The wind flies hairy
As always, there was much to do. Dawn broke with shrieks, screams, and hoots. Some had roosters to signal the start of the day; Sundance had owls of a unique and perverse type. For a time, he considered sending an army of owls to 'sing' outside of Twilight Velvet's window, but then he thought better of it. Something that drastic might get him a reputation. Which, all things considered, might not be a bad thing. He did, after all, need a reputation. But he wanted to choose the shadow he cast with utmost care and consideration.
Perched atop a splintery wooden fence post, a grizzled old owl nipped and ripped off bits of a rabbit held in its talons. It was gory, and gross, and awful to see, but Sundance made himself look at it for as long as he could. Then, he would turn away, allow his stomach to settle, and when he felt better, he would look once more. At the moment, he wasn't looking, but was attempting to calm his rising gorge.
He was not a warrior; this troubled Sundance, and he very much wanted to rectify this situation. That was the plan now. Become a warrior. Learn to fight. Be a better pegasus. There were javelins to learn to throw, and Lucky, the pony shoe axe. Which was currently in his room, a poor location if ever there was an emergency. Litany had a very fashionable and fearsome mace—a fascinating accessory—so perhaps it was time for him to adopt a few accoutrements of accostment. Yes, he would be a pegasus with terrifying appurtenances so others would see that he was a warrior.
With a turn of his head, he watched the old veteran owl eat for at least fifteen seconds.
That had to be a record.
It wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't so much blood dribbling down the fence post.
Such a messy eater.
"Sundance! Oh, Sundance! Yoohoo! Sundance! Corduroy needs you to foalsit for a while so she can have some breakfast and look after her own needs! You're needed in the infirmary!"
"I'll be right there," he half-shouted in response.
"But she's hungry now! It was a long night!"
"I said that I'll be right there!"
He cast a final glance at the owl, shuddered, and then turned about to go to the infirmary.
Corduroy departed as Sundance entered, and she patted him on top of the head in passing. She moved with great speed; very much like a dog wanting breakfast, which she was. Not a moment was wasted. It was cool within the infirmary, and Sundance was quick to close the door behind him, because even a brief glimpse of open sky was quite distressing for Sparrowhawk.
There were two pegasus foals on the bed.
"What are you doing here?" he asked Silent Thunder.
"He can't talk," Sparrowhawk said.
"I'm aware." Sundance looked down at the pair, leaned in, and asked, "You got volunteered to keep her company, didn't you?" He watched as the colt's head bobbed once, and then he nodded himself. "Have you had breakfast?
The colt shook his head no.
"Poor little guy. Think you'll live?"
There was a rustle of feathers when Silent Thunder shrugged.
Sparrowhawk was a bit sweaty, Sundance noticed, and there was something off with her eyes, though he could not say what it was. Corduroy was probably well-aware of whatever was happening, though Sundance still worried. The pair of pegasus foals were awfully cute together, though Sundance could say nothing about that. He was a stallion—a pegasus—and he wanted to be a warrior, so such things simply could not be said. But he did allow himself a smile, however.
"I had dreams last night," Sparrowhawk said.
"You did?"
"There was a blue mare and she sang to me. She told me that everything would be alright." Then, after a moment of staring up at Sundance, she added, "I can't remember having dreams before. Maybe I did and I don't remember. But this was strange."
It was obvious to Sundance that Princess Luna couldn't reach Sparrowhawk before, but could now. This came as a relief to him, a bit of much-needed reassurance that everything would somehow be fine. Perhaps Princess Luna could help fix whatever was wrong. Maybe time and sunshine would fix the filly—but Sundance had his doubts. Still, there were hopeful signs and reasons to be optimistic.
"I have a book," Sparrowhawk said. "But I can't read."
"A book you say."
She pointed at the small, simple table at the head of the bed.
Sundance went over, looked down, and saw a book with a blue cover. A primer, from the looks of it. The Alphabet of Friendship it said in bright yellow letters. There was a highly stylised picture of Princess Twilight Sparkle, with slender pointy hooves and beady, round eyes that were in no way terrifying to Sundance, not even in the slightest. Her crown appeared to be made of cardboard and tinfoil, and she was surrounded by all manner of sundry items.
