I heard a gentle knock on the door, and then the voice of Fluttershy quietly from the other side.
"Um... Blaze? I um... I'm back with the doctor, and I also brought my friend Twilight Sparkle. She's really been hoping to meet you, and now that you're feeling better, she asked if she could come say 'hi.' Should... Should I bring them in?" Fluttershy asked haltingly.
"That'd be fine Fluttershy," I said, shaking off my daydream. I looked up to see the door swing open, and Fluttershy walked in, followed by first a light brown stallion with a darker mane and tail, presumably the doctor Fluttershy was talking about. He was wearing a large white coat that covered most of his body. Behind him slightly was a purple alicorn, not as large as Luna had been, in fact, this mare, whom I presumed was named Twilight Sparkle, was only a little taller than Fluttershy. The three walked over to the side if my bed, and then the doctor spoke.
"So how do you feel? As badly as you were hurt, it's a wonder you're sitting up and not in pain." The doctor said, looking at me with a mix of curiosity and concern.
"Well, unless I really stretch, I actually feel pretty good. A little sore, but like you said, better then I should." I agreed.
"Amazingly, none of your bones were broken, so if you would like to try and get up, the worst that could happen is that it would be painful." The doctor said, smiling.
"Sounds good to me." I said, pushing my blankets off, and turning towards the side of the bed. The three ponies standing next to my bed all backed up to give me some space. I slid carefully off the bed, landing first on my hind legs and then onto my front. I winced in anticipation of the pain I expected to come, but it barely hurt at all. I was a little wobbly from my lack of experience as a pony, and from spending the last three days in bed. I smiled and looked over at the doctor, who was nodding approvingly.
"That truly is impressive. I've never seen such a quick recovery before. So it doesn't hurt too badly? You haven't fallen over, so it must be pretty bearable." He said with a slight chuckle. Fluttershy smiled as well, and I saw Twilight Sparkle had a look of wonder on her face.
"I've felt better, but I've also felt worse. This is kinda painful, but I just suspect that's just from all the unusual movement." I said, carefully stretching different parts of my body to test. The doctor watched me, and he seemed to be judging the way I moved, before he spoke again.
"That may be true, but I think I'd still like to see you taking it easy for one more day. I certainly don't want you to have to come back here because you went gallivanting off too soon and hurt yourself." He said in a kind but firm voice. I nodded at him, and carefully clambered back up onto the bed and under the blankets.
"Thank you. Now, unless there is anything specific you need from me, I should go check on my other patients." The doctor said, looking mainly at me but also glancing at the other two. After we all nodded and I said my thanks he turned and left the room, leaving just the three of us again. After a few awkward seconds of silence, Twilight Sparkle decided to officially introduce herself.
"Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle, as I think Fluttershy already told you. Please feel free to call me Twilight though, my full name just feels too formal for friendly, casual social interaction." She said, holding out her hoof. I shook it as I responded.
"Nice to meet you Twilight. My name's Blazing Star, but Blaze is fine. Fluttershy told me that you might be able to help me with magic?" I said, glancing over at Fluttershy, who was just standing off to the side, staring at her hooves. She looked up when I mentioned her though, and smiled. I looked back over at Twilight as she replied.
"Well, I can try. I mean, my talent is magic, but I've never tried teaching someone from scratch before..." She said, sounding doubtful. She was silent for a little while, as if she was deep in thought.
"I am certainly willing to do my best; I just don't know how well it will work. I don't even know what kind of magic to help you learn besides the basics like levitation, since you don't have your cutie mark yet. Forgive me for intruding, but how is it that you've never used magic before, and have made it to your age without getting your cutie mark?" She asked with a looked of curiosity and wonder, but no anger in her voice.
"I'm not sure what a cutie mark is, but..." I glanced quickly towards Fluttershy. "I'm from a very far off land, so I've never really... Learned..." I said, knowing as soon as I said it how bad an excuse it was.
"You don't want anyone to know you came from another world, do you Blaze?" She said, watching me with concern.
"I... How did you know?" I said in shock.
