“What happened!?” Twilight yelped, jumping back to dodge a swipe that nearly hit her head. After taking a couple of more backward steps on her hind legs, she regained her balance and dropped onto all four hooves. She watched in dismay as Dewey thrashed and screamed in a furious manner while still restrained on the bed by the slings. The others too, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were upstairs in Fluttershy's cottage, perked up at the sudden ruckus.
“I don't know!” Fluttershy took a step back as well on reflex, but when she recognized the scream of pain in Dewey's howl and his more restrained flailing of his good arm and legs, she came closer to the bed once more in sincere worry. “Oh-oh, dear. I think he's hurt!
Dewey's eyes were clenched shut and his head was pressed back against his pillow. His right hand was tightened into a fist as his injured left arm and leg—put into fresh casts—swung to and fro from their slings as he writhed in pain. Gritting his teeth, Dewey flashed the sharp points of his canines while growling and taking deep breaths to reclaim his senses.
“H-how's he hurt, Fluttershy?” Haven gained confidence that her friend had the situation under control, Twilight rushed closer to the bed on the opposite side and looked to the pegasus for some guidance as to how to act.
“Uh...” Fluttershy furrowed her eyebrows in thought. Looking over all of the signs, it was easy to see that Dewey was in pain. However, it was impossible to determine exactly how from a quick glance. Resigned just to sound out an intimidating growl, Dewey had since settled down. Soon enough, the others rushed to the bedside in worry, crowding around Twilight and Fluttershy on either side of the bed.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders scampered through from between the mares' legs to find a prime spot right next to the bed. Of the three, Scootaloo looked the most distraught, shouting out “Is he ok!?”
“What is he saying?” Sweetie Belle was next to ask as Dewey growled and grunted something under his breath. “Fluttershy, what is he saying!?”
“Uh...He said-” Fluttershy nervously began, but was simply unsure of what the problem was. Whether the pain medicine the doctors gave had run out or if-
Scootaloo moved close to his ear. “DEWEY! STOMP YOUR FOOT ONCE IF-OW!” She winced at a hoof suddenly hitting the back of her head.
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes at the other filly. “Even if he doesn't know what we're saying, he's not deaf, you dodo!”
"Darn it, Sweeite Belle, that really hurt!" The pegasus filly rubbed the back of her head and glared daggers at the small unicorn next to her. “What's with you always calling me a dodo!?”
“It's because you're a dodo!” Sweetie frowned at Scootaloo's glare and scrunched her face.
“I'm not!” Scootaloo's wings fluttered with a buzz.
“You ar-AAH!” Sweetie began to say, but was tackled to the floor by an angered Scootaloo.
“Girls! Quit...stop fighting! Settle down!” Twilight grumbled and sighed at their mischief.
With ears pointed toward the floor, Applebloom snuck close to bring her face near Dewey's while the mares were distracted by her squabbling friends.
“Oh, Dewey, Ah'm mighty sorry for hurtin' ya like that...” she pouted and hunched her back. "Ya just looked so sad-like, n' I thought I could give ya a hoof massage and..."
“Applebloom?” The small filly froze at the sound of the authoritative drawl behind her. “Did I jus' here what I think I heard?”
“Uh...uh...”
“Whoopsie!” A certain pinkie pony laughed over Applebloom and rubbed the back of her head with her hoof. In a quick simultaneous motion the poofy-maned earth pony had covered Applebloom's mouth to prevent her from saying anything more. Quickly silencing the room, everyone turned toward the Pinkie Pie sitting on her haunches near the front of the bed. “Sorries! Bumped into him accidentally!”
“Pinkie...” Applejack shook her head in disappointment.
Fluttershy grew a bit desperate while still being unable to figure out how to calm her patient down, who was still growling and grumbling. “Dewey? Dewey, please, um...calm down and breathe nice and slow...”
“Pinkie, why would you be so inconsiderate?” Twilight arched her eyebrows while asking her friend. “Dewey's not like us ponies. Like the doctors said he has a much more fragile body than ours.”
“Sorry, Dewey! Want me to bake ya' something? Like an 'Apology Cake'? Ooh, or throw you an 'Apology Party'!? Wait, even better! Or a super fun 'Apology Cake Baking Party'! How's that sound, Dewey?”
He grunted something in response and let out a long drawn out exhale.
“This isn't the time for a party, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash stepped in, sighing at her friend's continuing silliness.
Dewey grunted louder.
“Yeah, Pinkie,” Applejack said with a frown, “I almost blamed mah sister for what you done!”
“Sis! C'mon, y'all shouldn't blame her!"
"Applebloom," the older Apple farmer turned back toward the filly, "what n' tha world ya talkin' nonsense like that fer?"
Twilight and Rainbow Dash were yelping and hollering as they rushed to break up the feuding fillies rolling around on the floor.
