Where the Sunflowers Grow

by Bluespectre

Chapter Three - A New Friend

CHAPTER THREE

A NEW FRIEND

Stairs - the terrifying prospect of trying to descend them whilst co-ordinating four legs all at the same time made Rush’s blood run cold. Of course, to an Equestrian born pony it was probably as natural as breathing, but to this newly arrived earth stallion, the mere thought of pitching muzzle first down that flight of marble steps stopped him dead in his tracks. Vivid memories of his first moments in Equestria flooded back into his mind, the terrifying feeling of being in the wrong body, the way nothing seemed to do what he wanted - it was all still horribly fresh in his mind and was now beginning to take on an almost tangible will of its own. Despite his best efforts, regardless of how much he tried, Rush’s legs simply refused to obey him…

“…and of course we have Madam Truckle and her entourage arriving at four, so I shall have to…” Celestia stopped and turned round to look at him, “Rush? What’s the matter, why are you standing there?”

Rush swallowed. Gods in their mercy, how hard could this be? He could walk just fine now, for the most part anyway, but this was… He closed his eyes and tried to calm his racing heart when he felt a slight pressure on his shoulder,

“Come on, let’s do this together.”

Celestia smiled at him gently, her large purple eyes sparkling in the warm sunlight filtering through from the stained glass windows above them. Rush nodded and let out the breath he’d been holding in. He trusted her, he trusted her completely, but his legs? He didn’t trust them at all! Rush gritted his teeth as he willed himself forward, but the bloody things had a mind of their own, and before he knew it, they began shaking like jelly. The whole situation was so unimaginably embarrassing he felt like running off and…running off? He never used to think like that! What the hell was wrong with him?! Shaking his mane, he nodded to himself and took a breath…

“Right…”

He concentrated…Front right…back left, front le…wait, was it back right or…?

“Argh!”

Rush tripped over his own hooves, his legs sending him stumbling into the banister. In a rapid flurry of movement, propelled more by desperation than anything more controlled, he grabbed hold of the marble railing and clung on for dear life. Sweat immediately broke out on his forehead, pouring down his face and stinging his eyes. He could feel his cheeks burning, mostly from embarrassment, but at least he was physically unhurt, just…humiliated… Damn it all! What would Tia think of him now? He was a mess, a hopeless, pathetic mess. How could the ruler of a land such as this think of him as anything more than an utterly useless fully grown child who couldn’t even…

“Rush?” Celestia’s voice spoke clearly and calmly next to him, “Listen to me.” Rush opened his eyes and looked up at her, maintaining his grip on the banister as the Princess continued, “How did you walk on two legs?”

“I…” Suddenly distracted, Rush blinked in surprise at the question, “I just…did.”

“Did you look at you feet when you walked?”

He shook his head, “No, you just put one in front of the other.”

The Princess smiled, “You just did it? You didn’t have to think about balance or anything like that?”

Rush nodded.

“You may think it is strange to walk on four legs,” Celestia reasoned pleasantly, “but most living things in our home do just that. I must say, I found it incredible how humans could walk on just two legs like a bird, and without wings to help either!”

Rush snorted out a laugh, “I think it’s hard enough co-ordinating four legs without adding flying into the equation.” He’d seen pegasi flying over the palace but hadn’t met any up close yet. Presumably they just looked like Tia without the horn.

“You seemed to get on well with Guardstallion Orange Grove.” The Princess said, looking into his eyes searchingly, “I think you two could become good friends, if you spent more time together.”

Spent more time together? Rush shuddered. He wasn’t good with people generally, finding his own company far more agreeable. Still, this was a new world, a new life, and perhaps he should be making more of an effort to be…he grimaced…sociable.

“I don’t think we’ll be needing cloaks this morning.” Celestia said trotting up to the guards by the main doors, “It’s lovely and…”

Rush stopped and stared at her, “Tia?”

“Hmm?”

“I…” he looked over his shoulder, then down at his hooves, “How did I…?”

“The stairs?” Celestia said dismissively, “Oh, you walked down them. Did you forget?”

Rush shook his head in bewilderment, “Yes…yes, I suppose I did.”

“Well, come on then, I want to make the most of the morning before the Chancellor thinks I’ve abandoned my duties.” The Princess gave him a wink and bobbed her head to the guards as they walked past.

Outside, the gardens were, rather predictably, just as magnificent as the rest of the palace. Beautifully crafted statuary, fountains and topiary lent a feeling of taste and sophistication that went far beyond anything Rush had ever seen before in the human world. In some ways he felt a little overwhelmed by it all, and almost…’dirty’ somehow, as if his harsh life in the wooden house in the mountains could somehow sully the sheer perfection of what he was seeing by his mere presence. Watching ponies bow or curtsey when the Princess passed by was strange too, and some of the looks he received from them when they thought he couldn’t see them suggested that not everypony accepted his closeness with their ruler.

Turning a corner, Celestia headed for a gap in the long hedgerow only to find it blocked by a pastel yellow stallion on a stepladder with a set of shears. The grey maned fellow bobbed his head to the Princess and peered curiously at Rush before addressing her,

“Mornin’ Your Majesty.”

“Good Morning Thimble, how are you today?” The Princess beamed.

The yellow coated stallion smiled and climbed down from the ladder, “Very well thanks, Your Majesty. Been tidyin’ a few bits and pieces here and there. Seems to be comin’ along nice.”

Celestia nodded, “Very much so. You’re doing a splendid job.”

Rush could almost hear the old stallion’s eyes turning to him: focussing, examining…

“You must be that Rush fella.”

Opening his mouth to speak, Rush suddenly found himself lost for words. How did he know who he was? Did word really travel that fast around here? He sighed; yes, it probably did. After all, a certain orange unicorn maid had been rather upset with him, hadn’t she? Rush took a breath and nodded to the gardener,

“Yes, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Mmm” the old-timer raised an eyebrow, “Let me see yer hooves there.”