"Well, when you were first brought here, a friend of mine and Fluttershy's said you fell out of a giant hole in the sky. You were unsteady standing up, like a young foal, leading me to believe you haven't used your pony body much. You didn't know you could use magic, and you don't know what a cutie mark is. That and I tend to read too much, so I'm familiar with things like this. However, even I have never heard of something exactly like your experiences happening before. I'm sorry I'm rushing, I do that when I'm in science mode." She said with a laugh. Then she looked back at me, and the look of bewilderment on my face, and her smile shrank. I looked over at Fluttershy again, who mouthed, "It's ok" to me. I looked back at Twilight and decided I could trust her with my secret, considering she had pretty much figured me out anyway.
"You're right, I am from another world. I'd rather not think about it too much, but my world was very different. That's why I'm so out of the loop of things here. Right before I came here, I had just lost my parent and was about to be killed, so I didn't exactly notice how I was sent here. But... Cutie marks?" I quickly changed the subject at the end, trying to keep my emotions in check. This time it was Twilight's turn to look at Fluttershy, who just shrank a little away from us.
"I won't pry into private details that you don't want to share, even though I have so many questions I would love to ask." She smiled a little, but when Fluttershy and I were both quiet, she quickly stopped. I realized I was being unfair to her, because she really was trying her best to help.
"It's fine; I would probably be the same way in your situation. I'm sorry I seem so grumpy; it's been a crazy past few days. I really don't know anything about what happened, so I'm afraid we'll all be stuck with guesses for now." I said, giggling at myself. She smiled again, and even Fluttershy looked a little happier. Twilight was quiet for a moment, and then she began explaining cutie marks to me.
"When a foal is born, they are born without any cutie mark. Cutie marks then appear on their flanks when they discover their special talent, the thing that makes them who they are. The cutie mark they get shows what they're good at. For instance, Fluttershy has butterflies to represent her skills with animals." Twilight pointed at Fluttershy's flank, at the picture I thought was a tattoo before. Fluttershy turned a little so I could see better. Twilight then continued her explanation.
"My cutie mark, on the other hoof, represents my magical talents. That's why I was surprised you didn't have one yet. It's very unusual for a pony your age to not have a cutie mark. It means you still haven't discovered your special talent. Although if you came from another world, I guess it makes sense. Do you remember being particularly good at anything before? Anything at all?" She looked at me with that look of curiosity that she was so very good at.
"Now that you mention it, no, I don't think I was. I mean, I was ok with animals, good with math, pretty good at hoof-to-hoof combat... But nothing serious. So I guess it makes sense. Do I just have to live life normally until I figure it out then?" I asked her, considering the implications of having not special talent.
"That's how most of us do it. I mean, the Cutie Mark Crusaders spent almost every waking hour trying things out, but that's almost normal life for them." I was surprised to hear Fluttershy speak up without sounding as shy, but when I looked over at her she was still standing like she wanted to be tiny and disappear. I chuckled to myself and looked back at Twilight as she spoke again.
"Exactly as Fluttershy said. Hopefully, you get yours without too much trouble, and then you can work on more advanced magic related to your talent. But until then, I'd be happy to try to teach you whatever I can. I'm often busy these days unfortunately, one of the side effects of being a princess it seems..." She said with a longing sigh.
"Wait, you're royalty?!" I said, shocked that she still spent time on someone mundane like me.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can't still find time for my friends." She said, almost reading my mind. She smiled warmly, and I saw that she really did feel like we were friends.
"Thanks. It's amazing, in my world, people barely cared that I existed. But here, everypony has been so kind... Thank you." I was tearing up again, but this time they were tears of happiness, and I wiped them away.
"Aww, I'm sorry Blaze. As longer as you're in Equestria... You'll always be able to find a friend." Fluttershy spoke up this time, smiling happily at me. Twilight nodded in agreement, before continuing where she left off.
"I have some free time tomorrow afternoon for a few hours, since you'll be able to get out of bed then, would that be a good time?" She asked me.
"You're the one with the busy schedule; I'll be available whenever you need me to be. Tomorrow sounds great. Is there somewhere in particular you planned to meet?" I replied.
"I was thinking outside in the small castle courtyard, that wait there's less stuff to break encase you... Have trouble." She finished her sentence with a laugh, as if it was typical of beginners to break things.
