Rumble and Thunderlane were just a normal pair of brothers, living a normal life- when a biped falls out of the sky, their lives change drastically.
Featherweight keeps saying he saw this thing running around the forest....he claims it looks like a pony, but it only walks on its hind legs. I don't believe him. But when I'm sleeping over at Thunderlane's house during a thunderstorm...well, let's just say...I think I'm more inclined to believe him now...
"That's a load of horseapples and you know it, Featherweight" Applebloom said.
All of us were standing in the schoolyard during recess- Applebloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Twist, and I were gathered around Featherweight, listening to what he'd apparently 'seen' sneaking around the forest.
"I'm telling you! I saw it! It's real!" he argued. "Yeah right" Scootaloo said "Something like that couldn't exist" "Wait! Wait!" he pleaded, seeing us turning to leave "I got pictures"
I rolled my eyes and turned back as he pulled a few photos out of his saddlebags, he set them on the ground so we could get a good look at them. The black-and-white photos were a little blurry, an effect the forest's lighting had on Featherweight's camera.
"See? Proof!" he said, pointing at the pictures. "I...still don't see it..." Sweetie Belle said, tilting her head. "It's right there!" he said, pointing to one of the photos. "I think I see it now..." Scootaloo conceeded "that kinda looks like a horn" "Dang, look how tall it is..." Applebloom said. "I know! It's probably taller than the princesses!" "What did it look like?" "Like a normal pony, but it only walked on its back hooves" "Yeah right" I said, rolling my eyes. "Maybe he's onta somethin' here, Rumble" Applebloom said, pointing to the photos. "I don't think so...it's probably just a tree branch" "It's not- I've-" "Seen it, yes, I know, that still isn't any reason for me to believe it"
Featherweight sighed as he placed the photos back into his saddlebags- just as he did, the school bell rang, Ms. Cheerilee calling for us to come back inside.
'This is going to be a long day...' I sighed to myself, walking back into the schoolhouse. I sat at my desk as the rest of the class trickled in, it was always the same thing, everyday. Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle would always try to come up with new ways to get their cutie marks. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon would always put them down, teasing them as they did. Twist would sneak a peppermint stick or chocolate into her mouth before Cheerilee trotted in. Featherweight would sit at his desk, staring out the window as he daydreamed about...something...and then, Dinky was always scribbling something on her paper, what it was, I don't know.
'It's the same thing, everyday' I moaned silently 'It's boring...'
Ms. Cheerilee trotted in and stamped her hooves, getting the class' attention.
"Alright class, we're picking up from where we stopped before lunch, now can anypony tell me how the foundation of Equestria came to be?"
'I swear we go over this every other week...'
Sweetie Belle raised her hoof.
"Yes, Sweetie Belle?"
"The leaders of the three tribes met, and then when the Windigoes came, they were driven out by the ponies, because of their friendship?" "Very good!" she praised "Now, the reason I bring up the foundation of Equestria, is because of an ancient legend said to have been around since before then"
I perked up. 'This is new...'
"The legend says that King Sombra, known for being one of the most tyrannical kings in history, had hated that the three tribes had united, and had stolen the artifacts closest to the three leaders, the Chancellor's Compass, Princess Platinum's Quill, and the helmet of Commander Hurricane's armor, then framed each of them, hoping to dissolve the pact they had made" "What happened?" Twist asked. "Well, Sombra's plan was discovered, and the bond between the tribes had been strengthened" "So...that's it? That wasn't a legend" I said, somewhat quietly. "That's true Rumble, however, the three artifacts belonging to the leaders were never recovered, they are said to have been lost to this very day"
'Whoa...'
"Which brings me to tonight's homework, I want all of you to write a report on what you think would happen if you found one of the artifacts"
Half the class groaned as Cheerilee passed out blank papers, I received mine and passed the rest back to Dinky. I took the pencil in my mouth as I thought...
Maybe it'd be pretty cool to find Commander Hurricane's helmet...but Princess Platinum's quill could probably still have some kind of ancient magic in it...but then again, Chancellor Puddinghead's compass could lead to some ancient treasure!
I groaned as I buried my head in my hooves.
'This is going to be harder than I thought...'
The school bell rang, and the other colts and fillies rushed excitedly out the door, I gathered my stuff and put it in my own saddlebags as I trotted out the door.
X X X X X X X
"Hey there, little bro" Thunderlane said as I walked through the front door of his cloud-home. "Hey..." I said. "Something the matter?" he asked, sitting down at his table. "Nothing...just a school assignment" "Oh...well, mom and dad said it was cool if you slept here tonight, they had some big thing over in Manehattan" "What do you want to do first?" I asked.
It was always fun hanging out with Thunderlane, he actually wanted to be around me, and vice-versa, it's been like that ever since I can remember.
"Well you-" he said, ruffling my mane "-need to finish your homework" "Aww..." I groaned. "Then, I thought after that, we could go down to Mane Street and grab a pizza for dinner" "Alright!" I cheered.
My two favorite things- Thunderlane, and pizza!
