Arthur the Alicorn

The alicorn suddenly regained consciousness. He managed to open his eyes just a tad. Why was he still alive? He looked down. Stretched out before him like an endless scroll was a beautiful land. He saw rolling hills, plains, mountains ans forests. He concluded that he was dreaming and closed his eyes again, ready to die.

Rainbow Dash watched the sky in awe. A large red orb had appeared in the sky not a few moments ago, getting closer and closer. She figured every pony else had seen it and taken cover as well. The meteor grew closer and closer, until it was apparent that it would fall in the Everfree Forest. The time had come. Rainbow Dash sped from the window under her bed and braced herself. There was a deafening explosion...

"Meet me at the entrance to the Everfree Forest now!" Rainbow Dash hung up the phone and flew outside her house at top speed, heading for the enormous black apparatus which was the Everfree Forest. In seconds she was there, waiting for the other four.

They arrived 2 minutes, 43 seconds and 12 milliseconds after Rainbow Dash. "C'mon, let's go," said her, beckoning towards the forest. The other four reluctantly followed her.

It was deathly silent in the forest. Not a single animal or insect was in sight. It was so quiet they could hear their hearts beating. Every pony looked around cautiously every now and then, disturbed by the tranquility. Fluttershy remained behind the group, having taken shelter behind a large rock. She wouldn't budge. The group pressed on through the dark, Fluttershy still whimpering behind them.

Before they knew it, they were at the crash sight. Rainbow Dash was the first to eagerly cast her vision over the precipice and see what laid beneath. She gasped. "Guys, come see this." The other three stepped forward and took a peek. Their eyes widened with disbelief.

"That's impossible," said Applejack.

"I can't believe this," said Rarity.

Pinkie Pie was silent for reasons unknown. They all gazed in amazement at the still form that lay in the smoldering crater. It was an alicorn.

Rainbow Dash immediately jumped down into the pit.

"Wait, sugarcube! We don't know if it's safe!" cried Applejack.

But the pegasus paid her no mind and descended the steep decline. She neared the figure, growing a tiny bit more cautious every second. Finally, she was standing over the alicorn. His eyes were closed, his mouth agape, and his body was covered in strange-looking wounds. There was one particularly bad wound on his chest that bled freely. Another one like it was found on his flank. He had long, shaggy blue hair, and a tail much alike. His fur was brown, and a long yellow horn protruded from his head. He also had large wings that were folded at his sides. He seemed like a king.

"Quick, let's get him to the hospital!" declared Dash, who had already begun attempts to lift the large fellow.

"Are you sure we should though? We don't even know this feller," A.J. pointed out.

Rainbow Dash stopped and thought about this. She looked at the alicorn's face. Her eyes scanned his body up and down, observing the severity of his wounds.

"We can't just let him die here! That would be heartless!" she said angrily.

"But if we take him in, he could prove dangerous. It's your call sugarcube: heal a potential enemy, or let him die and possibly save our lives?"

Rainbow Dash thought it over again. She sat there staring at him for a long time. Finally...

"I'm taking him to the hospital. Anybody who feels like helping, feel free."

Rarity and Pinkie Pie jumped down to assist her, but Applejack did not move. She just watched as the three carried him away.

Much to the trio's surprise, the alicorn began moaning. They tried to make sense of his words, but he appeared to be talking in a strange tongue. His words sounded a bit like this:

"Cortuie saln trigorf hinuennis tainsid polnaskiy meniuoss kkalazhi touiis..."

The three looked to each other in confusion as the alicorn continued to moan his strange words. Suddenly, he began talking English.

"King.....king....ughh.....king. What...king.....w-why.....king."

Rainbow Dash tried frantically to communicate with him.

"We're getting you to a hospital. You'll be all right."

"Who.....who......are.....y-you?"

"I'll explain later! We're getting you to the hospital."

"You......f-friend......I.....thank y-you.....you...kind...ugghh."

This continued for quite a while, until the trio finally arrived at the hospital.

Rainbow Dash paced back and forth outside the operating room. Applejack and the others noticed her worried look. They tried to ignore her, but she seemed to grow more and more worried by the second. Finally, Applejack could take it no longer.

"Alright, sugarcube. What's gettin' to ya?"

"What do you think A.J.? I'm worried about this guy. Looking at his wounds, I don't think he'll make it."

Applejack smiled, amused.

"An alicorn falls from the sky. You find him, take him to the hospital, and yet you seem to have taken some sort of interest in him. You don't even know his name."

A look of anger briefly crossed the pegasus' face. She stared at Applejack in disbelief for a bit, then resumed pacing. Applejack spoke up again.

"Do ya think he's handsome?"

"No!! I..."

Rainbow Dash's face went pink. The other four laughed. Dash huffed in anger and kept right on pacing. The laughter died down and it was silent again.

The door opened, and a nurse came out. She had a look of excitement on her face.

"He is awake."

Rainbow Dash was the first to rush inside. The other four followed slowly and cautiously. There the alicorn was, propped up on a bed. His eyes were closed and his head was bowed, his hooves in his lap. Rainbow Dash did not hesitate to nudge him. Calmly he looked up, and his eyes opened. They were a beautiful emerald green. They stared at each other for a long time. Then he spoke.

"You are the one who came to my rescue?" he asked. Rainbow Dash nodded. He nodded back. "I thank you." He smiled. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smile back. Applejack slowly stepped forward.

"So, uh...w-what's yer name?" The alicorn's smiling face turned to her.

"Arthur. I am known as Arthur."

They all had the same question on their minds, but Rarity was the first to ask.

"Where did you come from?" Arthur turned to her, still beaming.

"I come from the land of-"

He stopped. His smile faded away. He stared off into space, silent. The ponies leaned in expectantly, waiting for the answer. But instead, Arthur continued to stare at the wall, and eventually, tears formed in his eyes. He looked down.

"I...I can't remember. I can't remember anything."