Distant Flutter of Angels

by Zoltrioundz

One Step Forwards, Two Steps Back

The deadly stares did not falter as the group attempted to enter the room. A chill ran down my spine as flashbacks of deadened eyes began to surface, unbidden. I shook off the memory; I had more current problems. Fortunately for me, the door was not wide enough for them all to enter at once, and provided a brief respite from their fury, as they turned their attention to getting inside, bumping and shuffling against each other. I breathed a sigh of relief, which was cut short as a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane took off and flew over the others. She darted into the room and immediately shoved her face into mine, fury personified.

“What did you do to Fluttershy, you jerk?” she yelled. “Nopony hurts my friend and gets away with it!” Her face pressed my head back as I tried unsuccessfully to shrink away. It was futile of course: I was still tied down, utterly immobile except for my head.

Before she could do anything however, she was pulled back by an orange earth pony in a cowboy hat who had yanked her tail. It was no reprieve though, as her freckled face immediately replaced the rainbow-maned one's. “Stand aside Rainbow, Ah'm goin' first.” She glared at me ferociously. “Ah'm gonna buck this bronco into next week!”

The rainbow one turned her attention to the blond cowpony, returning the dirty trick and also pulling her back via a quick tug on her tail. “No way, I got here first!” she complained angrily, keeping a hoof firmly planted, trapping her. Their argument continued as they began to butt heads against each other. I cringed, still unable to defend myself: These restraints were going to get me killed! As I weakly struggled against my bonds, I almost didn't hear a faint voice in the background. Even though I did, it was soon overshadowed by a white unicorn with a styled purple mane stepping in front of the two arguing ponies.

---

“... um... girls?"

---

The new pony gave me a disapproving glance before turning to the purple unicorn that was still by the door. “Twilight, you and I both know that if we let Applejack and Rainbow Dash go first, those ruffians will leave nothing for us ladies. Don't you agree that we should... how do you say it... get the first crack at him?” Even though she was turned away from me, I could see her give this Twilight a demure smile, fluttering her eyelashes beseechingly at her. Immediately afterwards however, she turned back to face me, a deadly glint in her eyes. Even scared out of my mind, I could still just make out a voice in the background trying to make itself heard, but again, it was overtaken.

---

“Girls, if you could just... ”

---

The purple mare near the door lifted her hooves over her head and yelled out over the volume of the other ponies in the room. “Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow! Calm down and listen!” Plopping back down, she continued. “Now, if we attack this pony, we’ll be no better than he is. What we need to do is take him before the Princess and let her decide what to do with him." She smiled, but it was an unsettling look: too wide, and with a hint of crazy. "I'm sure any punishment she gives out will be far worse than... ” Trailing off, she became distracted by the antics of the pink pony; the only one who had not tried to barge into the room. She was singing quietly to herself as she strung streamers along the back wall. The purple pony... Twilight from what I had gathered, looked as confused as I was. “Pinkie, what are you doing?”

The pink one... Pinkie?, stopped what she was doing and dangled upside-down from the ceiling. Confetti and streamers seemed to fall slowly from her mane, and several balloons seemed to have tangled in her tail. For the life of me, I couldn't tell what was holding her to the roof. Smiling happily, she twisted her head around to look towards the door. “Yes, Twilight?” she asked, innocently.

Twilight's look of confusion changed to frustration. “Ugh, Pinkie, just get down from there. We’re trying to deal with a serious matter here!”

Pinkie giggled at this and fell to the ground, immediately bouncing up and over to land in the middle of the others. “Oh Twilight, I can't hang my decorations for the “Get Well Soon” party if I stay on the ground. Besides, I think Fluttershy’s been trying to get your attention.”

Just then, the quiet voice, obviously fed up with being ignored, burst through the sudden awkward silence which had followed Pinkie's comment.

---

GIRLS!

---

All eyes in the room turned to the back alcove, where a very annoyed yellow pegasus stood, wings flared. As she found herself the center of attention, her wings quickly folded and she shrank back a bit before shaking her head and recovering her poise. “Oh um... right. Please stop threatening the nice pony, he didn't do anything wrong... well, not really anyways... it was kinda my fault... sorta... ” Her confidence seemed to fade as she trailed off into a squeak, tucking her face behind her long pink mane. I started to relax. She was okay! What did they call her? Fluttershy? It really suited her. I felt a sense of satisfaction: I had finally managed to learn her name!

