Sherlock Holmes: A Most Peculiar Case

by LeenaWrites

Chapter Three

Tremors wracked Twilight's sweaty, exhausted body as she lay, panting heavily, in the soft grass. Her wings lay open and relativity limp, aching and shuttering from exertion. Her lungs throbbed furiously and her throat felt as if somepony was cutting it from the inside. The rest of her body ached from her incredibly rocky landing.

But, despite the price she was paying, it was most certainly worth it.

Next to her lay the two fallen ponies, relativity unhurt, slight bruising aside.

But, they were alive.

Still unconscious, but very alive.

She had managed catch up with them and grab hold of their baggy clothing with her teeth. It had taken all the strength she possessed, but she had managed to slow their fall enough to save them both. However, her wings were paying dearly for her actions. Carrying two fully grown ponies was impressive for even the strongest of pegasi. But for her? She often had trouble even carrying just herself!

Regardless... thank Celestia I reached those two in time.

They would have been nothing but smears on the Equestrian countryside. Had she not reached them, they would have died. They would never have woken to see another day. They would have been gone...

Twilight shook her head, quickly shutting out her depressingly morbid thoughts. Such thoughts certainly weren't helpful and would probably lead to a nervous breakdown on her part. And honestly, that was the last thing she needed.

No point in just lying around, I suppose.

Twilight slowly climbed to her hooves, tenderly folding her exhausted wings with a slight cringe as pain quickly flared through her muscles. Gazing upward, she saw the golden chariot from which she had jumped. It was nothing but a glittering speck from where she stood. And yet she could still hear Spike frantically yelling in the distance, telling the chariot pullers to descend faster. Shaking her head, Twilight then turned her attention to the ponies she had just saved.

She frowned at their limp bodies, furrowing her eyebrows. She took a few cautious steps forward, stretching her neck forward to get a better look. She itched to inspect them more thoroughly, to find out what secrets their physiology may hold. What if they had foreign technology on them? What if they were monsters? What if their physical makeup held untold, scientific significance? She stifled an exited giggle as she advanced a few more steps. She was standing directly above them now, an inquisitive glimmer winking in her eyes.

As long as she was here, there was no harm in examining them, right?

Her eyes fastened on the first pony. I have to do what I have to do, she thought, though a bit insincerely. She could wait. But she simply wouldn't. These two ponies were too exciting, they held too much scientific potential.

She had to check them out.

The first was a unicorn, a stallion by the look of it. Both his mane and tail were thick, curly and jet black. Twilight also took note that his mane and tail were both a tad longer than the average stallions. His coat was a dark grey and upon moving his ill-fitted clothing aside, she found that a magnifying glass cutie mark graced his rump. Aside from being a bit taller and skinnier in build than most stallions, she found nothing out of the ordinary. A bit disappointed in her rather pedestrian findings, she moved on to the next pony, half hoping for something more bizarre.

The next was a stallion of average build. A pegasus? Yes, most definitely a pegasus.. His mane and tail were closely cropped and silvery blonde in color, suggesting he was slightly older than his companion. His coat was a very soft shade of yellow, a bit lighter than his hair, and upon further inspection, she found his cutie mark was a simple red cross, the same symbol used in hospitals.

These two ponies had appeared from one of the strangest anomalies to ever occur in Equestrian history...

...And they were completely ordinary.

No physical abnormalities of any kind. No (as Rainbow Dash would put it) 'egghead stuff'. Her shoulders sagged slightly as she let out a small sigh of disappointment.

Well then, she thought,

What do I do now?

---

Watson awoke with the gritty taste of dirt in his mouth and agonizing pain searing through his skull.

Great way to wake up, he thought to himself, annoyed and disgruntled. Had Sherlock left him outside during a case again, with no way home?

Yes, that had to be it. He could feel grass itching against his side, feel sun against his body. He must have lay down in park or something and dozed off.

Great. Just fantastic.

He moaned pitifully as he slowly rolled over onto his back, spitting out clumps of dirt and grass as he did. He probably looked like a greasy homeless man, covered with dirt and severely hungover. Not one of his prouder moments, but one could hardly blame him. He felt like he had drunk 6 cases of beer the night before and been kicked in the face by a horse.

