Chapter 1: The Caged Bird
Chapter I
The Caged Bird
The pegasus squeezed her eyes tightly closed and groaned. She heard the distant echo of somepony speaking, "She's waking up! Quick, get the doctor in here!"
She opened her eyes slightly. Unfortunately, all she could see was nothing more than a few colorful blurs moving about the small room in a panic.
"Where am I?" she asked hesitantly.
"You're in a hospital, sweetie. Don't worry your pretty little mane, we've taken good care of you," a nurse answered in a soothing voice.
Her vision came into focus. She was laying on her side in a hospital bed, her left rear leg extended and bandaged. There were machines surrounding her. One of which was connected to her foreleg and taped down. Another had a tube that was connected to the end of her snout. It made it hard to breathe and gagged her a little when she spoke.
"What happened to me?" she asked, looking away from the nurse as she pulled the blanket aside. She didn't seem to be hurt too badly. Though her body felt somewhat numb and her leg throbbed a little, but other than that she felt fine.
She was dressed in a light greenish-blue patient gown and a diaper on. Thankfully, it was clean. Her chest was tightly wrapped in bandages, just above the base of her wings. Her right wing also had a bandage on it at some point. It was still a bit stiff.
She had also apparently been bathed. All the dirt and grime from working, sweating, and flying had been removed and her unkempt mane and tail had been brushed straight. She ran a hoof through her long, azure mane. It was soft. Her tail felt the same way. Her royal purple fur coat was also cleaned and soft to the touch. She felt sorry for those ponies who had to clean her. It couldn't have been a fun job, much less maintaining that cleanliness. She glanced down at the diaper once more before giving her attention back to the nurse.
“Apparently,” the nurse paused, grabbing a clipboard off the counter against the nearest wall and flipping through some pages. “You were knocked out, mid-flight, and crash landed south of CloudsDale and east of Ponyville.”
She set about removing the breathing and feeding tubes as the other nurse moved the machine out of the way.
"We're going to leave your IV in for awhile longer. You must be hungry for some real food," she nodded to the other nurse who quickly left the room.
A few minutes later the nurse returned, followed by the doctor. Following close behind them was a stallion, golden mane and coat with a white chefs hat and apron on.
He had pushed a cart loaded with food into the room and left it right next to her bed. "Here is your meal ma'am.”
She asked no questions and simply dug in. It had been more than a week since her last meal and it was no where near this elegant. Once she had finished eating, she laid back and looked at the doctor and the two nurses more closely. The nurses were cute, young mares, both of which had white coats and different colored manes. While the doctor, on the other hand, had a unique baby blue coat and a darker blond, almost brown, colored mane and tail.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Doctor Nimbus,” the doctor said as he began looking her over. Checking her pulse, vitals, and the usual doctor stuff. "How about you tell me about yourself? What is your name?"
"Oh... My name? Uuuhhh...." she didn't like giving her name to anypony who could document it.
Doctor Nimbus removed the stethoscope from his ears and let it hang around his neck. "Can you not remember your name?"
"No, no. I know my name, I just don't-" she stopped for a moment to think then sighed. "My name’s NightenGale."
"Well, NightenGale. What's the last thing you remember?"
"I was umm.. Flying somewhere and then ... Something hit me and knocked me out. I think."
"Do you know where you were going?"
"I wasn't going anywhere in particular."
“So you just travel aimlessly?”
“That's right. I don't really know where I'm going most the time,” she simply looked down at her hooves.
"I think I've heard about you. You had saved that young colt outside of CloudsDale. He had gotten stuck in a cotton candy cloud that monster, Discord, conjured up."
"That was last year. How would anypony know about that?"
"That colt is my son, He had explained to me that a purple pegasus had saved him, one with a moon and star Cutie Mark. I knew it was you the moment I saw you. You do know that you're in CloudsDale right?”
Now that she thought about it, she hadn't noticed everypony had wings. It must have just escaped her.