“I’m sorry?” Rush asked, but before he could blink suddenly found one of his forehooves grabbed and lifted up for inspection.

“Reckon you’re no stranger to hard work, Mister Rush. I always say you can tell the quality of a stallion by his hooves.” Thimble scratched his grey beard in thought, “Yup.”

In Rush’s village, elder members were usually afforded a great deal of respect, their age and knowledge almost revered, even if they could become a little…eccentric in their later years. Thimble himself seemed harmless enough though, and was either a smooth talker or surprisingly observant. Rush nodded to him,

“I used to work with river reeds; harvesting and preparing them ready for sale.”

“River reeds?” Thimble asked curiously, “Sounds like something foreigners do.”

This was going well, Rush thought to himself sarcastically. He smiled at the gardener, “I’m afraid where I’m from there was little emphasis on ornamental gardening, except at the temples.” Rush narrowed his eyes, “Staying alive tended to take precedence over fancy hedges and statues.”

The gardener watched him quietly for a moment and then bowed to the Princess, “Your Majesty.”

Trotting away down the gravel path, Celestia shot Rush a look of displeasure, “Did you really need to bait him, Rush? Thimble has been the royal gardener for years and yes, I know he can be cranky at times, but he’s a kindly old soul.”

“Maybe baiting him is ‘something foreigners do’ too.” Rush muttered. He thought for a moment, “Tia, do I look foreign?” he glanced down at his legs, “I thought I looked like everypony else here – is it my coat colour, my eyes, what?”

The Princess shook her head, “You look like what you are – an earth pony.”

“But do I have strange colouring? What about my cutie mark?” Rush pressed.

Celestia sighed, “Look around you, Rush. Out of everypony you’ve met so far, who looks the most unusual here?”

Rush looked. The gardens had a few early morning strollers, out to enjoy the fresh air and beautiful surrounds, but for the most part it was still fairly quiet. There was a pony on a ladder busy cleaning windows, another painting a doorframe - in fact there was nothing that struck him as particularly unusual, despite how new it all was to him. Somehow, it all just seemed to ‘fit’, as though it had always been there, quietly waiting for him to come along and appreciate it. He looked closer; the painter was a carrot coloured unicorn with white and red striped hair, his cutie was, rather unsurprisingly, a paintbrush. The window cleaning fellow up the ladder was a rust coloured earth stallion with light brown hair, holding a long pole in his mouth with a cloth on the end. Rush couldn’t see his cutie mark under his overalls, but no doubt it would be something ‘appropriate’ like the painters. Overhead, a young pegasus mare flew past carrying a satchel. Suddenly, in a flurry of wings she landed not far away, took out a scroll and trotted over to hoof it one of castle maids who’d appeared in the doorway.

It all seemed…perfectly normal.

Rush shook his head and scrubbed his mane with a hoof; the more he looked at himself, the more he seemed, well…like everypony else really. In fact, the one who really looked stood out was the tall white mare with both wings and a horn…Celestia. Rush looked up at her and then turned away suddenly feeling embarrassed.

“Well?” She asked.

“It’s just me, isn’t it” Rush said quietly, “I’m being foolish.”

“No.” The Princess replied smiling kindly, “You are who you are, as I am who I am. We are all different, all unique, and yet all one people.” Celestia ruffled her wings, “Ponies are inquisitive Rush, and will want to know who you are. It’s up to you whether you can embrace that inquisitiveness and use it to help make new friends.”

“Friends” Rush said quietly, “I was always wary about that word.”

“Is that a human sentiment?” Celestia asked.

“Probably not, but it is mine.” Rush muttered, “Tia, I’m sorry, I’m not used to…’interaction’ with people.” He closed his eyes a moment, “Being sociable is not in my nature.”

The Princess gave him a light nudge, “Maybe not in the human world, but perhaps that was because of what you are.” She lifted an eyebrow, “You did have friends there, and family. They helped you when you needed them, didn’t they?”

“I suppose…” Rush sighed, “It’s a lot to absorb, Tia.” Looking up at her, he gave her a slightly distant smile, “I’ll try.”

“That’s all anypony could ask.” Celestia said nodding, “Whether you make friends or not, is your choice. Just, see how you feel.” She grinned, “You have a whole new world to explore and a whole new life, Rush. For now though, I want to stretch my legs. Do you feel up to it?”

“Um…sure” Rush replied uncertainly.

He shook his mane and walked up alongside Celestia. For the first time he noticed just how tall she really was. In his village he was slightly above average height, but not significantly so and certainly nobody ever mentioned it as being worthy of note. When he’d met Tia in the forest, her height didn’t seem to register with him, and in some ways he’d assumed that all ponies in Equestria were all going to be roughly the same height. Now, standing here beside her, he found himself looking up at her and…

“Try to keep up!”

Celestia suddenly surged forward and Rush was left stumbling in her wake.

“W…WAIT!” He blurted, but the alicorn was already trotting off across the lawn.

Gritting his teeth, Rush tried to pick up speed, doing his best not to think about which leg to move first, to keep his mind blank and just…move... Gradually, and much to his surprise, he began to find his rhythm; by shifting his weight and almost ‘bouncing’ along as he’d seen horses do when he’d worked for the Lord, he found it was surprisingly comfortable, natural, and…exhilarating! He began to chuckle and found himself laughing aloud as he quickly caught up with the Princess. She looked back at him over her shoulder and gave him a beaming smile,

“You have good form, Rush!” she called, “Are you warming up nicely?”

The wind tickled Rush’s ears, flowing through his nostrils and into his lungs. His body still felt a little strange, but…the sheer power! He could feel the dormant strength in his legs, the muscles working and generating a heat that only seemed to make him want do more… He wondered…

“Canter?” he called.

Celestia smiled back and nodded, “If you feel you are…”

Rush neighed loudly and with a surprising burst of speed, shot forward past the startled mare.

“Rush! Wait!” Celestia shouted, “Not so…!”