He winced as his eyes fluttered open, the direct sunlight causing his headache to grow even more painful.

But, he didn't really stop to think about how he got his massive headache or why he would fall asleep in a park, of all places.

All he could think about was getting home. The faster he could get back to Baker Street and back to his own bed, the better. If he could just hail a taxi... Sherlock, you bastard, he thought tiredly. If you left me here, so help me...

He froze when he finally came to realize two very important details. For one, it was quiet. Nothing but the faint sound of wind and the whisper of grass.

London was never this quiet.

Secondly, the sky above him was a brilliant shade of blue, as clear and bright as he had ever seen it.

Too clear to be London skies.

London skies never looked quite this bright and cloudless. The skies bore a bit of smog even on the better days. In fact, he was fairly sure he had never seen such a pure, blue sky in his entire life. Could it be...

Oh, no.

He felt dread sink into his gut as memories came flooding back, like water rushing from a broken dam. The plane, the voices... the strange seizure that had struck him. He should be on a plane right now, thousands of feet in the air, not on the ground, spitting out weeds and dirt. Did the plane crash? Am I stranded somewhere? Or am I... dead? His chest grew tight. He suddenly felt rather cold despite the sunny weather.

No... no he couldn't be dead. That didn't feel right. It took a few minutes, but he was able to get a hold of his paranoid thoughts and took several deep, calming breaths. He wasn't dead. There was no possible way he was dead. Dead people couldn't think or breathe, now could they?

After taking a deep breath, Watson managed to force himself into a sitting position, gritting his teeth as his head continued to pound. Sitting as he did felt abnormally uncomfortable, for some reason. His legs felt a bit out of place and he felt like he was sitting on something as well. Probably just a rock, or a stick. He shrugged off his mild discomfort and instead began to survey his surroundings.

What he found was nothing but rolling hills of lush green for miles around. Nothing but millions of blades of grass (and the occasional daisy or daffodil), waving in the pleasant breeze. To his left, he could make out the proud, rocky peaks of some very impressive mountains in the distance. To his right, there was a single flash of silver winking at him from over the tops of some slightly less imposing mountains and hills. He squinted at it, craning his neck to get a better angle on it. A search light, perhaps? Or the glare of glass windows? He couldn't quite tell. Maybe if he changed positions, he co-

"Um, excuse me? Uh... sir?"

Watson quite nearly jumped out of his skin. No, it can't be... he thought nervously. That voice, that knowledgeable, bright, feminine voice... that was...

" Sir, are you... can you hear me?" Watson swallowed the large lump in his throat. That voice wasn't in his head, at least not anymore. He could hear it, clear as a bell, with his own two ears. It wasn't like before. Maybe this was all part of some misunderstanding. Maybe he wasn't crazy...

Then, of course, he actually saw who was addressing him.

The creature that cautiously walked into Watson's line of sight, was like something out of a children's book. It was... well, it was rather horse-like, if that helps. It had four legs, hooves, and a mane and tail. Only it clearly wasn't a horse. It was only a few inches taller than than he was, in his current position, so it was safe to guess it was a pony.

It's fur was lavender in color, which was startling to say the least. It's muzzle was quite short and small, at least compared to it's large, rounded head. It's eyes were a deep purple and sported long, feminine lashes, but that wasn't the strange part. Not only were they very large, but they were highly... expressive. They held an innate curiosity, a spark of intelligence that Watson had never seen in an animal before.

Its mane and tail were long and straight and were both an even darker shade of purple, with a single pink highlight streaking through them both. From its forehead and out through its hair, protruded a single horn that matched its fur in color. Folded tightly against its back were a pair of wings that shivered slightly as it came to a halt about 5 feet front of him. Watson quickly assumed it was female, but that hardly seemed like the thing to worry about.

He was looking at a pony with wings and a horn. A living, breathing winged unicorn that may or may not be able to talk. He could barely wrap his mind around it. He just couldn't process something to monumentally strange.

So he sat there, jaws agape, in complete and utter shock, while she stood still, looking at him with both caution and interest dancing in her eyes.

