Learning to fly

by AlextheBordercollie

Broken bird

Ok so I get to the spot where the "star" fell and there's a long trail of dirt that's been kicked up. I run over to the end of it and there nestled in the dirt is the last thing I expected to see. A full grown stallion. It takes a second for me to register but he looks just like the guy everypony's been talking about in the papers. The Alicorn Prince. It's dark out so I can't make out much but he does appear to have wings and a horn. He's wearing this blue body suit and has a cape that's been shredded all to Tararus.

So I crawl a little closer to get a better look at him. He has a blond mane and is obviously ripped. I'm still a little drunk right now and really confused so I just reach out a hoof and give him a poke. He doesn't react. The dude's out cold. So the next thing I know I'm dragging this guys heavy butt a mile uphill to my house. It takes forever and he doesn't wake up even a little. Of course I start getting tangled up on his cape so eventually I set him down and rip it off so it can't trip me up anymore. I put the cape around my shoulder and go back to dragging him along by his torso. Of course I can't lift the guy so his butt is probably all rug burned by now. As I finally get up to my house after what felt like an eternity of huffing and puffing, I think to myself, What do I do with this guy? Do I bring him into my house? He's supposed to be a superhero or something, but I heard he's caused a lot of property damage and nopony really knows what his deal is. I don't know a thing about him, what if he turns out to be some kind of crazed lunatic and assaults me as soon as he wakes up?

Eventually I get the idea to put him in the shed and I lock it up tight with a chain and combination lock. After I've locked it up I just stand there for a minute staring at the wooden doors. I silently pray that, if he is some kind of dangerous criminal, that old chain will keep him in. Eventually I give up the ghost and go to bed. I've done all I can think to do for the moment and I'm tired.

So I sleep like a baby all night. No weird dreams or anything, at least nothing weirder than usual. My alarm goes off and I shut it off and think to myself It's Sunday, no work today. Then, I suddenly remember the shooting star from last night. I think maybe it might have just been a dream, but I can't wait to check and I rush out to the shed.

Sure enough there it is, the door is still locked up tight like I left it. A lump starts to form in my belly as I think about what's inside. Slowly and carefully, I open the door and peer inside. There he is. He's still asleep. At least I think. I look for the usual rise and fall of a pony’s chest but I can't see any sign of movement. Oh dear I start to think, Is he dead? Should have brought him to a hospital? What if he died because I didn't think to get him help!? I tiptoe over to him and reach out a hoof to feel for a pulse.

Oh thank Celestia! I let out the breath I was holding as I feel the slight beat of his pulse under my hoof. I'm sitting next to him now, I can see him clearly with the light pouring in through the door. He's huge, like a real big dude. Only now do I realize that his wings and horn are fake. His horn looks like a spiral of metal coils and his wings are made out of these golden blades that appear to have been pretty mangled in the crash. All this connects to a system of gears and metal braces that wrap around every muscle it seems. It's all held together with a metal brace along his spine and a huge clunky gold harness on his chest. The harness had a blue gem in it that's glowing faintly. He's got long blond hair that's all tangled and sweaty at the moment and his face is pretty banged up, or what I can see of it at least. He's got a mask that covers most of his face save for the end of his muzzle.

I start to get curious. Nopony knows who this guy is. Nopony's seen him without the mask. He's still asleep so I figure Just one little peek won't hurt. I start to feel around the edge of the mask looking for a way to get it off. My hoof finds a zipper under his chin but before I can give it a tug another hoof grabs mine and pushes it away. I swear I must have had a partial stroke or something because I just freeze and stare at him.

He opens his stormy grey eyes and gives me this really intense look. I can't really tell what it means and the longer he looks at me, the more I wanna look away, but I just can't. I can't hardly move. I start to wonder if super heroes always look this intense. Like it's the only way anypony's gonna take a grown stallion in a spandex suit with a bed sheet wrapped around his neck seriously. He looks me up and down for a moment before trying to get up on his hooves. I watch his hulking frame as he lifts himself up only for him to let out a loud groan and drop back down to the floor. I snap out of my trance and start to worry again.

"Are you ok!"

"I'm fine!" He growls through grit teeth. For a split second I'm a little taken aback but it dies pretty quickly as I start to realize how ungrateful this guy is.

"What the hay man!" I snap. "I dragged your heavy but a mile uphill last night and gave you a safe place to sleep and that's how you thank me! I could have called the cops you know! I'm friends with a princess, I could have turned you in right then and there."

He stands up again, this time favoring his right leg. He doesn't seem to react much to what I'm saying as he adjusts himself. He ruffles his fake wings for a second and tries to tuck them in as best he can. They don't fit quite right on account of being bent all to tartarus so they just kind of hang there halfway. He turns to face me and towers over me at his full height. I'll admit he's kind of impressive up close. Very close. My chest is hardly an inch away from his and I have to crane my neck up to look at his face. He's staring down at me with that intense look again.

