//------------------------------// // Rumble (written by Lordfrieza, edited by me) // Story: It All Happened One Morning... // by TiberiusPonificus //------------------------------// “THUUUUUNNNNNNDDDDDEEEEERRRRRRLLLLAAAAANNNNNEEEEEE!” I woke up to the feeling of the wind blowing past me that told me I wasn't flying. The ground was getting closer, and I knew it wasn’t forgiving. The sight of it must have caused my wings to lock up. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't get my wings to work. I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst, when I felt a couple of forelegs around my barrel. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I slowed and touched down safely. I looked behind me to see the familiar blue and white mane of my brother Thunderlane. “Thank you!” I cried out, grabbing my big brother and buried my face in his neck. "I don't know what happened. I..." “Rumble…is that you?” he asked. I started to ask him what he meant when I looked at my right forehoof and saw a claw there. The talons weren't sharp enough, but I don't know what else to call it. I gasped, looked down at myself to find I had stubby little claws at the end of my hind legs as well. Not only that... “Wh…what happened?” I shouted, patting my barrel and stomach. "My coat's gone! I'm bald!" "Not completely," Thunderlane said. "You still got your mane." He rubbed the top of my head, and I could feel my hair being ruffled. I felt it with my claws to check myself. "That's great, but...what am I?" I asked. "And how did this happen?" “I don’t know…but maybe we can ask Zecora,” he said. I rolled my eyes. Really? Thunderlane had been using any excuse he could, and now here I was, changed into something that neither of us know, and he wants to spend time with her? I guess that she was okay, but I didn’t like sharing my big brother with her. He touched my forehead and smiled. “I think at the very least she could offer you a bed for the rest of the night, squirt,” he said. “What’s wrong with my bed?” I asked. “You mean the bed you just fell through and almost wound up becoming as flat as an Oat Burger?” he asked, pointing upward. “Oh, right,” I said. "I wonder why that happened..." He chuckled and walked over to me. I tried to get on all fours, but it felt weird, and I kind of looked silly with my flank in the air like that. “It looks like your hind legs are longer than your front now. Maybe you should try standing on them,” he suggested. I did, and I found that I could stand on them fairly easily. I tried to walk, and instantly fell on my flank. “OW!” I rubbed my flank, only to discover something. “You’re fine. You’ve taken worse spills than that before,” he said, but I wasn't paying attention. I looked behind myself because I couldn't feel my tail anymore. My eyes turned wide when I saw that it wasn't just my tail that was gone. “Thunderlane… My wings…” I said sniffling. He looked behind me and had a look of shock on his face when he saw that they were gone too. “It’s going to be okay, Rumble," Thunderlane said, trying to comfort me. We’ll get this fixed, I promise. If Zecora doesn’t know, then maybe she’ll know somepony who does." “Okay…” I nodded, trying my best not to cry. I felt scared. I was more scared right now than I had ever been before. I was even more scared than when I told my brother I kind of liked Applebloom. That was a mistake too. Thunderlane teased me about liking her that entire day, and then into the next one, and well… he still teases me about it. “Here, climb on my back, Squirt,” he said, lowering himself to let me on. I sat down on his back and clung on as he lifted himself back up. I knew that I was most likely making it too hard for him to fly, but he ran and tried to anyway. We lifted off of the ground for about two seconds before he landed and shook his head. “Well, that didn't work. How do you feel about a walk?” He asked with a nervous smile on his face. “Through the Everfree?” Was he crazy? “It’s just to Zecora’s,” he replied. "Her hut's not too deep into the forest, and I know the way to it by heart." "Okay..." I didn't like it, but there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it. The forest was as creepy in the night as it was during the daytime. I stayed quiet as I listened to the sounds of the forest around us. It was loud tonight. It sounded like everything was trying to get angry all at once, and I had enough to be scared about. Without