I shot up the stairs after a hurried goodbye, eager to finish my homework- the faster I finish this, the faster I get to be with Thunderlane, right? I whipped out my pencil and paper...and immediately hit a roadblock...
Thunderlane and I trotted through Ponyville on our way to Mane Street, or more specifically, to the pizza shop about a block from Thunderlane's house. I had finished my homework quickly, finally deciding to pick Commander Hurricane's helmet, and had written about giving it to the historical museum up in Canterlot, somepony steals it, and then gets hurt by a curse put on it by Sombra.
"What kind of pizza do you think we should get?" Thunderlane asked as we walked into the shop. "I dunno, how about just cheese?" "Sounds good to me" he said. He stepped up to the counter, and gave the mare behind it our order, then returned with a slip of paper in his teeth. He set it on our table and sat down with me. "They'll call us up when our order is ready" "Okay" "So how have things been going at school?" "Great" I replied. "Really? How has your homework been going?" "Good, the assignment I got today was kind of interesting" "Oh? What was it about?" "We had to write a report on what we think would happen if we found one of these artifacts stolen by King Sombra" "Who did the artifacts belong to?" "The founding ponies of Equestria" "That sounds like your kind of thing" "Yeah...I guess it was kind of fun...for homework..."
Thunderlane and I both grew silent as we sat at our table, listening to the din of the pizza shop as we waited. A stallion in an apron trotted up to our table and set a flat box on it.
"Order 83?" he asked. "Yup, that's us" Thunderlane replied, checking the slip of paper he'd been given earlier. "Five bits" the stallion said. Thunderlane took the money out of his saddlebags, and hoofed it to the stallion. The stallion placed the money into the pocket of his apron, and left for the counter.
"You wanna eat this here or at home?" "Can we eat it at home?" "Sure"
Thunderlane took the box in his teeth and we walked out of the pizza shop, and into the busy streets of Ponyville, ponies passing us in a hurry to get home.
We reached Thunderlane's house not long after, I opened the front door as Thunderlane walked in after me. He set the pizza box on the table and went to the kitchen cabinet, took out two plates, and set them on the table.
"You want to hoof-wrestle for the first slice?" he asked. "You're on!" I replied. Thunderlane was way better at hoof-wrestling than I was, but he let me win...some of the time... He set one of his hooves on the table, I did the same. Our hooves were interlocked as we tried to force the other's hoof down, Thunderlane pretended he was putting up a fight, and seconds later, his hoof hit the table, mine covering it. "Looks like you win" he grinned "I'll get you next time" "Sure you will" I returned.
He smiled as we dug into our pizza, Thunderlane shouted in pain as he dropped the slice he'd been eating, a long strand of cheese connecting the slice to his muzzle.
"What's wrong?" I asked. "Ish hot!" he said, waving a hoof in front of his muzzle, trying to cool it off. I shrugged as I blew on my slice and bit into it, savoring the taste. "Not if you wait for it to cool off" I said, my mouth full of bread, sauce, and cheese. He smirked and finally stopped fanning his tongue, he then proceeded to take the slice he'd dropped and bit into it again, this time taking the time to make sure it wouldn't burn him. I rolled my eyes as we continued our eating contest, Thunderlane taking out over half the pizza before I could finish my third slice.
'So...it's come down to this...'
Both of us were eyeing the last slice in the box, the age-old battle of who would get the last slice, was about to have one more battle added to it.
"Hoof-wrestle for it?"
X X X X X X X
"'Night, bro" Thunderlane said as I got under the covers of his guest bed. "'Night" I replied, my head hitting the cloud pillow.
Thunderlane turned out the lights as he trotted down the hall, into his own room. I curled myself into a ball as I snuggled against the soft mattress, letting its comfort ease me to sleep. We didn't have cloud mattresses on the ground, back at mom and dad's house, given that mom was a pegasus, and dad a unicorn. So...yeah... But not that I didn't like my bed back home, I did, it's just that...well...both the beds are soft, okay? That's my point. My eyes watered as I yawned, I felt my eyes droop as they closed, and I drifted off.
X X X X X X X
*Knock Knock*
'Huh? Wha? What's going on?' I thought, being pulled from sleep.
The knocking came harder this time.
*Knock Knock Knock*
"Thunderlane!" came the voice of Cloudchaser "Get your flank out here! We need all the help we can get wrestling this storm!"
I grumbled as I threw off the covers of my bed, I shook my wings as I tiredly trotted into the guest room, where Rumble was fast asleep.
"Rumble..." I said, softly shaking him "Rumble" "What?" he asked sleepily. "I've gotta go and do weather patrol...don't leave the house...this storm sounds like a real roof-shaker..." "Okay..." he yawned, slipping back into sleep.
'Lucky...'
I trotted out of the guest room and into the living room, I opened the front door, and was jolted awake as the stinging rain, thunder, and lightning roared outside. I closed the door and jumped, spreading my wings as I flew towards the black thunderheads dominating the skies over Ponyville.
'How did we sleep through this?' I thought, almost getting knocked off course by a sudden gust of wind.