With near-feline fluidity, Sundance lept up onto the bed, turned himself about, pulled the two foals closer, settled in, and lifted up the book with his left wing. Then, he had himself a look inside, waited for the two little ones to stop squirming, and he allowed himself to feel good about himself because he was about to be a responsible adult. There seemed to be a shortage of responsible adults, so it fell upon his shoulders to take up the slack.
"A is for Applejack," he read aloud. "Yeehaw! That pony sure does love apples." On the page, there was an earth pony with a lasso, a dog, and a broad-brimmed hat. "The Element of Honesty, Applejack can always be counted on to tell the truth."
"What's an apple?" asked Sparrowhawk, who wore a mystified expression of discomfort.
Silent Thunder reached out his small hoof and using the edge of it, tried to point at the red fruit in the illustration. Sundance was far more concerned about the fact that Sparrowhawk didn't know what apples were, on top of the fact that she could not read. This was going to be one of those days. He allowed himself a bit of a sigh, pulled Sparrowhawk a little bit closer, and took a moment to think of a suitable response.
"I'll get you an apple later," he promised. Then, with a heavy heart, he continued his efforts to be a good pony worthy of his Great Grandmother's favour.
"B is for barn," he read from the next page. "The place where Applejack was born. A barn is a place to store food, keep animals, and to have dances and parties. Barns are full of fun!"
Sundance, who had a barn, thought about it for a moment. Not much fun could be had in there. It was a cave that went deep underground. It was dry, rather cool, dark, and for the life of him, he couldn't imagine trying to throw a party in there. Maybe a more traditional barn might be nicer, but he doubted it. You had to be careful where one stepped, because cows and goats and chickens left behind a real mess. Dancing? A rave in the cave? No way. Not unless one enjoyed the music of echoing cow flatulence.
He turned the page and saw a picture of Princess Celestia sitting in a bubble bath with her rubber duckie.
"C is for Celestia, the perfect, pretty pony princess. She raises the sun and rules the magical land of Equestria. If you want to make friends, be just like Celestia and take a bath. Bubbles are good clean fun!"
On the other page to the right of Celestia's, there was the entry for D, which read, "D is for donkey. If you ever need a friend to listen, donkeys are all ears."
The entry for donkey was rather short, but satisfying. Beneath the bold text was a donkey and an earth pony having a tea party, along with a bunch of cute, cuddly animals. Sundance wasn't sure why anypony would invite a duck for tea, and as for the bunnies, well, there was just no way that he was going to have bunnies over for tea. Although Sundance understood that such a ruse might be perfect for getting a whole bunch of rabbits into one place.
Perhaps he would speak to Paradox about creating some invitations.
With his wing, he turned the page, and then lowered the book a bit so the foals could have a better look. A map of Equestria could be seen on one page, and a familiar yellow pegasus that hugged a bear smiled shyly up at him from the other. The bear had a boo-boo, and a clean white bandage was wrapped around his paw. There were other injured animals too, including mice in teensy-weensy hospital beds. Off in the corner was a rainbow-maned pegasus who cuddled a wrinkly tortoise.
"E is for Equestria," he said as he read from the page on the left. "A magical land shared by all. Three pony tribes founded Equestria, but there is plenty of room for all of our friends. The magic of Friendship keeps us strong!"
Then, he read aloud from the page on the right. "F is for Fluttershy, a shy but sweet pony. She is always helping others and would never turn away a friend in need. Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness, and is a true, true friend indeed."
Just as Sundance was about to read about G for Giraffrica and all the blessed rain that fell there, he was interrupted by the door opening. Sulky ducked in and was quick to close the door behind her. She stood in front of the door, sheepish, with a somewhat dirty mouth and a mussed mane that hadn't been brushed this morning. Almost bashful, she extended one withered, stunted wing, waved, and then introduced herself.
"I'm Sulky Goldshoe and today, I'm going to be your special foalsitter. Corduroy has to go and check on another patient and get stuff done. So I am here at your command. I'm about to be a mom, so this is good practice for me. Or so Hoppy says. She might be right, but I ain't about to be the one that tells her."
Sparrowhawk leaned into Sundance and said nothing.
He nudged her, not to push her away, but to reassure her. "You can trust her, Sparrow. Look. She looks like a duck."
"Quack," Sulky quacked, because quickly quacking quackily was the only appropriate response.
"What's a duck?" asked Sparrowhawk.
