//------------------------------// // Naughty Dreams and Skyline Schemes // Story: The New Guy // by SilverWind102 //------------------------------// It was dark, and cold. There was a strange rythmic beeping noise and a gentle hum coming from somewhere. Something soft was on top of Applejacks body, and felt like it was made of cloth. Was it clothes? She didn't remember putting on PJ's before falling asleep. But she did remember Silver, who seemed to be missing. Applejack felt around for the fluffy warmth she had fallen asleep with, but couldn't find where it had gone. Applejack creaked an eye open and was blinded by a light. She quickly shut her eyes again, regretting her decision as the sudden brightness sparked a headache. She moved a hoof up in front of her eyes, and noticed a small pain as she moved it around, as well as the feeling of something dangling from it. Slowly, she peaked her eyes open again, letting them gradually adjust to the light. After the light became bearable, Applejack looked around and found she was no longer in her home on Sweet Apple Acres, but in a hospital bed. She looked to her arm and found an I.V. sticking out from it, and followed it back to an E.K.G machine. “What the... when did I get here?” “Applejack!” she heard some one call, and her sight was quickly filled by the face of a familiar lavender mare. “Twi'. What are ya'll doing here? Where's Silver?” “Silver said you got hit on the head by a falling branch and he rushed you here to the hospital. When he dropped you off, he came and got me, but then it started raining so he couldn't get the others to come. He's going to tell them now.” “What about my legs? I thought I hurt em'.” “Huh? Your legs are fine A.J. “Wha?” “It's probably just that dream you were having.” “...Oh Luna must bucking hate me. A dream!? Really!?” Applejack thought as she threw a mental fit. She was really enjoying her night with Silver. “Just when he started to nibble too.” Applejack hung her head, “So this whole time, I've just been laying in a bed?” “Yep. You keep talking in your sleep too. Something about a thousand of something, and that you understood. Oh, and that you were cold. I kept putting blankets on you, and after a while you just stopped, and started moaning a lot.” Applejack flushed furiously and hid her face under the pile of blanket on top her. “Well, it was probably all these blankets, they make me kinda uncomfortable,” she meekly excused. In truth, she was actually kind of glad for all of the blankets. She could say they made her sweat as another excuse for the...effects, from her dream. And although she was the element of honesty, there was a limit to what she could bear to expose of her life, and therefore didn't mind hiding this little secret from her friend. She did need her privacy after all. Just as Applejack had finished her thoughts, the door to her room opened and a pony with a blonde mane and white coat with two crossed crutches for a cutie mark came in. “Ah, I see you're awake,” the stallion said as he walked over to the monitor machines next to the bed, “Well, to get right to it, you're not too hurt. The branch hit the back of your head and then you fell to the ground, hitting the front as well. Luckily, you don't have a concussion and were just knocked out, so you'll be able to go soon. Now that you're awake, all we need to do is a quick check up, and then you can leave. Though I'm not sure where you could go. The storm is still going on outside.” “I'm sure I can make it too some shelter.” “Don't worry A.J., we can just go back to the library and stay there for the night. It's too far for you to walk back to the farm.” “Well, shucks Twilight, that'd be great.” “Alright, now that that's settled,” the doctor said as he pulled out a small flashlight from his coat pocket, “I need you to follow the light please.” The doctor shone the light into Applejacks eyes and doing as she was told, followed the light. First left, then right, then up, then down. The doctor then clicked off the light and tucked it away. He moved closer and placed his hooves on the side of Appljacks head and turned it from side to side to examine it closely. After a few turns, he let her head go, “How are you feeling? Any nausea or loss of balance? Are you seeing double?” “No, nothing like that. Mah' head just hurts real bad.” “Yes, that's to be expected. I imagine you will probably have a head ache for the next day or two, but it should go away after that. If it doesn't go away after a week, come back and see me.” “So I can go now?” “Yes, but you just need