"So what's wrong with me?" she asked gingerly.
"Nothing serious now that you've woken up. You were brought here by a pony named Rainbow Dash. She had watched you crash. Apparently, you had quite a rough descent. She had reported that you just came plummeting through a cloud cover, then a tree, and finally you hit the ground. Pretty hard too. I'm surprised how minimal your injuries are for just falling out of the sky like that."
"Rainbow Dash brought you straight here. You've been unconscious for four days. You had a severe concussion, a broken rib, and you have two small fractured in your left rear leg. You also sprained your right wing. However, that's already healed. It may still be stiff for another day or two," the doctor nodded satisfied with his diagnosis.
NightenGale rubbed the side of her head for a moment, "So somepony knocks me out of the sky and this Rainbow Dash character just happens to be there to pick me up? How much of a coincidence is that?"
He simply laughed, "Do you remember anything about who had hit you?"
"Not a lot, though I saw a blonde mane.."
"Then it wasn't Rainbow," he smiled as her jaw opened to protest. "Her mane is every color of the rainbow.”
She grunted and whispered to herself, "I knew that..."
Everyone knew who Rainbow Dash was... I'd just never seen her...
"Your leg will be healed by the end of the week. Your rib is already nearly done healing but be careful moving around and gentle with your wing too,” a nurse knocked at the door, distracting the Doctor for a moment. When he turned back around he said, "Apparently, Rainbow Dash found the pony who had ran you over. They are both here for a short visit. Is that okay with you, NightenGale?"
She frowned and nodded to allow them in. She didn't really want the company right now, but she may as well meet the pony who had knocked her out and thank Rainbow Dash for her help. She pulled her blanket back over her body, hiding her diaper before they entered.
Doctor Nimbus nudged the door open and stepped aside, allowing the two ponies into the room. He then began shuffling through some papers and folders he had spread across the counter while the three ponies talked.
"Hey!" said the brightly colored pegasus as soon as she flew across the room. She had stopped just a tail’s length above NightenGale, nearly running into her. It was close enough to cause her to flinch and press the back of her head into her pillow, almost making use of her diaper she had hidden beneath her blanket.
Behind her, another pony slowly entered. She had a light gray coat, a blond mane and tail, and eyes as bright as amber, one of which watched the floor intently. She simply smiled and followed her friend into the room at a more leisurely pace.
"Rainbow, try not to startle her back into her coma," warned the doctor without looking away from his paperwork.
"Sorry..." she said as she tilted her head back towards the doctor. Quietly she landed next to the bed. "I was wondering when you'd wake up."
Night noticed Rainbows eyes scanning her. That is until they made eye contact. At that point, Rainbow looked over at the odd little mare standing near the end of the bed.
"Oh! Right. This is Ditzy Doo; the mailpony who knocked you out cold."
She looked at Ditzy Doo and the first thought to come to mind was, How does such a pony become a mail runner?
Then Ditzy spoke, "I'm sorry I ran into you, I got distracted..."
Her voice was deeper than she'd expected and it seemed to hang off the end of every other word. It was adorable, in the same way a turtle on his back was.
Ditzy smiled, sat down, pulled her saddlebag off, and opened it. She produced a brown paper bag and sat it on the floor. Rainbow Dash picked it up and gave it to Night while Ditzy Doo put her saddlebag back on.
"They're my favorite!" Ditzy said with a smile.
Night simply looked down at the bag. "Thank you both. And Ditzy, it's okay. Accidents happen, right?"
Night opened the bag and was hit by the most incredible smell. She looked inside and there were three huge muffins, each dotted with berries.
"They're called Berry Cream Delights, from a bakery down in Ponyville. They're Derpy's favorite! Unfortunately, on our way here she kinda...ate six of them?" Rainbow chuckled awkwardly.
"Sorry! I couldn't help it!"
"I know, Derpy. It's fine," rainbow just chuckled a little more.
