10: Why am I not dead?
Help! I'm not a changeling!
Chapter 10: "Why am I not dead?"
Edited and proofread by Tripy998. Godzilla is my father... RAWR.
"Wake up Fire!"
That was all I could get out of my dream at its last moments. Whether it was that what I had heard or not, it won't matter anymore.
After all, what happens to a body --which is containing great amounts of magic that also happens to be keeping in it like a shaken bottle of soda-- when even more magic is obtained? What is the aftermath of said bottled up magic body?
Easy.
It explodes. In other words...
You die.
And I did.
So why am I not dead?
"Eh?" I opened my eyes with ease as my vision was filled with white sights. With a few blinks of my own, I looked around, seeing if I could find where I was in. Much to my surprise, I was resting in a white room, laying on a brown bed, next to a wooden nightstand. Attempting to process how I got there, I used my memory and tried to remember how things made me end up here.
But I couldn't.
A sharp pain was all I felt when I attempted to remember something, anything that could be related to this exact moment. Unaware if this was a one time thing only, I tried once more to remember, even recall a single scene before I got here for some unknown reason.
"The hell?" I whispered as my mind was blocked with pain all over again. Rubbing a hoof on the right side of my head, I gave up trying to remember, for all I got from that was a nice dose of 'Ouch'.
"What a strange occurrence." I mumbled to myself, using my free hoof as support to sit on my butt. Once I sat correctly, I looked around once again, seeing if I could figure out where I was. From what I could deduce, it appeared as if I was in a resting room, if the white walls weren't enough proof of that. It actually reminded me of a hospital.
Weird, I can remember something like that, but not what happened earlier? Really?
Whatever, I shouldn't give it so much thought. I have more important things to meddle with.
"Alrighty Fire, let's see-" I stopped midway as something felt out of place. Something that shouldn't be allowed or replaced. Oh, wait, "My name is not Fire... that is just a nickname."
Shaking my head fiercely, but with a gentle touch to avoid hurting my head, I focused and commanded on myself the following words.
"I'm Mauricio Bonofire, a human born in Mexico, who died and was reborn as a changeling. I'm also looking for a reason to my existence on Equestria while living under the care of Chrysalis... I'm not Fire. It's just my hive nickname.... I was reborn as a changeling, but I'm still a human inside... There is nothing that will take that away from me. I am Maurice... I am Mauricio..."
Why would I even think that my name is Fire? Was it a side effect? Am I going nuts already? Just how much has this place affected me? Is it even safe for me to stay here?
"So many questions, and no answers in return. Fantastic." I muttered to myself as I became frustrated real quickly, "What was I expecting anyways?"
Knowing that I wasn't going to get any answer by dwelling on the idea so much, I reluctantly threw myself onto my back, resting my head on the soft pillow for a second time. I closed my eyes and breathed. The air filled my lungs with ease and I relaxed in a blink of an eye, allowing my mind to clear.
Seeing as how I managed to relax in such a short amount of time, I stayed like this for a few more minutes, allowing my body, as well as my head, to rest.. Effective it was, and I successfully became calm.
"Wow, that was rather useful. I need to do that more often."
....
Alright. What's next?
"Let's see..." I mumbled once again, looking at the ceiling for a few moments, "If I stay here, Iwill be able to rest even more. But I'm curious as to what happened. Unless someone carried me towards this room, it's hard to see how I managed to end up here in the first place..."
Should I move around first? I mean, I'm not going to find out by just laying here. Hmmm...
Oh, right. I better check if anything is out of place.
Taking hold of the situation, I inspected my body in order to see if I had any kind of delayed reaction. It would be bad if I don't know if anything is wrong with me. After all, this place seems to be a hospital, just by the aura it emits. I don't want to be falling to the floor by accident just because I have a broken bone or something like that.
Ok! So...
... Well, these bandages aren't for display only. My body had several bandages covering it. From my legs to the head, respectively. My instinct was right, I'm in some kind of hospital room, for better or for worse. However, I still can't remember what caused me to look so beaten up. Even if I tried to remember... well, the result is obvious.