Before anypony could answer, before anything could be said, Silent Thunder broke his silence. Which is to say that he belched. With gusto. Almost right away, Sparrowhawk began to giggle, and when the filly giggled, so too, did Sulky. As for Silent Thunder, he seemed quite surprised by his own outburst, but he was quick to recover his confidence. Then, as little pegasus foals were prone to do, he struck a prideful pose.
"Oh come on," Sundance said to the colt, whose ears drooped in anticipation of a good scold. "Surely, you can do better."
Pride now pricked, Silent Thunder's ears shot upwards, his eyes narrowed, and with an almost boneless, nearly avian twist of his neck, he shot a glare up at Sundance. The little colt's feathers were now ruffled, both figuratively and literally. His exaggerated expressiveness said more than words ever could, and his bottom lip quivered with upset. He snorted, his tiny nostrils formed two round perfect circles, and his small wings twiddled against his sides.
"He's not wrong," Sulky said, an obvious attempt to goad the colt into doing better.
"Enunciate," Sundance suggested. "Open mouth, raise head, and open the airway."
"And use your wings to pump it out." As she spoke, Sulky flapped her own wings as an example. "It's like crowing like a rooster. You gotta pump it out when you let fly. Every head in the room has to turn, otherwise, you've failed."
Absolutely entranced, Sparrowhawk watched and listened without saying a word.
She was a little sweatier now, twitchier perhaps as well, and Sundance could not help but think that she was sick somehow. Like when a pony had a fever. But she wasn't warm to the touch, no; she was clammy and had cool, damp skin. But, she was being brave, at least for now, and seemed to be having a nice time. He could not help but notice how she clung to others; him, Silent Thunder, and little Tarantula when he was present. She craved contact, was starved for it. Not violent contact, which she no doubt had plenty of, but gentle affection, which she was certainly capable of.
With the rains of Giraffrica all but forgotten, Sundance had his mind on pegasus ponies.
"My grandmother, Noonfire…" His words trailed off as his mind's eye showed him her grave. But after a gentle shake of his head, he found the means to continue. "Noonfire, she said that we pegasus ponies were masters of the wind. In much the same way that unicorns are the masters of magic. She never did mention what the earth ponies were masters of though…" Again he trailed off, and he thought about his mother and father.
"But we're the masters of wind, she would tell me. The wind flows around us… and as my mother might say, sometimes it flows through us. As earth ponies walk along the ground, we walk upon the wind. We tread upon the secret places found within a storm, along the corridors of vortexes and we ride hidden currents. Like unicorns, we interact with the unseen and the invisible. You can't see the wind, but you can see the effects of the wind. She said a lot… but I can't remember it all. I wish I was smarter. All that stuff was important and she tried to teach me… but I was in a hurry to go and play. I wish I'd listened more."
"I never heard nothing like that growing up," Sulky said to Sundance. "But I wish I had. The other pegasus ponies, they didn't want much to do with me."
"Well, here in this place," Sundance was quick to say, "you're one of us. That's the rules. We stick together. You might not be able to fly"—he turned his attention to Silent Thunder—"and you might not be able to talk"—now he looked down at Sparrowhawk—"and you, you might have some trouble just going outside… but we're pegasus ponies. And we're going to stick together. Because that's what we do. That's our history. At least, that's what I know. Although we did spend a lot of time fighting each other, but that's beside the point. Uh, we're not going to fight each other. No biting." He maintained eye-contact with Sparrowhawk as he spoke these words. "Our job is to be the eyes and ears that keep others safe. Doesn't matter where we do it, on the ground or in the sky, or anywhere there is a need for a watchful eye."
With a slight flapping of his wings, Silent Thunder let rip once more. It was vulgar, crude, and somewhat impressive that such a tremendous volume of sound could come forth from such a small, slight body. While intense, it was short-lived, as the tiny colt could only fill himself with so much air. Before Sundance could say anything, or even react, Sulky was offering up a helpful bit of critical critique.
"Let go slow," she suggested. "Draw it out. Also, I don't know why, but crossing your eyes helps."
"Sulky… are you trying to trick Silent Thunder into making a fool of himself?" asked Sundance.
"Naw," was her hasty response. "It really does help. Try it yourself. Something about crossing your eyes changes the muscles and tensions in your head. I ain't schooled enough to explain it. Works though."