"Move!"

"Uhm excuse me!" I tell him. "You really think you're gonna intimidate me with a busted lip and a bum leg, I don't think so son!" I hold my ground and look him dead in the eye. I'm not going to back down until I get some answers and maybe a thank you. "You're the one who decided to make out with the ground last night and I thought I'd bring you here instead of turning you in cause I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt."

He backs off a little and sits back down. He's still looking at me but it's starting to look less intimidating and more like the kind of pouty look Eli would give me after a harsh scolding. Not sure if his expression actually changed or just my perception of it. Now that I have him where I want him I realize I hadn't really thought of what I'd say to him.

"Who are, I mean what's your, why, how..." I start to pace a bit. I've got at least a thousand questions for him but for the life of me I can't figure out which one takes precedence.

"Yes I'm the guy in the papers." He says. I stop and look at him. He looked a little bit tired like he was getting frustrated watching me pace and babble. "I'm not going to tell you my name but I can tell you this. There are some really bad ponies who want me dead and anypony near me is it at risk of becoming collateral. I won't hurt you but I can't stay here."

"Bad ponies," I repeat softly. "How do I know they're bad ponies. I've never met them. I don't even know you, how do I know I can trust you?"

He just stares at me for a moment. "You can't really."

I stand there for a minute with the gears turning in my head. His leg is obviously hurt, though to what extent I'm not sure. I don't think it's broken but probably sprained. His lower lip is busted and his muzzle is bruised in a few places, there may be more injuries I don't know about. He's not in any shape to go anywhere right now. I could turn him in but if he's telling the truth then it might make things worse, if he's lying...

"Look you're in no shape to go fighting baddies so how about I go into town and get some stuff to patch you up and you just wait here and rest."

He fidgets slightly and looks at the ground. Eventually he looks back up at me and begrudgingly agrees. "Sounds fair."

"Don't think this means I won't still have questions for you when I get back." I tell him as I back up towards the door.

He nods at me as I grab my scooter. I refuse to take my eyes off of him as I leave. I close the door to the shed and decide to lock it back up again, just in case. Can't have him running off until I figure out what's going on.

So I take my scooter down to the drug store. Usually I'd be a bit more personable but I'm in a hurry today and pay little attention to my neighbors. I make my way to the drugstore and park the scooter outside. I pick up some ace bandages and antiseptic. Look for something to reduce swelling, that sort of stuff. As I head up to the counter a familiar voice pops up behind me.

"Scoots what're you doing here?"

I turn around to see Sweetie Belle getting in line behind me at the register. She's holding a small pink box with her magic but I can't see what is says since she has it turned away from me. Here I am carrying a small hospital.

"Oh just ran out of first aid supplies, I like to keep a good stock in case one of the kids gets hurt you know. Foals can be pretty reckless sometimes..."

"Oh believe me I know," Sweetie replies. Something about her tone is a little off and she's not really making direct eye contact anymore. A minute passes of awkward silence before the pony in front of me leaves and I go up to check out. As I grab my back and step aside for her to check out, I speak up again.

"Well I gotta go but I'll see you and AppleBloom later tonight then."

"Yeah of course, looking forward to it." Sweetie replies. She seems a bit nervous still and as I turn to leave I get a quick glimpse of the box she was carrying. Pregnancy tests? I wanted to say something then and there but remembered the strange man in my shed and decided Sweetie would have to wait. Besides if she is pregnant she'll tell me.

So I scooter off back home as quick as I can. I toss my scooter in the grass as realize the shed door is now open. I curse internally as I find the chain lying broken on the ground in front of the door. I then realize that I own a pair of bolt cutters which I had left in the shed. The doors are old and don't quite touch in the middle, he must have squeezed the bolt cutters through the crack to break the chain.

So where is he? I figure he can't have gotten far in his state so I start looking around. I walk around to the back and eventually I spot him. See, my house is on the side of a rather tall hill that drops off abruptly for a good 10 feet or so on the other side. Mr. Prince is up at the top of the hill facing the drop. I watch as he spreads out those busted metal wings and gears up for a takeoff. He gets a running start but his bad leg causes him to clamber about rather clumsily and while I might not know how those wings of his work I do know a bit about aerodynamics. There's no way he's going to get airborne like that. Without much thought, I react on instinct. I run around to the drop-off and get ready to catch him. I could have tried to go up and stop him but I knew rather instinctively that, that wouldn't work. I'm just lucky I timed it right. I jump forward in front of the ledge right as he starts falling like a rock. I flap my little wings as hard as I can and get just enough lift to catch him mid-fall.

I push him off towards the side where we meet with the hill again and both go tumbling down it. His body hits me like a boulder, and as we tumble down the hill’s side I keep getting jabbed by all his metal extremities. Eventually we come to a stop and land a few feet away from each other. Everything hurts. I lay there for a minute regaining my senses before I try to hobble back up to my feet.

