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Prologue1,431 words
Grounded1,489 words

Grounded

"Do ya think it's a boy or a girl?" A voice asked.

Where am I? I thought, regaining consciousness

"There's only one way to find out" A different and more cracky voice said,

Oh hell no!

I snapped awake and dove away from the voices, slamming into something behind me, sending an excruciating pain up my spine.

I screeched out in pain and closed my eyes from the pain, it brought tears to my dry eyes.

"You should not move from position, when you do not know your current condition." A mystic voice said from above me, I hadn't knocked it over, whatever it was.

"Ah'm sorry Zecora!" One of the same voices said,

"We were just checking if it was a girl or a boy!" A voice chirped, it made my head hurt listening to something so high pitched,

"You need not check her, for she has no pecker." The voice said, I had to admit, that was pretty funny.

I fluttered my eyes opened, revealing a large black and white pony standing over me. No, not a pony, something different... Zebra maybe?

I tried to get to my feet but my front right leg wouldn't respond, I looked down to see a cast covering it, whatever this thing was, I sure did owe it.

"Please griffin, rest. When you awake, I will have repaired you to my best" I didn't trust this voice and I had so many questions to ask. But, it was a quite soothing environment and I was tired, so I laid my head down and surveyed my surroundings with one eye, watching the Zebra stir something in a large cauldron. Three fillies stood at her side, staring and bringing her various herbs, grinding up plants and poring liquids into the giant brew. I half expected to throw me into it, but remembered that the two were both equine, so I put my worries aside and went to sleep in the position I was in.

I dreamed of Gilda, remembering the look in her eyes when she left me for dead with that Manticore. A word bounced around in my subconscious brain, torturing me every time I heard it,

"Friend."

I felt a hoof on my shoulder, it was comforting, like something a mother would do to their child after the family pet had died, too bad I had never known that touch, all my mother did was yell.

I was jerked from my dream, it was the Zebra, she had a hood on, covering her large Mohawk, on her back was a large brown saddlebag.

"I am going into town for supplies, when I get back, you will be in for quite a surprise" She said,

I nodded my head and tried to move my right wing a little bit, it moved like normal, but my left wing wouldn't budge, it had been tied to my back in white bandages.

The mare trotted out of the door, leaving me alone inside of her hut.

I sized up the situation at claw, I was in an unknown hut with an unknown Zebra, who may or may not want to pluck the feathers from my wings, I actually tried to get up and make a run for it, but realized my leg wasn't going anywhere, I couldn't have even gotten out of the door before she had gotten back.

What had the fillies called her? Zecora was it?

Nothing really mattered to me right now, I was lost and injured. I needed rest and a lot of it.

Applebloom and her fellow Crusaders rushed towards sweet apple acres, she was shocked to see any kind of griffin close to Ponyville since Gilda had come and messed with everypony.

The Crusaders spotted a familiar orange pony bucking apples in the orchard, Applebloom confirmed it was her by checking her cutie mark, a special marking given to a pony when they find out what their special talent is, in this case it was three red apples assembled in a triangular formation.

Applebloom and her friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had yet to receive their special marking, making them what others with their cutie marks had called "Blank Flanks." She had met her two friends at a party for Diamond Tiara, celebrating her cutie mark, when she was embarrassed about her lack of a cutie mark, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stepped in, telling Diamond Tiara that it was good to be a blank flank, they had so much to explore and discover, where she wouldn't be able to experience something as fun and exciting as that. The three had been best friends since that day, searching for their special talents as a team, as The Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Applejack!" Applebloom called, getting her big sisters attention,

Applejack stopped what she was doing and smiled as the girls practically fell at her hooves.

"Howdy girls, whatcha doin'? She asked,

Applebloom spoke first, "We were all over at Zecora's and-"

"Then wen heard shouting from outside!-" Scootaloo tried to say,

"So Zecora ran out there and-" This was Sweetie Belle trying to talk

"She put a Manticore to sleep!-" Scootaloo again,

"And we saved a griffin!" Applebloom finished,

Applejack began to process the amount of words jammed into her brain so quickly, the word Manticore and Griffin stuck out among the rest, the first thing Applejack could think of was the last Griffin and first Griffin she had ever met, Gilda, and her attitude to the ponies in town, she immediately thought bad of the creature.

"Girls, I want you to stay away from that griffin" Applejack ordered,

"Wha? But-"

"No buts Applebloom" Applejack said, returning to the orchard.