Good grief. My sight is worse than what I remember.They look used. If they are not just like that because we ran of medical treatments, then I must have been wearing them for some time. Just how long have I been here?
Wait a minute... No! That is not what I should be thinking about. I have to find out whether I can move or not. THEN, I can figure out the answer to all my questions.
Alright, check how much action was taken and analyze how they feel. But first, let's sit up.
To begin with, my back legs. The bandages weren't covering much of the limbs. A little numb, but besides that, no problem.
Next, the front ones. A single bandage was covering my right leg. Maybe a little rusted, but I have been worse. Well, from what I can recall at least.
Then, my torso. This area has a lot of bandages, some of them seem worn out or torn apart. Although several unknown marks are on it, I don't feel uncomfortable at all.
Following up, my back.
...
... Alright, what is that?
Judging by the appearance, it's some sort of crystalized goo looking substance attached to the whole shell. Now, I would be concerned about it if it weren't for the fact that my shell had cracks under the goo substance.
How did I not notice it before? That's beyond me. But I know that those are definitely medical treatments. My shell was perfectly fine, and now I have some cracks on it. Just what happened to me?
Well, my shell felt a little heavier than usual. Other than that, I felt completely fine, disregarding the bandages across my whole body. If I didn't have anything wrong with me, I should be walking by now, right?
Adjusting myself from the sitting position, I dragged my butt to the edge of the bed and leaned on it, exposing my back legs to the cold floor. Not feeling very courageous about walking for God-Knows how long, I hesitated on doing such a simple task. I felt afraid for no apparent reason, but walking is no different from before. Why do I feel scared for such a familiar movement?
"This doesn't make sense..." I stated, still balancing my legs after touching the floor. In a moment of bravery, I mustered all of my fear and shoved it far away as I could. Not taking any chances, I pushed myself forward and held onto my weight with all four legs.
I should have known this was a bad idea.
My body had a shock, spreading through my legs across my whole self until it reached my consciousness. I had a terrifying feeling in my mind, and it wasn't my body that was responsible. It was something else, something so horrifying that I had trouble just standing up.
"What is going... on... ?"
Shaking due to an unnatural force, I fought this feeling, even if it caused my whole being to freeze right on the spot. All of the sudden, I was surrounded by grey scenery, everything turning into a colorless sight before me.
"What!?" I shouted as I looked around. Wait, the feeling is replaced with curiosity? I even stopped shaking... "What the hell is going?"
"Ah, ასე რომ თქვენ საბოლოოდ აღიარა, ჩემი თანდასწრებით ტკბილი ბავშვი ..."
"Huh?" I stuttered as I heard a distant voice, "Who is that?"
"იმ დროის საკითხია, თქვენ მალე მოხვდება ჩემი ხელები, და როდესაც თქვენ?"
"I don't understand what you are saying!" I yelled,
"კი არ Celestia არც Chrysalis შეძლებს გადარჩენა თქვენ. ყოველივე ამის შემდეგ, ჩემი მტაცებელი ერთ-ერთი ამ სამყაროში ... ნუ გაუცრუებ ჩემთვის Maurice ..."
As soon as the voice disappeared, the grey scene suddenly began to take color, making everything move at normal speed again. Wait, a time spell!?
"Hey! Who are you!?" I yelled as my environment started to come back to normal. Spinning around in a flash, I searched for any clue for this voice's whereabouts. "Answer me!"
But no response came by,
Staring dumbfounded at this turn of events, I regained my composure as I tried to comprehend what happened before my eyes. "What the... just who was..."
Suddenly, I realized something. I wasn't shaking anymore, nor my body was as heavy as it felt before. Even the shock I certainly felt disappeared along with it. Not forgetting to mention that time spell dispelled when that thing vanished. So... the very reason for all this was that voice? If so...
I fear for my safety in the future.
"..."