to fill out some forms real quick,” the doctor informed before moving to the door. He lifted a hoof, but the door had already begun to open before he reached the handle. Quickly moving back for the new visitor to come in, he stepped to the side and allowed a damp wolf to enter. “Ah, you're back,” the doctor said casually, never showing a hint of any reaction to the canine, “I was just going to get the release forms for Ms. Applejack here. She's fine and will be heading home in the next few minutes.” Silver let out a small sigh of relief, “Thanks doc, I'm glad you took good care of her.” “No problem, Mr. Silver,” and with that, the doctor left. Silver turned to find a slightly panicked Twilight and confused Applejack looking at him. It hadn't occurred to either of them that in order to drop off Applejack, he would've had to show himself to the ponies at the hospital. “What?” Silver asked, his expression matching their combined confusion, “Is there a branch sticking out of my back again?”. He looked over his shoulder to inspect himself. “No, it's not that! Why didn't the doctor, you know, freak out!?” Twilight asked, raising her voice unnecessarily. “Huh? Oh, right. Well, it seems the good doctor has operated on a few different species, wolves included, so he really wasn't surprised to see me. Well, he didn't expect me to be in Equestria, but he did know what I am, so he didn't mind. I only wish I could say that about the rest of the staff,” Silver sighed and shook his head in disappointment. “Right, well, I suppose I might be able to explain to some of them the situation, and maybe then they would be a little more understanding,” Twilight suggested. Silver raised a paw in protest, “No, really you don't have to. It's fine. Actually, it's kind of expected.” Twilight was insistent though, “No, we've had this happen before with a zebra friend, and I don't want a repeat of it. I'm going to ask all of the free staff to gather so I can talk to them. And besides, this might be for the best. If Celestia wanted you to be more involved with ponies, then we might as well start some where.” Silver got the feeling there would be no talking her out of it, so he dropped his paw and admitted defeat, allowing Twilight to twirl around and leave the room. “Huh, kinda scary when she gets serious,” Silver said as the door had closed. He turned to find Applejack laying in her bed, shifting and fidgeting under the blankets. “What's up with you? Are the blankets too heavy or something?” he asked as he made his way to the bedside. “It's nothin', just don't like to sit still fer too long,” she responded. Again, she wasn't telling the truth, but she wasn't actually lying either, though the truth was that she felt inconceivably uncomfortable being left alone with him. The dream she had, while most certainly pleasurable for her, also left her deeply confused and made Silvers presence quite awkward for her. “Well it should only be a few more minutes before you can go. The doctor should be back soon and--*gurgle*” Silver was interrupted by the growl of the hungry mare on the bed, and after pausing and processing what he had just heard, he couldn't help but snicker, which then turned into a outright laugh. “Shuddup! It's not like I've eaten anythin' lately,” Applejack exclaimed in her defense. Not that she really had anything to be ashamed of. She was hungry, it was natural. Silver was just being...foalish? No, puppish? Aw, screw it, childish. Once his fit of laughter died down, he Silver spoke up,“There's a vending machine just down the hall, why don't I go grab you something?” Applejack looked away and puffed out her cheeks, “Thanks...”she muttered as Silver got up from the his spot. He simply rolled his eyes in a playful manner and moved to the door. “Oh, right. I almost forgot,” Silver said as he opened the door. He stuck his head out and the sound of a bag unzipping followed before he pulled back in with a stetson between his teeth. He walked back over to the bed, put his front paws up on to it, reached his neck over and tucked the hat onto the cowponys head. “There you go, good as new,” Silver said as he pulled away and moved back to the door, “I'll be back in a moment,” he called over his shoulder and left the room. Unfortunately for Applejack, she didn't hear a word of it as she was still trying to get her cheeks back to their normal color. Silver hadn't noticed it, but the whole time he was in the room, Applejack hadn't looked him in the face. Mostly because every time she tried, her dream would come flooding back to her and she