When a patient is badly injured or in a remote location, the Great North Air Ambulance is there to provide assistance.
Sky Sweeper isn't a paramedic yet, but she's learning, and rides out with the crews.
Trigger warning: contains injuries.
The issue with 403 error dialogs on submit should be fixed, they now properly show a captcha.
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Man, I love your pony-on-Earth slice-of-work stories. Hope all the patients make a good recovery!
ctrl+f
You really do quite an amazing job with O.C.'s Biscuit. What's your secret?
I can so relate to this. I did this with a place I stayed in up near Moranbah when I was doing an install for a metallurgical coal mine. It was built on a small ridge line and had a great view of the scrubland from the back dining room... this I declared my bedroom and ops room.
Yup, Sky Sweeper has learnt that most folks would never leave a colleague sleeping at work and have no qualms about driving an hour or more to ensure that everyone gets to sleep in their own bed. If the others find out they may feel guilty that Sky has been sleeping in trees to avoid them helping her.
Right Ponish in your stories is just my native Dutch language.
Also you need to fix a few words like girt and Sky Sweper.
The short description is missing a period.
10410948
Thank you!
They do
10410988
Fixed, thank you!
10411040
It’s totally true. Aside from the bathroom and kitchen (and laundry room, if it’s separate) with their fixtures which aren’t so easily moved, there’s no reason to not use whatever other rooms in the house or apartment however you want to.
And then it would be one of those cute fights where she tells them that she likes sleeping in trees and the only reason she has an apartment at all is because she has stuff she can’t keep in a tree.
Then maybe they could compromise and build her a little nest in the hanger.
10411062
That’s headcanon I’m sticking to.
Fixed, thank you!
10411115
Fixed, thank you!
Actually, the most dangerous species of anthropoid ape (besides humans) are chimpanzees. They can be vicious. I learned that Dr. Jane Goodall said that chimpanzees had tried to murder her on several occasions. Depending on my mood, remembering this makes me feel either smug or sad.
10411015 He's really a pegasus. It kinda surprised me when I met him at my first Bronycon, like finding out Horizon is a changeling, but it explained a number of things really well.
Excellent read. I love reading about ponies adapting to human style of work.
Typos fixed
Wait, when did Twilight become a paramedic?
I was going to say that that got me thinking about kingfisher-ish pegasi, but it seems you beat me to it.
Now I’m wondering whether Pegasi would make better fishers than the cormorants some places use. Not that that is likely to be commercially viable beyond tourism purposes, but still.
Hey, I remember this bit!
That aside, I’m curious how pegasus air traffic might be managed in super-high-density areas where the number of pegasi in the air might be too high for an individual to keep track of. Would they eventually settle on a system similar to ours, with clearly delineated travel corridors and/or directions? Or might they be able to spread out their landing/takeoff areas so the pegasus density never gets that high (pegasi VTOL capability helps a lot here)?
Do I want to know?
About strong would the rotor wash be for the helicopter in this story?
Minor typo
And now you have me thinking of homing pegasi or of other birds with uncanny navigational skills.
Wonder how feasible it would be to hunker down on top of the storm to rest. Or just how many pegasi it would take to properly handle gigantic storm systems like that.
A fascinating story as usual! Thanks for writing this!
Did the helicopter ever nuzzle back?
Still hoping for pegamedic.
But I guess the world simply isn't ready for that.
Wow. But hey, as long as it works...
But seriously: Just where do you get ideas like this, Admiral?
A pony is definitely the cutter option.
But that doesn't say much, since a pony is always the cutter (and probably better) option.
I would watch it.
Did she use hooves, mouth or wings for it?
Good story!
I enjoyed reading it.
Yup, really am glad I stumbled upon your works and gave 'em (and this whole genre of stories) a chance. Otherwise I would've missed this gem, too! Really didn't expect to see a pony nomming on any kind of meat, though...
There are little rubber grippers that are designed to be used as potholders -- they would be nearly perfect for ponies:
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img.cesdeals.com/products/2/6/9/269318/269318-7_wmk.jpg
Sky Sweeper's coworkers must really like her if they put up with her microwaving fish on a regular basis.
10411122
When she does that she sleeps in a public park, right? Has enough of the novelty of ponies worn off that a YouTube video of her snoring in a tree won’t necessarily go viral?
10411270
It depends. A fair number of bronies go with the idea "pegasi eat fish". In the show, there were a couple of scenes over the years of ponies fishing.
& of course, it's canon that at least some of them eat eggs.
10411015
Thank you!
Paying attention to the little guy, reading a lot, watching documentaries about the subject, internet research, asking pointed questions, thinking like a pony but also remembering that stories about ponies are stories about people, and I guess years of practice.
10411139
And if they throw you, it’s more of a yeet.
I believe that. I hadn’t heard that about her, but I’ve heard horror stories from other people who’ve worked with them.
10411141

10411151
Thank you!
I enjoy writing ‘em.
10411185
Corrections made; thank you!
10411205
:P Correction made; thank you!