Welp, I guess staying silent and motionless won't do in this situation. In any case, I have things to do. This must be a warning and I'm sure something similar will happen at some point. I have to be prepared.
"Fire!?" I heard someone yell from behind me, chances being near the entrance. "You... you are..."
"Hm?" I turned around and spotted Chrysalis, staring at me with awe and concern. Her eyes were filled with... joy? Why would she be happy?
"Queen Chrysalis! What's with the sudden shout!?" I heard as I saw a familiar group enter through the door, all looking at her with surprise and concern "Did something happen... to..."
Looking at the voice's source, Ivy, she looked in shock as Emerald, Drive, Gaia and a few other changelings I recognized entered as well, adapting the very same surprised look on them.
Not knowing why everyone was looking at me like someone was brought back to life, I immediately said the first thing that came to mind.
"Um, hi. Did something happen?"
I'm not sure why, but I think both Emerald and Drive started to form tears in their eyes, their expression changing from surprise to pure happiness. No, really, Emerald was forming like a waterfall in her eyes, holding her hooves close to her mouth. Drive was close as well, but he decided to hold it in and smile with a genuine aura.
It took a half a second to realize that they weren't going to stand there all day, for they all started running at me at full charge-- except Chrysalis, she was a queen after all-- with joy filling their changeling heart.
"Crap!" I whispered to myself, before standing up and backing away in a slow rhythm, "Guys! Look out! I don't feel very-"
But it was futile.
The impending doom of the hug was already at full motion, with no brake stopping the hype train. I could only hope I would be spared from the oncoming slaughter.
"FIRE!!! YOU ARE BACK!!!"
"GAH! GUYS! I CAN'T BREATHE!"
But no changeling was spared that day.
Eventually, everything had to settle down, for my body could only take so much hugging from others. As they got off of me (Forcefully), I decided to ask away from the beginning. What I received... was nothing I ever thought would happen to me.
"Okay... so let me get this straight." I motioned with my hooves, closing my eyes as I concentrated on what to say next, "After I had a fight with a puppet-"
"Queen Chrysalis’ puppet to be precise- OW!" I heard Gaia say as Ivy slap her on the back of the head in response. Ivy snorted and glared at Gaia. She was amused by this though. Chrysalis on the other hand... well... she wasn't looking very well.
"Aja, Chrysalis's puppet. So," I continued with my talk, "After dealing with the puppet that Chrysalis created, I got so beaten up that I almost died, correct?" It feels weird talking about death so easily.
"Yes." stated Drive, who looked away with shame, "It's my fault. I should have arrived sooner. If I hadn't arrived, you would..."
I looked at Drive with sadness. He seemed so at guilt from what happened. Even though the queen was the one who created this whole ordeal, he still feels guilty about all this.
"Hm. I see. So, that is why I was at the hospital..."
"Actually, you were at the- OW!" Gaia repeated again, earning an annoyed expression from her towards Ivy, "Knock it off! It's not funny!"
"Then keep your mouth shut." Ivy calmly spoke, with a smile on her face, "No need for further 'accidents', don't we?" Gaia glared at her once more, not before looking away with comprehension.
"Further accidents?" I repeated. Everyone looked uncomfortable as I mentioned this said accident, "What happened?"
I'm not so sure, but I think they all flinched when I mentioned that. Maybe I'm imagining things?
In any case, soon all of the changelings in the present room seemed uneasy about something, almost as they couldn't face it head on. This continued for longer than I expected until someone decided to speak up.
Emerald, looking at the floor without interest, spoke for everyone, "Um, it's just that... well, the thing is..."
"It's nothing you should be concerned about." Chrysalis calmly remarked, with a caring smile on her expression, "The thing that matters the most is that you are alright."
Well, that is a queen for you. Even if things are awkward, she manages to maintain a regal composure and clear up things. This caused me to feel more respect towards her, even if she behaves like a 'blue-blood' being every now and then. But I'm curious now. What is it exactly that they were talking about? Is there something else I'm not aware of? Should I even know to begin with?