She then looked back over at the bedridden pony. NightenGale felt a little weird and self-conscious about her condition, especially about her diaper. She pulled her blanket up a little bit, which exposed her right rear hoof. Apparently that caught both their attentions because they looked at her hoof simultaneously and then quickly looked away. At least Rainbow did. She acted as if she were looking at a poster on the wall just beyond the end of her bed.
"Well... They do smell delicious," NightenGale tilted the bag, letting the remaining muffins roll out onto the bed next to her.
"One for each of us," she let the other two take their muffins first.
Ditzy consumed the whole muffin in one bite, her cheeks bulged and her eyes closed with pleasure. NightenGale closed her eyes and thanked Celestia that she chewed with her mouth closed. Rainbow Dash simply stared at hers while she examined the rest of the room, which didn't bother NightenGale as much as having Rainbow’s eyes glued to her.
NightenGale picked up her muffin and began eating it. As they all ate, there was an eerie silence amongst them. Only two sounds were present in the room. The sound of the doctors quill across paper and the sounds of muffled chewing.
"Well, we've gotta go. Clouds aren't going to clear themselves, y’know?" with that Rainbow Dash was out the door. However, Ditzy just stood there as if she had something else to say.
"You okay, Ditzy?" NightenGale asked curiously.
"I'm fine, I feel bad for crashing into you," she looked at the floor, at the wall, then back up at her. " Thank you for the muffin though!"
NightenGale couldn't help but chuckle lightly, "Muffins make everything better, no matter what it is. Right?"
"Right!" Ditzy smiled once again.
"Derpy! C'mon leave her alone already!" it was Dash from outside the door.
Ditzy Doo looked at the door than at her, "Goodbye! I'll bring you more muffins! This time I won't eat them all! I promise!"
She smiled and laughed as she walked backwards toward the door then turned around to walk right into it. She took a step back, opened it, and left with Rainbow Dash. Doctor Nimbus shuffled his papers together and followed Ditzy out of the room without a word.
With a sigh of relief she laid down and relaxed. Not a pony remained in her room and the silence was welcoming. It wasn't long before she drifted back to sleep with dreams of the past.
–
Rainbow Dash and Ditzy Doo had, as promised, returned the next day. When a nurse had announced their arrival, NightenGale had been drifting back to sleep after watching pegasi fly around outside. NightenGale absently nodded, letting the nurse know it was alright for them to come in.
Ditzy Doo was the first to speak this time. She bounced forward and dropped a large bag onto the edge of the bed.
“I didn't eat any of them this time!” she announced with obvious pride.
Rainbow Dash laughed a little. “Yeah, Derpy here was so excited about visiting you again that she woke me up like four times this morning. Well, this afternoon.”
NightenGale smiled and opened the bag, inside was at least a dozen small muffins. They had a dark red tint to them and were dotted with small chocolate spots. “What kind are these? They don't look the same as yesterday.”
Rainbow shrugged but Ditzy Doo quickly answered, “They're Double Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins!”
Ditzy leaned forward, poking her tail into the air, and began rocking her back and forth on her haunches. Rainbow Dash placed a hoof on her head, “Calm down, Derpy, it's just muffins.”
She looked up at Rainbow, quickly stood up straight, and then sat down properly. NightenGale could still see the excitement in her eyes as a smile played across her face. Night gave her a small smile in return before pulling a muffin out of the bag. She took a bite out of it and nearly gagged, it was way too tangy for her taste. She swallowed her bite and sat the muffin down. The gray pony hadn't noticed her distaste, or at least that's what she had hoped.
After a moment, she held out the bag, “Here, uhh... Derpy? Or is it Ditzy? Which do you prefer?”
The gray pony smiled and took the bag, quickly fishing out three of the muffins before setting the bag on the ground. “My name's Ditzy Doo, but some ponies call me Derpy Hooves.”
“Okay, I'll just call you Derpy then,” NightenGale said as she nodded her head.