Thus, they waited, as if to see who would move first. It almost felt like some sort of bizarre chess game.

About five minutes later, it was the pony who broke the stillness and took one very slow step forward. Her eyes became more hopeful, friendly and open. A gentle smile touched her lips. At that moment, she spoke directly to Watson, for the very first time. No mistakes, no misunderstandings. And as she spoke, Watson took a sharp, sudden breath.

"Sir, can you talk? Are you okay? Because, I have some questions to ask."

---

There was an long, uncomfortable pause before Watson was able to find his voice again. And once he tried to say something, the words he spoke came out squeaky and tight, sounding a bit like a mouse being stepped on.

"You're talking. You... are talking,"

The purple creature cocked its head to one side, looking confused.

"Yes, I'm talking. Is that bad or something?" she asked. Watson cleared his throat uncomfortably and lowered his head slightly, never letting his eyes leave her.

"You..." he found himself tripping over his own tongue as he tried to form an intelligent response. "You're not supposed to talk. Animals... animals cannot talk."

The mare looked a bit affronted at this, but she recovered and pushed on, her tail swishing as she walked two steps closer. "Well, you seem to talk just fine." she spoke in a reasonable tone, taking Watson aback.

"O-of course I talk, I'm human! Humans talk!" Watson stammered. The lavender pony frowned slightly, raising one eyebrow.

"Um, I don't know what a 'hoo-mun' is...," she said, looking him up and down, "but... you look like a stallion to me."

"W-what?" Watson blurted out. He grew quiet for a moment in order to collect his thoughts, took a deep breath and swallowed hard before continuing, "Excuse m-me, but I assure you, I am not a pony. I can't be." The mare looked both bewildered and fascinated after hearing his response.

"So, before you came here, you were something else? A 'hue-mon'?"

"Human," Watson corrected, a hint of anger and desperation seeping into his voice. "I'm human! Look at me. Why is that hard to understand?" The creature winced and turned her gaze downward. As he slowly mulled over her odd proposal, Watson became suddenly aware that he could not feel his fingers. Odd, people usually pick up on something so basic more quickly than that. The more he thought about it, he also came to notice his knees felt... strange. Beyond strange, actually. They felt utterly and completely wrong. Almost... backwards.

What the bloody hell was going on?

Before Watson could think further, the mare spoke once again, scattering his thoughts.

"Well..." she kicked at the ground nervously with her front hoof, "Have you checked lately?"

Watson raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"Have you... checked that you're still human since you've come here?" Watson stiffened, biting his lower lip.

No. No, I haven't checked.

B-but, it can't be...

"W-well, I-I..." he stuttered. The lavender mare regarded him with those massive, intelligent eyes, as if silently urging him to prove his claim. 'Look down at yourself and see the truth', her eyes said.

Could I really be..?

Watson felt like he was choking on his own words as he slowly, almost fearfully, let his gaze travel away from the pony and downward, towards his own body. He hoped, he prayed, that what she said wasn't true.

It couldn't be. It was impossible.

When Watson's eyes finally reached where his feet should have been, he felt the blood drain from his face. His pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints.

Hooves. He had hooves. And pony hindquarters. And a furry, yellow, pony torso.

He was, without a doubt, a pony.

"...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Author's Note:

I think he's handling it well, don't you?

Welp, here's the third chapter folks! Knock yourselves out.

Not one of my best, to be honest, but I hope you all like it!

Oh, and thank you so much for the support. You guys seem to really like this story, so for that, I wanted to thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy this story!

Comments

[appaloosa142]

Twilight reaction is possibly one of the best I've ever seen!

"Well..." she kicked at the ground nervously with her front hoof, "Have you checked lately?"

[Kersey475]

Everyone place you bets! How long will it take Sherlock to get on Twilight's last nerve when he wakes up?

[CrystalHero97]

Wow, I'm glad I found this.
More plez

[Schmuck]

Really enjoying the story so far. Looking forward to when Twilight meets everyone's favorite high-functioning sociopath.

[Toa from Siberia]

Great job, Watson, you woke up all the dead in Equestria.