my coat, the night was even colder than usual. I clung on tighter to Thunderlane and clutched one of his wings with my claw. "Ow! Careful, buddy," he said. "Everything okay?" "It's just a little cold..." I said, but I couldn't hide my worry for long. “Thunderlane...I’m still your brother right?” “Of course you are, Squirt! It's me and you to the end,” he said. That made me feel better. In the distance I could see a single light, which Thunderlane ran towards, with me trying not to fall off. He knocked on the door and a moment later it opened revealing Zecora, who studied us both before moving out of the way to let us in. “Had I known you were coming, I'd have prepared some tea, but it is for a different reason you have come to see me?" She asked. How does she come up with these rhymes on the fly? I slowly got down and he motioned toward me. “This is Rumble. Something happened to him, Zecora, and I was wondering if you might know what it is?” He asked. She studied me for a moment before she walked over to a table and began mixing a few herbs together. I watched as she dropped a glowing flower into the mixture, mashed it down, and let it glow for a moment before she walked back over and held out the bowl to me on her head. “Eat this paste, but make haste, for it has a terrible taste,” she warned. I licked it, and instantly I wished I had listened and tried to eat it all at once. I put my claw into the bowl and scooped out as much as I could. I shoved it into my mouth and swallowed. For a moment nothing happened, and then my entire body glowed blue for a second. I held out my foreleg and saw both the claw and a bluish faint vision of my hoof appear over it. I had never been so glad to see it until the vision of my hoof disappeared completely. Zecora shook her head. “I hoped this was simply poison joke's doing, but it seems this change is from another's fooling,” she said. “So you think it might be magic?” Thunderlane asked. “Yes I do, and those who know what may have happened are few. Perhaps we should talk to dear Twilight. If anypony knows what happened, she might,” she said. Thunderlane looked at her and smiled brightly. “Have I told you how pretty you are?” he asked. Ugh. Flirting already? “Thunderlane, complimenting me is a simple task, but if there is something you need, you need only ask,” she replied. He shuffled his front hooves for a moment before looking at her. “Well, Rumble needs somewhere to sleep. He can’t stay on the clouds without his wings, and I wouldn’t mind keeping you company while you research,” he said. She raised an eyebrow at him and I covered my mouth with one of my claws to keep from laughing. After a moment, I uncovered my mouth when Zecora looked at me. “Rumble, tell me true, is sleeping here something you want to do?” She asked. “I want to sleep on my bed, but I can’t sleep on the clouds anymore, and Thunderlane trusts you, so I do too,” I answered. “Very well, then sleep you shall. Rest your head and heart, and tomorrow we shall see if we can take this curse apart,” she replied. I was lead to a stone slab with large leaves resting on it. Laying on it was very tough, especially after laying on soft clouds for most of my life. How does she sleep on this? "I know it's an adjustment, Rumble," Thunderlane said to me. "But this is just for now until we can change you back. We'll have you back to flying in no time! Try to get some rest in the meantime, okay?" "I don't even know how I'm gonna get back to sleep after all this," I said. Without my coat, the leaves felt very odd against me, like plastic, but not quite. At least they didn't itch. That would've been the last thing I needed. I finally found a comfortable enough position, laying on my side facing away from them. I just closed my eyes and hoped my body would allow me to sleep. "This whole thing has got me worried," I heard Thunderlane say. "I mean, what did he even turn into? Have you ever seen anything like it?" "There is more to the world than what we see. Perhaps it's something not yet revealed to you and me," Zecora replied. "So, you don't know, either," Thunderlane sighed. I heard his hoofsteps come closer to me. "Just how do you go from a pegasus to something that doesn't even look like a pony? The only way I can tell it's still him is his mane and the fact he's a boy. And that's not saying much..." "Bro?" I called out to him quietly. "Yeah, Squirt?" Thunderlane answered. I turned over to face