Wind blasted past him, the grass brushing past his legs, his hooves thundering and driving him on. Dear Gods, this was amazing! He’d dreamed of it, he’d longed for it: the visions he’d had of charging across the beautiful fields and forests of a land he’d never seen…they were real! Rush’s eyes streamed with tears, his heart singing and his soul filled with the final realisation – he was home. His ears flat, he ran even harder, ever faster, the world passing by in a blur of colour as he entered the forest where the tree’s flashed past him in a torrent of green and brown. He had to dodge and weave, avoiding low branches and fallen logs, but it was as natural to him now as breathing and completely exhilarating beyond anything he could have ever imagined.

The memory of his mother and the images Celestia has shown him of her, unexpectedly filled his mind. Was this the world she’d had and given up? No wonder she always seemed distant – to lose something so incredible, so wondrous, must have…must have… He suddenly wondered: if she had come from Equestria, she must have had relatives, right? The same with his father; that must mean that somewhere in this land, he would have…

“SHI-!”

Too late, Rush noticed the fallen tree. He was running too fast, his lack of experience and sudden panic sending him into a stumbling, flailing mass of legs and fur as he crashed bodily into the half rotten wood. There was a sound like a loud gong being sounded and darkness swallowed Rush in an instant, the last view he had of the world little more than leaves, bark and soil.

****************************

“Hello?”

Oh Gods… Rush blinked; his eyes felt like somepony had poured burning sand in them. He groaned took a breath; his hearing, his vision, his body – why did everything hurt so much?!

“Don’t try to move, I’ll fetch the doctor and…”

Who was that? Rush flexed his legs and snorted out a leaf that was jammed in one of his nostrils, “No…no, I’m…fine…” he said, rolling himself upright. Everything seemed to be alright: a few aches here and there, some scratches and bruises, but thankfully no breaks. He knew all too well what happened to equines that broke legs, and…wait…who was talking to him? “Tia?”

“Who?” The peach coloured mare asked curiously. She stared down at him with her large scarlet eyes and tossed her pale green mane, “Are you sure you’re alright? I think you must have thumped your head quite hard there.” She raised an eyebrow, “I heard you crashing through the trees and thought you were a bear!”

“A…a bear?” Rush blinked. She was right, he must have hit his head, he was seeing stars and there was definitely a background ache when he tried to move.

“I think you need to see the doctor.” The mare said, “Here, let me help you up.”

She reached out a foreleg and expertly helped Rush to stand. Horribly, the world lurched around him for just the briefest of moments and he felt a wave of nausea flow over him, but thankfully as quickly as it had appeared, it left, leaving him standing there letting the blissfully cool forest air cleanse his lungs. He closed his eyes,

“Thank you. Miss…?”

“Apricot” the mare replied.

Rush smiled, wincing as a throbbing headache began to run through him,

“It’s nice to meet you Apricot.”

She looked up at him doubtfully, “Hmm.” Fishing in her basket, she took out a small parcel and lifted it up in the purple glow of her magic.

“You’re a unicorn!” Rush suddenly exclaimed.

“Yes…?” she said quietly, furrowing her brow, “Here, chew these, slowly mind you.”

Apricot floated over several pale blue and white flowers with long green stems. They smelled nice, and…tasted nice too! Rush chewed them dutifully and quickly began to feel a peculiar, but not unpleasant, tingling running through him.

“What are these?” He asked around the mouthful, “They’re delicious!”

“Needlewort”, Apricot replied, putting the remainder away, “They should help with your head until we can get you looked at.” She gave him a warning glance, “Don’t swallow them yet though, just keep chewing or they won’t work.”

Rush nodded. Closing his eyes in anticipation of another throb of pain, he paused – the pain had gone! He looked up at her and smiled his thanks, but she was busy putting her basket back in her pannier and began walking away,

“Come on,” she called over her shoulder, “let’s get you to the doctor.”

With apparently little other choice, Rush followed. Physically he still felt a little out of sorts, but it was his head that worried him the most: his mind seemed to comprise of little more than a confusing fog of images and wooziness which he could only hope would wear off soon. Come to think of it, where was Tia? He looked about, but couldn’t see any sign of her anywhere. He sighed quietly; she was probably worried sick about him. What if she was searching the forest for him right now? Didn’t Apricot say there were bears here? He lifted his hoof to catch her attention and stumbled awkwardly.

“What are you doing?” she admonished, looking back over her shoulder, “Keep up!”

“I…” Rush couldn’t seem to string a sentence together; his mouth felt strangely numb and his thoughts kept skittering away from him more and more. He spat the needlewort out of his mouth and licked his lips – the strange tingling was not particularly unpleasant as such, just…strange. He took a breath and resigned himself to following the young mare; after all, what else could he do? He had no idea where he was and Tia wouldn’t exactly be hard to find, would she?

Apricot trotted on, following what looked to be a game trail, down a gentle incline and out into wide open fields where it picked up a dirt road. The sun was high in the sky now, its warmth dissipated slightly by a playful breeze that tugged at Rush’s mane and tail as he walked. Every so often, the peach coloured mare would check to make sure he wasn’t far behind her, but other than that, the two walked on in absolute silence. Rush listened to sound of his hooves as they impacted the ground, feeling the dull thud running up his legs and the strangely therapeutic rhythm they made. In some respects it was almost mesmerising, and certainly took his mind off what was happening. Anyway, at least he was in one piece so he had that to be thankful for, and this young mare had been kind enough to offer him help too; the least he could do was accept her kind offer of aid.

Before long the outskirts of what turned out to be a small town came into view, it’s myriad of brightly coloured houses with yellow thatched roofs far removed from the dour homes he was used to. Here and there colourful banners flew, most of them emblazoned with a representation of Celestia’s cutie mark – a golden sun. He smiled; the flower boxes added a wonderful scent to the air together with the enticing smell of baking bread. There was something else too…the earthy scent of…what was that? Before he had a chance to investigate further Rush pulled up short, narrowly avoiding colliding with the young mare who had stopped in front of a fairly substantial white painted house with a red door. A large white sign outside was painted with an equally large red cross in its centre. She reached out and pulled a lever which rang a bell further inside the property.

