again. "Sorry Twilight..." Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder and he looked up at her. She gave him a warm smile. "It's okay Spike. Even my number one assistant can't be expected to remember everything." He returned the smile and gave her a small hug. "Thanks Twilight..." Twilight looked up at the rest of her friends. "I'll see you all later. I need to go home and see what this letter says." She motioned to Spike to jump on her back and the little dragon did so. She took off at a gallop towards her library, leaving her friends behind staring after her. The door of her library magically swung open as she and Spike came inside and then the door closed behind them. Spike quickly jumped off of her back and ran over to one of the bookshelves and grabbed a rolled up scroll off of it. Twilight's magical aura surrounded it and it floated out of his hand and over to her. Magically she opened up the scroll and began to read it. My dearest Twilight Sparkle, How interesting to here about this young pegasus' situation. I'm very happy to know that you and your friends were there to witness his incident and get him to the hospital. It sounds like he couldn't have been in better hooves. I have heard of several pegasi that have experienced amnesia after a bad crash like the one you're describing. Hopefully his memory will come back as he heals in the Ponyville Hospital. I'm certain with you and all of your friends looking after him, his recovery well be a quick and easy process. I look forward to hearing more from you in regards to his recovery. Also, I asked Princess Luna about the "pink star" that you say you and your friends saw. She says that she has never had any encounters with such a star. Perhaps in your free time you could put your amazing research abilities to work and see if you can come up with anything. Your proud mentor and teacher, Princess Celestia Twilight hovered the letter over to her desk and set it down. She let out a thoughtful sigh and rubbed her chin with a hoof. "Twilight?" Spike asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sure that the pink falling star we saw that night and this pegasus are connected." She said in a confident voice. "If Princess Luna has never seen such a star then what else could it be? This pegasus had no idea who or what he was... You saw how shocked he was when Pinkie Pie showed him his wings. He couldn't even come up with his own name! Furthermore, dragons are a very common species in equestria and when he saw you come in the room, it was as if he thought you were gonna jump up and instantly rip him apart." "But, maybe it's like Princess Celestia said and he just has a bad case of amnesia." Spike said raising his arms. "I don't think so Spike. From his reactions to everything, it's almost like he's never been to equestria before in his life. The other thing is that he's got no cutie mark! What other explanation is there for a stallion his age not to have their cutie mark? Everypony discovers that thing that makes them special while they're a colt or filly and earns their cutie mark. What else other than him not being from equestria would explain that?" Spike put a claw up to his chin as he thought for a moment. "I think you may be on to something Twilight. But, how do we confirm any of this?" He asked. Twilight looked back at the little purple dragon with a warm smile on her face. "I guess the first thing we're gonna have to do is talk to him and get his side of the story." She answered confidently. "But how are you gonna know if he's telling the truth or not?" "We'll bring Applejack with us. After all, she is the element of honesty." Twilight answered with a smile.