Swoop down and grab ‘em before they can get away.
Probably not. I don’t think that most of them know how to dive all that far below the surface to get fish (coastal pegasi might). And it’s a specialized skill . . . I was reading up on the fishhawk (I think that’s what it’s called), and it’s even got a special talon arrangement so it can turn the fish nose-forward to fly ‘em back to the nest (they’re more aerodynamic that way).
I would assume that in general, it’s see-and-avoid. Probably in busy cities, yeah, they’d have travel lanes or altitudes that would be preferential to them, but I would imagine that just like geese don’t need air traffic to keep them from colliding with each other most of the time, neither do pegasi.
Now, when other aircraft are introduced to the picture, you might have a problem. [I actually wrote a story some years back in the style of a NTSB report, covering a collision between Cherry Berry’s helicopter and a pegasus-towed moving wagon.] Night flights and flights in storms could also be an issue, since visibility would be low.
Well, she’s going to take it to the sink in her mouth, wash it off with a hoof-held washcloth, and then pick the clean plate back out of the sink with her mouth and put it in the dish rack to dry. . . .
I don’t have exact numbers, but here’s a YouTube safety video about helicopters blowing things off oil rigs, and according to that video, downdraft can be 50kts (57mph, 92km/hr) below the helicopter. One of the incidents flung a 200kg (440 pound) box off the deck of the oil platform . . . Sky Sweeper doesn’t weigh nearly that much.
(that’s a bigger helicopter than the Dauphin, but even the Dauphin’s gonna have some strong downdraft)
Correction made; thank you!
I don’t personally see them having heightened navigation skills, but it’s a reasonable headcanon. It’s possible that if they do, it won’t work on Earth, since the magnetic/magical/gravitational/whatever fields would be different.
Totally possible to hunker down on it--maybe not the top; some of them are high enough that I don’t think a pegasus could fly that high.
I don’t think that they have enough pegasi in all of Equestria to stop a storm system; the energy involved is way too high. But, if they manage their weather well and set up counterstorms, winds, etc., they can potentially steer them away from important stuff.
Which, I never really considered before your comment, but if we imagine Equestria being the same as the US, there might be wide channels on the East Coast--especially the southern end of it--where they don’t build anything, and that’s where the weatherponies try and corral the hurricanes. Sort of like how some smart countries only put fields in flood plains--if they’re underwater for a little bit in the spring, it really doesn’t matter. I used to live in a small town that thought of that--there was a nice, flat spot alongside the river, and they put a park there. One spring it was under sixteen feet of water, then the water drained out, they cleaned the mud off the pavilion and nothing that mattered was damaged all that much.
You’re welcome!
10411234
It hasn’t yet.
The world isn’t ready, and that’s a shame.
There was an episode in the show where they were rescuing a guy who came off his motorcycle and landed in a hedge, and they’d stuck the IV bag to a branch on the hedge . . . you gotta do what you gotta do.
Well, the somewhat long and convoluted story for this one is that there’s a guy on FimFic with the user name Pegasus Rescue Brigade, and that got me to thinking how pegasi on Earth would be naturals at search and rescue, and then that if they wanted them to cover more area more quickly, put them on a helicopter and have them fly out when they get to a person or people who need rescuing. That particular story’s been on the back burner for a while, but I’d already done a fair bit of the groundwork for it.
I’d also been watching a British documentary about British air ambulances, so when the contest came along, I thought that having a pegasus paramedic (in training) would be an interesting entry, and since it was a speedwriting contest, I’d have the advantage of having already done most of the groundwork and such for the story, so . . .
The shorter version is that I often look at something and imagine a pony being there, and work from that. What would a pony think about this, how would a pony deal with this, etc.
Let me tell you, if I was in that situation, being comforted by a pony, if the doctor said he was gonna cut my leg off, I’d be like, “sure, fine, whatever,” and go back to petting the pony.
Everybody would watch it.
Mouth.
Thank you!
10411270
As 10411316 said, It’s questionable canon (we’ve seen ponies fishing, and why are they fishing if they aren’t planning to eat the fish?) and fanon among some authors and artists. Usually, it’s limited to the pegasi.
Also, as a bonus fact, some IRL horses have traditionally been fed fish in the wintertime, and I’ve heard that some Icelandic ponies have learned how to get fish on their own (stomp on them in shallow water). In general, IRL horses will eat some kinds of meat if they can get it, but they’re typically not very good predators. I’ve seen a video of a horse stomping on baby birds and eating them, and I’ve heard of horses eating McBurgers and other human food that’s set down where they can get at it. Sgt. Reckless ate bacon and loved beer (that’s how you know she was a proper Marine).
10411272
You’re right, something along that design would be perfect. Ideally a bit larger, to fit her mouth better.
Of course they do, she’s adorable. Plus, they’re British, and from what I remember of the UK, people’s diet consists of fish and chips, kebab, and sausage sandwiches.
10411292
It is. Best I can tell from interneting, it’s only open from 10a to 4p (although those might be reduced COVID hours); if she missed the last train, she’d probably get there around 9pm. And there’s enough woods that she could probably find a secluded tree outside the view of humans, if she wanted to.