"It ain't nonsense, Sis! Pinkie's innocent! She's jus' coverin' fo' mah mess up! I was the one who-”
“QUIIIIIIEEEEEET!”
Everyone in the room went silent once more and watched Spike as he stomped up the stairs.
“He's been saying that he wanted everyone to pipe down! Yeesh! Even with you guys being loud I could hear him from all the way downstairs!” he paused and looked around, feeling strange. “What?” he asked as he felt all of their eyes on him.
“Could you...could you repeat that?” Twilight was the first to speak up as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle remained on the floor from their tussle but now looking at the dragon.
Spike sighed but complied. “I said that Dewey 'wanted everyone to be quiet'.”
The ponies exchanged looks before settling on the baby dragon standing near the stairs once more.
Twilight again was the only one to speak up. “Spike, you...you can understand what Dewey's saying?”
“...yeah?” He replied in a slow and unsure manner. Spike frowned at the several pairs of eyes still glaring at him, sensing the awkwardness in the air. “Why? You girls can't?” Looking around, he saw all of the ponies shake their heads. “Really?”
Applejack cocked her head at the curious claim.
“Um...ask him to raise his right arm! Just to see if you really can...talk to him...If you don't mind...” Fluttershy stuttered out.
Spike sighed and rolled his eyes but nonetheless turned toward Dewey. All of a sudden he growled and grunted in a manner just like Dewey did, making him widen his eyes as well.
Dewey looked toward the other ponies then slowly raised his right arm then set it back down again.
Twilight quickly shook her head in surprise and gasped. “That's amazing, Spike! How is this even possible? How do you understand him?”
“I 'unno...” Spike shrugged his shoulders. He idly scratched his head with a clawed finger and pondered over Twilight's questions. “Well...At first it sounded like a bunch of nonsense grunts. But after a while, I started to understand what the guy's been saying.”
“What do you mean 'understand'?
Dewey grunted and growled a few things to which Spike answered in kind.
Twilight and Fluttershy both blinked at the ease Spike managed to sound just like Dewey, only in a higher pitched voice. “Well?” Twilight asked impatiently.
“He just wanted to know what was going on.” Spike replied in a casual way.
“And what'd you tell him?” Rainbow Dash asked, driven by her own curiosity to speak up.
“That I can understand him for some reason.”
“Well tha's pretty obvious at this point, sugarcube!”
Twilight's eagerness began to grow and she used her magic to float over one of her own notepads and a feathered quill to quickly begin writing some notes down. “And what'd he say in response?”
“Uh, he said 'cool'.”
“And he's not surprised at all by this?” Twilight asked, scrunching her face while looking between Spike, Dewey and her notepad.
Spike grumbled and growled. Dewey replied in kind.
“Uh...He said that he's just happy at least someone can finally understand him.”
Fluttershy's ears drooped at hearing this and she bowed her head to hide her face behind the bangs of her pink mane.
Almost immediately a small squeal escaped from Twilight and a large, barely-contained smile was now plastered on her face. In a flash, she teleported and reappeared right next to Fluttershy, grasping the surprised pegasus' shoulders with her hooves.
“Oh, Fluttershy, I know I know I know I promised that I wouldn't experiment on Dewey, but this...this changes everything!”
“Changes everything?” Fluttershy repeated the words with trepidation and grew concerneds as her friend's look of happiness turned just a bit manic and toothy.
“Of course it does, Fluttershy! Don't you understand the ramifications? The opportunity we're presented with, now?”
Fluttershy glanced to the floor and paused to think. “Um...no...”
Twilight huffed and rolled her eyes in disappointment, but regained enough of her bearing and patience to explain. “This will revolutionize what we've been trying to do to teach Dewey how to speak our language! To help us understand his! To make a translation spell!” Her face had all but been pressing against Fluttershy at this point, and the soft-spoken pegasus was relieved when the purple unicorn took a step back and gave her some room to breath. Twilight turned toward Dewey and walked up to the side of the bed with a stern, more focused look. Determination emanated from the gleam in her eyes. “Spike, I need you to translate something for me..”
--
Author's Note: Congrats to Neogreenyew for your guess being the closest for what would happen in Kevin/Dewey's POV. Send me a PM on your story idea.
The contest stands for the next chapter:
PM me your guess for what happens in the next chapter (next two "parts"), for either in Dewey's POV a.k.a. part A or Fluttershy's POV, a.k.a part B. (You can only guess for one or the other). The one closest to what I've mostly got written up will win. And what do you win? Me writing out a story (or maybe even a future chapter in this story?) based on any sort of idea you have! I'll let people change their mind up until the next chapter is posted and only the most recent guess a user makes will count. I had already started writing them since a while back, so there won't be a chance I'll just decide on any other idea based on the guesses (even if they turn out to be awesome-sounding guesses)
So, how about this chapter's ending, eh?