A few moments later, the door opened.

“Apricot?” A pewter coloured unicorn mare peered down at them while adjusting her spectacles, “You’re back early, did you…” the mare paused and her green eyes locked onto Rush, “And who is this?”

“His name’s…” Apricot furrowed her brow, “What is your name?”

“Oh, um…” Rush blinked, his mind still a little muddled.

“Needlewort?” The older mare asked.

Apricot nodded, “He had a nasty fall in the forest, Auntie. I’m afraid I used most of the needlewort I found.” She cast a slightly accusatory glance at Rush.

“Well never mind that now, bring him in girl.” The pewter mare sniffed loudly, standing back to allow them entry.

Rush quickly found himself being gently but firmly pushed and prodded into a brightly lit room with surprisingly large arched windows. His hooves clopped noisily on the polished wooden floor until he was finally manoeuvred into a large and surprisingly comfortable chair. The pewter mare pulled open a drawer and took out several peculiar looking instruments which she floated out before his eyes,

“Right then, let’s have a look at you…”

Whatever the mare was doing, Rush had no idea, and decided just to let her get on with it; what was far more interesting was the room itself – and the incredible number of paintings of cats and kittens. Dear Gods, they were everywhere! Every wall, every cupboard and shelf held a picture of one or more of the furry creatures. He was fond of them himself; in fact his mother had owned one when he was a child, but his recollection of the odd creature was far from it being ‘cuddly’, rather it was the terror of the local bird and mouse population. It would sleep on his bed occasionally, but if you tried to stroke it, the beast it would likely remove several pints of blood in the process. That cat had been its own master; it tolerated you, and it kept your home free of mice. Rush smiled at the memory; despite the animals apparent indifference, it only ever slept on his bed, and for that he was grateful, feeling as if in its own feline minded way the furry creature was protecting him.

Maybe it was…

“Ouch! Bloody hell!” Rush’s hoof shot up to rub his ear.

“Hmm.” The odd mare peered at him, “Apricot, get a patch on that please.”

The young mare appeared, floating a small pad of cloth which she held above Rush’s head. He looked up, trying to see, and she tapped him on the muzzle,

“Look down! How do you expect me to reach up there?”

Rush shrugged. He was starting to get itchy feet and… he sighed; hooves, HOOVES! When was he going to learn?! This was beginning to irritate him now; there was just so much to remember, so much he needed to consider, and the way people spoke here in Equestria as opposed to the human world was just one of them. In fact, one of the biggest changes he’d found seemed to be that society itself was, what was the word now…’inverted’? Yes…‘inverted’. Rush nodded to himself and watched the apricot mare who was busy talking with the older unicorn. Females had a noticeably different status here: back in his village they were respected, protected, and worked just as hard alongside their male counterparts as he suspected they did in every village. The upper classes however were very different breed, and females there were more relegated to background roles and the males very much the ‘face’ of power. Here, females seemed to not only outnumber the males, but also take the lead in just about every…

“Open.”

Rush obediently opened his mouth and felt a wooden stick like thing pressed onto his tongue.

“Say ‘Ah’”

“Ah”

The stick was removed.

Yes…it was going to take quite some getting used to…

The older mare returned and sat herself on a stool in front of him while Apricot altered the curtains so Rush wasn’t staring into bright sunlight.

“My name is Cross Cut. You already know my niece, Apricot Crumble.” The mare watched him closely, “What is your name?”

The brown stallion cleared his throat; the taste of the stick had made his tongue feel a little odd. “Rush.” he said with a bob of his head.

Apricot lifted a hoof and started to open her mouth but her Aunt shushed her,

“How do you feel, Rush? Any pain, dizziness or nausea?”

Closing his eyes, Rush tried to sense anything ‘wrong’ with his body. Unfortunately it was hard to tell: everything still felt strange generally, to the point where he’d found that the best course of action was just to ignore the ‘otherness’ of it all and simply get on with things. If you thought about blinking for example, you could find yourself becoming incredibly conscious of the whole operation. It was the same with his legs and hooves – the more he thought about how he actually managed to propel himself with four of the things, the more likely it was he was to going to end up plunging nose first into an embarrassing heap. Still, everything ‘seemed’ to be as it should be.

“No.” he replied, “I feel…fine.”

“Hmm” Cross Cut furrowed her brow, “Good.” She waved off her niece and made some notes in a book held up in the glow from her magic.

Rush watched in fascination. He’d seen Tia using magic of course, not much though due to the lack of a magical field on his old world, and yes, she’d used it since he’d been in Equestria, but for some reason, now it was like he was really seeing it for the first time. The blue glow around Cross Cut’s horn was almost alive, with tiny flecks of silver floating within it while her quill scratched away, depositing its shining ink on the paper. It all seemed unbelievably vivid.

“Here, drink this.” Apricot held up a beaker of something earthy smelling and Rush downed it in one go, nearly choking. “Good Goddesses! Don’t you know how to drink?!” the mare exclaimed.

Wiping his muzzle, Rush gave her an apologetic look, and once again Cross Cut waved her away,

“Rush, have you seen magic before?”

Rush blinked, “Yes…just, only Tia’s.” he winced, “Gods, my head!” A sudden blast of pain bolted through his skull, feeling for all the world like something was trying to batter its way out from the inside.

“I’m afraid that’s the needlewort wearing off.” Cross Cut explained in a slightly disinterested tone, “Chewing it will numb pain but also cause some unpleasant side effects. The Vale Root you’ve just taken should help perk you up, but it will probably be a few hours until you’re safe to go out on your own.”

A sudden thought hit Rush, “I…Wait, no, I need to get back. Thank you for your help, Cross Cut, but Tia will be looking for me.”

“Who’s Tia? Your wife?” the mare asked.

Rush paled suddenly, “No, she’s…” he didn’t know what to say.

“Marefriend?” Cross Cut asked raising an eyebrow.