would find herself fighting back her blush. In that one moment Silver put the hat on her head, all of the resistance she had built up to Silvers presence had come crashing down. She honestly couldn't tell if she hated him or not. She knew he had done nothing wrong, but she still felt like he was to blame for her current emotional state. Applejack sighed and hung her head. She took off her hat, looking at it as she remembered her mother who it had belonged to before. It always helped to calm her down, but now it had also reminded her of her dream. It was a quick flash, but she remembered Silver taking her hat off and setting it to the side before she fell asleep next to him. She then remembered just how it was the two had gotten in that position in the first place. “I wonder...” Applejack thought aloud. “Wonder what?” Silver asked standing next to the bed with some snacks in his arm. “Eya! Geez!” Applejack jumped as she didn't notice the wolf came back and threw her hat into the air, “Don't you make noise when you move!?” Applejack chided as grabbed her hat off the floor and put it back on. “Sorry, old habit,” Silver explained as he set the snacks down on the bed sheets, “alright, we have some packs of cookies, a honey bun, two muffins and a couple of sodas. Take your pick.” Applejack sat back upright and looked at the food, “Ya really know how to make a mare feel special, dontcha?” she said with a light giggle. “Well, if you don't want it,” Silver started as he began to pull the food back. Applejack quickly put out a hoof to stop him,“No, no! It's alright. I mean, yer not really gonna get much else in a hospital.” Silver put the food back and grabbed a pack of cookies and a soda before sitting down in one of the near by chairs. Applejack had decided on a honey bun and soda. “So, how are you feeling?” he asked as be popped one of the mini Oreos in to his mouth. “I'm fine, mah' head just hurts is all. I suppose I need to thank ya'll fer getting me here. It was mighty kind of ya.” Silver waved a paw at the acknowledgment, “Aw, don't worry about it. I just did what any pony would do.” Applejack felt a sense of familiarity with the direction of this conversation, but she forced herself to ignore it. There was something she caught though, out of the corner of her eye, that she couldn't ignore. Silver was shaking in his seat, though it wouldn't have been very noticeable if the plastic bag from the cookies didn't crinkle with every shiver. “Ya okay there partner? Yer shaking mighty bad there,”Applejack pointed out. She continued to deny to herself that this conversation had happened before. “Yeah, I'm fine. I just...uh...I don't like hospitals.” “Why's that?” “Darn it! Now why did I have to go and ask that?” Silver was a bit hesitant at first, but eventually spoke up, “It's the smell. There's a lot of blood in hospitals and although they do their best to clean it up, I can still smell it lingering. It's really creepy, I know, but I can't help it.” “Wait, what?! He really doesn't like the smell of blood?! Then mah dream was real. Wait no, it couldn't be, mah legs are fine. But still, I wonder if...no! Even in mah dream that didn't end well. ...But maybe if I ask in a different way.” “Um, Silver?” Applejack said as she set her snacks down and straightened up a little , “I was wondering, and this'll seem a might strange, but...does the number one thousand mean anything to you?” Silver looked at the mare and cocked his head in a wild confusion. After a long moment Silver finally answer, “A thousand? Thousand what?” Applejack sighed and shrunk a little, though she didn't seem to notice it herself. It was clear Silver had no idea what she was asking about, not that she really thought that he would. After all, the whole not liking the smell of blood thing really didn't seem all that unbelievable. She knew canines had a strong sense of smell, and that it's very common for some pony not to like being around blood, so it's natural that there would be some who don't like the smell. The fact that he had the same issue with blood as he did in her dream was just a coincidence. Or, at least, that's what she thought. With the bigger question out of her way, she finished her snacks and the doctor came back with the papers. “Sorry it took so long,” the doctor said as he entered the room, “I couldn't find where the receptionist had gone and she's usually the one who holds all the paper work like this.” He gave the papers and a pen over to Applejack who began to scribble on them. “I'll go get Twilight,” Silver said standing up, “I don't