"There you are!" Cloudchaser said, over the noise "Rainbow Dash and the others are already up there, trying to break up those storm clouds! The rest of us are down here, trying to keep the damage to a minimum" "Okay!"
I looked at the thunderheads above, lightning flashed, just for a brief second, giving me a glimpse of what I thought was a winged Diamond Dog.
'I need to get more sleep...I'm starting to see things...'
"Hey! Thunderlane! Quit daydreaming and help us out!"
I shook my head, and flew towards an impatient Cloudchaser.
X X X X X X X
'I really wish Thunderlane hadn't woken me up...' I groaned inwardly, covering my head with my pillow, trying to block out the noise coming from the storm outside 'now I can't get back to sleep!' I tossed and turned, trying to fall back asleep- long story short, I couldn't...I threw my pillow to the end of the bed, and hopped to the floor. 'Well I'm up...maybe I can find something to eat...'
I walked into the kitchen as the storm continued to rage outside, the thunder and lightning making their prescence known.
'I hope Thunder's okay out there...' I shook my head. 'He's Thunderlane...of course he'll be okay'
Thunderlane was one of the best cloud-busters on the weather team, if he and the others can't beat back this storm, nopony can. Besides, there've been worse storms than this, right?
I jumped up to the couch and stretched, my wings popped as I laid down.
'Maybe I can get to sleep out here...' I prepared to try to fall asleep, but didn't get my wish as a particularly loud crack of thunder made me jump. 'This storm is really getting bad, where'd it come from, anyway?'
I looked around the house, nothing seemed to be out of place.
*Crack* *Boom*
Suddenly, the ceiling caved in, a heavy-looking object quickly following. Rainwater leaking into the house through the newly-made hole, doused both the floor and the figure. I peeked out from behind the couch as debris from the roof lay everywhere, I turned as I heard an almost silent groan.
'Please don't let it be Thunderlane, please don't let it be Thunderlane... I thought, approaching the figure.
The figure's lower body was covered by a piece of the roof, it looked like a mare. She groaned softly again as she tried to move, her coat and mane were sopping wet, rainwater continuing to fall on her. The mare thrashed once, giving me a glance of a horn sprouting from her rasberry red mane...maybe her mane was more rust colored? Somewhere in between, I think...her cream colored coat glinted in the lightning as I slowly walked away. What was it that Nurse Redheart had said? Never move somepony...Never move somepony that's injured...unless you know what's wrong! That's it!
"I'm sorry miss" I said, glancing up at the hole in the roof "I'm afraid I'll hurt you more if I try to help..." Seconds after I'd said that, Thunderlane burst into the house, rain dripping from his body. "Rumble, go and get a blanket, we can cover the hole in the roof, that should stop the rain from falling on her for at least a little while" I nodded and went to the guest room to get what he wanted as he trotted to the mare. I returned with the blanket as Thunderlane stood up, he took the blanket and flew up, tacking the blanket over the hole. He landed on the floor and turned to me. "I still need to get back out there and help with the storm, I want you to keep her as comfortable as possible until I get back, okay?" "Thunder-" "Rumble, listen to me, this is important," he said, poking me in the chest with a hoof "I need you to do this, there's no other way around it...it's very crucial for her right now" "O-okay..." "Good" he said, quickly ruffling my mane "she'll pull through, you'll see" Thunderlane looked to me once more before leaving the house, flying back into the storm.
I looked down to the mare, who appeared to be unconcious.
'Wait a minute...how'd a unicorn get up there in the first place?'
The storm continued to rage outside as the mare that crashed through the roof slept, she would occasionally toss in her sleep, tossing her still-wet mane. The mare was lying on her back, so I had to duck more than once in order to avoid being skewered on her long horn, it looked longer than most unicorn horns- most being shorter than a foal's foreleg. That wasn't the only oddity of the mare, there were also these...things...they were round, and were hanging off of her upper body. I shook my head as I pushed the odd thoughts out of my head, and went to get another washcloth to put on her forehead. I ran it under the sink, and turned the faucet off, holding it in my mouth, I went to the mare, avoiding the debris from the roof, and placed the washcloth on her head, just below her horn.
Thoughts of where she came from and how she got so high in the air buzzed in my head as I trotted away from her, I took a seat on the couch as I heard the front door open. Thunderlane walked in, sopping wet, his usual mohawk-like mane bending side-ways. He shook himself off, fanning his wings as he did, shaking most of the water off of his body.
"Everything alright out there?" I asked. "It's good," he replied, joining me on the couch "we managed to beat back most of the storm, but it'll be a little dreary for the rest of the week"
I nodded, and laid my head on the hoof-rest of the couch, almost ready to pass out.
"So...how's she been?" he asked. "I think she's fine, but...she looks really weird..." "Oh? Why do you say that?" "Did you see her?" "Only for a few minutes, I was a little busy worrying about the storm" "Well...her horn is kinda long" "That's not that uncommon" "I guess it's not..." I conceeded. "So what else is 'strange' about her?" "What are those things hanging off her chest?" I asked, pointing. Thunderlane's dark muzzle turned a shade of red. "Ah...why don't I tell you when you're a little older?" he said, dodging the the question. "O-oookkkaaaayyy"
'That was weird...what was all of that about?'