He didn’t need to respond, she seemed to know already. Rush just nodded.

“Well I’m not willing to let you out until I know you’re fine.” The mare smiled faintly, “Where do you live? I’ll see about getting a message to this ‘Tia’ in case she’s worried about you.”

Rush nodded, “I live at the palace.”

“One of the staff? Or are you one of the guards?” Cross Cut asked.

“Neither.” Rush replied, “I…” Another ache made him wince and Cross Cut leaned forward, looking into his eyes closely,

“Don’t worry, I’ll get a message to them. Is Tia her full name or…” she paused, blinking. Turning to her niece, the mare’s eyes went wide, “Celes…Tia?”

Rubbing his temples, Rush nodded, “Mmhmm.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to say, Auntie!” Apricot hissed under her breath, “The village is abuzz with it! It’s him! The pony from another world!”

Cross Cut squinted curiously at Rush and then turned back to a small brass apparatus on the bench beside her, “Stuff and nonsense” she mumbled, “The blood sample looks exactly the same as everypony else and he looks like every other stallion I’ve ever seen.” She smiled sagely to her niece, “I wouldn’t believe everything you hear.”

“But Lilly said…”

Cross Cut lifted a hoof, “-Lilly’s head is full of cotton wool and larks song, Apricot. That girl has been in lala-land ever since I’ve known her, and this whole ‘working for the Princess’ business has given her ideas above her station. We’re all Equestrian’s and that includes Mister Rush here.” She smiled kindly, “Even Muffins likes him, look…”

On cue, a large grey tabby cat jumped up into Rush’s lap making him jump slightly in surprise, but the curious feline remained completely unfazed. Purring, the warm animal kneaded and prodded its newly discovered large brown cushion until it had made itself comfortable and proceeded to yawn expansively before nodding off.

Rush reached down gingerly with his hoof and stroked the cat’s fur. It was one thing he missed: the sensation of touch. It was ‘sort of’ there, but nothing like it had been with his hands and fingers. He peered at his hoof and let out a breath; he really would need to get used to this new body, and his new home. He looked up to see Cross Cut watching him intently,

“Rush, can you read this?” She held up a board with scratched lines and symbols on it. He shook his head.

“He can’t read?” Apricot asked in amazement, “Where are you from?”

A sudden thought hit Rush and he tried to pry himself from the chair, “I’m sorry, Cross Cut, I really need to go, Tia will be…”

Dizziness suddenly sent him reeling and his stomach lurched. Hurrying with the bucket, Apricot managed to get to him in the nick of time.

Cross Cut stroked Rush’s mane as he heaved, “I will have a message sent, Rush, fear not. The…Princess…will be informed.”

Rush had stopped listening, he was too busy trying to grab onto the sides of the bucket and throwing up his insides. That bloody mare! She’d damned well poisoned him! Gods damn it all, maybe being an Equestrian pony wasn’t all it was…

Cross Cut rubbed his neck as he heaved once again, “Which is why I said to stay here, hmm?”

Sweat soaked into the fur on Rush’s brow as waves of heat and dizziness drew him into a world of misery that reminded him of his first hours here in Equestria. Gods help him, when would this stop?! Slowly, he opened his eyes to see a blue aura filling his vision, a gentle warmth and sleepiness filling his mind.

“Shhh…” the voice said quietly, “Sleep now…sleep…”

Surrendering to the magic, Rush allowed the darkness to take him down, down into a deep comforting sleep, his worries, his fears and pain, drifting away like a leaf on the river.

***********************

Above the forest the white alicorn flew as pure and bright as a star in the midday sun. She’d been searching for him for hours, yet despite her best efforts there just no sign of Rush other than for his hoof prints disappearing into the forest. She’d run after him of course, but for some reason he’d simply vanished without a trace; his hoof prints and evidence of his passing ‘disappearing’ as if he’d just winked out of existence. Celestia closed her eyes, willing away the intrusive and frightening thoughts that were suggesting that maybe, just maybe, that was exactly what had happened. After all, what if Rush’s presence in her world was…NO! Gods damn it, No! Why was she thinking like this?! They’d gone for a run, he’d gone into the forest and got lost – that was all, nothing more and nothing less. ‘Still’, she thought to herself with a shake of her mane, he couldn’t simply ‘vanish’, so how come she couldn’t find him? Taking to the air hadn’t helped much either as it turned out – the trees were thick here and blocked her view of the ground like a green blanket. It seemed that no matter what she tried, Rush was still missing and even her magic was letting her down. Part of her had wanted to put a tracking spell on him earlier too, just in case he ever…’wandered off’, but she hadn’t had she? Now of course, it was too late! She gritted her teeth angrily and flew down to meet the guardsponies who were emerging from the forest’s edge. One of them was waving up at her.

The Princess landed with rather more force than she intended next to the armoured stallion who bowed respectfully.

“Anything?” Celestia asked.

The guard nodded, “Yes, Your Majesty.” He reached back into his pannier and took out a small sickle, “We found this in the forest next to some cut stems. It’s not rusted so we don’t believe it’s been there long. There were tracks too, one set leading into the forest and then out again with another set, heavier: probably a stallion.”

The Princess felt a sudden flush of relief, “Where do they lead?”

“The dogs are following the scent now, Your Majesty,” the guard replied, “but by the direction of the prints, it looks like they’re heading towards Paddock.”

Paddock…The village erected for the families of those lost in the war. It was a haven for those whose lives had been forever changed by the calamitous events of that most dreadful of times in Equestrian history. Most of the scars had healed; the churned and blood soaked ground of River Valley now a sombre place of thick green grass, trees, and the quietly meandering river that gave the place its name. There, on the ridgeline overlooking the fields of death was the memorial to the Equestrians who had fallen there in the defence of their home. Paddock however, was a place where statues and lists of names meant nothing. There were some wounds that time would never heal…

The tracking dogs barked and pulled at their leashes excitedly, leading the party along the forest road, past the curious locals, through the outskirts of the town and right up to the brightly painted front door of the local clinic.