“So. What do you think of her choice of muffins?” Rainbow asked. Just like yesterday, she spent more time looking around the room as she spoke than actually looking at her.
NightenGale simply looked at the muffin, “They're good, but I just ate lunch so I'll save a few for dessert. Feel free to eat as many as you like! Just leave me one or two.”
Rainbow Dash took the bag and scooped one muffin out. She took a bite, immediately her eyes went wide and her jaw stopped moving. Slowly, she finished chewing it and swallowed it. With a pained look painted across her face, she shoved the rest of it in her mouth and quickly chewed it. Small tears escaped from between her tightly shut eyelids as she swallowed it. Finally she looked over at Derpy who had one in each hoof and a mouth full of muffin.
“Derpy,” she smiled, “you are a brave mare.”
Derpy simply swallowed her mouthful and proceeded to stuff two more muffins into her mouth.
“Der so gud!” she said through the muffins.
NightenGale watched silently as Rainbow just rolled her eyes and looked back at her. Almost immediately after making eye contact with her, Rainbow's eyes went a little wider before she turned back at Derpy, who had begun to close the bag. She stood up and sat it next to the bed, within Night's reach.
“So where were you going? When I ran into you, I mean.”
NightenGale sighed, “I wasn't going anywhere in particular.”
NightenGale noticed that Rainbow’s ear twitched a little before she turned her head and joined the conversation. “Wait, so you just fly around Equestria?”
She nodded, “Yeah.”
“You must be a pretty strong flier then!” Rainbow said as her wings spread open.
“I guess. I mean, I have been traveling all over Equestria for around seven years now,” NightenGale shrugged and looked at the clock in the corner of the room, near the door. It read 5:32pm.
Rainbow followed her line of sight, “I guess Derpy and I should get going.”
Derpy finally spoke again, “We'll be back tomorrow with more muffins!”
“Alright then, I'll see the two of you tomorrow afternoon. And thank you for the muffins, Derpy. They're always worth looking forward to,” NightenGale said happily. She enjoyed seeing the two of them. Though Rainbow still seemed to be feeling out of place. She just couldn't figure this pony out.
She quickly stopped thinking about it as she heard another knock at the door. “Come in!”
It was the chef again, bringing her her dinner. The dish he served was a simple salad with carrots and potato covered with a sweet dressing. She thanked him on his way out and ate.
==
NightenGale awoke and looked begrudgingly at the clock on the wall near the door. It read 8:47am. She growled and shifted herself in her bed. Her leg was still extended and bandaged, so her movement was limited. She was more or less stuck laying on her back, which made it really sore. They had taken her IV out last night, shortly after Rainbow and Derpy left, so that allowed her a bit more flexibility.
She had also given the doctor the remaining muffins Derpy had left with her. He apparently loved them so much he had decided to go pick some up for himself.
She sighed unable to sleep and so she pulled the cord hanging near the bed to signal to a nurse that she needed assistance. The nurse hurried in and asked what it was she needed. Night replied with a request for breakfast and perhaps a newspaper.
Only fifteen minutes later her breakfast was delivered with that morning’s newspaper. She ate her breakfast slowly. After a few hours had passed, she folded the paper and dropped it onto the floor beside her bed.
Even though she was tired and could feel her dreams closing in on her, she just couldn’t completely get comfortable. It was making it hard for her to actually drift off to that land of dreams. It irritated her a little. She was getting restless; tired of being in this room, bored and alone all the time. The doctor and nurses knew she was well enough to leave. That's why they had removed her IV and essentially have left her alone other than to clean her diaper and such. She was getting tired of feeling like a job someone had to take care of.
Though she knew why they wouldn't let her leave. She wasn't a resident of CloudsDale, The doctor knew she would be leaving and knew she wouldn't be safe. However, she couldn't blame the doctor for showing kindness. Paying her hospital bill and knowing that as a traveler, she'd be in danger if she wasn't even able to walk. Besides a wheelchair would be rather pointless if she intended on leaving CloudsDale immediately.