The white unicorn... Rarity?, trotted quickly over to Fluttershy and put her forelegs around her, hugging her tightly. “Fluttershy! You're alright! I was so worried!” Pulling back, she looked into her eyes. “But whatever do you mean, darling? Twilight told us that some rogue stallion had attacked you out here in this nasty forest. She said that the brute had hurt you so badly you were bed-ridden! We all rushed over as soon as we heard!”

Fluttershy peeked out from behind her hair. “Oh... I uh, see. But girls, wherever did you get that idea? That isn't what happened at all!”

All eyes in the room turned to Twilight, who backed away, looking nervous. “What? But when I came over for tea early this morning, Zecora told me that this strange unicorn had hurt Fluttershy.” She pointed a hoof at me and I flinched back in shame.

The focus of all the ponies in the room then shifted to Zecora, who had been ignored by the brash entrance of the group. She was sitting at her table on the other side of the room, sipping quietly from a cup. As the volume finally lowered, and silence came over the group, she placed the cup back on its saucer, now able to speak up.

“Twilight, I said no such thing, your conclusions were your own to bring. What I said was quite exact, if you take time to think back." Shaking her head and letting out a sigh, she leaned forward and locked eyes with Twilight. "If you would, please listen carefully this time. I know it can be hard to do with rhyme.” She cleared her throat and closed her eyes. “Fluttershy has taken quite a fall, this stallion, it appears, was the cause of it all.” Her eyes opened as she affixed a stern look upon the purple mare. “My statement was brief and lacked much detail, no more was given before you turned tail. A lesson forgotten from when we met, a reminder perhaps that you should get. 'Maybe next time you will take a second look, and not judge the cover of the book. ' “

Twilight's cheeks blushed pink and she sat down, hard. “Oh my gosh... I'm so sorry. I jumped to conclusions when I saw that Fluttershy was hurt, and I raced back to town to get everypony without taking the time to be sure of what happened.” Tears formed in her eyes and she raised a hoof to wipe them away. “I'm sorry I wasted your time.” She turned to me. “And I'm truly very sorry we all threatened you.”

All of the mares expressions, filled with anger only moments ago, shifted to embarrassment, as they each found themselves coming to terms with the things they had said. Applejack trotted over to Twilight and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Nuts, Twilight; Ah'dve done the same thing, Ah reckon. Emotions run high when friends are involved. Don't think nothin’ of it. We forgive you.” Applejack then turned to Zecora. “So if this here stallion didn't muss her up, then what did? Ah reckon something still needs a good bucking.”

Zecora leaned forward and stood up, walking softly back over to me, and lifted the fallen towel back onto my face. I wanted to say that I didn't need it, but my throat decided to betray me and squeak again. My eyes were drawn back to the chunk of rainbow on the ground as I began to breathe in the steam once again. What really kept bothering me though was that I still didn't understand how liquid rainbow had gotten out into the middle of the Everfree forest. As the thought crossed my mind again, my eyes shifted to the rainbow-haired pegasus now hovering in the middle of the room. She looked disappointed, forehooves crossed, as if she still wanted to beat something. I studied her and noticed that not only did she have a rainbow mane, but her cutie mark involved rainbows as well. I found myself wondering if she was somehow linked to the rainbow pools out here in the middle of nowhere. Frowning, I put a stop to this train of thought: this was no time to start trying to pin blame. There had been no other ponies around; this was the Everfree after all. There had to be some other explanation.

But wait, then why was Fluttershy there?

I coughed roughly again, feeling more of the gunk in my throat come free. This time I was smart, and swallowed the hard chunks. Let the seeds take care of it: I never wanted to taste the rainbow ever again.

My hacking did not go unnoticed. Zecora looked back at Applejack “The full story is his, but his throat needs more time. I will tell you what I saw, if you can tolerate the rhyme.”

Applejack sighed deeply. “If'n Ah have to, Ah guess Ah can, but you know sometimes Ah have a heap a’ trouble keeping up. But okay, Zecora, go ahead, Ah’ll try an’ follow along.”