Well, I can't make any guesses about it. It wouldn't do much to my situation, even if I wanted to.
But Chrysalis is right. I should be glad I'm still alive. From what they told me, it's even a miracle I'm standing on my own. Which is weird, because, I shouldn't be.
Look, getting beaten to death means hits to all the body which equals pain. Pain equals a lot of Ow's and breaky-breaky. Ow's and breaky-breaky equals broken bones. Broken bones equals no walk. No walk due to hits from one guy equals shameful reminder that you suck at fighting. Simple.
But here I am. Walking on sunshine, woohoohoo.
And yes, it was a pun intended.
"She is right, kid." added Drive, looking at me with a happy looking smile, "It is a great relief to see you back on your hooves. Literally. We never thought you would make such great progress in just one month!"
Hold on, what? "Wha...? What do you mean?"
"What do I mean about what?"
"The thing you just said."
"What thing?"
"The thing from two seconds ago!"
"Relief?"
"No no, closer."
"Literally?"
"Close, but not enough. More."
"Progress?"
"You almost have it, c'mon!"
"... Month?"
"Yes! That!" I exclaimed as he repeated my request, "What do you mean by month?"
"That you made great progress in one month?" I nodded as he nailed what I'm curious about, "Wait, we haven't told you yet?"
"I don't think so." I commented, trying to recall if they mentioned something about a month related situation, "You said I made great progress in one month. What do you mean exactly by that?"
Everyone around me began to shuffle uncomfortably, gathering together as I was left behind. A few of them gave me a few glances every now and then. It wasn't until Chrysalis was being looked by everyone when they agreed about something. Receiving a respectful nod from the queen, everyone returned to their original position and gave me a caring yet worried smile.
"Fire," called out Ivy, earning my full attention towards her, "I'm going to tell you something delicate,but before that I have to make a request for you."
Feeling uneasy, I nodded my head, despite this ungrateful and disgusting feeling that was in my stomach. When I successfully countered this feeling with determination, I spoke, "What is it?"
"Please don't panic."
It only took three words to make all that hard work vanish into nothing else than thin air, like a paper caught in a fire. I wasn't even informed about this new information, and yet I was terrified. I knew it was bad, judging by the warning/request Ivy gave me, but why do I feel so... terrified?
Mustering all that lost courage from before, I forced both myself and my stomach to calm down. I had to be strong if the news were as shocking as I felt they were.
With one last push, I spoke again.
"Lay it on me."
Ivy seemed unsure, hesitating on telling me... whatever she and everyone had to tell me. Her eyes were more than clear. She wasn't sure if letting me know was a good idea. But something gave her that confidence I know ever since I got here. Taking a deep breath, she broke her gaze from me and looked at her queen.
Chrysalis seemed unfazed, but I could notice a twitch or two from her mouth that revealed she was nervous about something. Nevertheless, she imposed a royal aura and nodded at the troubled Ivy.
"Well, here goes nothing." muttered Ivy, closing her eyes for one moment and opening them the next, "You were in a full coma for at least a month and a half."
"Huh... is that so?"
------------------------------------------->Ivy<---------------------------------------------
If letting know Fire half of the truth was a good idea or not, it wouldn't matter anyways. He is one smart changeling. He would figure it out on his own even if we didn't tell him.
But, I never expected him to react this way.
"Huh... Is that so?" was his only answer. His eyes all of the sudden changed from that sparkling fire in his eyes into nothing but ashes. Although his gaze never looked away, it was more than obvious that his mind was out of his body. Those unique green looking eyes suddenly turned grim, giving away a feeling of dread.
I have met terrible fates that happened to other changelings in several missions, but his case looked so... broken. Fire didn't need to say anything. It was quite obvious that it affected him, and hard.
To be honest, I thought he would have made a joke about it and then freak out like he usually does. But this? This is different. He was more than terrified. He was... scarred. The reason is unknown, but I feel his reason is more than valid. Or at least, that is how I feel about it.