want to leave her here by accident.” “Alright, I'll meet ya'll by the front door,” Applejack called after him as the door closed. As Silver walked through the halls, he was met with a constant flabbergasted gaze from ponies. A gaze which he promptly ignored as he had other things on his mind. “How the hell did she know that number?! Even Celestia doesn't know about that! So how...” Amid his frustration, Silver happened to overhear a lecture being held in behind a closed door. He paused in his thoughts as he immediately recognized the voice as that of his princess and pushed the door open. He found Twilight standing on top of a soap box, which seem to be very out of place, giving a speech to the staff about not judging some pony based off of their race. “Twilight,” Silver interrupted, “we're about to leave,” Twilight turned to her bodyguard, “Oh, okay,” was all she said before turning back to the staff, “I hope you've all learned a lesson today,” and stepped off the box then exited the room, the hospital ponies following behind her. Twilight joined Silver by his side and the two began to make their way to the entrance. As the two went down the halls, Twilight happened to notice a strange scowl on Silvers brow. “Is something the matter, Silver?” Twilight inquired. Silvers ears perked up as if he had just been slapped awake from a deep sleep,“Huh? Oh, no. It's nothing,” he replied. “Are you sure? You seem a little distracted.” Silver smiled lightly, “Don't worry, I'm fine. Come on,” he said as he trotted ahead, “Applejacks waiting.” Twilight couldn't shake the feeling that Silver was hiding something from her. At first she wanted to push until he told, but then corrected her thoughts when she remembered Silver was not one of her close friends like Applejack was, and didn't want to intrude on his privacy. And besides, they had only known each other for a day, so he was bound to have secrets she didn't know of. Twilight simply passed it off and trotted to Silver. It wasn't long until they reached the entrance, and much to their surprise, it had stopped raining. “Huh, I guess that last shower must have been all the clouds had left,” Silver said as he looked to the sky. The clouds were still heavy and gray, blocking most of the sky, but he could see a few patches of light beginning to peak through. “Well, I guess I won't be needin' to stay with you Twilight. Suppose I'll just head on back to the farm now.” “Alright, Applejack. But please, try to take it easy and rest for the day,” Twilight said as she put a hoof on her friends shoulder, “You're still hurt and I don't want you to wind up back in here an hour after you got out.” “Don't worry, Twi'. I'll make sure to go home and rest up proper,” she said and then turned and left the building. Silver and Twilight followed a few moments after, taking a different route that lead away from the farm and in to town. “Are you sure you want to go this way?” Twilight asked, realizing the reaction the hospital had would be close to how the rest of the town react. “Actually, I think I might go exploring like I had originally planned. It's only 3 o'clock, so I should still have some time before it gets dark.” “Hmm, well, alright. Just please be careful. I've already had one friend in the hospital today, I don't want to make it two.” Silver chuckled, “Alright, mom,” and took off to the sky. “I'M SERIOUS!” she yelled after him, but he had already disappeared behind the clouds. The clouds were thicker than he had originally thought they would be. When he pushed through, he realized he was soaking wet and stopped on a cloud to shake off the water. Once he was mostly dry, he pause to look around. He never really liked the top of the clouds after a storm. The storm clouds seemed to stretch on forever, creating an endless field of a depressing dark gray fluff. It met with the azure blue sky on the horizon, and the two opposing colors seemed to battle to set the mood for the day. Either sun-filled happiness, or a heavy and dark sadness. It was while Silver was examining the top cloud line that he noticed something strange. There was an odd tuft of cloud hovering even above the storm clouds. Upon closer inspection, Silver saw what looked like a cyan ear poking out from the cloud. Choosing to ignore it, Silver began to walk along the top of the clouds, peaking down at the town below as many shops had begun to open again. After about fifteen minutes, Silver found himself on the edge of the clouds, which seemed to stop just before they hit the Everfree Forest. Silver's curiosity got the