Zecora smiled, and took a seat next to me. This time I paid close attention, for I had no idea what had happened after my vision blacked out mid-fall. All eyes turned to her as she began her tale. “I was out for a walk at dusk you see, gathering plants for a new herbal remedy. When up above I heard a loud cry, and a bright purple glow then lit up the sky. Lightning flashed and trees were struck, that I was not hit, I can only thank luck. Surrounding me then was a loud violent storm, on the ground I saw ice and rainbow pools form. Some trees turned to ice, of which a few did explode, others became of rainbow, as liquid they flowed. As colors and crystals merged high in the air... never before have I seen such a sight, I do swear.”

She paused here for a moment, taking a drink from her teacup, allowing time for the shocked mouths of the ponies in the room to close, including mine. My mind raced: everything she said matched up with what I could remember, but that meant that it was true: I was the source of the rainbow juice! I was dumbstruck: I had such magic? All I had used in my job was telekinesis, and since I had no need for anything else, that was all I had ever bothered to learn. Well, that and the childish tricks I had learned in my youth. I had never seen anything like this before, never even heard of this kind of magic. All the pegasus ponies I had worked with had always had to make rainbows by hoof!

Before I could think on this further, she started up again. “Almost as soon as it started it ended; I found myself shocked, as pea soup thick fog surrounded me: my vision nearly blocked. Right away though above, I heard Fluttershy cry: she tumbled, wings closed, as she fell from the sky. The fog bank did save her, it cushioned her fall, she did not come close to the ground then at all. This pony, however was not so lucky, his fall to the earth was cut short by a tree. He broke through the branches, and hit the tree trunk: a sickening sound, a deep fleshy thunk. He bounced off that tree, and into the cloud, I lost sight of him there, but the impact was loud. I raced to the site, only seconds away, in a pool of rainbow, face down did he lay. I did not believe he could survive such a fall, but when freed he was breathing, a very close call! Fluttershy soon did appear, shaking like a leaf, when she saw that he lived, she was in disbelief. She insisted on helping him here to my dwelling, we tended his wounds, and we lowered the swelling. I still do not know how he pulled himself through, that part of the story he will have to tell you.”

She let this sink in: I saw shame grow on the faces of the ponies in the room as they realized that they almost attacked a helpless, injured pony. The first to speak was the white unicorn with the manicured look... Rarity, I believe they called her. She came over to me and looked directly at me. “I think I speak for all of us, dear, when I say we are truly sorry for what we said earlier. When it comes to Fluttershy, I think we all just might be a teensy weensy bit overprotective. I sincerely hope you can accept our most heartfelt apologies.” Her apology was echoed by the other ponies in the room, though the two she had called ruffians did not seem all that enthusiastic about it. I nodded slowly, still unsure of how badly injured I was: I did not want to make myself worse. If I had in fact hit a tree and then the ground as she said, then I could be paralyzed from the neck down for all I knew.

I desperately wanted then to try and ask about my injuries, but Applejack spoke up again before I could make the attempt. “Thank ya kindly, Zecora, that's all well and good, an’ a very interestin’ end a’ the story... But it sure as hay don't tell us how Fluttershy got hurt in the first place. You said she landed in the fog safely, but jus’ you look at her! She looks like Ah do after a week-long rodeo with no sleep. What in tarnation happened?”

Zecora finished her tea and put down the cup. “I do not know, Applejack, I am very sorry. I have not been told that part of the story. This stallion has not been able to speak, and Fluttershy here has been deep asleep. But she is awake now, and for that I give thanks: Perhaps now she can help us fill in some of the blanks?”

As soon as I heard Applejack's concern, I took a closer look at Fluttershy. Wincing, I saw that all was not in fact well, as I had first hoped. Her feathers were in disarray, wings hanging low at her sides. Her hair was still disheveled, and she looked and moved as if she was in pain. Small bags under her eyes emphasized how much this ordeal had drained her physically: Even after sleeping, she still looked exhausted. Tears began to form in my eyes again. I had never wanted to hurt her; I hadn’t wanted to hurt anypony! Why did they care? I wasn’t worth helping. I wasn't worth any of this! Turning my head away, I stifled the tears, unable to look at what I had done. I could not shut out their voices, however, as Fluttershy once again spoke.

