The Slender Pony

by The Poet of Silence

Chapter 5

In the darkness of unconsciousness Fluttershy dreamed. Her mind flashed with images of darkness and black tentacles and rushing water circles that had been X’d out. She dreamt of sudden, blinding pain, and of rocks, and of fish. She saw images of trees that were not trees but rather limbs of something impossibly tall, limbs that shrunk as she watched.

She awoke.

Fluttershy’s head ached tremendously. Her vision was speckled with red and black as she stared up at the white ceiling. Her mouth was extremely dry, but she could not find the strength in her arms to reach up and grab the glass of water at her bedside.

The lights on the ceiling were agonizingly bright as well. They were floating balls of magic, producing harsh rays of light that made Fluttershy’s eyes tear up. She weakly raised an arm to shield her eyes, but ran out of energy and let her foreleg fall onto her face.

“Ah, good. You are awake,” a friendly voice said. Fluttershy turned her head to look. A stallion stood in the doorway, an earth-pony with a clipboard and pen. His cutie-mark appeared to be a red cross overlaid by a stick with snakes wrapped around it.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but remembered how thirsty she was, and only managed a small squeak. The doctor smiled. “A bit thirsty, are we?” he asked. Fluttershy smiled and nodded. The doctor walked over and helped Fluttershy drink. She downed the entire glass in a matter of seconds. She sighed, feeling relief in her throat.

“Better?” the doctor asked. “Why yes, thank you,” Fluttershy said after clearing her throat. “You took quite a beating, Miss Fluttershy. You have a severe concussion, and you seem to have dislocated your left wing, as well as fractured your right,” the doctor said, “You’re lucky your friend was flying nearby and heard you scream, otherwise you might have drowned.”

“M-my friend? Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked. “Yes. Rainbow Dash heard you screaming and arrived just in time to grab your unconscious body out of the river. She and all your other friends are waiting out in the lobby,” the doctor replied, “Would you like for me to send them in?’

“Oh, yes please,” Fluttershy said. She tried to adjust her wings, but felt a strange numbness. She called for a nurse pony. “How can I help?’ the nurse asked. “Why can’t I move my wings?” Fluttershy asked. “Before we could have a healing unicorn come in and heal your wings, we had to numb the area first. Don’t worry, in a couple of hours your wings should be back to normal,” the nurse said, noting Fluttershy’s startled expression.

Her friends entered the room; first Rainbow Dash, then Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and finally Applejack. They all bore looks of concern that softened when they saw Fluttershy smiling softly in her bed.

“Hey, Fluttershy. You feeling better?” Twilight asked. “Oh yes. Just a little dizzy from the concussion, but other than that I’m fine,” Fluttershy replied. Rainbow Dash walked over and grabbed Fluttershy’s foreleg. “Don’t scare me like that. I honestly thought you were… well, you know,” she said. Fluttershy hugged her friend. “Oh! I know what I’m gonna do!” Pinkie said, “I’m going to throw you a get-better party! There’ll be confetti, and balloons, and cake! Lots of cake! Do you like vanilla or chocolate? Wait, why don’t I make both?”

“Oh, no. Pinkie’s rambling again,” Twilight muttered as Pinkie ranted on about confetti sizes. “It was really nice of you to visit me,” Fluttershy said softly, her throat feeling strangely dry. She considered her next question for about a minute before asking, “When you pulled me out of the river, Rainbow Dash, was there anything unusual about the river? Anything… tentacally?”

“Besides you almost drowning? No, nothing particularly unusual. What do you mean, ‘tentacally’?” Dash asked. “Oh, nothing. Must have just hit my head a little harder than I thought and started seeing things,” Fluttershy said. Her mind raced. She had been so sure that there had been something in the water, something with tentacles that had dragged her into the water.

Concern flashed across Dash’s face. “You sure you’re okay, Fluttershy? Still, you know, all together in the head?” Fluttershy managed a weak laugh. “Yes, Rainbow Dash. I’m completely sane.” But even as the words left her mouth, Fluttershy doubted their truth. She had honestly and truly believed that there had been something in the water that had dragged her under. The horrific memory of her reflection not moving as she did and then warping into a demonic visage of herself was still seared into her memory.

“So, the doctor had a unicorn heal your wing?” Twilight asked. Fluttershy nodded. “It’s still a little numb, but the nurse told me that my wings will be good as new in a little bit,” she said. “I need to learn healing magic,” Twilight muttered, “But, I still need to focus on teleportation.”

“How’s that coming along for you, twilight?” Rarity asked. “Oh, it’s coming along just fine. I’ve been working on teleporting little stuff, you know? Like moving a book across the room or something. Nothing too difficult,” Twilight replied. “Fascinating. Is there any way you could teach me?” Rarity asked.

With Twilight and Rarity caught up in their conversation, Pinkie Pie still rambling about the preparations for Fluttershy’s “Get Better Party”, and that just left Rainbow Dash and Applejack for Fluttershy to talk to, but Applejack was already out the door. “Sorry that ‘Ah got to leave, but there’s been uh problem with the apple presser that Big Mac needs me to come and help him fix. Hope yah get better, Fluttershy!” Applejack said as she left.

Fluttershy waved goodbye. Her mind briefly imagined her foreleg as a black tentacle that was swishing and sawing as it moved. No, thought Fluttershy, Can’t think about that. I have to keep my mind off of that awful… whatever it was. She turned and looked out the window. Off in the distance, she saw the edge of the Everfree forest, as foreboding and ominous as ever.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash. I was wondering,” Fluttershy began. “What do you need, Fluttershy?” Dash replied, turning her gaze from the window to her friend. “W-Well, it’s just that… well, before I had my, you know, accident, I was going to go out and take care of a cockatrice problem along the edges of the Everfree forest. But, now, with my concussion and all… D-do you think you could come with me to help, when I get out of here?” Fluttershy asked. “Sure thing! We’ll show that cockatrice who’s boss, eh, Fluttershy?” Dash said, happily. “Yeah,” Fluttershy replied, her mind still filled with tentacles and trees that were not trees but instead limbs.

Comments

[enderprince]

i dont like where this is going