"What, was that!" I yell at him. "Bucking donkey brain! You could have killed yourself!"

"I was fine! I'm not gonna die from a ten-foot drop." He argues as he climbs up to his hooves. My face is burning at this point as I try to think of a retort. Of course he's probably right, a 10-foot drop wouldn't necessarily kill him. But he's already hurt and he didn't need to go adding more to his growing list of injuries.

"UHG! just get back in the shed and I'll do what I can to fix you up."

He snorts at me but doesn't protest as I walk him back to the shed. Once inside I grab the bag of supplies I had dropped in the front lawn and close the doors behind me. The shed has enough cracks in it that I can see well enough with what sunlight I have. He plops down on the floor looking rather exhausted. I almost feel bad for him for a second, then I remember my lovely new aches and pains and feel a little less sympathetic. I look him over for a second then realize there's no way I'm going to be able to do much with him all covered up like this.

I start pulling supplies out of my bag. "Ok look bud you're gonna have to take all that stuff off if you want my help."

"I can't do that," He says.

"Well at least show me where it hurts." I insist. I head over to him and sit next to his hooves. "I'll start with your face, how about that?"

"I'm not taking the mask off." He insists.

"Yeah, yeah, Not before I buy you a drink first." I reply as I take out some antiseptic for the cuts on his muzzle. I catch a hint of smile for a moment before I press the cotton swab to his busted lip.

"Ow!"

"Oh quit being such a foal." I tease as I continue cleaning him up. For a while we just sit there together. He stays pretty still as I clean up his face. There's a lot of mud and gunk clogging up the wounds and it makes me glad he's letting me do this or it would be a recipe for infection. "So Mr. Alicorn Prince, what do I call you?" I ask.

"I didn't pick that title other ponies did." He insists. "But you can call me Prince I guess."

"So humble" I tease. He grunts at me but seems to smile a little. He seems to have calmed down and is a bit more comfortable with me. I can only just barely see his eyes through the holes cut out in his mask but it looks like his left eye is swollen and I hand him a cold pack.

"Hold that to your eye." I tell him. He takes the pack and does as instructed, holding it up to his face with his left hoof. It's then that I remember his right leg is hurt, though I still don't know to what extent.

"I'm going to need to get a decent look at your leg" I tell him.

"You can just unbuckle the brace and roll up the sleeve." He tells me.

"Unbuckle how?" I ask as I look at the strange gold brace on his leg. It wraps around his ankle and knee and I feel around for some kind of clasp.

"Right there, there's a little button, you feel it?"

"Yeah I think so." I press down and the first brace clicks open, I do the same with the one around his knee and try to move the mess of metal cords out of the way.

"Ah, be careful, all this stuff connected and you can't just pull on it." He insists. I shoot him a look and he shuts up.

"I know what I'm doing." I insist, even though I'm not a doctor nor do I understand the first thing about his weird mechanical parts.

I roll up his sleeve and find his leg has turned a lovely rainbow of blues, purples, and greens.

"Yikes!" I feel around and poke and prod to try and determine if it's broken. It doesn't seem to be, though it's definitely sprained and very badly. I pull out another couple of magic cold packs and press them to the bruised tissue. He winces a bit but tries to save face. I ask him to hold the packs in place for a second while I unravel the bandages. His horn lights up a bright blue color and he uses what looks like normal unicorn magic to hold the pack in place. The fact that he has working horn is especially weird to me. I've heard of ponies trying to develop prosthetic wings before but the fact that his fake horns works is doubly impressive. I wrap the bandages as tight as I can around his leg to hold the cold packs in place. I would have tied a brace to it but I figure the brace he was wearing before should be plenty so I roll his sleeve back down and click the brace back into place. It's a bit tricky this time as the sleeve and brace are now both very tight as they try to fit around the bandages and cold packs.

"Well that should hold you together for now." I tell him, "How do you feel?"

"Better." He replies. he sets the cold pack he'd been holding against his eye back down and looks up at me as I get up to my hooves. "Thank you." He says.

I stop for a moment and look back at him a little surprised. "You're welcome." I tell him, "You can stay here for tonight if you want," I realize I haven't actually learned much at all about him yet but, somehow, it doesn't seem to bother me right now.

"Look I gotta go, I have some friends visiting from out of town and I'm probably running late as is, so I'm just gonna go." I say awkwardly as I head over to the door. "I'll uh, I'll just leave the door unlocked this time." I tell him. He looks rather comfortable where he is and I get the sneaking suspicion he's not going to run off again this time.

Comments

[AlextheBordercollie]

7612291 I was experimenting with the narration style.

[Stuff]

How soon can you update this?

[Stuff]

Out of curiosity, what does Apple Bloom do for a living?

[Stuff]

What sort of enemies does the Alicorn Prince have?