“Um... I guess I could... if you really want to know... ” I heard her walk over slowly and take a seat next to Zecora. I then heard the sound of liquid being poured into a cup. “Oh, thank you Zecora. Your tea is always delicious.” The room went quiet enough for me to hear her take a sip. The silence lasted just long enough for it to begin to feel awkward before she piped up again. “Oh, right. Um, well, it all started when I was in that field that borders on the Everfree forest. I was visiting some of the cute little animals that live out there. There are the bunnies, and the ferrets, mice and the birds... Oh! And this sweet little squirrel who likes to pick me flowers. He's just soooo cute... ”

Applejack interjected by clearing her throat. “Eh-hem, you were saying?” Having forced back my tears, and curious about her story, I turned my head back around to face her just in time to see her her cheeks flush at this. I smiled: forget the squirrel, she was the cutest thing I had ever seen when she blushed! My heart began to swell, but I quashed it. I had hurt this pony! I needed to get out of her life as soon as possible.

She started up again. “Oops, sorry... but, um, yes, I was in the field tending to the bunnies when a flash of purple flew overhead. It was moving so fast I couldn't tell what it was. I flew up and followed it to the very edge of the Everfree, but it had flown so high that I couldn't see it anymore. I turned back to go home when I heard the strangest noise from the direction where it had disappeared. It sounded like the wounded cry of some poor creature. I knew right away that I couldn't abandon the poor thing, whatever it was, so I carefully entered the forest." She got strange looks from several of the ponies at this statement, and she smiled awkwardly back at them. "Okay... well... I actually flew well over the Everfree. Really, really, REALLY high above the Everfree. I really didn't want to have to go into it if I didn't have to, and the higher I was, the safer I felt..." Her face flushed red, but she continued. " Well, um, the sound faded, but I kept flying towards where I had last heard it. Off in the distance, I finally saw something, way up above me. It was something purplish falling from the sky. At first I thought it was a purple pelican... Oh, I've always wanted to see one of those! They have the most adorable little pink chicks... ”

This time it was the one called Twilight that coughed. Fluttershy got back on track right away “Right! I flew to it as fast as I could, intending to catch the poor thing, but as I got closer, I could tell that it wasn't a pelican at all! It was a pony! And um... that’s when I... kinda... well... panicked.” She meeped and hid her face behind her hair again, peeking out at the other ponies in the room.

Rainbow Dash, the cyan mare, sighed and gave Fluttershy a stern look. “Ugh, that's your answer to everything! I would've zoomed right in there and saved him, sonic rainboom style.” I had no idea what she meant by that, but I smirked as she posed in midair, attempting to look cool, but instead accidentally knocked a hanging bottle into her face, causing her to lose wing co-ordination. She fell with a thump, landing face-first next to the pink pony, who was stuffing her face with popcorn that she had somehow procured out of thin air.

Fluttershy smiled at this and came out from behind her mane. “Oh yes, that was what I TRIED to do, once I stopped panicking. There wasn't much time, so I thought, ‘What would Rainbow Dash do?’ That's when I knew I had to be brave and I charged right in. He wasn't moving for some reason, so I wrapped my forehooves around his chest and pulled up as hard as I could.” My face began to blush bright red: Oh please tell me she's not going to tell them everything! I wanted to bury myself in a hole.

Thankfully, she didn't, but what she said next made me feel even worse. She lay down at this point, placing her head on her hooves and sighing deeply before continuing. “But... it didn't make any difference. I'm not strong like you, Rainbow Dash. I don't think I even slowed him down. He tried to help me, got me to change our direction to try and land in a lake instead of pulling straight up, b-but I couldn't even do that right!” She started sniffling, and I felt tears come into my own eyes as well. Oh Celestia, I did not want to relive this part. I wanted to cover my ears, I wanted to run away, but of course, I still couldn't do anything. I was as useless now as I had been then. My cheeks felt wet as tears began to roll down my cheeks. I had no choice but to keep listening.