With a heavy thump the door suddenly flew open and a bespectacled mare with grey hair and a pewter coloured coat glowered down at them,

“What in Celestia’s name is going on out here? What’s all this interminable noise?!”

The guards parted and bowed, allowing the Princess to walk forward and stand before the irate mare,

“That is precisely what I would like to know.”

The unicorn mare paled and quickly curtseyed, “Your Majesty…”

Celestia pushed past her, quickly followed by the guards, some of whom had already disappeared further into the clinic.

“Where is he?” Celestia asked levelly, her eyes narrowing.

“He? You mean…”

The Princess lifted her head, her ears twitching, listening for any sound…he was here! She could hear a commotion from the next room, and…

“What the hell’s going on?! Leave him alone!” It was a younger mare’s voice.

Celestia hurried into the room to find one of the guards holding down a young peach coloured mare while another passed her a bottle with a skull and crossbones clearly printed upon it with the name ‘Needlewort’. Lying on the bed beside the bottle was the prostrate form of…

“RUSH!”

The Princess hurried to him and looked down, pulling the sheets aside, looking for signs of… She closed her eyes and took a breath…he was breathing.

“Get out…all of you…GET OUT!” She didn’t look round as the sound of protests and hoof steps faded from the room. With a glow of magic the door closed with a click, leaving the white alicorn alone with the stallion on the bed. She squeezed her eyes shut and gently nuzzled him,

“Rush?”

Silence, and then…

“Mmm…Tia?” The stallion’s eyes slowly opened and he smacked his lips, a slight smile crossing his face, “I just had the oddest dream.”

Long white forelegs reached out and pulled him into an embrace making him chuckle in surprise,

“Tia? What’s…?”

“Rush…Rush, Rush, Rush…” The Princess squeezed her eyes shut and just held him, whispering his name into his fur as she buried her muzzle into his mane.

Rush reached up around her and hugged her back,

“I’m sorry, love. I got lost and bumped my head, and…Mmph!”

Celestia’s kiss took him by surprise and he felt all his recently recovered energy drain away like mist in the morning sunshine. He held her, feeling the tears from her eyes dripping onto his face and crying out to his heart in turn. Rush closed his eyes, and whispered to her,

“I’m sorry, love…”

“I thought I’d lost you.” She said quietly, “I’ve just found you, and then…”

“I know.” Rush said gently, stroking his beloved mare, “It’s my fault, I just…I don’t know, I just lost my head a bit I suppose.” He smiled sadly, “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

She nodded, “What did they do to you?”

“Do?” he asked, “You mean Cross Cut and Apricot? They helped me.”

Celestia lifted an eyebrow, “They helped you?” she released him and picked up the bottle on the workbench and peered at the letters, “Needlewort.”

“Mmm” Rush said slowly pulling himself off the bed, “When Apricot found me she treated me with some of the stems. I used to harvest something similar back ho-” he paused, “back in my old world. It helps with shock and trauma, numbing the…” Rush looked up at the Princess, “What’s the matter?”

“I think I owe some ponies an apology.” She said with a sigh, “Please Rush, would you mind waiting here a moment?”

He smiled, “Of course.”

Rush sat and waiting, eventually pulling himself from the bed and testing his legs. Everything seemed to be working the way it was meant to, and his head felt fine too, thank the Gods. He gave himself an experimental shake, finding everything to be in working order. If there was one interesting thing he’d learned today though, it was that plants here in Equestria could be used for medicinal applications just as those back in his old world. It was surprisingly intriguing. Looking about the room, Rush found numerous books, drawings, charts, and bottles of what were probably medicines of various types. One of the books held pictures of plants too – herbs and other, more curious looking things.

“Rush?” It was Celestia, she was walking in with the two other mares, “How are you feeling?”

Rush looked up from the book, “Oh! Fine, thank you. Is everything alright?”

She nodded, “I’ve apologised to the doctor and her niece. I think I may…did…overreact.”

Cross Cut shook her head, “There’s nothing to apologise for Your Majesty, you were concerned for your friend, that’s all.” The mare smiled at the Princess kindly and walked up to Rush, “He seems a lot better now, and no worse for wear despite his tumble.”

The Princess looked away with a slight expression of embarrassment, “Thank you doctor.”

Rush tapped the book he had been reading, breaking the feeling of awkwardness in the room, “Are all these found locally?” he asked.

Apricot nodded, “Mostly, but some we have to buy from the trader caravans.” She raised an eyebrow questioningly, “Why?”

“My mother taught me some of the ways of the healer,” Rush said turning a page, “I’d like to find out more about these if I may.”

The doctor looked up at the Princess, “Your Majesty?”

Celestia watched Rush staring at the book, a look of absolute fascination in his eyes. He needed time to integrate into this new world mentally as well as physically, so perhaps an interest he was familiar with would help him. She nodded,

“We have plenty of books at the palace on this subject. May I ask: would you be willing to help teach him, Doctor?”

The pewter mare scrubbed her mane a moment, watching Rush intently, “Well,” she said thoughtfully, “a strong back would be welcome, and if he has some skills in the healing arts, I could certainly use them.”

There was a slight huff from Apricot who apparently didn’t quite share her aunt’s sentiments.

“Good. I will speak with Rush more on this before contacting you Doctor.” The Princess bobbed her head, “Now, if you’ll excuse I believe we have intruded upon your time enough today.”

