Waking up in Equestria

It became hard to keep track of events for a while. Pain, trauma, exhaustion... they all mixed together to form an intoxication that kept me from tracking time properly until sometime later. It was like a flip book, but with sections missing out of it that caused the movements and actions of the players to skip ahead in fits and starts.

Once the adrenaline stopped pumping in Whipwind's room, the pain in my arm changed from an intense throbbing to a grey wall of thunderous and unrelenting intensity. It had yet to stop bleeding and I wondered with a detached amusement if they had compatible blood here in Equestria because it looked like gallons of it had leaked out from the large jagged wounds above my elbow. I rested my head against the hard, rubbery surface of the cloud underneath me and pondered pony blood, pony DNA... and began to drift away from awareness and concern.

It was Celestia that brought me back. Her voice called my name and it rang out in the white haze of awareness surrounding me. A moment later, that haze turned a deep blue. I didn't need to be told she was using magic on me. No medicine or drug back home that I'd experienced could duplicate the deep, intimate, biological conversation that took place between her magic and my body. The best description would be that she moved through me. I felt her female presence that soothed and comforted me while she moved within my thoughts and body. My left arm, which had been numb from the elbow down and immobile, began to get pins and needles feeling in my fingers... then my whole hand. When she pulled back, I felt an empty space inside where she had been and yearned for that feeling again.

Skip.

Large, broad pegasi in silver, official looking armor marched above and past me with serious expressions. I had been propped up against the wall near the door somehow. They asked questions to Celestia and Twilight. Several of them turned to regarded me with looks. Another pegasus entered, this one dressed in a flowing silver garb with a magnificently coiffed yellow mane over a green coat. Celestia and this new comer argued. Rainbow Dash sat next to me. Her face was marred by an ugly, bloody cut above her left eye and one of her wings was sticking out at a strange angle. She gave me a small but happy smile.

Skip.

Wind blew back my hair. The thick strands of a mane whipped around me and partially obscured a deep blue expanse of sky. My ears popped. One working arm clutched at the tone, firm neck of a pony for support. I felt ill.

Skip. This one felt longer somehow.

I burned in the bed at Sweet Apple Acres. The sheets were soaking wet with my sweat, sticking to me and giving a feeling of unclean to everything. I felt like I was melting from within. My head pounded, my stomach turned. A cool wet cloth pressed against my forehead. It felt divine. There were voices nearby but I couldn't focus on them.

Skip.

Pain wracked my whole body. My eyes flew open and stared at the ceiling. A whimpering, keening sound filled my ears that sounded like my voice, but I wasn't aware of using my vocal chords. Twilight's face appeared in my vision. Her face was full of concern and worry. She spoke, but her words only reached my ears in a buzzing fuzz. My back felt like two daggers were pressing in between my shoulders. I saw her horn glow for a split second...

Dreams...

I was standing in the middle of a small clearing surrounded by ancient willow trees... or at least that's what they resembled. They stacked high above me, larger than any willow I had ever seen. Vast curtains draped down to the ground in long silvery whips. The bright blue sky above the clearing bathed me in sunlight on a carpet of fresh, deep green grass that ended in all directions at the curtain falls of the trees. There was no malice to this place. Only peace and harmony. I had no memory of traveling here. But that realization didn't seem to need much thought. How could anything bad happen from being in such a tranquil place?

I wasn't alone. The large fair pony who I though must be Celestia that saved us in Cloudsdale stood in front of me with a sad expression. She spoke with a soft voice, a voice that reminded me of my mother.

"Mason, You are suffering. For this, I am sorry. Please forgive us all."

"I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"I have brought your consciousness here, away from your body that is in agony. It is in flux...changing. I'm afraid there's little I can do about it."

"What are you talking about?" I was getting nervous now. I felt just fine, in fact... I felt great! Nothing seemed wrong with me at all and what she was saying didn't make any sense.

She gave a patient smile behind her multicolored mane before continuing. "Humans never have been good at separating mind and body, you are here only as how you are remembered by your consciousness. You are dreaming, but I am the one who brought you here to dream."

"So... is this real?"

"For your consciousness, yes."

"Then what's happening to my body!"

"Whipwind's blood is inside you. It is strong with the life force and magic of the Pegasi... too strong for your human body to resist. It is re-arraigning your physical structure to accommodate itself. How much so and where... we can't be certain. This has never happened before in all of Equestria."

I stared at her for long moments. Changing?? Changing into what? What did she mean? Was I going to be some mutant?

"Mason... You didn't ask for any of this. You have been here only a short time, but have proven yourself to be a kind, generous and caring human. I am sorry you have been made to suffer this outcome and Whipwind will pay dearly for it. You have my word."