Looking at my right, Queen Chrysalis stood there with an unbreakable poker face, looking at his reaction like it was nothing. But deep inside, I knew she was concerned about him. Really concerned.
Those days she took care of him personally were more than enough proof.
As for my fellow changeling friends, they had the same reaction as my queen, but they were actually showing it.
Me, on the other hand, was curious about his reaction. It's natural to feel horrified about news like this, but he is different. Something is troubling his mind, and the coma news just added fire to-
Wait, stop. That was going to be horrible pun. Focus.
"I... I think I need some time alone." Fire ordered, catching all of us off guard. Looking away, he smiled, his eyes still not recovering that spark I saw before, "Is... is that okay?"
We all looked at each other with concern, unsure if it was a good idea. However, that train of thought vanished as our Chrysalis, our most benevolent Queen and all powerful ruler, simply nodded and walked away.
Looking with awe, I desperately called out for her, "Queen!? Are you taking orders from him!?"
"Of course." she simply responded. She turned to me with a curious face, as I was still picking up my jaw from the cold floor, "If he believes he needs some quality time alone, then let him. After all, it's my fault that our important guest and friend is in that state. Taking orders from him isn't humiliating or insulting. It's looking out for a friend."
Queen Chrysalis walked away until she left room with common click on the door. Still shocked about her behavior, I comprehended her reasons and obeyed as well. If our queen had the humility and sufficient care about Fire to obey his request, then so could we.
"Understood." I mumbled to myself, looking at the door for a few more moments. Turning around, I had eye contact with the whole group.
"You heard the Queen. Everypony, out of the room." I ordered using the hive communication.
"Yes, Commander T. Ivy!"
Just as ordered. Everypony walked out of the room without questioning. Still, that didn't mean that their preoccupation was gone. They really care about him, and we all know it.
We are lucky to have a changeling like him.
"Commander T. Ivy!" I heard one of my soldiers calling out for me, as I kept heading towards the door.
"Come in, Weed."
"Sorry to bother you, but we need your assistance. Please come to HQ quick."
"On my way." I spoke once more, cutting the communication afterwards. Before leaving the room, I looked back at Fire, who remained looking off into the distance. SIghing, I averted my gaze from him and walked out the door.
Fire... You have no idea how much of an influence you are. Given the opportunity, you easily befriend the whole hive with a smile. In just two months, you made such loyal friends that care about you. Myself included.
Maybe... maybe he really is the key to our problems.
And I can't let him die-
No, we WON’T let him die.
I’ll make sure of that.
Stats
Page generated in 0.027 seconds
Total duration
713 users online
942,607 hits today, 2,139,894 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
If you don't make more of this
I WILL find you
and I WILL handcuff you to an 80 pound typewriter.
nice.
i would've called this chapter a 100/10 if he went off on a Spanish cursing spree as soon as they left. would've done that in Swedish, myself.
6937041
DO YOU THINK THAT IS TORTURE?
HA!
BROTHER, YOU ARE GIVING ME A VACATION WITH ALL THE LUXURIES PAID!
YOU HAVE TO TRY HADDER THAN THAT!
WHATS MORE, I WILL ADD A TORTURE THAT WILL DRIVE ME INSANE.
A YEAR WITH NOTHING MORE THAN A DIRECT CONNECTION WITH MY STORY AND LEFT ALONE ON AN ISLAND WITH NO POSSIBLE INTERNET OR GAMES AT MY DISPOSAL.
THAT WOULD BE MORE LIKE THAT!
ORGULLO DE MI PAIS, POR DIOS!
6937041 yes yes good goooood mwhahahahaha
+ 
6937237 Everyone has different reactions to different scenerios.
Had that been myself on the scene, I would have either
A. Raged out of the fact, or,
B. Be shocked about it, but afterwards accept the fact of what happened.
Now Mauricio's brother on the other hand... Oh boy. Speechless.