A nurse entered the room and whispered, “Ms. NightenGale? Are you awake?”
NightenGale didn't respond.
The nurse's voice was muffled by the door, but Night heard her speaking to someone, “Sorry, you'll have to come back later once she's awake.”
NightenGale growled a little, but she did want their company. She sighed.
“You can let them in!” she hollered loud enough for the nurse to hear. The nurse opened the door more and asked if she were sure. NightenGale simply nodded as she sat up slightly.
Rainbow Dash entered first. She wore a saddlebag on each of her sides. The one on her left seemed fairly empty while the one hanging from her right side seemed nearly full. Behind her stood Derpy who was actually dressed in her mailrunner outfit. She wore a navy blue hat and jacket, and had two saddlebags each of which seemed half full of mail. Though it didn't seem to be in any particular order.
“Hey!” It was Rainbow who spoke first. She was smiling and her wings were spread.
Derpy Hooves stepped up next to Rainbow, “I won't be able to stay long, I have to go to Manehatten. But Rainbow Dash picked the muffins today!”
Derpy smiled and nudged Rainbow with her wing. Rainbow simply looked away and awkwardly laughed. Her wings had folded back to her sides, though the tips hung from her sides as if she weren't comfortable. “It wasn't a big deal, really, it wasn't.”
NightenGale simply tilted her head. “Hey, Rainbow Dash,”
Rainbow also tilted her head and looked at her from the corner of her eye.
“Is it true that you're the only pegasus who can perform a Sonic Rainboom?” she was actually curious about this but she figured it would also loosen the tension in the room.
Rainbow extended her wings and flapped them twice in quick succession. “Of course I am! No pony else is fast enough or strong enough to pull it off!”
Rainbow flapped her wings slowly and floated into the air, holding her hooves up as if to show off her muscles. She laughed and landed then she opened her saddlebag, removing from it a bag of muffins. “These are just Blueberry Muffins, nothing fancy like yesterday.”
NightenGale watched as Derpy took hold of the bag and fished herself out a single muffin. They were normal size with blueberries dotting them. They had a very natural and fresh scent to them and it made her mouth water.
“I suppose you're leaving then, Derpy?” NightenGale tipped her head to one side.
Derpy took a big bite out of her muffin and with a simple nod, she turned towards the door and opened it. She rose the muffin into the air and waved goodbye before shoving it in her mouth and smiling.
After she was gone, Rainbow Dash took a muffin for herself. She sat down next to NightenGale's bed and began to eat. “I'm curious about you. It's not every day that you meet a traveling pony as young as you, y’know?”
“Really?” she thought about it and realized, she had never come across another pony her own age who actually traveled as often as she did.
“Yeah, you must have all sorts of stories to tell,” Rainbow took another bite of her muffin while looking at the poster just across the room. The same poster that she had been looking at first day they'd met. Though it was only two days ago, it felt like it had been longer than that.
NightenGale finally fished herself a muffin from the bag. She smiled and took a bite. She thought about the different stories she had to tell. It was true, she had had a lot of close encounters throughout her travels. Everything from giant snakes and Timberwolves to escaping angry shopkeepers. She didn't want to use an unpleasant story or anything too outrageous to believe. Taking another bite of her muffin, it struck her. She knew exactly what story to tell Rainbow!
“Well, I may have one decent story to tell,” she smiled and looked over at Rainbow. She had a fresh muffin in her hoof, though her attention was turned towards her story.