"Will she wake up soon?" I asked. "I don't know, it looks like that storm really took a lot out of her" "That's another thing, how did she get up there? She's a unicorn!" "That...is a really good question..."
He was silent after that, I took that to mean he didn't know.
"Did they say where the storm came from?" I asked. "Rainbow Dash thinks it came from the Everfree, Flitter and Cloudchaser said it could have come from Canterlot-" "But you would've been told in advance" I interrupted. "-that's right, which leads me to suspect it was either because there was a miscommunication between our weather team and Canterlot's...or Rainbow Dash's theory of the storm rolling in from the forest" "Yeah, that makes sense..."
What? It did! A storm that size didn't just come out of nowhere- he woulda been told if it came from another city.
The mare tossed again, this time, one of her forehooves coming free from the wreckage.
Thunderlane shot up and held her down, trying to prevent the mare from hurting herself; she continued to writhe under his hooves as she cried out, something like a scream of agony, and started talking in her sleep. Her ears flapped wildly as she continued, as if in pain.
"What language is she speaking?" I asked, hearing the strange noises fall from the mare's mouth. "I don't know-" Thunderlane said, struggling to keep the mare restrained.
The noise died down, and the mare drifted back into peaceful slumber.
"What was that?" "I have no idea-" he replied, taking his hooves off of her "-maybe she was just having a nightmare"
I approached the mare, and looked at her, her mane was a chaotic mess strewn out across the floor, stemming from her head, the cream-colored fur of her stomach steadily moved up and down, indicating her breathing. I looked closer, and found that something was wrong with her hoof.
"What the hay is this?" I asked, picking up the strange appendage "It looks like her hoof split apart" "It looks like a claw" Thunderlane commented.
"Na, it's too soft to be a claw, it's...what are those things...y'know, when that minotaur was here a few weeks ago-"
"Oh, you mean hands?" "Yeah! That's it! They look like hands...but what's a pony doing with hands?"
"Once again, I have no idea," Thunderlane said, thoroughly confused "we might want to get her checked out by a doctor once she wakes up"
"Yeah...d'ya think we should start getting this stuff off of her?" I asked. "That, would be a good idea" Thunderlane said, blushing again.
He and I started cleaning up the floor, clearing the fallen pieces of the roof from the mare and the floor. Thunderlane picked up a piece, and his muzzle, once again, turned red.
"What's the matter?" I asked. "Uh, nothing..." he replied, still blushing "why don't you go and play in your room for a little while?" "Why?" "I'll tell you later"
'Why does it feel like everypony is always saying that?'
"Alright..." I said, confused.
I left the room, and into the hall.
'Maybe I can find something to blackmail Thunderlane' I grinned inwardly.
X X X X X X X
'Whew...that was close' I thought, watching Rumble trot into the hallway.
I trotted to the couch, where a blanket was hanging over the back. I took it in my mouth, and walked back over to her, I took the large, remaining piece of the roof in my hoof, and made the switch as quickly as I could.
'At least her hind-hooves are normal, how did she get hands in the first place? And now that I think about it...are her haunches supposed to be that straight? It looks like she's built to walk upright'
I shook my head.
'That's ridiculous...ponies walk on four hooves, not two'
Yeah, only minotaurs and Diamond Dogs walk on their hind-legs, and the occasional griffin, but that was about it, as far as I knew. But why did she only have hands on her forelegs? Why were her hind-hooves still normal? Was it some weird effect of the storm? Or did she decide to trot through a patch of poison joke? That coul've been it, after Twilight's encounter with it, it was pretty hilarious to Rumble and I...but, yeah...
I looked down to the resting mare, and readjusted her blankets before trotting to my bedroom.
I sighed in content as I laid down, my wings spread as I fell asleep.
"Bye Thunder!" I called, trotting out of the front door. "Where are you off to?" he asked, removing a washcloth from the mare's forehead. "School" I replied. "Oh...yeah, forgot- you need me to get you there?" "No thanks," I said "I know the way" "Alright, be safe"
I rolled my eyes and left the house, I flew down to the ground and went on my way through town, on my way to the schoolhouse.
X X X X X X X
'I hope she wakes up soon...' I thought, looking at the mare 'She almost looks like she's dead...' I shook my head, ridding it of the morbid thought.
'I'll need to go and get a doctor from the hospital, a medical professional could make sure she's alright'
I made sure the mare was comfortable before I left, I adjusted her blanket and pillow I'd placed underneath her head, then left for the hospital, flying as fast as I could.
X X X X X X X
"So...have you seen the mystery pony lately?" I asked slowly.
Featherweight, Twist, and I were sitting at the same table, working on a collage project Cheerilee had given us- all of the class was divided into groups of three.
'At least I didn't get stuck with Diamond and Silver Spoon' I thought, glancing over to the table with the two fillies, plus Pipsqueak.