However, as to your second point, in the context of the story enough of the novelty of ponies has likely worn off to the point where a video of her snoozing in a tree isn’t guaranteed to go viral, but there’s still a high probability it would.
10411404
I always figured the fisherponies fed their haul to their pets or sold them to the pet food industry. I mean... Rarity has a cat, for example, and everyone (well okay, almost everyone) knows that cats are obligate carnivores. And I think Fluttershy feeds fish to some of her animal friends at some point?
Yeah, I figured if anyone would eat fish, it would be the pegasi.
Well damn... My collection of "Random Horse Facts I Didn't Know Before" keeps growing. I didn't know before, for example, that an equine's body temperature is in fact higher than a human's. I think it was one of the Cuddles stories that made mention of that and so I had to go and google it for myself. You sly git, you made me learn something!
The Silver Glow is strong in this one!
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That is a reasonable conjecture. Certainly, the episode where Magnum’s fishing, that could be the reason (and yes, Fluttershy got them for her animal friends). I want to say that the Apples were fishing/had fishing equipment in one episode as well; I’m less sure if dogs are obligate carnivores. Of course, they could also be exporting the fish to the griffons or something like that. I don’t think we’ve ever seen ponies eating fish in the show (which is a shame because based on fanart, it’s adorable)
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Somebody else complained that I was sneakily making them learn things in my fics. I’m totally okay with that
Here’s another two fun facts for you, IRL equines have canine teeth (stallions normally have all four; mares have 0-4), and stallions don’t have nipples.
10411760
It is, isn’t it?
Nuzzling the helicopter was adorable.
Overall, this story was cool and fun.
Interesting and nice as usual; thanks for writing. :)
Dr. Sayad/Sayed's name seems to be spelled inconsistently, though.
Also, whatisthat big orangish thing in the cover art?edit: Ah, answered in the story notes blog post. :)
I know it was a pun on the cramp, but the horse named Charley just makes me think of Charlie the Unicorn.
10411379
TIL another name for the osprey. Wasn't aware of their unique talons, either.
And now I have it in my head that pegasi flock like birds and at some point there's a very confused pegasus trying to figure out how to explain flocking behavior to some very excited ornithologists.
I remember this one, too!
Ah, fair point. I assume you might not see many non-unicorns as restaurant dishwashers, then?
Yikes
I'm impressed Sky can manage to maintain altitude there. Guess it helps that the wash is relatively narrow, though.
And now I'm imagining overconfident pegasus tourists who managed to miss the relevant warning in So You Want to Go To Earth and then get hopelessly lost on their first flight here due to the environment messing with their navigational senses. GPSs would be the new register-side item at gas stations across the world due to the chance a very lost pegasus family turns up in the middle of nowhere.
Or the Equestrian government would eventually mandate pegasi carry them around after having to launch one too many search-and-rescue missions.
You're too good at putting these brain worms in my head
Almost like a high-stakes game of curling or billiards. Certainly a smarter way of dealing with storms than what I had in mind at first.
Wonder if the weather service could charge for access to the hurricane corridor in case any daredevil pegasi (or especially
foolhardybrave earth ponies/unicorns) wish to fly in some real wild weather.Or how many applicants they might get for pegasi hurricane hunters.
Another excellent story. I immediately thought of Silver Glow by the fourth paragraph of course. Great job with the interactions too. Really got the feel that they're a cohesive team.
Nice story. Since I live in the area that the Great North Air Ambulance covers this is remarkably realistic (for a pony on Earth story).
10411411
Don't forget beer...
These are our four major foodgroups.
If my leg broke, I’d always pick Sky.
That being said, I thought this was in Canada until I read the story notes. I guess it’s what I think of when I hear “Great North.”
Wow... Ponies in Gateshead? Fantastic!
This is the first pony-in-human-world story that I really liked! (I'm a fan of both aviation stuff and reality shows, so I completely get both inspirations.) Sky Sweeper is a wonderful character and the rest of the air ambulance crew are dedicated professionals. I also very much appreciated the attention to flight details and medical details. Definitely keep this world around for sequels and further stories!
Great stuff as always. It really shows that you've done your homework here!
I suspect with ATC for pegasi it's probably only restricted near airports and MOD sites. Probably would have altitude restrictions in a lot of areas and would need a transponder, radar reflector and radio to go high so they can get maneuvered around traffic but most pegasi wouldn't go that high even commuting long distance anyway.
After reading this, I had the thought that pie-and-mash shops would become favorite pegasi hangouts. And I had a story idea, but...damn that carpal tunnel! It's already severely restricting my weekly word count on what I'm already doing!
10412269
I thought of Silver Glow after reading the synopsis. But the tacos, Sky being so considerate about being polite, and the general style solidified it beyond all doubt.
10411869
And totally a thing a pony would do.
Thank you!
10412102
You’re welcome!
It is, isn’t it? I finally fixed that. Thought I had them all, and didn’t.