him. "What if I can't change back? What if I never get to fly again?" "We can't start thinking like that, Rumble," he said. "You can't tell yourself you're going to lose before you've even started the race!" I sat up. "Yeah, but..." He put his hoof to my chest. "No buts, baby brother. You let Zecora and I do all the hoofwork while you rest. It's way too late for a little colt to be awake." "If anxiety and fear stays your rest," Zecora came up to us with a cup of tea balanced on her nose. "Perhaps some herbal tea would help you best." I carefully grasped the cup with my claws and took in a whiff of the tea. Already, it felt soothing and I was beginning to calm down. I took in a few sips to check that it wasn't too hot, then gulped it down bit by bit. By the time the cup was finished, my eyelids felt extremely heavy, and my whole body just wanted to lay down. As I laid down and started to drift off to sleep, I felt an old quilt being laid across me. I drew it close to me and closed my eyes. ....... "Applebloom?" I called out to her from behind a tree, trying to stay hidden. "What is it, Rumble?" I heard her say as she came closer. "I wanted to tell you something for a long time, Applebloom..." I swallowed hard and came out from behind the tree. "Applebloom, I...I really like you!" The look of horror on her face as she slowly stepped back didn't hurt as much as what she screamed. "GET AWAY FROM ME! MONSTER!" KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK I woke up with a start, sitting straight up and gasping for air. That was just a dream, but it was still the second worst night's sleep I ever got. I looked down at myself. I still wasn't a pony, so last night wasn't a dream either. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Who the hay can that be?" Thunderlane said groggily as he got up right next to me. I guess he stayed up with Zecora looking up cures. "A moment if you will, dear guests of mine," Zecora shouted towards her door as she sat up at the other side of me. "I am not used to so many visitors at this time." "Rumble, hide. Quickly," Thunderlane whispered to me. "Why?" "We don't want to cause a panic if somepony else sees you," he answered. "We'll do our best to get them to leave quickly. Just hide for now, okay?" After the dream last night, I was willing to believe him. I quickly covered myself with the quilt, just allowing myself to look at what was going on. As soon as Zecora opened the door, two blue pegasi practically flew into the hut. Zecora was mainly ignored, and they went straight to Thunderlane, who was doing his best to hid me. Through the quilt, I could make out one mane of light blue hair and another with teal hair and a bow. Wait a second! That's... "Cloudchaser! Flitter!" Thunderlane greeted them nervously. "What are you two doing here?" "Cut the chatter, Thunderlane," Cloudchaser stomped her hoof. "Where is he? Where's Rumble?" Flitter asked, a little more calmly than her sister. "Well, good morning to you too, girls!" Thunderlane said, slightly indignant. "How do you even know he's here?" "Your neighbor said he heard Rumble screaming in the middle of the night," Cloudchaser explained. "When we came over to check in, neither of you were home!" "We're just worried about him, that's all," Flitter said. "And everypony in the neighborhood knows that if you aren't at home or work or training, you'll be coming here." "Everypony knows it?!" Thunderlane shouted, but after a moment of awkward silence, he cleared his throat. "Anyway, Rumble's fine, girls! You don't need to worry!" "Then where is he? And why was he screaming last night?" Cloudchaser was getting closer to Thunderlane. "He just had a really bad dream," he tried to explain. "I dropped him off at a friend's house to calm down. Like you need to. Zecora?" "So much tea made as of late," Zecora chuckled. "I'll need to go back for herbs at this rate." She trotted off to make more tea. "Could you tell us who you left him with?" Flitter asked. "Was it Button Mash? Featherweight? Shady Daze?" "How do you even know all..." Thunderlane shook his head. "Nevermind that. I told you, he's fine! Why do you need to know so badly?" "It's our duty as his foalsitters to know if something's wrong with him!" Cloudchaser answered. "And if you're hiding him for whatever stupid reason..." They went on talking, but I was distracted by this itchy feeling in my nose. It's smaller, but it still works the same. Like