"No, it's really weird" Featherweight replied "It's like it just disappeared, I've been looking everwhere for it, not a trace"
"Thath a relief" Twist said "It could have been thome thcary monthter" "She" I replied, then immediately clamped a hoof in my mouth. "What?"
"Um...what if the creature is a she?"
"It's a possibility" he shrugged.
'Whew...'
"It could altho be a he" Twist interjected. "Yeah..." "Hey, d'ya think Ms. Cheerilee would know anything about it?" "Know about what?" Applebloom asked, trotting up. "The creature in the foretht" "Ah sure hope it doesn't come near Sweet Apple Acres" "Why?" "Applejack's been havin' a time with pests eatin' the apples, she said if anythin' tried somethin' funny, she'd buck it into next week" "Oh..."
'Somehow, I don't think you need to worry about that...'
"So, no sign of it?" "Nothing"
X X X X X X X
"I'm not in the mood for jokes Mr. Thunderlane" Nurse Valeheart said, stamping a folder as she sat at the nurse's station "I'm a very busy pony, I've got more important duties to attend to, than fly all the way acrosstown, and give a check-up to some creature you made up" "I'm not joking!" I said, slamming my hoof on her desk.
A number of ponies in the waiting room turned to stare- I cleared my throat as I removed my hoof from the table.
"This isn't a joke, I need somepony to check on her, medically, she fell through my roof last night during the storm" "Mr. Thunderlane, there's not one creature that's alive today that fits the description you've given me" she said sternly. "But it's true" I hissed. "Give me one reason why I should believe you" "How about the hole in my roof?" "That could have been caused by a number of things"
I face-hoofed, and groaned.
"Fine...is there a pegasus doctor you can refer me to?" "Mr. Thunderlane, if I won't believe your pony-tale, what makes you think somepony with a Ph.D. will?"
I could just scream...
"I don't have time for this" I said, rolling my eyes as turned and ran out of the hospital.
X X X X X X X
'I wonder if she's okay' I thought, boredly staring at the chalkboard as Cheerilee taught.
"Rumble"
'Did Thunderlane get to the hospital?'
"Rumble!"
'Maybe she'll teach me how to talk like she does...when she wakes up'
"RUMBLE!"
I flew back in my seat as I was startled by Ms. Cheerilee.
"Sorry...um, what?"
"I asked you to turn in your report"
"Oh, sure, here" I said, taking the paper out of my saddlebags and hoofing it to her.
"Thank you"
'Will she be alright?'
X X X X X X X
'Alright...the hospital won't believe me...what about a vet? Where's the nearest vet?' I thought, practically buzzing through the streets of Ponyville.
'There's got to be-'
I stopped as I spotted a certain cottage at the edge of the forest, teeming with life.
'Fluttershy! Of course!' I realized, running to the door of the cottage.
I knocked in rapid succession, and impatiently waited as the door slowly opened.
"H-hello?" the mare in question asked quietly.
"Hey Fluttershy" I said hurriedly.
"Oh, hello Th-thunderlane" she said, the door opening a little more "Can I ask what brings you here? If you want to, that is..."
"I, um, think an animal I found is sick, the hospital can't help- I was wondering if you could" "Oh no, I'll be right back"
She disappeared into the house, and returned with a medicine bag in her teeth.
"Should we go?" I asked. She nodded, and both of us set out for my house.
X X X X X X X
"Hey bro, what's up?" I asked, spotting Thunderlane walking with Fluttershy.
Both of them were standing on the street, below Thunderlane's house.
"Rumble? What are you doing here?" he asked.
"School was over, I wasn't going to stay there any longer than I had to"
"It's that late? I must've lost track of time..."
Fluttershy gently nudged him.
"Huh? Oh! Yeah, come on, we gotta get the...animal...checked out" "Animal?" I asked. "You know- the one that fell through the roof?" he said, winking conspiratorily.
"Oh...oh! Yeah! That...animal..."
Fluttershy, Thunderlane, and I wasted no more time in flying up to the house- Thunderlane let us in, and we all trotted inside; Fluttershy set her bag on the floor, stopping as she saw the mare, sleeping on the floor.
"Y-you said it- it was an animal-" Fluttershy squeaked.
"I'm sorry Fluttershy," Thunderlane apologized "the hospital didn't believe me, she needed medical attention...I didn't have any more ideas"
"It-it's alright-" she said, inching towards the mare.
She put her hoof to the mare's forehead, then went to her bag.
"Well, she's not running a fever, she's just unconcious..."
"Is there anything else you can tell us? We kind of knew that already" "Sorry...let's see..."
She rooted around in her bag for something, and apparently found it, removing a thermometer and a stethescope from the bag. She trotted to the mare, then gently pulled back the blanket; she put the stethescope into her ears, then prepared to place the other end over the mare's chest, and stopped.
"O-oh my..." "What's wrong?" I asked. "I-I- I think she might be pregnant..." "WHAT?!" we both cried.
Fluttershy shrank back at the outburst.