“A-and then, when we were almost in the trees, he tried to get me to let go. To let him die! I wouldn't do it, I couldn't do it, so he tricked me and broke himself free!”

Tears were openly dripping down my face at this point. I couldn't see anymore, but I had the feeling that she was crying too. Suddenly, her voice changed, turning cold and angry. I couldn't see her face through the tears, but even so, I found myself wincing involuntarily, recalling the last time she had sounded like that, and the look she had given me.

“And then my stupid wings locked up! I was so weak that I couldn't even get them back open to just glide down!

Everyone startled at this outburst, but her anger seemed to fade as quickly as it had appeared, her voice returning to normal. “I... I looked at him then, and that's when everything erupted into a bright purple light. It blinded me, I couldn't see anything at all. The next thing I knew, I was crashing into a cloud that wasn't there a moment ago that went all the way from above the trees down to the forest floor. I hit so hard I had to dig myself out, and by the time I did, he had already...” She faltered, but managed to continue, her voice nearly inaudible with emotion. “Already h-hit the ground!”

I managed to blink my eyes free of tears at this point, but now I felt sick to my stomach. As my vision cleared, I saw her wipe away her own before sighing and continuing. “I... I'm sorry. I’ll try and finish now... but um... the rest you kinda already know. Somehow, I managed to help Zecora get him here and then I used every healing trick I know to try and help. But healing a pony is different from helping my little animal friends. I just... I had to try. He somehow didn't appear to have any broken bones, just some major swelling around his head where Zecora said he hit the tree, and bruises and cuts all over his body from what I think are from the branches and hitting the ground. But... um... now he's okay... I guess. We bandaged up all the cuts, anyway. He survived, but I still I don't know how.”

“I know why.”

Everypony turned to face me. My voice had returned, however weakly. It all made a crazy sort of sense now. The things I had seen, the noises I’d heard, combined with the stories I had just listened to, all helped me to piece together my final moments before impact. I knew that it was time to speak up. Now or never.

I cleared my throat, hoping it wouldn't give out. “Before I explain, I have two small requests. You've said I have no injured bones, so could you please let me loose? I'd really like to be upright for this, and not tied down anymore.” The assorted ponies looked at each other, and Fluttershy nodded hesitantly. Zecora got up and untied the other towels with her mouth, pulling each away and laying them on the floor. Once she nodded at me, I rolled over slowly onto my stomach. It groaned and complained, but oh, did it felt good to be upright again!

After giving myself a once-over, and noting all the bandages, I found that I had been tied down onto a wooden bench with some large, colorful towels. Go figure. I turned my attention back to the sea of eyes in front of me. This time, however, the eyes were not filled with anger, or hate, but with curiosity. I knew they must have many questions for me, but that would have to wait until after. I coughed and swallowed a much smaller chunk of rainbow before making my second request. “Secondly, I need you to agree to let me keep this brief for now. I have something very pressing I must attend to, and I promise I will answer all your questions afterwards. Deal?”

All eyes turned to the one called Twilight. I suppose she was the decision-maker of the group. After only a moment, she nodded. “Well... okay, I guess that's fine, but I'm going hold you to that. And I have a lot of questions.” She grinned, and her tone somehow left me feeling dread. What had I just gotten myself into?

Closing my eyes for just a moment, I gathered my thoughts before speaking. “According to you, I hit a tree, then ricocheted into the fog bank before coming to rest in a pool of rainbow juice that had turned to goo because it had mixed with ice. Did I get all that right?” Once again, Zecora and Fluttershy looked at each other and nodded. I smiled. “That’s how I survived. My collision with the tree knocked me into the fog, and the fog slowed me down enough so that I didn't die when I hit the ground, or in this case, that horrible pool of goo.”

Everypony in the room gave me a funny look, and almost immediately, Twilight spoke out. “I'm sorry, but I don't follow. You say the cloud slowed you down? How can that be? Everypony knows that clouds aren't solid to us earthbound ponies. Only pegasus ponies are able to interact with them." Pausing, she looked thoughtful. "Well, I mean, there is that cloud-walking spell, but I only know about that due to extensive research!" Still looking at me with disbelief, she continued. "Besides, even if that was the case, that still that doesn't explain how you got so high above the Everfree Forest.” She had a smug look on her face, secure in her knowledge, and seemingly proud that she had caught me in a falsity. I smiled again; this was not the first time somepony had thought I was lying.