“This one isn't too exciting, but I survived a dust storm down in the middle of the desert. I was on my way to Appaloosa to spend a night in the inn. The inn keeper knew me well enough that I could just work for them waiting tables and such until my food and room were paid for. Well, I was still half a day away from the place when a dust storm came out of the west, from behind me. Before I knew it, it was on top of me! All I could do was land, dump out one of my saddlebags, and then wear it over my muzzle in order to breathe. I continued, on foot, through the thickest of the storm and the hottest of summer days. I was sure I was going to die there. I ended up laying down and letting the storm bury me in sand and dirt. After it had passed, I was barely able to see, dust in my eyes and in my ears. Everything was muffled and blurred. My wings were coated in dirt and sweat. It made them feel heavy, making it nearly impossible to fly. Doesn't matter anyways, there was no wind. Not even a light breeze. Just me, coated in sweat and sand and the hot sun,” she paused for a moment, seeing Rainbows eyes go wide.
“It sucked. I honestly thought that the San Palomino Desert would be my graveyard. I was going from Las Pegasus over to Dodge Junction, in hopes of finding a job. I guess I was far enough across the desert because I came across a river. I don't remember the name of it. After I got a chance to drink, bathe, and rest, I managed to make it the rest of the way to Appaloosa in the sky. Once I got there, I explained why I had arrived so late, luckily, the inn keeper allowed me to stay the night and work it off in the morning.”
“Well, it coulda been worse. There could've been some giant lizards or dragons or something.”
NightenGale just looked at her and Rainbow simply shrugged in response. “Well, that was definitely an awesome story!”
“Well, I guess, it was just me being reckless. I'm just lucky I landed instead of trying to fly until I crashed.” she laughed a little nervous. She wasn't very good at telling stories and didn't particularly like to share stories.
“It is! I mean I've been down to Appaloosa and I know the river you're talking about. I'm sure Braeburn would’ve loved this story. Y’know ‘em, right?”
“Actually, no. I didn’t tell Braeburn, I barely know the him. You're the first one, besides the innkeeper, to hear that story. Though I only told the innkeeper that I was caught in a storm. I left out the almost dying in the desert part,” she looked out the window and sighed.
It took Rainbow a moment to make the connection. “You hate being in here, don't you?”
Rainbow then opened her saddlebag again. She pulled out a book, Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny. The cover of the book showed Daring Do and Rainbow Dash up front with a pyramid stretching tall out of the jungle below. At the top of the pyramid was a bright flash of light, it shined out as if it were focused from a single point. The light was as bright as the sun itself! Centered just below the books title were two bright yellow eyes with large blue eye brows. The sky was also black with a red moon, stars and the silhouette of very large bats flying by. In the bottom left corner, was what looked to be a fire, which lit the characters faces, bright against the darker background. The cover was simply beautiful. NightenGale couldn’t help but wonder: Why was Rainbow Dash herself present on it?
“Is this really you? On the cover of a Daring Do book?” she asked, just staring down at the book.
“Yup, that's me, I saved her and helped her finish her story!” she laughed, “A.K. Yearling is an awesome author. I figured if you were like me, then you would love reading something by her. Trust me, Twilight Sparkle did the same thing to me.”
“Wait! You also know Princess Twilight Sparkle?” she was thoroughly surprised at this point. This pony was simply amazing. It was that simple.
“Yeah, I've known Twilight so long that her egg-headedness rubbed off on me!” she laughed.
“Seriously, Dash. Is there anything you can't do?”
“Well, I can't talk to animals.”
“No pony can talk to animals though.” she laughed and reached for another muffin.
“Actually, I do know one pony who can. Her name’s Fluttershy, though I doubt you've heard of her. She's a bit shy.”
“Fluttershy... I've heard that name before,” she had, but she couldn't place it. She recognized it from one of those hot headed designer types. “Oh well, I can't remember.”
“No idea,” Rainbow Dash shrugged nonchalantly.
“Well thanks for lending me your book. Hopefully now I won't be as bored.”
“Hopefully! But, Uh... I kinda have to go now. I actually have some place I gotta be,” Rainbow Dash stood up and walked to the door. She paused when she got there and turned back, looking NightenGale in the eye. “Um.. I'll see you tomorrow?”
“Sure, I'd like that.” Night nodded as Rainbow Dash nodded in return and left the room.
NightenGale looked at her muffin and smiled.