"WHAT OUTCOME?!" I was panicking now. She sounded so grave...

"I am offering you a choice, human. You can decide to live with however your body changes here in Equestria, or I can spare you the pain and suffering. But I'm afraid you can never go back home now, the portal will not allow any physical form of Equestria back through.

I absorbed what she had just told me. No going back... Ever. But what did she mean....

"Spare me? What do you mean by that?"

Her face became somber again. "I can end your knowledge of life and time as you know it. I can send you somewhere where you will feel and know nothing, forever. You will be free of the pain you will surely experience back in your body."

"You mean kill me?"

"If that is what you wish to call it..."

"Fuck that!" I said vehemently. "How bad is this gonna be that you're offering to KILL me?"

She recoiled slightly from my words. "Mason, We do not know what will happen when the pegasi essence is done with your body. You may be in a great deal of pain. If ever you change your mind, I will release you from it." She turned slowly and began to walk towards the edge of the clearing.

"Wait! What about Scootaloo?" I asked. "What about the others?"

"In time..." was all she said.

Wake.

My mouth was dry. In fact... it felt like someone had dumped a cup of sand in it. My eyes didn't want to open and I had to arch my eyebrows to get them to unstick from whatever goo had sealed them shut. It was dark and quiet with no sound reaching my ears. I had been propped up sharply on several pillows under my back and head that, once I turned the light on, let me see the room clearly. Already the dream I had was fading. It's messages and imagery crumbling and vanishing by the second.

I was at Sweet Apple Acres. There were several chairs and tables now around my bed that weren't there before. Bowls of water, several cloths, jars and vials containing liquids and what looked like crushed herbs or something were scattered about. It looked as though a large number of people had spent time in here.

I heard a gasp from the corner and I looked to it's source. Fluttershy was blinking into the light. She was curled up on the floor and had raised her head to look at me. She looked like she had been sleeping.

"Oh my! Mason! You're awake!" She got to her feet and moved to the bed. "How are you feeling?" she asked with genuine concern reflected in her large sleepy green eyes.

"Drink" I said in a small raspy voice that didn't sound like my own.

"Sure! Um.. Just hold on... I'll get Twilight and bring you back some water!"

I lay on the pillows quietly, waiting for her return. I became aware that my back hurt. It felt thick and warm under me against the pillows and I gave a wiggle against them. I felt a lump rubbing between the shoulder blades and wondered if I took a whack on the back during the fight. My left arm was dressed and bound to my body but my fingers flexed on that hand reliably.

It was a little bit before I heard the soft hoof falls on the steps outside and then Twilight appeared in the door. Her face was heavy with interrupted sleep but the smile she gave lit her eyes up all the same. A cup floated in front of her and when we made eye contact, it slowly hovered over to me and stopped before my face. The water was cold and clean, I drank it in seconds.

"Mason, How are you feeling? You've been out for several days now" she put a hoof to my forehead. Fluttershy had moved in next to her and watched.

"I hurt all over" this was true. Every muscle in my body was vibrating with a dull low ache. But my back.. damn.. "My back hurts pretty bad"

She gave me a small smile and a look that told me she knew what I was talking about. "Um.. yeah. About that."

"Did I get hit there or something?"

"I don't know exactly how to say this... but Celestia and I think... well... we think you might be growing wings there." She looked at me with a apprehensive smile.

"What?" I was sure I didn't hear her correctly.

"You see... some of Whipwind's blood got inside you when he bit your arm... and it kinda... well changed you. I told Celestia that it was only a little bit of blood so the change couldn't be big but she read this book that said pegasus blood was..." She stopped herself and gave me an apologetic look. "I'm rambling again... sorry"

"You're telling me I have wings now?" my mind raced at what she was telling me.

"Well... not exactly... they're still growing. They're only little bumps right now under the skin."

That's was enough. I hurt, I still felt sick, I had been chewed on, kicked around, made to fly in a balloon, walked on clouds, and now this?

"I don't want to grow wings!!!" I shouted losing my temper. "Jesus! It was weird enough I got my ass kicked by a crazy pegasus in the clouds and now you're telling me I'm growing wings?! WHAT THE FUCK!""

"Mason..." Twilight started but I cut her off.

"No! Can't you do some magic or something and get these things out of me?! I thought you were supposed to be some powerful unicorn or something! HELP ME!! I DON"T WAN..." I started to cough. I was still feeling weak and yelling wasn't helping any.