catching dust being kicked up by all the commotion. Oh no. Not now! Ah...ah..AH-CHOO! Horsefeathers... "A-ha!" Cloudchaser shouted, pushing Thunderlane out of the way. "I knew you were hiding him!" "Girls, wait! You don't know what you're..." Thunderlane pleaded, but it was too late. Cloudchaser grabbed the quilt with her teeth and yanked it away from me before I had a chance to catch it. I was left exposed and frightened as they both gasped at the sight of me. This was it. My life was over. I just braced myself for their screaming. No, screaming is the wrong word for it. More like...squealing? "He's so cute!!" They both shouted as they grabbed and hugged me. That took me by surprise. "Cute?" Thunderlane could only say. "Really?" "Look at him, Flitter!" Cloudchaser held my claw between her hooves. "It's like a griffon's claw, but it's all stubby!" "And his little face!" Flitter pushed my cheeks together. "His nose is so tiny! He feels so soft, even without a coat!" "You girls aren't scared at all?" Thunderlane asked, genuinely confused. "Are you kidding?" Cloudchaser exclaimed. "He may look a little different, but he's still the same Rumble we know and love." "Thanks, you two," I said. "That means a lot." "Don't tell me you were scared of him, Thunderlane," Flitter teased. "Of course, I wasn't scared!" He replied. "I was just worried that you would be, and Rumble's had a hard enough time already. We found out the hard way he can't walk on clouds like this. And he doesn't have his wings anymore, either. I'd like to get him back to normal as soon as possible." "Hmm...that is a problem, isn't it, Flitter?" Cloudchaser asked her sister. "If he can't fly or stay in the clouds, he can't come over to our house and play with us anymore," Flitter lamented, her ears bending downward. "What do we do?" "We can invest in a house on the surface," Cloudchaser suggested. "Then, it won't matter that he can't fly!" "Or..." Thunderlane interrupted, "we can find out what happened to him and look for a way to turn him back." "Isn't that why you came here?" Cloudchaser asked. "Have you found out anything?" "All we've been able to find out is what he's not," Thunderlane sighed. "Zecora said that there were rituals back in her land that could change one's shape, but she doesn't know any that could make this happen." "A shifting ritual involves many a piece, none of which are seen in places such as this," Zecora said, carrying a plate with cups full of tea. "If further confusion is your plight, then why not take young Rumble to see Twilight?" "Twilight?" Cloudchaser cocked her head. "Oh! That unicorn who helped getting the water to Cloudsdale!" "She lives in that big tree near the center of town, the Golden Oak Library," Flitter continued. "Let's hope she's not out and about today..." "Right!" Her sister nodded, and immediately picked me up by the barrel and put me on Flitter's back. "Wait! What do you think you're doing?!" Thunderlane asked, stepping in front of them. "Taking him to Twilight's, of course!" Cloudchaser answered. "But what if somepony sees him? It'll cause a panic for sure!" He argued. "Pfft! Please..." Cloudchaser scoffed. "Anypony that would faint at the sight of somepony as harmless and sweet as Rumble would probably faint at anything!" "You seem really stressed, Thunderlane," Flitter said. "You probably didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night with all this happening. Maybe you should wait here and let us handle things." "But..." Thunderlane grumbled, then looked to me. "Rumble, what do you want to do?" I clung onto Flitter's neck. "Anything's better than waiting here. And Zecora said Twilight might have an answer, so..." "Okay," Thunderlane sighed. "I'll let you two take him to Twilight's. But do your best to keep him out of sight until you get there. Also, he's a little heavy, so be careful." "We'll hoof it if we have to!" Cloudchaser said full of confidence. "Anything for our Rumble!" "I'll be fine with these two, Thunderlane," I told him. Anything to get him to stop worrying. "Besides," Cloudchaser stepped beside him, "this is the perfect opportunity to get some alone time with Zecora." Thunderlane blushed madly. "That's...!" That just made everypony giggle. "Just get out of here." We left Zecora's hut, with Thunderlane waving to me until he was out of sight. Cloudchaser kept close to me and reassured me everything would be fine. I hope so, otherwise my life is over!