I opened my mouth again to explain, but to my surprise, Fluttershy beat me to it. “Um, Twilight? Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to let you know that that isn't quite completely true. Not if he was a pony who was born with a rare... um... ability, which allows them to interact with clouds like a pegasus.”

Shocked, all eyes turned to Fluttershy, including mine. I was the first to speak. “How in Equestria did you know that?”

Startled by the sudden attention, she covered her head with her hooves and let out a squeak. Before I could apologize and try to ask again more nicely, Twilight interjected. “Sorry again... you'll have to forgive me, but I've never heard of this strange condition before in any of my studies. Could you please elaborate for me?” Inching closer, she had a look in her eyes, as if thirsty for knowledge. I glanced towards Fluttershy, who was still hiding away. I sighed: So many questions were building up in my head again, like what the heck cloud-walking was all about, and how Fluttershy knew about my "condition"... but they would have to wait. I shook my head slowly and cleared my throat again before responding.

Before I continued, however, I raised a hoof in the air. “I can, but you promised I could keep this brief. I swear I will answer all your questions as soon as my urgent matters are attended to.” Seeing her nod, I took a deep breath and began to explain something I had gone over so very many times before.

“Right, well, simply put, I was born a unicorn, but both my mother and father were pegasi. From what I understand, my great-great-great-grandmare was a unicorn, or something like that. When I was born, I was quite a surprise. I was the first unicorn child born in my family.” I looked down at Twilight, who apparently had found quill, ink, and parchment, and was writing this down. I rolled my eyes and continued. "Guess they forgot about whatever ancestor it had been that was a unicorn. Anyway, while I was lucky enough to have strong enough pegasus ancestry to retain the full ability to walk on clouds and touch them as if they were solid, I was not lucky enough to get the lighter bones that pegasi have as well. I'm as heavy as the next unicorn, or so they tell me, since to be honest, I had never met another unicorn before you two today.” I tilted my head towards the white and purple unicorns in turn. “But yes, there you go, that's it in a nutshell. There isn't any real name for it, at least, not that I know of. Most ponies just say that I have 'Pegasus ancestry'.”

She nodded and turned back to the parchment, writing that down. I started to turn back to Fluttershy, only to have Twilight interrupt again. “Not to be a bother, as I know we did promise to keep this short, but since this is the first time I've heard of this, would you mind proving it? I still find it hard to believe. I mean, I know about being able to be born different than your parents, but I didn't see any non-pegasi in Cloudsdale when we all went to the Best Young Fliers competition.”

It crossed my mind again to ask more about how these earth-bound ponies had visited Cloudsdale, but before I could, Applejack interjected. “Um, Twi, not to be a bother, but Ah just wanna mention that Ah kinda saw a unicorn when we were sitting in the stands that day. She was a ways away, but she caught my eye 'cause she was bouncing up and down and looked just like Lyra from back here in Ponyville. Ah didn't say nothin' since Ah just figured she had the cloud-walking spell too, but now Ah cant help but wonder. How would she have gotten up there anyhow? Ah sure as hay didn't see any other balloons around.”

With mouth half full, Rainbow Dash took this time to chime in, having long since sat down and nabbed some of Pinkie's popcorn. “Oh yeah! Can’t believe I forgot! I remember meeting a pony like that when I was just a little filly." She swallowed before continuing. "She was a cool little pink earth pony. Her parents had brought her to Cloudsdale to see family, but she snuck off to watch me race. I bet she was glad she did; that was when I pulled off my first ever sonic rainboom! Aw yeah!” A look of concern suddenly crossed her face. "Huh. Actually, I remember seeing her as I flew by during the race. She was on an awfully small cloud. Hope nothing happened to her."

Twilight gave Rainbow a glare. "Rainbow! I can't believe you! You were the one who almost had a heart attack when Pinkie jumped out of the balloon! And you knew all along!?"

Rainbow shrugged. "I forgot, alright? Its not like you see anything other than pegasi in Cloudsdale, you know." She turned to me. "No offense."