Incredulous as he was, Sundance decided to try it. After all, it was just him and the kids. A few foals. Well, Sulky wasn't exactly a foal, but nor was she a mare. There was a grey area of uncertainty. But he did not think much of that, because he was swallowing a lot of air, just like his grandmother had taught him to do just before he made a dramatic dive where he lost a lot of altitude. All that air in his guts helped him from getting that weird, entirely-unpleasant pinched feeling in his innards. Of course, everything that went in had to go back out again—which is why pegasus ponies had a reputation for vulgarity.
He crossed his eyes, stretched out his neck, allowed his jaw to drop open, pricked his ears tall, and then he clenched up all of his abdominal muscles. What came out of him was gurgly and gross; little Sparrowhawk pulled her body away even as her forelegs tightened their grip on him. The infirmary's windows rattled, the bed vibrated and shook, and the tinkling of glass could be heard as the contents of the medicine cabinet jostled about.
When he was done, Sundance was quite proud himself.
Also, crossing his eyes did in fact feel as though it made a difference.
With a mischievous twinkle in her eye, Sulky said, "That… was disgusting. And awesome. Thank you, Baron Belch."
For just a brief second, Sundance tensed; if that became his title—if that became what he was known for—what might that do for his reputation? All of his tension melted away though, because it didn't really matter. If that was his legacy, if that was all that ponies remembered about him after all of his hard work and his efforts, then so be it. He was too proud of himself to be bothered, and he decided that he would not allow his own insecurities to ruin what was a good time.
"That was gross," Sparrowhawk said. "I wanna be able to do that."
"You'll learn," he said to her, his words warm, sincere, and meaningful. "I'm going to teach you how to be a pegasus. But first, we have to get you well."
There was a sigh from Sparrowhawk, and then she leaned up against Sundance once more. He felt her tremble against him; all of her muscles jerked and twitched in unpleasant ways. She also seemed a bit sweatier now, maybe a bit colder to the touch as well, and his concern for her grew considerably. Twilight Velvet was trusting him to restore her to good health. While he had a role to play in that endeavour, it mostly came down to Corduroy. He was confident in his decision to keep her as his nurse. She would pull though, even if he himself was doubtful about the outcome.
From over where Sulky stood there was a sucking sound. No longer distracted, Sundance looked up and heard a faint wheeze as Sulky gulped in air. Much to his alarm and amusement, she kept going for far too long—far past the point where it was prudent to stop. Like a unicorn charging themselves up with magic, Sulky primed herself with gas. Sundance knew what was coming—at least he had some idea—and when Sulky's eyes crossed, he found himself waiting for something spectacular.
What he got was a storm.
The rotund filly's lips were a-quiver when she let go, and she did so with perfect form. Eyes crossed and bulging, wings pumping against her sides, her neck long, and her ears rocked back and forth, acting like two tiny, fuzzy pump handles. What came out of her was an almost concussive physical force; the bed rocked, the infirmary shook, and Sundance could feel his mane tugged upon by errant wind. But the sound. The sound. There was no description for the sound. It was an eldritch thing, unknowable, unfathomable, a dreadful horror that came up from the depths. Time and space were transcended, lost all meaning in the cosmic reverberation.
Were he but ten years younger and a school colt once more, Sundance might've fallen in love.
Mid-belch, if such a thing could even be called a belch, the infirmary door opened and Hoppy shoved her way inside, levitating a wooden tray loaded down with food. Eyes wide, horrified, and yes, thoroughly disgusted, she sidestepped away from Sulky whilst she cast a stern gaze of admonishment—which Sulky could not possibly see in her crosseyed state. And then, with all the suddenness that it had begun with, it was over. The eldritch gate closed, thus ending the sound and fury that spilled forth.
Silent Thunder clapped with his small front hooves.
"Just what is going on in here?" Hoppy demanded. "Sulky Goldshoe! That is not how you act like a lady!"
"In her defense, she wasn't acting like a lady," said Sundance with great caution. "She was acting like a filly. Which she happens to be and I for one—" When Hoppy leveled her responsible adult stare upon him, his words died off even though he very much wanted to continue to say them.
"I brought breakfast," Hoppy said with deep furrows of concern above her brows and below her horn. "Sundance, your breakfast awaits you. And a cup of tea. Maybe while you're eating, you can think about being a responsible adult."
"Or not," he said, halfway beneath his breath. Much to his surprise and relief, he saw a half-smile on Hoppy's face.
"You're good with foals, I'll give you that. Mostly because you act like one."
"Bazinga!" exclaimed Sulky.