"What makes you think that?" "Well...um...usually with animals...when the mammaries are swollen, it means they're getting ready to give milk for the baby..." "Oh...no, I don't think she is, but that's why I needed a doctor- well, not that, but I wanted to be sure she was healthy" "I'm not a doctor...but I could give her an examination..." "That's all I'm asking"
Fluttershy went ahead and put the stethescope over the mare's chest, measuring her heartbeat.
"Hey Thunderlane?" I asked. "Yeah?" "What are 'mammaries'?"
His muzzle turned a dark shade of red as he looked skyward.
"Why don't we talk about that when you're a little older?" "You always say that..." "Because I think you're too young to know about those kinds of things...you can ask mom and dad when they get back, but I think they'll give you the same answer" "Alright..." "Hey, cheer up," he said, ruffling my mane "you'll get it eventually" "Yeah-"
"Um, Thunderlane?" Fluttershy asked. "Yeah?" he replied.
'Ow...oh my god...what happened? Feels like I got run over by a freight train...'
My back spasmed as I tried to sit up, and was surprised as something hard gently pushed me back to the floor. 'What in the-'
Everything was fuzzy as I slowly blinked, my eyes adjusting to the light. I could hear two- no, three voices talking, they were close by the sound of it; I couldn't quite hear what they were talking about, it sounded garbled, like a bad phone connection. I slowly moved my hand to my forehead, rubbing it as a sharp pain made it throb- I stopped as something hard blocked my hand, sticking out of my forehead. The darkness cleared from my vision as I opened my eyes again; and was thoroughly surprised when I found I was surrounded by three horses, all of them with a pair of wings.
'What the hell?'
I looked down, upon feeling a draft, and realized I was stark naked- I quickly pulled the blanket covering me over my body, feeling heat rush to my face.
'What the hell happened to my skin? It's almost like...fur...'
The smaller black horse said something to the larger, I couldn't make it out, I heard it clear enough, I just couldn't make sense of it- the larger black horse replied to whatever the smaller had said, cocking an eyebrow at me.
'How the hell are they talking? Why do they have wings? Is this a dream?'
A better question was- why the hell wasn't I freaking out about this?
I turned my attention to the last horse in the room, the horse squeaked and hid behind its pink mane.
"Who are you? Where am I?" I asked, feeling ridiculous as I realized I was talking to the talking horses.
'Yeah...there is no way this is real'
The horse with the mohawk (I somehow resisted the urge to burst into laughter), said something again, which made the yellow and pink horse squeak again. The mare (I think she was a mare...) nervously walked towards me, a thermometer in her teeth.
'Yeah, that's sanitary'
"What?"
The mare said something in that strange language, barely above a whisper.
"You want to take my temperature?" I asked, pointing to the thermometer. She nodded hesitantly, and walked closer.
'Well sure, why not? I'm probably going to wake up from this any moment'
I rolled my eyes as I opened my mouth, letting the mare place one end of the thermometer under my tongue.
I looked to my right as I saw the smaller, black horse approaching- he said something in a nervous tone, and looked to the older one, as if for assistance. The older pegasus nodded, and the small one turned back to me, I think he repeated the same thing he said before, and practically thrust one of his hooves in my face.
I gave him a confused look, he returned it, and once again, asked the older one a question. The mohawk replied in the same questioning tone of voice, his ears flicking backwards for a brief second before returning to their forward positions.
The yellow mare said asked something, looking right at me. I looked at her in confusion as I tried once more to sit up, her hoof gently pushed me back, and took the thermometer out of my mouth. She checked it, and went back to her bag, she talked to the older pegasus before walking back to me. She looked thoughtful for a moment, before catching my attention- I watched as she rolled her hoof in a circular motion in the air.
"You want me to turn over?" I asked. Her ears splayed back, and she made the motion again.
"Uh...sure, I guess..." I rolled onto my side, being sure to preserve modesty with the blanket. The mare gently pulled the blanket back, exposing my backside as I blushed. I heard three collective gasps, the three horses staring at me. "What?" I asked. The mare shook herself out of her stupor, then asked something.
"I can't underst-" 'Well that was pointless, I can't tell them I don't understand them if they don't understand me...'
I yelped in pain as I felt the mare tug on my back. Her tone of voice was apologetic as she tugged lightly once more.
'What is she doing?' I thought, looking behind me.
My jaw dropped as I spied two cream-colored wings stemming out from my shoulder blades, one was contracted, closed as it was huddled against my back, the other was partially spread, the yellow horse's hoof lay on it.
'What. The. Hell.'
"When did I grow wings? How did I grow wings?" I questioned. They didn't understand. "Why can't I understand you?" The mare tilted her head.
My head fell flat on the pillow as I closed my eyes, hoping to shake myself out of whatever nightmare this was. Something hard hit the floor, it felt like it was attached to my head, making me wince as I shut my eyes tighter. I hesitantly opened my eyes, afraid of what I might see- I lifted my hand to the object, the long, serated object felt almost like a cone, the base tapering into a blunt tip. I crossed my eyes as I looked up, trying to catch sight of the object, I succeeded, and felt dread and regret take over.
'A...horn...I went and grew a horn...'
Nope. Nopenopenope. That's it, I'm out.