Bidding the two mares farewell, Celestia, Rush and their royal guard set off back to the Palace amidst some curious glances from the local population. Rush kept quiet, feeling more than a little awkward at being ‘escorted’, but then, since he was walking side by side with the Princess, what else could he expect? After all, all this was his fault; he was the one who’d charged off and nearly killed himself and frightened her. He sighed; he just wasn’t used to…females. Back in the village his own wife had been a stranger to him, an arranged marriage that had ended up with two unwilling persons shoved together with expectations that they would somehow ‘get along’. They’d had a daughter, a beautiful creature who had naturally gravitated towards her mother rather than her gruff father. In some ways he felt as if his life as a human had all been little more than a dream, as though he’d never had a family of his own in the first place, and that his marriage were little more than a corrupted memory. It was so long ago, on a different world, and even a different ‘him’ in some respects. Perhaps if he’d been born here in Equestria things could have been different, but then even here the foul spectre of war had tainted this once peaceful land. The conflict sparked by Tia’s own sister had finished years earlier from what he’d been able to gather, but Tia didn’t really talk about it much. They’d spoken of it in passing, on the long dark nights in his home in the mountains, and from what he’d gathered it had been a war between an invading force lead by her sister, Luna, against her own people. In some respects it was unbelievable, and yet in others, especially considering the way he knew humans behaved - almost inevitable. Of course, what was he to know of such things? He was a healer’s son, a reed cutter, and now by some strange twist of fate, the ‘consort’ to the Princess of Equestria. He shook his head; he didn’t like titles, but he certainly didn’t care what people thought of him either. If nothing else he just wanted to be accepted for who he was – Rush, the brown earth stallion, the son of Willow and Silver Spark. His father he’d never known, and his mother, who had always been rather distant with him, now felt more like strangers than ever before. In his heart he wanted to know more about them, but now they were gone, it was unlikely he’d ever discover much more than he knew now.

“Your Majesty!” the Chancellor appeared in a flurry of robes and documents, flanked by two younger ponies carrying scrolls and other assorted writing implements, “Thank goodness! The Elder and her party are becoming quite anxious! I’ve delayed them as much as I can, but…”

The Princess lay a hoof on the flustered mare’s shoulder, “Thank you for your hard work, Chancellor. I will come now.” She turned to one of her guards, “Is Guardstallion Orange Grove on duty today?”

“I believe so, Your Majesty.” The guard replied smartly.

“Would you give him this please? And ask one of the staff to show Rush to the library.” She smiled at Rush, “You’ll have to excuse me, I’m afraid that matters of state wait for nopony.” She gave him a wink, “I’ll see you soon.”

Rush bobbed his head to her and watched her walk off up the main hall with an excitable Chancellor nearly doing cartwheels beside her while the two mares brought up the rear like ducklings following their mother. He smiled to himself and turned back to the stony gaze of the guard,

“After you.” he said politely.

The guard’s expression never changed, and he headed off up a side passage to what turned out to be a small side office. He knocked smartly on the door,

“Blanket Stitch? Are you in?”

There was a muffled reply and then a yellow and cream patched mare appeared, adjusting a thick pair of red rimmed spectacles,

“Yes?” She peered at the guard, “Batch, is that you? What’s up? Who’s he?”

The guard cocked an eyebrow at Rush, “This is the Princess’s ‘consort’ apparently. Her Majesty has asked for one of the girls to show him around the library.”

“Why can’t you do it?” She asked with a sniff.

“Because I’m spending all my time running errands.” the guard said, irritably, “Not that I’ve got anything more important to do of course, but there you go.”

Rush felt like cringing inside. He was already feeling guilty enough as it was, but now it seemed as if he were being viewed as nothing more than a nuisance to these ponies. Still, he was the new guy and he would settle in sooner or later; hopefully ‘sooner’ – the look the mare shot him could have melted stone,

“Wait there, please.” She said levelly.

Rush waited in the quiet corridor until the door re-opened and the mare, now wearing a near hoof-length black dress, emerged, locking it behind her,

“Follow me, please.” She said, and set off without even a backward glance to see if he was following.

Rush let out a breath and followed, watching the swishing black tail of the mare as she walked. The noise it made against her dress was almost hypnotic when combined with the rhythmic clopping of their hooves echoing down the quiet passage. Rush had expected it to be busy here, as the sheer size of the palace suggested there would be a sizeable number of staff to keep everything running, but instead it was surprisingly ‘empty’, and not just of ponies either, but of…well, ‘everything’! Rush was surprised by the starkness of it all and the noticeable absence of decoration. There were no pictures, no paintings, no flower arrangements, in fact the whole building felt as though it had just been built… He paused and thought back to a conversation he’d had over a cup of tea in his old home; he could still remember pieces of it even now. Tia had said the two sisters lived in a castle, and yet she called this place ‘the palace’. What had happened whilst she’d been gone? In fact, just how long had it been since that heart rending day he’d seen her vanish through the portal? Suddenly he felt really…old…

Wood, paper, the smell of flowers and…books…lots and lots of books - Rush’s eyes went wide in amazement. He’d seen books before of course, mostly owned by the local Lord due to the sheer cost of them and many of those had been scrolls, but – dear Gods, there were so many of them!

The maid sighed, “Here we are…sir.”

Rush didn’t answer. The incredible sight of so much knowledge, row upon row of it stretching from floor to ceiling, so high a wheeled ladder had been provided to give access to the higher levels, was breathtaking. Here, unlike much of the rest of the palace, large colourful rugs, paintings, and bowls of potpourri added a sense of homeliness and comfort that suggested that the Princess valued this area more than others. Interestingly though, Rush noted there were no guards here and that it appeared as if anypony could simply walk in and make use of the place just as with the palace gardens. Was Tia really that trusting? He shook his head; would he ever really be able to understand other ponies? Would he ever be able to understand her?

Giving his mane a shake, Rush walked over to one of the nearest shelves and took a book down that caught his eye. The strange text made no sense to him whatsoever, and this particular book didn’t have any pictures on the cover to indicate what it was either. He tried balancing on his hind legs to get a better purchase on the book and attempted to hold it in one hoof while leafing through it with the other. He paused; on second thoughts, he’d better not. If he damaged the book he’d have to explain to Tia what had happened and not only that, but the now rather bored looking Blanket Stitch was likely to tell everypony on the castle staff too. He took a breath and, holding the book in his mouth, walked over to one of the reading tables and sat down. Rush stared at the book for a while and groaned; he couldn’t understand a single word of it! So much for bloody magic then! He could speak the language, understand it too, but the written word…

“Excuse me?” he asked the maid politely.