Remembering a day long gone, Sundance thought of the stern nurse in the hospital, and he smiled.
"Sparrow… I'm Hoppy. Do you remember me from last night?"
The little filly nodded.
"You're looking rough, dear. But don't you worry. You'll get through this." As she spoke, Hoppy put the heavy tray down upon the table. "You look a bit peaked. Let's see what I can do to make you better. Wort was a sickly yearling and now he's as healthy as… well, he's as healthy as a horse. Are you hungry, sweetie?"
"Kinda, but I need my medicine," she replied.
"How about some applesauce instead?" With a single eyeblink, Hoppy became incredibly momlike, and her entire demeanour radically changed.
"What's applesauce?"
A peculiar silence filled the infirmary, but thankfully, it did not last long.
"Sparrow… you can trust Hoppy. I promise. Just like you can trust me. I'm going to get some breakfast. And you… you just enjoy your applesauce. Be good… and no biting." Sundance looked down at the filly that stared up at him with wide, unfocused eyes. "I'll be back later, I promise. We'll finish that book."
"Alright." She blinked, sniffled, and reluctantly let go of Sundance. "I'm sorry I bit you. After I woke up, I felt bad about it."
"And I'm sorry I bit you," he was quick to return. "I should never have done that. That was wrong of me." While Sundance said this, he thought of Princess Luna and the power of dreams.
It was somehow reassuring.
"But you'll come back, right?" she asked
"I will," he replied. "I promise."
"Alright." Sparrowhawk let go of Sundance, and then aggressively clung to Silent Thunder, who didn't seem to mind.
"Sundance… after breakfast, you and I need to talk. I've already spoken with Corduroy. Sparrow needs some sunshine, and I have a plan. But we'll talk after breakfast. Go and eat while it's still hot."
"Will do." He nodded and was curious as to what Hoppy had planned. He rose from the bed and as he did so, he said, "Thanks for the advice, Sulky. It was helpful. Thank you for foalsitting. It's appreciated more than you know."
As he made his way to the door, the filly blushed and stepped aside.
Insert clever phrase and apology here. 
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Baron Belch and the Burp brigade
Only one fictional character gets to say that unironically. I would hate for Sulky to be that much of a pain in the neck.
How does your version of Equestria do Treason trials and/or state executions? He could add some real gravitas to such events by sending along a Parliament of Owls to hold witness in the absence of any Ravens. So far his image is very squishy. He needs some iron in his public persona.
10227293
Um... so 80s slang is forbidden and wrong somehow?
My inner 8 year old enjoyed the belching quite a lot.
10227259
I wonder if that will be Twilight Sparkle's next book?
Ah, the antics of the young.
10227299
I believe they're referencing Big Bang Theory.
Nice. I see what you did there.
10227361
I've never seen Big Bang Theory.
As for the rains...
that rains down in africa joke completely blindsided me lol
lol
Sundance is really amazing with the foals.
fun times for all involved a time to relax ..
10227259
The Thunderbirds!
10227672
More like The Chunderbirds if they're not careful.
dang was kinda hoping you would bring up the cheesey quote “of a birds of a feather flock together” and Sundance would flair his wings in a silly manner to make the point but still a great chapter.
10227674
The Wind Wakers? ;)
Silent Thunder is going to be the loudest mute in history.
Sundance actually got kind of deep there for a short moment, then the burping started again.
For some reason I thought of the airbender's from Avatar, especially Meelo.
Spoken like a true child.
Sundance actually got kind of deep there for a moment, then the burping began
And thus, on this most thunderous of days was born, The Baron’s Belch Brigade!
Scenes like this are what I like most about your stories.
Corduroy is going to be pissed when she hears Sundance is encouraging such behavior. Kinda brings me back to The Chase a bit, and the Royal Canterlot Bletch.
Ah well, the pegasus kids need it. I feel so sorry for Sparrowhawk. Given her comment of needing to take her medicine, it looks like she's going through withdrawal of some sort. Her former captors are such monsters, I'm surprised she is even able to talk at all given how in the dark she is about everything.
10227259
YUP
One could argue that the Earth Ponies were the masters of the Land. Their powers hidden away where the others could not see. As such they were easily seen as unimportant and without use.
I certainly do appreciate and love little scenes like these, with Sundance. Shame he never got to finish the book, so that Sparrow could know the name of her nighttime savior