Twilight and Fluttershy looked down, their ears drooping. Fluttershy even took a step back. I felt regret already at yelling at them, but I was out of my mind with fear and panic. Wings are growing under the skin of my back!!! I became acutely aware of them. The pressing hard lump against the pillow between and below my shoulder blades...

"Mason?" a voice said. It seized my attention immediately.

Twilight looked behind her and then stepped to the side. There was Scootaloo. Her orange head was wrapped in a clean white bandage that had her purple mane sticking out in crazy directions... but other than that, she looked fine. Her eyes fixed on me with a deep compassionate look.

"Don't be scared... please... don't be mad...." She moved forward and jumped on the bed, landing astride my legs, leaning in to me. She butted her head against my forehead and nuzzled me. "I'm here with you... I'm here with you..." she whispered repeatedly.

"Scoot..." I put my right hand on her face.

"You saved me... you came for me..."

"I didn't do a very good job..."

She pulled back and sounded like her normal self for a moment. "Are you kidding me? You smacked him a good one! That had ta hurt!" she smiled and nuzzled me again. I put my arm around her and embraced her as best I could, turning my face towards Twilight and Fluttershy who were standing by watching.

"I'm sorry, you guys. I freaked out there for a second." I apologized to them.

"You deserve a freak out or two I guess." Twilight said. Her ears had come back up and she looked more relaxed now. Fluttershy came back to the bed and gave a shy smile.

"How long before... they are done growing?" I asked her

"We don't know, but we'll be here for you and help out whenever you need us. So far, that looks like the only thing that's changed but keep an eye out for anything weird, ok?"

I gave her a smile. "I'm sure you and Celestia have done everything you can. If you guys are around, then I'm sure I'll be able to live with it"

"You bet! In fact, I've even started documenting the process for my first ever book!" Twilight beamed.

"Wait! What about Applejack??" The image of her broken body came to my mind, pushing away the thoughts of being a case study for the purple Alicorn.

"Oh! She's gonna be OK. They have her at the Cloudsdale Hospital. She's doing real good and if you're feeling up to it, we can go see her whenever you want. Apple Bloom too, She's asleep next door."

"No I aint!" came her indignant accented voice from behind Twilight. "Aint nopony sleepin round here with all this fussin going on!"

She moved into view next to Twilight. She looked pretty rough, even if it had been a few days as Twilight had mentioned. Her mane was missing a large patch of hair and a large healing cut was visible in front of her left ear. There were scrapes and raw patches all over her but it was her leg that looked the worst. It was in a stiff purple cast that she dragged behind her with a solid scraping sound on the wooden floor. I could just make out some haphazard writing on it in various places.

"What happened to you guys?" I asked her. Scootaloo moved to lay down next to me on the bed. I put my hand on the back of her neck and stroked her coat while I listened.

Between Twilight, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, the events of that day were relayed to me. Fluttershy excused herself part way though to go downstairs and get some sleep. I learned of Apple Bloom's flight from Whipwind and her fall in the Everfree forest. Twilight filled in the gaps of how she and Celestia came to Cloudbrand's mansion just in time. Finally, Scootaloo told me about what happened to her. How she woke up in Cloudsdale unable to run or move because she couldn't walk on the clouds. She was at her father's mercy while he'd dangled her over the cloud's surface repeatedly.

"Oh... and our secret's out..." she finished miserably.

I looked at her for a moment, trying to fit what she was saying into context.

"Oh.."

"Yeah... in fact, Girls? Can I have a word with Mason alone?" Twilight said to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.

They left under protest, Apple Bloom dragging her heavy leg behind her and Scootaloo gave me another quick nuzzle before hopping off the bed to follow her friend into the hallway, looking back at me. Twilight shut the door behind them and took a deep breath before speaking. I had a feeling what this was about.

"Look.. this is kind of awkward and if you're not feeling up to talking about it right now then I understand. But... Scootaloo is... well.. she's a young filly still. Most fillies have just started dating at her age... let alone calling somepony their special somepony. You... you understand, right?"

I felt my cheeks burning and couldn't meet her gaze. "You mean it's wrong?"

"No... not exactly. It's just that... she... she's been through a lot, more than any of us had ever imagined. I... we... we just want to make sure she's not getting into something that's going to hurt her more. That filly has latched onto you like nothing I've ever seen her do before and it's just happened all so fast."

She gave a small giggle and I looked up to find her smiling. "She's barely left your side this whole time, you know. It's like she couldn't stand to not be near you. But there's something you should know... ponies love each other with their whole essence and life force when they find that special somepony in their life. There's no worse pain that losing that love when you've given yourself to it. Celestia told me that your kind can love each other like that sometimes too but... " She trailed off.

"You're a human. Can you even give her the love she needs?"