"What's wrong?" Sweetie asked,

"Just, stay away from it" Applejack demanded,

The crusaders sighed and walked back towards town to tell the other ponies they knew.

The door shutting woke me up, it was Zecora. The zebra began to dig into her saddlebag, taking out a few bottles and plants.

"How long have you been gone?" I asked,

"A few hours, but do not worry I have brought special flowers" She rhymed,

She took a small bluish white flower out of her bag and began to trot over to me, the golden rings around her neck jingled a little tune, she must have not been from Equestria, I had never seen so many tribal items, masks were strewn along the walls, each with a special color and marking, two never alike.

She dropped the flower in front of me, scooting it towards me with her snout.

She must have seen the questioning look on my face because she explained what it was,

"It is called winters feather, If you eat it your wing will feel much better." She said with a warm smile.

The rest of the evening was made up of numerous herbs and soups going down my throat, some tasted like expired cough medicine where some tasted like a mixture of fruits. She insisted on me drinking a sleeping potion but I kindly refused, I didn't feel like resting anymore, I thought I saw her mix some with some of the soup, but after drinking it, I knew she didn't. I had even grown to trust her.

"So, what is your story?" She asked, I noticed she hadn't rhymed that time,

"Well..." I started,

I told her about where I had come from, about my family, my name, Bronze Swift, how my father had left when I was still a cub, how my mother had began to be abusive and selfish. I then began to tell her about today, how me and Gilda had been flying over the forest when we needed a drink, she had given me a look I couldn't describe when I had mentioned Gilda's name, but I didn't think anything of it. She gasped when I told her about what Gilda did, how she left me in the Manticore's paw, She then told me how she got me back to her hut in one piece, she had used a special kind of dust on it, blowing it into its face and knocking it out. I got up and hugged her when she said that, if she hadn't have been there, I would probably be in the digestive tract right now. She seemed shocked at the sudden embrace, probably because it was coming from a griffin, we weren't really known for caring about things, one of our stereotypes was that we don't care for anything but ourselves, but, if that was true, I probably wouldn't be here would I? Dad had to have loved Mom at some point to have me... or maybe what they say is true, he did abandon us.

She returned the hug and I stayed there for awhile, fighting through the pain in my front right leg.

"Thank You" I said, breaking the embrace and lying back down,

She nodded.

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theRedBrony

theRedBrony #1 · Aug 19th, 2012 · · ·

Ok, first, it's totally unnecessary to expend 2 paragraphs explaining what cutie marks are and who Applejack is, coming from the narrator to the audience. If it was, say, Applebloom explaining it to Bronze, it'd be fine, because maybe Applebloom thinks griffons don't know about that stuff. But as the narrator, talking directly to the audience... on THIS website... you might as well be explaining how the Earth is round and orbits the sun, how the sky is blue, the grass is green, and stuff likes to stay on the ground because of this weird magical energy called 'gravity.' See what I'm saying? Stating the obvious.

Other than that, I'm loving this story, and w00t got an update on the same day!

PS. I think it'd be 'digestive tract'

GaiaLives

GaiaLives #2 · Aug 19th, 2012 · · ·

1117004

encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRd0lM8Sq-EOXTcrlFw1puP1rev4b6SDeE5hDpzPNQ4FG2ldgC-sA

Desert Storm

Desert Storm #3 · Aug 19th, 2012 · · ·

great fic girl, keep it up

The Mirage

The Mirage #4 · Aug 20th, 2012 · · ·

This is amazing!

VagueDrake

VagueDrake #5 · Aug 20th, 2012 · · ·

static.fimfiction.net/images/icons/thumb_up.png Interesting story, looking forward to reading more of it.

NaughtSought

NaughtSought #6 · Aug 21st, 2012 · · ·

1117004

The earth is not round, it is more oval if anything. Sky is blue? I thought it was more reddish and purple (that could be the evening talking). The grass at my school is brown. And stuff likes to stay on the ground because it hasn't been told it can go free by the all powerful being(s) that rule it.

NaughtSought

NaughtSought #7 · Aug 21st, 2012 · · ·

Now about the story. Yeah I saw that coming when Zecora came around. I have yet to see someone do the rhyming for her well enough for me to like. At least you tried. Some people don't even bother and end all her sentences in orange. Still liked the chapter.

theRedBrony