X X X X X X X
I watched the mare, or more specifically, the alicorn, as she curled into a ball, sobbing softly into her ho- hands, into her hands.
"Are you alright?" I asked, walking closer. "I-I- don't think she is..." Fluttershy said, pointing to the mare's wings "some of the bones in her wings are fractured, I could set this if it was a bird's wing, but...I can't..." "It's alright, Fluttershy" I sighed "Well...we'd better work on getting her to the hospital..." "Do we have to move her?" Rumble asked "Why can't we just go get a doctor and bring 'em back here?" "I already tried that- they didn't believe me, that's why I had to find Fluttershy"
I flinched and turned to her.
"No offense..." "None taken..." she replied quietly.
"So how are we going to get her to the hospital?" Rumble asked.
'That's a good question-'
I thought for a moment, then face-hooved when I realized we were in a cloud house.
"Rumble, help me with this" I said, approaching the mare. "What are we going to do?" he asked. "We can manipulate clouds, we'll just move the part of the floor she's sitting on, and push it to the hospital" Rumble gave a wide smile as he trotted to the other side of the mare. We dug our forehooves into the floor, the cloud gave way, and the respective sides slowly lifted into the air, Rumble went to another part of the floor and pulled, lifting that section up as well. We went on like that, until we had the entire section of the floor as a separate cloud, the mare resting on it.
'At least she stopped crying...'
The mare looked curiously over the side of the bed, then squeaked as she realized she was in the air. She looked at me curiously, and I smiled sheepishly, she then said something in that language of hers, questioningly, pointing downward.
'Seriously, what language is that, anyway?'
I replied by pointing to the blanket she covered herself with. She replied by taking a hooful of the blanket in her...fist? I think that's it... I nodded, and she looked at me curiously. I had to pantomime to show her she needed to hide herself, pretending to throw a blanket over my head. She finally understood, and balled up underneath the blanket, pulling it over her head.
'Well...here goes nothing...' I thought, pushing the cloud down, into the airspace below the house.
X X X X X X X
'This is officially the weirdest day of my life...' I thought, curled underneath the blanket as the older, black pegasus pushed it.
'Kidnapped by a bunch of talking horses...'
I felt the cloud being moved for what felt like ages, it suddenly stopped, and I heard a second female voice, louder than the yellow mare's. The stallion with the mohawk replied quickly, and the smaller black horse joined in, apparently backing the older stallion's claim.
'Where are they taking me?' I wondered, debating whether I should risk peeking out from under the blanket.
We stopped once more, and the voice of the older pegasus rang out once more. Another voice replied to him, distinctly female- the pegasus argued back, putting in his two cents.
The blanket suddenly lifted, revealing the face of the smaller pegasus. He said something in a comforting tone, his eyes shifting to the left. He was almost pushed out of the way as a white-coated horse appeared in my vision, a tiny hat with a red cross on it. The mare turned and said something out of my range, and felt myself being pushed further into the hospital.
X X X X X X X
"Will she be alright?" I asked, looking to Thunderlane. "I don't know...I guess we'll have to wait and see"
My ears slapped against my head as we watched the blanket covered cloud being pushed into the hospital.
It's been two days since we took that mare to the hospital, and two days since hearing absolutely nothing from the hospital. It's been driving me nuts, something could have happened to her! And they won't tell us anything, not even Fluttershy... Rumble's been making the joke that I've got a crush on her, worrying about her 24/7, to which I replied I had more than enough to bribe him with.
Rumble and I trotted into the hospital, where I found Fluttershy and Twilight in the waiting room.
"Hey Fluttershy" I said, curious as to why they'd be here. It kind of made sense if she was here to visit that mare, but Twilight? You got me, there.
"Oh, hello Thunderlane" she replied, turning from the counter.
"No offense, but what are you two doing here?" I asked.
"I was just telling Twilight about the mare you found...and she wanted to meet her..."
"Good luck with that" I said, rolling my eyes "she can't understand a word we say"
"That's why I brought my books on translation spells" Twilight said "We can find out which language she speaks with these" "I don't think that'll do any good, I've never heard a language like hers" Twilight shrugged as a nurse trotted out.
"She's been awake for a few minutes, you can see her now" she said.
We all nodded, and followed the nurse down the hall, she stopped at one of the rooms, and we nodded in thanks before entering.
Twilight went in first, followed by Fluttershy, then Rumble and myself. The mare was eyeing us with curiousity, shielding her body with the blanket from my house.
Twilight cleared her throat, and stepped forward. The mare's eyes were drawn to her, staring at the purple unicorn as she prepared a scroll.
"Hello" she said. The mare replied with an inquisitive look. "Alright...that didn't work..." Twilight said, flipping to a different scroll. Her horn lit up, and she said something in a foreign language, griffin, I think...
'This is going to be interesting...' I thought sitting in a chair near the door as Twilight tested the different languages.
X X X X X X X
'Is she trying to speak French or something?' I thought, watching the little purple unicorn talk in some kind of...well...I don't know what it was, it was like trying to hear that shy pony in a busy subway tunnel.