better of him and he spread out his wings to go dive down and take a look at this Black forest. Before he ever took off from the cloud, though, he noticed something. It was the same something that he noticed fifteen minutes ago. A cloud with a cyan ear poking out lingering behind him. Silver let out a sigh and shook his head, “I know you're there!” he called out over his shoulder. The cloud seemed to shift a little, but the pegasus hiding behind it didn't come out. Silver sighed once more. Silver spread his wings and dove down below the clouds, and the tuft of cloud following him zoomed after. Much to it's surprise, Silver had disappeared. It “looked” around for a moment and then returned to the top of the storm clouds. It rested on top of them for a minute and a hum could be heard coming form it. Suddenly, in a flash, the cloud puffed and the pegasus hiding behind it was dragged into the storm clouds by the tail. “WHOA!” a voice called as she pulled through the gray fluff by an unknown force. Just as quickly as she had been plunged down, she was returned to the top of the clouds, landing on her stomach with an “umph”. “Hey! What's the big idea!?” the now exposed Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “I could ask you the same,” Silver said as he looked down on her. Rainbows frustration quickly turned to fear as she realized she had been discovered. “Oh, horse apples,” she mutterd. “I don't suppose you would mind telling me why you were following me,” Silver asked as he extended a paw. Rainbow Dash reluctantly accepted it and explained, “It's because I don't trust you.” “...Wow, harsh.” Silver sighed yet again, “Man, I'm really not feeling the love in this town.” “Well what do you expect? You're a wolf!” “Wow, that was actually kinda racist.” Rainbow pulled her head back as she realized he was right, “Well, what ever. I still don't trust you,” she said as she jabbed a hoof into his chest. Silver rolled his eyes and turned away, heading back to the direction of the forest. “Hey! Where do you think you're going?” “The forest. Why, do you intend to follow me in there too?” “Of course! Don't think you can give me the slip buddy! I'm Rainbow Dash, the best flier in Equestria, and if you think—what?! Hey!” Amid her boasting, she realized Silver had taken off again and left her behind. She flew into the sky and looked around to find Silver hovering above her. “Ya know, for bragging about being the best flier, I have to say, you're kinda slow.” “WHAT WAS THAT!?” Rainbow fumed. If she didn't like him before, she certainly didn't now. All it took was a cocky smirk from the wolf to send her into a frenzy, making her bolt towards the wolf at full speed. Silver simply moved to the side, causing Rainbow Dash to shoot past him. She screeched to a halt and turned to find Silver once more. He put his tail in the air and wiggled it, “Catch me if you can!” he taunted before taking off into the sky. “THAT'S IT! IMMA KILL HIM!” was all the cyan pegasus could think through her rage as she bolted after him. She flapped her wings harder than ever to give chase to the wolf in front of her. She was able to draw closer to him, but he kept making random, sharp turns that caused her to fall behind. For every three feet she drew closer, he drew another five feet away after each turn. The two zipped through the sky at an inconceivable pace, bouncing from place to place in random intervals, the distance slowly increasing between the two. “She's good, I'll give her that. But her temper got the best of her. If she were calm, she would've been able to catch up by now. Oh well, I suppose I should stop teasing her.” Silver dove to the ground in a nose dive, Rainbow following after. Their speed rocketed as the ground grew closer and closer. Rainbow might have been blinded from her rage, but she wasn't a fool. Before she got too close, she pulled up and let Silver sly away. “PULL UP!” she shouted, when she realized Silver was still diving, but he continued to plummet. “He's gonna crash!” But much to her surprise, he didn't. She couldn't tell how far he was from the ground, but he some how managed to go from a vertical dive, to a horizontal line in a snap! To add on to her shock, he had an incredible amount of speed as well. The bushes and tree he flew by had whole limbs ripped off as he rocketed past them. “Whoa...what the hay was that?” While she still hated him, she had to admit, he had some skill. Some skill. It wasn't until Rainbow snapped herself out of surprise that she realized just where Silver was headed. The Everfree forest.