The Shadow Collective

With Ponyville getting closer with each step I could see the street lights getting brighter and the few ponies walking around at this hour getting closer. I could almost hear all of their hoofsteps, but of course that could also be my imagination, and probably this aching headache I have. None of that mattered though, all that was important to me right now was getting into Ponyville and finding my sister. I'd like to say my first step into Ponyville was a nice one, I'd like to say that, but if i did I would be lying. I tripped and fell on my face and hit the dirt.

"Gahhh dammit." I yelled as I hit the ground.

"Well howdy there stranger, looks like you just had quite a fall. You need a hoof up?" A mysterious voice said to me from a short distance away. I looked up and I saw an orange pony with blonde hair and a stetson hat on reaching her hoof in my direction.

"Um sure, thank you." I said taking her hoof in mine and having her pull me back on all four hooves.

"I'm Applejack, always a pleasure meetin' new folk 'round here. Not exactly used to meetin' them in this fashion however."

"Well then I'd call this a special situation, especially considering the circumstances." I said looking back in the direction I came from.

"Why? What happened?" She said looking past me.

"I was on a train, coming to Ponyville, and train rustled around and flew off the tracks, train crashed and I got away, only a few survivors as I could see."

"Where are they?" She said with a panicked look on her face.

"I don't know, maybe back at the crash? Going back to where they came from? Or heading this way as we speak."

"I'll go get some help, there's a hospital about two blocks west of here. You might wanna get your self checked out, partner." She said trotting away in the direction she came from.

"Thank you." I told her, but she was already gone. I began walking towards the hospital Applejack told me about, least I could do is get this headache checked out. Everything went black and I hit the ground. I woke up after what seemed like years later in a hospital bed. The lights were as bright as a thousand suns and the monitors beeped like any song I've ever heard from DJ-Pon3. Sorry to get all poetical. I could hear nurses talking in medical speak not that far away from me. I raised my head to see three nurse ponies gathered around their clipboards just outside my room. I put my head back down on my pillow and watched the monitor beside me and it beeped along with my pulse. It's been less than a minute and already I feel like blowing my brains out due to sheer irritation. One of the nurses appeared from what seems like out of nowhere.

"Looks like someone's finally awake. Good morning, sir." The nurse said to me with a warm smile.

"Good morning? I thought it was late at night." I said in response.

"You slept through the night sir. First time anyone's seen you wake up since you were found blacked out in the dirt."

"Blacked out in the dirt huh? Doesn't seem like something I would do."

"Well you did have a concussion and a few broken ribs, I think it's safe to say you're lucky to be waking up this early. Usually if you fall asleep with a concussion as bad as yours you have a very high risk of losing consciousness. Looks like you're a special situation." The nurse said walking away.

"Special situation. That's one way to put it." I said to myself. I turned onto my side and felt a sharp pain in my ribs. I could see what she meant when she said I had a few broken ribs. I took a deep breath and let out a sigh. First day in Ponyville and I'm spending it in a hospital. That pony I met. She seemed sweet, friendly, cute even. I wonder if all the mares in Ponyville are like that. Sweet and friendly would be nice for the stallions. I chuckled to myself and winced from the pain. My head still pounding from the train, tripping and blacking out. My thoughts turned to my sister. What happened to her? I didn't check any of the bodies at the wreckage. She could have easily died in the crash or walked in the opposite direction. I don't remember her being with those strange unharmed ponies, if she was I would've galloped straight for them like an idiot. Luckily I didn't, I stuck to the shadows and made it to Ponyville like I planned.

"Sir?" One of the nurses asked me. "We need your name."

"My name? Cloud Spark." I responded, using only my eyes to look in her direction.

"Thank you." She replied walking away.

"You're very welcome." I said sarcastically to myself. There's always something about being in an urgent care facility that makes me cranky.

"Makes you talk to yourself too." a stallions voice told me. I looked to where the voice was coming from and I saw the older pony from the train station the day of the funeral.

"What? Now I know I didn't say that out loud." I said, questioning his accusation of me thinking out loud.

"You decided to come to Ponyville like I suggested did you?"

"Yeah, I had no where else to go and I can't exactly afford Canterlot."

"Canterlot isn't the only other place in Equestria, but it's nice of you to compare Ponyville to Canterlot."

"I wasn't compari-, that's not the point. What are you doing here?"

"I heard about the train wreak and I decided to check on the patients, see if there was anything too serious." He picked up the clipboard at the end of my bed. "Doesn't look too bad. Mild concussion and some broken ribs. Didn't you say you had a sister on board too?"

"I did have a sister on board. I never said anything about it though."

"Sure you didn't kid." He said, walking away. I sat up and flinched at the pain in my head. I'm gonna find out what that guys secret is if it's the last damn thing I do. I just hope he didn't hear that, however he does that thing he does every time he sees me.