The mare switched tactics, pulling another scroll from the bags situated at her side. More garbled syllables.
I sighed and put my head in my hands as the mare attempted communication.
X X X X X X X
"I...don't think you're getting through to her, Twilight" I said, watching the mare bury her head in her hands. "Just as well..." she sighed "I've gone through all of the translation spells, not one of them work..."
Then the mare said something, pointing to Rumble.
"What about him?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow. She patted her lap, then pointed to Rumble again. "You want him to sit with you?" She repeated the motions, and I looked to Rumble.
"Well?" "Wh-what? Why me?" "I don't know" I replied honestly "her teeth are like ours, so we know she won't eat you" Rumble conceeded, and gulped as he walked to her. He hopped onto the bed, then sat next to her.
He squealed in surprise as the mare picked him up by the stomach, and extended one of his wings with her other hand.
"H-hey! Stop it!" he laughed "That t-tickles!"
The mare set him down on the blanket covering her lap as her fingers ran through his mane, then felt his ears.
"Wow...she's warm" Rumble commented as the mare did...whatever it was she was doing...
"Hey, could you put him down?" I asked, sort-of disturbed by her behavior.
Her eyes darted to mine, her cream-colored muzzle turning a shade of red. She picked up Rumble again, and set him on the floor.
X X X X X X X
'Well, that was embarassing...' I groaned mentally, pinching the bridge of my...muzzle? Yeah, my muzzle. I still felt heat on my face as I looked to the larger stallion, shooting him an apologetic look.
He returned with a curious face, then turned and said something to the unicorn. The unicorn sounded exasperated as she replied, her ears flipping backward as she secured the bags situated on her back.
'I really wish I could understand them...' I thought, looking down to the pegasus colt.
He waved sheepishly, then turned to join the conversation with the others.
I turned and looked idly out the window, waiting for them to finish. My eyes widened in surprise when I saw a pink pony with a poofy mane hopping excitedly outside, the wide grin adorning her face threatening to severe her head in two. I hesitantly waved back, wondering if the mare was an actual pony, or just a figment of my imagination twisted into something horrifying.
'Probably the latter...'
The blob of pink disappeared from the window, and didn't return. I shrugged, and turned back to the four ponies in the room.
The quiet one said something softly, then trotted out of the room.
She reached for the door, and opened it (with her hoof, I might add), and a mint-green unicorn with a set of gold eyes burst almost immediately into the room. The yellow pegasus flew back, surprised, as the unicorn tried to gain entry to the room, a beige pony with a blue and pink mane and another dressed in a nurse's uniform tried their best to restrain her. The green one said something to the beige one urgently, and motioned toward me.
'What in the world?'
I can't confirm this...but I have the feeling I should be very afraid right now...
"Noooo! Let go!!" Lyra shouted, trying to escape the two ponies restraining her. "Lyra, let's not bother Twilight and Thunderlane any more" Bon-Bon said, her teeth clamped on Lyra's tail, trying to pull the mare into the hallway. "The humans finally came! IknewitIknewit!Iknewit! You didn't believe me, did you? Did you?!"
"Do you want me to put her in one of our 'special rooms'?" Nurse Redheart asked. "No...she gets like this sometimes..." Bon-Bon sighed, turning back to an excited Lyra.
"Lyra" she said, putting a hoof on the unicorn's shoulder "do you see a human in there?" "Yes! Of course!" "And do you also see a horn sprouting out the forehead?" "Yep!" "And do humans have horns?" "I don't think so..." "Exactly...so let's not jump to conclusions"
"...can we at least see her before we go?" Bon-Bon groaned as she face-hoofed. "Fine...but only for a few-"
She didn't finish her sentence, as the mint unicorn had already zipped inside.
'I hope I don't regret this...'
I sat on my bed, watching the teal pony rapidly shake my hand up and down, her mouth going a mile a minute in complete gibberish.
The tan-ish regular horse with the two-toned mane nervously approached, her face a shade of red as she gestured to the teal unicorn. The horse in question practically leapt onto the bed, her mouth going a mile-a-minute as she babbled excitedly, vaguely gesturing to nothing. The regular horse then interrupted the unicorn, somewhat hesitant, and mumbled under her breath. The unicorn replied grumpily, and hopped off of the bed, taking up a spot next to the tan horse. The larger pegasus coughed into his hoof, then gestured to the smaller pegasus. The words were lost on me as the pegasus then gestured to the purple unicorn, then to myself.
'Uh...okay, what about us?' I wondered. The nurse then replied to the pegasus, her voice comforting.
The two pegasi gave a short wave before leaving- I waved after them as they went, and was left with the unicorn and the nurse.
The unicorn talked with the nurse for a bit, before collecting her things and leaving. The nurse checked the clock, and pointed out the door.
'She needs to leave?'
I nodded, somewhat hesitant, and she gave a smile of her own before trotting out of the room, her hooves clacking against the tile as she went. I laid back on the bed, and closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of the sheets against my sk- uh...fur...fur...yeah...that's gonna take some getting used to...among other things...