She raised an eyebrow, “Yes?”

“Are there any books here on herbology?”

The odd coloured mare nodded, “This way sir.”

Several aisles and shelves later, the painfully disinterested maid nodded towards a set of shelves, “There you are sir.”

Rush nodded his thanks and took down a rather promising looking and brightly coloured book. Placing it on the floor, he used his hooves to turn the pages to reveal pictures of...jam and cream scones?

“That’s a cookbook, sir.” The mare said with only the barest hint of sarcasm, “Herbology is the next shelf up.”

Feeling his cheeks flushing warmly, Rush put the book back and reached for another, then paused, “Would you mind selecting one for me miss?” he asked, “With your knowledge, I’m sure you’ll be able to find one that will fit the bill perfectly.”

The cream and yellow maid’s eye twitched behind her red spectacles,

“Of course, sir.”

In short order, Rush found himself sitting before a small selection of books filled with pictures of local plant life. They were fascinating! Full of exquisitely drawn and inked illustrations of the ingredients of the healer’s trade: roots, leaves, barks, stems – some he thought he recognised, but without being able to read, it was all guesswork. He shook his head and sighed; he’d have to see if he could speak to Cross Cut for some help, and maybe even Apricot since she collected some of the plants locally. He’d have a word with Celestia when he could and then…

The sound of talking interrupted Rush’s train of thought and he looked up towards the voices. It was a guard, and he was talking to the maid. He couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but the maid trotted off, only to reappear a few seconds later with another book for him,

“I believe this may be of some use to you sir.” She bobbed her head, “Good day.”

And with no further ceremony the miserable mare left the library, leaving a familiar face in her place. He didn’t look happy.

“Orange Grove?” Rush asked.

“Just ‘Grove’ will do.” The guardspony replied with a pained expression on his face, “I’ve been re-assigned.”

“Oh.” Rush raised an eyebrow. Now it was clear what Tia had been talking about earlier. In her absence she had assigned him a ‘minder’ of sorts. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that really: relief? Embarrassment? Of course, she’d done it out of kindness, but in some ways it just served to make him feel helpless. Still, he’d only been here barely a day or so, and he’d already managed to learn how to walk and develop some basic object manipulation skills, so he couldn’t really complain. What he needed to do now was remain focussed on the task at hoof, and not over think matters despite the prospect of learning all there was to about his new home and his new body seeming impossibly daunting. Gods above, he still felt like he wanted to flex his fingers every now and again, but… He sighed; time…time was all it would take…

Grove walked up beside him and collected a set of panniers that were on a rack next to one of the walls. They were deep, velvet lined, and apparently made specifically for the safe transportation of books. The soldier tossed it onto the table,

“Put them in there and we’ll drop them off in your room if you like.” he said, sounding somewhat fed up, “I’ll need to dump my armour too, I suppose.”

“What are we doing?” Rush asked, pushing the books into place.

Grove shrugged, “Showing you what it is to be an Equestrian, apparently.” He stopped and stared at one of the books and shook his head, “Good reading are they?”

“Mmm.” Rush replied, gripping the strap and tossing the panniers rather inexpertly over his back. Grove sighed and walked over, helping him to adjust them. Before long the two were trotting out of the room and back along the empty corridors to the Princess’s chambers.

“Is the Palace always so empty?” Rush asked as they walked.

“I would have thought the answer was obvious” Grove said over his shoulder, “Where have you been living all this time?”

Rush raised an eyebrow, “I think you know the answer to that already don’t you?”

Grove snorted, “Oh, come on! You mean that bull about the naked monkey world?” He shook his mane, “You don’t seriously think anypony believes that do you? Lilly is a lovely girl but she can still be a bit of a scatter brained moppet at times.”

They reached the chambers, and after a quick chat with the guards, Rush left the books on the bedside table and they set off to the barracks.

“How is she?” Rush asked.

“Huh?” Grove asked, “Lilly? Oh, she’s fine. Still upset about being suspended from working with the Princess of course. That girl worships her…it’s all ‘Celestia’ this and ‘Celestia’ that. Some of the maids think she’s stuck up her own backside, but…” he let out a snort, “It’s just Lilly – she is who she is.”

They walked on in silence for a while until Rush spoke,

“I think it may help if I spoke to her.”

“Ha! I doubt that!” Grove barked, “You’re public enemy number one right now with her. She blames you for ‘losing her job’.”

Rush sighed, “I supposed it is my fault in a way.”

Grove stopped and turned to face him, “Look, we all know what Lilly’s like and that you and Celestia have something going on. She’s jealous of that, can’t you see?”

“Of course I can!” Rush said with huff, “But I’m new here, Grove, and I want to fit in. Good Gods, I’ve only been here a couple of days and all I’ve managed to do is cause trouble for everybody and it’s pissing me off!”

Grove paused and looked at him curiously, “Where are you from?” he asked, “There’s something off about you and I’m not just talking about getting your arse stuck in the toilet again.”

“Oh, for the Gods’ sake!” Rush hissed, “You said you wouldn’t mention that again!”

The soldier grinned, “Well, that all depends on if you get the first round in or not.”

“The what?” Rush asked, his train of thought derailing.

Grove laughed, “Well, I don’t suppose it matters that much in the great scheme of things.” He reached back and pulled out a small piece of paper, “See this? Read it and weep!”

Rush stared at the scratchy writing and closed his eyes, “I can’t.”

“Huh?” Grove replied. He put the piece of paper away and furrowed his brow, “You can’t what?”

“I can’t read.”

“Don’t take the piss!” Snorting back a laugh Grove stopped himself, blinked, and then cocked his head to one side, “You’re being serious aren’t you?”

Rush nodded, “I’m not illiterate; I just…I can’t read Equestrian.”

Grove shook his head in wonder, “I think we both need a drink.”

Comments

[Sacred Blade]

Aww yeah! It's back!