"That sounds fine; although I'm afraid I have no idea where that is." I admitted.
"Fluttershy, do you think you could show Blaze where the courtyard is tomorrow around 2:00? I know you're waiting for that animal food delivery, but since they had the trouble with lightning I think they're a few days behind." Twilight looked over at Fluttershy, who picked up her head quickly when she heard her name.
"Oh, um, sure. I think I'll be free then..." Fluttershy said, sounding again like her normal self. I ignored my curiosity at her short attitude change and focused on Twilight as she started talking again.
"Well, it sounds like that's settled. I'll be looking forward to tomorrow. I hate to have to leave so soon, but I should really get back to my duties. I can't wait to get to know you better, Blaze!" She said as she turned away from the bed and walked over to the door. Fluttershy and I watched her go and then were both quiet for a while before I spoke up again.
"I forgot to ask the doctor's name, do you happen to remember? I just wanted to put in a specific thank-you for all the work he's done to keep me alive." I said, deep in thought.
"I... I think it was Whooves. The mare at the front desk called him Doctor Whooves. She said he's the very best at strange and unusual cases. Apparently, you fall into that category. Not that that's a bad thing, I was just..." She trailed off.
"It's fine Fluttershy. You've got to not feel so bad about everything you say. You have to stand up for what you say, or people won't take you seriously. So... Doctor Whooves. Why does that name sound familiar? Maybe he did tell me his name was I wasn't paying attention..." I felt bad for Fluttershy, but I also wanted her to be more sure of herself, at least around me since I would never take anything personally. Now that's something I'm good at, keeping a level head. Can I get a cutie mark for that? I wondered to myself.
"I'm sorry, I just... I don't want to be rude or anything. Because then maybe ponies won't like me as much." She said quietly.
"You're not rude if you believe in what you're saying. No pony should like you less for it." I said to her.
"Thank you, Blaze." She said, looking up at me with a smile.
"No problem, that's what friends are for." I said reassuringly. She blushed slightly and I smiled. Curiosity then dawned on me, and I decided to ask her about her special talent, which apparently was animals.
"Well... I care for all kinds of different animals at my home in Ponyville. I feed them, care for them when they're sick or hurt, and I help them get along with each other and with the ponies of Ponyville. Any time there's an animal problem, I get to try and fix it. I... I can also communicate with them, or at least understand them. I think it's the best job in the whole world." She said happily, looking out the window at the birds flying by.
"Wow. That's amazing Fluttershy." I said, amazed.
"Thanks." She blushed and looked away, but I saw the smile on her face anyway. I grinned and laughed, then flopped back down onto the bed so I was lying flat out. Fluttershy turned and looked at me.
"Is something wrong?" She asked, looking at me with concern.
"No I'm fine, I'm just bored. Do you happen to know what time it is?" I asked her, wondering how much more time in this bed I would have to endure. She giggled and pointed to the wall behind me, and I face-hoofed when I saw that it actually had a clock, and I had just never looked. After a few seconds of embarrassment, I figured out it was a little past two in the afternoon. That left at least six hours in which I had to find something to pass the time. I let out a long sigh, and then spoke up again.
"Do you have any ideas what I could do for the next few hours? I mean, you're great, but I bet you'll go insane if you're stuck in my company for that long, plus I bet you have to go soon anyway." I said, looking over at her.
"Well, you're right, I do have to go do some errands soon, but I could get you some books or something like that first, if you'd like." Fluttershy suggested.
"If you wouldn't mind, that would he wonderful. Do you think you could manage a book on equestrian history, and..." I thought for a second about my other choice.
"And a random book that you think you would find interesting. As a surprise. I always enjoy learning new things, so it should be interesting." I said, looking over at her. She nodded and turned to leave.
"Hey I just, um, I just wanted to say thank you. I know I've said it before, but... I wanted to say it again..." I looked away awkwardly. Fluttershy blushed and whispered 'You're welcome' before carefully walking out of the room. A huge smile spread across my face, and as I settled down to wait, I noticed a warm feeling in my heart that I don't remember having felt for a long time.