So then, as we understand it it's not really the coma part that's scraping him, but the knowledge that he's pretty much presumed dead back home, right?
Personally, my own reaction would have been something like, "well now that I'm awake, what did I miss, and where do we go from here?"
Then again we're probably more prepared for memory gaps than he is...
Keep going! ;)
6937739 Actually, there was another reason, but yours is much better.
6937671 eh, i just say it for the comedic values. very true, though
Time will tell if Mourice will get the secret out. Ivy will propably easdrop on him and thats how it'll happen.
Request: I want him to once day end up on the frontier and don both the poncho and sombrero. As the muxicanling. Drinking with Sombra and beeing a love bandit. Heh. So random.
Umm... Why does it say this is on hiatus?
Ooh, nice to see an update! But what's this thing I see?
Hiatus?
Oh PLEASE NO! I BEG OF YOU! DON'T LEAVE US!
6938674 It's on hiatus because I have to study for an up coming exam, the February 21th. And no, I don't want to leave the pony. The time has not come yet.
And to be honest, I don't want that time to come. I enjoy being a brony and all of its beautiful content.
6938313 Look up.
Hmmmm... Interesting. Kinda threw me off a little bit, but that was probably only due to the fact that I haven't read this for a good while... a month or so maybe?
6940544 I take my sweet time. Oh yeah.
(Sorry...)
6940894 Nah it's fine! I'm still enjoying it greatly! Keep up the good work!
6938796
Lol, finals?
I just finished our last final a couple weeks ago, and now we are on to semester two...
6938796 Umm, I see the ceiling. Dunno why you asked me to do that.
Anyway, nice to see that this won't be one of those indefinite hiatuses. I hope your exams go well!
Fire seems almost...dense, I guess, in this chapter.
Also, I really have a hard time inserting myself in Fire's mind set at going in a daze over finding out he was in a coma for a month and a half. It feels rather forced, like "Oh, I was out for a month and a half, I guess I had better be dramatic about it"
6943082
6937661 How about I just handcuff you just out of reach of a supercomputer with every video game in the universe, including those yet to be made and an infinite 2 million MBPS wifi speed?
6976075 Moron.
6975794 The story isnt dead. Well, at least not soon. I'm just adjusting some things in my life that require my full attention to work properly. Once I got these things out of the way and resolved, the story shall continue.
But for now, Haitus it is.
This story is confusing, not just the grammatical and spelling errors, but the plot line as well.
It's a little confusing to follow the story, but it's more confusing to know what exactly is going on.
Usually, not telling the audience what is happening is a good thing, as it leaves them to come to their own conclusions. But this, is confusing.
6163119
Also, my points in this comment still stand.
Hmm, i am very happy to read this story, but i am sad that it came to an end.
7509709 It is not.
Just... a lot of things happened in these months.
7670023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSbwStWHtzY
You will thank me later.
Can't wait for more chapters.
Chapter 11 missing? I get an email update saying that chapter 11 "Why is that a thingy?" has been added but now it's missing?
7725071 It was a mistake. I'm working on it right now, but my hand slipped and well... that happened.
Don't worry, a new chapter will soon unfold for all of you, as an apology for waiting so long. And I shall keep it going.
7725115 That edit button really shouldn't be next to the publish button
7725115 All good mate.
7725115 which makes me wonder (since its been years since I was in the editor interface), we probably won't get another email notification now since it was already published, huh?
7725115
11: Why is that a thingy?
7725854 Maybe, maybe not. I'll publish it when it's done. If it does show, cheers. If not, so sad.
7726493 I'll check back in a week just in case.
Or, if I happen to see it in Feed (I'm apparently a hundred or so updates behind).
7726493 thanks for the nudge! Now off to read the chapter!
Huh, well, at least he should be really well rested?
D'awwww, Chryssie does care, a lot.
I wonder why he needs time alone. I’d rather be with others after waking up. Also, MC didn’t ask anyling about Changelings and dreams. This could be an opportunity to suggest opening diplomatic channels with Luna to Equestria.