I nodded. "None taken. Honestly, I didn't get out much."

Twilight rolled her eyes and looked back to me. “Okay, apparently it really is true. Any chance I could still get that demonstration though?” She looked up at me pleadingly. I really didn't want to, I was starting to feel worse. But that look... those eyes...

I sighed and caved “Okay, fine, but just a little tiny one. I'm still really not feeling strong, and that's even with this crazy numbing potion. Please remember that I've just been through a lot.” She squealed and clapped her hooves together, and, even annoyed, I couldn't help but smile a little.

Of course, now I had to come up with an example. I still felt drained, so I needed something easy. I looked down at the bowl of water next to me, no longer steaming after being out for so long. Ah! Perfect!

I concentrated, and felt the magic in my horn start to glow. I had already started the spell before Zecora noticed, crying out in dismay.

“No, pony, no! Do not use your magic! The results could very easily be tragic! Right now your horn is weak and brittle; You should not use it, even a little!”

Startled, my spell was interrupted, and only about half the water in the bowl evaporated. Instead of a pony-sized cloud, all that appeared was a little puffball, about the size of a head. Frightened, I looked up cross-eyed at my horn, trying to see what was wrong. I was horrified by what I saw. My horn was nearly white, and criss-crossed with tiny cracks. My mouth dropped open in horror; it looked like it was going to fall off! Why had nopony said anything! Distracted, I didn't notice Zecora come up to me until she plopped a giant glob of green goo onto my horn. Freezing in terror as it started to ooze down my face, I started trying to shake it off, until I felt a warm hoof on my shoulder.

Softly, she reassured me. “Calm now, pony, this potion will help; the substance is made primarily of kelp. It can mend cracks, and will increase its strength, supposedly it will also increase its length." She paused and winked at me, and I found myself blushing, though I wasn’t quite sure why.

"It has properties that can make any bone heal. Now please partake of another light meal.” Taking a deep breath and relaxing, I sighed in relief, and smiled at her. She nodded and walked back over the the cauldron and startled ladling more broth into a bowl. I found myself drooling; I was still starving, even though my stomach felt oddly full now.

That smile faded quickly as my stomach let out another groan. My eyes widened and darted around wildly as I heaved myself to my hooves, getting up off the bench. I stumbled, but caught myself; I was still pretty numb and it was harder than I thought it would be to keep my balance. Oh how I was glad to be numb, I couldn't imagine how painful moving would be if I was still burning alive like I was when I woke up!

Fluttershy gasped and jumped up to block me. “What are you doing! You shouldn't be up! Lay back down right now, mister!”

I grimaced “Normally I'd agree, but I have pressing matters. Also, remember, you all promised.”

She used her head to push me back towards the bench. “What could be more important than getting better?!”

I smiled at her and put my hoof on her shoulder, stepping aside, and almost tripping over my own hooves in the process. “I swear that is the next thing on my to-do list, but right now, I really need to go.”

She gaped at me, shocked. “You can't go, you aren't well enough!”

I groaned loudly in frustration. “I promise that, contrary to your belief, if you let me go, I will probably get better faster once this urgent matter is taken care of. Isn't that right, Zecora?” Putting the emphasis on her name and giving her a pleading look, I began shifting impatiently from side to side.

She laughed and nodded, then pointed to another small alcove, way in the back that I hadn't noticed before. I gathered myself up, wobbling quickly over to the room and slammed the door behind me. As I did, I heard her speak to the others. “Apologies ladies, I gave him too many seeds, and it appears he has finally given in to his needs. Many warnings were given, all seem inadequate, I gave him plenty of notice for his coming need to evacuate.”

I groaned, my face turning bright red, and for more than one reason. Those rhymes were going to kill me!

Comments

[Draco Dei]

FS yelling to get her friends' attention seems out of character. I know she has her loud moments, but they are usually yelling at ENEMIES (or the one time cheering).

Wow, just wow. I am really impressed. Creating all those rhymes for Zecora must have been hard.
Keep up the good work!

[oblivion2k]

2891
Actually, that line she said is almost verbatim from the show. During the cutie mark sleepover at fluttershy's place, she yelled at the CMC's to get their attention.

NO!!!!!